Kingdom Hearts: The Next Generation
Like I was saying before, this fanfic sucks. It's nothing but a burden on me. So much for "magnum opus", eh? So much for "fic I was born to write".
And the thing is, it doesn't have to be a burden. Nobody apart from me even knows about this fic. It would be perfectly acceptable for me to declare it dead or, hell, just delete it. But I can't, because I'm a moronic OCD nutcase who wouldn't be able to live with myself if I stopped writing this worthless, useless, piece-of-crap fanfic. I'd rather die than write one more word of this story, but if I don't finish it I'm going to spend the rest of eternity wringing my hands about it. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?
So, strap in, nonexistent person reading this! I know there's nobody out there, I know I'm just ranting to myself, but we've got eight more worlds to visit. Yay…
The Way to Dawn
Skye, Max, and Webby met Hudson and Bronx at the foot of Xanatos' building.
"Welcome back, lad," Hudson said. "What did ye learn?"
"The attacks were caused by… well, I assume you know Demona?" Skye said.
Hudson nodded grimly. "Aye. I might have known."
"She was working with this, um, 'Brotherhood' that we fought on the last world we visited," Skye said. "But she turned against her allies and gave us the location of the group's base."
"That certainly sounds like Demona," Hudson said. "Lass can't see a man's back without stabbin' it."
"Anyway, we defeated her… and Goliath said he's taking her to the Labyrinth," Skye finished.
"Hrmm, well, that's good news that ye stopped her, at least," Hudson said, scratching his beard. "I see doubt in yer eyes, lad. Are ye wonderin' whether ta follow the directions she gave ye?"
"I don't see how I can't," Skye said. "Assuming she was telling the truth, that's where my enemies are, where my whole mission can end. But… it's the Keyblade Graveyard. Why do you think they call it that? It's where Keyblade wielders go to die."
"Hrmm," Hudson said again. "Ye want my advice? Don't go. Not until ye've grown stronger. Doubtless, Demona hoped ye and this Brotherhood would wipe each other out, get ye both out of her hair. Hold off on walkin' inta her trap until ye see no other angle from which ta solve yer problem."
Skye nodded. "Okay… thanks, Hudson. I guess we'll explore our other options."
Bronx sniffed at Skye's shoes and panted happily.
"Planning to fly back up to the castle, then?" Hudson asked.
"We're… kind of exhausted, actually," Skye said. "Think we'll take the elevator. It'll give us time to catch our breath."
"Aye, smart thinkin', lad. We'll make further plans when Goliath returns from the Labyrinth."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Several minutes later, the elevator opened at the top, directly into the castle. The trio had barely exited the elevator when Angela swooped down on them, terrified.
"You must flee from this place!" she said hurriedly. "Fetch Goliath, tell him what's happening—"
There was a flash of green light, and Angela suddenly shrank down to only a few inches tall. Dr. Facilier walked up to her and picked her up. "There you are," he said, dropping her into a glass jar, where all the other gargoyles of Clan Manhattan, shrunken down, were packed together.
"Stop that!" Skye snarled. He swung his Keyblade, but Facilier took a huge leap straight up into the air, onto a higher level of the castle.
"Aw, man, come on guys!" Skye said, taking a spiral staircase to that level. Elisa was there, her gun leveled at the witch doctor.
"Hands up, beanpole," Elisa said coldly. "You're under arrest. Now change the gargoyles back to their regular size."
A huge blue figure passed overhead.
"Goliath!" Skye and Elisa said together, in relief.
"Elisa!" Goliath called back.
Dr. Facilier swung his cane, causing another flash of green light to erupt around Elisa, shrinking her. He set down his cane and held out his hand, bringing the tiny Elisa floating through the air toward him before he popped her into the jar.
Goliath landed next to Skye and the others, growling, his eyes glowing white. "What sorcery is this?" he growled.
