A/N: Hope you beautiful sons of guns had a great Christmas and here's to a year where, hopefully, Kingdom Hearts 3 suffers from no delays. In the meantime, as we approach the end of Sora's arc in this story, here's another chapter to showcase a bit of where the story's going from here.
Chapter 48
The Ultimate Weapon
The first signs of rain were starting to drop when Lightning arrived in the town of Pelcheney on her horse. Her eyes fell to the gas mask in her hand. Swords and magic were one thing. The Wayfinders were equipped to handle that. Chemical weapons? That was another thing entirely. She wasn't entirely sure if the gas mask would matter but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Suddenly her horse refused to go any farther. No matter how much Lightning tried to make it, the horse neighed and thrashed about in a panic, eventually throwing her off. She landed on her bottom and looked up in time to see her horse running into the woods.
"Odin, wait!" she called after it. The horse seemed to hear her and slowed down to stop at the edge of the forest. She let out a sigh of relief and looked around, suddenly overcome with a feeling of anxiety. She couldn't help but feel that something, somewhere, was watching her.
Her gaze became fixated on a certain point, the wall of a house that otherwise seemed perfectly normal. On this wall was a crack running down from halfway to the ground. Although it was for just a moment, she instantly regretted doing so. A terrible chill travelled through the air that, although invisible, felt like a force capable of reaching out for Lightning. She shot up and backed away, but whatever force she had felt had disappeared. She paused for a moment before looking to her horse. Had he felt that presence too?
"I'll be back soon," Lightning told him. She attached the gas mask to her head and set off into the town. Whatever danger the town held for her, she wouldn't back down now.
"Hello! Uh, hello? Is this thing on?" Enna Kros' suddenly vibrated the tiny bones of her left ear. She pressed her hand against the earpiece as she walked through the town.
"Loud and clear. I can hear your annoying voice just fine, unfortunately," Lightning replied.
"Oh, that's not very nice commander. I'm just here to keep you company. And report anything you see to the others in the instance of your untimely demise. Guess that means we'll be talking to each other for a while!"
"How lucky am I," Lightning replied sarcastically. "Well, makes up for the deadening silence in this town. This is weird. It's like no one's here at all."
"A bona fide ghost town. Hope you've got the holy water prepared," Enna Kros said. Lightning ignored the comment and brought her hand around her gunblade. Enna Kros may have been joking, but at this very moment even that could have been true. There was a strange fog in the air, something that had reminded Lightning of the strange recurring fog that had enveloped her own world several times. The same fog that had claimed her sister once upon a time.
"Come ooooon! Talk to me. What's going on?" Enna Kros asked.
"Couldn't you have done this instead? I'd figure you'd be a better choice considering what you are," Lightning said.
"And ruin this smooth complexion? Just because I'm queen of fairies doesn't mean I can't die, you know," Enna Kros replied.
"I hope to test that theory someday," Lightning said. "This fog is getting pretty dense. It's like being trapped inside of snow globe, but replace snow with fog. On top of that, I haven't seen anyone yet. With weather like this, I'm honestly not surprised."
"Well just because you can't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. Keep looking," Enna said.
"Easy for you to say." Lightning reached the town centre where a well was present and walked over towards it. Peering down, she stared into the darkness before looking back up. "I wonder… there's a well here."
"Well well, if it isn't a well."
"Stop that," Lightning cut in. "Anyway, I'm wondering if they used the water system in their attack."
"The water poisoned the townsfolk?" asked Enna.
"What would you say is the most efficient way of disrupting an entire town? You take away what they're dependent on. But why such a despicable method?" Lightning asked herself.
"You just said it was efficient-"
"Not that, I mean why this town? Because it's in the middle of nowhere? It just seems pointless. There's no message behind it. The perpetrator couldn't have known anyone would have picked up on it and to boot there's nothing here. Just peaceful people living their lives… It's senseless. It's…" Lightning looked back into the well again before stepping away. "You know what? Forget it. I'm overthinking."
"Gee, sis. Trust you to automatically assume the worst."
