Author's Note: Just to let you know before you continue on reading this story, this story also has references of "Second Being" mentioned by Lea and the others which I've yet to update. Same with "Second Life: Strelitzia's Story". It'll be random and possibly spoilers, but both just made me have a better idea how to continue this.
Another thing, this chapter kinda focuses more on the other characters rather than Sora's group in Olympus Coliseum, and the main reason for that is to connect to the next world which I'm pretty certain you guys will figure out.
Anywho, let's continue on.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy.
CH35: On the Way to the Dead.
As Sora and his friends landed, they found themselves at the gates of the Coliseum rather in town this time, and while Myde moaned in huge relief, Noctis, Prompto and Ignis took the time to look around their new surroundings in interest and awe.
"Oh, thank Kingdom Hearts. Not having to climb up those stairs is a blessing!" Myde sighed, relieved. "The last time was torture!"
"So was your whining and the constant 'Are we there yet'." Lea rolled his eyes.
"I have no argument with Myde's irritating complaints or patience to pretend otherwise. But I have no arguement about the stairs either." Jack commented, also relieved.
"Oh, come on! The stairs aren't that bad." Kairi sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she and the others glared at both Myde and Jack in slight annoyance.
"Yeah, and besides we'll probably have to go down them if we wanna find Gladio anyway. There's no use complaining about it." Sora added.
Either Jack or Myde were about to retort on that, but neither got the chance when the doors opened and everyone turned to see Hercules and Meg walk out as the two noticed them before walking over with a wave which the worldly travellers waved back in greeting.
"Hey, guys! Good to see you again." Hercules greeted.
"Same here, Herc." Sora smiled happily, before asking, "How's everyone doing?"
"Well, got some good news and got some bad news." Hercules shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. "Bad news is Hades' gonna try and attack Olympus again probably soon for round 2 after the last time."
"Again?" Sora whined, as he, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, Ven, Myde, and Lea all slumped half-way down in dismay and disappointment, while Mickey, Riku, Isa, Aqua, Terra, Xion, Kairi, and Skuld all shared concerned glances, and Jack shook his head in annoyance. They knew it was coming, but they didn't think they'd had to go through it so soon just after returning. Noctis, Ignis and Prompto shared concerned and puzzled expressions, wondering who Hades was and what did happen the last time they were here, especially when they had the help from Gladio.
Lea sighed in irritation, "Doesn't that guy know when to quit?"
"You know Hades. He always tries to get what he wants in many ways he can think of." Meg shook her head, apparently twice as annoyed.
"So, what's the good news?" Goofy asked.
"My father, Zeus, has an update for you guys and that there're people who can help with that too." Hercules answered, which lit up everyone's faces slightly. He then turned to Jack and told him, "I even got better news for you, Jack."
The pirate's expression quickly turned to confusion. "You do?"
"Yeah, apparently some of the Gods knew what happened that caused you to travel with Sora and the others." Hercules continued, which made everyone shocked and stunned and Jack very uncomfortable. He then shrugged apologetically and added, "Though the downside to that is getting out of the place where what you're looking for is the hard part."
"...Why is that better news if I can't get out of it easily?" Jack asked, hesitatedly.
"You'll have to ask him yourself. Thing is, Hades' not the only evil god to worry about, and we both know Chaos and Bhunivelze are on that list." The Demi-God replied.
"This wouldn't happen to do with the War of the Gods, would it?" Terra inquired with seriousness, before saying, "We learned a bit about that a little while ago that Bhunivelze created a few gods himself and around 2,000 years ago he and Chaos woke up by someone who had help from someone named Calypso, the Goddess of the Sea. But someone with a Keyblade defeated them at the cost of his or her memories. They had help from someone who was said to hand over the power to ask certain Gods for help."
"I never knew that." Hercules admitted, a bit surprised himself. "Here I thought Hades freeing the Titans was bad enough. I don't even know who Calypso is, since I've never met her."
"Of course not." Jack shook his head, "That's because Calypso was said to be imprisoned in human form and is somewhere out there wandering around on her lonesome. Or so the story that I heard goes."
"For real?" Meg scoffed, skeptical on this.
"...Still not fully certain, but it is probable." The pirate admitted.
"Um..." Noctis spoke up while holding up his hand to say something, making everyone gaze at him as he awkwardly inquired, "Hate to butt in here, and sorry for the short notice on introductions, but, Herc, was it? Do you think your dad, Zeus, might know about certain Gods called the Astrals by any chance?" which made Prompto shift awkwardly and Ignis to roughly pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"Uh, maybe? Sorry, but who're you guys?" Hercules replied.
"Oh, right!" Sora remembered, before introducing, "Herc, Meg, these are our new friends; Noctis, Ignis and Prompto. They're friends of Gladio, which is one of the other reasons we came back."
"Oh, so you're the guys Gladio's been talking about. Nice to meetcha's." Hercules smiled, walking over and shaking hands with the trio who shook hands with him in return. "I'm Hercules. Herc for short."
"Our pleasure. You may refer to me as either Ignis or Iggy. Whichever way is fine." Ignis replied.
"Heya." Prompto smiled happily.
Noctis smirked while saying, "Call me Noct." as he shook hands with Hercules.
"Herc! We got a problem!" Another familiar voice called out hysterically and exhaustingly, making everyone turn to see that Phil just came up the stairs and was panting to nearly collasping from all the running and climbing up the stairs. He wiped his forehead, before noticing Sora and the others and sighed in huge relief, "Thank the gods, you're all here too!"
