Sora chortled as he pocketed the Munny. Donald gave a displeased glare, crossed his wings, and slumped down in his seat.
"Don't be a sore loser, Donald," Goofy teased. "Sora won fair and square."
"It wasn't fair and it wasn't square!" Donald exclaimed.
Sora laughed. "Cheer up, Donald," he said, shooting a small Heartless ship as he spoke. "Aslan said the next world has a gateway to the Black Cauldron."
"I hope it's easy enough to find," Kairi said, looking out the Gummy Shop window. "Truth be told, I'm kind of ready to go home."
Sora stretched. "No kidding," he agreed. He shot down another small ship, then squinted as he saw shapes in the horizon. They were late and brightly-colored.
"Shoot," he said, ending his stretch and grabbing the controls with both fists.
"What is it?" Kairi asked. "Heartless?"
Sora shook his head. "No, just a lot of obstacles. Asteroids, debris, that sort of thing. I can get us through, but it might take some pretty face flying. And if there are any Heartless in there, it may be a problem."
As they approached the field of brightly-colored asteroids, Sora twisted and turned to avoid them. Donald shot some of the smaller ones, removing them from their path.
Kairi glanced out the window again, watching their progress. As she did so, she thought she saw a large shape move in between some of the asteroids. She blinked a few times, and it was gone, so she figured it was just a distant wall of debris.
"The next world should be right on the other side of all of this," Goofy reported. "Lot of Heartless activity, though."
"Figures," Sora said.
Kairi glanced over to Goofy, and thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned her head to look again, but saw nothing. She had a bad feeling in her gut. She slowly stood up.
"I wouldn't do that," Donald said. "Sora'll be making some pretty crazy maneuvers to get through here."
"I'll be okay," Kairi assured. Careful and watching her footing, she walked up to Goofy.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Are you picking up anything on radar?" Kairi asked. "I keep thinking I'm seeing something out there."
Goofy shook his head. "Only space stuff. I am hearin' some weird noises, though." He pressed a button, and Kairi leaned in to listen. It was a low-pitched, echoing metallic sound that groaned like a lost soul. It was interrupted by the occasional cracking and crushing of colliding asteroids, but was constant.
"What is that?" Kairi asked worriedly. "It's getting louder." She turned to call Sora and warn him. "Sora-"
His name had barely left her lips when the entire Gummy Ship rattled and shook violently. Everyone grunted as Sora tried to steer them straight.
"Watch it!" Donald yelled.
"Wasn't me!" Sora said. "Something hit us!"
Kairi ran back to the front of the ship and craned her neck to look out the side of the cockpit. A massive figure appeared next to the ship, so large that it engulfed her entire view. Flying beside the Gummy Ship was an absolutely gargantuan creature, resembling a colossal lobster with pincers the size of the ship and covered with blue markings. It had red eyes that glowed in the darkness, and was pulverizing all debris in its path by simply crashing into it. Due to its size, Kairi could see the metallic nature of its body, as well as the shifting mechanics in its glowing eyes.
"It's a machine!" she yelled.
Sora stared with awe and fear at the Leviathan chasing them. It was as large as Xemnas' draconic form, and it was charging right at them.
"Sit down and hold on!" Sora ordered, and Kairi obeyed. She grabbed onto her seat just in time for Sora to slam the controls, making the Gummy Ship do a full barrel roll to avoid the charging monster. Sora hit the thrusters, launching them forward and deeper into the asteroid field, with the creature giving chase. Donald fired at it, but the weapons seemed to have little effect on the Leviathan's thick metal plating. It's markings glowed blue, and it suddenly blasted a pulsing blue beam at the Gummy Ship. It was struck, and everyone jolted as the ship dipped and shook from the impact.
"That blast damaged our thrusters!" Goofy called. Sora immediately noticed the decrease in speed. The ship shook again, forcing Sora to close his eyes and he lurched forward. When he opened his eyes, he was horrified to see the asteroids and debris not flying behind them, but away in front of them. The machine had the entire ship in one of its claws, and it was dragging them backwards. Sora increased the pressure on the thrusters, but it provided minimal resistance. Donald quacked in anger and fear, shooting the Leviathan with everything he had.
"What are we going to do?!" Kairi cried.
Sora gritted his teeth as he ran through ideas in his head. There had to be something they could do to make the creature release them, and speed away simultaneously. He considered various options until he arrived at one. It was not a good one, and was by no means safe, but it was the best option he could think of. Carefully, he turned off the thrusters.
"What are you doing?!" Donald quacked.
"Stop firing," Sora said. "Let it pull us closer."
Even Kairi and Goofy were concerned. "Sora, what're you sayin'?" Goofy questioned.
"Let it pull us in," Sora said. "We let the thrusters cool, then, once we're close enough to its face, Donald shoots pulse shots into its eyes, and I floor it. The combination of the shots and the thrusters in its face could make it let go, and we'll blast off when it does."
