The Foundation
Following that sudden retaliation, the faction soldiers regrouped and commenced with firing at Riku and the pink ball again. But as before, little Kirby inhales deeply and sucks in all the energy beams. He then spews them out in a retaliatory barrage, inflicting a great deal of destruction upon the dark coalition. The faction soldiers were clever enough to evade the barrage, but many of the Heartless, some too slow in their reaction, were extinguished by the bombardment. But despite that, more heartless appeared to take their place.
Even so, however, the presence of Kirby was enough to keep the forces at bay. Riku kept Kirby out for the extended amount of time that the summoning spell would allow. Soon, Kirby, using up all of the time of the spell, diminished back into Sora's keyblade. Riku once again found himself alone for the time being.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." He uttered. Riku continued to battle against the forces of the dark coalition, taking on either multiple opponents, or one on one, depending upon the amount of strength that they had. "I haven't had anything a tough as this since the last time I battled against the Dark Empire. Bring it on you circus freaks!"
But just as he was reaching the height of his adrenalin, he confronted two foes that he wishes had gone last. From out of the ranks of the advancing Heartless, the Super Anti-Riku and the Super Anti-Sora, leftovers from the days of the Dark Empire, came rushing towards the young key bearer.
"Not these two guys again." Riku uttered. Deploying his keyblades, Riku took the assault head on. He fought both antis at the same time, evading and blocking, at the same time slashing and cutting. But the Super antis, unlike other Heartless foes, were not so easy to defeat, especially when both worked as a team against one.
"Keep attacking!" one officer shouted.
"Hold those orders at once." The senior officer implied.
"Sir?"-
"This is excellent, Riku might have been more than a match for our soldiers, but it seems he's having a little difficulty facing against those two opponents. We just have to wait till those two heartless wear him down. Then we initiate our own attack. Prepare our frontline soldiers to execute a volley fire."-
"Sir?"-
"You heard me. We will fire at Noctin Tilandir while he's battling the two antis. That'll further weaken him."-
"As you command sir," The subordinate officer turned to his men. "Faction soldiers, form firing step!"
The soldiers formed two ranks, one kneeling while the other stood. In the meantime, Riku continued to battle against the combined forces of the antis.
"You might have gotten the best of me six years ago in Vandor," Riku said, "But you won't get the best of me now!"
Riku's strength had certainly tripled since the confrontation against Dark Empire six years before, despite the temporary peace that was enjoyed since then. It was perhaps because of his battles with the Midnight Faction and the Heartless that awoke his true potency again.
But as it seemed that the young key bearer was gaining the upper hand over his shadowy foes, the two antis suddenly dispersed.
"What's the matter," Riku said, "You had enough already." But as he gazed in the distance, he saw five dozen gleaming blaster barrels aims directly at him. "Oh boy…"
"Fire!" the senior officer ordered. Instantly, all five dozen blasters went off at once. Riku unleashed Aeroga shield to protect him from the barrage. The key bearer was virtually consumed by the explosions. Though the shield managed to block the majority effect of the barrage, Riku was still blown away by the powerful sound waves that managed to pierce through the shield's protective barrier. Riku fell to the ground as the explosions continued to erupt around him.
"That was a little over the top!" he thought to himself as he regained his stance.
"Second volley fire!" he heard the senior officer shouted. Riku looked again to see the faction soldiers aim their blasters.
"Damn it!"-
"Fire!" Once again, there was a second barrage from the faction ranks. Riku quickly unleashed darkness decoys and spread them throughout the area. The soldiers began to fire at the decoys, allowing Riku to retaliate.
"Eat this!" Riku shouted. He unleashed Cinder Canister and hailed his own barrage on the ranks of the faction soldiers. The majority of the firing line had been taken completely by surprise and was hit head on by the large fire spheres.
"Reform your ranks!" the senior officer shouted. "Reform your ranks and return fire!"
"These guys just don't give up." Riku uttered to himself. "Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw the anti-Sora charging from his flank. From his other flank, the anti-Riku made its move. Riku, using his keyblades, blocked the shadow swords of the two Heartless. "You guys never seem to give up do you? But then again, you are derived from Sora and my battle data."
"Kill key bearer…" the anti-Riku suddenly uttered. This caught Riku by surprise. He had never once heard a heartless speak to him.
"You…you can talk?"-
"Kill key bearer…" the Heartless said again. The anti Sora suddenly swirled about and cut Riku at the side.
"Damn it!" Riku said. He evaded the two Heartless and withdrew to a safe distance. He reached to his side, feeling a large cut on the lower part of his rib cage. He looked at his hand and saw the blood smeared on his palm. His shirt too was stained with blood.
"Kill key bearer…" the anti-Sora uttered.
"Great," Riku uttered, "Both of you can talk."
But just then, the two antis dispersed again. Riku knew what would be coming soon after the retreat. He looked to find that the firing line had reassembled and made ready to fire at him.
"Oh no," Riku said, "not again."
"Aim well, men!" the senior officer of the faction roared. "Volley fire present, fire!"
All at once, the blasters went off. Riku unleashed Aeroga shield again to block the attack. Once again, he was overwhelmed by the shock of the barrage and was sent hurling backwards, tumbling on the ground.
As the barrage ended, the two antis made their attack again.
"Blast it all," Riku thought to himself, as he found himself confronted by the two antis once again, "Those two are attacking again?" Once again, the two went into hand to hand combat. It didn't take long for Riku to recognize the pattern that was unfolding before him. "I see, they've come up with a strategy. While the two antis attack me, the faction soldiers prepare to initiate another barrage. Once they see that I've gained the upper hand over the two antis, they unleash another barrage. In the meantime, the two antis withdraw to regroup themselves and make ready for another assault. They're slowly wearing me down so that I can be easier to take defeat."
Riku got back on his feet, anticipating the next attack by the two antis. Sure enough, from out of the dust and the debris, the two super antis came rushing from two different directions, hoping to catch Riku off guard, but by this time, the key bearer had figured out the strategy and knew how to counter it.
"I have to somehow rid myself of these two antis first."-
The senior officer watched as Riku continued to confront the two antis.
"So," he uttered, "Noctin Tilandir has caught on to our little diversion. He caught on a lot faster than I had expected." He turned to the subordinate officer. "Send the rest of the Heartless, goblins, and faction soldiers to carry out with their mission at the cottage where the queen and the princess are being held. In the meantime, we will deal with Noctin Tilandir."
"Of course, sir." The subordinate officer replied.
"And once he has been disposed of, I will send his still corpse back to Lord Sirius Viicous."-
"Yes sir." He turned to the force. "Firing line and super antis remain where you are and continued with attacking Noctin Tilandir. All other units proceed to the cottage to capture the queen and the princess. Then return them to Maleficent's castle."
The goblins and the heartless continued on their way, passed where Riku made his stand and made their way through the thicket.
However, their movements did not go unnoticed by Riku, who watched as the rest of the dark coalition began to move forward, passed him.
"So," Riku thought to himself, "The rest of the coalition is making their way to where Sora and the others are. That means I can't stay here fighting these two antis." Riku continued to battle against the elite heartless. "I have to take care of this thing now. When they retreat the next time and the next barrage commences, that's when I will make my move."
Riku made sure to time his actions perfectly, making it look as if his attention was still concentrating on the fight against the two antis. He made it seem as if he were gaining the upper hand again, knowing what would happen as a result.
