A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the chapter and here is the next one.
Chapter 10
The King and the Prince
Once inside the derelict ship Lelouch attacked the Shadows cleaving through them with his Keyblade before burning the rest of them with a Fire Spell from his weapon allowing him to make his way through to the Aisle section of the vessel where the young man came across more Heartless, but this time they were Soldier breed.
Not wishing to waste time with them Lelouch used a blazing display of Fire magic and incinerated the lot of them before moving onto the hanger where below he saw a bunch of Shadow and Soldier Heartless running to engage him. With a Royal Flash, he struck the center of the approaching swarm of Heartless, unleashing the exploding light bomb on the lot of them wiping them out while slashing through any survivors he came across as he cleared out what appeared to be the hanger…the most enormous room on the ship he has seen so far.
Four more Shadows emerged from hiding and attacked the Keyblade wielder, but they were no match for Lelouch as the young man moved onto the Boarding Ramp area of the vessel quickly killing the Soldier Heartless he found there before walking back through the hanger.
Racing up the stairs, Lelouch fought his way through another pair of Shadows to the Passenger room where this time he ran into a trio of Soldier Heartless and a Large Body waiting for him. Lelouch began his assault by firing some multiple Fire Spells at the Large Body before using a Thunder Spell to stun the soldiers and finish off the Large Body before dodging the swiping attack from one Soldier right before moving in and cleaving one in half.
The second one tried to move in, but Lelouch kicked it in the face and sliced it through the waist before hitting the one that had attacked him earlier with a Fire Spell finishing it off. With the passenger room cleared Lelouch moved onto the last section of the ship he could finish which was the bridge.
Upon entering the bridge Lelouch saw an Emblem Heartless, but it was not a soldier its coloring was different…the creature before him was a Sergeant.
The Heartless moved faster than those of the Soldier breed Lelouch had encountered before, but he cast thunder around himself trying to break up the dark creature's movements. If Lelouch couldn't stop it entirely before moving to attack the beast ahead on as he parried and guarded against some of its claw strikes as the young man fought back with equal ferocity before landing a blow as he cut into its torso before finishing it off with a Fire Spell at point blank range.
After checking the bridge, Lelouch conducted another quick sweep of the ship, thankfully with only two minutes to spare the young man had cleared out the vessel of all Heartless that were aboard. Drawing a magical transporting rune from his suit, Lelouch was preparing to use it…however, he had to return to the bridge first and activate the ship and make sure the life support system was functional.
Taking a seat in the pilot seat, Lelouch began activating the system's while the lights inside the bridge and around the decks of the vessel came on for the first time in a long time while Lelouch ran a systems check to make sure everything was in working order. Most importantly he saw the green light confirming the life support system was, thankfully, operational. In fact, it had been in effect while he was aboard which Lelouch had suspected since his Fire Spells had worked while Lelouch was aboard, but he wanted to be sure first the current environment settings would be human-friendly.
Once the ship was online, he used the magical transport rune and opened a connecting portal between this ship and his Gummi Ship allowing him to bring Yuffie and Liu Mei aboard.
"Yuffie…Liu Mei use the magical transporter and come aboard."
"Is it safe?" Yuffie's reply came over the open channel.
"You have one minute before the life support system on that ship goes out, so you don't have much choice."
"WHAT!" Yuffie shouted as sure enough both Liu Mei and Yuffie came aboard in less than a minute. "WHY didn't you tell us the life support system on the ship was failing!?"
"I didn't want you two to panic."
"Well thanks!" Yuffie snapped while she made a face at the young man. After using the transport to transfer a lot of their items and supplies over from the damaged Gummi Ship, Lelouch began working to secure the wrecked vessel to the underside of the ship with the larger vessel's mandible claws worked into holding the wrecked ship in place.
"Alright let's see what this new ship can do," Lelouch said with a mischievous grin as he brought the engines online, punching the ship forward at full throttle the sizeable dragon-like vessel sped ahead at high speeds, speeds significantly surpassing the Ganymede. Yuffie held onto the armrests of her seat while Liu Mei sat at the navigation station holding to her chair's armrests as well, but Lelouch, on the other hand, was pleased as his high-pitched laughter echoed through the cockpit.
