Last time our heroes rescued Irma, finally reuniting all five Guardians. Meanwhile, Rakel, Reddik, Erika, Konrad and Pantyhose Taro arrived on Metamore and wound up joining with Nikolai and Phobos to destroy our heroes and allies. But then something happened that would either save the world or destroy it, something that would change everything. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 7: A Dark Future Turned Bright
Just then something strange and shocking happened, something Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aiden, Donald, Goofy, Ranma and everyone else gathered there that day would remember for the rest of their lives.
From out of nowhere ten feet up in the air appeared something. That something, as it fell and hit the ground in front of Sora and the others, turned out to be a person, a person that turned out to be another Sora.
"What the…!" exclaimed Sora, Donald and Aiden.
The other Sora, who looked like had had just escaped a war zone, with his clothes torn and slightly burned, his skin covered in small cuts and scrapes, his hair slightly singed, stood up and looked at our heroes.
"You're still here," said the other Sora. He sighed with relief, "good. Look, you've got to listen to what I have to say, or else."
"Or else what?" Riku asked cautiously.
"Or else you and everyone else on Metamore is going to die," said the other Sora in a grave tone.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kairi asked.
"He just said that we're all going to die," said a disturbed Matt.
"No way!" exclaimed Riku, "no freaking way! There can't be two Sora's!"
"This can't be real," said Aiden as he shook his head in denial, "this…it's got to be some sort of trick."
"This is the kind of thing Maleficent would pull," said Sora.
"This has nothing to do with Maleficent," said the other Sora, "I'm serious, guys, you've got to hear me out."
"Why should we?" Caleb asked in an accusing tone, "for all we know, you're one of Phobos' minions."
"It wouldn't be the first time that creep used imposters," said Hay Lin, "this one time, Phobos used these bird-things to masquerade as us and ruin our reputation among the people of Meridian."
"And to make Elyon think that we really are evil," said Cornelia.
"I'm not a magical imposter or a copy!" the other Sora insisted, "I am Sora, but from the future."
"That has got to be the lamest excuse I've ever heard!" said Irma, "and I've heard a lot."
"Actually," said Taranee, "time travel is possible. All those warnings about causing a disaster in time by meeting yourself is all fiction, so this Sora may indeed be from the future."
"Prove it!" said the real Sora, "if you're me from the future, then prove you're not a fake."
"If I were a fake," said the other Sora, "would I be able to do this?" he summoned a Keyblade, exactly like the one used by the real Sora.
Sora then summoned his Keyblade and compared it to the one wielded by the other Sora, "they're the same," he said in a disturbed yet amazed tone, "they're perfect matches."
"I'm not convinced," said Donald. He looked at the other Sora, "what did Goofy and I say to you when we met in Traverse Town? When we talked about going to look for Riku and Kairi."
"That your ship ran on happy faces," said the other Sora, "and I did this!" he then smiled in the same silly way he did on that fateful day in Traverse Town.
"That's Sora alright!" said Goofy as he and Donald laughed.
"Well I'm not convinced," said Aiden stubbornly, "alright, answer this; why can't I go home to The State yet?"
"Your faith in Equivalent Exchange," said the other Sora, "Aiden, you believe that since you gained the power of the Keyblade, as well as a whole lot of alchemy stuff in your head, you had to give up something, your home and your friends. Also, since you can identify the new Princesses of Heart, you feel that you can't go home until you've found all seven."
"He's Sora alright," said Aiden.
"Riku," said the other Sora, "back home, on the islands, when we were putting the raft together, we had a race. I said that if I won, I'd be captain. You said that if you won, you'd get to share a Paopu fruit with Kairi."
"That's right!" said an astonished Riku.
"And Kairi," said the other Sora, "when we rescued you from the old Hollow Bastion, after I told you that you had to stay in Traverse Town so I could go save Riku from the Heartless of Xehanort, but we thought he was Ansem at the time, you gave me your Thalasa shell charm for luck, and I gave it back when we all got back home."
The other Sora pulled out another Thalasa shell charm, but one made of red and yellow shells, "you gave me this not too long ago."
Sora also pulled out his red and yellow Thalasa charm and compared it to the one held by the other Sora, "it's the same again, he's me alright!"
"But how?" a confused Kairi asked, "and why? If you're really from the future, why did you come back in time?"
"To warn you all," said the other Sora in a serious tone. "First of all, Reddik, Rakel, Erika and Konrad are all here on Metamore. I don't know exactly when they got here, but they're now working with Phobos."
"I should have known those creeps would get involved," said an irate Aiden.
"It's worse," said the other Sora, "there are two other Hakonians who were working with Phobos before the other four got here. First there's Nikolai; a really strong and merciless warlock. He's the one working with Phobos to build some kind of alliance with Maleficent.
"The other is Katarina. She's a total airhead but really strong," he looked at Ranma in a grave tone, "really strong. She nearly kills you."
"Uh…okay," said Ranma in an unsure tone, "umm…thanks for the warning, I guess."
"I'm not done yet," said the other Sora, "in less than 2 hours or so, Phobos and Nikolai will figure out where the rebel camp is. They'll send Reddik, Rakel, Erika and Konrad with a horde of Heartless, enemy soldiers and other local monsters and baddies. Oh, they've also got Nobodies as well."
"Great," said an irate Riku, "now we get to fight Nobodies again.
"Just our luck," muttered Donald.
"It's still worse," said the other Sora, "not for all of us, but for you in particular, Riku. Will used the double portals to get the rebels to another safe place, while my friends and I held off the enemy. Things got really rough and more than a handful of rebels don't make it, especially after that big Heartless is called in."
"What big Heartless?" Sora asked.
"I think he means the big one that we fought and lost to," said a slightly nervous Will.
"Yes," said the other Sora, "it was that big one; the Chimericon. But this time we all were ready for it," he looked at Sora and the others, "that big one has a weak spot at the back of the neck. I used some of Tink's pixy dust to attack it directly and I hit it in the right spot to cause it to nearly fall out of the air. Hit it enough times in the back of the neck and it'll go down for good."
"Of course, the back of the neck!" said Taranee, "why didn't we figure it out before?"
"I think it was because we were getting our butts kicked," said Irma, "but I could be wrong."
"That's a good reason," said Hay Lin.
"So we kill that big Heartless," said Kairi, "that's good, right?"
"If only the battle ended there," said the other Sora in a grave tone. He looked at Riku, "I'm sorry to say this, but at some point in the fight, Tess will be killed."
At that everyone was stunned into silence.
"I die?" Tess asked in a slightly terrified tone after a minute or so, "how does that happen?"
"It was Cedric," said the other Sora, "he saw you. Well, not really saw you, but he saw that getting splashed with blood while invisible is as good as painting a target on you. That big snake monster grabbed and bit you."
"And Cedric's venom is what will do me in," said Tess, "if I don't bleed to death first."
"No, the poison is what kills you," said the other Sora.
"Of course," sighed Tess, "not exactly how I planned to end it, but…at least I'll have the chance to take that scaly bastard with me, right?"
"He kills you before you get a chance to defend yourself," said the other Sora in a matter of fact tone.
"Oh," said Tess in a deflated tone.
"I won't let that happen!" exclaimed Riku, "now that we know what goes wrong, we'll make sure that it doesn't go wrong."
"Speaking of which," said the other Sora as he looked at Ranma, "that guy you told us about, Happosai's godson who turns into a monster, he's here as well."
"Pantyhose Taro?" a shocked Ranma asked, "how'd that happen?"
"I don't know," said the other Sora, "during the battle, he said something about Maleficent promising to make Happosai change his name."
"Good luck with that!" said Ranma, "okay, so the nylon freak is here, not really all that surprising. So, what happens? Do we fight at all?"
