Sorry for being late guys. Easter took me all the way to Connecticut and I was too tired to write last night.

Chap. 11

The North Pole Part 2

"Baku NO!!" Azula screamed as her son charged Ozai. But if Baku heard her, he gave no answer. Raising his father's boomerang high over his head, he launched himself at Ozai. But the former fire Lord merely dodged his grandson's attack, then with one swift move as Baku flew past him, landed a hard punch to the boy's gut. Baku gasped as all the air was pushed out of him, then grimaced as Ozai grabbed his throat with his other hand and held him up.

"Foolish." He said, as Baku struggled. "Did you really think that a boomerang would be enough to stop me?"

"Hey put him down!" Sora yelled, brandishing the Keyblade.

"I would not make any threat, Keyblade bearer." Ozai replied. "I can still snap his neck from here. I wonder if you've heard that before. It can be wonderful."

"But perhaps that is a waste." He added. "After all, the boy has such passion. I wonder, if that passion could be turned to my advantage.,…. Once the boy is a Heartless."

At those words, pools of shadow appeared all around the group. As the watched, Heartless began to pour out, surrounding them seconds.

"Well, this can't be good." Osc said, as he gripped his sword, watching the Heartless without even blinking.

"Brilliant Holmes." Luz replied. "Once again you have shown your tremendous deductive skills."

"Can we just shut and get out of this?" Azula snapped, as she saw a pool open by Ozai and a Heartless emerge, eagerly marching towards Baku.

"Sure, that's always possible." Oscuridad said, as he suddenly released a wave of shadowfire, destroying the Heartless in front of him. But the second that happened, the rest of the Heatless leapt upon them, covering all they could see in an inky blackness. But only for a second. Before the Heartless could even touch them, there was the sound of metal upon flesh, a pair of bright flashes, and then the Heartless vanished in clouds of black, while Sora and Riku stood on opposite ends, their weapons behind them.

"Very nice." Oscuridad said. But the compliment fell on deaf ears as Azula and Zuko instantly ran for the steps, yelling out Baku's name as the Heartless came closer to him. But even as the others ran after them, even as those buried in the snow began to pick themselves up, it was obvious even to Baku that they weren't going to reach him in time. Already, he could feel the cold darkness of the Heartless coming towards him, could hear the ragged noises that must've passed for it's breathing, and now, the touch it's claws on his skin.

"Look on the bright side." Ozai whispered. "Perhaps now we can have a real relationship."

Baku grimaced then, more from the words then the touch of the Heartless. But even then, he didn't forget his plan. Behind Ozai, the icy ground suddenly rose up in a huge wave of snow. The Heartless touching him suddenly stopped and pulled away. And as the shadow fell on him, Ozai turned just in time to see the snow, before it covered him in its snowy whiteness.

The group halted as they came up to the snow-covered dais, watching briefly as a heart suddenly flew up from the snowy mound. A second later, they saw a head pop from the snow, gasping for breath as it emerged. Baku shook his head, wiped the snow from the eyes, then looked over at his would-be rescuers and asked, "Did I get him?"

"If ya didn't, I dunno what would." Tierra said, as Azula ran up the dais and pulled Baku out of the snow.

"What in the hell are you doing here?!" she yelled. "You were supposed to stay in the South Pole! Who's watching your sister?"

"Grandfather I guess." Baku replied, as turned back and fished Sokka's boomerang out of the snow. "I didn't tell her I was doing this."

"Or the rest of us." Zuko said. "Baku what were you thinking?"

"That I wanted to see the things that killed my father. That I wanted to fight the man that controlled them, and look him in the eyes when I destroyed him."

"Baku, you're not old enough to be talking like this." Zuko said. "I know what happened to Sokka was hard, but…."

"But it does not give you the right to sneak around because of some half-assed revenge plan!" Azula yelled. "You almost got destroyed up there!"

"But I didn't." Baku countered. "I used what Aunt Katara taught me and…"

"Uh, guys?" Aire said, pointing to the mound behind them, as a large shape began to rise up out of it. The three of them quickly stopped arguing and looked over then backed away as Ozai emerged from the snow.