"Phil!" Most of the worldly travellers and Herc exclaimed, quickly concerned while Noctis, Ignis and Prompto gazed at the Styar in confusion due to seeing the goat-man for the first time.
"Don't tell me; the Heartless are attacking again, aren't they?" Meg asked, worriedly.
"That, and those other guys from last year!" Phil nodded, "They're attacking the town like nobody's business!"
"We'll handle it! Right guys?" Sora declared with determination. He just hoped that this wasn't yet another one of Hades' schemes to catch them off-guard.
Lea though stopped him as he placed a hand onto his shoulder and suggested, "Hold on. If this is Hades' second attempt to try and attack Mount Olympus, it might be better if we split into groups."
As much as he hated to admit it, Lea was right. Plus as Hercules said, Hades could try again for round 2 and probably didn't realise that Sora and the others are already here. Or maybe this was another trap to catch them off-guard. It was hard to tell with that Low-Life. Though if they focused on one battle at the time, that would only give Hades an advantage.
Either way, splitting up was their only optain.
Finally, the teenager nodded and said, "Okay. I'll go to Mount Olympus with Herc, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Ven, the King and Jack."
"I'll go too." Aqua volunteered with determination.
"Okay. Then the rest of us will handle things in town." Riku said, and Terra, Skuld, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, Noctis, Prompto and Ignis all nodded in agreement.
"Meg, you stay here with Phil. I don't want Hades to kidnap you again." Hercules told his lover firmly.
Despite worried about him and the others, Meg hesitatedly nodded and told him, "Be careful out there, Wonderboy."
"I promise." Hercules replied, and he meant it.
Myde on the other hand, groaned in dismay, "Awww! Not climbing again!"
"Hold on. I got a better idea." Noctis spoke up, nodding to his two best friends who nodded in return. "Gather around me, guys."
"Be careful, fellas." Mickey told the group.
"Right. You guys too." Riku said firmly, which Sora's group nodded in firm promise.
While most of them got the idea, Myde hesitated and was about to change his mind, when Isa tugged him hard on the ear and dragged him towards the young Prince. The mullet-haired man shrieked girlishly in pain as he was pulled. Once gathered, Noctis summoned his weapon before thrusting it to into down below, causing him and everyone else with him to suddenly wrap into Thebes to fight off the Heartless, leaving behind Sora's group, and the surprised Hercules, impressed Meg, and stunned Phil.
"Holy Hera...!" Phil muttered in wide-eyed amazement at Noctis' wrapping skill. "How'd that kid do that?"
"It's a long story." Sora shrugged.
"Let's go before things get really bad!" Donald impatiently told them.
"It'll be a tight squeeze on Pegasus, but I think we can manage." Hercules told his friends, only for Ven and Aqua to smile as they had come up with an answer to that problem already.
"Got a better idea, and, well, it's best not to tell anyone else." Ven informed, as he and Aqua shared a nod before summoning their Keyblades and tossed them into the air which in an instant turned into their Keyblade gliders and they both hopped onto it.
Phil's jaw comically hit the ground in total disbelief at the mere sight of the Gliders.
"That'll work too." Hercules admitted, equally amazed. He then whistled and seconds later Pegasus came flying from the sky and landed on the ground next to him. The Demi-God then hopped on, with Sora hopping on and held out a hand to Kairi who nodded, and climbed onboard as well. Jack(who was very nervous to get onto the gliders or even the horse with wings) and Mickey boarded onto Aqua's glider while Donald and Goofy did the same on Ven's.
"Let's go!" Sora yelled, and with that, Hercules, Aqua and Ven took flight high up towards Mount Olympus.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Jack screamed as he clinged onto both Aqua and her glider as hard as could, not having expected this flight to be this fast. Sure he can swing and make himself fly, but this sort of thing wasn't what he had in mind.
"I guess Jack has a terrible fear of heights like I used to." Meg commented, shaking her head as she actually felt sorry for the pirate and knew what it was like.
Phil stroked his beard a bit awkwardly, before adding, "He sure screamed like a little five year old girl."
If only everyone knew that this was much more than what they were actually expecting.
Meanwhile, in Radiant Garden, Tifa was strolling on her own while fighting off Heartless before sighing, thinking about Cloud. He still hasn't been back yet. On top of that, she felt sorry for Namine who was worried about Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, Sora, Kairi, Riku and everyone else. She just wished she could figure out where Cloud was so that she could help him and Zack in Midgar.
But then she paused as she sensed movement, turning just in time to see a portal of light appear near towards the Bailey. At first Tifa had no idea what was going on, until she sensed another movement and turned sharply, to see an unfamiliar woman with blonde hair and a white long dress, wielding what appeared to be a Trident.
"You should go. They would need you in the future fight." The young woman informed her.
"Who...?" Tifa began, suspiciously.
"There isn't much time." The young woman shook her head. "Believe in yourself."
Tifa hesitated, glancing back at the portal and then turned back, the mysterious woman had somehow vanished. Despite the suspicion and not wanting to disappear on Leon and the others just to look for Cloud. And can she really trust the mysterious woman who disappeared suddenly as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere?
Sighing, she finally made her decision.
Back in Midgar, not long after Vincent, Reno and Rude had returned and told Rufus, Tseng, Elena and Reeve about Cloud and Zack's departure and the encounter of the mysterious man in the black coat who wasn't part of Organization XIII, there was another attack at HQ and the WRO soldiers and the Turks were dispatched into handling the Heartless problem. Vincent joined in oblierating them while Reeve stayed with Rufus in the office for their safety.
