It was nighttime (around 2 o'clock) in Traverse Town.
Many people were just relaxing. Some were still out and about, doing late night shopping and whatnot.
Even a few newcomers had arrived through the corridors of darkness that appeared whenever a world was lost.
Our focus is now shifted to a hotel in the Second District. Nick and Haruka were relaxing in their room while Maylin was off on a screening of the town.
"Man, it's good to be able to relax for a while, huh, Nick?" Haruka asked Nick, who was laying on the other side of the bed that the three explorers were sharing.
"Yeah, especially after that duel I had with Will. I'm exhausted," Nick replied, gazing at the Oathkeeper keyblade that rested on the nearby dresser.
"I know. We all saw you going at it in Port Mystic. I had a bit of trouble keeping up with you two!" Haruka exclaimed. "You were all, like, CLANG and ZOOM! I couldn't believe that!"
"She packed one hell of a wallop, too. Those dark powers she's acquired must have enhanced her elemental powers AND her physical strength. She's gotta be one of the best fighters I've ever encountered, and that's saying a lot, considering some of the weirdoes we've faced," Nick explained.
"Like Nerissa and the Chasers?" Haruka wondered.
"Exactly. I'm guessing you knew all about them, since you're from Candracar?" Nick asked.
"Maylin and I aren't actually from Candracar," Haruka explained. "We were just two girls who wielded Keyblades. The Oracle saw our potential and made us Guardians of Candracar. I instantly knew something in your world had gone horribly wrong when we found Heartless everywhere in the palace."
"There were Heartless in Candracar?" Nick exclaimed.
"I think it started about the time Will made her turn to the darkness," Haruka replied to that statement. "Will's keyblade became the Dark Keyblade and disappeared. By then, Heatherfield's star was beginning to fade out, and..."
She stopped on a dime upon seeing tears beginning to form in Nick's eyes. Wrong subject, Haruka! You know how much he misses his home and friends...
Haruka reached over and patted Nick on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to get you upset about your home..."
She was quickly interrupted when Nick lunged forward, throwing his arms around Haruka, crying his heart out. "It's not that, Haruka. One of the Guardians... she was my lover... And I made a promise to her that I'd always protect her. I feel like... like I failed her..."
Haruka was quite surprised by this sudden display of emotion. "Don't say that, Nick," she whispered soothingly, returning the embrace. "Things were beyond your control. There was no way you could have known before it was too late. We will find her, as well as the others. I promise you that."
Nick looked into Haruka's eyes... they were the same color as Irma's eyes...
"Thanks, Haruka. That means so much to me," Nick replied, settling into Haruka's embrace.
About ten minutes later, Haruka looked down at Nick. "Feeling better now?"
"Yeah, lots. Thank you so much, Haruka," Nick responded.
It was at that time that Maylin busted into the room, nearly out of breath. "Guys! Look what I found!"
With that, Maylin threw a piece of paper to Nick and Haruka, the former catching and reading it aloud.
Report #3
Chaos affects not only this world, but many other worlds besides.
In the "Ansem Reports" my apprentice Xehanort had written under my name, I found the records of his hideous experiments along with his hypothesis about the door that had appeared out of the darkness in the basement.
All living things have hearts, and all hearts hold darkness deep within.
Worlds are no exception. If a world is a being, the heart it holds must be colossal...
...and the darkness at its core must be monstrous indeed.
Did Xehanort pass through that door in an attempt to contact that dark realm?
No, not only Xehanort.
It appears my other five apprentices, believing it was for the sake of research, stared deep into the darkness and were pulled into it.
Even, Ienzo, Blaig, Dilan, and Eleaus...
They have ceased to be human.
I, too, have had everything taken away from me, banished to a hollow realm of nothingness.
What is Xehanort hoping to gain with my pilfered existence?
Will my people cease to smile?
If the light of hope has been extinguished, I shall henceforth walk with darkness as a friend.
Here, in the realm of nothingness to which I have been relegated.
Darkness is the midst of nothing.
"Darkness in Zero."
Thus, I shall be known as DiZ.
"Another Ansem Report, huh?" Nick stated.
"That's not it! There's a karaoke party at the hotel in the Third District! Come on, COME ON!" Maylin shouted rather excitedly, grabbing Nick and Haruka and subsequently pushing them out of the door.