However, Lelouch's good mood was short-lived though.
Although the ship was operational it was like that it wasn't entirely one hundred percent, so Lelouch began searching for a world to set it down on to conduct some field maintenance in a breathable environment with gravity, the question was which planet he could set it down on. As they left the asteroid field the ship's sensors detected two approaching Deathguise class Gummi Ships, piloted by Heartless most likely.
"Hang on!"
Lelouch turned the ship around engaging the ship's weapons systems which consisted of the claws that were being used to hold the Gummi Ship close to their new vessel, and the other two was its primary weapon a 609mm Charged Particle Cannon. Taking aim Lelouch was prepared to fire, but when he pulled the trigger, a warning appeared on the screen alerting the pilot that the cannon wasn't functional due to internal problems with the firing mechanism according to the status report provided to Lelouch.
"Damn I was afraid of something like that."
However, there was still one other type of weapon he could use…the ship's dual 152mm Multi-barreled Lasers. As Lelouch fired the lasers which thankfully worked as he reduced the Heartless craft ahead of him into Swiss cheese and just in time too as the enemy ship was already firing its weapons at him, but Lelouch landed the first shots before turning to finish off the second ship.
Feeling his concerns were now justified Lelouch piloted the ship away looking for a place to land to so he could conduct what field maintenance and any repairs he could perform before attempting any long-range travel in his new ship.
The young man was looking through the charts from his ship and scanning for a suitable world to land.
At Disney Castle, Nunnally was sitting with Queen Minnie inside the study along with her Lady-In-Waiting Daisy Duck. The three royals were enjoying tea together while Mickey was busy being brought up to speed on matters of the Kingdom while he had been away as well as tending to issues that needed his attention while they waited on repairs on the Gummi Ship. Stitch was sleeping on the ground lying on its back and resting quietly.
"So you and the King have been looking for your older brother?" Daisy inquired.
"Yes, and it seems he is a Keyblade master just like King Mickey is."
"That's a surprise Mickey was worried about any new Keyblade wielders emerging to fill the empty roles left by the last three Keyblade Wielders." Minnie pointed out.
"There were other Keyblade warriors in the past?" Nunnally asked.
"Yes and I think I may have met them a couple years ago, but I haven't seen them since then. We don't know what happened to them."
"How awful, but hopefully they are ok out there."
"I hope so too, but so far no one, not even King Mickey has been able to find out what exactly became of them," Minnie said sadly.
"Maybe while looking for my brother we could find out?"
"Yes, I do hope you three find something," Daisy added.
Meanwhile in space after roughly two days later of risky travel in a ship that was not at one hundred percent. Lelouch detected a planet that was inhabitable as he brought the spacecraft in for a landing, he picked a remote area in a small island-country, its location and geography were similar to modern-day Earth. There were some differences, but otherwise, almost the same which made it easy for Lelouch to locate a good hiding place for the ship so he could carry out field repairs and maintenance. As he was flying low over the Atlantic Ocean, the sensors on the island noticed a small uninhabited island, deciding instead it would serve as a more suitable place to land. After some additional scanning of the isle, finding only some old ruins, Lelouch found a large underwater cavern on the far side of the island which was big enough for him to park the ship inside…it was noon judging from the position of the sun in the sky.
After deploying the landing gear, Lelouch left the pilot seat, started to make his way outside, and decided to conduct his examination on the ship, choosing to focus on essential systems such as engines, navigation, life support, and weapons. He was no Cid, but during times between his training with Merlin and Leon the former prince took care to learn about Gummi Ships and ways to repair them should he find himself in the situation he was in now.
"Liu Mei, stay aboard and watch the ship. Yuffie and I are going to see what we can do for the ship."
"I suppose I should be fine here," Liu Mei uncertain if she liked the idea of staying alone aboard a strange ship.
"Very well, hopefully, we won't be here long," Lelouch said before thinking.
