Kairi's hand reached over to feel the comforting movement of Sora's breathing chest, and felt instead the marshy wetness of the cave floor. She opened her eyes as soon as she noticed that the floor should feel like stone instead of moist ground, and her senses were bombarded with the forest's night. Lightning bugs of all different shades illuminated the large flowers on the luscious trees, and those too appeared to be glowing in the night. The quiet night was serenaded by the sounds of bugs, but not the normal crickets from a normal wood. It sounded almost like music.
The shocked Kairi glanced around at the circle of sleeping bodies, and was relieved when all were accounted for. She shook the sleeping Keybearer next to her, and he swatted her hands gently away. "W-what?" he muttered up at her and half opened his eyes. The openings widened when he too realized his surroundings. Soon, every being in the circle was sitting up and gazing around.
"Where are we? I thought we fell asleep in that cave?" Eilonwy questioned, and everyone gave her a shrug. Except Fflewddur.
"We're in the Fair Folk's kingdom. Underground to ours'. Strange though, they usually bring you down here, you don't just stumble upon it," the old man said. The group, being well rested, stood up and began to walk aimlessly into the magical forest. They crossed a beautiful stream across a large fallen tree. The rocks glowed light blue, illuminating the water and the frogs that sat upon them. Eilonwy almost tripped on a hole in the wood, but Taran caught her before she fell the short distance to the water.
An orange firelight danced in the distance, standing out against the green and blue lights of the nature around them. Fflewddur warned that Fair Folk can be very angry at unwelcomed visitors, so Sora, Riku, Taran, and Gurgi elbowed their way to view to clearing while Kairi, Eilonwy, and Fflewddur hung back. The clearing was the sight of a celebration of some sort. A large bonfire was held in the middle, and the fairies danced around them. Speaking of them, they were some of the most beautiful creatures any of them had ever seen. The women had slender bodies with wings that resembled stain glass windows when the light shown just right. Their hair flowed well past their backs, and flowers and tree branches were braided into it. The men were lean and tall as well, and their wings were much more earthy tones compared to the women. All of their ears were pointed and their eyes slanted just like cats.
"Wow," Taran muttered as the most lovely of the females danced happily with her mate, her auburn brown hair swinging around in its large braid. They looked like a very happy community.
"Let's join the party," Riku suggested under his breath to Sora, and the brunette chortled at his idea. Riku gestured to the one he thought was in charge; an older fairy, who was a bit chubbier and had grayer hair than the rest. A crown of branches twisted around his hair, and he sat on a throne of nature while gorgeous servants attended to his every need. "Taran, what do you know about these Fair Folk?"
"Fflewddur was right; they do not like unwelcomed guests. But they do like virgins, and attractive folk. And ones with a lot of greatness around them. Like one with a great destiny," Taran explained through the grass, and Riku gazed at Sora with an evil smile. Sora quickly shook his head, but Riku nodded at his best friend.
"I vote we send Sora in there, because he has all of those qualities. He could act like he was a lost hero, looking for Hen Wen, and maybe they would feel bad for him, and help him." Riku looked at Gurgi and Taran, and both gave their approval with a nod. "Outvoted Sora, go around the other side and stumble upon their festivities."
"Did you just call me attractive?" Sora muttered to Riku as he elbowed down the hill. Riku rolled his eyes at his friend, and Sora laughed. "And I was the one who tried to mack on you? Ha, doubt it." Riku laughed sarcastically at him as he disappeared around a tree.
The Keybearer stood up and brushed himself off once behind the oak and ruffled his hair a little bit. For some reason, he felt he had to look his best to meet these people. He stumbled around the tree, and tried to look as surprised as possible when he met the piercing eyes of the fairies. The music halted, the dancing feet froze, and even the fire appeared to stop. Sora raised his hands in defense at everyone's confused gaze.
"Who are you, human?" A male asked, and everyone appeared to have their hands on their weapons, ready to draw them.
"Uhh, I don't want any problems, now," Sora explained. "I'm sorry to crash your party. I was just looking for my pig."
"Your name, boy!" The leader called from his throne, pointing a sausage finger at the stranger.
"Sora!" he yelled in fear as a giant of a man picked up his hammer right in front of him. "Sora, my name's Sora," he said a bit more quietly.
"Why do you travel Prydain without a sword? Only a fool would do so!" A girl questioned, and all the fairies laughed. Their giggles were like honey in Sora's ears.