"Serah?!" Lightning spun around upon hearing her sister's voice. It was too good to be true, and in a way, she should have been more realistic, but she couldn't contain that one moment of hurt. When Janus slowly stepped out of the fog to reveal himself, Lightning felt her heart sink.
"Serah's not here, I'm afraid," Janus said with a lopsided smile. His hands in his pockets, he took in the fog before looking to Lightning once more. "But why did you assume the worst? It's almost as if…"
Janus stopped and looked past Lightning to the well. Walking past her, he pulled up a pail full of water and offered it to her.
"Now's the time to prove you have nothing to fear, commander. What's wrong? Afraid of a little water?"
"You must be a fool if you think I'm going to do what you tell me to do," Lightning replied with a sneer.
"I'm not telling you. It's just water." And as if to prove this point, Janus held the bucket to his lips and downed the contents. For some time, Janus continued to hold the bucket to his lips even though Lightning was pretty sure he had long since finished. She concluded that he was trying to make her look like an idiot for being suspicious of the water in the first place. Eventually he parted from the pail and gave a satisfactory sigh. "A shame you said no. It was pretty refreshing."
He tossed the bucket aside with his eyes still on Lightning and adjusted his orange tinted aviator glasses. Lightning felt exposed as she felt his eyes on her mask. Though he said nothing, Lightning could see his point. If he was just fine without a gas mask then she should be too. Slowly she reached for the back of her head with one hand and unattached the mask, lifting it away from her with the other.
"Lightning, you need to get out of there!" Enna suddenly interjected through her earpiece.
Lightning pressed her earpiece in. "And abandon the mission?"
"That man is dangerous. He's the head of Horus' covert ops division," Enna explained.
"Then even more reason for me to stand my ground. I'll take him right here and now," Lightning said, drawing her gunblade. She rushed forward and tried to strike upwards but Janus grabbed her weapon with his hand. Lightning's lips parted slightly, seeing a trickle of blood start to run down her blade.
"I'd strongly reconsider if I were you. You're a leader. People can't follow you if you're buried six feet under," Janus said, releasing her gunblade. Lightning backed away and he looked down at his palm. "Well, they can, but I doubt they'll be so eager."
"So then, where does that put us? Because I'm not leaving yet," Lightning said.
"It appears neither of us are," Janus said, turning around as the shadows of human beings began converging on the area. However, the closer they came, the more Lightning could tell they were anything but normal. Their eyes all held the same brilliant yet terrifying amber glow. On top of that, they were moving a little too in sync for her liking. Janus summoned a golden colored Keyblade with phoenix wings around the guard and the bottom of the blade. He looked behind his shoulder at Lightning. "Mind indulging me in the honor of fighting together?"
"You're so polite for a murderer. But I think I'll go with no. I fight better alone anyway," Lightning said. "And just what the hell is going on anyway? Are you behind this?"
"Do you think I'd still be here if I was?" Janus asked.
"Get out of our town!"
"No intruders!"
"Leave our home alone!"
Like an angry mob with a single unified voice, the crowd of people descended upon Janus and Lightning, both caught in the middle with their backs turned to each other. Janus was first to kick away one of the townspeople before swiping up the chest of another.
"Lightning, hold on! These people are-"
"I know what they are," Lightning cut Enna off as she aggressively cut into her enemies. She could have spent time hesitating and deliberating over the nature and motive of the townspeople, but that wasn't Lightning. "You may not like it but I don't live to please you or anyone else. If someone gets in my way, I won't hesitate to cut them down. As your commander, I can't back down now."
"But Light-"
Lightning pulled the earpiece from her ear and let it drop to the ground. Quickly jumping back into the fray, Lightning shot down a few of her enemies with her Gunblade. Transforming it back into a sword, she began moving away from the centre, mowing through her opponents with swings and stabs. Janus flipped backwards to gain some distance before pressing his left hand into the ground. There was a tremor only for the ground to cave in seconds later, taking a large amount of the crowd with it.
Janus turned around soon after to see Lightning backing away as she tried to fend off several clawing townsfolk. Janus Sonic Bladed in a diagonal line, dragging a few of Lightning's opponents with him. Lightning flipped away and threw a Thundaga mid-air, taking out the rest of her group.