"Ugh! I hate these things!" Reno grunted, bashing another Heartless with his EMR. His partner agreed as Rude slugged a soldier Heartless in the stomach and made it fly backwards and hit the wall, fadining into oblivion.
Vincent, Tseng and Elena were too busy to reply as they shot dead as many Heartless as possible, and tried to be careful in not running out of ammo. Vincent then kicked another aside when it got too close to his taste. After a little while, the hallway they were busy fighting the Heartless in seemed fine as no more Heartless appeared. But they all quickly turned when the five of them sensed five more Heartless come running towards them. Just as they were about to fight them, to their confusion, the Heartless were quickly dispatched and the ones who did it were, unaware to them, were Lightning and Ephemer, Crimson sword and Keyblade in hand.
"Everyone okay?" Ephemer asked.
"You...you're the boy who helped us before." Tseng spoke, recongising Ephemer.
"Yeah, sorry about running off like that earlier. Had a lotta things to do, and well, this is probably not the best time to have a normal conversation." The white-haired young man shrugged.
"You must be the one Skuld has mentioned." Vincent realised, before turning his gaze at Lightning and inquired, "Who are you?"
Lightning stared back while answerous, "It's Lightning."
"Wait a damn minute." Reno muttered, his brows furrowing in suspicion and realization. "That hair...it's the same as that girl who was with that other kid that came and killed Fuhito a little while ago before Deepground attacked."
"So you met Serah. Then you know what's going on." Lightning analyzed.
"Uh-huh...so you're her sister she's lookin' for." Reno replied in suspicion. "Any reason why you suddenly disappeared on her?"
Lightning sighed, "It's like Ephemer said. Now's not the time, and I can't reveal myself to her yet. However, Sora and the others will need your help in a certain world that a few of you are familiar with."
"What do you mean?" Elena asked, frowning.
There was a sudden crash behind Lightning and Ephemer who both jumped and turned as the others jumped as well. A larger horned Heartless with a picked axe had crashed through the ceiling and roared. It about the size of Azul, and the only ones that weren't that completely fazed were Vincent and Lightning who stood glaring at the large monster.
"...That's a big one." Reno said, somewhat nervously.
Vincent immediately fired at it, but the Heartless blocked it with it's hand and even knocked away Ephemer and Lightning when both attempted to attack it head on due to a sudden Barrier that it developed. The two unexpected saviors landed on the ground in the crouch, with Ephemer grunting, "Man! This guy can't be taken out unless we have a stronger attack or something to disable it's barrier!"
It was then that Tseng remembered something and called out, "We must retreat! This way!"
Despite trying to dispatch the Heartless with his triple-barreled gun, Vincent finally admitted defeat and followed the Turks as did Lightning and Ephemer, all of them running while the Heartless began to chase after them, and for a large monster it sure can run. They all quickly emerged inside a large warehouse like room with crates, with Tseng instructing Rude at an nearby object.
The Turk nodded and quickly grabbed hold of what Vincent and Lightning realised was a Bazooka and fired at the Heartless. It hit the Heartless head on and the force of the blast thrown everyone off their feet. They landed on the floor with a thud as the explosion subsided.
"You shouldn't leave those things lying around." Vincent lectured to the Turks who chuckled softly.
"Blame Reeve. He hasn't put up a storage for weapons yet." Reno half-joked. He and Elena then gasped as the smoke cleared, and revealed the Heartless, seemingly half-battered, was still alive and thoroughly pissed off. The redhead groaned, "Oh, come on! You gotta be kiddin' me!"
Ephemer already got up and held a tight grip on his Keyblade, before rushing over and leaped before striking the Heartless full on and landed behind it, with Lightning sped towards it and slashed at it for the killing blow. The Heartless twitched and sparked electricity before it collasped foward and vanished into darkness, the heart fading from the body.
"Whoa..." Reno muttered, eyes wide in disbelief and awe. Well, at least the Heartless problem was solved. The question now was why Lightning and Ephemer were here and not with Serah or Sora's group?
Fifteen minutes later after things settled down, Vincent, Lightning, Ephemer and the Turks rejoined Rufus and Reeve to discuss the situation and the reason why the two other people had arrived. What Vincent and everyone else heard were shocking.
"You want the five of us to what!?" Elena exclaimed, shocked, after Lightning and Ephemer finished explaning.
"You can't be serious." Reno frowned.
"Is there any reason why you wish to send in my Turks, Vincent, and one of your other friends having sent Miss Lockhart to the world where Mr. Sparrow was exiled from?" Rufus questioned lowly.
"This is a situation where it'll need lots of people, and given that you guys are now connected with Sora, he'll need all the help he can get." Ephemer explained.
"Including Cloud and Zack?" Vincent questioned.
Lightning took over to speak, "As many as they can get. It's all connected. There isn't much else we can say until the time is right."
"And you two and you two other new friends can't do it yourselves because...?" Reno inquired, folding his arms to his chest. He didn't like where this conversation was going.
"We're in a middle of spying on Chaos and looking into what he's really up to. Garland already broke the barrier that kept Chaos from being used before Serah and Strelitzia killed him. Not to mention there are other villians trying to stop Sora from saving the Realm of Light." Ephemer explained.
"I take you mean Aced who has abducted King Mickey's mentor as well as Angeal and Genesis." Reeve responded.
"Master Aced's mind is blurred and clouded. The mystery of the traitor and trying to change the future by disobeying the wishes of the Master of Masters has blinded him into wanting power and domination in order to keep the Light safe. Then again, he's always been one of the scariest of the old Foretellers." Ephemer answered, sighing.