Sure enough, both antis withdrew from the battle again and the glow of the blaster barrels illuminated in the brush.
"Now…" Riku uttered.
"Fire away!" the senior officer shouted. Once again, the barrage from the blasters commenced. Riku braced himself for the impact. Sure enough, the intensity of the barrage struck him head on.
The two heartless waited for the barrage to end. Sure enough, as Riku reappeared out of the dust, staggering to his feet, the two antis went in for the kill. Taking the key bearer completely by surprise, both struck from the rear and the flank. Riku was cut into quarters. But as the two antis realized, the figure that they cut was not Riku at all, but a decoy.
Suddenly, the real key bear emerged behind the two antis.
"Peek-a-boo, you Buggers you!" Riku shouted. "Not so tough when it's you taken by surprise!" Riku unleashed the musou attack, which he picked up from Lu Bu six years before. Initiating powerful spinning strikes, he caught the two antis in a continuous pummel, juggernauting them continuously, before ending the attack with an overhead strike. The two heartless were destroyed instantly.
"He defeated the super antis, both of them." The senior officer uttered.
"And as for you," Riku said, turning his aggression towards the faction soldiers. He unleashed Hurricane Slash and blew the ranks of the soldiers apart. Riku then remembered that he had higher obligations to attend to.
He made a swift retreat back to the cottage. Silently moving about in the brush, he concealed his movements from the eyes of even the observant crow, who was watching the movements of the troops.
In the meantime, back at the cottage, Aurora sat next to Sora's bed, watching the youth soundly sleep.
"He's still so young, after all these years." Aurora thought to herself.
"How is our little warrior doing?" the queen asked as she came into the bed chamber."
"He's still sleeping like a lamb."-
"I wonder how young Riku is doing." The queen looked out in the distance of the thicket. The sound of explosions and flashes of light, which were earlier observed, had ceased, indicating that the fighting had ended for the time being.
"I only fear the worst for Riku." Flora said as she walked into the bedroom soon after hearing the conversation between mother and daughter. "He's fighting on his own against how many of those brutes."
"I fear that Riku may die." Aurora uttered.
"No…" a voice said. The three ladies turned to Sora who had just awakened from his slumber and heard the conversation that went on. "Riku will not die. He's taken one far worst numbers than this."
"But he is still human, Sora." Flora said. "Why is it that you put so much faith in him?"
"Because I know Riku, he will never bow down to the likes of our enemies. He will fight even at the cost of his own life." Sora suddenly sat up out of bed.
"Sora…" the ladies uttered fearful of his condition.
"We must believe in him and he will succeed."-
"Sora, you shouldn't be moving like that." Flora uttered.
"I have endured far worse pain than this."-
It was at that moment that Fauna came barging into the room.
"Flora, Your Majesty, Rose," she cried, "Riku is crossing the bridge!"
"What was that?" the queen uttered. The ladies looked out and saw Riku rushing over the bridge, his hand clasped to his side.
"He's been wounded." Flora uttered.
"He must've had to fight against an overwhelming force of soldiers and Heartless." Sora uttered.
"What is he doing?" Fauna asked.
"He's taking his stance at the bridge." The queen uttered.
Suddenly, from out of the thicket, hundreds of goblins, heartless, and faction soldiers appeared charging head long against the key bearer. The cottage was within striking range of the enemy now, but Riku had created a strong defense. He rushed in against the oncoming ranks and wiped out several opponents at once. Each strike regained his mp, thus he was able to execute magic spells and devastating attacks.
Riku had replenished the summoning spells and unleashed them against the ranks of the incoming enemy. He used Simba as a cannon. His powerful roars wiped out the majority of the heartless and forced many of the faction soldiers and goblins to withdraw with temporary hearing loss. But the attack continued. The Heartless ranks were replenished and commenced with the assault.
The young key bearer unleashed his Cinder Canister and demolished the bulk of the front line attackers, but still the enemy pushed forward.
"That young man is certainly a brave one." The queen uttered.
"Even though he's injured," Aurora added, "He still fights for us, concerned only with our safety."
The battle was watched from afar by the senior officer of the dark coalition. He was outraged by the results of this battle.
"I can't understand it." He said. "That young man is able to combat our entire coalition single handed?"
"He's not called Noctin Tilandir for nothing, sir."-
"Well, enough of this foolery. Aim our blasters at the cottage."-
"But sir, the queen and the princess…?"-
"Riku cannot fight off our attacking masses and defend the cottage at the same time."-
"But the safety of the queen and the princess…?"-
"Is irrelevant," the senior officer roared. "If they die, then so be it! Maleficent only wants them out of the way! She's bound to kill them anyway in the future, so let's just save her all the trouble of having to do it herself!"
"As you command," the subordinate officer uttered. He turned to the firing ranks. "Form firing step here for double effect! Set blasters to maximum, fire at the cottage!"
The faction soldiers made ready and aimed at the cottage. As Riku continued to fight, he happened to look in the distance to once again find the glowing barrels of the Imperial blasters. But they were not aimed at him this time. He realized what it was they were aiming for.
"No…" Riku uttered. "Sora…!" It was too late for him to do anything to prevent the blasters from going off. The blasters fired a volley at the cottage. But as the beams drew closer and closer to the cottage, what looked like a wave of glittery red dust bellowed from the window. The beams, once struck by this wave were suddenly transformed into spring flowers and harmlessly struck the sides of the cottage. This sudden turn left both sides bewildered.
"What just happened…" the senior officer uttered. "Explain this to me! How did out barrage suddenly be turned into bouquets of falling pansies!"
"I don't know sir." The subordinate officer said.
"It must've been…" Riku uttered. He looked at the window to see Flora picking out of the second story window.
"We have to help." Flora said.
"But we have to stay here…" Fauna replied. "Riku said…"
"Do you want them to fire at the cottage again?"-
"Well no…"-
"Then, let's do our part!"-
"Let's get 'em!" Meriwether shouted. The three fairies reduced themselves in size and fluttered out into the battlefield in the form of three glowing lights of green, blue, and red.
"Sorry, Riku," Flora cried, "But we're helping you no matter how much you object."
"Your helps appreciated." Riku replied.
"Enough stalling," the senior officer shouted. "Destroy that cottage at all costs!"
"Front firing rank, commence firing while second line holds in reserve!" the subordinate officer shouted. "Front rank, independence, fire at will!"
The faction soldiers unleashed their own barrage of energy beams and aimed them well at the cottage.
"We have to protect the cottage." Flora shouted. They began to unleash their spells and transformed the aggressive incoming beams into other harmless material and things of beauty such as bubbles or flower peddles. The onslaught continued as the forces of dark coalition further rained their aggressiveness against this thin line of defenders.
"Do you think that they'll be able to hold off the Midnight Faction indefinitely, Mother?" Aurora asked.
"I don't know." The queen replied. But all we can do right now is wait and hope. But as she turned, she realized that someone was missing. "Oh dear…"
Aurora looked. They were still in Sora's bed chamber, but there was someone missing from the room.
Sora…
"Sora, Sora," Aurora called.
"Oh no," the queen uttered, "He must've gone down stairs to help fight."
"But he's in no condition to fight." Aurora wanted to rush out of the bed chamber, but her mother stopped her.