"What's Maylin so hyper about?" Nick asked.
"She's a karaoke fanatic. Always has been. She has one of the most beautiful singing voices I've ever heard!" Haruka replied.
"Oh, this should be good."
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(Music is the universal language. They say it can communicate with many people. Can it be used to vanquish evil?)
S.P.D. Gold Ranger presents:
W.I.T.C.H. in: "Key to Her Heart"
This chapter: February 22nd, 2007
Summary: Back in Traverse Town, Nick and friends are just relaxing for a while. Maylin even gets a chance to show off her love of karaoke! However, a new Heartless is lurking in the shadows, with the intent of ruining the party's good time.
Note: SO SORRY for the long delay. I've been busy with a few joint stories with Mat49324, and we've been tied up on that front alone. Worse, my computer had to be redone as well, and I lost this chapter! DAMN IT! Also, I've decided to axe the Christmas special for now (I may eventually release it as a standalone story, but let's wait on that for now, okay?) I've also got a little surprise coming up in this chapter for you Will fans! One more quick thing: for this part of the story, I had to make the Third District a bit more elaborate, more like a shinier, more expansive version of the Second District. Okay?
World Exploration Theme: "Traverse Town"
Boss Battle Theme (Opposite Armor): "Destiny's Force"
Maylin's Karaoke Night Song: "Hikari" from Kingdom Hearts
Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING of W.I.T.C.H. or any elements taken from Kingdom Hearts. The only stuff I own is my characters Nick, Maylin, and Haruka, as well as the plot of this story. Let's get on with this!
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Chapter 4: Singing Party (a.k.a. It's Karaoke Night! Sealing Traverse Town!)
The place that Nick and Haruka had been dragged to (courtesy of a rather hyper Maylin) was the Through the Night Hotel in Traverse Town's Third District, an elaborate inn that also housed a karaoke bar. Plastered on the wall beside the door was a sign that read: "BIG KARAOKE PARTY!! 5,000 MUNNY TO THE BEST SINGER!!"
"This is my big chance to show what I'm made of!" Maylin exclaimed. "You two ARE going to cheer me on, right?"
"Of course! Why wouldn't we?" Haruka replied.
"Good. You two find some seats, and watch for me on that stage. I'm gonna wow the pants off of all these would-be singers," Maylin stated before rushing off to sign up for the contest.
Nick stood there for a few seconds before taking a seat on a nearby leather couch. "Okay, I'm going to ask. What was that all about?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Haruka explained, taking her seat next to Nick, two sodas in her hands. "Maylin gets a bit, um, what's the word... competitive when it comes to karaoke. I saw her audition for the school play back in 4th grade, and she simply could not wait for her turn. When it was her turn, I swear to god, I've NEVER seen someone pushed off the stage so fast!"
Nick let out a laugh before gazing towards the karaoke stage, where another contestant was finishing up his song, which seemed to be a mix of rock and techno. The hotel owner came up, reading from a card in his hand.
"Thank you. That was Never Turn Back, ladies and gentlemen. And now, our next singer from out of town, please welcome the lovely Maylin Rae!" the owner exclaimed as Maylin walked onto the stage, placing a CD in the karaoke machine. She looked out over the audience as they applauded, Nick and Haruka loudest of all.
"Thanks for letting me sing tonight, ladies and gentlemen," Maylin stated. "I'd like to sing a little something my mother sang to me when I was a little girl. I hope you enjoy it." With that, Maylin hit the PLAY button and her song began. The instant the first note came out of the speakers, her voice lifted to match the words she'd practiced for weeks.
Donna toki datte
Tada hitori de
Unmei wasurete
Ikite kita no ni
Totsuzen no hikari no naka me ga sameru
Mayonaka ni
"Wow, Haruka, you weren't kidding. Her voice is beautiful!" Nick exclaimed.
"Told ya," Haruka replied, keeping her gaze focused on Maylin.