"No sorcery, my scenery-chewing friend," Facilier said coolly. "I have a few friends on the other side who are calling in the favors they owe me. Now, I've got the clan of strong hearts that Demona was after, all in one tiny little jar."
"Demona betrayed you," Goliath rumbled. "Why do you continue following her schemes?"
"It's a good idea, with or without her," Facilier said simply. "Hearts for the Brotherhood! Think I'll start with yours, big guy!"
"No!" Skye said, diving between Facilier and Goliath. "Put them back to normal."
Facilier slipped the jar into his jacket and brandished his cane. "Make me, little boy."
He swung his cane menacingly, secretly pulling a deck of cards out of a pocket with his other hand and tossing them at Skye. They flew at his chest and sliced past him. Skye cried out at the white-hot agony.
Max charged. Facilier batted him into the air with his cane and shot a jet of darkness at him. Max's body crackled with the dark energy and he tumbled to the ground. Without looking, Facilier threw more burning, razor-sharp cards at Webby, catching her off guard. She engaged her barrier spell too late and was wounded.
In a puff of smoke, Facilier was on the other side of the battlement. Goliath roared and charged at him on all fours. Facilier let him come, getting into a battle stance—his arm and cane began charging up with dark energy, and when Goliath was within reach, a single jab from the cane threw Goliath back across the battlements to Skye's side. Skye helped Goliath stand.
"We must defeat him before sunrise," Goliath whispered.
"Sunrise?" said Skye. "Why… oh. You'll all turn to stone?"
"Yes. We'll be defenseless. He will be free to shatter us, take our hearts, whatever he desires."
"Max, Webby, and I won't let that happen," Skye said firmly. "But we'll try to beat him down before it comes to that."
A barrier of cards floated around Facilier as he skimmed across the stone floor, threatening to cut anyone who came close. Skye charged him anyway, making sparks fly when his Keyblade clashed against the cards.
A swing of the cane tossed Skye into the air, and a pillar of darkness shot straight up from Facilier's cane, enveloping him. Feeling he was approaching critical condition, Skye allowed himself to drop down upon the witch doctor anyway, beating him back for a few brief seconds before rolling away to cast a quick Cure spell on himself.
"At least make it hard for me, boy," Facilier said gleefully. He pointed his cane at Skye, and bits of darkness shot out continuously like machine gun fire. Skye deflected them one at a time.
In another puff of smoke, Facilier appeared next to Max and swung at him. Max managed a single parry with his lance, but Facilier's second strike defeated his guard, and Max was beaten down mercilessly with the cane.
"Don't look now, but I think this fight is almost over," Facilier said smugly. A ring of darkness shot out of his body, expanding in every direction like a shockwave. The ring cut into each of his four opponents, wounding and weakening them further.
From inside the castle, Xanatos and Owen watched the battle with interest.
"It seems this battle is going poorly for our heroes," Xanatos said thoughtfully.
"Indeed, sir."
"I think they could use some mystical assistance. Don't you think, Owen?"
Owen sighed. "As I've told you before, Mr. Xanatos, I am forbidden, except in the training and protecting of your son."
"And as I've told you before, Owen," Xanatos said patiently, "the rule that cannot be broken can surely be bent. This shadow man is attacking the castle, Alexander is probably somewhere in the castle. Figure it out somehow, Owen."
Owen blinked slowly. "As you wish, sir," he said, before transforming into a cloud of rainbow sparkles, which passed through the window and swept over Facilier, knocking him off his feet.
"What the—?" Facilier demanded.
The sparkles began to solidify into a humanoid shape. "Heeeeeeeeere's PUCK!"
The person who appeared wasn't Owen, but a tiny man with long, flowing white hair and huge, pointy ears, levitating above the ground.
"Put 'em up, daddio," Puck said to Facilier. He clawed at the tall and thin man, streaks of pink sparkles following behind his hands as he did so.
"Ding! Ding!" Puck sang as he gently tapped Facilier, causing him to cry out in pain. Puck started spinning like a ballerina, the pink ribbons of light surrounding him and damaging Facilier's body.