"That was impressive." He said, as the others headed up the stairs and stood behind the others. "But parlor tricks are not enough to stop me."

But before he could say anything else, someone suddenly moved behind Ozai, grabbed him, and put a knife to his throat. He stiffened, but his face did not change.

"Like you said, parlor tricks aren't enough." Ozena said, as he held the knife ever closer. "So let's put aside the tricks and put everything down on the table, eh?"

"I was wondering when you would wake up, Prince." Ozai replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, but our meetings always end the same, don't they?" Ozena answered back. "But perhaps this time, my father will be able to deal with you himself."

"Indeed I will." Chief Arnook said, as he pulled himself up from the snow. "But I think I would like to converse with the true Fire Lord first."

Turning to Zuko, the Chief said, "I thank you for our assistance Zuko. And the rest of you as well. But what is this evil that Ozai has brought with him?"

"The Heartless sir." Sora answered. "We're here to stop them."

"And who are we?" the Chief asked, looking for the first time at Sora and his companions. "I don't believe I've heard of any like you before, young one."

"This is Sora, Arnook." Zuko replied. "He and his friends are from another world. Their King sent them here to help us deal with the Heartless."

"Although it took a lot shorter then usual." Sora added cheerfully.

"Aw, I don't know about that." Goofy said, as he looked over at Ozai.

"Goofy, what are you talking about?" Donald squawked.

"Well, it's just kinda funny that Ozai'd stay out here instead'a going for the Keyhole." Goofy said.

"He wanted to see us suffer." Azula replied.

"Wait. I think Goofy's onto something here." Oscuridad said, as he moved over and took a look at Ozai. After a moment, he motioned for Luz to join him. The fox came up with a puzzled look on her face. But as she looked, that looked faded, until finally both she and her husband drew their weapons and yelled, "Ozena, MOVE!"

The water Prince instantly dropped his knife and ducked, just as the two Knights released their combined elements at Ozai. The power of light and dark struck him full force, and with a howl of pain, Ozai began to vanish. But as he did, his form began to writhe and change, until the man was gone and all that remained was a Heartless. That too vanished, as a heart soon rose out of the black smoke.

"Wha… how did you know?" Riku spat out.

"Goofy was right. The real Ozai would've rather taken this place then watch us die." Oscuridad said, as he and Luz put their weapons down.

"But more then that, there was no light in his heart." Luz said. "Even with somebody who was that big of a douche, there had to be something."

"Yes, I remember now. The Heartless can assume different forms at times, since they're made of darkness." Hierro said. "But if Ozai isn't here, then where…"

"He must be in the palace!" Ozena sad.

"No. If he was there, then the Heartless would've led him to the Keyhole by now." Riku said. "Is there any other important place that he could use the palace to get to?"

"Well, I don't know about a Keyhole, but the palace is the only way to the Spirit Oasis." Arnook said.

At that, the group looked at each other with horror slowing dawning on their faces, then quickly raced into the palace. Arnook and his father looked at each other, then followed.


"Amazing." Ozai breathed as he stepped onto the grass of the Oasis. Here, in the frozen North, this warm little patch of ground had managed to stay alive. Ozai briefly recalled that one of his admirals, a man named Zhao, had attempted to destroy the moon spirit that dwelled in this place. Ozai glanced down into the pool and saw the two koi fish swimming around in their endless circle.

"How small-minded Zhao was." Ozai muttered, as he looked away from the fish. The power of the moon was nothing compared to what Ozai sought. And soon, it would be his. He closed his eyes, as if imagining what that power would feel like. But of course, he didn't need to know.

"This is a worthy spot for the Keyhole." He said aloud, looking at the Oasis. "And a worthy place for me to start my new reign."

With that, Ozai waved his hand and a pair of Heartless appeared before him. "Find me the Keyhole." He commanded.

Almost instantly the two creatures began to move about, their sense at high alert from the power in this place. As Ozai watched, they came to the pool and looked at the fish a moment, then dived in. The fish swam away, as the two Heartless placed their hands on the ground, and the water began to fill with their never-ending darkness.

