Chapter 9: Fated Encounter

~Valley of Peace: Gongmen City Jail~

Bursting to the jail with a loud crash, swinging both of the heavy doors open, Kioku, Spongebob, Patrick, accompanied by the Furious Five dashed into the building immediately coming in contact with prison guards, who're obviously not on their side. Kioku brandished his Keyblade and made short work of one of the guards, knocking him unconscious, with Po rolling in and taking out the other guard as well.

"Excellent," Tigress commented. Kioku turned to Monkey and Crane, "You guys keep watch for any signs of Shen's lackeys, or Heartless. Keep in mind that not all Heartless look the same, so watch out for glowing yellow eyes, or their black and red heart emblems." The teen explained, warning them of the potential of various breeds of Heartless and their notable features. "We'll go look for Master Ox and Master Croc."

Monkey nodded, "Got it."

Crane wriggled his wings and gave a brief nod, "Roger!"

And with that the seven of them strolled further into the jail in search of the masters. They peered into each cell, staring down one prisoner after the other, trying to identify the master's faces. Even though with Po, he'd spot them instantly, seeming as how he's such big fans of them both.

"Master Ox!" Kioku called, his voice raised loud enough for it to echo throughout the cell blocks. The others followed behind him, Po called the other master's name, "Master Croc!"

Walking further into the cell block, Po had discovered both Master Ox and Master Croc sitting inside the same cell, both of them looking rather melancholic and deathly defeated. The panda exclaimed happily as he raced to their cell and meet them, "No way! There they are! The kung fu legends themselves!"

Kioku reached out to him in an effort to slow him down, but he was already there in front of their cell. "Po!"

Even though Po looked at the two of them with great inspiration and valor, being in the presence of his captured heroes, who just sat in their cell and looked up pitifully, basking in their own self-guilt and pity, most likely from being unable to stop the weapon that killed their former friend and leader of Gongmen City. Kioku and the others caught up with Po and meeting up with them for the first time.

"Hey, we came to break you guys out!" Po explained quickly, "Oh man, I can't believe I'm really breaking out actual kung fu legends!" He said, blushing madly.

Patrick nudged Tigress, with Mantis on his shoulder. He whispered, "Po's getting kinda sweaty.."

Kioku walked up to the cell's door with his Keyblade in hand, looking back at Po with a face. "Alright, alright—keep your pants on will ya?" He rolled his eyes, dismissing Po's fangirlish attitude. He twirled his Keyblade and tapped on the door, causing it to swing open. "Nice to meet you guys, I'm Kioku." The boy introduced himself with a respectful nod.

He pointed a thumb to Po, "The excited school girl here, is Po, the Dragon Warrior."

"The sponge and the starfish are Spongebob and Patrick," The two waved in unison.

"And behind them, are the Furious Five." Kioku said, finishing the introductions. "And we've come to get you guys outta here, Gongmen City is in serious trouble."

Even though Kioku stated the obvious threat that was upon Gongmen City, his words were not enough to make either of the two stand up or give a glance of worry. Instead, they gazed up at the boy and his friends, taking in their different appearances, yet sharing the same determined, brazen faces. A few seconds passed and Kioku's optimistic smile drooped as the silence set in. "Sooo...You comin'?"'

The ox shook his head, "There is nothing we can do to stop them. If we stand up to Shen, he'll turn his weapon onto the city." The ox's words making Kioku sharpen his eyes into a glare. "Wait, what? What sense does that make—standing down in order to protect the city, you're only hurting everyone!"

Master Ox stood up and walked up to meet Kioku face to face, slamming the door closed, causing the boy to slightly flinch backwards. "That weapon, and those monsters. Only a fool would try to face something as demonic as the Heartless."

Kioku pointed to himself and his two friends, "Hi, I'm Kioku and these guys are Spongebob and Patrick! We've taken on both the Heartless and Vicky and beaten them both. We can do it a second time!" The teen argued. "Plus, if we had you two with us, then destroying that weapon shouldn't be a problem."