"I have a weapon," he clarified. The king demanded it immediately. The keyblade flashed in the firelight, and all the creatures oohed and awed at the blade. Sora had found his Ultima keychain on the ring while everybody else was asleep, and attached it to the Kingdom Key. He decided he would use it from now on. Mickey once told him that it was welded by the first Keybearer ever, and was destined in its life to fall into every Keybearer's hand at some time or other. It appeared different when every person assigned it to their blade. Sora's weapon had a very thick and long blade of silver, surrounded by gold in a net pattern. The key teeth at the end were crowned shaped with a heart carved out in the middle. The gold net blended into the cobalt blue metal of the key end. The hilt was gold and royal blue as well, and gold angel wings made the circle around the hand hold. It was a beautiful weapon, and fit Sora perfectly. He may have a nice personality, but he fought like a true hero.
A lackey of the king snatched the weapon out of his hands and took it to his boss. "My liege," the man said as he bowed and presented the blade to the king. The older one held the blade in his hand and examined it.
"What a beautiful creation. A nice addition to my collection," the leader joked, and all his subjects laughed once again. The chuckling stopped when Ultima disappeared from the king's grasp and reappeared in Sora's waiting hands, and they all gazed in amazement at the boy. "How dare you!" The monarch stood up in a rage and marched over angrily to the human. "How dare you disrespect me with pitiful human magik?"
"It's not magik, sir, I was destined this blade. It chose me. It has had ancient magik placed upon it for many eons. When the universe needs a savior, it chooses one from the many souls across the vast galaxies. And this time, it happened to choose me," Sora enlightened the elf king on his situation, and the man stepped back at his words.
"Forgive me, hero," he bowed at him when he looked to his eyes and saw his destiny, and snapped at a scantily clad woman to bring him something. "The mirror, let's help find this boy's pig." The fairy brought an ornate mirror to her master, and he held it for Sora to view. It showed Hen Wen running around the dark forest, fearfully but not in danger. Sora sighed in relief at her safety, and the king raised his eyebrow at the pig. "Your pig is the oracular pig Hen Wen?"
"Sort of, she's my friend's. We had to save her from the Horned King, and we did, but she ran out into the forest," he described as he watched the mirror.
"Do not worry, Hen Wen has been under our protection since she was born, she will be protected. I am King Eiddileg, and these are my subjects, the Fair Folk. We welcome you to our home. You may stay as long as you want, and unlike most of our human visitors, you may leave whenever you wish," Eiddileg offered. Sora thanked him for his hospitality, but said he had to get back to his friends, and something about the Horned King getting the Black Cauldron.
"Oh! I know where the Cauldron is at. I used to be the owner, but I gave it to a lady friend of mine," the monarch said with a suggestive eyebrow wave, and Sora laughed at his joke. His apparent queen glared at him from across the clearing, and he waved happily to her. "My advisor, Doli, will you lead to the Marshes of Morva." The man stepped forward out of the tall crowd of elves, and he was a short stocky dwarf. His beard was dark brown and fell to his knees, and a battle axe was secured to his armor on his back. The king bowed once again to Sora, and was followed by the rest of the party goers. Sora bowed in return, and he and Doli walked out of the clearing. He introduced the dwarf to everyone else in the group, and they began to venture to the swamps.
/
The marshes were vastly different from the enchanted forest. Algae grew on everything, their feet squished in the mud as they walked, and the sounds of toads croaking filled the air. A hut rested on a wooden dock, and a purple smoke stack rose through the chimney.
"That's where the Cauldron's at," Doli explained with a shiver. "Three witches reside inside." Sora expectantly waited for the dwarf to walk towards the dwelling, but he only stared at it with disgust.
"Well?" Taran asked with a shrug towards the house.
"I dare not go inside," the fairy explained. "These witches use dark magik, and I am strictly against that sort of thing." Eilonwy shivered in fear, and suggested she stay outside. Riku offered to stay with her as Doli began to travel back to his home kingdom, and Taran glared at the taller boy. Gurgi lead the way into the hut. On the way there, Gurgi had succeeded at annoying Taran so much that his face had turned red. It was quite hilarious actually, because Gurgi was building up Taran to exactly what he wanted to be, a hero.
Upon entering the building, everyone took notice of the strange surroundings. Potions of all different liquids lined the shelves, and several strange devices occupied the storage spaces as well. Three old women surrounded a bubbling cauldron, and were creating a potion. They were muttering ancient words as they added ingredients, and the group stepped out from the shadows into the witches view.
"Here for the Cauldron, 'ey, boy?" One of them asked with an evil eye. The women were all repulsive creatures, with many warts and wrinkles. She pointed a bent finger at Taran, and he sneered at her ugliness.