"Trash can!" Puck declared as one suddenly appeared in his hands. He took to the air and prepared to pop the can onto Facilier's head. Facilier dodged, and the trash can slammed against the ground.
"Aw, you're no fun at all," Puck pouted. "Hand over the jar, and maybe I'll let you keep that nice hat."
Puck produced a tree-branch, and its finger-like twigs reached into Facilier's jacket to pull out the jar. Facilier backed away from Puck warily.
"Wait!" Puck said in alarm. "Don't fall off the—"
Facilier had backed to the very end of the castle battlements. His eyes widened when he realized he was tumbling over the edge. He disappeared from view.
"…Building," Puck finished lamely. "Ugh, what a cliché. Everybody always falls off the building." He turned to Skye. "But the fun part of that is, he might come back, he might not. That's what's great about people falling from a great height: you just don't know."
"Who in the world are you?" Skye demanded.
"That's Puck," Goliath explained. "One of the Fair Folk, trapped in the role of Xanatos' lackey Owen Burnett."
Puck nodded. "Though I do love being Owen, I never thought I'd have to do it for eternity. Nice to get out and breathe every once in a while…" He floated toward Skye, hanging upside down, his face mere inches from Skye's. "Is there anything else that the Puck can do for you?"
"You can start by getting 'the Puck' out of my personal space," Skye said.
"Wow!" Puck exclaimed, backing up. "That joke didn't make the Disney Afternoon. But okay… let's see if I can get the clan out of this jar." He pondered it for a moment, then simply threw it to the ground.
Goliath snarled, but the broken jar sparked with magic and the miniaturized clan returned to their normal sizes, looking exhausted and shaken.
"Goliath!" Elisa gasped, rushing into his embrace. "Sorry he took me out of commission. I would have loved to fight that jerk with you."
"I'd have enjoyed that," Goliath said, smiling.
"It's almost dawn," Angela observed. She turned to Skye. "Is my mother all right? Well, of course she is. I know she deserved whatever it is she received at your hands… I suppose you'll be flying off to see other worlds soon? I almost wish I could come with you… but no, my place is here. Perhaps some other time?"
"Yeah… we'll let you know," Skye said with a smile.
"All right, gang, let's pack it in," Brooklyn said dryly, clasping his talons together. "This has been a big night, now for a good day's sleep."
The gargoyles floated and walked back to their places upon a castle parapet. Elisa remained where she was, gazing up at them.
"This never stops being beautiful," Elisa whispered to Skye. "Take a look."
As the sun rose, each gargoyle struck a menacing pose. Their skin and clothing were covered all at once by a layer of crackling stone. In seconds, they were statues once again.
"It's nice to have them watching over us," Xanatos said as he appeared behind Elisa and the trio, still in his full armor and accompanied by Owen.
Elisa sighed. "And… and you do a pretty good job of watching over them," she said grudgingly.
Xanatos turned to Skye. "And you… the way you're clearly crusading against a takeover of all the worlds has caught my interest. It would be in my best interest to help prevent something like that. If there's any aid I can offer…"
"Oh, you don't have to—" Skye said frantically.
"I insist. Give it to them, Owen."
"Yes, sir," Owen said. He pulled a small, steel hand mirror out of his inside pocket and passed it to Skye. "This mirror will allow you to summon Puck. Another handy way of bending the rules."
Skye took the mirror uncertainly. "You mean… to summon you?"
"Me? No, I'm Owen Burnett. Summoning me would hardly be useful in a combat situation."
Skye stared blankly.
"Puck is the greatest actor of all time," Xanatos said, clasping an armored hand on Owen's shoulder. "I've never seen him break character."
Contrary to this claim, a tiny smirk was playing around the edges of Owen's mouth.
"Well, thanks," Skye said, pocketing the mirror. "I'll use it if I'm in a tight spot."
"Please do," Xanatos said. "I'm very, very interested in how your actions will affect the worlds." He turned and strolled away, along with Owen.