Shizuka ni deguchi ni tatte
Kurayami ni hikari o ute
Imadoki yakusoku nante fuan ni saseru dake kana
Negai o kuchi ni shitai dake sa
Kazoku ni mo shoukai suru yo
Kitto umaku iku yo
Donna toki datte
Zutto futari de
Donna toki datte
Soba ni iru kara
Kimi to iu hikari ga watashi o mitsukeru
Mayonaka ni
Suddenly, the bar owner walked up to Nick and Haruka. "Is that your friend? The one singing? Because she is incredible!"
"That's what we told her," Nick and Haruka stated in unison.
Urusai (When you turn my way) toori ni haitte
Unmei (Take it all the way) no kamen o tore
Sakiyomi no shisugi nante imi no nai koto wa yamete
Kyou wa oishii mono o tabeyou yo
Mirai wa zutto saki da yo
Boku ni mo wakaranai
Kansei sasenaide
Motto yokushite
WAN SHIIN zutsu totte
Ikeba ii kara
Kimi to iu hikari ga watashi no SHINARIO
Utsushidasu
Nick noticed that the audience seemed to REALLY like Maylin's song, as everyone in the room was clapping their hands to the beat. Maylin waved to her new fans, not daring to miss a beat in her beautiful singing.
Motto hanasou yo
Mokuzen no ashita no koto mo
TEREBI keshite
Watashi no koto dake o miteite yo
Donna ni yokuttatte
Shinji kirenai ne
Sonna toki datte
Soba ni iru kara
Kimi to iu hikari ga watashi o mitsukeru
Mayonaka ni
Motto hanasou yo
Mokuzen no ashita no koto mo
TEREBI keshite
Watashi no koto dake o miteite yo
Once the song had ended, the audience's applause was rapturous, filling the karaoke bar with a noise that, to Nick, rivaled the cries of the Heatherfield Hooligans JV football fans back home. Maylin made a few bows before walking off the stage and taking her seat with Nick and Haruka.
"Well, what did you think?" Maylin asked her two traveling companions.
"You really DID wow them, Maylin. We're very impressed," Haruka stated straight out.
"Oh, thanks, you guys," Maylin replied, pulling Nick and Haruka into her embrace. "You're the best!"
"And now," the hotel owner announced, walking back onto the stage. "It's time to announce the winner of the contest."
"This is it!" Maylin exclaimed, crossing her fingers.
"The winner of the 6th Annual Through the Night Karaoke Contest is..."
No sooner had the hotel owner said that than a massive tremor shook the entire hotel, nearly causing many people to fall to the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Maylin exclaimed, materializing Chinese Spirit.
"Trouble," Haruka replied, standing up and materializing Sweet Crest. "Nick, you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Nick responded, shooting out of his seat. With one swift flick of his hand, the Oathkeeper keyblade materialized in his hands. A lot of the panicky people settled down when they noticed that Nick and his party had their keyblades out, shouting something about the Chosen Ones. In an instant, the three were out the door, ready to face the newest threat to Traverse Town.
Before Nick could exit as well, a peculiar someone caught his eye. He walked up to the person, who looked almost exactly like Will, save for the normal-seeming outfit. In an instant, he pointed the Oathkeeper straight for 'Will'. She gasped and almost fell out of her seat.
"Wait, wait! What did I do?" 'Will' shrieked, backing away from Nick and his keyblade. Suddenly, the Oathkeeper pulsed a bright pink when set in her general direction. Suddenly, Nick understood.
"You... you're her astral twin, aren't you?" Nick asked, lowering his keyblade.
"Figured it out, huh?" Astral Will noted.
"Thanks in part to the Oathkeeper. Say, how'd you escape? Didn't Will absorb you back into herself back then?" Nick asked.
"She did," Astral Will explained, "but when she made the turn to darkness, I got split from her and was left to fend for myself. Hoping I could find someone that could help me get my other self back to the side of good, I somehow made my way here through sheer force of will. I came here, looking for some time to relax."
"If you ARE Will's astral twin, I guess that means we could use your help," Nick stated, waving the Oathkeeper. "You coming or what?"
"Love to," Astral Will exclaimed, hopping out of her seat and materializing a keyblade that looked exactly like the original Will's Heart of Candracar keyblade save color (think yellow, green, and blue instead of pink, red, and silver). The words Infinity Bullet ran through Nick's head.
"Let's go!" Astral Will shouted, rushing out the door towards the Second District, the source of the rumblings.
