Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor respect their great works.
~ Day 256 ~
News
(The World That Never Was)
All the members of Organization XIII gathered for an important meeting in Where Nothing Gathers and they all sat in their thrones as Xemnas spoke. Draxon sat on his throne with Mew in his lap, giving the small Pokémon gentle strokes on it's body with his left-hand while it let out a coo of comfort.
"Xion has gone missing." Xemnas says
Everyone glances up at their superior, surprised by what they heard. Draxon, Roxas, and Mew stare up at Xemnas in shock. Xion had disappeared. But why?
"What!? Whoa, whoa, time out... You mean she, like, flew the coop?" Demyx says
"Hah, preposterous. What would drive her to choose her own demise?" Xaldin says
"On the contrary. Until further notice, no one is to go looking for Xion." Xemnas says
"What?!" Draxon and Roxas exclaim in unison
"Mew?!" Mew exclaims
"Why not!?" Roxas asks
"Xion is our friend! She's a Keyblade Wielder like me and Roxas! We need to find her!" Draxon yells
"Your 'friend' will be left alone. Or would you rather she recieves punishment?" Saïx says
"I'd rather she be here with us." Draxon says
"And why would we do that?" Saïx asks
"All will be revealed in time." Xemnas says
"Hmm... Which means, if the time doesn't come, things can stay as they are..." Axel says
"Our business here is complete. This meeting is adjourned." Xemnas says
And with that, all the members of the Organization left the room to their assigned tasks. Everyone except Draxon, Roxas, and Mew were left in the room. They were clearly unhappy with Xemnas' decision.
(Moments later)
Draxon, Roxas, and Mew walked into the Grey Area where they saw Xigbar, Luxord, and Demyx.
"I wish we could go find Xion." Roxas says
"I do, too. But let's just get our missions done." Draxon says
The two young teens and Pokémon approach Saïx as he assigns them their missions of the day, starting with Draxon.
"Draxon, you are to head to the Dragon Realms and eliminate the Heartless that have surfaced there." Saïx says
Saïx glances over to Roxas on his left and gives him his mission.
"Roxas, you will be heading to Halloween Town. There has been a sudden drop in Heartless in that world. You are to find out what is causing this reduction and resolve the situation." Saïx says
The two Keyblade Wielders and Pokémon nodded their heads in acknowledgement and they set out for their worlds, entering their own dark corridors.
(Halloween Town)
Roxas exits out of the dark corridor and arrives just outside of Halloween Town at the entrance. He moves along the path infront of him and comes into the town square. It was eerily quiet. Roxas looks around, but doesn't see Heartless anywhere.
"Saïx was right. There's no Heartless anywhere around here. Where are they?" Roxas says
Just then, a Creeper Bug appears near the fountain and scurries about on the ground. Roxas was about to move in on it until he saw something he didn't expect. A black Tentaclaw creature emerges from the ground and snatches up the Creeper Bug, swallowing it whole.
"What?! It... eats Heartless?" Roxas asks in shock
Four more Tentaclaws sprout out from the ground around the square. Roxas summons his Keyblade into his hand and went to work, charging at the first Tentaclaw in his view.
Roxas strikes the Tentaclaw with a left slash, a right slash, and a left-angled spinning slash. The Tentaclaw tries to attack the young teen with a savage bite, but he jumps and rolls over to the right. Jumping back up to his feet, Roxas charges at the Tentaclaw and slices it into oblivion with a right slash.
After dealing with the first Tentaclaw, he moves onto the other four. Roxas cuts through each of the Tentaclaws with his Keyblade, dodging every bite that came at him. After a full minute of slicing up the Tentaclaws, the town square was clear.
"What were those things? What kind of creature feeds on Heartless? I guess that explains the drop in the Heartless population..." Roxas says
Roxas looks over to the right of the square where the path leads to the graveyard.
"Maybe I should check outside the town." Roxas says
Roxas proceeds onwards towards the graveyard, leaving the square. From there, he moves on to Moonlight Hill through the crack in the left wall. There, he saw Lock, Shock, and Barrel climbing down from a ladder set upon a stone wall across from him and running away.
"Run awaaay!" Lock screams
"I told you not to pick that thing up!" Shock screams
"How was I supposed to know it would grow!?" Barrel screams
Roxas watched the three troublemakers run off, but he was confused as to why they were running away.
"What were they running from?" Roxas asks
The Keyblade Wielder turns toward the ladder that led to the suspension bridge. But before he could make his way over, three more Tentaclaws emerge from the ground.
"Well... one thing at a time." Roxas says
Roxas summons his Keyblade and faces the second wave of Tentaclaws. Just like before, he attacks them with his Keyblade, slicing them up with some slashes until he finishes them off one-by-one.