"No, Aurora, you can't go out there now. Otherwise you'll put yourself in danger."-
"But Mother…"-
"Sora feels helpless when lying in bed. He wants to help his friend and that's what we'll allow him to do."-
As the battle raged on, it seemed that attacking the cottage head on was of no effect now that the three good fairies had entered the fray, using their magic to thwart the long range assault of the Midnight Faction and their allies. Even the goblins, some armed with bow and arrow, their projectiles were transformed into harmless pedals or bubbles, or what have you. And with Riku guarding the creek, not even a frontal assault by the dark coalition proved effective. Somehow, Riku had managed to fend off every wave, blasting them with Cinder Canister, blowing them away with Hurricane Slash, Freezing them in place with Iceberg Shurikens, deceiving with Darkness Decoys, unleashed hell with Lu Bu's musou mode, or plowed through the enemy with the help of Kenshin's Kuzu Ryu Sen. Using swift attacks and simple strikes to replenish his mp, Riku was able to maintain a strong defense against such a mass force.
However, the majority of his attackers were either Heartless, or goblins. The faction soldiers, not willing to sacrifice their own lives in the slaughter, hung back, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
"Shall our forces attack now?" the subordinate officer asked as he watched his allies rush into the fray only to be met by death and stiff resistance.
"I am not willing to sacrifice any faction soldiers for such an onslaught." The senior officer replied.
"But sir, our allies are taking the worst of it."-
"And let them continue to do so." The senior officer looked about and realized that the fairies were too much of a hassle to deal with so he decided to go for the next best thing, a full head on assault on the bridge. But he knew that waves of heartless and men wouldn't do the job, so he decided to initiate a barrage on Riku. "Concentrate all of your fire power on Riku and take that key bearer out."
"But sir, you know perfectly well that a barrage on the key bearer won't have any effect."-
"We'll just see. Initiate the bombardment and then send in the heartless and the goblins!"-
"Yes sir…" The subordinate gave the order and the attacks died down for a time. He then turned to the firing line. "Commence volley fire, aim for the bridge. Make ready, take aim," The ranks of the firing line aimed at Riku, who was battling his last goblin. "Pour it on, boys, fire!"
The firing line shot at the bridge. Riku and his last opponent were blown away by the attack. Riku fell on his back and tumbled about on the ground. As he regained consciousness, he heard the orders given.
"Attack!" cried one of the officers. Then, soon after, the roar of a hundred men came out. Riku looked to find dozens of men practically on top of him. He still held onto his keyblade, but he had lost grip of the other and did not know where it was.
"Damn it…" Riku uttered. But as the Heartless made ready to deliver the final blow, a blast of fire bellowed from behind, blowing away the front soldiers.
Riku was stunned at what happened. Where did that blast of fire come from? He looked behind him to fine yet another surprise.
It was Sora.
"Sora," Riku uttered. "What are you doing out here?"
"What does it look like?" Sora replied, his breath still heavy. He grasped onto the sealed wound on his chest. "I'm giving you a hand."
"Sora, you nut, are you trying to kill yourself? I told you to stay inside!"-
"Sorry Riku, but I can't do that anymore."-
"Sora…"-
"You take care of the creek. I'll fight on the bridge."-
"Sora…" Riku smiled and nodded. "Alright then, stay here and don't let anyone get passed you."
"You can count on me, Riku…"-
"Then let's do this."-
Riku and Sora took their stance.
"Sora," the senior officer uttered, "Where did he come from?"
"I thought he was dead?" the senior officer uttered.
"Apparently not, but by the looks of those bandages on him, he must've bee severely wounded." The senior officer folded his arms in front of him. "He won't be as big a threat as Riku. Send in the majority of our troops to attack the bridge."
"Yes sir." He turned to the reserves. "Units seven, ten, and fourteen, take out Riku. All goblin and Heartless forces attack the bridge!"
Another attack was initiated, but this time faction soldiers joined the fray. They went after Riku, while the heartless and the goblins went after the weakened Sora.
Flora, Fauna, and Meriwether gazed down find Sora at the front.
"Hey look," Meriwether said, "It's Sora."
"What's he doing here?" Flora wondered.
"Well, it looks like he's going to fight, dear." Fauna replied.
"I can see that, but why is fighting?"-
"Some souls never find satisfaction in sitting around, Flora." Meriwether said. "He's persistent and determined, but I guess what gives him the right to wield the keyblade."
"I suppose you're right, but even the keyblade master can't sustain himself after suffering such wounds."-
The forces of the dark coalition rushed forward into the battle.
"Here they come." Riku said; his keyblade drawn and ready. "Are you ready for this, Sora?"
"Let's do this." Sora replied, still grasping at his wounds.
The two key bearers made their stance. The shock of the outcome, however, soon became obvious to the dark coalition. Despite the elite status of the faction soldiers, even they were no match against the power of Noctin Tilandir. As for Sora, despite his wounds, he proved to be just as tough, even against an overwhelming number of goblins and heartless.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing!" Fauna uttered.
"I see it, but I still don't believe it!" Meriwether added.
"They're actually fending off the attackers." Fauna said.
Riku, using swift attacks and sudden bursts of energy, managed to defeat even the best of the faction soldiers. At the same time, Sora did battle with the bulk of the heartless and the goblins. He slashed right and left, cutting down any heartless or goblin or troll that dared to pass him. But as he did, the pain of his wounds increased with every swing and every thrust. The attack on the bridge was dying down by then though as Sora's wounds grew worse. As he defeated his last attacker, Sora finally collapsed to the ground, falling to one knee and grasping his chest. Riku saw his friend fall as he sent the last faction soldier running to rejoin his ranks.
"Sora," he shouted, "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine, Riku," Sora uttered, "Just worry about protecting the perimeter."
"Don't worry, Riku!" Flora shouted from above. "We'll watch after Sora."
"Thanks a lot." Riku replied.
Once again, the senior officer of the dark coalition was angered.
"I can't believe it," he said, "even a frontal assault on the bridge and a full charge on the perimeter weren't able to break their defense."
"What shall we do, sir?" the subordinate officer asked. "Riku alone is enough to match against even the S class soldiers."
"We still have superior numbers and enough resources initiate another major assault, but this time, we're going to attack at their weak points. I want unit fifteen to fire on the cottage. Send unit seven with a support of goblins and heartless to attack from the right flank and initiate hot masking fire. And I want unit eight to climb that cliff side and take the cottage from above. Do whatever it takes to keep the key bearers on their toes. Not even they can cover that wide a perimeter."-
"Yes sir." The subordinate turned to the men. "Unit fifteen, take aim and destroy the cottage from here. Unit seven attack from the right and initiate a flanking movement to keep the key bearers concentrated in that area. Maintain a volley fire and avoid frontal assaults. And Unit eight climb the cliff side and descend upon the cottage from above."-
The units quickly mobilized and divided themselves and quickly began to move.
The movement didn't evade Sora's gaze who saw the units divide into three.
"Riku," he uttered.
"What is it, Sora?" Riku asked.
"Another unit has mobilized, they're moving against the left flank."-
"I see."-
"What'll we do?"-
"We have to protect the cottage at all costs." Flora shouted from above.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" Meriwether asked. "Our magic can only do so much."