Reno sighed, admitting, "Can't argue the fact that the guy's completely nuts." still remembering in the bear-masked Keyblade wielder fighting Sora and the others in Port Royal. He then asked, "You two wouldn't happen to know about a suspicious guy in a black coat who isn't part of Organization XIII, would you?"
"The Master of Masters?" Ephemer asked, shocked.
The group softly gasped, having recongised the name Skuld mentioned before her and the others' departure. So even the Master of Masters was still alive?
"...How is it that the Master of Masters is alive?" Rufus inquired.
"I don't know. Maybe he was in the Realm of Darkness for years. Maybe he was revived like Strelitizia...I have no idea. I never met him, but I've heard little about him. He's the one who created the Book of Prophecies." Ephemer said.
"He said to watch out for two whackos who are kinda like Davy Jones or whatever. Some guy who had a heart of a Goddess and another who can't be killed by anyone except by someone who holds light and that he's just as dangerous at manipulation, and even more dangerously cruel." Reno remembered.
"Caius and Arydn..." Lightning mumured in concern.
"You know them?" Tseng inquired.
"I know Caius more than anyone and so does Serah. Something brought him out of the Unseen Realm and his mind is again blinded. As for Ardyn...he is dangerous at manipulation. It took Serah to bring Strelitzia out of it." Lightning explained.
"The Unseen Realm? You mean one of those places that dead people go to? That's like in trouble along with every other dead places?" Reno asked, shocked as where the rest of the group. So Caius was one of the reasons why the Realms of the Dead were in turmoil? He heard about it from Angeal.
"And how is sending us to help Sora rescue a friend from another place going to solve this?" Elena asked.
"Because it's about to happen and the only way to retrieve him and the one thing he cherishes is to go to that world. There's no avoiding this. By the time we reach Sora and the others in another world, it'll be too late." Lightning replied.
Reno sighed in exasperation, "This's really givin' me a headache. I can't keep up with all this crap."
"Say if we agree to do this, what will you two do?" Vincent questioned.
"Keep Arydn and Caius back as much as possible, as well as Master Aced and Chaos. We'll explain more about this later, but Sora and the others will be heading there probably soon anyway, if they're not there already." Ephemer said urgently.
"No way." Reno shook his head, "We're not leavin' the President on his own."
"Perhaps we should trust Miss Farron and Ephemer." Rufus spoke up, causing his Turks to glance at him. "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. As such, knowing Tseng and Reeve, I very well end up being safe in the WRO Headquarters. The situation is far more dire than any of us can imagine, and we are no closer in solving the mystery for Sora's sake."
"Not only that, Chaos is plotting something much more sinister." Vincent nodded in agreement. "I'll go. I think it's time to put an end to Davy Jones before Jack's world falls into darkness."
Despite the hesitation, Tseng, Rude and Elena nodded in agreement, silently agreeing to go with. Everyone turned their attentions to Reno who finally sighed, knowing that he was outnumbered.
"Fine." He grunted. "Let's get this over with."
Lightning and Ephemer nodded their thanks to the group, before the latter walked to the side and summoned his Keyblade before thrusting it forward as a beam of light shot out from it, creating a Corridor of Light.
"That will take you to Port Royal. Light and I will continue keeping as much enemies at bay as possible." Ephemer informed the group.
"One more thing." Lightning spoke to the group who were about to enter the portal. "Protect my sister."
Vincent was the one who nodded in a firm silent promise, before and the slightly hesitant Turks stepped into the portal, which closed behind them. Ephemer then opened up another one and nodded to Rufus and Reeve before the Keyblade wielder and Lightning, who also nodded to the duo, stepped into that one towards their next destination.
Back in Port Royal, Cloud and Zack had been informed of the situation which, as Tia Dalma secretly told them afterwards that Jack would about to die soon and thus the only way to save him was to enter the Locker and that Sora's group would no doubt follow to save him, made the two young men realise that Elizabeth had no said anything regards to her forcing Jack into exile and join Sora and the others.
'It was a waste of time.' Cloud thought bitterly to himself as he waited in the shadows with Barbossa after splitting up with Zack who went with the rest of the remaining crew to somewhere as backup. 'Why did Elizabeth sent Jack with us if he's still going to end up dead? The Keyblade chose him after being chosen by Sora. Why even borther?'
Not only that, it also put Sora at risk even further, and it angered Cloud to no end. Keyblader or not, Sora is his friend.
"Somethin' on your mind, Master Cloud?" Barbossa inquired in a whisper to avoid in being heard, as in the distance and nearby, both the royal navy soldiers and chinese pirates lurked around the city of Singapore which Cloud and Zack had landed in earlier.
"What does it matter to you?" Cloud whispered snappishly in return. Of all the people to be revived to locate the way to the Locker-one of the many places of the dead-it had to be Jack's old enemy.
"We have not known each other long, but anger can only led distraction." The Pirate replied, unfazed by Cloud's snap.
The spiky-haired younger man rolled his eyes, before he said dryly, "Excuse me for being in a lousy mood." adding more seriously, "I don't trust you, and just because we're only teaming up to defeat Beckett and Davy Jones, doesn't mean it makes us friends. If you hurt my friends, I won't hesitate to kill you."
"Ah. It be because I am a Pirate, or another reason?"
"Both." Cloud answered. "I once knew someone who took almost everything away from me and he wasn't even a pirate, and I'm not a pirate either. But I also know not to get others involved unless they do end up stuck in it."
Barbossa smirked at Cloud's response. "Ye have the same bravery and same lack self-interest as young Turner and the Keyblader, yet you prefer to go on alone and never foolishly ask for anyone's help."
