Chapter 42: Radiant No More
Note: Charlotte is owned by Ika-Miyuka on Deviantart.
"Location: Paradise Falls, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
Later, now barely aloft, Carl pulled his house across therocky landscape. Russell's harness dragged alongside, empty. The boy walked behind him, staying with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who kept their distance from Carl. With the last of his energy, Carl dragged the house into place on the edge of a cliff. The house groaned as it came to rest. Carl dropped the hose harness, walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked over.
He had finally made it. Paradise Falls. Torrents of water careened over the massive cliff edge. The man took out Ellie's childhood drawing. Next to him stood the real house, just like she wanted.
"Here." a voice muttered.
Behind him, Russell threw his sash onto the ground.
"I don't want this anymore." Russell said angrily.
The boy walked away and sat on a rock, alone. Carl picked up the sash and walked up the steps of his house. Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched as he entered the house and disappeared. The three then looked at Russell, who just stared at the ground and didn't speak to them.
"Um, should we go talk to Russell? He seems kind of down." Goofy asked.
Donald huffed.
"I can't blame him, especially after what Carl did." Donald replied.
Sora crossed his arms.
"I think we should leave him alone for a bit. He seems too angry at the moment, so let's just let him cool off before we say anything." Sora said.
He looked over to the house. After a few moments, he started walking over to it. Donald and Goofy accompanied him, and the three stepped into the house. It was then that they realized that they had never been in there since arriving on the Gummi Ship. Many of Carl's things were strewn across the floor, a mess from the rough journey. They managed to locate the living room and entered it to find Carl sitting down in his chair. Most of the items in the room had been placed back in their original places and set back up correctly. Carl was looking at his Adventure Book when he looked up at the trio.
"What's that?" Goofy asked.
Carl looked down.
"An Adventure Book. Something my wife Ellie and I made detailing our adventures during our marriage." Carl replied.
The trio managed to see some of the photos in the book. One was a wedding photo of a younger Carl and Ellie. Another was the two on a picnic. There was another with the two celebrating birthdays. Other photos of their ordinary life together, the ups and downs. The three looked up and notice Carl's face warming. Ellie lived the life she had wanted. She saw adventure in everyday life. There was one last photo, which had the two of them sitting side by side, together in their chairs. Beneath it, Ellie had written a message.
"Thanks for the adventure. Now go have a new one! Love, Ellie." the message read.
Carl smiled and looked over to Ellie's empty chair. On the arm was Russell's sash. Carl picked it up, and he looked over at Ellie's chair and crossed his heart. He then looked at the others.
"I want to go speak to Russell. I should apologize for what I did. It was wrong." Carl said.
He and the other three walked out of the house.
"Russell?" Goofy called out.
Russell was nowhere to be seen. Just then, a shadow crossed over them. The four looked up to see Russell floating off, hanging from a bunch of balloons.
"Russell!" Carl shouted.
"I'm gonna help Kevin! Even if you won't!" Russell shouted angrily.
The boy fired up a leaf blower and steered himself off into the sky.
"No, Russell! Come back!" Donald shouted.
He and the other three ran back to Carl's house and tried in desperation to lift it. They struggled, but the house didn't budge. The balloons had lost too much helium. Furious, Donald threw a chair off the porch. It landed atop the mountain rocks with a thud. That gave Carl an idea.
"Hey, listen up! I have an idea." Carl said.
The four started tossing out all of Carl's possessions. A Gramophone dropped onto the rocky ground. Chairs, followed by dressers and tables. Slowly, one corner of the house lifted. Then another. Eventually, Carl and Sora struggled to push a refrigerator from the porch. They were joined by Donald and Goofy, and the four managed to push it off. As soon as they did, the house lifted off.
"Wahoo!" Sora cheered.
The house floated off into the sky, leaving a huge pile of things. Beside it sat Carl and Ellie's chairs, side by side atop Paradise Falls.
"Location: Tenebris, Umbros, November 29th 2110"
Avina stepped out from a Rift, having arrived back in Umbros. There in the hallway, she was greeted by one of the Elite Octolings, only this one was rather unique compared to the others. Her name was Charlotte, and she had light skin and black tentacles, though she had no strands of seaweed attached to her head. Her eyes were also strange. Her left iris was a grey color, while her right was yellow. She was dressed in the usual Octoling armor, but she currently had the goggles off, and a Hydra Splattling rested at her side.
Charlotte was one of the top generals in the Octarian army. She was loyal, serious, and always did her job correctly when there was danger or when objectives needed to be completed. She also had two other choice Octolings as a part of a squad of her own, but they weren't with her at the moment. One was named Madori, while the other was named Cat. Charlotte was the mature Octoling of her squadmates, and she tried her best to train them. Madori listened easily, but Cat usually got easily distracted, sometimes causing Charlotte to go hard on her.
She also happened to be Octavious's girlfriend. She had caught the Octarian prince's attention shortly before Avina started her plans of conquest, and Charlotte accepted his advances. The two quickly hit it off, due to having many of the same interests and similar personalities, and started a relationship. They were also accepted by the other Octarians, with Octavio himself approving of his son's relationship with her after talking to both. Charlotte would have been with her boyfriend at the moment, but she had been called to the Observatory to speak with Avina.
"Milady Avina, you had something you needed to speak to me on?" Charlotte asked, her hands folded behind her back as she stood at attention.
Avina motioned with her hand. Three figures stepped out of the Rift and stood obediently at her side. Charlotte looked over at them and raised an eyebrow, while still retaining a stern appearance. Avina had taken the female Corrin, male Kana, and Selkie's corpses after their demises alongside their friends and family, and she had turned them into her own mockery of Anankos's invisible soldiers, while having left the corpses of their former allies to rot. While Kana (M) and Selkie had glowing irises, looked foggy, and had purple flames lapping off their bodies like waves, Corrin (F) was more different than her children. Like them, she had glowing eyes and the traits of an invisible soldier, but she also now had her world's Azura's pendant, which Avina had forced off of the aqua haired woman's corpse and corrupted, to the point it was red and black, instead of light blue and white, and gave off an eerie dark purple glow, worked for Corrin (F), and released a curse spell onto people once she sang it's song. She had also been given a new outfit to wear by Avina. Instead of her Nohr Noble outfit, she wore a light gray bikini top that barely covered her breasts and hugged her frame closely, and black shorts. She had also been given Ganglari to wield, with Avina having forged it and given it back to her to use after the destruction of Omega Yato. She also modified it to allow Corrin (F) the ability to have it explode and then reform as many times as she'd want. The three looked at Charlotte blankly, purple flame lapping around their bodies. Avina motioned with her hand, and Kana (M) and Selkie walked over to Charlotte, while Corrin (F) stayed with Avina.
"These are Corrin, her son Kana, and her daughter Selkie. In case you've heard elsewise, these are alternate versions of the true versions. In the world I went to, Corrin was female and married to a kitsune, as opposed to being male and being married to Princess Camilla, while Kana is male and has Selkie as a sister. I've just killed them and their group of friends after they refused to join us, and I've revived these three and turned them into puppets for the rest of the forces. I'm entrusting the children to you and your species. You will also receive Sumia's aide once she returns from Litwak's Arcade. Do not fail me, General." Avina replied.