Master Croc growled, "Then do it yourselves. Kung Fu is finished." He said, his voice shifting in a melancholic tone.

Spongebob frowned and crossed his arms, "Hey! You call yourselves 'kung fu legends', yet you choose to sit in this cell and let down the whole city!" He scolded, disappointed at the attitudes of Po's heroes. The words of Spongebob had stunned Po as they should've with the two they were directed at, but he couldn't help but agree. "Spongebob is right, whatever happened to being heroes—making everyone happy?" Po asked.

Master Ox growled back, "The only hero in this town is a dead one! If you want to risk your lives to try and change the fate of this city, then be our guests!"

Irritation jolted through Kioku's body and his fist slammed against the cell with loud clang startling his team around him, his vigorous eyes peering into the defeated ox's. "Fine! Then if you want to stay here caged up in your own despair then be our guests." Kioku shouted, fuming with anger. "Y'know, for some supposedly being some high and mighty legends you guys sure are a couple of—"

"KA-CAW!"

The call of the crane from the entrance had interrupt the argument while also alerting them of the enemies. The door had burst open and wolf soldiers along with Heartless had begin to storm the jail, ambushing the heroes. Kioku and others got into defensive stances and looked around as their enemies surrounds and outnumbered them. The wolf soldiers cleared a path in the middle for Boss Wolf and another familiar face. Vicky walked alongside the wolf, smiling at Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick, whose appearance had probably made them even crabbier. The girl's shoulders bounced as she had started to giggle and then she covered her mouth as she laughed maniacally.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't twerp with the Keyblade and his aquarium pets." Vicky cackled, hurling one insult after the other. "Long time—no see." She winked, saluting the three of them with two fingers.

Kioku spit at the ground, "I thought Link and the others had finished you off back at Hollow Bastion. It was seven against two if I remember correctly?" He recalled, folding his hands behind his head. Vicky glanced at her nails, "Oh, them? We ended up retreating back to Plankton's home world."

Spongebob and Patrick gasped at the mentioning of their home, "B-Bikini Bottom?" The two had then brandished their own weapons.

"You had better not have harmed Princess Pearl, or any of the kingdom's citizens!" Spongebob threatened.

"What?" Vicky scoffed in a smug tone. "I didn't want anything to do with that place, however Plankton does have a little something in the works. Call it, Plan Z, with special help from moi." The girl giggled. "But I sure hope you weren't planning on taking a trip there, 'cause you guys ain't leaving." Vicky had then snapped her fingers, signaling for the wolf soldiers to seize them all. As they all put up a decent fight, they were easily outnumbered and cuffed.

"But before you guys die," Vicky taunted, "I want you all to see the demise of the city around you, at the palace!"

~Shen~

Inside of the throne room awaiting for the arrival of Po and Kioku, Lord Shen stood there with the Soothsayer, his wings gripping his lance with anticipation. His beak was curled into a nervous, jittery yet sadistic smile. If what the Soothsayer said was true, he would be defeated at the hands of them both. The peacock pondered, hiding his fear with a crumbling mask of confidence, how exactly strong the boy and the panda could be. What is this Keyblade—And just how powerful could it be?

"The time that you face the panda warrior and his Keywielding friend soon draws near, Shen." The goat announced calmly. "I sense fear in your heart."

The peacock pointed his lance at the Soothsayer, not moving her stagnant face. "I—am not...afraid." He said in a darker tone. "They'll be coming back to me in chains and in the custody of the Heartless. If anyone should be afraid, it's—"

"You." She interrupted. Lord Shen pushed the goat out of the way and approached the window, getting a view of the courtyard where he could see Kioku and the others being led in by Vicky and her Heartless, with Shen's grunts following them. "I'll change my fate. I will kill them both." Lord Shen bellowed, a dark energy flowing through them, causing the Soothsayer to look back at him with a face of concern.