After dealing with the Tentaclaws, Roxas looks over at the ladder.
"Time to find out what's back there." Roxas says
Roxas approaches the ladder and climbs up over the wall into the next area. He crosses over the suspension bridge and the small stream below it and moves onto the manor ruins. When he arrives, he is surprised by what he saw.
"Whoa!" Roxas exclaims
Standing infront of Roxas was a large plant-like Heartless. This Heartless was known as a Leechgrave. The Leechgrave's body, which was a black coffin emerges out of the ground, revealing a single, glowing yellow eye through a small hole. Two large pale, green clawed hands force their way out of the coffin and wave about. It turned out this was the source of the decline of Heartless. Four Tentaclaws emerge out of the ground around the Leechgrave. With his target in sight, Roxas summons his Keyblade into his hand as he prepared to face off against the large Heartless.
The Leechgrave attacks first, swiping it's clawed hands at Roxas. Roxas ducks down to dodge the first swipe, then jumps a few feet back, dodging the second swipe. Next, the Heartless shoots poisonous pollen at Roxas, but he runs around it as the stream of pollen trails behind him. One of the Tentaclaws lunges at Roxas, but he jumps over it, dodging it's bite. The young teen runs up to the next Tentaclaw and slices through it with a right slash. Continuing to circle around the Leechgrave, Roxas moves on to the other three Tentaclaws and cuts them down each with a swipe of his Keyblade. This in turn left the Leechgrave stunned, causing it to fall back onto the ground.
Roxas moves in on the Heartless and goes all out with his Keyblade. He strikes the Leechgrave with a downward slash, a left slash, a right slash, a left-angled slash, a roundhouse slash, and a right uppercut slash. He continues striking the Heartless with his Keyblade, hitting it with quick blows until the Leechgrave starts to stir.
The Leechgrave rises back up and it's purple bulb spews out a purple cloud of poison beneath it. Roxas quickly jumps back, holding his breath to ensure he didn't breathe in the poison. As soon as the cloud dissipates, Roxas exhales, taking in the fresh air to regain his breath. Two Tentaclaws emerge up infront of Roxas and they both lunge at him with some savage bites. Roxas rolls to the left, dodging the Tentaclaw on his right and cuts it off it's stem with a right slash. Then, he quickly dispatches the second Tentaclaw on his left with a left slash.
Roxas closes in on the Leechgrave and charges at it with a thrusting strike. He follows up with a backflip slash, a downward slash, and a somersault slash. The Leechgrave swipes it's left-hand at Roxas, but he ducks down and slices it off with a right-uppercut slash. Then, he cuts off it's other hand with a left slash. Having disarmed the Leechgrave, Roxas focuses back on the Heartless itself. He attacks with an uppercut slash, a left and right slash, a reverse roundhouse slash, two somersault slashes, a right-uppercut slash, and downward slash. Finally, Roxas finishes off the Leechgrave with a fast, devastating blow, cutting straight through the black coffin with a right slash.
The Leechgrave falls backwards and collapses on the ground, fading away back into the darkness and releasing it's captive heart into the sky. Roxas stands back up, de-summons his Keyblade, and turns back to where the Heartless once was.
"Well, that's that. Time to head back." Roxas says
And so, Roxas leaves the ruins, heading back for Halloween Town. Little did he know that Jack Skellington, who was hidden behind some of the ruins, had witnessed the entire battle and was pondering to himself.
"A black coat... Dark, creepy tentacles..." Jack mutters
After a moment of thinking, Jack soon came up with an idea.
"Yes, yes, yes! I got it!" Jack says
(Moments later)
Jack met up with Dr. Finkelstein in the town square as he presented his ghastly creation. Standing in the square was a scarecrow made using an upside-down broom, a black coat, a white cloth bag and a purple and a green button used for the face and eyes, and black tendril-like hands. The bristles of the broom stood up on the scarecrow's head, resembling Roxas' spikey hair.
"There, it's perfect. Wouldn't you say, Doctor?" Jack asks
"Hmm, yes, it is quite something..." Dr. Finkelstein says
"A harbinger of terror and torment! Stealthy and clever, it appears out of nowhere with spooky black tendrils growing out of it's hands! Under it's cloak, it conceals a countless battery of bombs! A fiend like this is guaranteed to plunge everyone into the very depths of fear!" Jack says gesturing to the scarecrow
"Fascinating. And you plan to make this the centerpiece of next Halloween?" Dr. Finkelstein asks
"Yes! The idea occured to me just moments ago." Jack says
"Well, you have my full support. Quite a novel idea you've come up with this time, Jack." Dr. Finkelstein says
"I'm glad you like it. I can't wait to get busy building more of them!" Jack says
Jack and Dr. Finkelstein walk away while Roxas arrives in the square. He stopped and looked upon the scarecrow.