"You managed to hold him off long enough for the rest of us to get away through the double portals," said the other Sora, "that fight ends in a draw, but the really bad part happens later.
"After everyone rests for a bit, Will uses the double portals again to get inside the castle at Meridian. We managed to reach Elyon in her room, while at the same time Caleb sent word to the palace guards who had sided with that one soldier that Will and the others helped."
"Tynar," said Will.
"Yeah," said the other Sora, "He and a whole lot of other soldiers rose up and began fighting the soldiers and monsters loyal to Phobos. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but when we got to Elyon's room, we found that she wasn't alone; that other Hakonian, Katarina, was with here, as well as another girl, named Miranda. She turns into some kind of spider creature."
At that Blunk cried out in terror, "no! Not good! Very bad! Spider people who can look like people are kind of monster that eat Passlings!"
"Oh good," said Irma sarcastically, "we can use you as bait to lure her away."
"We actually did that," said the Sora, "Blunk lured Miranda out of the room. Kairi and I then went inside and told Elyon that Cornelia needed to talk with her, that it was a matter of life or death.
"Being so under Phobos' thumb as she was, Elyon was adamant about never wanting to talk to Cornelia," he looked at said Earth Guardian, "you told me before we went in to tell Elyon that all you wanted was five minutes of her time and she would never have to see you or any of the other girls again. Elyon reluctantly said yes at that.
"All this time Katarina sat there watching us as if it were some kind of really gripping soap opera. Anyway, Cornelia came in with Phobos' Book of Secrets, we went back to Hay Lin's place to get it by the way. To make a long story short, Cornelia and Elyon argued over who was good and who was bad. Cornelia then put her foot down by showing the magical recordings of Phobos' plans that were in his book.
"Hearing his own evil from his own lips convinced Elyon that her brother was evil and that she had been deceived. It left her devastated, but when Will and the others came in and told Elyon that they had to get her out of there, Elyon didn't resist. By then Katarina realized what was going on and attacked, breaking Kairi's arm in the process."
"Which arm?" Kairi asked in an uncomfortable tone as she first held her right arm then her left.
"Left," said Sora, "but then Ranma came in and fought Katarina. That's when things began to get crazy. Miranda must have sounded the alarm and the corridors were soon crawling with Heartless and Nobodies. By then Tynar and his soldiers were fighting the other soldiers, while the rebels were storming the castle.
"Reddik and the other Hakonians showed up, as well as Nikolai, Cedric and Phobos. At the same time, Caleb and the other Rebels were fighting their way to us from below, while Tynar and his forces had the enemy soldiers on the defensive. Caught between three forces, Phobos and the other baddies were soon backed into a corner. Things really started to go bad for Phobos when Elyon pulled herself together and started blasting Heartless and Nobodies. She can be really scary when angry."
"We know that first hand," said Taranee, while Will, Irma, Cornelia and Hay Lin nodded in agreement.
"I'll bet Elyon had every right to be angry," said Kairi, "she just learned the truth; that not only had she been deceived into betraying her friends, but that her brother was also planning to kill her."
"Exactly," said the other Sora, "Elyon said that Phobos was done, forever. Phobos then tried to beg for his life, saying that he was her brother. Elyon responded by saying that Phobos was never her brother."
"That's Elyon for you," said Cornelia, she then looked at the other Sora somberly "but that's when things started to go bad for us, right?"
"I'll bet that's when Phobos used something really powerful and terrible," said Hay Lin, "like another really, really strong Heartless."
"Actually, no," said Sora, "he didn't get a chance. Phobos used something worse than a Heartless, something much worse. With no way out, Phobos used his magic to release something terrible from the dungeons, something so evil and diabolical that we were completely overwhelmed before we knew what had happened."
"What was it?" Sora asked in a slightly fearful tone.
"Phobos said that it was a Wamphyri Lord," said the other Sora, "that thing called itself Dmitri, but it looked like some kind of vampire. Whatever it was, it was really, really strong and fast. Our Keyblades could barely scratch it, and the attacks Will and the other Guardians used kept missing, it was so fast.
"Pantyhose Taro then splashed himself with cold water. It was horrible, not as horrible as that Wamphyri, but seeing this huge monster that looked like a yeti, a bull, and eel, a crane and a octopus, it cause nearly all the rebels and defecting soldiers to lose heart and run, or, they tried to run, before Cedric and the other baddies began murdering them one by one. Caleb, Tynar and the other rebel leaders tried to hold things together, but then Cedric slithered in and crushed Tynar, then he bit Caleb."
"No," said a distraught Cornelia.
"Just how bad are things going to get?" Ranma asked in an exasperated tone.
"Pretty bad," said the other Sora, "right after Caleb died, you die. That really strong Hakonian, Katarina, she breaks your neck."
"Killed by a really evil girl," said Ranma as he reflexively touched his neck with his hand, "and here I thought Akane and the others were a nightmare."
"I wish it was a nightmare," said the other Sora, "but it only keeps getting worse. Right after Ranma died, that Wamphyri, Dmitri, did something that sealed all our fates. He grew these…tentacles…out of his hands and used them to suck the life out of The Guardians," he looked at said girls, "first Hay Lin, then Cornelia, Taranee, Irma and finally Will. He grabbed you, stuck those tentacles into you and completely drained you of blood and magic."
"You're kidding," said a shocked and appalled Taranee asked, "please tell me that you're kidding."
"It can't be," said an unsteady Hay Lin, "we…we're the Guardians for crying out loud! We can't lose to some lousy vampire!"
"This isn't happening," said Irma as she sat down and hugged herself, rocking back and forth, "this just isn't happening."
"I knew we should quit while we had the chance," said Cornelia in a hopeless tone, "we shouldn't have gotten our powers in the first place."
"Oh come on!" exclaimed an irate Will, "so we're going to be killed by a vampire, or whatever that thing is. So what? Sora went back in time to tell us this so we don't die. If we know what's going to happen, then we can change it."
"She's right," said Matt, "I may not be a big science fiction fan, and come to think of it, my science grades aren't that good either, but I do know that just knowing something is going to happen can change it."
"Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey," said Kairi, "the future isn't set. If you know what's going to happen, you can change it if you act quickly."
"I'm still not finished," said the other Sora. He then gasped in agony and doubled over, all the while his body seemed to flicker and become transparent slightly.
"What's wrong!" Sora asked, "What's happening to you?"
"I'm running out of time," said the other Sora as his body solidified again and he stood up, "my body is almost out of energy, and when I'm out of energy, I'll fade out of existence, like the others."
"What happened to us?" Kairi asked, "I mean, what's going to happen to us?"
"It's Elyon," said the other Sora, "when she saw Cornelia and the other Guardians die, she completely lost it, and I mean she really lost it. Her powers went completely berserk. There were these…discharges of magical energy that destroyed everyone and everything they touched, the good and the bad. Cedric got fried, while Pantyhose Taro got cut in half.
"But those discharges also wiped out the handful of rebels left. Phobos then made his move and used some sort of dark magic that tried to suck out Elyon's magic. His greed only made things worse. Elyon's out of control magic caused Phobos' powers to backfire and go berserk as well."
"I guess that makes sense," said Taranee, "Phobos and Elyon may be polar opposites at heart, but they're still the same blood. If Phobos tried to take Elyon's powers when hers were out of control, then his would go out of control as well. But…"
"But if they both went out of control," said Will, "then their magic would cause a double feedback against each other, building up until…"
"Kaboom," said the other Sora, "both Elyon and Phobos exploded. The whole world was completely blown to pieces. Kairi, Riku, Aiden, Roxas, Naminé, Donald, Goofy and myself escaped through the Möbius Continuum, but we were hit by the shockwave of the explosion just as we jumped. It left us nearly exhausted and unable to get back to the real world. But we didn't care about getting back. We had lost, for the first time ever, we had failed to save a world."