~Gongmen City: Peacock Palace~

Kioku and the others were being lead into the palace, bound by tight cuffs that kept them tamed. The boy looked around, taking in the appearance of the royal palace of Gongmen City, a place that might be at the mercy of fate itself. He looked over at Vicky, who gave him her same scornful glare. "Move it, twerp." She spat as she shoved the boy up the stairs. After a lengthy climb, they had all reached the throne room, were both the Soothsayer and Lord Shen waited for them. However, the peacock stood in front of the window, his back facing them all. Vicky announced her arrival, "Yo! I'm back, as promised."

Sitting in the middle of the throne room was a large something, cloaked by a large tarp. Could this be Lord Shen's deadly weapon?

She shoved them all forward, with the Soothsayer approaching both Kioku and Po, observing them. "The warrior who wields the power of light in the shape of key, and the panda of fate." She said with smile. The goat grabbed both of their faces and squished their cheeks, "Ah, you both are as strong and as healthy as thought." She commented, causing the two to awkwardly glance at each other.

Lord Shen slowly turned around to face them, "So we meet at last, enemies of fate." The peacock smirked. Kioku and Po turned to themselves again, sharing a confused look. "He's talking to us, yeah?" Kioku asked the panda, who shrugged in response. He turned to Lord Shen, "Hey, you're Shen, right?"

The peacock nodded, "Yes, and from what Vicky has told me—you must be Kioku, the boy chosen by the Keyblade." He chuckled. "And you, panda, we finally meet at last."

Po scoffed, "Do I even know you, dude?" He said in an irritated voice, causing the peacock to laugh. "I believe me and your kind have known each other quite well, tell me—have you already plotted your revenge on me?" he asked, causing the panda to narrow his eyes.

"Shut the hell up!" Kioku shouted. He tried to make a dash towards Lord Shen, but was stopped by one of wolf soldiers."You're not getting away with this, just so you know."

Lord Shen laughed again, "Oh I think I will—Bring them all to me."

On command, the soldiers had grabbed them all and dragged them to the other side of the throne room, one of wolf soldiers had turned the cloaked object in the direction of Kioku and the others, with Lord Shen walking towards it. The soldiers had opened the balcony doors and stepped to the side. Lord Shen grabbed the tarp, "Under this tarp lies the weapon that will singlehandedly destroy Kung Fu," The peacock announced. "The weapon—that will end your lives."

He ripped the tarp off, revealing the large cannon that took down Master Thundering Rhino. It was gigantic, looking like one shot from it's large barrel would disintegrate anyone in it's path. Boss Wolf lit a match and lifted it towards the fuse, "Better say your prayers."

"Kioku, this isn't the end—is it?" Patrick whispered to his friend, his voice shaking.

Kioku shook his head, "The end? Nah." The teen replied nonchalantly. In a flash of light, Mantis had struck the match out of Boss Wolf's hand and knocked him away with another blow. Soon, in a turn of events, Tigress was freed from her bonds by Viper, and quickly freed everyone else from their cuffs. Kioku summons his Keyblade and spins around, Po ducking in time so that the Keyblade could strike an attacking wolf. Spongebob brandished his staff and knocks away another soldier with a flurry of explosive bubbles. Lord Shen grips his lance, a shocked expression on his face.

Vicky's fists glow with darkness, "Bastards. How did you—" She was then interrupted from her thoughts as she was struck by one of Patrick's shields.

"Get that cannon!" Kioku ordered as he came running towards Lord Shen. They clashed their weapons together, pushing against each other's strength. "You won't overthrow me, boy."

Kioku grunted, "Trust me, you've already lost!" He said cockily as he shoved the peacock backwards.

(INFORMATION: Destroy the cannon and subdue Lord Shen with the help of Po!)