"Wait a second..." Roxas says
The Keyblade Wielder does a double take on the scarecrow and gazes upon it again.
"Is this thing supposed to be... me?" Roxas asks
Roxas stares at the object in silence.
"I'm really not seeing it." Roxas says
Leaving the town, Roxas opens up a dark corridor and prepares to take his leave. But before he could proceed inside, he heard three voices behind him.
"Trick or treat!" Lock, Shock, and Barrel say in unison
"Wha?" Roxas says
Roxas turns around, only to have a pumpkin explode in his face.
"Waugh!" Roxas exclaims
Roxas looks ahead of him and he saw the three troublemakers laughing at him.
"Ah ha ha ha! We got you!" Lock says
Satisfied with their prank, Lock, Shock, and Barrel run off into Halloween Town while Roxas watch them go.
"Again? Ugh, they haven't changed a bit." Roxas groans
Having completed his mission, Roxas enters the dark corridor and leaves Halloween Town.
(Dragon Realms)
Draxon and Mew step out of their dark corridor and arrive outside the Dragon Temple. It had been a while since their last visit to the Dragon City and the city was nearly rebuilt back to it's former splendor. Draxon glances up at the Dragon Temple, wondering how Ember, Flame, Sparx, and the others were doing. He remembered their last mission led to their encounter with the Dark Echo in the Catacombs. Since then, the Dragon Guardians along with Hunter and the Cheetahs had been searching across the realm for any possible locations that the Dark Echo would lurk about. As he stared at the Dragon Temple, Draxon began to wonder how their search was going.
"Let's see how everyone's doing." Draxon says glancing right at Mew
"Mew." Mew says nodding in agreement
Traversing the incline, the young teen and his Pokémon partner began heading up toward the temple. As he walked up the ramp, Draxon remembered that on his last mission here, Xion was with him. This made him feel down a bit as he wished Xion was here by his side. Focusing back on the mission, Draxon and Mew entered the temple and made their way through the halls of the building. They soon come into the open plaza and there they saw Ember, Flame, and Sparx.
"Hey, guys!" Draxon greets
The two dragons and dragonfly turn around and smile when they saw Draxon and Mew.
"Hi Draxon!" Ember greets happily
"How's the search for the Dark Wraith going?" Draxon asks
"The Guardians searched all across the Dragon Realms for possible locations." Flame says
"And?" Draxon asks
"They've come up with a few places." Ember says
"That's great! Are the Guardians around?" Draxon says
"Yep. They're near the Pool of Visions." Sparx says
With Ember, Flame, and Sparx now joining them, Draxon and Mew continue on through the temple.
"So, how have you guys been?" Draxon asks
"We've been training. And we've been getting stronger! No Heartless is gonna mess with this dragon girl!" Ember says
"What about you, Draxon? Where's Xion and Roxas?" Flame asks
"Roxas is on another world with his own mission in dealing with the Heartless. As for Xion..." Draxon says
Draxon looked down and his expression saddened a bit.
"She's... gone missing..." Draxon says
The pink and red dragon along with the yellow dragonfly stopped and glanced over at Draxon in shock.
"Whoa... Seriously?" Sparx asks
"What?" Ember says shocked
"Is she alright?" Flame asks concerned
Draxon remained silent for a moment before he replied.
"I don't know. I only hope she is." Draxon says
Mew glances at Draxon in concern for it's friend.
"Mew..." Mew says
Draxon continues on while Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx watch him go. They share concerned glances with each other before they move to catch up with him. Draxon shakes off the sadness as he goes back to his mission. The group enters the chamber and meet up with the three Dragon Guardians and Hunter.
"Terrador! Cyril! Volteer! Hunter!" Draxon greets waving his right-hand
"Draxon. Good to have you here." Terrador says smiling
"How'd your search go for the Dark Wraith?" Draxon asks
"We've scouted the Dragon Realms for signs of the Dark Wraith's presence." Terrador says
"So far, we've narrowed down the search to three locations." Hunter says
Everyone turns their attention to the Pool of Visions as Hunter says their names. The first image that appeared in the pool was of a dark, gloomy forest.
"The Ancient Grove." Hunter says
The next image was a black castle under lightning-illuminated skies.
"Concurrent Skies, which used to be Cynder's Lair during her time as Malefor and Lord Thanatos' servant." Terrador says
The final image that appeared was a large mountain under dark skies.