Charlotte nodded and saluted.
"As you wish, Mistress." Charlotte said.
She looked at Corrin (F) while retaining her frown.
"And what of her?" Charlotte asked.
A dark purple chain materialized around Corrin (F)'s neck. Avina held the end of the chain and tugged Corrin (F) towards her. The Manakete girl stumbled slightly as she was pulled to her new mistress, but otherwise, she showed no signs of pain and obediently stood at Avina's side.
"I shall keep her under my care for the time being. She'll be a servant to the forces, but if needed, she'll fight for us. Since she has no mind anymore, she won't be a problem with staying in dragon form." Avina replied.
She brushed Corrin (F)'s hair to the side to reveal her neckline. Her Dragonstone was missing from it.
"You're dismissed, General." Avina said.
Charlotte bowed slightly.
"Of course, Mistress." Charlotte said.
She walked away, with Kana and Selkie mindlessly following behind her.
"Location: Unknown, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
Lincoln, Luan, and Liby were once again travelling through the Lanes Between.
"Well, that's one of our sisters and some of the future children found so far." Lincoln said.
"You said it, Linc. Of course, we still need to find the others." Luan said, keeping her eyes focused outside.
"I know, Luan. I know for sure we'll find them." Lincoln said.
He glanced at his niece.
"Liby, are you sure you don't know where your other aunts and cousins are? Anywhere?" Lincoln asked.
Liby shook her head.
"No, sorry, Uncle Lincoln. We all were separated. I-I don't know if we'll find them. What if we can't? What if they remain lost somewhere? What if they're killed?" Luan asked nervously.
"Hey, relax, Liby. We can do it. Just take a deep breath and relax." Lincoln replied assuringly.
The auburn haired girl took a deep breath.
"There. Better?" Lincoln asked.
Liby smiled and nodded.
"Y-Yeah. Thanks, Uncle Lincoln." Liby replied.
Just then, the radar picked up another world. It looked like a medieval city with a statue of a warrior in it. It was situated above a dome of bedrock, over which appeared to be some sort of city.
"That's a weird looking world there." Liby said.
"It is. But let's head down there anyway and check it out." Lincoln replied.
The Gummi Ship descended into the world and landed in what appeared to be a clearing in some sort of weird forest. Everything was in monochrome. The three got out and looked around. Liby shivered and rubbed her arms as she looked around their surroundings.
"What is this place? It's really creepy." Liby asked.
"I don't know. It definitely isn't like anything I've ever seen before. Let's go see if we can't find anyone that can tell us where we are." Lincoln replied.
He, his sister, and his future niece started to make their way through the forest. Luan came upon a fork in the forest path. She decided to take the left, but almost immediately, she ended up right back next to her brother and future daughter, who were both startled by her reappearance.
"Whoa! This puzzle is very confusing, I'm a-mazed." Luan said.
She laughed. Liby giggled.
"Good one, Mom." Liby said.
The three took the right path and ended up in another part of the forest. There, they finally came upon another person. They seemed to be dressed in some sort of black suit and was fighting off against three monsters of some sort. They were also accompanied by three other monsters that seemed to be helping him. One was a humanoid-looking girl in an Eastern European-looking outfit with her hair floating up like wings, the second looked like some sort of giant blue elephant monster, and the third was a girl who looked very similar to Alice.
"Hey, that man and his friends are in danger. We should go help." Lincoln said.
He summoned his Keyblade and immediately went over to the armored figure.
"Need any help?" Lincoln asked.
"If you could, that would be appreciated." the armored figure replied with a male voice.
Lincoln nodded, and while Liby stayed behind, her mother and uncle helped the armored man and his allied monsters fight the three enemy monsters. With their combined strength, the enemy monsters were destroyed. Once they were gone, the group relaxed. The armored man straightened up and removed his helmet, revealing white skin, black hair rearranged into a ponytail, and green eyes.
"Thanks for the help. My name is Flynn." the man greeted.
"I'm Lincoln Loud." Lincoln greeted.
He motioned to Luan.
"That's my sister, Luan, and my niece, Liby." Lincoln introduced.
Flynn was confused.
"Aren't you a little too young to have a niece?" Flynn asked.
"It's a long story." Lincoln replied.
Flynn nodded and motioned to the monsters with him.
"Fair enough. These are a couple of demons helping me. They are Moh Shuvuu, Grimekhala, and Alice." Flynn introduced.
Moh Shuvuu and Alice waved at them, while Grimekhala waved his trunk. Luan tilted her head in confusion.
"Those are demons? But they aren't fallen... oh, never mind. So, Flynn, where are we exactly?" Luan asked.
"This is a place called the Expanse. It's apparently a world made by the thoughts of humanity. I was separated from my friends and trapped here by aggregates of thought called the White. If I defeat all four of them, their hold over this place will break and I'll be sent home. There were four, but I've defeated all but one." Flynn explained.
Lincoln nodded.
"I see what you mean. Let us help you. More help can give you a better chance at getting home." Lincoln said.
Flynn smiled.
"Thank you." Flynn said.
He then noticed that Liby was defenseless.
"You seem to not have a weapon. I can help you with that if you want." Flynn said.
Liby nodded.
"I don't want to be dead weight to my mother and uncle. What do you have in mind?" Liby asked.
"Location: Disney Town, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
On the rolling hills on the outskirts of Disney Town, Pete emerged from a Corridor of Darkness, accompanied by Licortwist, Creamy, the Nicktoons, Chloe, Hades, Hook, Cruella, and Gaston. Cruella walked up next to him.
"It's a shame the Toons of this place surely want to make a coat out of you, darling." Cruella said.
"Oh, doh! It's my counterpart they want to do that to. They don't know anything of me. Those Toons won't be catchin' me. Not today!" Pete said.
Gaston stepped in front of Pete and Cruella, looking off towards the town and the castle. He turned back to his burly comrade.
"Please, they won't be catching you because we'll be smart enough to do the brunt of the work." Gaston said.
Hades snickered.
"So, we break our way in there, find a way into that castle, might have a casualty or two along the way. But c'mon, no big deal, right? We get our hands on those journals and make it back to the Forbidden Mountain before you can say "zip-ah-dee-doo-dah". Easy-peasy." Hades said.
Pete brought his hands to his chest as he let out a mighty laugh.
"Ahaha, let's get this show on the road, then." Pete said.
Chloe looked off towards the huge castle that was surrounded by the many houses and buildings of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
"Yes, but how do you expect us to get into that castle? There's a giant wall surrounding the thing." Chloe asked.
Hook scratched his chin with his one good hand.
"Yes, it's unlikely that they would open the doors for most of us, considering our counterparts, and those of us that are complete strangers and invite us in with a warm welcome." Hook said.
Pete nodded.
"Uh-huh. We've gotta think of a way to get into that there castle." Pete said.
"We're waiting for suggestions." Tak said.
Pete brought his hand up to his chin, thinking for a long moment as he shifted his weight from one side to the other as he pondered and studied the castle. Eventually, his pointed ears perked up.