"Goodness," said a shocked Kairi.
"It can't be…" said a nearly speechless Naminé, while Roxas merely shook his head in denial.
"We're going to lose," said Aiden in a distant tone, "we fail."
"I always knew that we'd eventually fail," said Riku, "in some way or another, but…not like this."
"You were trapped in the primal darkness?" Sora asked, "how did you get out?"
"Didn't you hear what future you just said?" Aiden asked, "it doesn't matter how he got out of the Möbius Continuum. We're going to freaking lose!"
"No we're not!" said Sora in a defiant tone, "if we were, then I would have gone back in time to warn ourselves so we don't lose this time around."
"Exactly," said the other Sora. He then gasped in pain again and doubled over as his body began fading out of existence again.
"Can't we do anything to help?" Hay Lin asked.
"That's what we're trying to do," said Kairi as she ran over and began pouring healing magic into the other Sora, while Donald and the original Sora used Heal spells. This alleviated the other Sora's pain, but his body was still slightly transparent.
"I'm almost out of time," said the other Sora, "I'd better finish. There we were, trapped in the primal darkness, feeling very sorry for ourselves and waiting for our bodies energies to run out.
"But then Kairi had this really great idea. If the Möbius Continuum could be used to traverse space, why not time? It didn't take us long to figure out how to open a door to the past. We could go back in time and warn ourselves.
"But there was still the problem of us. None of us had enough energy to survive back in the real world. The second we left the primal darkness, we'd fade out of existence forever.
"That's when Riku offered to give me the last of his energy so that I could go back. Kairi, Aiden, Roxas, Naminé, Donald and Goofy all offered the last of themselves so I could complete the mission. I didn't want them to sacrifice themselves, but they insisted. They all said that I would have the best chance of convincing our past selves that I was telling the truth.
"Everyone then gave me their last bit of power. I can't tell you how horrible it was to see my friends fade out and disappear, but it happened. I was alone in the darkness, but I still had hope that I could save everyone. I then found the right door to the past, opened it, and the rest is history."
"Well your mission was a success," said Sora, "we completely believe you."
"Now that we know where things go wrong for us," said Riku, "we can change the future for the better."
"Thank goodness," said the other Sora as he sighed with relief. His body then turned even more transparent.
"Wait!" said Sora franticly, "you can't go!"
"We can save you," said Kairi as she pulled out several Mega Potions.
"It's too late for me," said the other Sora. By now his body was almost completely gone, "I'm finished, but you're not. You're all going to be okay now, and that's all that matters." He smiled as his body finished fading out of existence. But as he faded for the last time, the other Sora had one last thing to say, "be careful around that Whampyri, he's as dangerous as all the Villains we've fought before put together!" And with that he was gone.
There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone tried to piece together what just happened.
It was Irma who broke the silence, "that was freaking weird."
"Gee, it must be 'Obvious Day' at 'Camp Stupid,'" said Cornelia.
"I still can't believe that we're going to lose," said Aiden.
"We're not going to lose," said Sora stubbornly, "we're still going to win this."
"And what if we do lose?" Caleb asked, "what if even knowing the future still can't change it? What if we still all die and the whole world dies with us?"
"Well," said Sora, "then I'll just have to go back in time again. The other me said that Kairi figures out how to us the Möbius Continuum for time travel."
"I'm sure I can figure it out again if I have to," said Kairi, "wait, I mean I'll figure it out for the first time…I…great, now I'm confused."
"Let's just focus on getting things right this time around," said Will, "first of all, we now know how to destroy that big Heartless, that Chimeracon. Second, we need to find another safe place to get everyone to. That other Sora said that the enemy is going to find this camp soon and launch an attack."
"I think I may know of a place," said Tess, "about 8 months ago, when I was still on my killing spree, I fell off of a wet roof and broke my arm. And being that it was raining, even being invisible, I could still be seen by my outline in the water. The area of the city was crawling with soldiers so I had to hide. I took refuge in an abandoned shack, but it was only a matter of time before I would be found.
"I then found by pure chance a trapdoor that lead to some sort of underground chamber, and what a chamber it was. It looked big enough to hold thousands of people, like it was a meeting hall or something."
"You must have found another part of the Infinite City," said Caleb, "there are still parts of that place that haven't been explored yet by neither us or the enemy."
"Well the enemy didn't find it," said Tess, "and no one else did. I waited in that chamber until things calmed down outside, which happened to be a week or so. I had some emergency supplies with me so I was alright on food and water, but my arm wasn't healing right, and I wasn't feeling completely healthy either.
"I got out of the city, went to a healer that I knew was safe as soon as I could and found out that my arm had to be broken again so it could heal right. To make matters worse, I had gotten sick enough to be bedridden for three months. Once I was well I spent the next five months getting back into shape.
"I went back to Meridian and found out that The Guardians were there and that Elyon was there as well. Of course, being absent for eight months had caused the enemy guards to become careless, as if they had forgotten about me, or maybe they thought I was dead.
"Either way, I got back to work and soon the guards knew that The Razor was back. This was around the time The Heartless started showing up, which made things a lot harder for me. Last week was the worst as I wound up being cornered by a lot of those things."
"That's when we saved you," said Hay Lin.
"Which I am eternally grateful for," said Tess, "being saved by The Guardians allowed me the chance to realize that my life does have value and that I can make something of myself, other than a coldhearted killer," she looked at Riku with grateful eyes, "you helped me realize the value of my heart, thank you."
"Any time," said a smiling Riku.
"Can you find this underground chamber again?" Will asked, "I can use the double portals to get everyone there."
"Absolutely," said Tess.
"I'll start the evacuation going," said Caleb, "my men won't like it, moving camps again so soon, but there's no choice."
"We'll get ready for the attack," said Riku, wile Aiden, Donald, Goofy, Roxas and Ranma nodded in agreement, "if the Hakonians are coming, I want to give them a welcome they'll never forget."
"In the meantime we should go back to my place," said Hay Lin, "we're going to need the Book of Secrets if we're going to save Elyon."
"That's another thing," said Will, "the other Sora said that we do convince Elyon of the truth, but we still lose. I wonder if we change the plan somewhat, can we change the future enough so we don't die. I think we need to forget about taking the book to Elyon; we need to get Elyon to the book. We need to get her out of the castle."
"In other words," said Sora, "away from Phobos."
"As far away as we can," said Will.
"How are you going to do that?" Cornelia asked, "the only think I can think of is outright kidnapping."
"We may have to do that," said Will, "but first thing's first. Hay Lin, let's go back to your place and get the book." She held up The Heart of Kandracar and opened a portal.
"I want to go along," said Sora, "you said that your grandmother was a Guardian, Hay Lin. Maybe she knows something about Wamphyri."
"That's a good idea," said Kairi, "I'd like to go as well."
"I don't know if she knows anything about vampires," said Hay Lin, "but it couldn't hurt to ask."
"Then let's go ask her," said Kairi. With that she, Sora, Hay Lin and Will stepped into the portal. On the other side was a typical basement found in any home in the world. But this basement had all sorts of dry goods associated with a Chinese-themed restaurant.
"I know where the book is!" said Will.
"And I'll go get my grandma!" said Hay Lin. The two girls then ran upstairs.
"Are you okay, Kairi?" Sora asked.
Kairi sighed, "Well, aside from being told that my friends and I are going to die in a few hours, I'm doing quite well. How about you, Sora?"
"I just saw myself fade out of existence," said Sora in a slightly unsteady tone, "and it'll happen again if we don't do things right this time around. I'm surprised I haven't lost my mind by now."
"I'm surprised any of us are still sane after everything that's happened," said Kairi.