Janus pulled his Keyblade under his arm and transformed it into a blaster. With a few shots, he took out the three he had taken of Lightning's hands.
Silence returned to the town once more. Janus turned around to meet Lightning who saw one of the townspeople making a last ditch effort to crawl towards Janus. Lightning brought her Gunblade above her shoulder and through it with pinpoint accuracy. The sword found its way lodged in between the man's eyes. He let out a final gasp and then was completely still.
Janus looked away from him and back to Lightning. "We make a pretty good-"
"You don't want to finish that sentence," Lightning replied as she knelt down to pick up the earpiece.
"My bad," Janus replied with a shrug. With his hands in his pockets, he stepped over a few of the bodies as he made his way to Lightning. "I don't know about you but I can't forgive this. We may be on opposite sides but surely our senses of justice in this situation mesh."
Lightning glared at him. "You really don't know when to give up, do you?"
"I see things through to the end. Same as you," Janus said with a smile. He turned his back on her. "I won't try to convince you, but if you intend on seeing this through, you know what to do."
As he walked off, Lightning behind her and took in the empty village. Rain struck the bridge of her nose, travelling down to the tip where it hung for mere seconds before dropping. She looked up. Rain… lost in endless fog. Now wasn't the time for indecision because the only path that resulted in was one where she wondered what could have been, and though this one may result in a fate much worse, she knew Janus was right. She was a person who saw things through to the end. Steeling her resolve but maintaining caution, Lightning set off after Janus.
The Road to Repose (Castle Basement), Radiant Garden
The door to Alfonso's cell opened with a loud whistle. Cautiously, Alfonso glanced sideways to take in June's form before continuing to stare back at the white wall in front of him.
"Come to keep me company?" he asked in a monotone voice. "Or is it another book for the week. I did take joy in the last book you sent me."
"What can I say? It's a big library," June said. She pointed to the book on his desk. "Azal?"
"One of the previous rulers of this town who sought to study the link between dreams and the unconscious mind. He had three volumes in total, all dedicated to his lofty ideals. I suppose they were not too outrageous of an idea. He named it the Linked Minds theory—that you could create a world in your dreams and that, since hearts are connected, one can step into the dreams of another, albeit unconsciously. The problem arises from managing to do it consciously. Many of Azal's subjects claimed to be able to step into another's dreams but of course, there is hardly any evidence to back that up."
"Liars then. Probably wanted to be in some newspaper. Looking for their one minute of fame," June said.
"It is as you say. Conscious or unconscious, neither theory has been proven. It's simply impossible to measure, and if it is possible to do it then it can't be forced. Azal continues to explore ideas like boxed dreams. If you've ever had a false awakening, where you thought you had woken up only to still be in a dream, then could you perpetually trap someone in a dream within a dream? Could you keep piling dream on top of dream? How would that affect the psyche of the third party's mind that had unconsciously entered the deepest level of that dream? Theoretically, you and I could be in such a dream right now. The giant playground of someone who had been dreaming for a long time. Or maybe when that person wakes up, the dream pauses. Of course, we would have no idea because pause along with it and resume when that person begins dreaming again. And this person has mastered the act of dreaming. He crafts this world meticulously and it is a dream so big that other hearts are drawn to it. What would you say to that?"
"I'd say you were on drugs, and that those hallucinogens I found in the lab upstairs have probably gotten to you." June said. It was a chord that struck deeply with Alfonso. He pushed the memories of Sabbat's injections into the back of his mind and focused instead on June.
June let out a laugh devoid of any intent, grinned and walked over, picking up the mustard colored book. "Still, I can't say the premise doesn't sound fun. Though if I did happen to find out I was in some person's dream, well… let's just say that once I got out of it, I don't think I could idly sit by knowing I was toyed with."
"As expected. Anyone who has the power to take action will take it. After all, if you're not in control of your life but you have power, that's just squandered potential," Alfonso said.
"Speaking of power, boy do I have something to show you. Real raw potential stuff. You won't want to miss it." June twirled around and backed out to the doorway, nodding her head along at him to follow.