(Boss Theme: Vim and Vigor)

Lord Shen spun his lance rapidly and flipped towards the two of them, swinging it around with finesse and great precision. The two dodged the peacock's swift, agile attacks and retaliated with some of their own. Kioku swung his Keyblade and parried the bird's lance, giving Po the chance to slide in and sweep Lord Shen into the air with a sliding attack. Kioku flipped towards Po and used his body as a spring to meet Lord Shen in the air and attack the foe with a series of acrobatic aerial strikes. He had then twirled his weapon and slammed it into Lord Shen a final time, knocking the peacock back to the ground. Lord Shen regained his footing and flipped backwards, "Impressive! You're just as strong as I was told." He chuckled nervously. He clutched his heart and a dark aura rushed over him, Heartless emerged from the ground, Shadows and Soldiers, along with vicious bird-looking Heartless with long beaks and talons, the Heartless emblem on their backs.

Kioku gasped, "You—You just called Heartless!" He tightened his grip on his Keyblade and lowered himself into his stance again. The smug, posh look on Lord Shen's face had now shifted into a deranged, psychotic smile. "With this power—I will change my fate! I will destroy you!" He had then charged towards Kioku with his Lance pointed at him, intending to impale him. Kioku spun his Keyblade like a propeller and knocked his lance out of his grasp, he then jumped and struck Lord Shen again, causing him to stumble backwards.

Meanwhile, Tigress and the others went after the cannon, fighting through wolves and Heartless alike. Patrick wound up his shields and punched the cannon into the air, followed up by Tigress who leaped after it and struck it several more times. "Monkey!" She called, summoning Monkey over to deliver a strike to vanquish the weapon. He delivered a kick to the large cannon, sending it crashing down the place floors. Spongebob and Patrick cheered merrily, "Mother of Pearl! We've saved Gongmen City!"

Patrick whistled, "The weapon has been destroyed!"

Po grabbed the staggering peacock and slammed him on the ground, pinning him down. Lord Shen had then splayed out his tail feathers and Po sees the red eye emblem of the feathers and the panda freezes up—just like before.

His mind envisioned a mother panda running from her infant son

a menacing white peacock, wielding a lance standing in the middle of a raging fire that was consuming the village around them

The peacock gives a deranged smile.

Po snapped out of his vision, and he gave Lord Shen a shocked look. "You—were there?"

Lord Shen returned a satisfied smile and shoved Po away from him with his talons, "Indeed I was, panda!" Kioku exclaimed, "Po!" He then raised his Keyblade and charged at the peacock, who was running towards the balcony. "Get back here, Shen!" He shouted after him as the peacock flew off of the balcony. As the Soothsayer was about to run, she was quickly apprehended by a gorilla and taken away. Kioku cursed and turned back towards Po, who was surrounded by the others.

"Nice move, you let him go!" Kioku shouted in anger. "What happened to you back there? It was just like last time in the village."

The panda shook his head, unable to explain the vision he had seen when he looked at that emblem. The painful memories he were unfamiliar with racing through his mind. "I dunno—I—I'm sorry, Kioku...I let you guys down again, huh?" He asked, lowering his head in shame.

Patrick pat the panda on the back, "Sheesh, don't sweat it pal. At least we took down that weapon!"

BoOooOOOm! The palace had shook with great force as several cannonballs came crashing into the palace. Everyone inside had scattered out of the way of fire and looked around to see where it was coming from. Kioku ran towards the balcony and peered into the distance, seeing the Fireworks Factory in the distance and the loud, thunderous explosions from the firing cannons. "That bastard! He's trying to kill us!"

"We need to get out of here, and fast!" Tigress shouted making her way towards the door. Before she could leave the room an Avianator Heartless swooped in front of her, halting her escape.

(INFORMATION: Escape the palace before the Destruction Gauge fills up. Avoid attacks from above!)

(Battle Theme: Rowdy Rumble)

The team made a dash for the door, with Kioku lashing out at the Avianator with a quick combo, vanquishing it rather quickly before continuing forward, dodging more fiery cannon balls that rained down towards them. Outside the throne room, leading down towards the flight of stairs, were Heartless awaiting them. The monsters chased after them, but they had all kept running. A cannonball slammed through the walls, crashing right through the staircase, Viper screaming at it had almost hit her.

"Stairs are too dangerous, we'll need to use a rope." Tigress announced. Kioku's mind had then clicked and his eyes locked on to the lantern rope that lead down to the lobby. He rubbed his hands together and leaped towards the rope, catching it and spun himself around, descending downward. "Let's goooooooo!"