"Yeah," said Sora, "you know, it's times like this when I'm hopping around time and space with my friends, battling the darkness, never knowing if I'll live to see tomorrow or not, all the while worrying about what to get for your birthday, that I really wish I'd listen to what my dad tried to tell me when I was little."
"Why?" Kairi asked, "what'd he say?"
"I don't know," said Sora, "I didn't listen."
Just then Will came down the stairs with a large, leather-bound book in her arms. The book was secured with a leather strap and an elaborately crafted metal lock.
"That's the Book of Secrets?" Kairi asked.
"You'd better believe it," said Will, "it took us forever to try and get it open. But that was before we got The Seal of Phobos."
"What's that?" Sora asked.
"It's like the opposite of The Heart of Kandracar," said Will, "it's a magical item that can open portals. When my friends and I first got our powers, the crystal could only close portals, but when we got The Seal, it got absorbed into The Heart, so now we can do both. The Seal can also open just about any lock, including a book secured by magic."
"That's how we learned about Phobos' evil plans for Elyon," said Hay Lin as she came down the stairs. With her was a elderly Asian woman, apparently in her early to mid 60's. She had graying black hair and wore a green and blue robe.
"Guys," said Hay Lin, "this is my grandma, Yan Lin, former Air Guardian, and the best cook in Heatherfiend. Granma this is…"
"Sora and Kairi," said a smiling Yan Lin. She walked over to our heroes and shook their hands, "It's been so long since I last saw you and the others. How are Riku and Aiden?"
"Uh…they're fine," said a confused Sora.
"And how are Donald and Goofy?" Yan Lin asked, "are those two still as funny as ever?"
"I…guess so," said a confused Kairi, "how do you know us?"
"Of course I know you," said Yan Lin, "we met long ago. You must have traveled in time again, so you're naturally confused. So, how are the others?" she then looked like she had made a serious mistake, "oh, wait, have you met Renesmee yet?"
"Who's Renesmee?" Sora asked, "and who are these others? Are you talking about Ranma?"
"I didn't meet Ranma back then," said Yan Lin gravely, "you all told us about Ranma, but no, we didn't meet him. I've said too much already."
"What are you talking about, Grandma?" a confused Hay Lin asked.
"I think I may know," said Will, "I could be wrong, but, I think that Yan Lin met Sora and the others back when she was a Guardian, and they're going to meet her much later."
"You mean we'll meet Yan Lin in her past," said Kairi, "but in our future. Of course, Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey."
"Exactly," said Will.
"It's true," said Yan Lin, "when I was much younger, my friends and I, the Guardians before my granddaughter and her friends, we too fought our share of evils. One evil was so great that we had help from the future in order to defeat it. But I won't say anything else about the past, it may damage the future."
"Uh…no," said Sora, "I'm not going to ask about that. Any more messing with time and my head will explode. Let's just talk about what needs to be talked about."
"Grandma," said Hay Lin, "when you were a Guardian, did you ever have to fight a Wamphyri?"
"A Wamphyri?" Yan Lin asked. She thought about it, "no, I can't say that I did fight one. But I've heard a lot about those horrible creatures. Why do you ask?"
"We've got a very good reason to think that Phobos has one locked up in the dungeons," said Will, "and that if he's backed into a corner, Phobos will use that Wamphyri. We're really going into this blind, Mrs. Lyn. From what we know, one Wamphyri could kill the five of us without breaking a sweat, that is…do vampires sweat?"
"Not Vampires, but Wamphyri aren't exactly Vampires themselves," said Yan Lin, "there are many types of creatures that shun the sun and sustain on blood. Some vampires are unharmed by sunlight but avoid it because sunlight reacts with their skin in a dazzling and highly noticeable way. These vampires can survive on animal blood and can be very good people.
"But the Wamphyri are something else, something much darker and much, much more dangerous. A Wamphyri is actually a human or an animal that's been infected by a parasite that turns the host into a monster out of your worst nightmare. The parasite completely merges with the host and grants the host incredible powers; superior strength and speed, heightened senses, shape shifting powers, that's where the legends about vampires turning into wolves and bats come from.
"Their shape shifting abilities also allow them to increase the total mass of their bodies; extra limbs or pseudo-limbs. This pseudo-flesh can grow extra eyes and be used to search for prey.
"Wamphyri are highly sensitive to sunlight. It can't kill them at first, but they will burn to ashes if left out in the daylight for too long. If you can tie down a Wamphyri and expose it to sunlight, eventually it will die.
"They're also highly allergic to garlic, but that can only slow it down. A wooden stake or iron shaft through the heart can paralyze it long enough to use silver, for silver most effective in inflicting damage. Silver chains are the only bindings that can hold the creatures and a silver-plated sword can remove the head with a near perfect guarantee. But fire is the most effective means to destroy both the vampyric host and the parasite that is the true Wamphyri.
"Three things to remember; The Stake to immobilize, The Sword to reveal the parasitical leach within, and The Flame to destroy both monsters."
"This is all good stuff, Mrs. Lyn," said Kairi, "okay, if we see this Wamphyri, we can destroy it."
"There's more to know," said Yan Lin, "the bite of the Wamphyri is highly infectious. One bite, one scratch, and the essence of the monster will pass into you and you will become an undead abomination as well. Also, the pseudo-flesh can be used not only to also drain blood from the creature's victims, but also life energy."
"We know about that," said Will. She shuddered at the memory of what the other Sora told of her fate and the fates of her friends.
"Well the pseudo-tentacles can also carry the infection," said Yan Lin, "if you are going to fight a Wamphyri, then make sure you don't let it touch you at all and I mean it. A single scratch can pass the infection, but also any of the creature's fluids; saliva or blood or…well, you're not going to get close enough to it in order for it to do 'that' to you. And whatever you do, don't let it get into your mind. Wamphyri are notorious for having all sorts of weird powers, but some of them can use psychic attacks."
"We were warned about that as well," said Kairi, "okay, I think we've got it straight now; impalement, decapitation and incineration."
"And don't let it bite or touch you," said Sora, "we got it now."
"We've got to go back now, Grandma," said Hay Lin, "things are really starting to get crazy on the other side."
"Crazier than normal?" Yan Lin asked.
"Things haven't been normal for any of us in a while," said Will as she held out the Heart of Kandracar and opened a portal back to Metamore.
"Tell the others I wish them all the luck in the world," said Yan Lin.
"We'll do that, Grandma," said Hay Lin. She and Yan Lin hugged deeply, "I'm not ashamed to say it, Grandma, I'm scared."
"I'm scared to, my little Hay Lin," said Yan Lin, "who wouldn't be? Heartless, Wamphyri and Hakonians all in one package? You'd have to be some kind of nutcase not to be afraid."
"How'd you know about the Hakonians?" Kairi asked, "oh wait, we're going to tell you in our future."
"You'll tell me a lot," said Yan Lin, "the next time I see you Keyblade Wielders, I'll look a lot younger and I won't know you. But I'll know you in my heart, for with us Guardians, matters of the heart transcend past and future."
"You're right about that," said Sora, "after all, Wibbly-Wobbly…"
"…Timey-Wimey," siad a smiling Yan Lin, "you told me that as well."
"Let's go before someone's head does explode," said Will.
"Go," said Yan Lin, "I know you'll all win."
"We'll try our best," said Kairi, while Sora and Hay Lin nodded in agreement. With that they and Will entered the portal and emerged back at the rebel camp.
"Any luck?" Riku asked as he ran up to them, "Aiden and the others are preprinting a little welcome present for the baddies."
"Hay Lin's grandmother told us all about Wamphyri," said Sora, "what they are and how to destroy them."
"And we got a lot else," said a slightly exasperated Kairi, "way more than we asked for. We'll tell you all about it when the others get back."
Just then Caleb ran up, "everyone's getting ready to move camp again.
