Kingdom Hearts: Time Wars
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is the property of its creators. All characters used here are the property of their respective writers/creators and are used for non-profit reasons. No copyright infringement is intended. However, any original characters are mine, and cannot be used without my permission.
Chapter Four
Villains
In Disney Castle, Cloud had managed to enter the castle with little difficulty, and had now reached the throne room. It was strange, though, how there had been so few guards, almost as if someone had already gotten rid of them for him. Either way, that didn't concern him at the moment. All that mattered was the Cornerstone of Light, the orb that Hades wanted so much. Once he had that, he'd be able to get the Sword of Death and with it, the key to finally defeating Sephiroth.
Sephiroth. To think, he had once worshipped that madman as a hero. Now his mind was filled with thoughts of revenge, of finally ending Sephiroth's life. After what he'd done, it was what he deserved. He still remembered that day, with crystal clarity…the day he'd found out the truth about Sephiroth. The day IT had happened. And after that…he would never again show Sephiroth mercy.
"No mercy…how like him I've become, over the years", Cloud muttered to himself, swinging the door to the throne room open, walking up to the throne. He removed a small device Hades had given him, designed, according to the lord of the dead, to open the secret chamber. Pressing a small button on it, Cloud watched as one of the thrones slid aside, revealing a flight of stairs, leading down. Cloud began to head down, descending into the darkness of the secret chamber.
In the Land of Dragons, Sora and Kairi stood, staring across at the massive tower that was Syndrome's fortress. Mulan had promised to get as many people she could to help, while Drakken had gone to find Maleficent. Now, they merely had to wait for their return.
"This battle won't be easy Sora. Promise…you'll be careful okay?" Kairi said, causing Sora to grin.
"I won't need to be careful. I've got you watching my back", Sora said, causing Kairi to punch him in the arm.
"I'm serious! If Syndrome is really powerful enough to threaten someone like Maleficent, he's obviously dangerous!" Kairi said. Sora rubbed his arm, nodding.
"I'll be careful, don't worry. But trust me, we've faced worse threats than this and done fine", Sora said. At that point, Riku walked up to the two of them, shaking his head.
"You're wrong, Sora. There's…something different here. It feels like…something's coming", Riku said as he looked off into the distance.
"Like what, Riku?" Sora asked, as Riku closed his eyes, his head lowered. He then looked up, staring straight into Sora's eyes.
"Something I remember…something terrible", Riku said, before walking back into the small tent they'd erected.
Kairi watched him go, feeling a shiver of fear. Even when she'd faced Saix, she'd still managed to remain brave, but the look in Riku's eyes just then was one of the most disturbing things she'd ever seen. Whatever he thought he knew, she only hoped he was wrong.
They both turned when they heard approaching footsteps, to see Mulan and Mushu approaching, a dejected look on both their faces.
"What happened?" Sora asked, as Mulan sat shook her head sadly.
"We tried, Sora. But no one would agree to help us. They're all so terrified of Syndrome, none of them wants to challenge him", Mulan said.
"Then…then I guess we have to do it without them!" Sora said, pulling himself up to his full height.
"But how? Syndrome has the power to crush whole armies. There are only seven of us. We won't stand a chance", Mulan said, dejectedly.
"Is that the same woman I met before? You saved the Emperor and the whole Land of Dragons last time! We can do this!" Sora said, putting a hand on Mulan. Mushu nodded enthusiastically.
"That's what I'm talking about! That Syndrome punk won't know what hit him!" Mushu yelled, leaping into the air, as Kairi giggled. At that point there was the sound of metal hitting stone and an imperious voice called out.
"In any case, you have miscounted boy. There are not seven of you…there are eight". Sora and the others spun around, to see Drakken and Shego, standing with Maleficent and Pete.
"Now…let us decide on a plan", Maleficent said, calmly.
In Syndrome's fortress, the man himself sat upon a massive throne that had once belonged to the emperor. His black cloak was draped around him, and he was listening as one of his commanders told him how he'd managed to allow Mulan to escape. Shadow, his loyal second in command stood by his sign, her vicious steel claws extended, and a disdainful expression on her face as she looked down at the luckless henchman.