"We'll have to do the best we can."-
"Then brace yourselves," Sora shouted, "Here they come!"
This time, the Heartless were the ones to rush head long into the charge.
"Where the heck are all these heartless coming from?" Riku asked. "They must've concealed their numbers somehow."
Suddenly, he watched as Sora collapsed again, this time falling to both knees and grasping his gut.
"Riku…" he uttered.
"Sora," Riku shouted. He looked and saw the wounds had opened again and the blood was seeping through the bandages.
"I'm sorry, Riku, I'm sorry, but I can't go on any further."-
"Just stay down, Sora, you've done enough!"-
"But if I stop now, they'll overwhelm us."-
"Stay down, Sora! Otherwise, you'll kill yourself even faster!"-
But Sora continued to stagger. Riku concentrated on three things now. Not only did he have to worry about Sora's condition, but he had to worry about the oncoming Heartless and the flanking maneuvers by the faction soldiers.
"Damn it," he uttered, "Not even I can defend an area that wide by myself."
"Sporadic fire commence!" one of the flanking officers shouted. "Fire away, lads!"
There was a barrage of energy beams from the right flank.
"No you don't!" Flora cried as she rushed to protect the cottage. Using her spell, she turned the incoming beams into bubbles. But because the faction now pertained a wide parameter around the cottage, her magic had been narrowed down and could not extinguish some of the beams. One or two of the beams had managed to pass her and they struck at the cottage. There was a deafening explosion as the beams struck the side of the house and the old waterwheel.
"No," Fauna uttered, "the cottage…"
"Your Majesties!" Meriwether cried.
"We're alright!" they heard the queen cried. "We're both alright."
"Thank goodness."-
"They're alright!" Fauna cheered.
"But there's no way that we can battle against this kind of strategy." Riku uttered. "Not on our own."
"Well, what do you suggest we do?"-
"I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking about it!"-
"Well, you'd better hurry!" Meriwether cried.
"Damn it, what do I do?" the key bearer thought to himself. He looked at Sora who had managed to stagger to his feet and was now leaning on the railing of the bridge. He looked at the damaged cottage and he looked at the three little fairies, who were slowly wearing out their magic. "It seems hopeless."
The senior officer on the other hand was rather overjoyed with the results.
"This is excellent," he chuckled, "That last strategy caught them off guard that time! One final assault ought to cease their resistance!" He turned to his men. "All units attack!"
All at once, the faction, the minions of Maleficent, and an ever growing number of heartless began to move forward all at once.
"No," Sora uttered, "There's no way we can battle against that many on our own."
"I hate to say it," Riku added, "But this may be a situation that we can't handle on our own."
"It's because of me." Sora uttered. "If it wasn't for me be a burden…"
"Now's not the time to be feeling sorry for yourself, Sora! It's not gonna help anything!"-
"I'm sorry…" Sora smiled as he tried to stand erected. But the pain caused him to collapse again. By this time, the blood was dripping down his chest and his abdomen. To ad, a stream of blood suddenly formed on the side of his mouth and dripped down his chin. Riku saw this ghastly sight. It was far worse from the first time.
"Oh my God," he thought to himself. "Sora's wounds have opened again and it's bleeding more profusely than before. He must've suffered internal injury fighting this battle."
Sora, no longer able to maintain his strength, collapsed to the ground and with him, the hopes of surviving the massive charge.
"Commence volley fire!" one of the flanking officers shouted. "Volley fire present…!"
"No," Riku uttered. "Is this it…?" He could only watch on as the blasters of the faction soldiers were raised.
But suddenly, from out of blue, a black, spinning object descended and struck each of the bombardiers, halting the volley. Riku spotted the spinning object and realized what it was that had struck down the faction soldiers.
"That was a black fan." Riku uttered. "Only one person could strike with a fan like that, as such long distance, with such deadly accuracy." Riku's hopes had been rekindled as he saw the gothic black fan boomerang back to it point of origin.
Sure enough, the fan reached the cliff side just above the cottage and was clutched into the hand of the one who threw it.
Colonel Billiard and the KH team had finally arrived.
"Well, well," Ophelia said, "I see that you managed to hold down the fort while we were absent."
"How did you find us?" Riku asked.
"With all the energy you were releasing, there was no way we could ignore it."-
"Alright you guys and gals," Cuchulain said, "Let's finish this!"
"Here we come to save the day!" Goofy shouted at the last minute.
The KH team quickly deployed themselves and rushed to the battlefield. This predicament was completely unexpected to the senior officers of the dark coalition.
"The KH team," he uttered, "How did they get here without us detecting them? We have the elite S class soldiers engaged here. We should have sensed them coming here. Their presence was downwind somewhere."
"They must've been able to conceal their movements somehow. Perhaps it had something to do with that hint of distance fire we detected earlier." The subordinate uttered. "They were probably the ones who initiated it in order to conceal their movements."
"Never mind." The senior officer shouted. "Just take them all out! Since they're here, let's take them all out!"
"All faction units, all Heartless, all goblins forward, eliminate the KH team and their allies! And kill the traitors of the faction, Colonel Ophelia Billiard and Cunla, son of the Hound of Ulster!"
With no holds barred, the entire dark coalition rushed forward. The Faction soldiers attacked each of the KH team members.
Cunla was confronted by the bulk of the faction solders.
"We'll show you what happens to those who turn against the Midnight Faction!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Die you traitor!"
"No one calls me a traitor and lives!" Cunla said. "I was merely a means to an end in the eyes of your superiors, you utilitarianist pigs! I won't let you use anyone else as a means to your ends any further!" Cunla drew out his sword. "Come and face the son of the Hound if you dare!"
The battle had once again been reinforced, this time in favor of the KH team. With the three good fairies to aid them as well, the tide of battle had turned.
Cuchulain jumped down to aid Sora and Riku. As he descended, he saw Sora laying face down on the ground.
"Sora," Cuchulain shouted. He ran to the youth's side and turned him over on his back. "Sora, are you OK?"
Sora looked to find the Hound gazing down on him.
"Cuchulain…" Sora uttered and smiled. "You made it…"
"Goofy," Cuchulain shouted.
"I'm coming!" Goofy cried. He ran over to the Hound and looked down at Sora. He then noticed the hideous wounds and how the blood seeped through the bandages. "What happened to Sora?"
"He must've been severely wounded somehow. We need a senzu bean."-
"I gotcha," Goofy took out the bag of senzu beans and pulled one out of the sack. He placed it in Sora's mouth. "Here you go, Sora, a nice senzu bean for you."
"Thank you, Goofy…" Sora uttered. He chewed on the senzu and swallowed it. Almost immediately thereafter, Sora stood back on his feet, fully charged and ready to go. "Alright, I'm back in action!"
"Great," Cuchulain said, "Then let's get out there and give the faction a taste of defeat!"
"Right!" Sora and Goofy said in unison. They split up and took their positions along the line. Cuchulain rejoined his son who fought head to head with the oncoming Heartless, goblins, and former comrades. Goofy rejoined Donald and Miss Billiard who confronted the Heartless in the center. The three good fairies provided air support and prevented the dark coalition from firing upon the cottage. And at the far left flank, Riku and Sora reunited to battle against their enemies.
"Hey there, Sora," Riku said as he saw Sora rejoin him, "I take it that Goofy gave you a Senzu bean."