"Yes, King Eiddileg said he gave it to you," Taran explained, and the witches gasped at the name drop.
"Oh yes, when we were much younger, and much more beautiful, Eiddileg was quite the entertainer," The least revolting one said. The other sisters laughed at the old memories.
"What will you give us in return for the Cauldron, boy?" The leader inquired. "Perhaps this pure hearted princess." She touched Kairi's locks with her crooked hands, and Sora stepped in between the two females and gave the witch a warning glare.
"Ooh, ask for the bard, he's kind of cute," the nicer one said as she sent a flirtatious wave at Fflewddur. He looked away in disgust.
"No, no, I sense a boy here holds a very magical sword. So, that deal only makes sense! One magik item for another," the leader suggested as she waved off her sister.
Taran shook his head at Sora as he showed the witches his keyblade. The main witch denied that this was the sword she spoke of, and the third, fattest witch grabbed the old king's sword of Taran's back. The boy frowned as the leader witch smiled at the blade. "B-but, without that…I can't fight…" he said disappointedly.
"Boy, there are many capable warriors in your party. What makes you think you need to fight?" the boss asked him. "Think you're going to be a hero, huh? Not this quest boy, and not for a long time. Even if you do keep the sword, you still will not rise as the hero of this journey." Her eyes glazed over at her prophecy, and Taran sighed in defeat. He handed the sword to the witch, and she cackled in delight. The nicest witch grabbed the Black Cauldron from the closet, and handed it to Taran. It was heavy, and Sora stood on the other side of it to help the pig keeper carry it out.
As the group began to walk out of the marshes, one of the witches called from the window; "Oh, boy, just so you know, the only way to destroy the Cauldron's power is for a being to willingly jump into it. He will of course die, but the Cauldron will also die."
The whole group sighed in dismay as they exited the marshes. They were once again in the cave they fell asleep in, and they all looked around at each other. "So, does anyone want to kill themselves to turn that pot off?" Riku asked sarcastically. Everyone stared at the ground in defeat, and he sighed, "of course."
"We could just take the Cauldron back to Dallben," Taran suggested. "He could help protect it until we find a way to destroy it." Everyone agreed with him, and they began to walk into the forest.
"Taran, are you feeling well?" Eilonwy asked when Taran moped along for at least an hour.
"I am such a fool. How could I think that we could destroy the Cauldron by ourselves? I should have gone back to Dallben once the Horned King captured Hen Wen. Then this whole mess would have never happened," he explained as he stopped in his tracks.
"Noble Taran, Gurgi believes we are doing the right thing. The Horned King would have found the three witches, and then gotten the Cauldron for himself," the animal offered as condolences. Taran shrugged at the thought.
"Yeah, the bad guy always loses, and the Horned King is totally the bad guy. We have to get rid of him," Kairi said with an encouraging smile.
Taran sighed as he looked at the encouraging faces. He wanted to turn and run away. He had messed everything up, just to be the hero. Eilonwy looked at him with her big, bright eyes, and grabbed his head to lift his chin up. "Taran, don't worry, everything will be okay," she promised to him, and they held each other's gaze for a few moments. Eilonwy was just about to raise herself up on her tiptoes to meet his lips, but a charge trumpet rung through the woods. The Horned King and his men burst through the brush, and the three key wielders were no match for their numbers. They surrendered when Heartless swarmed under the horse's hooves, knowing they would fight until they fell if they chose to.
"The Cauldron!" The Horned King demanded, and Taran shook his head at him. A Heartless appeared by Eilonwy and tugged hard at her arm, causing her to cry out in pain at the nails digging in her skin. Taran immediately swung the Cauldron at the King, and he caught it to no avail. "Bring the humans, leave the creature," he ordered a high ranking soldier, and the humans were shackled together with a magical chain. Sora, Riku, and Kairi tried to summon their blades, but their hands remained empty. Something in the shackles prevented any magik.
The walk to the castle was a short one, and the Horned King had the men hung from their hands on the wall of the throne room. He was a bit more respectful to Kairi and Eilonwy, and allowed them to sit side by side on his throne. "Now Eilonwy, I know you are a princess, but this blood haired beauty must be of royal heritage as well?" he suggested as he sat the Cauldron in the middle of the room.
"I am," Kairi responded with a glare.
"Good, good," the King said with a crooked smiled. "Now, if something happens to one of you, I always have a backup queen." The soldiers in the room chortled at the joke, and Kairi glowered at him with disgust.
"Not in a million years, scum." She spat at his feet, and the King instantly slapped her across the face. Kairi stared at Eilonwy with the shock, and then looked desperately at Sora.