If we can at least make it capable of reaching a safe port without any kind of internal problems, then that would be enough I hope.
A couple of hours later back at Disney Castle; Nunnally and Stitch were walking through the hall making their way to the throne room to meet up with Mickey when Donald came and told her they had some unexpected good news about her brother. Without wasting a second, Nunnally and her pet hurried to the throne room as fast as her small legs could carry her.
Entering the massive and majestic throne room, Nunnally once again ran clear through the giant hall so by the time she reached the throne and offered a proper bow she was worn out as she was breathing hard from her sprint.
"I came as soon as Donald delivered your message."
"Nunnally allow me to introduce Merlin he had returned to Disney Castle to visit his old friend Mr. McDuck."
The little girl turned and saw the elderly wizard standing there; she had not noticed him only because she was focused on reach King Mickey's site to hear about the news on her brother and thought only of that while more or less ignoring everything else.
Strangely, Merlin's stare was fixated on the young Apprentice before that she even noted his presence, as if trying to see something beyond the surface. Suddenly, his eyes widened noticeably, but he quickly regained his composure as the young girl focused on him and decided to greet her.
"So you are Nunnally…hmm, you don't look like your brother."
"My…brother? Y-you know Lelouch!?"
"Yes, Lelouch Vi Britannia. He ended up at Traverse Town a couple months ago. The poor boy has been worried sick about you, but Leon insisted that Lelouch wouldn't be allowed to leave town until he mastered the Keyblade, but more importantly until he was able to beat Leon in a battle. I knew him because I taught him how to use magic…although he's not quite as good at it as you are according to what King Mickey has told me."
"But my brother really is alive?"
"Indeed he is my dear, but he is currently out there looking for you. He finally bested Leon and is now actively searching for you."
"But do you know where he is now?"
"I am not sure, but I'll try to contact him if I can…however, he should be expected back to our home soon since Lelouch will likely need to return for resupplying and maintenance on his ship considering how long he has been out there so far."
"Thank goodness I will see my brother again." Nunnally cried out happily.
"As soon as repairs on the ship are finished we're going to Traverse Town." Mickey declared.
Hours later after the sun had sunk below the horizon, on the world where Lelouch had landed his newly acquired ship. Despite some difficulties, Lelouch and Yuffie were able to repair some of the more severe problems with the new spacecraft they acquired. Lelouch's new vessel needed some work still, but for the most part, it was at least capable of reaching the nearest port which according to charts and data from the Ganymede was a place called merely Moogle World.
From what Lelouch had heard about the Moogles from Leon and Cid, they were small creatures known for their expertise in some fields including engineering, synthesis of items and components and most prominently business skills. They were skilled with work on ships including Gummi Ships, so they had the tools and equipment required for proper repairs and conduct any needed repairs on the spacecraft.
His next course had been set.
"Ok we'll rest for a little bit then we'll make our way to Moogle World."
"Moogle World?" Liu Mei asked curiously.
"It's another world inhabited by Moogles. The Moogles can help us get this ship into better working condition. Trust me they have a reputation for being very good with machines, even Cid employs some of them at his shop."
"Ok!"
Suddenly a powerful storm began brewing outside the cave as Lelouch instructed Liu Mei to head back inside the ship while Lelouch started to follow, but stopped when he noticed everything around him suddenly freeze. As if time itself froze completely.
"Right on time." A man with a British ascent spoke, Lelouch turned around and saw a tall man with long blonde hair, blue eyes with a mustache, and he was dressed in the garb of a gentleman, complete with an elegant top hat, red coat, and long white pants. "I have been expecting you, greetings, Prince Lelouch Vi Britannia, Wielder of the Keyblade."
"Who are you, and what have you done here?"
"My superiors have just frozen time so we could chat, but please forgive my lack of manners, I am Saint Germain."
"Saint Germain?"
"Yes and I won't mince words with you, so I'll get straight to the point. I have an urgent request from you. I need you to provide aid to a fellow royal, not of your royal line of course, but someone of royal status no less. This matter is of great concern to my superiors who feel a certain man's early awakening has disrupted things here, so my superiors want things corrected, so I have permission to acquire your…services."
