Hello everyone, and welcome back to The X-Keepers!
Well...this certainly has been a pretty...eventful past few weeks...
I mean...did you guys SEE THAT NEW KH3 TRAILER?! BOI, THAT WAS FREAKING AMAZING! TANGLED CONFIRMED! UNREAL ENGINE 4! THE FREAKING CALENDER IN THE BACKGROUND!
Ok, ok, beating around the bush. Yes, am fully aware of what has happened with The X-Keepers community, and before anyone asks, yes, I do know how I'm going to go about the situation. With that said, however, please do not spam me in your reviews and/or PMs about the situation, as this is most certainly not the place to do so. Good? Good.
Now, with that said, let's continue one with our adventure, by checking in on some characters we haven't heard from in a while. Enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts and all related media are owned by SquareEnix/Disney.
CHAPTER 13
Aqua sat in the dark cell, cross-legged, as she tried to meditate. She tried to push out the dreary thoughts of what had befallen her and her friends. But clearly, those thoughts were just too powerful to block out.
Well, that and Lea's panicking wasn't helping either.
With a large sigh, Aqua looked to see the redhead pacing in the cell next to her. "I mean honestly, I've tried everything!" She heard her friend yelp, "I can't summon my Keyblade, a dark corridor, light corridor; heck, even the D-Link doesn't work in here!"
Across from the young Keyblade Master, Cloud leaned against the bars that held him in deep thought. "Well what haven't you tried yet?" He asked, as Lea stopped to think for a second.
"You wouldn't happen to have any of those glowing ball things around would you?" He asked.
Cloud, knowing what Lea was taking about, let out a scoff. "All of my items were taken, just like yours, Lea." Lea groaned loudly, hanging his head in defeat before slumping up beside the wall behind him.
"Don't worry hot-head, you have my sentiments," Lightning spoke up, still sitting up against the wall in her cell, before she grumbled, "If anything, it's all I can give at this point."
Aqua looked to the young warrior across from her, "No matter how far we think we've fallen, we still can't give up hope."
Lightning let out a small chuckle. "Hope," She scoffed, "You honestly think that's going to help us here? I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kind of tight for options, and so far these black coats here haven't been that hospitable." Sitting herself up, Lightning continued on, "Look, point being, these people are dead set on getting what they want. Which means no matter what happens, we are going nowhere. There just aren't that many options left."
Aqua, looking down at the ground, processed Lightning's words. She had a point, but even still, she knew that they couldn't give up. "I just can't afford to think like that." Aqua simply replied, "Not after what I've seen."
Lightning, knowing exactly what Aqua was talking about, kept quiet, as she let the Keyblade master have some time to reflect on that fateful day…
Heartless. Nobodies. Unversed. Every enemy imaginable stood on that battle ground, clawing and snarling their way through the war. But even then, Aqua continued to hack and slash her way through the crowd, banishing the darkness back to whence it came. She kept looking to her sides, as she saw her friends fighting alongside her, while they too dashed through the crowd with ease. Nearing the edge of the battleground, Aqua looked to see ahead of the crowd, but immediately gasped at the terror she saw.
Their enemy and former master, Xehanort, had forged the X-Blade. He stood, grasping the blade in his hand, as he looked down on the young boy who faced him, while the old master wore his signature grin.
"All worlds begin in darkness." He stated, raising the blade above him, "And all so END!"
And thus, with a dashing swoop, Xehanort brought the blade down upon his enemy, while everyone looked on in horror…
"Gah!"
SoraAlam jolted upright, breathing heavily. Looking to his side, he saw that his friends were still asleep, but the campfire that they all were laying around had all but died out. Turning back, he let out a hearty sigh, as he collapsed his hands over his face. It was all just a dream.
Or…was it?
It all felt so real, almost like it was a memory. The thought of the Keyblade War still stuck in his head, like a nagging pain that wouldn't go away. He just didn't know what to do about it.