"And the Mountain of Malefor, also known as the Well of Souls. It is an evil place that was Malefor's stronghold and prison for his soul. It's also where I found Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx when they were trapped within the Time Crystal during the Night of Eternal Darkness." Hunter says
"Yeah. I remember that. Those years seemed to go by so fast. Still a bit fuzzy." Sparx says rubbing his head with his right-hand
"The Heartless have also appeared at these three locations. It may also be possible that the Dark Wraith might be lurking within these dark places, planning it's next move." Terrador says
"So, where do we start hunting first?" Draxon asks
"The Ancient Grove. It's a dark forest that lies on the edge of the Silver River, untouched by civilization." Terrador says
"It's waters are poisonous. And the mysterious creatures that thrive there are even more treacherous. Even the smallest insect can prove deadly." Cyril says
"Much of it is unexplored, uncharted, undiscovered, and shrouded in mystery. Who knows what lies within it?" Volteer says
"A perfect place for the Heartless and their master, the Dark Wraith, to lurk about in secrecy." Terrador says
"Then, that's where we'll go. How do we get there?" Draxon says
"It lies to the South of Warfang. Find the Silver River, follow it to it's edge, and you will find the Ancient Grove." Terrador says
"Got it." Draxon says
Draxon turns to Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx, giving them a nod while they nod back at him. With their destination set, the heroes head out of the Dragon Temple and set off for the Ancient Grove.
(Moments later)
The group was now flying in the sky above the forests and swamps of the Dragon Realms, searching for the Silver River. Draxon was riding on Mew, who had transformed into a Charizard, while Ember, Flame, and Sparx flew alongside them. The pink dragoness was on their right while the red dragon and yellow dragonfly were on their left.
"Anyone see it? The Silver River?" Draxon asks
Ember scanned the ground for anything that looked like a river. It wasn't long until she spotted it running through the swamp down below.
"There! I think I see it!" Ember says
The group glances down and indeed they saw the Silver River beneath them, gently flowing with it's clear silver waters.
"Okay. Terrador said to follow it to the end. Let's go!" Draxon says
Draxon and Charizard flew on ahead, following the length of the river with Ember, Flame, and Sparx right behind them.
(Two hours later)
After following the Silver River to it's end, the heroes arrive at the entrance to the Ancient Grove. The silver waters were now purple and toxic, becoming a river of poison as the stream continued on into the dark, gloomy forest. Charizard transformed back into Mew as they stood at the forest's edge.
"This must be it. The Ancient Grove." Flame says
"Yeah. I kinda remember being here. I was with Spyro the last time. And... someone else." Sparx says
Draxon, Mew, Ember, and Flame looked over at Sparx surprised by what he said.
"Who?" Ember asks
The yellow dragonfly rubbed his head with his right-hand as he tried to remember his adventure here with Spyro all those years ago.
"Mmm... Eh... Uh... Sorry, guys. It's kinda hard to remember. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I don't know what. I'm sure it'll come to me." Sparx says shrugging his shoulders
The group glance back to the forest as they stare into the darkness deep within the trees.
"Terrador was right about one thing. This forest does look kinda creepy." Ember says
"No doubt the Heartless are having a run of the place. The Dark Wraith could also be somewhere in there. We need to banish them out of this area. Let's move." Draxon says
And so, Draxon, Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx head into the dark forest, beginning their mission.
The sunlight beaming through the leaves of the trees gave the grove a very ethereal look. The plants were even more so. As they continued on with their trek through the woodland area, the young teen, small Pokémon, two dragons, and dragonfly passed by some tall stumps with fungai growing on them which caught their eyes for a moment. They also passed by an area with some large mushroom-like plants glowing and pulsing with purple light. Moving on, they bypassed Tuba Pod Plants, Thorn Bush Weeds, and Poisoned Roots, making sure to stay clear of them. Although the grove had it's luminous glow to keep the forest bright, Draxon used his Keyblade: Soul Calibur to light the way, holding it above his head with his right-hand as the crystal Keyblade shimmered with it's blue benevolent light. Not to mention Sparx with his golden glow.
The journey through the forest went on for several minutes until the heroes took a stop at an wide, open area, which had Tuba Pod Plants all around them.
"I don't get it. We've been walking through this forest and we haven't run into any Heartless along the way." Ember says
"Yeah. I though the Ancient Grove would be teeming with them." Flame says
"Then, where are they?" Draxon asks
As if on cue, a group of Heartless appear around the group. These Heartless were Chomper Eggs, Polliwogs, Bizarre Archers, and Spear Lizards.
"You had to ask, right?" Sparx groans
"Sorry." Ember apologizes with a sheepish smile
Focusing now on the Heartless, the heroes all got into battle stance as they faced the dark creatures. Draxon drew his Keyblade to his right-side with Mew and Ember on his left and Flame and Sparx on his right.
