Okage Hearts
Chapter 29
I don't own Okage: Shadow King or Kingdom Hearts. Anyone who says otherwise is spreading inaccurate information. Also, the next chapter will be the finale of this story.
Aiming the Keyblade to unlock the door, Ari was surprised when his trusty weapon refused to fire the beam of light that usually unlocked whatever it was pointed at. Trying two more times, he tried to come up with a logical reason for why it wouldn't open.
"He's reclassified the lock," he muttered, trying to think about what they could do to get through.
"Curse that Beiloune," Stan glared, "he talked a big game, but he's hiding from us like a weakling."
"Let me at it!" Big Bull shouted, "I'll knock it right out of its frame!"
"I do not believe that is a good plan, my brawny friend," Kisling said, "This object, though its lock is reclassified, is in fact a door, which is a specific object. Perhaps we should regard the matter as if it were an ordinary door, as a door is meant to be treated as a door. Don't you think?"
"Thinking about it takes too long," Linda argued, "Let's just kill it and be done with it."
"Quiet!" Stan called out, "I suppose it has been some time since I called him in for anything. Yes, that could do quite nicely."
"If you're thinking of who I think you're thinking, you might be onto something, there," Rosalyn said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Wow, never thought I'd say that to you."
"James!" Stan called out, "I need you to come here now!"
"Who is this James?" Epros interjected, "I know him not by name."
"Stan's butler," Ari replied quietly just as said ghost rolled towards the door on his side, picking himself up before he hit it, "Him."
"Ah, you called me, Master," James said cheerfully, "It's been some time. What is the matter? Don't tell me this door is blocking your way."
"Skip the chattering, James," Stan commanded, "Do something, already."
"Don't fret, Your Majesty," James laughed, "This is a war against classification, isn't it? So you shouldn't let how a thing is 'classified' stop you. In fact, your own hypothesis is faulty, though part of your premise works. You thought to ignore the classification of the lock, but you were stuck on the idea of 'this is a door.' Just forget this is a door to open, and the only thing to do is. . . Everyone stand back."
At those words, everyone stepped aside as James backed up before charging at the door. Just before he slammed into the door, he paused, raising his hand to attack as he shouted, "Nonsense Butler Chop!"
With that, the door gave way, opening as James turned to face the group and said, "Well, there you go. Go in if you want. Adieu."
With that, he walked off, fading from sight as he did so. After a moment of silence from the group as they tried to process what had just happened, Linda said, "He just broke the door. That was awesome!"
"Indeed, it was thrilling," Epros interjected slowly, "Shall we press on to the killing?"
At that, the group once more returned to their senses, heading into the doorway to face Beiloune.
"We found you at last!" Stan shouted, "I've already bested your Vampire Evil King!"
"Your 'classification' is fouler than any evil that Evil Kings have created!" Rosalyn appended, "I'm going to put a stop to it!"
"Ah, you've finally arrived," Beiloune said, "I've been waiting. You've been causing me quite a bit of frustration."
"And we plan to do more!" Stan agreed.
"Not only do I not need Ari, but I do not need any of you in my perfect world," he added.
"Thanks," Ari muttered sarcastically.
"The reincarnation of Gohma and Rosalyn have gained to much power in their travels," Beiloune pressed on, seeming to not notice them, "So fortunate that you came with one another. Here, where you can be removed without anyone watching."
"Thy meaning?" Epros said, refraining from rhyming, to Ari's surprise, "Speak plainly."
"Evenly matched, you shall both die one each other's sword," Beiloune said, "You wanted the power of the Great Hero and Great Evil King? Take them!"
With that, a dark smoke-like substance flew forward, knocking Ari down as he felt his shadow get pulled away from him. At the same time, a brilliant light struck Rosalyn, covering her in a bright glow.
Once the light and smoke cleared, it revealed Rosalyn standing across from a blond man with pointed ears, dark eyes and sharp teeth.
"I've regained my original body," he said, his voice instantly recognizable, "I am the Great Evil King Stanley Hihat Trinidad the XIV!"
At the same time, Rosalyn raised her rapier and called out, "The spirit of justice fills me! I am the Great Hero Rosalyn, Champion of Justice!"
"Fight, Justice and Evil," Beiloune called out as the ground separated the pair from the rest of the group, "Fight for the fate of the world!"
As the rest of the group stood there, only able to watch as Stan and Rosalyn attempted to kill one another, each blow an explosion, each slash lightning.
"What is wrong with them?" Kisling asked in shock, "We need to fight Beiloune, not each other!"
"Curses! Beiloune, thou must make this end!" Epros shouted, "You've altered the world on your whims once again!"
"Excellent," Beiloune smiled, "No one can stop them. They'll destroy each other."
"Ari, the end falls to you," Epros said in frustration, turning to face Ari, "Devise a way to stop those two."
"Um. . . I'm not sure if this is the right time but. . ." Linda began.
"What?" Ari asked, "Is is something we could use?"
"You're pocket's glowing," she answered plainly. Looking down to his side, Ari saw that Linda was right. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a strange object that he hadn't put in there.
"I guess this is what all the gears and things were for," Ari mused, moving it around in his hands, "It looks like some sort of recorder. . ."
Right as he said that, his fingers accidentally brushed a button, inadvertently pushing it down. Suddenly, it rose out of his hand and began to play what it had recorded.
'I don't care about classification,' Rosalyn's voice stated, causing the real Rosalyn to pause, 'I'm a Hero no matter what, though I wonder where the real Princess Marlene is. . .'