"Trouble sleeping there, champ?" SoraAlam looked to see the bright moonlight glowing down on him, and in front of it, was Skyward Wing, sitting cross-legged on a boulder, facing outward at the moon.
"You could say that." SoraAlam answered, pulling himself from his sleeping bag, "What are you still doing up?"
Sky let out a breath, "Meditation." He answered, "Helps clear my mind during situations like this. That and I don't really find it that easy to sleep that much anymore."
SoraAlam climbed on top of the boulder, taking a seat beside his friend. "Why not?" SoraAlam asked, but Sky didn't answer, leaving the young boy to fill in the blanks. "Oh…right." SoraAlam figured out, "I guess the past affects us more than we think."
"Well, it doesn't JUST affect us." Sky added, "It helps mold who we are, and what we can become. Or at least, that's what I got out of it."
SoraAlam laughed, "True enough."
The duo then sat silently, before Sky felt it appropriate to speak up.
"So…The Keyblade War, huh." He said, immediately catching his friend's attention. "Y'know, they say that a few of those who fought in that war weren't even masters. Or at least they weren't yet at that point. Heck, Sora himself failed his Mark of Mastery the first time around!"
Sky then looked out at the moonlight, remembering what he learned about that day. "And yet, he's still the same guy who managed to bring the worlds together like this." Sky admired, "That is the thing of sheer legends."
SoraAlam smiled at Sky's knowledge, also looking out at the large moon. "I still don't know what all of it has to do me though; and why I'm having these dreams about it."
"Sometimes, maybe the answers aren't just right in front of us." Sky explained, "There out there waiting to be found."
"And what do you think will happen when we find them?" SoraAlam asked.
Sky shrugged, "Worst case scenario, it was built up to something really anticlimactic. Or, best case scenario, it straight up changes everything."
SoraAlam, nodding, quickly looked out in the open. "Whoa! Look!" He exclaimed, as Sky also looked out to what his friend was pointing at.
Out in the distance, a beam of green light shot out across the forest plain of the world they were on. It almost looked like there was some sort of design within the line. The two Keyblade Wielders looked on, perplexed at what they were looking at.
"What do you think that is?" SoraAlam asked, as Sky crouched down on the rock.
"Only one way to find out," He answered, "Come on!"
Then moving quickly, Sky hopped off the boulder and ran into the forest after the bright light.
"Wait, what about…?" SoraAlam tried to call out, before looking back to see the rest of the group, asleep. Even though it didn't feel to right to leave them behind, he still couldn't let Sky go off on his own, Keyblade Master or not.
Thus, hoping off the boulder, SoraAlam chased after Sky, hoping whatever they were chasing after was worth the chasing.
Trees in his way or not, Sky flew through the forest on his glider after this light, with SoraAlam not too far behind him. Somehow, Sky thought he had seen this line somewhere before, but he just couldn't put finger on it where he had seen it. Continuing through the jungle-like landscape, the duo began to see a clearing up ahead, meaning that they were about to find out where this line was leading to. Thus, they pressed on, ready to see what they were chasing after.
However, the duo was pleasantly surprised to find that once they entered the clearing, they saw that the line had been cut off at the edge of a cliff. Dismissing their gliders, the duo walked out to the edge of the cliff, seeing the massive baron crater before them.
"Amazing," SoraAlam silently exclaimed, "What do you think this is?"
Sky analyzed the area, before turning back to his friend. "Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to find it." Sky answered.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, lad!"
The duo whipped around at the sound of the new voice, only to be brought face to face with an unusual crowd. They were a strange lot filled with creatures and goons galore, with their leader being a larger man, who bore a robotic arm, peg leg and eye, as he wore a three pointed hat on top of his head. Suffice it to say, the duo didn't have to take long in order to figure out what kind of group they were dealing with.
"Oh good," SoraAlam cautiously joked, "more pirates." Sky however, was dead silent, before he starred at the cyborg captain.