"Ah, I got it!" Pete said.
Creamy smirked.
"Do you now? Well, get on with it then!" Creamy said.
"Listen here. I know the perfect way for us to sneak into that little town and ol' castle up there! We'll take the secret utilidoors." Pete said.
"The what?" Licoritwst asked, confused.
Hades placed one of his long bony fingers to his chin.
"Yeah, I'm with dark boy here. Elaborate." Hades said.
"Remember the series of underground tunnels built underneath Toontown involving the monorail system? I can see the same exact entrance over by the southern end of town. It looks abandoned, though, but we can probably sneak on in through there. We'll travel all throughout it. I'm most certainly certain that one of those underground tunnels'll take us to the castle." Pete explained.
"Alright, it sounds simple enough." Jimmy said.
"But, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait! The utilidoors entrance is probably well guarded or blocked off in the very least! It could be unguarded like in Toontown, but those royals definitely wouldn't left somethin' like that open for any ol' somebody to just go waltzin' on in." Pete said.
Hades smirked, before extending his arm out, where a flaming orb of inferno fire materialized in the palm of his hand.
"Hmph, fine. In that case, we destroy everything in our path until we get what we want... and settle for nothing less." Hades said.
"Location: Unknown, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
Flynn had given Liby a spare suit of armor just like his own, which he had explained was called a Black Demonica. He had also given her a type of pistol called a Golden Gun and a sword. Moh Shuvuu, Grimekhala, and Alice disappeared into a sort of gauntlet that Flynn had on his left arm, and Flynn introduced them to Burroughs, an AI in the gauntlet. After the introductions were done with, Lincoln, Luan, Liby, and Flynn continued on together. After trekking through the forest some more, the four found an odd dark purple hole, which Flynn explained was an entrance to a part of the forest where the last White was hiding. The four fell into it and came upon a clearing. There, the last White, which had the appearance of a man in some sort of peasant clothing but was in all white, appeared. He focused on Flynn specifically.
"It is our fate to endlessly repeat the same mistakes. Given this, what other salvation can there be than returning everything to naught?" the White asked.
"Returning everything to naught? You mean... erasing all of existence? That sounds really disturbing and would also be the murder of countless innocent lives. It would be genocide." Liby replied.
The White shook his head.
"Your choice is wrong. We will prove that to all of you." the White said.
Lincoln instantly summoned his Keyblade, Luan took out her wand, and Flynn summoned Moh Shuvuu, Grimekhala, and Alice.
"Look at my form. It is the image of Flynn's friend Issachar, who was torn asunder in the rift between his people. By his own hand. The most proper course of action regarding this world that killed him... I will demonstrate to you using this form." the White said.
He immediately started to attack them. A wave of green energy channeled around him for a second, before he took out a sword and unleashed a mighty strike called a Mortal Jihad at Liby. The girl was hit so hard that her armor punctured slightly, and she fell onto her back.
"Liby!" Luan shouted.
Before she could heal her future daughter, the White released an Almighty spell at them. However, Lincoln created a Reflect barrier, and the spell went back and hit the White instead. Flynn then attacked the White with a spear called Longinus, dealing a large blow to him.
"Tell me this. What possibilities does this world hold that you feel secure walking the path of Neutrality? As the one who embodies those possibilities, what comes to mind?" the White asked.
"Neutrality?" Lincoln wondered.
Flynn shrugged.
"I don't know yet." Flynn replied.
"Is that why you choose to go and search for an answer? The unknown possibilities you believe in are too vague for us to put our faith in now." the White said.
Lincoln's party felt a determination surge over them, and they attacked the White again. Lincoln charged at the White and slashed at him with an Aerial Sweep. The being was launched into the air, and Lincoln leaped up and then swiped at him again, launching him back down to the ground. The White crashed into the ground, and before he could get up, Luan released a Blizzaga spell, dealing major cold damage to him. Liby then fired her Golden Gun at him, while Flynn fired a Plasma Gun, dealing even more damage. The White got up and looked at Flynn again.
"What would your fellows think, Flynn? Jonathan, who desired a stable world... Walter, who desired revolution... does it not give you pause to think what they might say, were they to learn of your choice?" the White asked.
He then looked at Lincoln, Luan, and Liby.
"Or how about your sisters and relatives? What would they say about your choice? Especially you, Lincoln, as you are one that has been granted a special power?" the White asked.
Lincoln paled.
"How does he know who we are?" Lincoln wondered.
"Don't think of them. He's only just trying to trick us and make us weak!" Liby shouted.
Flynn nodded and wiped the thought of them from his mind. Lincoln did the same, only shakily.
"Perservation and destruction. They're opposite ends of the spectrum. Do you mean to say that you will be tolerant of both and strive for the thorny path of Neutrality? No matter what end it may bring, that is your choice." the White said.
Like before, Liby felt a strange sent of resolution in her body, along with her uncle, mother, and Flynn. All four felt it make themselves stronger, and they attacked again. Moh Shuvuu released a Deadly Wind spell, followed by Grimekhala releasing a Megaton Press move, dealing major damage. Alice then released a Javelin Rain attack, dealing medium damage. Lincoln then tried to slash at the White with his Keyblade, but the being released a Megidola spell. Lincoln was hit by a purple ball of zapping energy above him and stunned briefly, allowing the White to release two blank bullets. Instead of killing him, they just caused Lincoln major pain. However, Luan quickly healed him of his injuries with a Heal spell.
"It's a pity. Truly regrettable. Though you have seen multiple worlds... you will not take up our cause." the White said.
"Multiple worlds? So Flynn has been to different worlds as well?" Lincoln wondered.
Just then, Burroughs appeared on the gauntlet screen.
"Scanning... excuses, unjustified resentment, self-justification, a rash desire to negate oneself... I don't see any good reason to join their cause." Burroughs said.
Liby shook her head.
"Neither do I. Let's finish this and get out of this creephole." Liby said.
Flynn charged at the White and slashed at him with his sword. Liby then shot him multiple times with the Golden Gun, and Lincoln and Luan followed with Graviga spells. The attacks were enough, and the last White suddenly seemed to develop red cracks along his body.
"Ah... where is our salvation? Why? Why wouldn't you save me even unto the very end? Why are you leaving us being in the rift of God... demons... and man?" the White asked, his voice seeming to have lost it's distortedness.
He dissolved and disappeared. Luan sighed.
"I'm not going to even make a joke this time. I have to admit, that was pretty intense." Luan said. She then looked at Flynn and asked "But what was he talking about? God? Demons? Man? What's going on here, Flynn?".
Before he could say anything, the forest around them slowly faded away to reveal a vast wasteland.
"Ah, you've done well." a voice said.
A silver haired man with glasses and wearing a red suit in a futuristic-looking wheelchair appeared.
"The influence of the White seems to be gone for now. As things stand, I should be able to return you, Flynn, to your home world." the man said.
"Who are you?" Lincoln asked.
"You may call me Stephen. I'm an acquaintance of Flynn's. But I know of who you are, Lincoln Loud." the man replied.
"How do you know who my brother was?" Luan asked.