"What if it doesn't let go?" Kairi asked.
"Then I'll get out and fight it myself!" Sora rebutted. "Just get ready, we'll have one shot at this. Donald, get ready to hit its eyes."
Donald gulped nervously, but did as he was told. Goofy prepared for impact, and Kairi gripped her chair tightly.
The Leviathan squeezed the ship, and the sound o crushing metal was heard. Sora looked in the rear cameras to see that they were nearly at the beast's face. Its red eyes stared into Sora's soul. He held his breath as its mouth began to glow blue.
"Sora?" Donald said worriedly.
"Not yet…" Sora said.
"Sora?!" Goofy questioned.
"Not yet…" Sora repeated.
"Sora?!" Kairi exclaimed. The Leviathan adjusted its grip as it prepared to fire.
"Now!" Sora shouted. Donald yelled a war cry as he fired at the mechanical monstrosity's eyes, hitting in both and dimming the lights. Sora slammed the thrusters, and they roared back to life and jolted the ship forward. The exhaust struck the Leviathan's head, and it let out a metallic screech as its claw opened.
Even Sora had not been ready for the amount of thrust everyone suddenly experienced. The ship went from unmoving to its top speed, and if it were not for the backs of the seats everyone was in, they all would have gotten fatal whiplash. Kairi and Donald yelped as the Gummy Ship rocketed forward with such intensity that their cries were soon cut off by the acceleration. The Leviathan swiped at the ship, but it was out of range. Sora did his best to twit the controls and avoid debris, but much of it struck the ship, smashing and banging on the hull. However, they quickly breached the field, and Sora saw the world fast approaching. On one pat it looked like rocky caves and cliffs with lava running through them, and on the other side he saw a vast body of water with temples and structures dotting the area. Just desperate to ensure they escape the Leviathan, Sora pointed the ship towards the barrier between the two environments and blasted down.
"Sora, stop!" Kairi called, still clutching her seat. The ship was approaching the surface at an abnormally fast rate, and Sora slammed on the brakes. The Gummy Ship jolted, then slowly dipped down and settled on a rocky platform overlooking a deep crevasse.
Sora wiped his brow. "Is everyone okay?"
Donald and Goofy groaned, and Kairi gave a stifled thumbs-up as she did her best not to throw up.
"Sorry," Sora said.
"You did what you had to," Goofy said. "We're just glad it worked."
"Yeah," Donald said, still groaning, "but let's not ever do it again."
The crew of the Gummy Ship disembarked. Sora looked around to see that they were deep underground, and the opening they had dashed in from had collapsed close. It was likely the ship could break through the rubble, so Sora did not worry about being trapped.
All around them were walls of jagged grey stone. From the roof of the cave, there were stalactites several feet long, and a deep crevasse filled with darkness was beside them. Some of the rocks glowed gently, providing enough light to see.
"Where do we go?" Kairi asked.
Goofy held up a finger. "I've noticed that, on the other worlds, all we had to do when we arrived was listen, and our senses told us which way to go."
Everyone paused and listened in silence. There was the distant sound of water dripping, but the caves were otherwise silent. Sora and Donald closed their eyes, attempting to hear better through the stone abyss.
Suddenly, the sound of a massive explosion shook the cave. Sora and Donald screamed in terror, frightened by the sudden burst of sound, and Donald leapt up so high into the air that Sora caught him in his arms, both still yelling.
Kairi activated Destiny's Embrace and spun around, looking in the direction the sound had come from. Light poured into the cave, followed quickly by the sounds of heavy machinery, mechanical whirring, and rattling rocks. A massive hole had been blasted into one of the cave walls, and almost immediately, a large, drill-like vehicle with tank treads lumbered through. Kairi began running towards it to investigate, and Goofy followed. Sora and Donald glanced at each other embarrassed, then Sora set Donald back down and they chased after their friends.
The drill ground to a halt, and hissed with steam and smoke. A door opened, and a young man with large glasses stepped out, holding a book. He studied the surroundings, analyzing the shapes of the rocks and tunnels. Kairi jogged behind a rock, and peeked out at the drill.
"Alright, Junior, which way?" a large, burly man stepping out of the vehicle asked. He was followed by a blonde woman wearing a sneer. Several other people lingered on the back of the vehicle, riding on ladders and compartments.
"Can't tell… yet…" the man in the glasses said, staring intently at the environment.
Goofy, Donald, and Sora hurried next to Kairi. "What's up?" Sora asked.
"They look normal…" Kairi said.
"Even though they blew up a bunch of stuff?" Donald quacked.
Kairi shrugged. "They look like some kind of explorers."