"Long John Silver." Sky uttered, as the cyborg stepped forward.
"Skyward Wing." Silver replied, stepping in front of the young Keyblade master. "You've certainly got a lot of guts showing your face around here. After what you pulled."
The two Keyblade wielders looked at each other, SoraAlam in shock, and Sky more confused, as he looked back to the cyborg's glare. Then, Silver raised his robotic arm, as if he was ready to punch Sky right in the face. But as soon as he threw down his fist, it stopped halfway, as Silver's punch suddenly turned into a handshake.
Silver heartily laughed, as he pulled the now relieved Sky into a hug. "How're you doing, you old pirate?" Sky asked his old friend.
"Old?" Silver jokingly asked, "I may be rusty, but I'm still a swashbuckler at heart!"
"No doubt." Sky laughed, though SoraAlam still stood puzzled.
"Uh, am I missing something here?" He asked, as Sky pulled back to his friend.
"Oh right." He sheepishly realized, "SoraAlam, this is Long John Silver, one of the best pirates to ever sail the cosmos."
"Aw, you flatter me, lad!" Silver replied, as he shook SoraAlam's hands, "Pleasure to meet ya, son."
"Likewise." SoraAlam casually replied, not sure what to make of Sky's acquaintance.
"So, Silver, what brings you to this…place, here." Sky asked, unsure of exactly to call the area they were in.
"Do you even have to ask, lad?" Silver responded as he reached into his back pocket, "Take a gander."
Out of his pocket, Silver revealed to the duo a golden orb, engraved with several strange markings, which he passed to Sky. Though SoraAlam found the object curious enough, Sky stared at the orb, knowing exactly what it was.
"This is…" Sky started to say.
"Captain Nathaniel Flint's treasure map." Silver answered with a twinkle in his robotic eye.
"A treasure map?" SoraAlam questioned, "In this little ball?"
Silver laughed, "Things are not always as they appear, lad." He answered, "Though I will admit, we have had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how the blasted thing works…"
As Sky looked at the sphere, his eyes wandered towards the ground, where he saw a small divot . However, looking closer at it, the hole bared some of the same carvings as the orb did. Deciding to put two and two together, Sky knelt down to the hole, and placed the orb inside the hole, which fit like a glove. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and the markings on the orb began to light up, before the light began to spread around on other parts of the ground. Before long, the glowing carvings around the orb began to sprout upward, until it began to form into what looked like a small globe.
All of the pirates were in awe of what they just saw, as Silver came to Sky and SoraAlam's sides.
"Magnificent, boys," He said, before he paused, "So what does it do?"
Sky looked over the globe, just as puzzled. "I'm not quite sure." He replied, until he saw what looked like a picture of one of the worlds he had been to before. Curious, he touched the picture, and before anyone knew it, a triangular shape appeared in front of everyone, and inside it, a picture of the world appeared.
Everyone didn't have to think too long before they realized what this thing was.
"It's a portal," SoraAlam realized, "To a bunch of different worlds."
Sky continued to touch the pictures of various worlds, and each time, that world appeared in the portal. "Olympus Coliseum, Neverland, Atlantica, Halloween Town, all of them," Sky listed off, "They're marked on this map. This must be how good ol' Captain Flint got around."
Silver, excited by what he was hearing, got in close to see if he could find where he was looking to go, and sure enough, found it to gleeful abandon.
"Lookie here, Skyward. Look, that's where we need to be," Silver exclaimed, as Sky stared at the world.
"Treasure Planet," Sky said, rolling his eyes, "Of course you would be after Flint's loot."
"Yes, yes, my boy." Silver laughed as he groaned, "So tell me, how do we get there?"
Sky, simply shrugging, answered, "Simple. Just open the door." Thus, when he saw the picture of the designated world, Sky pressed his finger on the glowing picture, bringing it up in the portal.