"That's right." Sora replied. "Now, I'm back in action!"
"Let's show 'em what real power is!"-
"Hyper Mode Fusion!" Riku and Sora combined their strengths and formed the ultimate fusion warrior.
The senior officer saw this fusion between the key bearers and witnessed the emerging of a new foe. He watched as this single entity rushed into the ranks of the condensed heartless and broke them up with in seconds of engaging into battle.
"How is that possible?" the senior officer uttered. "The two key bearers have been able to form some sort of fusion to create one warrior."
"I thought that that young key bearer, Sora, was wounded?" the subordinate officer asked. "How could he be back on his feet? It's as if he had no wounds to start with."
"Could it be the Curaga spell? No it can't be. That spell is only effective on injuries inflicted by the dark element. It only heals wounds made by the heartless, or for that matter anyone else who uses the dark element. It can't heal physical wounds."
They could only watch as Riku and Sora slashed about at the Heartless and the goblins in a single body, double keyblades slashing away. Left and right, they took out their opponents, especially the Heartless, from the largest of Behemoths, to the toughest of defenders, to the cleverness of the Simeon like Bouncywilds, with their slingshots and their slippery bananas.
The goblins were also pummeled as they attacked the KH team members, one after the other. Though with superior numbers, their attacks were weak and each individual troll and goblin was merely an irritation.
However, it was the presence of the faction soldiers that proved to be the most significant obstacle. They were tougher than most faction soldiers that came before and knew how to initiate their attacks as a well trained unit. But even so, even with their unity, the faction soldiers were only effective against average foot soldiers. But fighting the KH team was another matter, especially when there were two former faction officers fighting along side them.
"This battle does not look good." The subordinate officer uttered. "Not even our overwhelming numbers are enough to stop them now!"
"Nonsense," the senior officer uttered. "We still have a large reserve of Heartless. Send them in and tell the goblins and our soldiers to withdraw for the time being. We'll tire out the KH team members first before we risk losing any of our more prized soldiers."
"Yes sir." He turned to the drummers. "Give the sound for withdrawal of faction and goblin soldiers! All Heartless units forward to engage against the KH team!"
The drummers began to pound their instruments, giving the signal for the goblins and the faction soldiers to fall back. Upon hearing the call of the drums, the goblins and the faction soldiers withdrew from the field and hundreds of heartless rushed forward to take their place.
"The faction soldiers and the goblins are withdrawing." Cuchulain said.
"They're only sending in the heartless this time." Ophelia added.
"Well it doesn't matter," the fusion warrior said with his double keyblades. "Let them come and fight us as best they can! It'll all be for not!" The fusion warrior rushed into the ranks of the Heartless and began to cut them down one after the other. The KH team fought the oncoming heartless who rushed at them in waves.
The Heartless, despite their numbers, were no match for the band of skilled warriors who stood in their path.
"Teach those heartless brigands a lesson!" Flora shouted from above.
"Come on," Meriwether shouted. "Let's go give them a helping hand!" The good fairies rushed into the fight. Using their magic, they were able to turn many of the heartless into bubbles or flower peddles. At times, they used their magic to cause a temporary sleeping spell upon them. But even the efforts of the fairies were not enough to be unleashed against the full force of the heartless wave.
Eventually, after ten minutes of fighting, Riku and Sora's fusion was over and the two found themselves divided once more.
"It's no use." Sora said. "Even in hyper mode, we still aren't enough for them."
"Use your rage and Saiyan devotion to break them up then." Riku said.
"I can't do that. Not in a heavily wooded area like this."-
"Let's face it," Ophelia shouted. "There are just too many heartless!"
"You got that right!"-
"That's the whole plan behind this attack," Cunla added from the cliff side, "The faction knows that our line is not so easy to break and they can't risk sacrificing more of their men. That's why their sending in only the heartless now. They intend to soften us up before they send in the elites to finish us off."
"Well, these heartless aren't going to listen to reasons." Sora said.
"Riku," Cuchulain shouted from afar. "Use that manipulation stone of yours! You can use it to control the heartless!"
"I can't do that!" Riku replied.
"What!"-
"But why not?" Ophelia asked.
"I tried it before in, but it didn't work! It didn't glow or anything!"-
"Perhaps it was the way that you were executing the attack!" Cuchulain said.
"What do you mean!" Riku asked.
"I remember when I first confronted General Dagger; he was able to execute the attack by slamming the base of his axe's staff on the floor! Maybe the energy can only be deployed through the ground!"-
"He's probably right, Riku." Sora said. "Some of the summoning spells of my keyblade that I had before required that I use the end of the it to unleash the magic. Perhaps if you were to slam the end of your keyblade to the ground that might just activate the stone's power."
"There's only one way to find out I guess." Riku replied. He shifted his keyblade underhanded. He then made the stance with both hands on the hilt as if he were to stab the ground. Sure enough, the red stone on the hilt of his keyblade began to glow. "Now come forward!"
Riku thrust his keyblade into the ground and immediately, a bight red light bellowed out.
"It's working!" Sora cried. "You did it Riku, its working!"
"That red light," Cunla uttered from afar, "Is that really the manipulation stone?"
"What is this devilry?" the senior officer uttered as he saw the light bellow out.
For an instant, the light grew so intense that it blinded all who were present on the battlefield. But as the light faded, there had been no change in the atmosphere, no change in the number of men. All was the same as before.
"What happened?" Goofy asked as he looked about.
"What was that red light that just flashed right now?" Donald added.
"Did it work?" Sora asked.
"It doesn't seem any different." Cunla added.
"No," Cuchulain replied, "Don't be so sure about that, my son."
"Ha," the senior officer scoffed. "Your efforts were all in vain, Noctin Tilandir. You have not decreased our number in any way! Heartless units, full out attack, attack the key bearers and their friends and destroy them! Destroy them all!"
But something was definitely amiss, because as the senior officer shouted his orders, he realized something. The heartless did not move on his command. Before, they had followed his every command to the letter, but now they seemed defiant, not willing to accept and follow his orders. This baffled the senior officer. "Advance, you heartless, why won't you advance!" There was still no response. The heartless remained still, as if the commander's orders fell upon deaf ears. This aggravated the senior officer. "You brainless bunch of shadowy heathens, do as I say!" Still, the heartless remained steadfast.
"What's wrong with them?" the subordinate officer asked.
"I don't know; I don't know." The senior officer clutched his fist.
"Perhaps, they've been petrified? Perhaps they were caught in a giant Stopga spell?"-
"Never mind, all goblin and faction units, take the place of these incompetent heartless!"-
"All units forward!"-
Once again, the faction soldiers and the goblins and trolls marched forward with their long spears, their pikes, their shields and swords, and blasters at the ready.
"Here they come!" Cuchulain said.
"Well, Riku," Sora asked, "What about the heartless? They stopped moving after the light shined on them. I thought they were supposed to be manipulated."
"They are manipulated." Riku replied. "I just haven't given them an order yet."
"Well, order them already! We have a thousand ticked of faction soldiers and goblins coming straight at us!"-
"Alright, let's give this thing a whirl." Riku approached the heartless. He then issued his first order. "Heartless units about face!"
Suddenly, as soon as the order was given, in unison, the heartless turned about to face the oncoming enemy.
This once again shocked the senior officer.