Now it was Alfonso's turn to laugh. A stifle of laughter that could hardly contain itself and turned into a chortle.
"You treat me like a prisoner and you think I'll come at your beck and call? Sure you may have delivered a few books to my chamber and given me your leftovers from lunch but make no mistake I'm under no illusion that it's still a prison."
"Which is funny considering prisons are supposed to keep you trapped and away from society. I think you'll find that this 'prison'-" Before June could finish her sentence, the ground underneath them rumbled, June having to catch herself quickly to keep her balance. "Woah! Gee, and I told Irva not to start without me! Welp, guess we should hurry!"
In the end it was curiosity that won Alfonso over. He stepped through the divide between freedom and his confinement and, with some prompting from June, took the lead in walking down the corridor.
As soon as they entered the lift, June summoned her Keyblade and aimed it at the lift operation device. The device lit up and the elevator began to move upwards amongst the sound of hard-working machinery. Soon the elevator came to a stop and Alfonso and June stepped out. At the end of the room were stairs that took them outside.
"Kee-yah! This is awesome!" June rushed past a stunned Alfonso who could only stand on the spot perplexed by his current predicament. Clouds rushed past them, or perhaps it was more accurate to say that they rushed past the clouds, for the castle he was on was no longer where it had once been.
The castle had taken to the skies.
Also with him and June was the leader of Horus, Irva Torvald, the general of the Caladbolg division, Mari Seren, and two of the scientists who had worked at the castle previous, Even and Ienzo.
"You really couldn't wait for me, Irva? Okay, fess up, it was you, wasn't it Seren?" June glared at the voluptuous vixen.
Seren smiled and stood next to June, towering over the small girl. "You may be second-in-command but last I checked, you're not the be all and end all of Lord Irva's decisions. Trust me darling, your motives are as apparent as the cutesy act you put on to cover it. I may not have both eyes, but one is enough to see past your façade."
"Seren, you really don't like me do you? But that's fine, because I can't bring myself to hate you. You're not worth the energy," June said dreamily. Mari scowled at her but June ignored it and walked up to Irva. Seren soon turned her attention away and, upon noticing Alfonso, walked up to him.
"How do you like the view? This is engineering at its finest. An impenetrable fortress backed by a piece of Kingdom Hearts."
"So this is why you went straight for Radiant Garden. It's not enough conquering the land. You also have to conquer the skies…" Alfonso said.
"Radiant Garden was the birthplace of Horus. A town where the brightest light was to shine, so taking it was an obvious and symbolical first step, but we never laid our eyes off the true prize either. They do say the sky's the limit after all," Seren said. She looked around to see Irva and June heading towards them and backed up to stand beside Alfonso.
"We set course for Quartz Town. It's time to begin the reunification of the four factions under one rule and that starts with them witnessing our might," Irva said. "I'm putting Lieutenant Caster in charge while I take care of some last minute preparations. Seren, you're in charge of mobilising our forces. We shouldn't need them but in case we absolutely need to fight, be ready."
"Yes, Lord Irva." Seren saluted and placed her fingers on the bill of her hat to straighten it. "Do you know where General Sabbat is?"
Golden Gate Bridge, San Fransokyo
The crackling and pops of the flames became more pronounced as Sabbat's eyes opened. He let out a soft groan and tried moving. This proved to be a big mistake as he felt a sharp pain in his side. Looking down, he found the source of the discomfort—a piece of glass, perhaps from a vehicle nearby, digging straight in.
Sabbat gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the shard. He closed his eyes shut tight, counted down from five and pulled. A low, animalistic growl resounded in the air. Panting heavily, he looked towards the shard clutched in his hand to see his own blood coated and dripping from it.
Dropping the shard, he looked around to see several bodies lying on the bridge. They were all people who had been in his Hauteclaire division. Had. It was all gone now. Everything he had worked to build. A force that had prided itself as the one that could even surpass the covert ops division, obliterated in mere seconds. He couldn't bear to think of what ridicule and mockery awaited him once he returned home.