The others went down after him, successfully making it down to the lobby. Once everyone made it down, they made a wild dash for the exit.

~Courtyard~

As they all sprint frantically towards the palace gates, they are met by more wolf soldiers and Heartless. The soldiers readied their bows and shot arrows at them, which were deflected by Mantis' speed, who had then proceeded to knock one of them out. A Soldier Heartless spun towards Kioku, it's attack being parried and in return received a devastating wallop to it, knocking it away into it's comrades. "Back off!" The teen exclaimed as he swung his weapon and struck another wolf grunt out of his way. "No time for these guys! Keep running!" Kioku shouted. Soon, the all of them had made it out of the courtyard and into the streets.

~Gongmen City: Jail~

Bursting back into the jail, they had found it completely vacant except for Masters Ox and Croc. All of the ran up to the cell, and saw that the two had surprised looks on their faces. Master Ox stood up angrily, "What did you fools do, it's chaotic out there—what happened to stopping Shen?" He raised his voice into a question. Everyone turned to look at Po, who coughed nervously. "Guys, guys—come on! Give me just a tiny bit of credit, okay?"

Kioku folded his arms, "Credit for letting the bad guy go—you can have all of it." He said in a snark tone, making Po jump. "Wh-Wha—"

"Po," Tigress started. "Tell us the truth. You had him. Why did you let Shen escape?" She asked in calm, yet concerned manner. A silence fell over all of them, who awaited for Po's explanation. What he could tell them may confuse them, or just make them angrier at him. How can he tell his friends about the vision he saw, a lost memory that was regained when he looked at that red eye emblem. The sight of who could be his mother abandoning him and another image of Lord Shen, standing in the middle of a burning, ruined village. Would it all make sense? Po opened his mouth to speak, yet the words refused to come out.

Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick looked on in disappointment for their friend. Tigress shook her head, "Fine—You leave us no choice." She opened the cell door and shoved Po inside before he could object. "You will be staying here, away from danger. They''ll keep you safe."

Po grabbed at the door, trying to shake it open. "Tigress, no! I have to get him!"

Kioku objected, "Po, tell us the truth! What's going on!"

"HE WAS THERE!" Po shouted, causing silence to overtake the jail. He lowered his head, "He—He was there, that peacock was there the last time I saw my parents. He knows my past—That's why, I need to be there—to confront him!" The panda explained, expressing a serious tone that was new to both Kioku's gang and the Furious Five.

The panda turned towards Tigress, "So let me out of this cell, Tigress—maybe you might not understand because you're so hardcore. But, I need this closure." He sighed sadly. "I'm sorry."

Everyone looked at Tigress as she approached the cell, resting her hand on Po's affectionately. The panda looked up in surprise, looking into the tiger's strong, yet gentle eyes. "The hardcore do understand—but I can't let my friend be killed." She turned to look at the rest of them, "Let's go."

Kioku, Spongebob and Patrick turned to give Po one last look. The teen gave a sympathetic look, "We'll come back for you when we're done, no hard feelings." And with that the rest of them rushed out of the building, leaving Po in the cell with his former heroes, to reflect on his actions that led him there.

~Gongmen City: Fireworks Factory~

Back at the Fireworks Factory, Lord Shen had ordered all of his wolves to load the ships and move them out, preparing his final attack on the city. Vicky leaned against the wall, an uninterested look on her face. "I'm getting bored, Shen. Look's like that twerp Kioku and the king's dorks are showing you and your boys up." Vicky said, taunting the peacock. "Tsk, Tsk—Just when I was growing to like you, you start to get sloppy. Then again, you can't ever trust a local to do your own job."

Lord Shen snarled and tossed a blade at Vicky, which stabbed into the wall beside her, but the girl didn't flinch a bit. She whistled and unsheathed the blade from next to her. "Sorry—Did I ruffle some feathers?" She taunted again.