"What's this?" he uttered. "Why are the heartless facing us?" He then looked at Riku. "And how is it that Noctin Tilandir can suddenly shout orders to them and they obey!" He then realized what had happened. "That light, that light was somehow responsible for this turn of events. It has somehow manipulated the heartless and now they only obey Riku's command!"
"The faction and the goblins are your enemies!" Riku shouted. "Defeat them all!"
Loyal only to Riku's words now, the Heartless began their advance. As the goblins and the faction soldiers advanced, the heartless too advanced. The sudden turn of having the heartless fight against them baffled and bewildered the faction soldiers and goblins who saw the heartless attacking them suddenly. For a minute, or so, there was mass confusion amongst the dark coalition. At first, they did not know whether this was all some sort of a practical joke or whether the heartless had somehow become confused. But as the battle wore on, it was apparent to the rest of the dark coalition that the heartless had betrayed them and they were now enemies. The faction soldiers had no reason to hold back any longer and rammed themselves into the ranks of the heartless, slashing and cutting up their once trusted shadowy counterparts.
"This is how we treat traitors!" one faction soldier shouted.
"Death to the heartless!" another faction soldier shouted.
But the heartless were large in number and quickly overwhelmed the soldiers in the front. Those consumed by the heartless had their hearts swallowed up by the shadows. But such terrible sights did not deter the faction soldiers. They fired their blasters into the ranks of the heartless at point blank range, demolishing heartless by the dozens. But still, the heartless continued to rush forward.
"Alright," Riku said, "Let's push back the faction!"
"Yeah!" the rest of the KH team shouted.
"I can't believe that I'm actually fighting along side the heartless." Donald said as he and the rest of the KH team charged.
"Well, I'm used to that." Riku replied.
"This strategy has cut the numbers of the dark coalition in half!" Cuchulain shouted. "We finish this now!"
The KH team rushed into the fray, alongside the heartless, and began battling against the faction soldiers and the dark coalition. The heartless, though superior in number, were no match for the battle tested faction soldiers of the S class. But as the faction soldiers had to do battle with the key bearers and the other members of the KH team, their ferocity and invincibility almost disappeared and fell easily at the hands of the KH team. The battle was intense and within fifteen minutes or so, the heartless numbers had dwindled to half their original number. Yet at the same time, the number of faction troopers and goblin henchmen were reduced to half as well.
"We're not going to last here!" the subordinate officer shouted. "Now we're the ones on the defensive!"
"Nonsense," the senior officer shouted. "We are of the elite S class units of the Phantom Forces, we cannot possibly be defeated!"
"We have to withdraw, sir!"-
"Nonsense, maintain your formations! We will eventually break through! This low class scum cannot possibly defeat the cream of the crop! All units full attack!"-
But the faction soldiers had their limits as well and their fatigue became apparent in the final closings of the battle. There were only one or two more reserved units and even they weren't enough to stop the onslaught. During this battle, the KH team was allowed to limit the amount of power they had and let the weight of the manipulated heartless do all the work.
"Come on you guys!" Sora shouted. "We have them on the run!"
But then suddenly, from out of the blue, a large beam of energy shot down and blew away many ranks of the heartless in an instant. The KH team was also blown away, blown back across the creek to the area closest to the cottage. Each team member tumbled about before stopping in the dirt or the water of the creek.
"What just happened?" Cunla asked.
Then, as they looked up, a large mechanical beast flew down from the sky. As the KH team caught a glimpse of what it was that caused the explosion, their fears increased.
"It can't be." Cuchulain uttered.
"How did that thing manage to find us?" Ophelia uttered. "I thought we managed to evade it yesterday?"
"A mobile doll…" Sora said, his eyes filled with terror.
Yes, the lone Virgo mobile doll had found its way to the battlefield and had now descended upon the fight to aid the dark coalition. However, the dolls seemed slightly damaged and dirty, as if it had engaged in a previous battle. It's presence, though a bad sign for the KH team, was a good omen for the dark coalition.
"Well, well," the senior officer said. "It's one of the faction's mobile dolls."
"But what's it doing here?" the subordinate officer asked.
"It doesn't matter. At least it wiped out all of the heartless." The senior officer chuckled. "Ha, Noctin Tilandir, you really thought that you had the edge! Well, maybe this will teach you otherwise!" There was now a significant rise in morale in favor of the Midnight Faction and their allies. "All units destroy the KH team!"
"All units forward!"-
Once again the faction soldiers and their gobbling allies, reserves and all, marched head long against the KH team. In fact, their steady march turned into an all out charge within seconds after the order was given. And with the monstrous mobile doll looking down on them, its shield deployed and its blaster cannon fixed on the KH team, it seemed that there was no hope left for the key bearers and their friends.
"Is this it?" Ophelia uttered.
"I'm too young to die!" Donald cried.
"What are we gonna do?" Sora asked.
"I don't know." Riku replied. "We can't pierce through that shield with our strengths alone and that beam cannon is enough to clear this entire area."
"Then, I guess it's the end for us." Goofy said.
"No," Sora shouted, "I won't let it end like this!"
But his fiery declaration was all in vain as they watched the beam cannon of the lone Virgo suddenly glow. It made ready to fire its massive beam cannon at point blank range into the KH team.
Just then, as if fate made another turn, a red beam of light appeared from out of the canopy of trees and shot off the head of the mobile doll from behind. Almost instantly, the doll's functions ceased. Its massive beam cannon stopped glowing and its shield disks and severed head fell to the ground, causing large indentations in the soil.
Both sides were baffled at what had happened and the fighting against stopped.
"What just happened?" Sora asked.
"Look," Ophelia shouted, pointing upward, "the doll's head has been severed from its body." The KH team looked up.
"But how?" Cunla asked.
"Weird." Donald uttered.
"That monster was defeated?" Flora said, still hovering above the cottage. "But by whom?"
"Or what is more like it." Meriwether added.
"The mobile doll's head has been severed?" the senior officer uttered. "But by what source?"
"I don't know sir." The subordinate officer replied.
Suddenly, the dolls metal body began to collapse backward, falling upon the ranks of the dark coalition. The faction soldiers quickly dispersed as the large metal structure of the doll fell to the ground. It bellowed up great clouds of dust and debris. As the dust resettled on the ground again, the faction had once again lost a significant factor to ensure their victory over the KH team.
"That was mighty close for us." Sora said.
"I wonder who brought down that doll though." Riku wondered.
"Hey," Cunla interrupted, "Do you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?" Ophelia asked.
"That in the distance." The KH team was silent. In fact, both sides remained silent. Sure enough, something was emerging from the distance, It started in low and began to grow louder and louder with every passing second.
It was at that moment that drums could be heard coming from their rear, along with the sound of singing and the marching of thousands of feet trudging through the underbrush. The song that echoed in the air was apparent to both the dark coalition and Riku and Sora who it was that was approaching.
Those Arakis fighting boys
Will never reach the coast
So Sirius Viicous said
It was a handsome boast
Had they not forgot, Alas,
To reckon with the host
While we are marching to conquest
Van'car! Van'car
Our cause forevermore
Van'car! Van'car
You hear our soldiers roar
Forward into battle
And to victory of war
While we are marching to conquest
The sound of those familiar lyrics brought terror into the hearts of the senior officer and other members of the Midnight Faction elites. They knew who it was that shot down the mobile doll and who it was that were quickly approaching from the front. The sound through the underbrush grew louder and louder.