Three Chomper Eggs fly forward to attack the group, specifically Draxon, but he was ready for them. He dispatches the first Chomper Egg with a left-uppercut slash, the second with a downward slash, and the third with a right slash. One Spear Lizard charges at Draxon and swings it's bony spear at him. The young teen blocks the attack, holding his crystal Keyblade above his head, swings the spear away to right, and cuts down the Heartless with a left slash. A Polliwog hops up to the group and spews a purple stream of poisonous acid at them. Draxon narrowly dodges the poison with a small leap over to the left. Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx also move out of the way as the purple toxin streaks past them and hits a nearby stump. The toxic acid infects the wood in the stump, leaving a good chunk rotten.
"Whoa!" Flame exclaims
"Watch it! Those frogs spew poison!" Draxon warns
Another Polliwog shoots a stream of poison at the heroes, aiming for Ember, but she ducks down, dodging the attack.
"Huh! It's not nice to spit at people! Take this!" Ember says
Ember rears her head back and shoots a fireball at the Polliwog, destroying it on the spot. The pink dragoness charges at a Bizarre Archer and rams into it with her horns, sending it flying through the air into a tree. A nearby Spear Lizard lunges it's fishbone spear at Ember, but she jumps back and counters the attack by slamming her tail into the Heartless, knocking it away. A nearby Bizarre Archer aims it's bow and arrow at the pink dragoness while her back was turned. Ember turned around, taking notice of the Heartless behind her. Just as the Bizarre Archer fired it's arrow at her, Ember leaps up into the air with a backflip, lands behind the Heartless, and kicks it away using both her hind legs.
Flame swipes his claws left and right at a Spear Lizard, then knocks it into the air with backflip. He leaps up at the Heartless and kicks it back down to the ground using his hind legs. Flame lands back down on the ground only to see another Spear Lizard charging at him. The Heartless swings it's bony spear down at him, but he catches it with his mouth and flips the dark creature over him. With the Heartless down, Flame turns around, leaps up into the air with a somersault, and dives straight down on the Spear Lizard with his horns.
Mew rams into a Spear Lizard with it's pink barrier, sending it flying. Two Polliwogs both spew a stream of poison at Mew, attacking it from the right. Mew quickly teleports away and reappears above the frog-like Heartless. Glowing with a bright light, it transforms into a Garchomp and lands behind the Polliwogs, who turn to face the now large Pokémon as it lets out a loud roar at them.
"Garchomp!" Garchomp roars
The shark-like Pokémon stomps down on one of the Polliwogs with it's right-foot, crushing it into the ground. Then, it bites down on the second one with it's jaws and tosses it away. Three Chomper Eggs fly over towards Garchomp and each launch a fireball at it. Garchomp leaps back a good feet away, evading the fireballs as they strike the ground where it once stood. Garchomp rears it's head back and shoots a mighty blue beam of draconic energy at the Heartless using Dragon Breath. The three Chomper Eggs were instantly vaporized by the strong attack, leaving behind only their captured hearts.
Everyone had managed to finish off their Heartless, leaving only Draxon to finish with his. Draxon was currently caught in a blade lock with a Spear Lizard. He soon shoves the Heartless back, sending it staggering a few feet backwards. While it was stunned, Draxon swings his Keyblade down at the Spear Lizard's legs with a low right-swipe, sweeping it off it's feet. Then, he raises Soul Calibur over his head and brings it down on the Heartless, striking it into oblivion. Turning to his left, he saw the rest of the Polliwogs, Bizarre Archers, Chomper Eggs, and Spear Lizards stalking towards him. Draxon faced the Heartless, holding Soul Calibur out infront of him as it starts to glow with it's pure, blue light. Channeling magic through his body, the young teen thrusts the crystal Keyblade forward at the Heartless, then raises it up to the sky, creating a powerful, silver whirlwind that sucks up the dark creatures into the air. Soon, the Heartless were sent flying all around the clearing and were destroyed on impact as they smash into trees, stumps, and Thorn Bush Weeds.
The area was now clear of Heartless and was peaceful again. Garchomp reverts back into Mew and the small Pokémon flies over to Draxon. Still holding Soul Calibur in his right-hand, the young teen turns to his friends, thinking it's time to move on.
"Let's keep moving. There's bound to be more Heartless around." Draxon says
Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx nod in agreement and the heroes continue their journey deeper into the Ancient Grove.
(Several minutes later)
The group push further into the dark forest, crossing streams of poison water, and cut through the dense brush of the forest. During their trek, they notice large spider webs covering the ground, plants, and trees.