"What, do I look like an errand boy?"
"No, but we need the Keyblade's power, and I'll make it worth your time, I have been given permission to tell you here you can find your sister complete this task for us and I'll tell you in exchange."
"You know where Nunnally is?"
"I actually know far more than you can realize. However, I cannot act on that knowledge directly, but only observe under the guidelines of my…arrangement, but in this matter, where the flow of greater will has been disrupted, and it needs to be corrected, we'll require someone else to act on our behalf, so we have chosen you."
Lelouch was shocked by the man's words and more so his power over time…he wanted to push aside his claim that he knew where Nunnally was, but seeing time frozen around him made him really think about the offer.
"Alright, I'll do it!"
"Excellent I am pleased you have agreed to help us…I'll make sure your friends are aware of your whereabouts, and I'll be sure to bring you back here as soon as you are done."
"But-" Lelouch tried to say, but a column of yellow light whisked him away transporting him to where he needed to be while time began to flow normally again.
"Lelouch where are you?" Liu Mei asked, but did not see the boy, but she did see Saint Germain.
"Do not fear little girl…he'll be back in a little while so just wait here for him, and he'll be back. We're just borrowing him for a little bit."
Meanwhile in London, more specifically inside the halls of the Westminster Abbey, a man wearing armor along with red robes, a blue cape and a crown upon his head armed with a mace by his side walked into a large chamber. He had long brown hair, a bit of gray hair on his beard and blue eyes. The man stopped in the middle of the room where he saw a large wooden throne where below the seat contained in its own compartment was a stab of solid stone.
The man raised his hand up to the air and began feeling something.
"What magic is this…I sense something."
Suddenly a yellow column of light appeared before him, and Lelouch was dropped onto the ground with a thud.
"What in-" The armored man said as he rushed to the child's side and knelt down near him trying to help him up. "Are you alright lad?"
"Where am I?"
"This is Westminster Abbey, but who are you?"
"My name is Lelouch, but who are you?"
"I am King Arthur Pendragon."
"King Arthur!" Lelouch said as his mind was sent into a whirl, as he did not expect the man he was supposed to help was, in fact, the legendary king of the mythical kingdom of Camelot himself. "The same King Arthur, the same king who ruled Camelot?"
"Indeed it is I."
Lelouch was sent reeling from this revelation before saying, "Unbelievable, first I meet Merlin and now you."
"Merlin…you know Merlin?"
"Yes, he taught me how to use magic and to harness the power of my Keyblade," Lelouch said as he demonstrated by summoning his weapon the Keyblade into his hand.
"A newly chosen wielder of the Keyblade, but more importantly, you are proof that my old friend is well somewhere. I would ask of you where you had met him, but first I must find my sword."
"You mean Excalibur?"
"Yes I was awakened recently from my slumber, but I am not whole without my sword so I must locate it," Arthur said as he stood up after helping Lelouch to his feet before he approached the throne.
Upon where he knelt down once again, but this time he placed both hands upon a stone stab positioned within the throne just below the seat. Lelouch saw a small space in the center of the stone as a likely sign that was the stone before them was indeed, where the sword Excalibur had been drawn from...the Stone of Destiny.
"Was that where the sword was kept?" Lelouch asked while he knew the answer.
"Yes…the Stone of Destiny I had hoped Excalibur had returned to you."
Suddenly the stone began glowing as a voice spoke.
"Who seeks the sword Excalibur?"
Arthur was startled causing him to jump back where he inadvertently bumped into a creature behind him. It was a tall humanoid-like creature standing at least a foot or two higher than Arthur was with yellowish skin, a hawk-like beak, feathered wings, and a lion-like tail making him appear similar to a griffon, but he wore what seemed to be a leather jacket of shorts.
The king turned around and moved away drawing his mace while Lelouch readied his Keyblade prepared to fight the creature.
"I don't hold well to people breaking into my Abbey." The creature said using a British accent.