"It's the Arakis Foundation…" the senior officer uttered.
"What'll we do?" the subordinate asked.
"We don't stand a chance against them. We'll have to make a temporary withdrawal! Give the order!"-
"Sir!" the subordinate officer turned to the men. "All units withdraw! I repeat all units withdraw!"
The faction soldiers hastily retreated.
"They're running away." Cunla uttered.
"Guys," Ophelia shouted, pointing rearward, "Look!"
The KH team turned to discover ranks of well uniformed soldiers appear from behind, rushing into the fray. Some of the units quickly surrounded the KH team and drew their sabers upon them.
An officer in a hovercraft approached them.
"This vicinity has been taken over by the forces of the Arakis Foundation!" he shouted. "All persons present are under immediate arrest!" He pointed towards the fleeing faction troops. "Go after those men and take them prisoner! Kill all who resist in the name of His Excellency!"
The soldiers obeyed the order of their officer and continued on their way.
"As for these people," he continued, "Hold them prisoner!"
"Drop your weapons!" one of the soldiers shouted at the KH team. "Drop your weapons!"
"Why those…" Cunla uttered.
"No," Cuchulain said, "don't try to pull anything, Cunla. That'll give them a good excuse to kill us." Cuchulain turned to the rest of the KH team who were still standing on the defensive. "Lower your weapons you guys."
The KH team did what he told them and lowered their weapons. The Foundation soldiers confiscated the weapons and tied the KH team up.
In the meantime, the faction soldiers were still running from the pursuing Foundation troopers. But their attempts to flee were cut short as the Arakis soldiers suddenly appeared before them. Hidden in the brush, the ranks of the Arakis Foundation emerged from their hiding spots and quickly captured each any every one of the members of the dark coalition.
"This area is under the jurisdiction of the Arakis Foundation!" a soldier shouted. "Any faction soldier who dares to resist against us will be killed without question! Lower your arms and surrender!"
Many of the faction soldiers, knowing that it was useless to resist against such a powerful force, quickly submitted themselves into the custody of the Foundation. Others who were defiant till the end met a quick and vain death.
Meanwhile, flying over the sky, the old crow, seeing the predicament and that the fight had been lost for the dark coalition, quickly withdrew back to the Forbidden Mountains to tell Maleficent and General Saber of the predicament. He was the only one to successfully escape from the clutches of the Arakis Foundation.
At the same time, the three fairies watched from a nook in one of the trees, watching as the Arakis Foundation took the KH team and faction soldiers prisoner and bunched them into groups.
"What a time to be captured by the Arakis Foundation." Ophelia uttered.
"And when we still have so far to go," Donald added.
"Let us go!" Cunla shouted.
"Quiet boy!" one of the soldiers shouted, thrusting the tip of his saber right in front of Cunla's face.
"That's enough!" the officer in the hovercraft shouted. "They may be the enemy and they may be prisoners, but it is under our jurisdiction not to mistreat them."
"Yes sir…" The soldier withdrew his blade.
"Can I ask you the meaning of what all of this is about?" Riku asked.
"Well, well," the officer uttered. "I never would have thought that I'd see the day when I would confront the legendary wielders of the keyblades, Riku, also known as Noctin Tilandir, and Sora, the one who closed Kingdom Hearts."-
"You have no right to take us prisoner!" Sora shouted. "We're not your enemies!"
"Those who stand in the way of unification are our enemies, even you!"-
"And my I ask who you are?" Ophelia asked.
"Ah, the dreaded Tiger of Goth, Ophelia Billiard." The officer said. "From what I understand, you and that young boy Cunla are considered to be traitors to the Midnight Faction and now Lord Sirius Viicous demands your heads to be delivered to him." The officer descended from his hovercraft and stood before the bound KH team. "To answer your question, Colonel Billiard, my name is Imetriarch Crassus, the son of the late Exavier Crassus, killed in the Vandor Campaign six years ago. I am the prime minister of the Arakis Foundation."
"The prime minister?"-
"And what may I ask," Cuchulain said, "is a Foundation official as high as you doing here in a backwater world, far from your headquarters?"
"The Hound of Ulster, Cuchulain, I presume. Quite a collection of legendary heroes we have in our midst. Well, if it's any of your business, we're taking back the key to our success."-
"The key to your success," Sora asked, "what does that mean?'
"Not too long ago, a coalition was dispatched to march to our headquarters in the south. With them was a young boy who was the key to our success, a simple drummer boy whom we call Muli."-
"Muli…?" Sora and Riku's eyes grew large with surprise. The young boy whom they had saved before was the key to success within the Arakis Foundation?
"However, the coalition was attacked and Muli disappeared. No one knows where he is and we may fear that he is dead. But it is without a doubt that the Midnight Faction is behind this outrage and we were deployed to take revenge. I took lead of the Arakis Foundation retaliatory coalition personally, which is the reason I stand before you."-
"Muli," Riku uttered, "You said that the boy's name was Muli?"
"Yes it was." Imetriarch replied.
"Why are you referring to him in pass tense?"-
"Because, young Riku, we scoured the battlefield where the ambush took place and there was no sign of him. But then again, some of the bodies were unidentifiable and some of the soldiers' hearts were taken, so their bodies disappeared along with them. So we can only conclude that Muli is dead. But we haven't spread the word to the rest of the Foundation. If they were to hear such news, widespread chaos would erupt within the Foundation." Imetriarch was curious now about why Riku would ask such a question. "But why would you be so interested in the boy?"
"The reason is because we found him." Sora said.
"You what…?"-
"We stumbled across this young boy, Muli." Riku continued. "He managed to survive the onslaught of the ambush, so we took him in and looked after him."
"But we had to leave him behind because we couldn't risk having him be put in danger when we entered Maleficent's castle. But it's been over twelve hours since we left him. We don't know if he's been captured or not."-
"Maleficent?" Imetriarch uttered.
"Maleficent?" the KH team members uttered.
"You mean this it the world where Maleficent resides?" Goofy uttered.
"Are you talking about the same Maleficent we fought those many years ago?" Donald asked. Sora and Riku nodded. "But how can that be? We defeated her!"
"That's what we were thinking before too." Sora said. "But apparently, she's still alive! She was the one who initiated the attack on the convoy you were talking about!"
"I've never heard of this Maleficent." Imetriarch said. "So it wasn't the Midnight Faction?"
"Oh it was orchestrated by the Midnight Faction alright." Riku said. "In exchange for trying to capture Muli, the Midnight Faction has agreed to help Maleficent conquer this world, so that she may rule over it entirely."-
"It is true what the young key bearer says." a voice implied. The KH team and the Foundation forces looked to see Aurora and the queen standing at the doorway of the demolished cottage. The Foundation soldier quickly surrounded them and drew their blades.
"Hold your blades!" Imetriarch ordered. "We shall not treat these women in such a hostile manner." The soldiers obeyed and withdrew their blades. The commander stepped up to the two women. "And who might you two be?"
"I am the wife and queen of King Stephen." The elder woman replied. "And this young woman standing by my side is my daughter, Aurora."