Everyone gasped, as the picture looked very bleak, lacking very little colour inside. SoraAlam looked at Sky, curious as to whether or not his friend pressed the right button or not. Sky looked as though he was positive this was it, thus he moved forward, everyone else following him toward the portal. Approaching with caution, Sky held his hand up to the window, before it felt through the picture and into the world itself. Thus, he walked forward, and found himself looking in awe at what he just found. SoraAlam, as well as Silver and the other pirates, entered the portal along with him, now knowing it was safe, and they too were dumbstruck by what they saw.
Gold. Nothing but coins, doubloons, and other treasure for all that the eye could see. And the entire planet was covered in it.
"By the gods." Silver gasped, as his men began cheering and screaming as they dive-bombed into the massive loot they found. Even Sky and SoraAlam had to admit, this was astounding.
"An entire planet covered in treasure." SoraAlam described, "I'll admit. I'm impressed." Sky nodded, as he looked around the golden landscape, until he saw what looked like a pirate's ship off in the distance.
"Silver, look!" Sky pointed his friend where he was looking, as Silver widened his mechanical eye at the structure. "That's got to be Flint's ship, right?" Sky asked, as the pirate gasped at the sight.
"Ay, lad, so it is!" He exclaimed, "Let's get a closer look!"
As Silver led Sky down the gold-filled pathway, SoraAlam followed them, though he was a bit curious towards Silver's personality. Something just didn't feel right about him, but he didn't know what.
As the trio approached the ship, which was certainly looking worse for wear, Sky leaped up onto the ship, pulling his friends aboard the ship. Once everyone aboard, everyone turned around to come face to face with something quite terrifying.
It was a large, skeletal face, obviously alien like, which bared a large pirate hat on its head. Silver gasped at the sight.
"Captain Flint!" He said in disbelief, as Sky's eyes widened.
"That's Flint?" He asked, as SoraAlam still stood there confused.
"You keep talking about this guy, but, who is he?" he asked, as Sky explained.
"Flint was the most dastardly pirate to ever sail through the realms between. And one of the first to do so, too." Sky told, as he got closer to the skeleton, "He traveled the worlds, plundering and pillaging and the other pirate-y stuff. Over the years, he amassed so much treasure that he had to store it away. Somewhere where no one could find it." SoraAlam came to Sky's side as his friend pondered his thoughts.
"And still to this day, no one has found it." Silver continued onto Sky's story, only for the young Keyblade master to smile.
"Yeah," Sky answered, turning around, "No one except us, Silv-"
But when Sky turned back to face his old friend, he was instead met the cyborg's blaster hand in his face, and a disgruntled look on the pirate's face. At this point, several of the other pirates had climbed aboard the ship, and also had their weapons drawn upon the Keyblade wielders.
"Silver," Sky asked worriedly, "What's going on?"
"He's fulfilling his end of the bargain."
Hearing a new voice, both Sky and SoraAlam looked above them to see two new figures, both dressed in hooded black coats, standing above them on the platform above them on the ship.
"Oh…how quaint." SoraAlam groaned, as both he and Sky stood, worried about what they had just gotten themselves into…
Rule of thumb: never trust a pirate, let alone one you JUST met!
But yes, as you can see, we have come to the second Disney world of our story, of course based on Treasure Planet. However, unlike the film, this version is going to be a tad different then how it is portrayed in the film. But, we'll get to that eventually.
Like I said in the beginning, guys, please don't come to me in your reviews and PMs asking me about the X-Keepers' situation, as I'll just be ignoring them, and some may even be deleted. It's disrespectful, and like I said, this isn't the place for a debate or anything of the sort. If you guys REALLY want to know what I plan to do regarding this FanFiction's future in regards to this situation, then I might make a post on the X-Keepers Facebook page talking about it. But other than that, please don't come to me about it.
Other than that, this concludes another chapter of The X-Keepers! As always, feel free to comment (No Trolling!) and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!
P.S. Props to anyone who can find the references to both Star Wars and The Hunger Games!