"A certain ally of your's told me you would be coming. I'm also willing to help you catch up on everything you need to know about this world. Flynn was once part of a kingdom called the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, which has God as the one it worships. However, this version is arrogant, and is not at all like the one you know of. Therefore, Flynn has decided to go his own way. The demons you have seen Flynn have as allies, as well as the ones you have fought, are not on the same level as the ones you know of. In terms, they are more like "monsters"." Stephen replied.
"I-I see. That's, um... rather something." Liby said, surprised.
"Yes. Flynn has chosen a world without bias. Though it's people will yearn for joy and affection, they will most likely feel more pain and sadness. But there is a goddess who will gently embrace such a people." Stephen explained.
"A goddess?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes. Flynn has met a little girl once. She is Tokyo itself. There was once a young man who answered her cries and protected Tokyo. But in doing so, the people of Tokyo were divided in two. If you are to help Flynn on his mission... you must remove a dome that divides the people and return Tokyo, which is to say the goddess, to her true form. The world Flynn's past self protected must be returned to normal this time by his current self. I'm sure that the dome which covers Tokyo will heed your voice. For that done is Masakado, the guardian deity of Tokyo... but that should be enough chitchat. I'm trusting you with this. Go to Flynn's original world. There, four certain someones are waiting for you there. And do not worry, your ship will be accessible there. Don't worry about it getting lost here." Stephen replied.
He looked at the gauntlet on Flynn's arm.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Burroughs." Stephen said.
Burroughs appeared on the screen.
"Okay, Doctor. Well then, let's go back, shall we? To the new world that was chosen." Burroughs said.
Lincoln, Luan, Liby, and Flynn's surroundings disappeared in a white light.
"Location: Hawaiian Islands, The World Of Disney, November 29th 2110"
Rudania moved down the mountain towards Kokaua Town. The townspeople looked at it with fear. Some yelled words of doom and gloom, while others ran from the city and took their treasured belongings. Alden had been in a chugging contest with some of the Experiments when everyone started panicking. The Divine Beast stopped just outside the town, and Rancis, his group, Cyber, and Kjelle traveled down to the city and went to Jumba and the others. After they had then got everyone to calm down and return to their homes and jobs, Alden rejoined Rancis's group, and they spoke with Jumba and those with him.
"I can't believe it! You actually survived going up into that thing!" Pleakley exclaimed in shock.
"We did. We also found Kjelle on it and rescued her." Snowanna said.
Kjelle went up and stood next to the Rainbow Sherbert themed girl.
"Lady Kjelle, here and ready at a moment's notice to protect the island." Kjelle said, bowing slightly.
Jumba laughed.
"It's fine, little girl. Stand down." Jumba said.
Kjelle did so.
"Is there anything else you have to do here?" Cyber asked.
"No, we have to go. We can't stay and stay hello to the others. There's still two more of these things running around that we need to calm down. And don't worry about this thing. It'll be gone soon." Rancis replied.
"Alright, Rancis. See you later." Reuben said.
"And you too." Rancis said.
"Location: Unknown, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
George was in Monstro, speaking with Nihil and Xylnn.
"So, what's the next world we have to go to?" George asked.
"We'll have to leave your ring of worlds you know of and go back to my own. There's a world called Radiant Garden that Mistress Avina wants taken care of next. It's called Radiant Garden. It once got overrun by Heartless, but got restored. But even now, it continues to have frequent problems with them." Nihil replied.
"Sounds simple enough. This'll be easy." Xylnn said.
"Hold on a moment. The residents of that place will be expecting an attack head-on. We'll be needing something more... subtile." Nihil explained.
"Well, then what do you propose we do?" George asked.
"Location: Tokyo, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
"Wake up... please, why won't you wake up?" a female voice asked.
Lincoln opened his eyes to find himself in some sort of large open room. There was an elevator on one end of the room, next to a door that looked similar to an elevator but gave off the feeling of a Ghost Portal like in Amity Park, and five normal doors lined both sides of the room, with an additional door on the opposite side of the room to the elevator. He also noticed that Luan, Liby, and Flynn were coming to as well and were facing a girl wearing short cut brown hair, light skin, and reddish-brown eyes. She was dressed in a Black Demonica, just like Flynn and Liby.
"Ah, thank goodness. I have been searching far and wide for you, Flynn. Where have you been?" the girl asked.
Flynn gave her a reply, but Lincoln couldn't hear what was said as he walked over to them.
"Hm? The White? Stephen? I met no one by those names." the girl said.
She noticed Lincoln, Luan, and Liby.
"By the by, Flynn, who are your friends?" the girl asked.
"This is Lincoln Loud, his sister, Luan Loud, and Luan's daughter Liby." Flynn replied.
The girl looked at Luan in confusion.
"Aren't you..." the girl started to ask.
"It's a long story." Luan replied.
The girl nodded.
"Of course. You three may call me Isabeau. I'm a friend of Flynn's." the girl said.
She turned back to Flynn.
"Speaking of which, didn't you go together with Jonathan to slay Lilith? Alas, Jonathan and Walter... I don't know where either of them have gone. Tokyo is now facing a terrible situation. With the gate to the Expanse open, demons are swarming in. Everything is in chaos. What's more, an army of angels has established a front at Naraku to annihilate the demons along with Tokyo. Open war is about to erupt between the angels and demons. Who knows what will become of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado and Tokyo in that event. The Monastery is defunct now. I have heard that Tayama is dead, and there is no knowing where Yuriko has got to. I don't know who else I can turn to." Isabeau said tearfully. She then calmed down and asked "But I'm glad I found you, Flynn. And even you and your family, Lincoln. I simply don't know what to do... won't you permit me to stay with you?".
Liby nodded.
"Of course." Liby replied.
"Location: Ylisse, the Nintendo Realm of the Dream World, May 21st 2170"
When Iniabi opened his eyes again, he found himself back in front of the Outrealm Gate. But instead of seeing a desert or charred surroundings, he saw that the terrain was green and back to the way he remembered. He then noticed the others coming to as well and walked over to them.
"Are you guys alright?" Iniabi asked.
Cynthia nodded.
"I'm fine, Iniabi. I'm just glad you're safe." Cynthia replied.
Nah looked around and smiled.
"Ah, we made it back! We're home!" Nah said in relief.
Swizzle looked around in confusion.
"Yeah, but where's Lucina and Nathaire? Weren't they just with us?" Swizzle asked.
The others noticed that the boy was right. The two weren't anywhere nearby.
"What happened? Where did they go?" Citrusella asked.
Before anyone could say anything, Toxika's portal key went off. The green haired woman took it out and answered it.
"Hello?" Toxika asked.
"Sylvia! Oh, thank goodness you picked up!" Nougetsia replied in relief from the other end.
The others heard her voice.
"Nougey? Is that you? What's wrong? You sound troubled." Swizzle asked.
"You guys just suddenly disappeared on us! We've been trying to contact you for the past few hours." Nougetsia replied.
"A few hours? Nougetsia, we've been gone for about a few weeks." Nah said.
"A few weeks? That can't be possible. We just saw you off this morning." Nougetsia said. She then sighed and said "Never mind. For now, get back to the fortress. We need you here.".
Cynthia nodded.