"Then here's what we're going to do," said Riku, "Tess, you tell me and Kairi about that chamber you found. We'll take Will with us to that chamber via the Möbius Continuum and then Will's going to use the double portals to get everyone to that chamber."
"Sounds like a plan to me," said Will.
"I'm ready when you are," said Tess.
"Wait," said a grinning Aiden, "I just had a brilliant idea for the coming battle."
"What's the idea?" Sora asked.
"I'll tell you all when the battle gets started," said Aiden, "trust me, it's going to be great."
"There they are," said Rakel as she used a crystal ball to search the countryside, "I've found the rebels. And as luck would have it, I've also found the rest of the vermin."
"The Guardians and the Keyblade Wielders," said Phobos, "all of them in one place."
"And ripe for the slaughter," said Cedric. He then morphed into his serpentine form. "I am in the mood for sssome bloodletting."
"Nice," said an impressed Pantyhose Taro, "But I've got one better. Anyone got a glass of cold water?"
"You!" Phobos snapped at a nearby servant, "fetch him some cold water! Now!"
"And some hot water while you're at it!" said Pantyhose Taro. The servant quickly brought two goblets, one filled with cold water, the other with hot water.
"Check this action out," said Pantyhose Taro as he took the goblet filled with cold water. He splashed himself and before everyone's eyes, turned into his chimerical form.
"Impressssive," said Cedric.
"Wait till you see what we can do," said Reddik, while Konrad and Erika nodded in agreement. Erika then splashed Pantyhose Taro with the hot water, turning him back into a human.
"I know of your abilities already," said Nikolai, "but, yes, the point has been made. Our enemies are doomed."
"Then prepare to attack," said Phobos, "I want this issue to be finished once and for all!"
"How's the evacuation going?" Kairi asked.
"Not as fast as I'd like it," said Caleb as our heroes watched the rebels enter the portal Will opened. On the other side of this portal was the riverbank at Heatherfield. Next to that portal was another one that opened into the chamber that Tess found.
"There's a lot more of us than there were when we evacuated the Infinite City," said Cedric, "and more equipment that we can't leave behind."
"Well we'd better get things going faster soon," said Aiden as he, Roxas and several rebels who volunteered to stay behind while the rest of the rebels went through the portals first.
"The enemy attack could come at any time," said Roxas.
"Well bring them on," said Aiden, "I'm ready for them all."
Just then several Dark Corridors opened up about a hundred yards from the edge of the camp. From those emerged dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of Heartless and Nobodies and enemy soldiers. From the Dark Corridor in the middle emerged Reddik, Rakel, Erika, Konrad, Nikolai, Pantyhose Taro and Cedric.
"You just had to provoke them," said Irma to Aiden.
"Looks like the gang is all here," said Sora as he and the others summoned their Keyblades.
"Let's make sure nobody gets hurt," said Will as she held up The Heart of Kandracar.
"Except for the baddies," Hay Lin pointed out.
"Right," said Will, "except the baddies. Guardians Unite!"
"We need to hold them until all the rebels are safe," said Aiden, "otherwise my 'surprise' will get them and us as well."
"What's your surprise?" Roxas asked.
"You'll find out soon," said Aiden.
"It appears that they are expecting us," said Rakel.
"Could they have scrying abilities?" Konrad asked, "no, it's impossible that those peasants would have that power."
"It doesn't matter," said Pantyhose Taro, "I'll still crush Saotome!" He glared at Ranma, "Hey! Transvestite! I'm going to mess you up big time!"
"Like that's going to happen," said Ranma, "and why are you with these creeps, Nylon Freak?"
"We've offered him the chance to make his greatest wish come true," said Erika, "after we destroy the Keyblade Brats, and the Guardian Brats as well, we're going to drag your sorry ass to Maleficent. She's got her eye on you, Child of Chaos."
"Why does Maleficent want Ranma?" Kairi asked.
"None of your business," said an irate Rakel, "you brats are done for this time!"
"Enough talk!" hissed Cedric, "we ssshould attack now!"
"Nice friends you've got, Cedric!" said Will, "isn't Phobos enough anymore?"
"This banter is useless!" said Nokolai. He glared at our heroes, "Keyblade Wielders! Guardians! I am Nikolai Shadowstalker, the most powerful dark magic user in the Hakonian race!"
"And the biggest ego," muttered Erika.
"Long have I studied your exploits, Keyblade Wielders," said Nikolai, "so now I shall have the honor and privilege of destroying you, all for the glory of the mistress of all evil, Maleficent!"
"I'll say it again," Rakel whispered to Reddik, "Nikolai's no ally of ours."
"We'll take care of him when the time comes for us to make our escape," said Reddik.
"We need more time," said Caleb to Sora, "my men are moving as fast as they can, but we need a few more minutes."
"Leave it to me," said Sora. He then addressed the assembled baddies, "I got just one question for you, especially you, Cedric. Why does Phobos have a Wamphyri in the dungeons?"
"How did you know that!" exclaimed Cedric.
"You've got a Wamphyri in the dungeons!" exclaimed Konrad, Erika, Rakel and Reddik.
"That should buy is some time," Sora said to Caleb, "tell you people that this is their chance." Caleb nodded and ran to help finish the evacuation.
"Don't you know how dangerous Wamphyri are?" exclaimed Reddik, "one alone is capable of wiping out an army, while also creating an army of undead minions that are as equally devastating."
"The creature in the dungeon was there long before Phobos found it," said Nikolai, "he used the creature to obtain knowledge in the dark arts, especially on how to drain magic and life energy."
"So that's how Phobos did what he did!" said Taranee, "I've been wondering how he's been sucking the magic out of the world. I know it's dark magic, but he's using vampire lore."
"What difference does it make!" Pantyhose Taro asked, "let's just destroy them now and ask questions later!"
"I agree," said Reddik, "no more talk! The time for action is now!"
"I was afraid you'd say that," said Aiden as he hefted his Keyblade, "I had a special present prepared for you jerks, and had it made all around the rebel camp. I hoped to wait until the rebels had finished evacuating, but now's as good a time as any."
"I've got the feeling that we're going to need some shield spells," said Roxas to Sora, "I've got some prepared now."
"Right," said Sora.
"What are you talking about?" Rakel asked Aiden.
"You of all people should know my specialty is Alchemy," said Aiden, "so it really shouldn't surprise you that I transmuted the ground around the camp. Everything on the ground within half a mile out from the camp perimeter, every blade of grass, every rock and pebble, even the trees, has had a new element added to their molecular structure, and added in a way that doesn't destabilize their makeup, until that element is needed."
"And what would that added element be?" Reddik asked cautiously.
"Nitro Glycerin of course!" shouted Aiden. He held up his free hand, "and here's something Roy Mustang, The Flame Alchemist, would be proud of!" he snapped his fingers (insert finger snapping sound) and a large spark was made. That spark touched the ground outside the camp border.
"Wind!" shouted both Sora and Roxas. The combined power of three Keyblades created enough Aero spells to shield everyone from the massive blast that occurred when the spark ignited the Nitro infused in the ground and plant life.
Within seconds the area around the camp was a raging firestorm. Protected by the Aero spells, our heroes witnessed the destruction of nearly every Heartless, Nobody and enemy soldier that had come to destroy them.
Unfortunately none of the Villains were destroyed in the blast. A huge shield projected from Nikolai's staff protected him, Cedric, Pantyhose Taro and the other Hakonians.
"A bold and devastating move, Keyblade Alchemist," said Nikolai as the flames of the blast subsided, "but not good enough."
"You may have wiped out this wave of Heartless and Nobodies," said Reddik, "but there's plenty more where they came from!"
"In the meantime," said Konrad as he drew his rapier, "I do believe we have some personal scores to settle."