Arthur much to Lelouch's surprise put away his mace after breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh it's a gargoyle for a moment I thought was in danger?"
"And what makes you think you are not?" The griffon-like gargoyle inquired. "London is my protective."
"This is London? Then you are not of Goliath's clan."
"Goliath…well, I am a friend of his, I am called Griff…who are you two?" Griff asked while looking to both Arthur and Lelouch.
"I am Lelouch Vi Britannia."
"I am Arthur Pendragon…King of Britain."
"Uh-huh, and I am Queen Marvin," Griff remarked mockingly as he crossed both arms over his chest, but the mention of Arthur's name caused the stone to react. Lelouch wasn't shocked, after all, if someone claimed they were King Arthur in a modern world you wouldn't believe them at first glance.
"You have returned to waking world unbidden Arthur Pendragon. If you seek the sword, then you must prove you are still worthy."
"I will prove my worthiness even if I have to pull Excalibur from a hundred stones."
"I will take you to the sword if you but say where it is."
Arthur moved up and sat down on the throne while trying to think, but offered up the comment. "I hate riddles."
I could help with that, but I know too little about this world to be of much help. Lelouch thought, but surprisingly Griff offered what could be a potential solution.
"I know a riddle about Excalibur I learned it when I was a hatchling." Taking a moment to recall the riddle, Griff cleared his throat before he recited what was actually a poem. "Isle of towers glass and stone, the Lady waits for him alone. Ebon glass in emerald frame, pure white lilies speak her name. Blood red bane in Dragon Stone, Excalibur waits for him alone."
That hardly reveals anything, but Isle of towers glass and stone sounds like a city likely on an island. It would help if I knew more about this world.
"Isle of towers glass and stone?" Arthur said repeating the first line of the poem trying to figure out its meaning.
"You have passed the first test, but know that there will be others." The stone spoke as the glowing slab of stone grew brighter.
"But the sword is mine!"
"The sword belongs to the true king…are you still it?"
A magical vortex formed around Arthur as he was lifted up into the air, Griff tried to grab him, and Lelouch followed, but the two only got caught up in the vortex themselves before the trio were magically transported to another part of the world. Suddenly the trio was deposited once again upon another hard surface much to Lelouch's annoyance.
This better be worth it that is all I am saying.
"A boy, a man and a Gargoyle…this is the prize?" A man in his early fifties spoke as Lelouch recovered first and saw a man with white hair and a beard dressed in black body armor while he wore a black trench coat over it. Arthur was the first to get to his feet as he seemingly recognized the man.
"Macbeth!"
"Have we met?" Macbeth asked as he pointed his gun at him, but before he could shoot, another Gargoyle flew down from the sky knocking the gun to the side causing it to discharge a shot into the air. His two henchmen were swiftly dispatched as two more gargoyles flew down from above tripping the two hired guns onto their rears while another grabbed their weapons.
Macbeth retreated from the scene heading for his aircraft.
"To me, we'll finish this later."
Without argument, the henchmen retreated boarding their employer's craft as Macbeth's advanced VTOL quickly lifted off from the roof of the Guggenheim Museum before beating a hasty retreat from the area fleeing into the skies.
"Should we go after them?" The smallest of the gargoyles asked. "Macbeth tends to be bad news."
"I would like some answers first." His companion said as Arthur and Griff approached them while Lelouch stood with them, a bit surprised to be surrounded by such creatures. The smallest of the new group of gargoyles was the first to ask.
"Who are you?"
"The name is Griff, and I guess this really is King Arthur, oh and this young man is called Lelouch." Everyone was skeptical at the sight of the supposed King Arthur, which was understandable overall. "We're looking for Excalibur the sword."
Arthur made his way to the edge of the roof to look upon the city as the eldest of the group asked wishing to confirm the man's identity.
"You are King Arthur?"
"I am, are you of Goliath's Clan? He told me to seek you out if I ever came to Manhattan."
"You have seen Goliath!" Brooklyn asked
"Are Bronx and Elisa alright?" Lexington added.
"When are they coming back?" Broadway demanded.