"Yeah, I'd recommend not using that if you can avoid it," Elisa said. "No doubt Xanatos is up to something."
"Okay," Skye said, looking up at the gargoyles in their stone sleep. "This was a very special evening…"
"You made it special," Elisa said. "It's not everybody who can get those guys to just bow down. But you must get that a lot, travelling the worlds."
Skye shook his head. "Not at all. Getting that kind of respect from them, of all people? Of all the noble and heroic people all over the worlds… that felt good. Kind of gave me some confidence that I can pull off this mission."
"I'm sure you can," Elisa said sincerely. "But hey, don't leave us hanging—when you're done saving the worlds, come on back here."
"We will," Skye said.
A few minutes later, their three ships blasted off into the distance, into the rising sun.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Oceana sailed into Crystal Spheres on her surfboard-shaped Keyblade Glider. The elderly wizard of Pixar Palace stood on one of the outside walkways of a sphere.
"Hi," Oceana said, her pale blue armor fading into her regular outfit. "Are you Mr. Geri?"
"Yes, I am," the old man replied.
"Great!" Oceana said gleefully. "Master Kairi sent me here—she wanted me to learn about the 'Lost Ones'. Think you can walk me through it?"
Geri scratched his chin. "Well… there are eight 'Lost Ones'. Roxas, Xion, and Axel, currently residing in Master Sora's heart; Naminé, within Master Kairi's; the Grand Masters Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, lost twenty years past to parts unknown… and finally, the evil and chaotic Vanitas, the only one whose return the Keyblade lore wishes to prevent rather than bring about."
Oceana nodded. "Yeah, that's them. Where can I find the information?"
Geri pointed one of his shaky fingers. "Look beneath the large monument to the three Grand Masters. There's a hidden drawer there with all of the information we've ever been able to collect on them."
"Okay," Oceana said. "Thank you… Master Kairi says she has a hunch about there being a new way to bring them all back."
"I'm sure she does," Geri wheezed. "Naminé lives within her, after all. I'd trust those hunches."
Oceana flew to the huge stained-glass image of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus and opened the drawer. "Here we go…" she muttered, pulling out the collection of parchments. She addressed the window. "You guys might not be so lost after all."
She flew leisurely around the spheres as she thumbed through the reports. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lando emerging from the library sphere, carrying reports of his own.
"Oh hi Lando!" she said brightly, blushing slightly. "I didn't know you'd be here."
"Yeah, me and Riku are trying to find out something about Midghosts," he said. "Anything at all, if it exists. You know."
"Oh yeah? I got some research to do too," Oceana said, holding up the bundle. "I should really read it. No time to chit-chat."
Lando scowled, but nodded at his papers. "Yeah… super busy…"
Oceana flew off and Lando walked along the outer walkway, only to find Riku blocking his path.
"Whatcha got there, Lando?" Riku said casually.
"Just, um, just some research," Lando said. "A little side-project I'm working on, see."
"What kind of side-project?"
"Um… whatever. Nothing. Just something to do."
Riku stared for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Okay, fine. You go do that."
Lando bowed. "Thank you, Master." He started past him.
"Oh, Lando?" Riku said.
"Yeah?" he said, turning around.
Riku grabbed Lando firmly by the neck. "You know, some say that the rise of the Keyblade—hundreds of us all over the worlds, enough to merit a full-on Keyblade Academy? Some people don't believe that this is such a good thing. Some people say that this is an ill omen, that the hundreds of Keyblade wielders are going to bring ruin to the cosmos." He tightened his grip. "If my apprentice is the one to make these theories a reality, I am going to be sorely disappointed."
Lando swallowed. "Listen, Master Riku… would it kill you to lighten up a bit?"
Riku let go. "I suppose it wouldn't. But tread carefully, boy. Can you do that? Can I count on you to be careful?"
Lando nodded. "You bet."
"Okay. Go on, then."
Lando hurried off.