"Whoa... What's with all the webs?" Sparx asks
"The whole part of this forest is covered in them." Ember says
Ember's tail suddenly gets caught in a sticky web, forcing her and the others to stop. The pink dragoness tussles with the web for a few seconds, but she manages to break her tail free. A little bit of the spider web was still stuck to Ember's heart-shaped tail, but she shakes it off.
"Ugh. These webs sure are sticky." Ember says in disgust
"I don't think I've ever seen webs like these. They're so big." Flame says
"Mew." Mew says nodding it's head in agreement
"Could it be Heartless?" Ember asks
"I'm not sure, but let's be careful. Whatever made these webs is probably nearby." Draxon says
"I sure wouldn't wanna get caught in them." Sparx says
The heroes continue on down their path through the dark forest. As they do, the webs become more and more numerous, almost covering every inch of the forest. Despite the peril, the five heroes push onwards. Suddenly, they quickly stop as a small bug-like creature scampers out on the path ahead of them. It was a Heartless, a Creeperworm.
"There's another Heartless!" Flame exclaims
The Creeperworm quickly moves up along the path, scurrying away from the group.
"It's getting away!" Ember says
"C'mon!" Draxon says
Moving with haste, Draxon and his friends chase after the Heartless, following it further into the Ancient Grove. They pursue the Creeperworm for a short while until a large creature moves out of the brush from the right, quickly snatching it up and disappearing back into the darkness of the forest. Draxon and the others immediately slide to a stop, noticing that the Heartless had vanished.
"Mew!" Mew exclaims
"It's gone!" Flame exclaims
"Where'd it go?" Ember asks
"Something took it. And I think it may be the one responsible for all these webs. Let's keep moving." Draxon says
Proceeding with caution, the heroes venture deeper into the dark forest, carefully watching their surroundings. Whatever creature that took the Heartless had to be nearby. Eventually, after minutes of traversing through the Ancient Grove, Draxon and his friends arrive in a secluded area completely covered by webs.
"Oh, great. A dead end." Sparx groans
"No. That creature that took the Heartless. I think it's here. This must be it's lair." Draxon says
Around them, the group notice web sacs hanging from the spider webs.
"Uh, what's in those things?" Sparx says slightly nervous
Draxon goes up to one of the sacs and reaches for it with his left-hand. Just as he touches it, the sac shakes, causing him to jerk his hand back. Then, all the other web sacs start to shake. As he stares at the webs, Draxon notices the Creeperworm that they had been chasing before. The Heartless was caught stuck in the web, unable to break free.
"There's the Heartless from before!" Ember exclaims in surprise
"But how'd it get caught in that web?" Flame asks
Suddenly, a loud screech sounds through the air.
"Looks like we're about to find out." Draxon says
Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx look toward Draxon as he was staring up at something in the trees. They followed his gaze to the canopies above them and they saw the same large creature from before, dangling from it's web string curled up in a ball. It was another Heartless. A Savage Spider. The gigantic Heartless uncurls and gazes down at the group. Then, it drops down infront of them with a loud thud. But before facing them, the Savage Spider turns to it's prey trapped in the web. It crawls over and wraps up the Creeperworm in a web sac while Draxon and his friends watch in shock.
"It eats other Heartless?!" Ember asks in shock
After it was done with it's task, the spider-like Heartless turns to it's new prey and hisses at them. Several smaller versions of the Savage Spider lower down from the webs above the group, emerging from the web cocoons, joining their leader against the heroes. Draxon held out Soul Calibur infront of him with his friends by his side as they stood ready to face the Savage Spider and it's small breed.
Within moments, the spiders attacked, charging together in a swarm straight at the heroes. Draxon swats away one spider with a right uppercut slash, then swats another one with a left uppercut slash. A third spider leaps at him, but he swings his crystal Keyblade with a right slash, knocking it aside. Three spiders jump towards Mew, but the small Pokemon generates it's pink barrier, sending the dark creatures back. Ember blasts away a spider using her Fire Breath, then she turns to her left to blast away another one. One spider grabs hold of Ember's tail, catching her attention.
"Hey!" Ember says
The pink dragoness turns around, grabs one of the spider's legs with her jaws, and flips it over her. She slams the spider into the ground, then she slams her tail down on it. Flame rams his horns into a spider, sending it staggering back. While it was stunned, he grabs the spider's leg with his jaws and tosses it aside. Another spider tried to attack Flame from the left, but he blasts it away with his Fire Breath, breathing a stream of flames at the attacking spider.
Mew transforms into a Tyranitar and lets out a mighty roar at the spiders. The loud roar managed to blow three spiders away, but five others charged at the dinosaur-like Pokémon to attack. Tyranitar reared it's head back and using Flamethrower, breathes a long stream of flames infront of it, destroying the small pests.