"Where are they?" Hudson inquired.
"I met up with Goliath in London." Griff offered.
"But Elisa's mother saw them in Nigeria?" The light blue colored of the group pointed out.
"And Halcyon Renard saw them in Prague."
"I met them on Avalon," Arthur told them. "Where Elisa awakened me from my enchanted sleep, only Avalon knows when they will return. But if this is Manhattan, then the sword has left Britain…I don't understand."
"Likely perhaps the sword was no longer considered safe in Britain. It could have been moved to ensure its survival and the fact it wouldn't unknowingly fall into the wrong hands since I am sure there are those who searched for it."
"It makes sense there has been some difficult times for Britain, so it's likely the location of the sword was relocated for its own protection," Griff said agreeing with Lelouch's assessment of the sword's drastic change in location from Arthur's homeland to a foreign land.
"So where do you find the sword then?" Lexington asked.
"Our only lead is a poem I heard as a hatchling. Isle of towers glass and stone, the Lady waits for him alone. Ebon glass in emerald frame, pure white lilies speak her name. Blood red bane in Dragon Stone, Excalibur waits for him alone." Griff answered.
"That's it a rookery poem is your only clue to the sword?" The elder gargoyle of the group asked before trying to figure out the rest of the poem himself. "Ebon glass in emerald frame…can't say that I know what that means."
"I think I do…look!" Brooklyn said as he pointed to the lake in the middle of central park.
Of course, the Lady of the Lake according to the legend was the original keeper of the sword, so I suppose it is only logical that a body of water located in a park with emerald trees. Lelouch thought as someone seemed to have also come to the same realization. Griff carried Arthur as Brooklyn offered to give Lelouch a lift before the group took to the air to fly over to the lake. Nervous at first Lelouch steeled his nerve and allowed the creature to hold on to him.
"You are not scared of heights are you?"
"No…I am just more concerned about falling that's all." Lelouch joked with a grin.
"You're a brave kid you deserve that."
The group took to the sky as they flew across Central Park before landing along the shore of the lake where Arthur walked up to the watery surface while noticing a white lily growing on a lily pad.
"Pure white lilies speak her name!" Griff said realizing the next part of the poem and its true meaning as did Arthur. Throwing the lily out into the water watching it drift towards the heart of the lake the king stood up as he spoke.
"Lady of the lake…it is Arthur Pendragon."
A moment later a glowing figure rose up from the water taking hold of the white lily. Even Lelouch was spellbound by the appearance of the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. The enchanted being before them had long silver hair, pale skin, blue eyes wearing a gown of white samite while glowing with a pure white aura.
"She is so beautiful!" Broadway commented saying what everyone else was thinking.
"And she was right in our own lake," Lexington added.
"Yes…but why here, and not in Britain?" Arthur asked wondering as the Lady of the Lake spoke.
"I had not expected you for some time Arthur Pendragon. What would you have of me?"
Arthur took a few steps out into the water before kneeling before the woman.
"I need my sword milady I am not whole without Excalibur."
"Excalibur belongs to the king who can claim it Arthur Pendragon."
"Then I claim it for I am the King of Britain."
"This is not Britain, but a far larger stage. However the world still needs a leader, and that leader needs the sword, but you must prove your worth." The Lady spoke as she began conjuring something from the water using her powers. In moments, Arthur was taken into the lake where a Water Djinn emerged from the water pulling the king into its body.
Lelouch summoned his Keyblade as the gargoyles hurried into the water to aid Arthur, but they were repelled by a blast of water from the beast, but before it could strike again Lelouch used a Blizzard spell to freeze its right arm since Blizzara would be a bit much and could risk freezing the king as well. Arthur fought to struggle to get his head free of the beast as he shouted.
"Use the lightning weapon…aim for the base!"
Griff drew the weapon and shot the beast at the base causing the water elemental to be dispelled. Arthur was freed and thrown to the shore as the others hurried to help him to his feet while the Lady of the Lake congratulated him on passing his trial as he gave his thanks to his allies.
