Kingdom Hearts: The Next Generation
Man, I am so sick of this story. Gonna finish it anyway, just to prove to myself that I'm not a failure, but sheesh, it's become such a chore now… writing all the dialogue is easy, because I planned all the dialogue out completely before I even started, but it's hard to write new fight scenes chapter after chapter, when there's just no passion, when the story's gone borderline-unnoticed for almost two years, when there's no hope of it going anywhere… ugh.
No Solutions
Skye, Max, and Goliath stood back-to-back on the rooftop as the black dragon circled around them. Skye shuffled Webby into the center of their triangle, much to her indignation.
The dragon was not actually attacking, just circling the building quickly enough to prevent them from escaping. Skye shot a fireball at it, but the dragon seemed to brush it off as nothing. Undeterred, Skye opened his coat. "Wally B., find us a weak spot," he whispered.
The bee obliged, flying over to the dragon and inspecting its body, unseen. Finding a place beneath the base of its wing, Wally B. stung it hard. The dragon cried out, but didn't bother turning to face its small assailant.
Wally B. returned to Skye's pocket, and Skye kept his eye on that vulnerable spot, aiming another fireball at where that spot would be given the dragon's current speed, hitting it flawlessly.
The dragon dove into the street, passing through it like a ghost, then rose again, staring at them as it hovered.
Goliath roared and charged at it, flinging himself at its neck, his sheer strength digging his talons into its black flesh. He held on, thrashing around, and the dragon crowed with agony, unleashing its green flame into the sky.
After a few seconds, it flipped over and started for the street again.
"Goliath, jump off!" Skye called out frantically.
Goliath was forced to push off the dragon's body and back onto the roof as it sunk into the ground again.
None of them were watching as it rose again on the other side of the building, while they were waiting for it to return to the spot where it had vanished. The flapping dragon glared at them and blew its fire toward them.
Webby turned around just in time. "Look out!" she squeaked.
Goliath jumped between the three young warriors and the blast of flame, spreading his wings to shield them, roaring in both defiance and pain as he took most of the damage for himself.
"We can't touch it," Skye muttered. "I already sent Tinker Bell back. We just can't fight like this."
"Sure we can," Max said. "It's close enough to the edge."
Max raced to the edge and jumped straight up, his gangly arms and long lance managing to nick the dragon's tough scales. After a five-hit combo, he landed back on the roof and backed away.
"Hmm," Skye said. "So it's resistant to magic, but regular weapons work fine. I wasn't expecting that. All right, I'm going for it."
Goliath eyed him, amused. "Have you no fear of falling?"
"Falling?" Skye repeated. "It's a dragon, it could shred me with its teeth or incinerate me. I'll take a little bit of falling over those choices, thanks."
The dragon had its eyes on the Keyblade. Skye charged, rolling out of the way of a blast of fire, then parrying its teeth away. He jumped, higher than he ever had in his life, and landed on the back of its neck, painfully rolling over some of the spikes on its back before grabbing one to hold himself steady.
He had to remind himself that his Keyblade was too big for him to wield in one hand. He planted his feet firmly on the dragon's neck and let go of the neck spike. He lifted Wide Open Space and prepared to jam it into the Heartless' flesh.
The dragon was having none of that, and angled its body vertically. Skye stumbled and had to grab a spike lower down the dragon's back as it shot toward the sky.
"Ooooh, that's gonna be a lot of falling," he muttered. "Okay, okay, no big deal…"
He tried to think fast, wondering how he could use his huge weapon with only one hand and when so close to his opponent. He grinned when the solution hit him; he began using it as a saw, drawing it back and forth across the dragon's armored back. It howled in pain as it corkscrewed through the air, trying to throw him off.
He lost his grip for a second, but managed to lodge his Keyblade deep within its flesh and keep a grip on its handle. It dove toward the earth, hoping to use the same strategy it had attempted against Goliath: sending its ghostly form into the ground where he couldn't follow, slamming him against the pavement.
Skye tried to pull his Keyblade out to no avail. He shrugged, knowing it would return to his hand any minute, and prepared himself to simply jump off as the dragon's head passed through the road.
Skye hurled himself through the air, and Goliath swooped down to catch him and slow his fall. The Keyblade was lying in the middle of the road. Skye flipped his wrist and it materialized in his two-handed grasp.
"Take me down a little, would you please, Goliath?" Skye said intently.
Goliath obliged, floating toward the ground with Skye beneath him. The black dragon burst out of the pavement, and Skye immediately cracked it over the head, breaking its teeth. The Great Black Dragon screeched and extended a wing. Skye dropped onto the wing and slashed at it, tearing the thin webbing, then crawled along its wing toward its back, stabbing it deeply once again, while Goliath scratched and clawed at its belly.
The dragon spun in midair, flinging both of them back onto the roof. It writhed around, flapping its wings helplessly, releasing a pitiful croon and a jet of flame as it dissipated into black smoke.
Skye and Goliath made eye contact, then grasped each other's forearms triumphantly.
"Uh-oh," Max said. "Guys!"