"And so, you see sire, the fault wasn't really ours. It was just this guy, with this weapon, this…it was like a sword except it looked a bit like a key, I suppose…it took us down in seconds! And…there were others, two others with these swords, and a woman whose hands glowed like they were on fire!" the henchman said, before Syndrome held out a hand for silence.
"Aaaand I'm gonna stop you right there. Was anyone else there? Dracula, maybe? Frankenstein? Wolf-man?" Syndrome asked, getting up from his throne.
"Sire? I'm…not sure I understand", the henchman said.
"No…you wouldn't", Syndrome said, before picking the henchman up with a beam of zero point energy from his gauntlets.
"What I'm saying, you pathetic sub James Bond excuse for a henchman, is that I TOLD you to expect trouble! What the hell did you think I meant, villagers with sticks!? And then, not only do you claim there's THREE Key Blades, when I know there's only one of the things out there, you got an make up some stupid story about a woman with glowing hands! I WAS just going to throw you in the dungeon for a few centuries, y'know, but now…", Syndrome said, before using the force fields to tear the henchman in two.
"Good help is so hard to find", Shadow muttered, flicking strand of her raven black hair away from her face.
"I'd settle for competent, right now. Y'know, it's just depressing, really. You come up with a grand scheme, map out billions of worlds, and what happens? You're henchman let you down. i should've kept the robots", Syndrome muttered.
"After what happened with those things, I think we both know that's a bad idea", Shadow said. Syndrome shrugged.
"So, the Key-Blade bearer has FINALLY chosen to show. Good, cause I was getting kinda bored of waiting. Get every one of my henchman here, ready the weapons and get the harness ready for my little pet. Time for some…fireworks", Syndrome said, before walking off, laughing.
In the Underworld, home of Hades, the Lord of the Dead, the man himself was beginning to worry. The Joker had yet to report in, and he'd told him to do so the minute he'd found Sora and the others. still, the crazed clown knew what would happen if he tried to betray Hades…a one way trip to the deepest dungeon of the Underworld.
"Guys so nuts, he'd probably like it…and what are you doing here!?", Hades asked, spinning around to face the unwelcome intruder.
She was tall and pale, her skin so ghostly white it seemed to shine. Long black hair cascaded down her back, though most of it was obscure by the long flowing cloak she wore. She was beautiful, the kind of beauty that is incredibly rare, her eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. Her hands however were what most people noticed first. They glowed with silver light. Clutched in one of them was a long scythe, made of bone, the blade viciously curved. She was Death, a frequent visitor to Hades realm…but this time there was no one with her, and none scheduled to arrive.
"I BRING A MESSAGE, LORD OF THE DEAD. A MESSAGE FOR YOU TO HEAR", Death said, her voice echoing into the distance.
"Newsflash lady, I'm immortal! I can't die, okay? So I doubt you have anything to say that I need to hear", Hades said, turning away.
"YOU CAN FEEL IT HADES. NOT CONCIOUSLY, PERHAPS, BUT IN YOUR HEART. OR WHAT LITTLE IS LEFT OF IT, ANYWAY. SOMETHING IS COMING, A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BATTLE. A WAR THAT SHALL CHANGE THE FACE OF ALL WORLDS. A WAR UNLIKE ANY OTHER. AND PERHAPS, EVEN THE IMMORTAL SHALL NOT BE SAFE FROM MY EMBRACE", Death said, before turning to leave. Hades paused for a moment, before pursuing her.
"What the hell does that mean!? What's coming, what war?! What the hell are you talking about!?!", Hades asked, his voice filled with panic.
"BEWARE THE KEYBLADE HADES. I SEE THAT IS SHALL BE THE SOURCE OF MUCH SUFFERING FOR YOU", Death said, calmly.
"That's not a premonition, it's a fact. That brat has been nothing but trouble since day one", Hades said. Death shook her head.