"We'll be right there." Cynthia said.
"Location: Disney Town, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
"Ugh, Pete, darling. When you said there was a secret tunnel under the kingdom, I thought it would have at least been kept up to standards like Toontown's system, but this... this is repulsively atrocious," Cruella said, her heels sloshing through the murky water that ran from the sewer system under the town.
Gaston grunted out, leading the group of heroes and villains down the dark tunnel.
"We're breaking and entering. What did you expect? A guided tour and a warm welcome with some wine?" Gaston asked.
"Ugh, please, darling. I'm not a 'glass of wine and a good book' kind of girl." Cruella replied.
She pulled out a flask of gin from her cleavage and took the shot back.
"Now, keep your eyes forward. Make sure I don't step on anything dead while you're at it." Cruella ordered.
Like Toontown's utilidoors system, the long underground passages were lined with pipes and infrastructure for the town and kingdom above. However, there was an odd sort of musty smell that traveled through the underground passages. From the state the tunnels had fallen into, it seemed unlikely that anyone commonly traveled through, and the intruders would not have been surprised if they were the first travelers the utilidoors had seen in years. It all seemed very ransacked, abandoned, and forgotten down there.
"The seedy underbelly down here that the brats up there in that kingdom don't want you to know about." Hook said.
"Yeah, but if Pete's right about the tunnels, then if we continue down this tunnel just a little bit longer, we could come upon something that takes us into the castle itself." SpongeBob said hopefully.
"Perhaps a set of pipes and vents." Jimmy added.
"Pipes and vents, Jimmy darling? Ugh, sounds like a dirty task." Cruella said.
Pete let out a loud laugh that echoed down the tunnel.
"Ahaha, yup! But don't worry, it ain't gonna be a tight squeeze! If I can get through, any of you folk can too!" Pete said.
"I'm not worried about the squeeze. If I had known I'd be knee-high in mice manure, I would've left the coat at home." Cruella said.
She slipped the coat off her shoulders, readying herself for the messy business ahead. Hades reached out for the coat.
"Here. Give it here." Hades ordered.
Cruella scoffed.
"You? Please, I'd be scrubbing the smell of brimstone and death out of the fur for weeks." Cruella hissed.
"Ella, here." Hook ordered, motioning out with his hand for her to hand him the coat.
Cruella flashed him a smile and walked towards him. However, she soon found herself falling head over heels, as her tall-heeled shoes sloshed through the mud and dirt on the tunnel floor, causing her to trip. But thankfully for her, Hook was there to catch her from falling as he gripped her waist. She held tightly onto the hook attached to his arm, and there was a small moment where she looked up at the pirate captain and felt her own make-up-covered face soften as she looked into his eyes. She felt all too incredibly cliche as she looked into his eyes and saw a small smile on his lips. Creamy, Licortwist, Chloe, the Nicktoons, Gaston, Hades, and Pete awkwardly stared at them and waited for the moment to end, staring at the two holding each other. Eventually, Hook brought Cruella to her feet and made sure that she was secure, before gently taking the fur coat from her and holding it in his one free hand.
"Can we get on with it already?" Gaston asked.
He continued on.
"So, uh... are we finished here?" Licortwist asked.
Cruella's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh, y-yes. Of course, darling!" Cruella replied.
She turned to Hook, trying to regain her usual composure.
"Well, James. You certainly know... how to treat a woman. I'll have to find a way to repay the favor." Cruella said.
"No payment necessary." Hook said, walking alongside Cruella after the other group members.
Pete once again took the lead, before eventually stopping.
"Hey, hey, looky look! Up there!" Pete called out.
He pointed upwards to the ceiling, where a tall ladder disappeared into the darkness above.
"This must be the way to get up into that there castle." Pete said, beginning to make the climb.
"Sweet! Let's get on with this." Timmy said.
"Location: Radiant Garden, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
In the Villain's Vile far away from the city of Radiant Garden, Pete had returned from the events in Republic City, and he and Maleficent were researching the Book of Prophecies, a book that could foretell certain events before they happened. The book was said to be lost after the great Keyblade War and the location of it was completely unknown.
"I don't know, Maleficent. Maybe this book you were talking about is nothing more than a fairy tale." Pete said, scratching his head while looking at the hologram of the Book of Prophecies.
"Impossible, you buffoon! All stories, legends, and fairy tales come from somewhere!" Maleficent barked, making Pete cower.
However, before they could continue, multiple Armored Soldier Heartless appeared and surrounded the duo. Maleficent was surprised by that. Heartless like these always obeyed her, not attacked her.
"What is the meaning of this?! Stand down now!" Maleficent ordered.
However, the Heartless instead attacked her and Pete. Although they put up a fight, they were quickly defeated by reinforcements and restrained.
"What's going on here?" Pete asked, scared out of his mind.
"I'll tell you what's going on, you stupid cat." a voice replied, echoing through the tower.
A Corridor of Darkness opened up in the room, and George, Nihil, and Xylnn stepped out.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Pete asked.
"You may call me George. And these are my friends, Nihil and Xylnn. And to answer your question, you two have been a thorn long enough, so I have decided to get rid of you while we're here to destroy this world." George replied.
Maleficent managed to stand.
"No matter, I won't let a boy and his dogs stop me from conquering the Realm of Light." Maleficent said.
She summoned a Lightning spell and shot it at the three, but Xylnn simply smacked the spell away with her boomerang, destroying a wall in the process. George then simply reached out with his hand, and Maleficent's staff went flying out of her hands and into his.
"A fairy's staff. A weapon formerly used for good, but now is used for more selfish and evil purposes." George said.
He broke the staff in two over his knee, and he, Nihil, and Xylnn then walked up to the pair.
"I was going to take your hearts and turn you into powerful Heartless to join my army, but for that attack alone, we'll finish you both." George said.
"Please, George, I apologize for the attack. I'll do anything, please." Maleficent pleaded.
George, Xylnn, and even Nihil burst into laughing at her statement.
"Out of all of things you could've said right now, begging would have not have been my first guess." Xylnn said, still laughing.
"Have fun in the afterlife, you two." Nihil said.
He, George, and Xylnn lunged at the evil duo. All that was heard from the tower was a scream of despair, the sound of a blade striking, and then silence.
Later, in the wizard Merlin's house, the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee was during their usual tasks. Leon was in Ansem's study, going over the old master's research, Cid was on the computer in Merlin's house overlooking security, Yuffie was patrolling around the town for any Heartless sightings, and Aerith and Merlin were taking care of medical supplies and magic spells. They have done many improvements to the world. They had repaired the castle to it's former glory, many houses were rebuilt, and more citizens had returned as well. Everyone was doing their normal routine when Yuffie came bursting in.
"Guys, I just saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy here! They said that they came to visit!" Yuffie announced.
Everyone was happy to hear that their favorite Keyblade-wielding hero and his two friends had came to see what they have been up to ever since they had last helped them out. They soon heard a knock at the door and Yuffie quickly opened it up.
"Come on in, you three." Yuffie said.