"You ain't kidding!" said Riku as he and Konrad glared at each other. Kairi faced Rakel, while Aiden faced Reddik, Sora faced Erika and Ranma faced Pantyhose Taro.
"I guess we'll handle old fang-face," said Cornelia as she and the other Guardians faced Cedric.
"I'd welcome your invitation, Guardiansss," hissed Cedric, "but I do believe an old friend of yoursss wissshesss to play."
High above our heroes appeared a really big Heartless, one that had a 40ft long dragon-like torso with two pairs of wings that easily had a 60ft wingspan. The creature had six legs that ended in razor-sharp talons and two forelegs that ended in scorpion claws. It had a long spiked tail and a head like a vulture with four eyes.
The giant Heartless screeched in rage as it began circling the area. It wasn't long before it saw the rebel camp and began to swoop down to attack.
"Chimericon," said a shocked Will, while Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin looked up with terror-filled eyes.
But then the frightened Guardians recovered their courage. "This time we win!" Will said defiantly, "this time it's personal!"
"Let's kick its butt!" shouted Irma, while Cornelia, Hay Lin and Taranee nodded in agreement. With that the five of them rose into the air and flew towards the giant Heartless.
"Hit it in the back of the neck!" Sora shouted after them. Unfortunately he didn't get to see if Will and the other Guardians heard him, for Erika had shot a stream of dark magic at him. Sora blocked the dark magic with his Keyblade, then retaliated with a Fireball spell.
Erika dodged the spell, then began throwing dark spheres at Sora, who blocked and dodged them. Sora briefly saw Roxas fighting the handful of Heartless and Nobodies still in the area.
Kairi was busy fending off Rakel, who was wielding two large switchblades, while Aiden and Reddik traded blasts of energy; Aiden shooting blasts of Alchemy, while Reddik shot blasts of dark magic.
Riku and Konrad were locked in a serious duel, each of them deadly serious about winning.
"Give it up, peasant!" snapped Konrad as he tried to run Riku through with his rapier, "you cannot beat me!"
"I seem to remember beating you before!" said Riku as he blocked Konrad's thrust, "and you got that scar from that fight!"
"I owe you one of your own!" shouted Konrad as he viciously slashed at Riku, but kept getting blocked.
Just then Cedric lashed out at Riku with his tail, knocking Riku to the ground.
"Hey!" said an outraged Konrad, "I was fighting him. Find your own peasant to fight!"
"Thessse petty rivalriesss are pointlesss!" hissed Cedric, "we are here to dessstroy thessse bratsss! Not exchange worthless wordsss!"
"I agree!" shouted Nikolai. He raised his staff and sent out a pulse of dark magic that knocked Sora, Kairi and Aiden off balance, allowing Erika, Rakel and Reddik to knock them all down.
"There is more at stake here than your personal issues," said Nikolai to his fellow Hakonians, "finish the brats off! Now!"
"You can't tell us what to do!" snapped Erika, "not me anyway! I'm my own person!"
"You have no authority over us, Nikolai!" said Reddik.
"But Maleficent does," said Nikolai, "and in her absence, I have authority. You four are still on Maleficent's probation list. One mistake and you will be back in your own personal hells again."
"No!" said a defiant and slightly terrified Rakel, "you can't put me under the anxieties again! I don't want to spend the rest of my life counting Heartless!"
"And Nobodies now," said Nikolai, "yes, you will be forced to count again, Rakel. And Konrad will have to clean the castle again, while Erika will have to carry her own weight, literally, and Reddik will be forced to endure the agony again."
"So that's what happened to you guys," said Kairi as she, Sora, Riku and Aiden, tried to get back up, "Maleficent punished you for losing to us. I can't help but feel sorry for all of you."
"Who asked your opinion, bitch!" exclaimed Erika as she shot a dark magic blast at Kairi.
But then Goofy got in front of Kairi and deflected the blast away.
Donald then jumped onto Goofy's shoulder and shot a massive Thunder spell at Erika, "Right back at you!"
Erika narrowly avoided the bolt of lightning, only end up getting smashed in the face by Goofy's shield. The impact knocked out two of Erika's teeth and sent her crashing to the ground.
"Gwarsh," said Goofy as he caught his shield, "that's gotta hurt!"
"And here's something else that will hurt," said Aiden. He then transmuted the ground underneath Reddik, Konrad and Rakel into glass. The three Hakonians soon found themselves unable to maintain their balance. Reddik fell on his arm and broke his wrist, while Rakel fractured her ankle and Konrad fell flat onto his face.
"Non-stick surface," said Riku, "nice."
Just then Cedric rushed at our heroes, roaring with rage, "I am not troubled by glassss!" He rushed at Riku, but before everyone's eyes, Riku disappeared.
"What!" exclaimed Cedric as he skidded to a halt, "how did that fool disssapear?"
"I think I know," said Kairi.
Sure enough, Riku reappeared a few yards away. Holding onto his arm was Tess.
"Wow," said Riku, "That was…something."
"Now you know what it's like to be invisible," said Tess.
Just then the two of them were blasted by a curse from Nikolai. Riku and Tess both fell to the ground stunned.
"Finish those two first, Cedric!" shouted Nikolai, "I will deal with the others myself!"
"Sssave one or two," hissed Cedric, "I feel that jussst two bratsss will not sssatisssfy my appitite!"
"No!" Riku said defiantly as he tried to stand up, "I…I won't let you hurt Tess!"
"You're not eating either of us, fang-face!" snapped Tess as she tried to stand up.
"You have no choice!" shouted Cedric as he slithered rapidly towards them, "you are dead!"
But then something happened that made Cedric completely top in his serpentine tracks and roar in pain, and that something turned out to be Blunk, who had jumped onto Cedric's tail and bit the scaly creature.
"You missserable little Passssling!" raged Cedric as trashed about to get Blunk to let go, "I'll crusssh you, you filthy smuggler!" He finally succeeded in dislodging Blunk.
"Wholesaler!" shouted Blunk as he went flying out of sight.
All this allowed both Tess and Riku to get back up. Riku then blasted Cedric in the face with his Dark Aura, completely disorienting the serpentine monster.
But then Riku and Tess had to dodge another stunning curse from Nikolai.
"Impudent fools!" shouted an outraged Nikolai as he sent out more stunning curses in all directions, "I'll destroy you all!"
"Destroy this, punk!" shouted Roxas as he shot a double Fireball spell at Nikolai. The warlock completely canceled the spells before they got close to him. Roxas then tried to blast Nikolai with both Thunder and Blizzard spells, but the warlock canceled the spells as well.
"Is that the best you can do?" Nikolai asked in a taunting manner.
"That's not what your mother said last night!" said Roxas in an equally taunting manner.
At that Nikolai's face twisted with rage, and Roxas realized he had made a serious mistake.
"Don't you say that about my mother!" shouted an outraged Nikolai. He aimed his staff at Roxas and blasted him with black lightning. Roxas deflected the deadly bolts with his Keyblades, but the dark magic of the attack had left him drained of energy.
"Nobody insults my mother and lives," said a highly irate Nikolai as he blasted Roxas again and again with black lightning, "nobody!"
"Well that's just what I am!" said Roxas as he blocked another bolt. The dark magic was still draining his power reserves, but he stood his ground, "I am a Nobody, so I guess I get to live after all, mama's boy!"
"Silence!" shouted Nikolai as he sent a huge bolt of black lightning at Roxas that succeeded in knocking him down.
"You're going to pay for insulting my mother," said Nikolai as he stood over Roxas with his staff raised for the killing strike, "and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Not me, maybe," said Roxas, who smiled despite his dire predicament, "but I know who can."
Just then Nikolai's expression of rage turned into one of confusion, "what…? What was I doing just now?" he lowered his staff, "come to think of it, where am I?"