"I SPEAK NOT OF SORA. AND YET…HE IS A PART OF IT. A KEYBLADE SHALL BRING GREAT DESTRUCTION…AND FROM THE LIGHT SHALL COME DARKNESS, AND FROM THE DARKNESS SHALL COME LIGHT. BE WARNED HADES, MANY THINGS ARE FACING THE END…IF YOU DO NOT TREAD CAREFULLY, YOU MAY BE ONE OF THEM", Death concluded, before vanishing, leaving Hades feeling scared, for the first time in a very long time.
In the Pride Lands, far from all of the other worlds, the shaman Rafiki stood in his cave, his mind deep in thought. The king was busy dealing with the many duties he faced, as both a king and a father, and Rafiki did not want to trouble him with this until he was certain. But the signs were all there, if you knew where to look. Something was approaching, something terrible. A great disaster, a cataclysym that would threaten not just the Pride Lands, but all worlds. He remembered once before a strange lion had arrived, one called Sora who weilded a mighty weapon which he called a Keyblade. Rafiki's dreams were now haunted by images of that weapon.
He turned, hearing a sound like a sudden rushing of air, expecting to see the king, perhaps hear to ask his advice on some matter. Instead there stood a strange creature, one which stood on two legs, and was completely furless except for the top of it's head. It wore a long black cloak, and on it's pink face was a car, shaped like an X.
"Shaman…you should not have pried, into matter that did not concern you", the creature said, and then a weapon, a vicious weapon, appeared in its hands, and lashed out. Rafiki never stood a chance.
In the world of Agrabah, there stood many wonders. The Cave of Wonders itself, home to many fantastical treasure, not to mention the sultans palace, a truly breathtaking sight to behold. And so, something as small and unimportant as a peddlers shop was not paid much attention in the bustling city. Nor was much attention paid to the silver haired man who walked down the sandy streets, his long black coat flowing after him. The only thing anyone noticed was the strange bulge jutting out from his back. However, when they noticed the size of his sword, they were quickly discouraged from asking any questions.
The man approached the peddlers shop quickly, his speed clearly a sign of determination. He pushed the door open, staring down at the short man who rushed up to him, a wide smile on his face.
"Welcome, good sir! I am so pleased you chose to visit my shop today! How can I be of service?" the peddler asked, the man slowly shrugging off his thick cloak, and standing to his full height. What jutted from his back was a wing, jet black in colour, a sight that caused the peddler to leap backwards, fear clutching his heart.
"What I require from you, shop keeper, is a piece of paper. A piece of paper with a map drawn across it. A map that mentions places that do not exist on this world…do you have an item like that?" the man asked.
The peddler was no fool, and his mind quickly went to work. An item like that had recently come into his possession; the result of a trade he had thought had gone badly. But if a man like his was asking after it, perhaps it was worth more than he had thought.
"I have such an item, good sir. But my price…it will be high", the peddler said. the man seemed to find that funny, a smile appearing on his face, as he towered over the peddler.
"It will. Now…where is it?" Sephiroth asked, causing the peddler to rush to a shelf, pulling the sheet of paper from it.
"It speaks of…strange places, good sir. Might you be from one of them?", the peddler asked.
Yes…you could say that I am", Sephiroth said, snatching the sheet of paper away, staring at it.
"Now the price, good sir…", the peddler said, as Sephiroth drew his sword, the blade shining in the light of the shop.
"Indeed. And you were correct, shopkeeper...the price will be very high. But not for me", the man said. The peddler tried to run, only to find that the man blocked the exit, his sword coming towards him. The peddler felt his heart beat ever faster, as he realised he was about to die.
"Who are you?" the peddler managed to ask.
"I am Sephiroth", the man said. The sword lashed out, as the peddler screamed, before falling silent for the final time. Sephiroth wiped the blood from his sword, before walking out of the shop, down the street, and vanishing.
Outside Syndrome's fortress, Sora and the others stood, there Keyblades ready, Mulan with her sword drawn. Maleficent held her glowing staff, Shego's hands were ignited and both Pete and Drakken were well armed.
"Well…here goes nothing", Sora said, as they prepared to enter the fortress.
To be continued…