"Soon now. Very soon." Ozai said aloud, as he watched the Heartless work.

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" a voice said from behind him.

Ozai turned then, and saw Zuko and the others reach him. But as they stood before him, he simply shook his head.

"You're too late." He said. "The Heartless have already found the Keyblade. Within a few moments, it will be mine."

"How crazy are you?" Kairi yelled. "You'd let this whole place be destroyed?"

"I have no plans for destruction." Ozai said. "But if this place was to go, I would feel no regret."

"You sanctimonious…" Ozena began., but then, a blinding light suddenly shot forth from behind them. Everyone turned and saw the Heartless look up, as two beams of black and white shot out from the pool. They combined into a ball above the oasis and as everyone watched, the lights began to combine into a large orb of light.

"Ahh. It's here." Ozai whispered, as he turned on began to walk to the orb. As he began to walk, the Heartless began to reach for the Keyhole. But before they could reach it, Goofy flung his shield as Baku hurled his father's boomerang. The two weapons soared through the air then curved over and struck the two Heartless, reducing them to nothingness. As the two weapons returned to their users, Oscuridad and Azula raced forward and tackled Ozai to the ground. As he struggled against them, the bat yelled, "Sora, hurry! Seal the Keyhole!"

The bearer nodded and began to run forward, but as he came close, multiple pools of blackness appeared and Heartless began to pour out. But the Heartless had no effect on Sora, drawing the Keyblade, he simply sliced his way through the masses as behind him, Zuko and Riku led the others in destroying the remaining Heartless. Azula attempted to grab her father's hand, prevent hi from calling more. But the Fire Lord simple summoned a pool for himself and began to vanish into it. But just before he could disappear, Osc reached inside the dark pool and dragged him out, then threw him to the ground hard, as he and Azula held him fast.

Meanwhile, Sora reached the Keyhole and raised his weapon to it. Slowly the orb began to open up, revealing a round hole inside. Sore looked at it for a moment, as if puzzled, then refocused as the Keyblade began to glow. Light shot out of the weapon, striking the hole dead center. There was a flash, then the sound of a knob turning and locking. With that, the Keyhole vanished, as the waters returned to normal.

"Yes!" Sora said, pumping his fist. "Now to take care of…'

But the boy spoke to soon. All around him, the Heartless began to vanish in clouds of black smoke. Ozai vanished as well, as Osc and Azula clamped down on nothing. As the group began to pick themselves up, Ozai's voice rang out.

"Well done. But this is not over. The Heartless are still mine. And there are still victories to be had. Remember, this world is nothing but the sum of it's parts."

As the voice faded, Sora turned to the group and asked, "What was that about?"

"Don't ask me." Zuko answered. "But the Keyhole is safe now, right?"

"Sealed and shut." Sora answered. "The Heartless can't do a thing with it."

"I'm not so sure." Hierro said suddenly. "I got a look at that thing before you closed it Sora. Do all the Keyholes look like that?"

"Well…. no." Sora said. "They kinda look like…. Well, Keyholes."

"Then why did we only see a circle?" the spider wondered. "And what did he mean the sum of its parts?"

"He's trying to trick us." Baku snorted. "What else could it be?"

"Let him go kid." Fue said. "Hierro is in his thinking mode, and that usually means something big."

Indeed, the spider was clearly thinking hard, pacing back and forth, rubbing his chin with great speed. But then he stopped, his eight eyes growing wide, as he spat out, "Oh crap!"

"What is it?" Karir asked.

"I know what he meant!" the spider moaned. "This world…. It's a four part thing!"

"What are you talking about?" Osc asked.

"Four lands, four elements that make up one Avatar." Hierro said, holding four hands and then pushing them together for effect. "And the Avatar is the spirit of the world. What if it's the same for other things?"

"Wait." The bat said, as everything began to come together in his mind. "You don't mean…."

"Yes. Four countries that each hold a piece of the Keyhole!"