They spun around, to see Demona with her laser cannon, joining them on the roof.
"I hoped it wouldn't do more than soften you up," she sneered.
"Demona!" Goliath bellowed. "Why? You release Heartless in the streets, to what end?"
"I'm after your heart, Goliath, and those of your clan," Demona said. "Your hearts will aid in the creation of my army, to assault all the worlds!"
"WHAT?" Dr. Facilier demanded. He had appeared behind the group's back.
Demona shot her laser at Facilier, who dove out of the way.
"Oh, Xefrii? Ciexu?" Demona said to the sky. "I know you're watching. You should have done a background check. I don't work well on a team. I accepted your offer only to gain the powers of darkness, now I have no more need of you. And the power has opened my mind." She grinned wickedly at Goliath. "I now realize I haven't been thinking big enough. Why merely destroy the humans on my world when I can purge them from ALL the worlds?"
Goliath growled and prepared to advance on her, but Dr. Facilier pushed past him. "Out of my way, big fella!" he growled, brandishing his cane. "No one betrays the Brotherhood!"
Facilier tackled Demona. She fought back, growling and snarling, and the two of them rolled around on the roof. Facilier knocked her to the ground and stood up, but she wrapped her tail around his ankle and tugged him down with her.
"Oh, little Keybearer?" she said. "If you seek the source of the imbalance and the Midghosts, look to the Keyblade Graveyard."
"Why you—" Facilier snarled, swiping at her legs with his cane. Demona kicked him off the edge of the building.
Facilier's rolled as he hit the ground, leaping to his feet. He glared up at the roof, but didn't return, instead running away down the street as fast as he could.
"Surrender your heart to me now, Goliath," Demona commanded. "You know you've never actually defeated me."
"That may change," Goliath rumbled.
"It definitely will," Skye agreed. "He's got us now!"
"We shall see," Demona said. She fired up her laser cannon, shooting out a continuous beam. She swung it like a sword, the weightless beam slicing through Skye, Max, and Goliath, but passing right over Webby's head. The three of them cried out in pain and staggered.
Demona held her gun in one hand and swirled a talon on the other hand over her head, incanting a spell that caused green sparks to flash all over the rooftop, burning her opponents.
Max slashed at her, but he caught his lance in her tail and pulled it out of his hand, knocking him to the ground. She stomped on the back of his head with her clawed foot, making sure he stayed down.
Goliath lunged, trying to get his arms around Demona, but she ducked and shot a jet of blue magic out of her palm into his chest. He staggered, wheezing and heaving, weakened. He reached for her again helplessly, but she dodged easily.
Demona extended the beam of her laser once again, slashing and spinning with it, leaving scorch marks on the roof and surrounding buildings. Skye knew there would be no point in attempting to block, so he did his best to roll around to avoid it, not doing much good, as he was left covered in burn marks.
He performed a leaping attack toward her head, and she parried with her gun. She snapped her fingers, blowing him away with more green sparks. With another evocation, she wrapped a golden rope around his neck and pulled him toward her forcefully. The third part of her maneuver was a simple punch in the face, downing him.
"Excellent," Demona said. "Those who oppose me completely pounded into the ground, and nary a scratch on me. Now for the harvesting…"
"Hey!" Webby peeped sharply. "What about me?"
Demona stared at her blankly. "Who the devil are you? How long have you been standing there?"
"I'm Webby Vanderquack," Webby said simply. "My uncle is Donald Duck, the best archmage in all the worlds. And he taught me everything he knows."
She raised her crystal wordlessly and bombarded Demona with fireballs, ice crystals, and lightning bolts. Demona braced herself against the onslaught, holding her gun as a shield in front of her face, but taking the brunt of the assault all over her body. Goliath, still weakened, took the opportunity to unsteadily creep up behind Demona and snap her neck.
Webby shot out two beams of leafy green magic, reviving Skye and Max.
"What happened?" Skye demanded.
"I beat her with my magic," Webby said. "Because she treated me like a little kid even though I'm actually a powerful wizard." She grinned smugly.
Skye sighed and looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "You're right, Webby. I'm sorry. You're the best mage anyone ever travelled with. I guess we just forgot about that for a minute."
Max looked down at Demona's broken body. "Did you kill her?" he whispered.
"Aye, but not for long," Goliath said. "Demona shares her soul with her old enemy, a man called Macbeth. While one lives, both live. Only Macbeth can end Demona's life permanently, and then only at the cost of his own… and he has decided that he no longer wishes to die."
"So Demona could come back to life any minute?" Skye said, recoiling.
"Yes. Our standard procedure is to imprison her in the Labyrinth when she is defeated." He picked her up in his arms. "I shall take her there myself. Why don't you three return to the castle and see what progress my clan has made?"
"Is that an order?" Skye said playfully.
"I would never presume to give orders to a Keybearer," Goliath said, smiling. "However, I am more familiar with the situation at hand than you are. I pray you heed my suggestions."
Skye nodded. "Okay. We'll meet you back at the castle."
"Godspeed, lads and lass."