"By the by, did you think you should give me a name? Cause it may feel weird calling me Astral Will all the time," the astral twin explained.
Nick thought for a few seconds. "Got it! Your full name is Wilhelmina, right? And since 'Will' is already taken, how's about you take the other half?"
"Mina, huh?" the astral twin contemplated. "I like it. Good thinking."
Soon enough, Nick and Mina reached the Second District, where Haruka and Maylin were already facing off with a familiar foe: the Guard Armor!
"What the...? Didn't I destroy that thing?" Nick exclaimed, but his proclamation was soon halted when the Guard Armor fell to pieces with seemingly no provocation. As the party stood there confused, the Guard Armor suddenly began reforming itself, flipping its torso over and repositioning the arms and legs. It had transformed into the Opposite Armor!
"Okay, THAT'S a new one!" Maylin exclaimed, drawing a Thundara spell coin and shouting the very same word as she struck the coin with Chinese Spirit. The letters on the coin blazed as the spell took effect, summoning a large lightning bolt that struck and destroyed the left leg of the Opposite Armor.
As Mina began wailing on the monster's torso, she noticed that the blasted thing wasn't regenerating itself like last time.
"That's a relief," Mina noted just as the Opposite Armor fired a pair of lasers from its eye sockets. Mina quickly deflected them both with Infinity Bullet.
"The Guard Armor couldn't pull that one off before!" Maylin exclaimed, firing wave after wave of Fire spells for the Opposite Armor, only to have none of them make even a scratch on the massive Heartless. "Something's way wrong here!"
"You're telling me?" Haruka replied, rapidly throwing the spinning Sweet Crest for the Opposite Armor. "We've got to pinpoint the source of the transformation! Maybe then we can defeat this thing once and for all!"
"Then let me step up," Mina proclaimed, Infinity Bullet held proudly, "and I'll show you why they call me the Astral Derrière."
Mina concentrated on the elemental power she'd acquired from being Will's astral twin and charged it into her keyblade. Holding it out towards the Opposite Armor and closing her eyes, Mina began twirling around like a maniac, discharging an insane amount of quintessence energy beams from her spinning form, each and every burst of energy homing in on and causing considerable damage to the Opposite Armor.
Once that was over with, all that was left of the Opposite Armor was the torso and head. This time, Nick wasn't going to let the thing get a chance to regenerate itself, so he began floating in the air, glowing a radiant sapphire as he had last time, against the Guard Armor.
"Shining Star Strike!" Nick chanted before disappearing in a rapid streak of light, rapidly attacking the Opposite Armor with every pass he made before landing right in front of the downed Heartless.
"Well, well, doesn't this bring back memories?" Nick stated before, again, driving the glowing Oathkeeper straight into the head of the Opposite Armor, causing it to break up into little pieces until it finally dissolved, its glowing heart floating into the sky.
"Well, that's that," Nick stated, resting the Oathkeeper on his shoulder.
"Now that that's over, could someone introduce me to our new friend?" Haruka asked, motioning towards Mina.
"That's Will's astral twin," Nick explained. "I decided to call her Mina. Looks like we've got another traveling companion."
"And just in time, too. Look!" Mina exclaimed, pointing to the pond at the square. On the mural of the town's history, a shining keyhole had revealed itself.
Saying nothing else, the kids pointed their keyblades for the keyhole, and in a flashy display, quickly sealed it.
As soon as the keyhole was locked, a portal appeared behind the party, leading to yet another world being invaded by the Heartless.
"Let's do this," Nick stated.
"Wait just a damn minute!" Maylin exclaimed. "I KNOW I won that contest! What about my prize munny?"
"I told the hotel owner to put your munny on hold. We'll come back for it soon enough," Nick explained, dragging Maylin into the portal. "Now COME ON!"
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All right! The team's got a new companion! Until next time! And trust me, no matter how long you may be forced to wait, I WILL get this story finished!
Next time:
Chapter 5: Steel Angel City (a.k.a. Kurumi, Kurumi! It's Steel Angel Madness!)
Nick and the party head to Taishou Era Japan, where they meet a boy who has a beautiful android girl catering to his every whim. Plus, we finally meet the enigmatic Thirteenth Order...