Suddenly, they heard the young man yelp. All four peered around the rock and saw a Driller Mole emerge from the ground near the man's feet. Several more burrowed out, shaking dirt and debris off as they rose to the surface. Several floating, gray, bell-shaped Hoary Oratorios descended from the shadows above. Finally, a writhing Stone Sentry Heartless emerged from the rocks in front of the drill: it was humanoid, but its body resembled a stone mask with black, twisting, clawed limbs protruding from it. The markings on its mask-like form glowed an eerie blue.
"More monsters!" the woman yelled, clearly frustrated.
"Whoever they are, they're no friends of the Heartless," Sora said, activating Lightkeeper. "Let's go!" Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons, and all four of them vaulted over the stone and ran at the Heartless crowd.
The big man looked shocked at their arrival. "Who are they, now?" he yelled.
Sora dropped to the ground, digging his Keyblade forward, and slid across the stone until he struck one of the Digger Moles, launching it and sending it flying off the ground. He jumped back to his feet and spun like a whirlwind, striking all the other Digger Moles with his Keyblade and forcing them back.
One of the Hoary Oratorios targeted Kairi. It charged up its attack, forming a ball of spiked stone above itself. It grew bigger until it was the size of its own body, then it threw the rock at Kairi. Kairi raised her Keyblade and blocked, and the stone crumbled on impact. She struck the Heartless several times until it was destroyed. No sooner had the trapped Heart been freed, a large stone stalagmite jutted up from beneath her. Kairi was struck by the rising rock, and it painfully stabbed at her and launched her upwards. She recovered in midair and landed in a crouch, gritting her teeth from landing on the hard surface. She looked up to see another Hoary Oratorio having slammed itself into the ground, which has created the stalagmite attack. It rose out of the dirt, then slammed down into it again. Kairi preemptively jumped, dodging the stone spike rising from the ground beneath where she was, and kicked off of it to propel herself towards her enemy. She held her Keyblade in front of her and rammed the Heartless, destroying it.
Donald and Goofy teamed up on the Stone Sentry. Its mask-like form resembled an angry face with a mouth of fangs, and its markings glowed brighter as the warriors approached. It clawed at Goofy with its flailing, twisting black arms, but Goofy raised his shield and blocked the attacks. Donald cast a Fire spell, striking the Heartless in the side. It turned its attention to him, then charged body-first and rammed Donald with its stone body. Goofy raised his shield to throw it at the Heartless' back, and aimed for the Heartless emblem carved into the stone on the other side of the monster's form. He threw the shield and it struck, getting the Stone Sentry's attention again. It whirled around to face Goofy, then crossed its arms in front of itself. Its markings glowed brighter, then it flung its arms back. A blast of blue energy, retaining the face-like shape of the carvings, propelled from its body and at Goofy. Goofy reached for his shield that was coming back to him, but the blast hit first. Goofy just got his fingers around his shield's handle when the energy hit him, knocking him back into the rock.
"Goofy!" Donald collared. He cast a Thunder spell, but when the lightning bolt struck, the Stone Sentry was unhurt, and actually looked like it was invigorated. It clawed at Donald, who blocked with his staff, and then hit it away. He cast another Fire spell to force it back as Goofy recovered and charged the Heartless, ramming it to the ground with his shield. The Stone Sentry leapt back to its feet, bit Donald and Goofy simultaneously swung their weapons at it, attacking from both sides. Both weapons collided at the same time and right across from each other, smashing the Stone Sentry's mask-like body and reducing it to rubble. The blue glow faded, and the captive Heart floated away.
One of the Driller Moles stabbed at Sora's backside while he was destroying another. He yelled in pain and groaned in frustration, then turned around and slammed his Keyblade on top of the foe, burying it back into the dirt. Another Driller Mole pointed downwards and tunneled back into the ground. Sora destroyed another one, then the two under his feet leapt out of the stone, drills first, and struck him. Sora fell to the ground with a grunt, then jumped back up as the Heartless burrowed again. Sora raised his Keyblade and waited. When the two enemies breached again, Sora swung his blade and destroyed both of them in one swift motion.
Kairi struck down another Hoary Oratorio, leaving one left. It spun around a few times, magically manifesting a sphere of rock and dirt around its body as armor. It charged up another rock ball and threw it at her, and Kairi dodged. She sprinted forward to close the distance between them, and began rapidly striking the Heartless. The rock armor kept its body safe, but began to crumble. It slammed the ground right below where it was hovering. However, Kairi curved her body to the side and swiped Destiny's Embrace, knocking the Heartless into the path of its own rising stalagmite. The rock spike smashed through the stony armor and the Heartless, destroying it. Upon is destruction, its rock spire crumbled.
As Sora was lowering his blade, the burly man and the woman hurried over. The man pointed at him. "Alright, son, I'm gonna have to ask who you are, and it'd better be good."
Sora thought about his answer for a moment, not wanting to meddle, and came up with one that was still technically the truth. "We're explorers," he said. "We're searching for ancient artifacts."