Cloud glared at him, saying sarcastically, "When I want your advise, I'll ask for it." really not in the mood to talk about his personal life.
Neither man had the oppotunity to continue the conversation, because they heard a familiar woman's voice singing and turned to gaze down the stairs, seeing Elizabeth arrived at the small dock via a small boat. She stood onto the rocky quayside and was cut off from her singing when it was finished by another man, followed by two others. They all looked Chinese and were no doubt pirates themselves.
That was Cloud and Barbossa's cue.
"A dangerous song to be singing, for anyone ignorant of it's meaning. Particularly a woman," The head Chinese man looked her up and down and his eyes took on a salacious glint, "Particularly a woman alone."
"Who says she was alone?" Cloud spoke dangerously as he and Barbossa descended the stairs as all four heads turned to face the two of them. While the Chinese men didn't recongise Cloud, they must've recongised Barbossa, because they didn't look surprised.
"You protect her?" The head Chinese Pirate asked, only for Elizabeth to have drawn a knife the moment his back was turned to her and she pressed a knife to his neck.
"And what makes you think I need protection?" She hissed coldly, even as her captive's two men quickly drawn pistols at her.
Cloud stood in defense, hand drawn to the hilt of his fusion sword but didn't take it out unless it was necessary. Barbossa on the other hand, stood there calmly as the pirate said to the Chinese head Pirate, "You're master is expectin' us, Tai Haung, and an unexpected death would cast a slight pall on our meeting."
The last part of his sentence was more aimed at Elizabeth than the man named Tai Haung, and getting the message, she released him and the two other men lowered their weapons. Cloud likewise lowered his hand even though he did cast a suspicious glance at Barbossa with his eyes.
Before anything else could be said, a sudden shout from above drew their attention to the street. They saw that patrol was on the move again, having just turned the corner of the street and was coming towards them. Tai Haung gestured hurriedly for Elizabeth, Cloud and Barbossa to follow him beneath the sewers to safety. With hardly a moment to spare, the trio followed the Chinese pirates into the dark tunnel, out of sight.
In the meantime, Zack and the surviving members of the Black Pearl Crew swum into the waters before finally found the sewer gates that lead into the Bathhouse which they were instructed to go and retrieve everyone's weapons. As silently as they could and waiting Ragetti's signal, the group, with Tia Dalma who was pushing a cart which contained baubles and trinkets of a dubious nature and was hunched, and disgused in bulky shawls and a wide-brimmed hat, with her were Cotton's Parrot and Jack the monkey, began to saw their way into the steel of the gates.
"Okay. We're through." Zack whispered, before he, being the strongest out of most of the men, pulled the grates out before crawling their way towards their destination. Well, Marty didn't have to crawl because he was a dwarf and only had to lower his head a little, so he was lucky.
Cloud, Elizabeth and Barbossa followed Tai Haung and his companions through the crowded streets of Singapore. Within the interior of the city, the patrols of the East India Trading Company soldiers were virtually nonexistent. The perfect hideout for Sao Feng and his bathhouse.
"Have you heard anything from Will?" Elizabeth asked Barbossa.
"I trust young Turner to acquire the charts, and you two to remember your place in the presence of Cap'n Sao Feng." Barbossa replied.
"That terrifying, huh?" Cloud asked sarcastically, not impressed. Judging by Elizabeth's deadpanned expression, she didn't seem that impressed either.
Barbossa smirked, "He absent my merciful nature an' sense of fair play. Otherwise he is much like meself."
"How petrifying." Cloud deadpanned, as they arrived at the massive, round door which Tai Haung knocked three times, saying something in a different langauge before they opened, and allowed all four of them to enter.
Tai Haung then turned to the three of them and instructed, "Remove your weapons. Please."
Despite being irritated for being forced into removing his sword, Cloud knew there was no other choice. Plus, Zack and the others would hopefully retrieve all of them. For now, he would have to go weaponless. Sometimes he envied Sora's group to being able to summon their weapons without carrying them, and thus were able to hide them in their bodies magicaly.
So Cloud, Barbossa and Elizabeth all removed their weapons and handed them over to the other Pirates confiscated them. The former smirked a little as the Chinese Pirates looked at his massive sword, and it took about four people who be able to lift it onto the table.
"How is it that a young man such as you are able to wield a weapon with such strength?" Tai Haung inquired, admittedly surprised. Even Barbossa held a look of surprise himself.
"Years of training and practice." Cloud replied simply. Actually, he's not the first one to wield such a heavy sword. It all began with Angeal as far as Cloud was told, and that was with the Buster Sword which was handed down to Zack who can also wield it with ease, before he passed it down to Cloud himself. When he retired it, he took up his Fusion Sword which, admittedly was a bit heavier, but he can wield it like a pro.
Elizabeth, seemingly decided to get this over with, made to stop forward, only to be stopped when Tai Haung held up his hand to stop her.
"Do you think because she is a woman, we would not suspect her of treachery?" He questioned Barbossa pointedly.
Barbossa glanced at Elizabeth before turning back to the Chinese man and replied, "Well, when you put it that way."
Tai Haung didn't reply to that, and instead firmly turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "Remove, please."
Fuming silently that she was caught red-handed, Elizabeth removed her outer vest, revealing about ten small pistols and removed them as well as holsters, a miscellaneous bomb and then, remembering she had one more thing to pull out, she reached behind her, and with some effort, withdrew a massive blunder bus and added that to the pile.
When she had pulled out the blunder bus, both Cloud and Barbossa's eyes widened in shock and confusion and mentally wondered where in the nine hells did Elizabeth manage to hide that huge thing.