Draxon points his glowing Keyblade at the Heartless spiders and shoots an incredibly bright beam of blue light, which shined forth from the tip of Soul Calibur, blasting away the dark creatures.
After dealing with the swarm of spiders, the heroes turn their attention to the gigantic spider infront of them.
The Savage Spider lets out a loud, screeching roar, and it charges at Draxon and his friends in an attempt to ram into them, causing them to leap out of the way and separate. Having split up the heroes, the Heartless goes straight for Draxon, knowing well enough that he was the greater threat. Covering it's two front legs with purple dark energy, the Savage Spider tries to skewer the young teen by swinging it's legs at him. Draxon leaps over to the right, dodging it's right-leg, then ducks down to dodge the left-leg as it swoops overhead. In retaliation, Draxon jumps up to his feet, swinging Soul Calibur with an uppercut slash, striking the Savage Spider. He follows up with a downward slash, a right-upward slash, a left slash, and thrusting strike. The spider-like Heartless rams into Draxon, knocking Soul Calibur out of his grip in the process, and pins him against a tree, trying to bite him with it's venom-filled jaws and infect him with it's toxins. Draxon held the Savage Spider back, pushing back against it's mandibles.
"Draxon!" Ember screams
Tyranitar rushes to the young teen's aid, ramming it's full body weight into the Savage Spider's left-side, causing it to drop Draxon. The dinosaurian Pokémon rears it's head back and using Hyper Beam, shoots an extremely powerful golden beam of destructive energy. The attack strikes the Savage Spider with a direct hit to it's head, sending the large Heartless staggering backwards a couple feet. The Savage Spider charges up a beam of it's own in it's maw and launches a purple beam of dark energy at the young teen and his Pokémon partner, who quickly move out of the way.
Ember and Flame both step in and use their Fire Breaths, shooting streams of flames at the Savage Spider. The gigantic spider turns to the two small dragons and shoots web-like projectiles from it's maw. The two dragons quickly jump away to the right, dodging the web blasts. But then, just as they land, the Savage Spider launches a large web shot at the pink and red dragon, blasting them back and pinning them together against a tree. Only their heads and tails were free while their arms and legs were trapped in the sticky web. Having trapped it's prey, the Savage Spider stalked closer towards Ember and Flame, ready to finish them off with it's venom.
"Ember! Flame!" Draxon cries out
Draxon charges straight at the Savage Spider with his Keyblade in his right-hand. The large Heartless turns to the young teen and shoots multiple web shots at him, but he jumps from side-to-side, dodging every one of them. Once he got close enough, Draxon leaps up into the air and swings Soul Calibur with a right slash, launching six blue light blasts down at the Savage Spider. He then dives down on the Heartless with his Keyblade raised over his right-shoulder and delivers a strong blow to it's head. Draxon follows up with right slash, a left slash, an uppercut slash, and finishes with a downward slash. Each strike delivered with Soul Calibur left bursts of blue light in it's wake. The Savage Spider tries to bite Draxon with it's jaws, but he jumps left and right, evading it's fangs and counters the second bite with a backflip slash under it's head.
The Savage Spider lifts up it's right-leg and tries to skewer Draxon, but he leaps back a good feet away, dodging the attack. With a light-enveloped Soul Calibur, Draxon strikes the Heartless with an uppercut slash, a left and right slash, two reverse roundhouse slashes, a somersault slash which hits five times, and a downward slash. Channeling the power of light, Draxon warps around the Savage Spider, striking it with fast speed and great strength, placing eight blue spikes of pure energy at every angle. Then, the energy is released in a powerful shockwave, dishing out tremendous damage to the Heartless.
While it was stunned, Draxon teleports up above the Savage Spider, hovering several feet in the air. He holds up Soul Calibur as it shined brightly with it's benevolent light. Soon, Draxon turns the crystal Keyblade over and divebombs down on the Heartless, finishing it off with a final blow. The Savage Spider froze as the Keyblade pierced through it's head, then it let out a painful screech. The gigantic spider stumbled around with Draxon holding on until finally it collapsed on it's belly with a loud thud. Draxon removed his Keyblade from the Savage Spider's head and jumped down onto the ground. The large Heartless disappeared in a flash of light and it's captured heart was released, sent floating up into the sky until it faded away, returning to Kingdom Hearts.
The Heartless were defeated, the area fell quiet with the sounds of the forest, and all was peaceful. Draxon de-summoned his crystal Keyblade and met up with Tyranitar, who transformed back into Mew. They soon turned their attention to Ember and Flame, who were still trapped in the sticky web against the tree. The young teen runs over to the two dragons and frees them from their bindings, ripping the webs off them. Ember and Flame drop down onto the ground and they both shake their bodies from the webs. Draxon knelt down and helped brush the webs off their bodies with his hands, starting with Ember.
