Italics in quotations are conversations between Kaze and Vanitas. Just to clear that up.
Disclaimer: I do not own KH.
"I'm going to tell you one more time!" I yell at Vanitas, "Get out of my head!" We've been in the gummi ship for about an hour after leaving the water world, Atlantica. Since then, I've been trying to get Vanitas out of my head.
"Sorry, I can't do that!" Vanitas laughs, "I would if I could, but we're stuck together!"
"I wish we weren't," I groan out loud.
"You okay, Kaze?" Matt asks, concerned.
"How could I be okay?" I snap. "I've got a guy in my head who's making me use darkness!" I can see the hurt in Matt's face, so I quickly add, "Sorry. I don't know what came over me."
"I know," Vanitas adds.
"Shut up!" I telepathically yell.
"It's okay," Matt says. "I get it. Well, not really…"
"We're coming up on the next world," Yen whispers, thankfully changing the subject. "It's called Halloween town."
"Why is there a world based on a holiday?" Raven wonders aloud.
"Does it matter?" Matt says. "It's Halloween! We might get some candy!" I perk up at the mention of candy.
"Really?" Raven says. "Do you have any other reasons for going?"
"What's his problem?" Vanitas says.
"Well, my friends could be there." I suggest.
"And they might not be there. Let's move on!"
"But what about the Organization?" Matt says. "They've been in every world along with heartless. We can't just let them mess up everyone's worlds!"
"Besides, Raven, you're outvoted." Yen says. Before Raven can protest, he presses the warp button and after a flash of light, we're standing on a long path that I assume goes into town.
The sky is dark and a few gray clouds float in it. Everything is dark, including the color scheme of the world. Everything is darker than normal, including the paved path and walls surround it. Even the grass is a dark green. The only things bright are the many orange lights along the path.
The biggest shock is ourselves. My clothes have become ripped and dark. To my surprise, black fur protrudes from every hole. In fact, my entire body is covered in it. My teeth have become larger and pointed and my face resembles that of a dog's. My hands look the same, but furry, and my feet are like paws. I've turned into a werewolf!
Yen's eyes now glow red and his teeth are as sharp as mine. He is wearing an outfit that resembles a pirate's, but it is faded and torn in places. His left hand is covered in bandages and looks like it's barely connected. It looks like it could fall off any second. A dull cutlass and faded whip hangs at his side along with a small bag full of something. Scars are all along his arms as well. Yen seems to put most of his weight on his left leg for some reason.
Raven has become a werewolf like me. He has a spiked collar around his neck and is wearing a sleeveless, black shirt. He's also wearing wristbands and tattered jeans.
Matt has become a wizard. He's wearing an old fanshioned robe and pointy wizard hat. Both are black.
"What happened to us?" I gasp at the sight of us.
"I knew something annoying would happen." Raven complains. Something really seems off about him lately. Ever since Twilight Town…
"At least that takes care of the costume problem!" Matt says.
"I'm okay with this too!" Yen exclaims. "I can finally see in the dark!"
"Forget that for now! Let's go get some candy!"
"You know what, Matt?" I say. "They probably don't have any candy here. This world seems centered on the trick part of Halloween." That stops him in his tracks.
"I guess we can help people anyway." Matt says.
"Hello!" Calls a voice. "I've never seen you around here before." A tall, lanky skeleton comes down the path toward us. He's wearing a long, all black suit, which for some reason, suits him.
"That's because we're from… um." I try to explain, but nothing comes up. Raven comes to my rescue, though.
"We're from the a town about fifty miles away." He explains. "Don't try to look for it! It's hidden."
"I guess that makes sense. Anyway, my name is Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King!" At that, lightning strikes, illuminating the world eerily. I'm not sure if that was just good timing or something Jack himself. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kaze. These are my friends, Matt, Yen, and Raven."
"I can introduce myself, Kaze!" Raven complains.
Ignoring Raven's comment, Jack continues, "I assume you've come to see the Halloween spectacular I've put on for this year? It's going to be a blast!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Matt says, "We totally came for that!"
"Then come on into Halloween Town! The terrors will start in a few minutes!" We follow Jack down the path and into town. Along the way, i hear a strange thumping sound from Yen. He doesn't seem to have peg leg though. I send him a questioning look and he shrugs.
When we enter town, a disturbing sight meets us. In the town square, dozens of heartless dressed as mummies are floundering around the square in an awkward dance. In the center of the area is a large and threatening guillotine.
"What's this place?" Raven asks Jack.
"This is guillotine Square, the center of Halloween Town." He answers.
"Follow up question," Raven continues, "Why are there heartless dancing?"
"Do you like the dancing they're doing?" Jack asks us as we stare in confusion. "We're not sure why they're doing what we say, but it sure is horrifying, right?"
"Sorry to tell you this, Jack," I begin, "but those are extremely dangerous!"
"Nonsense!" He laughs. "I know other heartless are dangerous, but these ones haven't attacked anyone! They're dancing is pretty bad, though. I should ask Dr. Finklestein about this." Lost in thought, Jack absentmindedly heads toward a large building, leaving the four of us with the strange heartless.
"What should we do?" Ten asks. "If we destroy the heartless, Jack's going to be pretty mad."