'I wonder if it's possible to understand women.' Cloud thought to himself, still shocked, while Barbossa's expression was that of amusement.
"This way." Tai Haung gestured, seemingly sastified despite eying Elizabeth suspiciously.
He then led an over-weight attendent to led Barbossa, Cloud and Elizabeth into the main bathhouse. The bathhouse was made up of various tubs and vats, all of them filled with scalding hot water. Steam rose from the pools of water, though given how filthy the water was, both Cloud and Elizabeth tried hard not to look disgusted, and were both failing miserably. The attendant then stepped aside and directed Barbossa and his group to walk past him. The three of them, reaching the dais, paused. There, they stopped and waited. Two female attendants were putting the last touches to Sao Feng's apparel. When they were finished, they stepped away, and a large cloud of steam arose from the pipes beneath the bathhouse floor and Sao Feng himself turned, scars across his face.
He looked around Barbossa's age, perhaps a bit younger or older. It was hard to say. Barbossa bowed elegantly. Glancing behind him, he waved, somewhat impatiently, for Cloud and Elizabeth to follow suit. Cloud gave a short bow while Elizabeth quickly bobbed a short curtsy.
"Captain Barbossa. Welcome to Singapore." Sao Feng greeted, having known the man for quite sometime, or perhaps through reputation. He approached the trio who stood up and inquired, "I believe that you have a request, do you not?"
"More of a proposal." Barbossa replied, never liking the word 'request' as much. "I've a venture underway and I find meself in need of a ship and a crew."
Sao Feng stepped back and seemed to consider this thoughtfully, "Hmm, it's an odd coincidence."
"Did someone else ask for the similiar request earlier?" Cloud inquired, speaking up carefully despite Barbossa giving him a warning look and Elizabeth giving him a puzzled look. However, Cloud had supicions about this. The look on Sao Feng's face told him that he was faking the thoughtful look.
"No." Sao Feng replied, seemingly unfazed. Instead, he continued, "Because earlier this day, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple and tried to make off with these." as he moved towards an old man and took something from him, turning back to the trio. He held on an oblong piece of leather that was rolled into a tight scroll.
Cloud's eyes narrowed in confusion, while Barbossa's widened in silent shock as he shared a look with Elizabeth who mentally shared it.
"The navigational charts, the route to the farthest gate." Sao Feng continued, his tone tone a little less welcoming than it had been before. In fact, it now carried a hint of definite malice. He then tossed it towards Tai Haung, who caught them, before turning to Barbossa. "Wouldn't be amazing, if this venture of yours, took you to the world beyond this one?"
'Clearly he doesn't know about other worlds and it's best that he doesn't.' Cloud thought to himself, already figuring that the only world beyond this one was in fact, Davy Jones Locker.
"It would strain credulity at that." Barbossa said, as innocently as possible.
Clearly this didn't ease Sao Feng's expression, nor was he fooled. He turned his head to the side and nodded to two guards who had been standing by one of the bathhouse's numerous tubs, though this was was used for torture since it was icy cold than the rest, because the two men pulled up a familiar young man with his arms tied and locked onto the long pole that was lengthwise.
Cloud's eyes widened in muted shock and Elizabeth was horrified. Sao Feng moved over to the soaking wet and freezing Will Turner, saying to the trio, "Is this thief's face familiar to you?"
The trio shook their heads in negative, thinking that by doing so would let Will go. It was a bad mistake, because Sao Feng pulled out a wooden spike, declaring, "Then I suppose he has no further need of it."
But as he prepared to kill Will, Elizabeth failed to stop her gasp of horror which made the Chinese Pirate stop as he caught her reaction. So Sao Feng stopped what he was about to do and instead put the spike away, approaching Barbossa, Cloud and Elizabeth once more, knowing that he had caught them for lying, and now would get the answers he wanted as to why they really where here.
"You come into my city and betray my hospitality." He said coldly, before turning as he continued, heading back to his dais, "Yet you intend to undertake a voyage to Davy Jones Locker. But I cannot help but wonder," he turned back to Barbossa, "Why?"
In response, Barbossa threw something at Sao Feng. He caught the piece of eight in mid-air and held it up to his ear. A strange, ethereal ringing, audible only to Barbossa and Sao Feng, emanated from the coin. Sao Feng knew what it meant, his eyes widening.
"The song has been sung." Barbossa stated. "The time is upon us. We must convene the Brethren Court. As one of the nine pirate lords, ye must honor the call."
Sao Feng's long fingers curled around the coin, before he seemingly calmed down and after several moments of breathing, he spoke again, "There is a price on all our heads. It seems the only way a pirate can turn a profit any more," He cast a significant glance at Will, "Is by betraying other pirates."
"It be time to put our differences aside." Barbossa stated, "The first Brethren Court gave us control of the sea, but now that rule is bein' challenged by Lord Cutler Beckett."
"And not just pirates that are at risk. Beckett is also targeting innocent people. He has joined forces with an enemy powerful enough to cast darkness." Cloud added, ignoring the fact that the two pirates gazed at him and referred to Maleficent. "If nothing is done to stop them, everyone will be in even more danger to the point of being sentenced to death."
"Which is why you can fight." Elizabeth added, taking a few steps up and having grown sick and tired of being in the background. "You are Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of Singapore. The most notorious pirates from around the world are uniting against our enemy, and yet you sit here, cowering in your bath water?"