George, Xylnn, and Nihil walked in, "happy" to see everyone. After killing Maleficent and Pete, Nihil's plan had been to use a spell to disguise himself and the other two, giving themselves the appearances of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Then, once they had properly gotten into Radiant Garden and gotten "close" to the residents there, they'd attack.
"We can't wait to see the improvements you've made here." Nihil said, his eyes slowly glowing yellow.
"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, November 29th 2110"
In the midst of the chaos being created by the attack on the arcade, no one noticed two more of Avina's followers appearing in the arcade. This time, two males appeared on the end of the arcade.
The first was a teenage boy wearing a beige shirt, ripped gray pants with a chain belt with a small cracked skull buckle, a black denim vest, several leather armbands on his upper arms, and leather boots. He also had a necklace with a finger claw hanging on it around his neck, and spiked fingerless gloves on his hands. His hair was an alternating pattern of red and black, set up in spikes with the sides shaved like a crew cut, his eyes were red, and his skin had an olive tone with a few scars on his face.
The second appeared to be Turbo in his King Candy form, but was in reality a virus named Victor. He had been granted Turbo's King Candy form, as well as his Turbug abilities.
The two passed over the threshold, and as they did, a glitchy and frazzled Surge Protector appeared. He tried to tell them to leave, but they each ignored him and then parted ways, easily making their ways through the chaos and to their destinations. Sergio headed to Fix-It Felix Jr., while Victor headed for Hero's Duty. Avina needed the two big games of the inner arcade besides Sugar Rush to suffer the hardest, and she trusted them with the task of taking out one each.
Upon arrival at Fix-It Felix Jr., Sergio entered the main apartment building of the game. As he looked around the small space of the lobby, he saw his very first Nicelander, which happened to be Gene. He was looking over some papers and not really paying attention to his surroundings, and had yet to see the boy standing in front of the exit. He also seemed completely oblivious to the fighting going on outside his game. Sergio tilted his head, crouched down, and held his arm out in front of him, his index finger raised. As Gene came closer, his forehead was poked by the boy's outstretched finger and the smaller game character stopped immediately, moving his papers down in order to look up.
"Hey." Sergio greeted.
He looked down at Gene. Even when crouching, he was still taller than the cubish avatar.
"Where's Felix?" Sergio asked.
Gene smacked his hand away and glared at him.
"Who are you and why do you want to know?" Gene asked hostilely, annoyed at having his busy schedule interrupted.
Put off by Gene's attitude, Sergio stood up.
"My name is Sergio. And the why would make your ears bleed." Sergio replied.
Confused and mildly disturbed by the boy's response, Gene took a step back.
"In that case, I don't think I'll be telling you where Felix is." Gene said.
Sergio eyed the man for a moment, before noticing some of the papers that he was holding. His expression turned into a grin.
"You just told me what I really needed to know, Mayor. Felix isn't in the building." Sergio said confidently.
Before Gene could give a reply, he was tackled by Sergio, the force sending them flying down the hall and crashing right through the door, as well as a good portion of the wall around the door, of another Nicelander's home. Sergio then placed his hands on the Nicelander's body, and his body shimmered before fading away into energy, which was then absorbed into Sergio's body. The boy then turned his attention to the Nicelander who's home he'd just crashed into. She managed a whole scream before she was absorbed as well. Hearing the ruckus, the other Nicelanders began to leave their apartments, coming to see what all the fuss was about. Sergio proceeded to absorb them as well, quickly clearing out the first floor and starting to work his way up. He allowed some of the Nicelanders to scream, which drew out the others, until not a single character was left in the building. Once they were all gone, Sergio made his way to the one door that no one had come out of and looked around to see that Felix was indeed not there. Pleased by his good fortune, he made himself comfortable, deciding to wait for the handyman to arrive.
"Location: Radiant Garden, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
Leon was having one good day. He and the former members of Organization XIII were going over whatever research Ansem had left at the castle, while also working with Tron to see what he could find in the computer. Along with that, the restoration of Radiant Garden was almost finished. The city was complete and the castle was nearly finished. All in all, everything was going great.
"Tron, how is the everything going on your side?" Leon asked.
"Everything is good, Squall. All data has been copied and uploaded onto your flash drive." Tron replied from the computer.
"Squall... I think I can finally go back to using that name." Leon thought.
Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by Tron.
"Leon, you have an incoming transmission from Cid in Merlin's house." Tron announced.
"Let it play." Leon ordered.
The screen cut to Merlin's house. But instead of the calm relaxed house that he would normally see, the house looked like it got hit by a fire tornado. Everything was either destroyed or on fire, and there was no sign of Yuffie, Aerith, or Merlin. And instead of seeing the gruff blonde engineer that always ran the computer, he saw George.
"Hello, Leon. And before you ask, my name is George." George greeted in a dark voice.
"What happened? Is everyone alright?" Leon asked all at once, with multiple questions running through his head as well.
George slowly chuckled.
"Sadly, yes. Almost everyone got away, except for this old fool." George replied.
He held Merlin up to the screen. The wizard had multiple scratches, burn marks, and bruises all over his body, and his hat was missing.
"Merlin!" Leon shouted, shocked and scared to see his friend in that state.
"Leon... Heartless... warn... the... ci..." Merlin started to say weakly.
A Keyblade pierced through his chest, and his heart floated out of his body and was consumed by darkness. Leon looked on in shock and horror to see his friend and mentor get killed.
"George, why? Why are you doing this?" Leon asked in anger and horror at the same time.
"The Realm of Light always caused conflict, either by itself or by another cause. That is why I, along with my friends Xylnn and Nihil, will bring peace to the universe, by destroying the Realm of Light for my leader, Lady Avina. See ya around, Squall." George replied.
He punched the computer, making the screen fizzle out and then go blank. Leon was frozen solid. He couldn't move from where he was standing. George's words were now replaying over and over in his head. He and other allies were helping the Heartless to attack the Realm of Light, and now they were attacking Radiant Garden. And Sora wasn't on that world, so he couldn't help them. He was soon brought out of his thoughts when he heard multiple footsteps coming his way.
"Leon! We're under..." Yuffie started to announce.
"I know. Merlin is gone." Leon said, silencing everyone.
"What are we going to do?" Yuffie asked.
Leon thought over how to keep everyone safe from George, Xylnn, Nihil, and the Heartless. He then got an idea and turned towards his friends and teammates.
"Yuffie, I need you to scout out the area. Keep an eye on George and his group, so we know what they are doing." Leon ordered.
Yuffie nodded and ran out of the lab. Leon turned towards Cid.
"Cid, you gotta get to the hanger. Prep the ships for the citizens so that they could get out." Leon ordered.
"You got it, Leon. Those ships will be ready." Cid said.
He ran out.
"Aerith, you, Dillan, and Aeleus head to the city and evacuate the people to where the ships will be. Make sure no one is left behind." Leon ordered.
The three of them nodded before running out as well. He then turned to Even and Ienzo.
"I'll stay here with you guys to make sure all the data and research that Ansem has here gets out safely." Leon said.
The two of them nodded and split up to different parts of the lab, while Leon stayed at the computer. Tron appeared on the screen with a look of concern.
"Leon, what happened?" Tron asked.
Leon looked at the screen with a sad face.