"Well done Pendragon you are still a leader born, but that was fast thinking on your part. Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, the royal outcast of the Holy Britannian Empire and chosen wielder of a weapon as legendary as Excalibur, the Keyblade."
"You're a prince?" Arthur said surprised by this bit of news.
"An outcast as she puts it," Lelouch replied bitterly.
"Both you and the Arthur must be ready for the final trial because what you seek lies in the heart of these gardens." The Lady began to explain as she raised a wall of water showing an image of a stone dragon in the heart of a hedge maze. "Across the river lies the sword in the stone to be claimed by the timeless king who can find it."
"To be claimed by me!"
"That remains to be seen, but be warned…shadows have appeared to bring ruin here, so be on your guard." The Lady in the Lake said before disappearing back into the lake.
"What did she mean by the gardens across the river?" Brooklyn asked.
"That looked like a maze; there are no mazes on Manhattan," Hudson added as Lexington figured it out.
"Brooklyn!"
"What?" Brooklyn asked.
"No she means the hedge maze in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens; I saw it in a guidebook."
"Sounds like the right location," Griff said as the facts matched up.
"But what did she mean by shadows have appeared?" Hudson asked.
"I have a bad feeling what she might be referring to, but I hope she's wrong…Heartless."
"Heartless?" Arthur asked.
"Dark creatures born of the evil in men's hearts, darkness made real. They have been sweeping across the worlds beyond this one like locust, but if the Heartless are appearing at the gardens, then we could have a real fight on our hands." Lelouch explained.
"Well, that just sounds terrific!" Brooklyn said mockingly.
"We should make our way to the gardens with due haste. I too have an ill feeling as well," Arthur suggested as Griff picked up King Arthur. Broadway grabbed the young boy before taking off into the sky to head to their next destination, but once they were flying over New York City, Hudson asked a question to the young prince.
"So tell me, lad…when the Lady of the Lake, called you an outcast royal of the Holy Britannian Empire, what did she mean by that. Aside from the fact I have never heard of the Holy Britannian Empire."
"Well this is difficult to say, but I am not from your world. I come from another world similar to yours, but vastly different." Lelouch began to explain.
"No way, then you're an alien?" Lexington inquired.
"Technically I suppose."
"I am not that surprised I knew a few Keyblade Wielders back during my time as king, some of those wielders hailed from different worlds. However, they were instructed by their trainers to never reveal where they came from to protect the world order so other worlds wouldn't become aware of one another to prevent chaos or disharmony from such knowledge reaching the ears of potentially dangerous folk." Arthur explained.
"So how did you end up an outcast prince?" Griff asked.
"It was right after my mother 98th Empress and Imperial Consort to the 98th Emperor Charles Zi Britannia, Marianne vi Britannia was murdered, gunned down by assassins and my little sister was left crippled and blind by the incident as our mother died holding her in her arms. I saw the murder scene with my own eyes right after it had happened. Then my father when I confronted him about what happened, exiled Nunnally and me to Japan as political hostages, to be nothing more than bargaining tools."
"Your own father did that, but what happened to your mother's killers?" Griff inquired while the others were shocked by that childhood memory.
"They were never caught, but I am not a fool, many of the other consorts of the Royal Family, and the noble families that were allied to many of them did hold my mother in contempt and envious loathing because despite her commoner origins she had been the only one who had been granted the title of Empress. She held the title of Knight of Six when she was a member of the Emperor's Knights of the Round, she renowned for both her beauty and combat prowess, something it only added to the loathing of them, as on their eyes a simple commoner had dared to outshine and prove them as inferior."
The prince recalled the murder scene in his mind's eye…the terrified look of his sister.
"Besides the only way that someone could have assassinated her at the Vila where we lived, was if someone with access and control over the security could have created an opening for them. Otherwise, an assassination by terrorists would have been impossible."
Lelouch breathed in profoundly as a single tear rolled down his eye.