"If you really want to know why we're going to Davy Jones Locker, it's to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow, who sacrificed himself to save us from the attack of the Kracken." Cloud concluded, though in truth, while Jack did save whom he could from the giant octopus, Cloud knew that telling Sao Feng that Jack was soon to die and enter the Locker and was not dead yet(or maybe he was, Cloud couldn't tell), has joined Sora's group and was also a wielder of the Keyblade.
Sao Feng's expression turned to pure anger, and he wasn't moved by Jack's 'sacrifice' despite having heard many tales of the Leviathan of the seas. Instead, he moved towards a stool and growled, "The only reason I would want Jack Sparrow returned from the land of the dead...is so I can send him back myself!" violently kicked down the stool in the process.
Barbossa approached Sao Feng, determined to make him see the necessity of the rescue which he was proposing to undertake. "Jack Sparrow holds one of the nine pieces of eight. He failed to pass it along to a successor before he died, so we must go and get it back."
Despite this, what Sao Feng saw shattered Barbossa's credibility. Happening to look over at one of the bathers, he noticed that the tattoo of the dragon, a required symbol of loyalty worn by all his followers was melting in the heat of the bathhouse's steam. Sao Feng immediately concluded that this man was a spy, paid off by Barbossa to further her own ends. He turned back to Barbossa, his voice tight and sharp. "So, you admit, you have deceived me."
He suddenly drew his sword, an impressive and deadly-looking weapon. As he did so, he shouted to the rest of the bathers. "Weapons!"
Down below, as Zack and the crew had knocked out the underfloor workers and retrieved everyone's weapons, heard the commotion and the young swordsman grunted before unsteathing his broadsword since it was small enough to fit through the gaps of the holes. The pirates followed his lead to lend Cloud and the others above them a hand.
"Sao Feng," Barbossa began, his hands out, as if to try and placate Sao Feng. "I assure you our intentions are strictly honorable."
No sooner had he said these words than five swords suddenly popped out of the floorboards beneath them. Cloud grabbed the broadsword which he knew belonged to Zack, having already realised that his Fusion sword was much too big to fit through without giving the others away, while Elizabeth plucked both weapons deftly out of the air, and Barbossa seemed rather startled when both swords landed more or less landed right in his hands. He smirked sheepishly at Sao Feng at this unexpected event.
It didn't faze Sao Feng, though. Because he instead grabbed the spy by the arm, and held his sword to the terrified man's neck. "Drop your weapons, or I kill the man!" He commanded coldly.
"Huh?" Cloud blinked, confused, and shook his head in confusion at Barbossa who looked at him, Elizabeth and Will who did the same as the swordsman, all three of them sharing Cloud's confusion.
"What're you talking about? That guy's not with us." The spiky-haired man asked.
Sao Feng was rather surprised by this and gazed down at the spy who was clearly not with him either.
Will then voiced the question everyone else had in mind, "If he's not with you, and he's not with us, who is he with?"
No sooner had the words left Will's mouth, the entire Bathhouse erupted in chaos which began with by the sound of the doors crashing open and the shouting of the soldiers of the East India Trading Company. Among them were Heartless that materalized and both flooded the room in all intends of killing everyone within. Though none of them went down without a fight and the air was filled with shouting, guns going off, and the clashing of sword against sword the bathhouse pirates had completely forgotten about Cloud, Barbossa, Elizabeth and Will. Their attention was focused on the new enemy.
Cloud attacked both the Heartless and the enemy soldiers that came his way, slicing them in half despite not having used such a lighter weapon in ages, but he was still a swordsman because sword-wielding was his specialty. The young man then flipped over and struck the sword down onto three soldiers and two Heartless, killing all five instantly. Barbossa was now happily hacking and stabbing any soldier who even came near him. Elizabeth, strong and quick, was holding her own against soldiers who were almost half her size.
Will, bound as he was in a most awkward manner, was somehow able to knock the wind out of a few soldiers who foolishly made the assumption that he was defenseless. And of course, one of the numerous blades that was flashing through the air slashed through the bindings of the ropes which were holding his hostage. Elizabeth saw this and called out to him before throwing her one of the blades she held. Will caught it took out as many enemies that came near him. Sao Feng fought all with the ferocity of a tiger, a surging mass of pure muscle and skill. He cleared through the skin and bone as easily as if he were merely cutting through wet thread.
Cloud had his back turned to another soldier due to being to busy with fighting towards in front of him and would've been shot to death had not a familiar yell filled his ears, one that he didn't think he would hear in this world. The moment Cloud finished off the enemy in front of him, he turned and his eyes widened as Tifa had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and punched and kicked away at her enemies, even slugging a Heartless behind her and bashed another that attempted to attack her from her right.
"Tifa!?" Cloud exclaimed, shocked. How and when did she get here?
"Let's talk later, when we're not busy getting killed!" The young martial artist pointed out quickly, continuing her fight against the enemies. Cloud, despite now becoming concerned for his childhood friend's safety and wondering why and how she found him, could only nod before taking out more of the enemies of his own.
However, the soldiers were beginning to outnumber them and soon Cloud, Tifa, Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa and Sao Feng found themselves cornered by the army who were about to shoot them dead under the command. Fortunately, the shots never came, because an explosion directly below the Company pretty much took care of that threat, and immediately Sao Feng wasted no time to shout something in Chinese, causing everyone else to race out of the bathhouse and soon the normally quiet night in the streets became filled with terrified screams of the attack.
Cloud's group split up into two pairs, with Cloud paired with Tifa and ect., before they heard Zack call out his name. The two of them saw him race up to meet up with them as Zack tossed Cloud his Fusion Sword, which Cloud, thankful, tossed the Broadsword back to Zack who smirked his thanks, then noticed Tifa and his reaction almost matched Cloud's.