"What just happened?" Tess asked as she, Riku and the rest of our heroes recovered from the dark magic attacks.
"I think I know," said a smiling Kairi.
"Nice going, Naminé," said Roxas.
"Any time," said Naminé. All along she had waited for a chance to use her powers on one of the villains. She had just finished drawing Nikolai's portrait.
"You made him forget," said Sora as he and the others looked at the still perplexed Nikolai, "awesome."
"It is cool," said Naminé, "but it won't last for long. I tried to make him forget everything, but he's got some serious mental defenses. The best I could do was confound him."
"So that's what you did, you witch!" spat Rakel as she, Erika, Konrad and Reddik got back up.
"That's right!" said Aiden, "we've beaten everything you creeps threw at us, and we'll beat everything else you got!"
"And it looks like our friends are doing great as well," said Kairi as she looked up and saw The Guardians flying circles around the Chimericon. Thanks to the warning from the other Sora, Will and her friends had managed to successfully hit the giant Heartless several times on the back of the neck and had delivered just about enough damage to finish it off.
But the giant Heartless had a few tricks left to play. Several hundred scales from its dragon body shot out and circled around the creature. The scales had razor edges and began circling around the creature so fast that Will and her friends couldn't get close without getting ripped to pieces.
"I think they need some help," said Riku.
"Then let's help them," said Sora, "we've got plenty of Pixy Dust. One of us can fly up and blast through those scales."
"We won't let you have the chance, brats!" spat Konrad, "you forget, we Hakonians have the power to merge with Heartless!"
"As if I'll ever forget," said Aiden.
"But you'll die because of it," said Sora, "that Ulrik guy died, and Rakel nearly died as well."
At that Konrad grinned viciously, "Which is why I will need some…'fortification,' before I undertake this dangerous move." Before anyone could react, he rushed over to Reddik and Rakel, grabbed them both and began draining them of their power.
"What the hell are you doing!" exclaimed Reddik as he and Rakel tried to break free of Konrad, but his grip was too strong. Before they knew it, Konrad had drained them of nearly all their magic and dark powers, leaving just enough for them to eventually recover later.
"As if I'll risk my life without taking precautions," said Konrad, "I took your powers, Rakel, in payment for what you did to me on The Death Stalker. And yours, Reddik, for stealing Rakel from me all those years ago."
His body already pulsing with the additional massive amounts of dark power, Konrad then turned on Erika, grabbed her and took her powers as well, "and you, Erika, because I don't like you!" He finished taking her power and left her to slump on the ground.
"You bastard!" snapped an exhausted Erika, "you damned bastard! I'll kill you for this!"
"Put it on my tab," said Konrad and the dark aura surrounding his body increased in magnitude. His powers quadrupled with stolen energy, Konrad shot into the air, past Will and her friends, through the whirling scale blades without a scratch, and landed in the back of the Chimericon.
"Prepare to face your doom, lowly fools!" shouted Konrad as he merged with the giant Heartless. The creature's size doubled, while four more wings grew out of the back. The spiked tail split into two, while another pair of scorpion claws grew from the first pair. Four more clawed dragon limbs crew while all of the limbs elongated and sprouted spikes.
But the most dramatic and grotesque change occurred with two more heads grew out from the body. Both new heads had four eyes, while the one on the left was like a jackal and the one on the right was like a shark.
Konrad's voice then emanated from the mutated creature, "Witness the power of the Hakonians!"
The vulture head then shot a blast of dark wind at The Guardians, while the jackal head shot a stream of dark fire and the shark shot a bolt of dark lighting. It was all Will and her friends could do to avoid the triple blasts.
"Okay, now they need our help," said Aiden, "who's got the Pixy Dust?"
"I got it!" said Sora as he sprinkled some on him, Goofy, Donald, Riku, Kairi and Aiden. Sora, Donald and Goofy easily rose into the air.
"How does this work again?" Aiden asked.
"Just think happy thoughts!" said Sora. He, Donald and goofy flew towards the mutated Chimericon. Sora threw a Strike Raid at the creature, cutting off one of it's elongated limbs.
"Meddling brat!" spat Konrad. The mutated Chimericon sent out a triple blast of dark fire from its three heads at Sora, but he flew out of the way. Donald retaliated by blasting one of the jackal's eyes out with a Thunder Spell, while Goofy crushed another elongated limb with his shield.
"Nice of you to join us!" said Will as she blasted one of the shark's eyes out.
"We were winning," said an irate Hay Lin as she sent a whirlwind at the creature to knock it off balance, "but then that jerk merged with the thing and now we're right back where we started from.
"Just goes to show that nothing ever really goes according to plan," said Taranee as she and Irma shout a double helix attack of fire and water at the creature's wings, burning one and breaking another.
"Filthy peasants!" spat Konrad. The three heads then shot spheres of purple liquid that exploded several yards out, expanding into clouds of poison gas.
"You're the sick one, my friend," said Irma as she flew out of the way of one of the poison gas clouds, "and I bathe all the time, thank you very much."
"She spends hours at a time in the tub," said Hay Lin as she used her powers to blow one of the poison gas clouds away.
"You'd think Irma would be a living prune by now," said Cornelia.
Sora and Donald blew several more poison gas clouds away with Aero spells, but one cloud was about to close in on Taranee.
But then a bolt of alchemic energy shot up and transmuted the poison into harmless oxygen.
"Way to go, Aiden!" said Sora as Aiden, Riku and Kairi rose up and hovered next to him.
"It was easy," said Aiden, "just as easy as finding my happy thoughts. When you've got fiends, you're never sad."
"Getting home is my happy thought," said Riku.
"Our first kiss," said Kairi as she winked at Sora. At that he blushed.
"Uh, people?" said Taranee, "we've still got to fight this thing!"
"It is useless to persist!" exclaimed Konrad as the mutated Chimericon began shooting bolts of dark magic from it's mouths, eyes, claws and tails. It was all our heroes could do to avoid getting blasted.
"We've got to hit it in the back of the necks!" shouted Sora.
"How do you know if it still has the same weakness!" Cornelia shouted.
"I have no weakness!" exclaimed Konrad, "I am the ultimate in Heartless/Hakonian fusion! I am invincible!"
Just then the three heads roared in agony. To the amazed eyes of our heroes and allies, the last five feet of one of the spiked tails fell to the ground
Tess then appeared behind the mutated Chimericon, flying, with her razor out. "If you're invincible, how come I just amputated your tail?"
"How'd you get up here?" a amazed Riku asked as Tess flew over.
"Your friend dropped some of that magic dust on the ground when he hit you and the others with it," said Tess, "you really ought to be careful with that stuff."
"Oh right," said Sora.
"What's your happy thought?" Kairi asked.
But before Tess could answer, the mutated Chimericon rushed at our heroes. Riku pulled Tess out of the way, then countered by throwing his Keyblade at the back of the jackal head, cutting it off.
Goofy threw his shield at the shark head. Sora and Donald both cast Thunder spells on the shield, electrifying it as it hit the back of the shark neck, cutting it off.
"We'll finish it together!" said Will, while Sora and Kairi nodded in agreement.
"I'll finish you!" shouted Konrad. The vulture head reared back for a massive dark magic blast, but then Sora and Kairi both threw Strike Raids at the exposed neck, damaging it.
Will then flew behind the head and delivered a massive blast that completely blew the head away. The decapitated Chimericon fell to the ground and completely shattered into countless pieces that soon dissolved into black smoke.
Our heroes landed just in time to see a large crystal heart rise up from the black smoke and vanish into the air.
"And that's that," said Will.
"I feel a lot better," said Taranee.
"Same here," said Cornelia, while Irma and Hay Lin nodded in agreement.