Sabbat was about to force himself to stand up when he saw the shadow of someone approaching. He looked up to see a figure in a muscle suit and mask. Before he could ask who they were, the figure suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Air struggled to escape from Sabbat's lips as Nil pressed his hand as deep as he possibly could into the older man's windpipe.
"You wanna keep breathing? You do exactly as I say," Nil said. Sabbat could only nod frantically in response.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge closest to the city, Sora expressed relief and gratitude upon seeing Vyce and Salome again.
"So? Did you enjoy your swim?" Salome asked grinning.
"Now that you mention it, yeah. I really needed a swim," Sora played it off with a matching grin before asking, "So where were you guys? Too good to take on a giant sea creature?"
"More like we were held up by a few Horus members and police who thought we were with them," Vyce said.
"You didn't…"
"No, we didn't. If we're going to be working together at least have a little faith in us. Almost lost a limb to get there though," Vyce remarked.
"You guys with Sora?" Xion asked, coming up from behind him along with Namine and the Big Hero 6. She had gotten out of her armor although Sora wasn't sure where she could have hidden it. He would have to ask her about that and where she even got it later.
"Yeah. Xion, right? And Namine," Salome said.
Xion's face had a twinge of surprise upon hearing her name. "Oh, did Sora tell you our names already?"
"Not exactly. We're just good at gathering intelligence. We tried to kill this guy in the past, you know," Salome pointed out.
"The past? Oh, so you're all buddy-buddy now? You sure it's not too late? There's still time," Xion said sweetly.
"Woah there, are you actually encouraging them?" An overwhelmed Sora cried out.
"Hey, I don't think it's unfair to say that your life is an utter mess at the moment, my friend, and if you fight by him you're likely to get dragged into those messes," Xion said.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Sora replied sarcastically.
"Don't worry. It's not like we don't have messes of our own. Just the life of a Keyblade wielder, you know?" Salome buzzed in.
"See? This girl gets it," Sora said, raising his hand to high five Salome.
A small chuckle escaped from Xion's lips and then just like that she was back in serious mode. "Sora, I need to talk to you about something, but I need you to be in the right state to hear it. It's not just something you can come out with at any time. You're probably pretty tired, right?"
"Not to mention sore, yeah. How about we head back to the Wayfinders' HQ for now? The other members of Moira's Crescent are waiting for us there," Sora explained.
"I'll stay for a while then. There should hopefully be a van we can still use around here somewhere. I'm hoping to stay positive and believe that something can be salvaged out of this situation," Vyce said.
"Alright. Hey, Hiro!" Sora called out to Hiro and his friends. "We're heading off for now. Would you guys like to come with us?"
"I mean, my mom's probably gonna kill me if I'm back late," Fred told him.
"You still have a time you're supposed to be in? At your age?" Go Go asked with an unimpressed look.
"What? I do baking with her sometimes, okay?" Fred defended.
"Well, everyone but Fred should still be fine," Hiro said.
"Hold on. Why are you suddenly deciding what everyone thinks?" Go Go interjected impatiently.
"Because I'm the leader," Hiro said.
"Maybe, but I never said that I was interested either. I want to know what we're getting ourselves into. That thing we just fought is straight up the most insane thing we've fought so far. Are we going to get roped into more of that if we come along?"
"Well you deserve the truth so I'll tell you," Sora said. "This is a war we're fighting. Against those guys we were fighting on the bridge, against the group that woman on Leviathan was a part of. It's definitely going to be dangerous. Might even be the most dangerous thing you'll ever do," Sora said. "So if you can't handle that, it's fine. Thanks for your help with Leviathan."
"But-" Namine stepped forward to take over for him. "-there are places just like this one out there and they are hurting. You saw the darkness that we face for yourself when it tried to claw its way into your city and you all fought so hard to keep it at bay. Other places? They're not so lucky. They don't have a wonderful team of heroes who defend them with the passion and conviction that you do. You give up what could be a normal life and put your lives on the line for this city every day. I'm just hoping that selflessness and devotion can expand beyond the horizon that you've known your whole life. So please. Help Sora and his friends. The world is in danger and it needs all the help it can get."