"Huh!?" Zack exclaimed.
"We'll explain later!" Cloud told him urgently. "Now's not the time!"
"Uh...right!" Zack nodded, before the trio hurried down the streets as the fight soon stormed through out Singapore, and the fight continued on, Cloud and his friends, Barbossa's group, Sao Feng's pirates, and even Vincent and Turks who arrived during the battle and were quickly caught up into it, having no choice but to fight as well.
Vincent, Tseng and Elena took out the soldiers who, seeing them as intruders and enemies, made to attack them which the trio shot dead along with destroying the Heartless. Reno and Rude paired up and combined their speed and strength to take out many enemies with almost effortless team work.
Eventually the five of them met up with Cloud, Tifa and Zack and immediately took out the remaining Heartless and soldiers that had them cornered for the second time today and the trio were quite surprised to see them.
"Vincent? And the Turks?" Zack asked, disbelieved.
"Why are you here?" Tifa asked, puzzled. Though she was aware that Cloud was looking at her as he wanted to know why she was here as well.
"Someone told us to; some kid who wasn't Sora but had a Keyblade and a lady who happens to be Serah's older she's lookin' for." Reno shrugged.
"We'll explain more later. Where are Sora and the others?" Vincent quickly said.
Cloud shook his head, saying, "Not here yet, or if they are, I think they're on their way to the Locker to rescue Jack too."
"I thought he was with Sora and the others." Tifa pointed out.
"You met them?" Elena asked, puzzled.
"They came back to Radiant Garden no too long ago. They recently left while a new friend Noctis went with them to find his missing friends." Tifa explained.
"I think we should meet up with the others and then we'll continue this later." Cloud told them firmly, leadership like.
Despite the confusion and questions yet to be answered, the group nodded and hurried to find Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth and the Black Pearl Crew, which didn't take them long, though Will was seemingly absent. Upon seeing them, while most of them recongised Vincent, Reno and Elena, Barbossa didn't and they all didn't recongise the other two Turks either.
"Relax. They're on our side." Cloud informed them.
Before Cloud could introduce them, Will then approached, leading a group of Chinese men, Tai Haung among them and in hand was the familiar scroll.
"You have the Charts?" Barbossa asked, slightly disbelieved.
"And better yet," Will said, tossing the charts to Barbossa, "A ship and a crew." before turning to the others and nodded despite not recongising the two Turks whom he didn't know yet Reno and Elena did, and didn't recongise Tifa either.
"They're with us." Cloud answered the unasked question about the said trio, before asking, "Where is Sao Feng?"
Will flinched minutely, as if wishing that Cloud hadn't brought it up. "He'll cover our escape and meet us at Shipwreck Cove."
Tai Huang indicated a side street. "This way. Be quick."
The two groups merged to follow him to the docks. Will and Elizabeth lingered longer than the rest. Their eyes locked. Elizabeth knew that there was more to what had happened than Will was revealing. But, Will could not bring himself to say such things, and Elizabeth did not know how to ask.
As the Chinese Pirate ship, the Hai Peng, sailed away from the destruction of Singapore, now under command of the East Indian Trading Company, sailing away silently into the darkness and out of the enemy's sight, things had quietened down, but the mood was somber and worrying.
Cloud and the others outside of this world used that time to each answer their own questions and knowlages of what they learned so far and introduce each of them to Barbossa and the crew, despite Vincent, Tifa and the Turks, having learned of Barbossa's past despite him helping to retrieve Jack and possibly Sora and the others, all held the same distrust in him as Cloud and Zack both did.
Reno in the meantime, sighed before noticing Tia Dalma standing by the side of the ship on the deck, and approached the Voodoo woman, standing behind her. He had trouble finding the right words to say to the very creepy woman who apparently had the power to bring people back from the dead and that's what she did to Barbossa.
Finally, he somewhat awkwardly began to speak, "Looks like that Sao Feng guy's got nowhere else to go. Do ya think he'll help stop Beckett to save the world from darkness?"
"I canna' say." Tia Dalma shook her head sorrowly. "D'ere a' evil in de' Realm o' Ligh'. Even de' most staunch and bloodthirsty pirates 'ave come ta fear."
"Figures." Reno sighed. He then asked, carefully and nervously, "So um, you were the one who broght that Barbossa guy back from the dead, right? How come you can't do the same with Jack?"
"Because Barbossa was only dead." Tia Dalma began, turning to face the young man who gulped nervously, her look suddenly turned to somewhat anger. "Jack Sparrow is taken, body and soul, to a place not of deat', but punishment; de worst fate a person can bring 'pon 'imself, stretching on forever. Dat's what awaits at Davy Jones' locker."
Reno slowly raised his hands in surrender, saying, "R-right. I get the idea. Thanks." slowly taking steps backwards before turning and tried not to run as he made his retreat back to his comrades.
Fully unaware that darkness began to seep deep into Tia Dalma's heart and briefly becoming visible on her body before it faded as though it wasn't there. The Voodoo woman turned her attention back to the passing ocean as the ship began to leave Singnapore behind and head towards Davy Jones' Locker.
Where more reunions and truths were about to take place.
A/N: The next chapter we'll return to Sora's group where the fated destiny is set to take place. I originally intended to include Snow Villers, but I really don't like that guy that much. He's such a Hothead and very annoying. However, he will be seen later on in the story and make his appearence in "Second Life: Strelitzia's Story".
I'll be back with this as soon as possible(assuming my computer doesn't die first, which most likely will soonish. Maybe). See you then!