"You were of no help at all, you foolish witch." Lord Shen retorted angrily. "That Kioku put up a better fight that I expected, and had you had just given me the slightest clue as of wha—"

"Yadda-yadda, shut your beak!" Vicky snapped sharped, twirling the knife in her hand. "I told you that he used the Keyblade, that shoulda been enough of a warning. Those twerps possess magic that's out of this world." She spoke bluntly. She caught the knife in between her fingers and a dark wisp illuminated around the blade, multiplying it into three more. "Had the Heartless under control, yet didn't even call in a big cheese to wear them down—how prideful."

The peacock sneered and turned his attention back to the destroyed palace, a place he once called home. Effortlessly demolished by a barrage of cannon balls, looking at the ruins of his former childhood home made the darkness in his heart grow more and more. The Soothsayer approached him from behind, the peacock turned his head.

"You're wrong, old Soothsayer." Lord Shen cackled. We sail to victory tonight—your 'panda of fate', was really just a fool."

The Soothsayer argued back, "Are you certain that it is him who is the fool?" She asked. "You destroyed your childhood home! Just when will your anger be quenched?"

A darkness roared over Lord Shen, which made Vicky smirk as watched him fall deeper into the darkness. The peacock spread his wings, "When all of China bows to my feet."

The Soothsayer shook her head, "Shen, it is time you stop this madness."

The peacock turned to look at the goat, "And why would I do that?"

The Soothsayer looked into Shen's deranged eyes, "So that your loving parents can rest in peace." She said, causing the peacock's expression to change.

~Fireworks Factory: Entrance~

Kioku, Spongebob, Patrick and the Furious Five stealthily approach the entrance to the factory, staying low and out of sight of any enemies. Tigress peaked at the closing door, getting a glimpse of several cannons from the inside. She turned to the others. "If those weapons leave the factory, China will fall."

Kioku looked around, noticing a bunch of gunpowder kegs lying around, he then saw an abandoned cart and his mind clicked. He snapped his fingers, "I've got it!"

~Rekindled Memories~

Sneaking into the factory, the persistent Po quietly made his way towards Lord Shen's room, where he found him all alone. Now they could settle it. Lord Shen, still looking out into the night, watching the ruins of the palace illuminate with from the fire, noticed the presence of the panda. "Greetings, panda." He cackled.

"You—tell me about that night." Po demanded, his voice lowered into a serious pitch.

The peacock smirked. "What night?" Knowing exactly what Po is referring to. The panda clinched his fists, "Don't play dumb with me. You were there."

Lord Shen laughed, "Ah yes, I watched as your parents helplessly abandon you." The peacock chuckled, slowly turning around to meet with him face to face. He slowly approached him, darkness growing. Po took a step back, readying his fists for a battle, but was unsure of Lord Shen's negative energy. He then brandished his lance and swiped at the air, shooting a wave of dark energy at the panda, who quickly dodged out of the way. "Do you want to die to find the truth?"

Shen chased Po out into the factory, onto a walkway that was high above the other levels of the factory. Po slipped and fall onto the walkway, with Shen walking towards him with his lance out.

~Kioku's Plan~

Following Kioku's plan, everyone had loaded up the cart with a ton of powder kegs and pushed it towards the entrance. Kioku and Spongebob jump back and aim their Keyblade and staff at the kegs and fire off flaming fire spells, followed by Patrick who charged into the flaming kegs and sent them flying into the factory. The fiery cart of kegs rolled into the center of the factory, causing the wolves to back away frantically.

Kioku spun his Keyblade flashily and aimed it at the kegs, shooting it with another Fire spell that caused the cart to explode and take out any and everything on the first floor with loud boom. Po and Lord Shen look down below, and the peacock is left in shock at the destruction on the first floor. Po took the opportunity to attack and knocked Shen off of the walkway, with him regaining his own footing and racing down towards the first floor.