"My father did nothing to prevent it, nor did he do anything to find the ones responsible. He never even visited Nunnally when she was in the hospital or went to our mother's funeral…instead…he simply threw us away like garbage to some foreign land, where he hoped we would die on obscurity." Lelouch spoke with deep bitterness in his voice as some tears fell from his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Arthur asked.
"What do you intend to do?"
"I have been thinking now that I have the power of the Keyblade I am going to do something about the world that man is trying to forge. The Holy Britannian Empire is ruled by a tyrant who simply uses his own children as tools and forces them to compete and betray one another to determine who would ascend the throne…" only the strong survive" is the motto of the royal family. They are twisting the world into a dreadful place where only the strong survive, and the weak become viciously cast aside if they were nothing or become oppressed and exploited for those that believe on the accursed philosophy of Charles Zi Britannia."
The tears disappeared soon replaced by his filled with rage.
"I won't live in that kind of world and neither will Nunnally. I shall bring an end to the madness that Britannia it's inflicting upon everyone, by crushing the old order, then make the world a gentler place."
Listening to his words Arthur was in deep thought, but it was soon broken from it when something from the sky above them was descending upon them from the air. They were creatures none of the gargoyles had ever seen, more so, given their leathery bird-reptilian-appearance, but Lelouch instantly knew what they were when he saw the emblem of the Heartless on their chest.
"It's the Heartless!" Lelouch shouted alerting the gargoyles.
"Those things are the Heartless!" Hudson said as the group dodged the first wave. The Heartless attacking them were Emblem Heartless, aerial types known as Wyvern Heartless. The three Wyverns came back around for another attack run while Hudson drew his sword ready for an aerial battle.
"Broadway, turn around and face me towards the Heartless!" Lelouch asked as he summoned his Keyblade. "I'll shoot them down!"
"Alright…hang on!"
Hudson kicked the first creature in the head before impaling his sword through his head wounding it while Griff passed Arthur to Brooklyn so he could draw his Lightning Gun. Griff shot the second Heartless as it attempted to assist its wounded brethren, but the third was struck down by Lelouch nailing the Wyvern in the stomach with a Fire Spell.
Lelouch assisted again as he helped Hudson finish off his foe with a blizzard spell to the back while Griff finished off the beast he was combating after four direct hits with his weapon.
"So the Heartless fly?" Lexington inquired.
"Some of them…the Heartless come in a wide range of different kinds in various shapes, sizes and armed with an array of different powers depending on the emotions and the depth of the darkness on the heart that spawned them." Lelouch explained as the group continued onward, but it was not long again as they came across more aerial Heartless in the skies ahead.
Aside from Wyvern Heartless in the sky, the group also saw a few different types in the skies above the gardens that were ahead of them which consisted of at least six Air Pirate Heartless and a dozen Hook Bats. Seeing their numbers left Lelouch wondering how so many Heartless could be found in a single location, especially in the air.
Could the sword have attracted this many Heartless or is there something else attracting so many of them?
Meanwhile, in the hedge maze below, a single sizeable muscular figure wearing a grey guard uniform with white cuffs lined with gold and a Heartless Emblem on the chest walked through the labyrinth holding a giant blood-red double-edge battle-ax with the Heartless emblem in the center. In place of hands, he had black-long finger claws and two crooked black antennas emerging from the top of his forehead. His eyes glowed bright yellow but possessed brown hair that was slicked back into a rather odd, messy spikes style.
"Double your efforts I want the Keyhole of this world found…I know we're close." The deformed-human-like Heartless ordered as a pair of Soldiers appeared before hurrying off to expand their search for the planet's keyhole.
Little did the Heartless of Aeleus know he was about to have a real fight on his hands.
"I'll find the Keyhole, and once I sink this world into darkness, then we'll be one step closer to our ultimate goal."
A/N: Now faces one of the Heartless of the six apprentices, and the battle is quickly escalating with higher stakes on the line for Lelouch, the Gargoyles, and King Arthur. If anyone isn't familiar with the world in question its from the old animated series Gargoyles and these events happened during the Avalon World Tour Arc with Macbeth having been one of the series villains.
Saint Germian is also from the Castlevania Game: Curse of Darkness.