'I'm going to best that fake Evil King, then I will defeat you, woman!' Stan's voice responded, stilling the Evil King, 'My Evil transcends any classifications!'
"Wow, that's pretty convenient," Linda commented, "I mean, what are the odds that it only got that conversation?"
'It's the moment we've been waiting for,' Stan's voice rallied as the recorder skipped to another point, 'It's time to defeat Beiloune in the name of the Great Evil King. You all know what to do!'
'Yeah, let's go get him!' Linda's voice cheered, followed by an enthusiastic agreement by Big Bull's voice.
'What are you going on about?' Rosalyn's voice asked, 'We're here to defeat his corrupt system in the name of justice! I know he's tougher than the Evil Kings we've fought, so stay on your guard everyone, and give it everything you've got!'
"That's right," Stan said, pausing as he stood face to face with Rosalyn, "That was what we're here for. Why am I wasting my time fighting a hero who's only weapon is her big mouth?"
"There's no point to fighting an Evil King as scatter-brained as this one," Rosalyn remarked, throwing back an insult of her own.
Turning to face their real enemy, the pair spoke in unison as they said, "We have a greater enemy to fight."
As they said this, the ground once again pulled itself together, allowing Ari and the rest of the group to join Rosalyn and Stan.
"How is this possible?" Beiloune shouted indignantly, "I brought the entire power of classification to bear upon you! I made that device as a simple toy to find my daughter! Ari, why are you and that infernal key. . . ?"
"We can't explain it, but we don't want to, anyway," Rosalyn said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Ari led us through all of this, and he showed us who he is. You call yourself smart, so you should know what he has in him. The Keyblade chose well."
"Beiloune," Stan stated imperiously, "I admit I don't know what you think, but I don't act this way because you made me do it! I am me! I do what I want, and there's nothing you can do about that!"
"NO!" Beiloune protested, seeming to be losing his mind, "I must keep this world intact until she comes back! As long as this world exists, my daughter and I will have eternity! Marlene will come back and spend her time enjoying forever! This is my daughter's country, her playground! I will not let her sanctuary be broken by mere PROPS!"
"How dare you!" Rosalyn shouted on Ari's right as Stan growled on Ari's left. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, a bright light seemed to consume Beiloune, changing his shape from a thin, mustached man to a giant blue and white monster with horns, red eyes, claws, and darkness pooling at his feet.
"Now, with this power, my final power, I will erase you all from the world," Beiloune said, his voice replaced with a deep rumbling growl, "Then, I will recreate the stage! But I won't let you destroy the frame of the world, my 'Great Illusion.'"
"Ari," Stan said, causing the boy to turn away from their enemy, "We'll be more powerful if I can link to your shadow."
"Then, let's go," Ari said, turning to let Stan into his shadow. Once he felt the now-familiar presence linked to his shadow, he led the charge to face Beiloune.
Beiloune began the battle, lunging for Ari, who quickly rolled out of his path as Rosalyn struck quickly with several slashes from her rapier. Once his attention was diverted to her, Big Bull quickly struck from behind with all his might, staggering the giant. As he tried to regain balance, he was struck in the eyes by Linda swinging her microphone. Her attack was quickly aided by several cards being launched by Epros, followed by an incantation by Kisling, which caused a flash of magic to strike.
Following this, Ari quickly sent out a blast of fire, followed by ice. Once Beiloune paused, seeming stunned, he quickly cast Air on himself and his friends, setting them to be defended from any sudden attacks. It was very fortunate that he did this, as the second he regained his bearings, the mad god cast a powerful burst of energy that burned the stone ground around the group to a charred black state. As he prepared for another strike, Ari quickly charged, striking him with the Keyblade before rolling out of his reach, firing spells as he moved around the giant figure before him. As he did this, Stan attacked with shadows, striking Beiloune's eyes and arms. At the same time, Rosalyn used her parasol and rapier to slash at his legs and blast his torso with some fire spells. Beiloune attempted to dodge, only to be blindsided by Big Bull flanking him from the right as Kisling cast spells to his left. Then, a few blasts of magic from Linda coming from behind him, followed by her throwing her microphone around his neck with a cord that seemed to appear out of nowhere and pulling to drag him down, threw him further off balance, allowing Epros to knock him over with a few spells as Stan withdrew the shadows.
Once the giant, monstrous form fell, Beiloune regained his thin, human appearance, lying on the ground broken and defeated.
"If you want to kill me, then do so," he said miserably, "It's. . . Nothing matters now. It's broken."
"I've wanted to see you like this for some time," Stan mused, "But I am feeling merciful. Killing you would take too much work. You're free to go. Leave."
"Erasing the classification system," Beiloune remarked softly, lifting himself from the floor, "Isn't this what you wanted? I am leaving for the vast open world to find my daughter. She won't be able to find me in this vast spread out world, and time is now finite, but I will find her, not a doll. A true. . ."
As he muttered to himself, he vanished from sight, leaving a large chest behind as he did so. Pointing the Keyblade at the box, Ari unlocked it, causing several glowing lights shaped like hearts to fly out of the chest, seeming to shine like stars as they zoomed out, presumably to return to their owners.
It was moments later that the World Library began to shake, as if it were falling apart. Racing out of the building, which seemed to have already been abandoned, they barely made it off in time to make it to the main body of the island. All that was left was to return to their homes.