"Ah... Thanks, Draxon." Ember says with a relieved sigh
"Don't mention it." Draxon says smiling
"Well, that certaintly takes care of that big creepy crawly." Sparx says
It took Draxon only a couple seconds to clear Ember off. Once she was done, he moves onto Flame.
"Man. That was pretty rough." Flame says
Draxon stands back up and dusts his hands from the webs having finished clearing off Flame.
"No sign of the Dark Wraith though..." Draxon says
"Maybe it's not here." Ember says
"At least the Heartless here have been cleared out. C'mon. Let's head back to Warfang." Draxon says
And so, having finished their mission, the heroes begin their journey back home, heading out of the Ancient Grove. However, little did they know that the Dark Echo had been watching them the whole time from the shadows of the dark forest. It's glowing red eyes observing them, specifically Draxon. The shadowy wraith watched them walk along the path out of the forest until it faded away, disappearing into the darkness.
(Later that day)
Draxon, Mew, Ember, Flame, and Sparx returned to the Dragon Temple and gave Hunter and the Dragon Guardians their report on the Ancient Grove.
"We're glad you all returned safe." Terrador says
"What did you find?" Hunter asks
"We've checked out the Ancient Grove. We encountered a bunch of Heartless, but we didn't see the Dark Wraith anywhere." Draxon says
"And there was this big, creepy spider-like Heartless that spins up webs, eats other Heartless, and..." Sparx says spreading his arms in gesture and making crawling motions with his fingers
The yellow dragonfly noticed that everyone was staring at him with awkward expressions.
"Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting something?" Sparx says scratching the back of his head in embarrassment
"Anyway, we drove the Heartless out of the Ancient Grove, but there was no sign of the Dark Wraith." Draxon says
"Maybe we just missed it?" Flame says
"Or it could have sensed your arrival and fled. Nevertheless, it is good that you cleared the Ancient Grove." Terrador says
"Yes, yes. One less concern to worry about. Good show." Cyril says
"But there is still the matter of having to locate and expel the Dark Wraith." Volteer says
"In that you are right, Volteer. It is unfortunate that we did not have the chance to eliminate the Dark Wraith at the Ancient Grove. But that still leaves our other two locations to be explored." Terrador says
"Concurrent Skies and the Mountain of Malefor." Hunter says
"After your visit to the Ancient Grove, the Dark Wraith and the Heartless will now be laying low. Which means we will have to wait until they surface again." Terrador says
"Then, Mew and I will head out and explore the other worlds we've visited." Draxon says
"Yes. With their capability to travel in-between worlds through the darkness, that is most likely what will happen." Terrador says
"But in the meantime, we will be on the lookout for any strange activity here. And we'll certaintly keep a close watch on Concurrent Skies and the Well of Souls should those fiends appear there." Cyril says
"Good luck, Draxon. To both you and your companions." Terrador says
"Thanks, Terrador." Draxon says
Draxon looks over to Ember, Flame, and Sparx on his right.
"Okay. Take care, you guys." Draxon says
"Hehe. We'll be waiting for you, Draxon." Ember giggles
"And we'll be more than ready to move on the Dark Wraith and the Heartless should they ever show their ugly faces." Flame says
"Right. See ya then." Draxon says
Giving his friends a nod, Draxon heads out of the Dragon Temple with Mew. Ember, Flame, and Sparx watched as the young teen left, but they were very concerned for him and Xion.
"Xion... is missing? Both her and Draxon looked perfect together. I'd really hate to see something happen to them. I wonder what happened? I hope everything's okay." Ember thought to herself
(Twilight Town)
Draxon and Mew met up with Roxas at their usual spot at the top of the clock tower. They sat together and ate their Sea-salt ice cream in silence.
"Alone again..." Draxon sighs
"Mew..." Mew says in a saddened voice
"Axel could've shown up at least." Roxas sighs
Unaware to the two boys and Pokémon, Axel was hiding around the corner, out of sight, leaning back against the side of the clock with his arms crossed and a solemn expression. The day turned out to be real depressing for Draxon and his friends.
Author's Note: Xion has gone missing! No one is more shocked by this news than Draxon and Roxas. Forbidden to go looking for her, the two boys were forced to continue their missions for the Organization. Roxas travels to Halloween Town while Draxon travels to the Dragon Realms. Both of them engage in brutal fights against the Heartless, but in the end they emerge triumphant. how will they be able cope without Xion? Things only start to go more downhill from here. And the worst of their troubles is yet to come. What hardships will they face in the days ahead? Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!