"A boy named George is attacking the town with the Heartless. Tron, can you activate the security again, and can you make sure it targets him and any allies he has?" Leon asked.
Tron nodded.
"Of course. Security activated." Tron replied.
"Thank you, Tron." Leon said.
"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, November 29th 2110"
Having just finished a maintenance run for the East Niceland buildings behind the brick dump, Felix was on his way to the apartment that he lived in. When he arrived at the Penthouse, he was surprised at how quiet the building was, but as he didn't actually know what the time was, he supposed that everyone could just be resting up before the next day of gaming began. He entered his room and bumped the door closed, reaching back to where he knew the lock was. However, instead of coming into contact with the material he was so familiar with, his hand met something warmer. Felix turned and looked at his door in confusion, only to see a boy taller than him standing in front of it and smirking down at him. Felix jumped back a considerable distance, landing in the middle of the living room near his wall.
"Oh my land! You really gave me a fright." Felix cried, clutching his chest.
He looked back up, and it was then that the oddness of having someone he'd never met before in his room dawned on him.
"Sorry, is there something I can help you with?" Felix asked.
"Actually, yes." Sergio replied, discreetly locking the door.
He moved closer to the small handyman. Starting to feel uncomfortable under the boy's odd gaze, Felix smiled awkwardly.
"What would that be?" Felix asked, fighting the urge to back away as Sergio slowly advanced on him.
"You can start by bracing yourself." Sergio replied.
Before Felix could even register what Sergio had said enough to be confused, the boy tackled him to the floor and pinned his arms above his head. Felix opened his mouth to protest, but the words got choked up in his throat as he met Sergio's gaze. His eyes were practically glowing. With what, Felix didn't know, but it made him very uncomfortable. As Sergio eyed his latest victim, he ran through the mental checklist he used when trying to decide on whether or not someone would make an entertaining plaything. He usually would just absorb his victims after their defeat, but as he ran through his checklist, he knew he had to leave Felix alive. He would decide on what to do after asking Avina about him.
"I'm keeping you." Sergio said firmly, pleased at the confused look Felix gave him.
"Keeping me?" Felix asked, unsure if he had heard correctly.
"Yes. I'm going to take you to my mistress, Avina's, world, where I'll physically and mentally torture you until I allow you to die." Sergio replied casually, watching Felix's eyes widen in fear.
Felix witnessed something he'd only seen once before. A glint in Sergio's eyes of something he now understood was evil. The only other time he'd seen that look in someone's eyes was when Turbo had been caught trying to kill Vanellope during the Random Roster Race back in 2012. Apparently, a sadistic lust for pain and death caused a person's eyes to look a certain way. Crazed and terrifying, but still somehow cold. The look froze Felix in place and made his blood feel like ice. It lasted only seconds, but it felt like hours to the frozen handyman. When it was finally over, Felix let out the loudest scream that he could muster, calling for help from anyone that could hear him. The cold feeling increased when the only sound that greeted Felix's cry back was Sergio's malicious chuckle.
"Your friends can't help you." Sergio said quietly.
"C-Can't? What do you mean?" Felix asked.
"They're dead. I absorbed them and their life force, so they can't return or respawn." Sergio replied bluntly, tilting his head slightly.
He watched Felix's eyes, watching the shock and disgust, and then the rage and disbelief. He watched his blue eyes almost glow with fury and then cloud with tears in the same instant. It was obvious that he was falling apart inside. Letting out a furious anguish-filled wail, Felix began to thrash madly against him.
"No! NO! They're not dead! They'll respawn! They always respawn!" Felix screamed, panting and crying.
Suddenly catching Felix's chin and throat in his pointed nails, Sergio held the broken avatar's head still.
"Or will they? You've seen what I can do. Do you really believe it beyond my powers to absorb the code that allows someone to respawn?" Sergio asked.
The questions were rhetorical, since he knew what Felix thought the answers were already. But Felix couldn't have answered even if he'd wanted to. The blank look in his eyes and the way his breathing had calmed told Sergio that Felix, unable to handle everything around him, had retreated into his mind. A few rounds of psychological torture would bring him back out, but for now, he was docile and quite broken. Sergio didn't mind, though. His condition would make him easier to transport. The boy picked Felix up with one arm and leaped out the window with him. Landing in the grass outside the apartment, Sergio began walking towards the tracks that led to GCS. There, he saw a few smaller Unversed heading towards the penthouse building.
"All your's, runts." Sergio said, motioning to the building with his free hand and watching the darkness creatures move past him.
Sergio wasn't sure what damage the Unversed could actually do to the world or any of the other inhabitants of the game, but he didn't care enough to stick around and find out. He had a schedule to keep and a prisoner to deliver.
"Location: Radiant Garden, Kingdom Hearts Dimension, November 29th 2110"
Lacy and Lina were flying together on Lacy's Keyblade Glider throughout the Lanes Between, after having escaped from Agrabah before it's destruction. They were trying to find a world to warn about on George, Nihil, and Xylnn, and as Radiant Garden was nearby their position, they decided to go there. But as they approached it, they came upon a frightening sight. The world was completely surrounded by Gummi Heartless, along with three gigantic Hunter Heartless and the larger Hunter X Heartless.
"How are we gonna get past that blockade of Heartless?" Lina asked
"I don't know." Lacy replied.
She then suddenly got an idea. She shot a beam of light out from her glider, and it opened up a portal.
"There. That should lead into that world." Lacy said.
They then flew into the portal, which led them into the Marketplace. The two cousins got off the glider, and Lacy deactivated her armor and glider. After they recovered from their flight, they came upon another sight. Legions of citizens were being evacuated out of the city onto 10 to 20 Gummi Ships, which held up to 30 people. The people were being led by two men dressed as guards and a brown haired woman. Lacy and Lina ran down to the woman and asked what was going on.
"A few minutes ago, a boy named George attacked us, and now our security cameras has noticed a gigantic army of Heartless that will make it to our walls in three minutes." the woman replied.
"Lacy? Lina? Is that you?" a voice asked.
Lacy and Lina looked over to see a girl break away from the citizens being herded into the Gummi Ships. She was one of the children that had been sent back from the future with Lacy and her family members, and in their future was Sam's daughter. She was a child with white hair that had a single teal hair streak, freckles on her cheeks, and piercings on her left eyebrow and right ear. Her outfit consisted of a black beanie cap on the top of her head, an orange tank top, blue cargo shorts, and black shoes.
"Lizy! We finally found you!" Lina cried happily.
"Yeah, I've been looking everywhere for you girls. I ended up here and stayed around until I could find someway to locate all of you. But then these weird creatures that I recognize from Mister Lincoln's stories as Heartless attacked, and now all of us are getting evacuated." Lizy said.
"Is Sam with you? Or any of my and Lina's other cousins? Is Lynn here as well?" Lacy asked.
Lizy shook her head.
"No, Mom and the others aren't here. I'm the only one from our time on this world, I think." Lizy replied.
Suddenly, the ground started to shake rhythmically, like footsteps. Everyone looked towards the castle to see two Groundshaker Heartless start to ram at the castle in order to bring it down.
"Leon!" the woman yelled.