"Namine…" Sora whispered in surprise. Her new seer powers really had played a part in her development. It was a slightly scary one at that, Sora had to admit. He had heard from her after he got back in full how she had orchestrated with Xion both of their captures because she had known that Sora would arrive beforehand. While it may have been a clever plan, there were so many ways it could have easily ended in failure as well. He just hoped Namine put sound judgement ahead of relying on her visions first and foremost.
Hiro nodded and walked around them with an eager smile. "Come on! I think we should do it. We always talk about making a difference and looking at things from a different angle. My brother believed in those things. Until now, I didn't even realize that could apply outside of this city, but now? I'm certainly ready to give it a shot. I know if Tadashi were here, he'd say that if we have the power to do it, then it's only our minds holding us back. What do you guys say?"
"You know what? Beats boring studying for exams any day of the week. I'm in," Wasabi said, wrapping his arm around Hiro and pulling him in.
"It doesn't really matter what your brother would say anymore. Those words come from your own feelings and I agree with them. Let's save the world!" Honey Lemon exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I am with Hiro. I, Baymax, will ensure that all of you remain safe," Baymax said, placing his hand on his inflatable chest.
"Woah, he talks! Nice to meet you," Sora said, his eyes bright with wonder as he analyzed the robot from his front and sides.
"I…" Go Go stopped when she looked back to see the hopeful faces of Hiro, Honey Lemon and Sora nearing closer. With a look of annoyance on her face, she thrust out her hand, making contact with Sora's face and sending him to the ground. "I'll come okay?! Sheesh."
Namine laughed and watched as Sora got up. "Then I think that settles it."
"Aw man. I'm about to miss something awesome, aren't I?" Fred groaned.
"I'm sure baking with your mom will be just as enjoyable. And we'll come back for you anyway so it's not like you'll be missing out," Wasabi said.
"Alright, here we go!" Salome summoned her Keyblade and held it in front of her, summoning a corridor of light to take them to Corona.
Hiro's mouth fell agape and he slowly walked towards it. "Woah, now this is something else! Is it magnets? Or- or maybe inducing gravity or colliding baryon and meson particles? But how's it containing itself in that shape without any barrier to contain it in? And how does it work? By transmitting molecules and all matter that enters through and recreating it on the other side?"
"Dude, it's just a portal," Salome said.
Hiro's face flushed red. "That too. Heh heh…"
After saying their goodbyes to Fred, the group departed through the portal and arrived by the forests of Corona. Sora grinned as the five members of the Big Hero 6 reacted in their own ways upon seeing a completely different locale. As they went through the town itself a lot of people reacted to their outfits and especially Baymax with expressions of shock and confusion. Baymax simply smiled and waved at them, oblivious to their fears, or perhaps he did sense them and sought to act as normal as possible in hopes of alleviating those fears.
Soon they reached Castle Corona to see the anxious face of Enna Kros. She didn't seem to notice them until they were really close by, but her worried expression concerned Sora. He didn't know her to be anything but a gleeful, positive sort of person.
"Enna, is something wrong?" Sora asked.
"Oh! It's um… I just needed some alone time is all. I don't do well being surrounded by walls," Enna said. "You're friends from Moira's Crescent arrived earlier, by the way. They should be in the council room with Yen Sid."
"Oh. Thanks," Sora said somewhat awkwardly as Enna went back looking at the lake. He supposed she couldn't be positive all the time. That wouldn't exactly be normal, although Sora had the feeling that word was lost on Enna Kros.
As Sora and the others took off again, Enna leaned off the railing and gave a resolute nod to herself. She had to help Lightning, whether she wanted the help or not. If Janus was involved, Lightning would need all the help she could get.
A/N: I do wish I could have uploaded something in time for Christmas, but I've been bogged down with work (that's retail for you) and other things so I hope you'll accept this late present. Anyway, before we head into a conflict between the Wayfinders and Horus, we still have some loose ends to tie up. Look forward to at least two more Disney worlds, the story behind Xion's armor and the conclusion to a certain conflict started in Cracks of the Past. Have a great day!