"Fucking touch her one more time! I fucking dare you," Sora threatened from his uncomfortable position. The king waved him off and told him to watch his mouth. He began to recite ancient words from a book, and the Black Cauldron began to glow and bubble.
Furry hands on Sora's knuckles caused the Keybearer to look up. Gurgi smiled at him silently as he picked the chains open with his nails. All the enemy eyes in the room lay on the Cauldron and the King. Sora dropped quietly to the floor, rubbing his red wrists. Taran and Riku followed, and Fflewddur was very weak from hanging. He gestured to the girls who would be much harder to get out, and Taran decided to sneak around the room until they were behind the King's back.
A skeletal hand reached out from the Cauldron as they began their descent down the stairs, and Riku and Sora drew their keyblades. They gave each other a ready nod as they landed in the main area with war cries, and the soldiers, Heartless, and Cauldron born were instantaneously upon them. Riku was using magik against them, he was much better at it than Sora. Way to Dawn caught aflame just as it pierced a soldier's armor, or it would be deep inside a Heartless and then the creature would explode into light.
Even though Sora was not as skillful as Riku, he was still knocking them dead. He was fighting on the stairs, always ahead of his enemies to use the height to his advantage. Once he reached the top of the stairs, he viewed the throne room quickly. He saw Kairi fighting in the fray of soldiers, and the other four in his party trying to get to the Cauldron. The Horned King had disappeared when the violence had erupted. Sora jumped high down the stairs, using the aerial gain to deliver deathly blows to the evil beings below him.
Soon, all the three Key Wielders were back to back in a circle of enemies. Sora put his left hand behind his back, and found Riku's right hand and Kairi's left in the tiny circle made by their bodies. He counted down 3…2…1 with his fingers pressed against their palms, and then they all jumped into the enemies. The clash of metal and dying grunts filled the room. After ten minutes of swinging their keyblades, all the enemies lay dead on the ground.
New Cauldron born were crawling out of the Black Cauldron, but only one at a time. They easily took them out once they stepped out of the green potion while Fflewddur tried to use spells against the black magik. Nothing was working though. Taran sighed in defeat, realizing that the Cauldron would never be conquered. He looked around at his friends, but missed the short, furry creature. He looked up at the rafters, and saw Gurgi looking down in horror at the Cauldron. He took a step forward towards the edge of the rafter. "Gurgi, don't!" he yelled to deaf ears.
The animal dove off the rafters and into the Cauldron, and everyone turned around with a gasp. The Cauldron was bubbling over and shaking horrendously. Eilonwy began to cry at the loss of her friend. The shock of Gurgi's suicide was interrupted by a loud yell near the stairway.
"No! What have you done?" The Horned King was sprinting down the stairs with a sword in his hand. Riku smashed Way to Dawn against the blade, and the king dropped it against Riku's strength. Regardless, the King descended on the Cauldron. The green bubbles swallowed him up in a puff, and then the Cauldron settled down. The castle was empty besides the six humans staring sadly at the Cauldron.
"Gurgi…" Taran muttered depressingly as he touched the black metal gently with his hands. The Cauldron began to glow white and rise into the air, and soon Sora was surrounded by clouds and the Cauldron turned into a keyhole. He closed it without his usual triumph, and then the Cauldron fell back onto the castle floor with a clutter. Taran looked at him with earning, as if he could do something. Sora shrugged at him and looked at the floor.
Kairi felt very sad for Gurgi. Only a true hero would sacrifice his life to save his world and his friends. She touched the Cauldron gently with her petite hands, wishing to someone, anyone, that Gurgi would rest in peace and have a wonderful afterlife. Her eyes opened in surprise as her hands began to glow white, and so did the Cauldron. It spat out a ball of fur, and there Gurgi was; covered in slime, but okay.
Eilonwy hugged him gratefully despite his state, and Gurgi returned her embrace. Taran hugged them both. Sora looked from the happy scene to Kairi. "How did you do that?" he questioned, and Kairi shrugged at him.
"Maybe since Gurgi was pure of heart he did not deserve to die. Or the Horned King also sacrificed himself, so maybe the Cauldron thought that was good enough," she suggested, and Sora accepted her solution.
The three said good bye to the Prydain natives, and wished them luck. Hopefully now they would find a new ruler who would rule with a kind heart. Sora had remembered where the Gummi Ship was at after searching for it through the afternoon, all while having fun and goofing around in the forest. The Key Wielders took off into space, ready to help the next world with a Heartless problem.