Meanwhile, everyone on the outside cheered in celebration of destroying Shen's weapons. But soon the cheering had stopped as Spongebob pointed to a shadowy figure making their way out of the flaming factory. coming out from the wildly dancing flames, was the panda warrior, Po. His appearance surprised them all, seeing as how they left him back in the jail. They all ran up to him and greeted him with questions and concerns.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kioku asked, "You've could've gotten hurt!"

"How did you even—" Tigress asked, right before stopping herself. "Nevermind that, I'm just glad you're okay."

Po smiled warmly, and nodded. "I couldn't just let you guys take on Shen alone— after all, I needed to ask him a few questions myself."

"About what—the parents that never loved you?" A voice cackled, descending from the skies. Lord Shen landed in front of them, appearing angrier than ever. He has his lance out, twirling it. "That's right, they abandoned you because they didn't love you."

"What?" Po exclaimed in disbelief. The peacock went on, "When I was child, I was told that a panda would stand in my way— so to prevent that I set out to get rid of all pandas. But it seems I've forgotten one." Lord Shen aimed his lance at Kioku, "And you, the Keyblade's chosen one, now that the darkness is on my side—you're my enemy as well."

A dark aura rushed over Lord Shen and he took flight into the air as if he was dodging something. Kioku gasped and shoved everyone out of the way, "Something's attacking!" He warned as everyone scattered out of the way, a huge beam of light shooting past them from behind the flames. The sound of machinery could be heard getting closer, coming from the burning factory, and emerging from the fire was a large, dragon shaped cannon-like Heartless, with two large wheels, slowly creeping out from the flames. The airborne Lord Shen descended towards the cannon Heartless, resting upon it's barrel.

Kioku summoned his Keyblade, "The darkness has completely taken this guy! He's a lost cause."

Lord Shen cackled as his power grew, "All of China will bow to Lord Shen!"

(INFORMATION: Defeat Lord Shen and the Heartless, Hostile Weaponry!)

(Battle Theme: Wave of Darkness)

"FIRE!" Lord Shen commanded, causing the Heartless to aim it's barrel and shoot off a large fiery orb at them all, making them dodge out of the way. Kioku led everyone into battle, commanding the Furious Five to take on the surrounding Heartless while him, Spongebob, Patrick and Po take on Lord Shen and his Heartless accomplice. Kioku aimed his Keyblade at the sky, casting a shocking Thunder spell that stalled the Heartless, leaving it open for free hits. Po climbed onto the Heartless' wheel and met with Shen on top on of the cannon. "This time, we end this."

Lord Shen sneered and swung his lance at Po, who dodged it rather swiftly and countered with a palm strike. Down below, Kioku and the other two were dealing damage to the Heartless' wheels, taking them out so that it wouldn't be able to move about the field. Spongebob summoned explosive bubbles above Lord Shen and the Heartless, "Po, look out from above!" he warned as he brought his staff down, causing the bubbles to come crashing down onto them. Po hopped down from the Heartless, letting the two enemies take damage from Spongebob's attack. The Hostile Weaponry let out a mechanic bellow and let out a retaliation shot, knocking everyone back before lowering it's barrel in a resting manner. Lord Shen growled and kicked the Heartless in anger, "Attack, damn you!"

The cannon had a dark red aura wash over it, and it had begin to shoot off once at time. It finally charged up a final time and let off another large beam of light circling the arena, which our heroes manages to avoid. After the burst of attacks, the Heartless rested again. Regaining their balance, everyone charged towards the cannon again while it was resting and dealt out a series of strikes. Resulting in Lord Shen toppling over and falling off of the Heartless comically, making Kioku immediately go after him. The peacock spun around with his lance in an attempt to keep Kioku away, but his attack and dodged and countered by a wallop from the boy's Keyblade sending him straight into the barrel of the Heartless cannon. Malfunctioning wildly due to the damage from the groups attacks, the Hostile Weaponry aimed itself into the sky and charged it's shot.

"Wait, wait—No!" Lord Shen exclaimed as he was shot far up into the sky, blasting away into the atmosphere. The Heartless itself toppled over and melted into darkness. Everyone gathered around, looking at each other. Soon, they heard voices from behind them, and turning around they were met with the citizens of Gongmen City, who had come to rejoice in the victory of our heroes. They all cheered and whistles, knowing that they were free from the oppressed shackles of Lord Shen.