After a few moments of thought, I answer. "We shouldn't destroy the heartless. At least, not now. Like Jack said, they're not hurting anybody."
"But they could attack later." Vanitas comments. "You know, heartless kinda remind me of the unversed." Right when he says that, an image of the mark I drew on the table in Twilight Town flashes through my head.
"That was a heartless symbol!" I exclaim mentally.
"Not heartless, unversed. They're two completely different things." That makes me feel a little better.
"Arguing with you other half, I see." Says a woman's voice. A controlled, bright green flame flares up right in front of us and we all jump back in surprise. When the fire goes down, a woman in black robes is standing there. She would look normal if not for the oddly green skin.
"You're Maleficent, aren't you!" Yen gasps.
"Ah, so you do know of me. That gets the introductions out of the way."
"What do you want?" Yen says in a normal voice. He is obviously mad at this Maleficent for some reason. Matt and Raven are also angered by her presence.
"I just thought you'd like to know about the whereabouts of your friend, Kairi." Maleficent answers. "I suppose I was wrong, though." She knows where Kairi is! But how?
"Wait, what do you know about Kairi?" I blurt out.
"She's being held in Oogie Boogie's mansion. As prisoner."
"What?" That can't be right! Kairi can't be trapped in some guy's castle on an entirely different world! I have to save her!
"Come on guys!" I say. "We're saving my friend!" I begin to walk away, but Maleficent stops me.
"But you don't even know where Oogie's mansion is! And besides, it's quite dangerous." Maleficent says, stopping me. "You might want to wait for Sora or Riku to come help. They are stronger than you, right?" That struck a nerve. I've always known they were better at fighting than me, and it's always made me mad.
I spin around angrily. "No, they're not stronger than me!" I snap. "I have a Keyblade and I'm strong enough to take care of myself!"
"I thought you might say that. The mansion is down past the graveyard and moonlight hill. Good luck." With that, she disappears in a green fire.
"Kaze, don't listen to her!" Yen whispers urgently. "Maleficent is the one who destroyed our world! She's probably tricking you!"
"I don't care if she destroyed a million worlds! She knows where Kairi is and I'm going to save her! With or without you guys!" I storm off toward the graveyard on the other end of the square. None of my friends follow, but that's fine with me.
"You know, they're probably right," Vanitas comments. "I know Maleficent. This is a trap!"
"So what? Are you going to try and stop me too?"
"No way! I love an anger fueled task. That just means more darkness!" For once, I don't care if I used the Darkness because of Vanitas. If it means it will be easier to save Kairi, I'll do whatever it takes. "That's what I like to hear!" Vanitas cheers.
I soon reach moonlight hill. It looks like a normal hill, except it curls up at the end. The curls end faces a wall and I can see a large tree house-like building above it. I try to climb the wall, but the spiked parts at the top block my path. "How am I going to do this?" I wonder aloud.
Suddenly, a hoard of the mummy heartless from Guillotine Square appear from dark portals. "I knew they were up to no good!" I mutter as I summon Godly Strength. When the glow around it fades though, a different Keyblade is in its place.
The guard is the pure white and shines brightly. The blade is the same color, but is surrounded by spiraling darkness all around it. The darkness ends in three curved spikes on the side of the Keyblade.
"Cloaked Light," I breath. There's no time to question the sudden transformation, though because the mummified heartless all attack. I manage to cut down the first few with ease, but the swarm soon becomes too much to handle.
"Here, let me help!" Vanitas says. The darkness coiled around cloaked light begins to grow until everything is surrounded by pitch black darkness. The heartless are unable to move, but I can! I dash through the crowd with my Keyblade swinging until the Darkness enveloping us shrinks back around Cloaked Light.
At that point, the heartless feel the attacks I dealt while they were frozen and begin to jerk and spasm wildly. After a few seconds, they all fade back into darkness, the hearts they held floating away.
"That takes care of that problem," I grunt, satisfied. "Now to deal with the wall." I walk to the top of the curved hill to get a better look, but instead, the curled part extends itself, letting me cross right over the fence.
"This must be Oogie Boogie's mansion." I comment upon arriving at the large treehouse-like structure. The incredibly large, gnarled tree supports the many platforms of wooden planks and other strucyures scattered around the branches. at the top of the tree is a small buildimg which is where I assume the main room is.
We had just arrived at the bottom of the structure and I can see no way up. I circle the tree looking for a foothold, but I soon come across a bathtub with legs. Curious, I walk over to it to investigate. As soon as I touch it, the tub starts walking toward the treehouse. I realize what it's doing when it starts climbing up the tree vertically!
I grab the edge of the tub before it gets to high to reach, but the tub doesn't show any signs of slowing down. It climbs higher and higher until I'm suspended high above the ground by one hand. Summoning the last of my strength, I haul myself over the edge of the tub and pull myself in. The tub soon makes its way to the top, where I promptly get off. There's no way I'm riding that again!
"Now we just have to get to the top!" Vanitas declares.
"You know what? I'm starting to think I'm going crazy talking to you."
"Well, I am just a voice in your head."
"True." Before long, I reach the top of the tree where the small house I saw is. I summon Cloaked Light and push open the door, ready to face whatever waits me.