Just then our heroes saw something emerge from the dissipating black smoke, something that turned out to be Konrad, who looked like was about to keel over. His skin had turned ash gray and cracks were beginning to form on his face and arms.
"This cannot be!" exclaimed Konrad as he limped towards our heroes, still wanting to fight, "I…I cannot be defeated! I am of the Hakonian elite! I cannot be defeated!"
"Sorry to point out the obvious, pal," said Irma, "but you look like you're already dead."
"I hate zombies!" said a disgusted Taranee, while Hay Lin and Cornelia nodded in grim agreement.
"As long…as there's breath…in my body…" said Konrad as small flakes of petrifying flesh began to fall off of him, "I will…hate you all!" the then collapsed to the ground, causing more and more of his body to fall off.
"You're finished, Konrad," said Riku, "just like Ulrik."
"No!" exclaimed Konrad as his body began to completely fall apart, "I am not like Ulrik! I cannot die! I am Konrad Soulreaver!" his body collapsed onto itself and fell into dust, which blew away with the wind.
"That makes two Hakonians down," said Kairi.
"And four more to go," said Sora. He and the others looked at the still exhausted Rakel, Reddik and Erika, and the still perplexed Nikolai.
Jus then Sora and the others saw that Ranma and Pantyhose Taro were still fighting. The two martial artists seemed to be evenly matched as they exchanged blows, but our heroes knew, from Ranma's descriptions of Pantyhose Taro, that the dark martial artist was only waiting for the right moment to pull a dirty trick that would give him the upper hand.
Just then Caleb ran up, "everyone else is thought he portal, even Blunk."
"Well, you can't get everything you want," said Irma.
"If we're going to go, we should go now before Reddik and the others recover," said Riku, "and before they summon more Heartless and Nobodies."
"But what about Ranma?" Taranee asked, "I don't think he'd appreciate our breaking up his fight."
"Well he's just going to have to suffer," said Tess as she picked up a rock and threw it at Pantyhose Taro. The throw was timed just right so it hit the dark martial artist on the back of the head, distracting him enough for Ranma to get in a devastating punch that left Pantyhose Taro on the ground.
"We got to go, Ranma!" shouted Sora.
Ranma looked at the downed Pantyhose Taro, then looked back at our heroes and nodded in acknowledgement. He looked back at the dark martial artist, "we'll finish this later." With that he ran over to our heroes.
"We're not done, yet, Saotome!" spat Pantyhose Taro as he tried to get back up.
But by then our heroes were all back inside the now abandoned camp and had reached the portal. They went through, arriving in Heatherfield. Will closed that portal, then everyone went through the second portal back to Metamore. They arrived in the large underground chamber that Tess had found months earlier. All the Rebels were safely accounted for.
"Do any of you guys know how to block magical tracking?" Will asked as she closed the portal.
"So the enemy can't find us again," said Sora, "um, no, I don't know how to do that yet."
"I'm on it," said Donald as he began casting anti-spying wards on the chamber.
"That stupid bastard, Konrad!" snapped Erika as she, Reddik and Rakel recovered their energy, while Nikolai regained his senses, "that idiot! He deserved what he got, the stupid bastard!"
"I'm more concerned of what we'll get when Maleficent hears that we failed again," said Reddik.
"You mean you failed," said an irate Nikolai, "I had everything under control until you imbeciles showed up! This fiasco is your responsibility, not mine!"
"Oh shut up," said an annoyed Rakel, "I've had enough. I'm done with this whole mess. I'm done with The Heartless, I'm done with the Keyblade brats, I'm so done with Maleficent, and I'm especially done with you, Nikolai!"
"Same with me," said Reddik, "we're both done." he glared at Nikolai, "you want to destroy the brats so much, you're welcome to do it. Rakel and I are leaving, now."
"What?" exclaimed Nikolai, "you cannot abandon the cause! You cannot abandon Maleficent! When she hears of this treason…"
"That's your problem," said Rakel, "not ours, not any more."
"We were planning on leaving for a long time now," said Erika, "us and Konrad. We've realized that teaming up with Maleficent was a big mistake for us. You and Katarina can play slaves to Maleficent all you want. We're leaving."
"No, Erika," Reddik, "we're leaving, not you."
"What are you talking about?" Erika demanded, "of course we're all leaving. We planned it together."
"We did," said Rakel as she and Reddik closed in on Erika, "but then, plans do have a way of changing."
Before Erika could react, Reddik and Rakel grabbed her and started sucking the energy out of her. "What are you doing?" Erika screamed as her body weakened again, "we had an agreement!"
"Well we're backing out of that agreement," said Reddik, "Rakel and I need all the energy we can get if we're going to run from Maleficent. If Konrad hadn't stabbed us in the back, then we wouldn't have to stab you in the back like this."
"But don't feel sorry for yourself," said Rakel, "Reddik and I were going to leave you and Konrad behind anyway. You know what they say, three is a crowd. I don't know what four makes, but Reddik and I will be fine just by ourselves."
By then they had taken all of Erika's energy. They released her to fall to the ground, her skin having turned ash gray and had begun to crack and flake away.
"You bastards!" spat Erika as he body began to crumble into dust, "you'll pay for this! I may be dead, but someday, someday, you'll pay for this! Go ahead and run for your lives, 'cause if I know Maleficent, when she hears of this, she'll chase you across time and space to make you suffer!"
"We'll worry about that when the time comes," said Reddik. His body fortified by stolen energy, he opened a Dark Corridor, "let's go, Rakel, before Maleficent sends her dogs after us."
"Goodbye, Erika," said Rakel, "it's been a pleasure."
"Bitch!" spat Erika, "I hope you and your bastard boyfriend never have a moment of peace!" with that her body collapsed into dust, which blew away with the wind.
"And that's that," said Rakel. She and Reddik started towards the Dark Corridor
"Wait!" shouted Nikolai, "you can't leave! Maleficent will hunt you down!"
"We just said that we'd worry about that later," said Rakel, "you want to try and stop us?"
"I think he has other things to worry about," said Reddik, "like how he's going to explain this mess to Maleficent."
"Of course," said Rakel, "goodbye, Nikolai." With that she and Reddik entered the Dark Corridor which closed up after them.
Nikolai stood there, dumbfounded.
By then Cedric recovered and had reverted back to his human form, while Pantyhose Taro recovered as well.
"Now what?" Pantyhose Taro asked, "those bastards abandoned us, while the other bastards got away."
"Prince Phobos won't be please to hear of this fiasco," said Cedric as he brushed some dirt off of his robe.
"Neither will Maleficent," said Nikolai as he struggled to compose himself, "but this wasn't a complete disaster. There is still time to salvage the situation."
"How?" Pantyhose Taro asked.
Just then Nikolai smiled as a vile idea grew in his mind, "it all depends on how much Phobos wants to keep his Wamphyri pet locked up, verses how much he wants to defeat his enemies."
"Okay," said Sora as everyone sat down in one part of the huge chamber for a meeting, "all the rebels are safe and are settling in."
"Donald just finished setting up the anti-spying wards," said Kairi, "Phobos and the Hakonians won't be able to find us."
"And we've still got until tomorrow afternoon to figure out how to save Elyon without getting everyone killed," said Will.
"And we still have the Book of Secrets," said Hay Lin as she held said book.
"You said you had an idea, Aiden," said Riku, "so, what is it?"
"Well," said Aiden, "future Sora said that we took the book to Elyon and convinced her of the truth. But then everything goes wrong after that. I still think that Elyon needs to see the book, but instead of taking the book to her, we bring her to the book."
"And how are we going to do that?" Cornelia asked, "kidnap her?"
"That's exactly my plan," said a grinning Aiden, "we kidnap Elyon."
The end of chapter 7.
Next chapter, our heroes do just what Aiden just said. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!