"So you are the two monarchs whom the people have so much faith in. Your reputation has preceded you."-
"All we want is for our kingdoms to be restored and our people freed from the clutches of Maleficent."-
"I'm terribly sorry, but that's not going to happen."-
"Why not?"-
"Even if we were to overthrow the Midnight Faction in this world, we of the Arakis Foundation will only regain control of this realm and add it as a part of our expanding territory."-
"You can't do that." Aurora said.
"I have news for you, my girl, we intend to establish this world as a territory of the Arakis Foundation and that's the end of it. We will establish an imperial government to take over the old monarchy and all citizens must pay tribute to His Excellency. We intend on expanding and eventually lead to total unification of the entire universe and place it under Oceanarian rule."-
"No, I can't let you do that!"-
"Aurora…" the queen uttered.
"Please, your highness," Cuchulain said, "Don't do this. There's no use defying them. We're in a position unsuitable to be giving demands."
"But…"-
"The young man is right, Aurora." The queen said. "Please do not act so brash. It is unladylike." Aurora turned and began to weep, knowing that her home would never see peace again. Her mother comforted her.
"Now," Imetriarch announced, "Let us continue to the Forbidden Mountains and defeat the Midnight Faction once and for all! There is no one to stop us at this point!" It was then that Riku began to snicker and shake his head. Imetriarch heard this and turned towards the young key bearer. "Did I say something to amuse you, Riku!"
"You fool," Riku uttered.
"What was that?"-
"How far do you really think you'll get from this point?"-
"We are ten thousand strong and we can't be so easily deterred from our path, not with this hope of retribution for Muli in our hearts!"-
"Determination alone and your will of force are not enough to storm the stronghold of Maleficent! Once you enter the realm of the Forbidden Mountains, you enter her territory! And who knows, she may have thousands, if not tens of thousands of goblins, heartless, and faction soldiers waiting for you when you arrive!"-
"I doubt that." Imetriarch assured the key bearer. "At this point, we become as silent as the dead when we make our approach. No faction soldier or goblin has escaped, so there is no one to inform her."
"Well, that may be so," Riku continued, "But you forgot one thing."
"And what is that?"-
"Maleficent also has a crow that recently hovered over the battlefield not too long ago, watching the fight unfold. Seeing the faction in retreat, the crow quickly returned to Maleficent's side to inform her of the outcome."-
"A crow?"-
"A crow?" Cuchulain asked.
"A crow?" Everyone else uttered.
"That's right." Riku continued. "She has a crow that acts as a spy for her."
"What nonsense," Imetriarch chuckled, "a crow acting as an informant, poppycock!"
"Believe what you will." Cuchulain uttered. "But what Riku is telling is true because animals do have the ability to communicate with people. I should know."
"And that crow is a loyal pet of Maleficent." Sora added.
"But even if this crow did tell her," Imetriarch said, "she won't be able to assemble a force large enough to counter us. Not in the short amount of time she has right now."
"Then again, she won't have to." Riku said. "Her castle is virtually impenetrable. Even if you were to besiege it, I highly doubt that you'll be able to break through its stronghold."
"Our artillery pieces will blow down the walls of her castle with little trouble at all."-
"Are you talking about those bulky siege guns your earlier convoy was haling around, the convoy that was protecting Muli? Sora and I have seen your artillery pieces and I can tell you this. The paths leading through the Forbidden Mountains are narrow. You could scarcely get a small cart through those passageways, let alone siege guns."-
"Then we just need to clear a path for our artillery."-
"And you think Maleficent will allow you the opportunity to do that?" Riku scoffed. "She'll send in ambush parties to stop your activity."
"Then, we'll send in our own skirmishing parties to soften up her defenses." Imetriarch countered. "They can move about undetected by the enemy, even in strange territory."
"Even if you were to turn yourselves invisible, you wouldn't be able to take Maleficent by surprise."-
"And how's that possible I ask you."-
"Maleficent knows your every move, even as we speak. The reason why is because she has possession of a special device that can predict and foretell the movements of the enemy."-
"You're joking."-
"I'm afraid it's true." A voice uttered. Everyone looked up to find three little lights appear in the sky, one of green, one of red, and one of blue. It was the three good fairies.
"Who are you?" Imetriarch asked as he saw the little lights appear before him.
"We are the three good fairies." Flora said.
"Hey, how long have you three been hiding?" Sora asked.
"We've been hiding for some time now." Meriwether replied.
"Going back to the situation at hand," Imetriarch said, "What do you know about Maleficent?"
"Believe what Riku tells you, sir." Flora said. "Maleficent and the Midnight Faction have in their possession a special device that can look into the future. We believe it to be a magic mirror."
"Is that so?"-
"Even if you were to initiate an assault from here, she'd know."-
"Then what do you suggest we do to approach the situation?" He turned to Riku and Sora. "You two managed to infiltrate Maleficent's castle. How would you suggest we initiate an offensive strategy?"
"First of all," Riku said, "as I had said before, attacking the castle head on would be a costly mistake. It's built at the highest peak of the Forbidden Mountains, so they can see every move you make. The walls are thick and well guarded. As far as we know, the faction might have tampered with the defenses, placing up shields or what not."
"There is also a garrison of Heartless, goblins, and well trained faction soldiers, patrolling the area." Sora added. "A large body of men could easily be spotted. You should consider sending in only a few men in only to…"-
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Imetriarch said, "You say that a full on assault on the castle would be futile, but you say to send only a hand full of men?"
"Those men will have the task of infiltrating the castle, just as Riku and I did. There is a small passage way at the base of the castle. We used that to access the castle's interior."-
"So, you infiltrate the interior, what after?"-
"From what the queen and the good fairies have told us," Riku began, "There are political prisoners held within the castle. We have to free them and soften up the defenses from within. At the same time, the main force of men will wait outside of the walls and stand patiently for the gates to open. After that, you storm in and take over the castle."
"But those ambush parties, you spoke of earlier, will soften us up as we work our way through the rocky terrain."-
"There will be no avoiding that, but you can limit the number of losses by dividing your force into smaller squadrons, like those skirmish parties you were talking about. That way, you can soften up the outer defense forces as well. Cause as much confusion as you can."-
"In the meantime," Sora took over, "The task force can penetrate through the castle and weaken it from within."
"Then, I leave you gentlemen to do that task." Imetriarch said. "Since you're more experienced with the interior of the castle, you will execute the mission of penetrating the fortress." There was silence for a minute or two, before Riku stood to his feet.
"Very well," Riku replied, "We'll carry out with the task."
"You take this mission freely?"-
"Don't get the wrong idea. We'll do this only because we have an obligation to save this world. That includes the former leaders. We're not doing this for your sake."-
"I understand. It's best not to forge friendships with a former Imperial power. Otherwise, that'll defeat the purpose of your cause. And we both want to remain thankless of each other in case we find ourselves facing each other on the battlefield as enemies." Imetriarch turned to his men. "Untie the KH team."
The soldiers did as their commander ordered and untied the KH team.
"Glad to get those ropes off." Ophelia said.
"Yeah," Cunla added, "It was starting to irritate my wrists."
"Now you are free." Imetriarch said. "I leave you to do the planning."
"And if we succeed?" Riku asked
"If we succeed, we will thank you for your efforts by letting you and your friends go. But if you raise arms against us, then you will be treated as a threat to the Arakis Foundation and must be harshly dealt with."-
"I understand. Then I'll make sure that we don't fail."-