Everyone's attention became focused on the castle, so no one noticed a Neoshadow appear from the sky and kick a citizen on to the ground before pinning him down.
"The Heartless are here, Aerith! Everyone get on the ships now!" one of the guards yelled.
He pulled out a spear, while the other guard pulled out an axe sword. People began to quickly pile into the ships before they were fully filled and the doors closed.
"Aerith, the ships are filled! Climb on, we gotta go!" another voice ordered through Aerith's earpiece.
Aerith protected Lina and Lizy, while Lacy and the two guards fended off the Heartless. However, they were slowly being overwhelmed by the army. The two guards were then tackled to the ground and had their hearts removed, their bodies disappearing in bursts of light.
"Aeleus! Dillan!" Aerith screamed.
She pressed on her earpiece.
"Cid, get going! Get those ships in the air now!" Aerith ordered.
"You got it. All ships, let's get these people outta of here!" Cid ordered.
The Gummi Ships powered up and took off into the sky. Lacy saw that and turned to Aerith.
"No! There is a giant Heartless blockade around the world! They'll never make it!" Lacy shouted.
"WHAT? Cid, are you there?" Aerith asked desperately.
"Aer... too ma... wo..." Cid started to reply unstably.
The radio went static.
"Cid? Cid?" Aerith asked frantically.
She looked up to see multiple explosions in the sky. She looked down in sadness and fell to her knees in despair. Lizy ran over to her and helped her stand up by her shoulders.
"Aerith, come on. We've gotta get to the castle. I created a ice wall to hold them off to give us time, but we gotta go now." Lizy said.
Aerith whipped away any tears and nodded. She, Lacy, Lina, and Lizy started to head to the castle, which had almost been destroyed at that point.
George, Nihil, and Xylnn arrived in the Flower Garden after walking around, destroying houses and turning the residents into Heartless. However, during the walk around, Xylnn started to have flashbacks of Lynn's previous life. Whenever they came, Xylnn would stop where she was and hold her head in pain. George and even Nihil would stop and care for her, but they couldn't stop the memories. As they walked into the garden, the memories suddenly came in much more stronger than before. Xylnn cried out in pain and fell down onto her knees, with her hands on her head.
"Wait, give up playing football? Why would you want to do that? Football rules!" Lynn asked.
"You know, I'm noticing a complete lack of balls in this room." Lynn said.
"Don't even think about Lincoln. I'm watching you." Lynn growled.
George got on the ground and hugged her for comfort. After a few minutes, Xylnn stopped and stayed in the boy's embrace.
"Are you okay now, Xylnn?" George asked.
Xylnn nodded.
"Yeah, thanks." Xylnn replied.
The two stood up. George looked at Nihil.
"Where is this world's Keyhole?" George asked.
"There is an area of the castle called the Grand Hall. Beyond the Grand Hall lies the Dark Depths, where the Keyhole resides. The castle will be left alone enough just to the point that we can access it with no interruptions." Nihil replied.
Before George or Xylnn could reply, George quickly wiped around and fired a Dark Fire spell at a nearby roof, creating an explosion and sending a certain ninja flying into the air. Yuffie landed on her front side next to where the dark trio were, and she quickly got up and entered a battle stance.
"George, please stop this. You're destroying everything." Yuffie pleaded.
George laughed at the statement.
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that be said to me." George said.
Yuffie saw there was no saving him and threw her fuma shuriken at the group. However, Xylnn blocked it, picked it up, and threw it back at her. The ninja girl was hit before she could catch it, and before she could attack again, George charged at her and subdued her after a few good hits. The girl fell to her knees, gasping in pain. George just stared down at her coldly and got an idea after remembering what he did to Rhyme in Traverse Town.
"I was just going to kill you, but I have a much better idea." George said.
Yuffie looked up at him with tear stricken eyes.
"W-What's that?" Yuffie asked.
"You shall become a personal guard to my leader Avina, and will serve her forces and protect her with your life." George replied.
He walked up to her with his hand covered in darkness and placed it on her chest where her heart was. Yuffie was completely covered in darkness for a few minutes before it dissolved. She now had yellow eyes like Xylnn and she still wore her old outfit, but it now had red accents on the edges, small pieces of armor covered her clothes, and two long ends of a dark scarf hung from her neck. Her shuriken now had multiple spikes on it and she now carried two of them.
"Are you okay, Yuffie?" George asked.
"Yes, George. I'm fine and I feel so powerful then I was before. Yuffie replied, while looking at her new form.
"Then use that power to protect your queen at all costs, Yuffie, Knight of Darkness." George ordered.
"YUFFIE!" a voice yelled.
Aerith, Lacy, Lina, and Lizy ran towards the garden. Aerith's face was a mixture of confusion, sadness, and despair.
"George, what did you do to Yuffie?" Aerith asked, angered.
"She has accepted the darkness and has become one of Mistress Avina's protectors." Nihil replied.
George drew his Dark Keyblade and pointed it at Lacy, Lina, Lizy, and Aerith.
"Yes. Oh, and Lacy, thank you for coming here with your cousin and friend. Now I can finally get rid of you once and for all." George said.
Lacy summoned her Dark Keyblade, Final Judgement, and pointed it at George.
"I don't know if I can talk you out of this, George, but if you so much as hurt Lina or Lizy, I swear that you will regret it." Lacy said threateningly.
"Ha ha ha. Are you sure about that?" George asked in a joking manner.
Lacy quickly dashed towards George in a Quick Blitz, but the boy intercepted the attack before it could even strike, knocking the white haired girl off guard. He then knocked Lacy into the air with an upward swing, before jumping up and striking her multiple times before knocking her back to the ground with a downward strike. Lacy tried to get back up, but found that to be very difficult.
"Pathetic. You're not even worth fighting anymore. I'm not impressed." George sneered.
He then glanced briefly at the castle, before then raising his hand into the air. He shot a beam of darkness into the air, creating a dark vortex in the air and covering the sky with dark clouds. The wind started to quickly pick up and lighting started raining from the clouds. The castle finally collapsed into a cloud of dust after being rammed and destroyed by the Groundshakers.
"LEON!" Aerith screamed towards the fallen castle.
She then felt something hard hit the back of her head, and everything went black.
"Aerith!" Lizy yelled.
Nihil summoned Monstro, and the giant whale landed and opened it's mouth. George summoned a Corridor of Darkness leading back to Umbros and ordered Yuffie to go to the observatory through it, and to carry Aerith with her so she could be imprisoned. The teenage ninja obeyed and disappeared with Aerith's unconscious body, and afterwards, the Corridor of Darkness disappeared. George, Nihil, and Xylnn then walked into Monstro, but before he entered, George turned back to glance at Lacy, Lina, and Lizy.
"See ya around, you three." George said.
He walked in. The mouth closed, and Monstro left Radiant Garden. The vortex started sucking everything into itself.
"Lacy, Lizy, we have to go! We'll get sucked in too!" Lina cried, already able to feel herself start to get picked up.
Lacy nodded.
"R-Right." Lacy said.
She summoned her Keyblade Armor and Keyblade Glider, and she, Lina, and Lizy got on and took off into the Lanes Between.