Po turned to Kioku, "We—did it." He said plainly. A smile crept across his chubby face and he hopped into the air gleefully, "We did it!"

The rest of joined in, cheering and hollering as they celebrated their victory against the threat of Gongmen City. Kioku looked up at Po, "So, did you ever find that inner peace?" the boy asked, referring to his Master's words from earlier. Faltering, Po touched his heart and sighed. "Y'know, I think i have. About my parents—leaving me in care of my real father. I'm okay with it." He said with a satisfied smile.

"Really?" Patrick asked, earning a nod from Po.

"Yup, if it weren't for them—I would've have met my best pals in whole world!" Po cheered, hugging Kioku and Tigress, causing the others to laugh heartily. He stopped and looked around sincerely, "And I guess it was all just fate."

"Indeed it was," A disembodied voice called. A corridor of darkness opened up from behind them and out stepped a figure in a black coat, their face shrouded by a hood. They all spun around and Kioku readied his Keyblade. "Syndicate XIII!"

Tigress cracked her knuckles, "We've seen the Heartless, and these must be those cloaked bad guys you told us about." she commented. The black coat walked towards them. "Maybe you should worry about your own fate, Kioku. And what you must do to bring back—him." They said, pointing to Kioku's chest.

"Look, I dunno what the hell you're talking about." Kioku shouted, dismissing the figure's statement. "If you're looking for a brawl, then I'll happily rearrange your face!" The hooded figure remained unmoved by the boy's threat, opening a corridor of darkness behind themselves. "Ikkxou, you deserter. We will get you." They muttered darkly behind walking into the portal and disappearing.

"Eek—zow?" Kioku repeated in a confused tone. "What the hell is a Eek-zow?"

A flash of light had suddenly emitted from the ground and slowly elevated into air, catching the attention of Mantis. "Hey, uh..guys?" he called. Kioku and the others turned their attention to the floating light, and the boy walked over to approach it. It was revealed to be a red eye emblem, left behind by Lord Shen. Kioku lowered his Keyblade as a crown appeared at his feet, a large Keyhole revealing the gate to the next world. Kioku spun his blade and aimed it at the gate, shooting a beam of light, unlocking it with a loud click.

Kioku dismissed his Keyblade, "Alright Mr. Dragon Warrior, we've gotta blast—but we'll be back soon." He waved. "Let us know if hear anything about Heartless or Nobodies. We'll come runnin'."

"Keep the place safe while we're away!" Spongebob cheered.

Tigress reached into her pocket and handed Kioku a keychain, "We await for your return." She slowly nodded.

Po and Kioku looked at each other one last time, just before fist bumping. "Skadoosh!

{OBTAINED:

Kuángnù bàozhú

STRENGTH: +6

MAGIC: +7

ABILITY: Combo Haste, Critical Plus, Fire Boost}

~Dark Hearts~

"Give me a break," Vicky sighed, crossing her arms with an annoyed pout. She stood on top of Fireworks Factory, only moments after Lord Shen's embarrassing defeat by the hands of her most troublesome foe, Kioku. Down below, she could see the Gongmen City liberated in bright lights, the citizens celebrating after living in fear for their lives. To Kioku, that was sign of victory. Not so much for the young villainess. She had hated the fact that after a year's absence, had those three yet again foiled her plans to take over the worlds. Her plan to rule over every world she could unleash Heartless into. She had acknowledged her former mentor's words, 'Never fully trust a local villain to do your own dirty work, unless they had some control over the darkness'. While Lord Shen had impressive control over the darkness, in the end had it let himself get completely consumed by it, resulting in his defeat. It was good, but not good enough. But the single thought of being triumphed, even in the look of things being in her favor, pissed Vicky off to no end.

"Don't think you've won just yet, Kioku." She cackled. "You ain't seen the last of old Vicky. This is only the beginning."