"Well, scram!" the woman sneered. "This expedition's ours."
Kairi huffed as she, Donald, and Goofy walked next to Sora. "Appreciative, aren't they?" she said sarcastically.
"Wait, wait!" the man in the glasses said, running over and waving his arms. He stopped in front of the burly man. "Commander, we've been having problems with those monsters all trip, and these guys just saved out butts. A team-up could be beneficial for all involved."
The burly man stroked his chin. "You make a good point, Thatch," he said. He pushed past the other man and extended his hand. "Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke," he introduced.
Sora swapped his Keyblade to his free hand, and then shook the man's. "I'm Sora," he said.
"Good, good," the Commander said quickly, rushing his speech. He swiftly turned and marched back. On his way, he pushed the other man towards Sora, Kairi, Goofy, and Donald. "You finish the pleasantries, kid." He marched back to the drill, and the woman followed.
The man pushed his glasses into place and stepped forward. "I'm Milo," he said. "Nice to meet you."
"I'm Sora," Sora reiterated. "These are my friends Kairi, Donald, and Goofy."
Milo nodded at all of them, then fixed his gaze on Destiny's Embrace. His eyes then saw Lightkeeper, and darted between the two weapons.
"Is… everything okay?" Kairi asked.
"It's just… I've seen those kinds of weapons before," Milo said.
"What? Where?" Sora asked, excitedly.
Milo held up a reddish-brown bloke with silver trim and an angular, golden spiral symbol in the center. He opened it and quickly flipped through the pages, then landed on one and turned the book so Sora and his friends cold see it. Sora leaned in and saw two pages of a strange writing system, and an illustration of a Keyblade. He recalled seeing the design before, and thought back. Then he remembered. It was the same Keyblade illustrated in Dipper's journal back in Gravity Falls: designed to look like waves or clouds, with a smooth handle and a Keychain resembling an eye. This illustration was more detailed; however, and included a heart-shaped bit and a symbol resembling a fox's head on the guard.
"Interesting," Sora said.
"So, why are you down here?" Donald asked.
Milo closed the book. "We're searching for the lost civilization of Atlantis, but those monsters have gotten in our way at almost every turn. If the Shepherd's Journal is correct, we should be almost there. Would you like to ride with us, and maybe help us out with those fancy weapons of yours?"
Sora shrugged and deactivated his Keyblade. "Sure. Maybe what we're looking for will be in Atlantis too."
"Great!" Milo replied. "Come on, I'll introduce you around." He tuned and hurried back towards the drill. Sora glanced over to his friends. Kairi deactivated Destiny's Embrace, and Donald and Goofy put away their weapons as they all followed Milo to the vehicle. As the passed the front, Kairi could not help but notice the Commander and the woman stare at them as they passed by. Their stares unsettled her.
"This is our crew," Milo said, showing off the people riding the drill. "There's Audrey…" A girl in overalls waved from a ladder on the back of the drill. "…Vinny…" A man in a side compartment held up a stick of dynamite. "…Dr. Sweet…" A big, friendly-looking man next to Vinny waved. "…Mrs. Packard…" An elderly woman sitting in another side compartment huffed and turned away. "…Cookie…" An old man with a scraggly beard grinned from a ladder. "…and the Mole." A short, fat man in goggles smiled and waved from another ladder. Sora and Kairi smiled back at them.
"And you've already met Commander Rourke and Lieutenant Sinclair," Milo concluded. "I'm going to be walking ahead and leading the drill, so you guys can decide if you want to tag along with me or join the others on the drill."
"I, for one, would like to ride on the drill," Donald said, waddling towards a compartment. Goofy shrugged and followed him.
"Sora and I will stick with you," Kairi told Milo. "We can keep a better eye out for Heartless that way."
"Sounds great!" Milo said. "I really appreciate it!" He hurried back towards the front of the drill, and Sora and Kairi followed him. Sora kept his eyes on the drill, making sure it would stay safe as it slowly began to roll behind them, Commander Rourke at the controls.
Donald settled into the compartment with Vinny and Dr. Sweet, and Goofy sat next to Mrs. Packard. As Donald began to settle in his seat, Vinny leaned in.
"Hey, you," he said sharply. "I saw you shoot fire over there. How'd you do that?" He held up a stick of dynamite. "'Cause I'd really like to know,"
They had not gone far when they reached what looked like a fork in their path: two tunnels, each equal in width and darkness, splitting off from the trail. Stalactites crested the cave roof, and beneath the path were pits of sharp stalagmites. Milo studied the journal, muttering to himself.
"I wonder what we'll find," Sora said to Kairi.
"Maybe some ancient ruins!" Kairi said excitedly. "And there, maybe we can find a clue to where the Black Cauldron is!"
"Maybe," Sora said. "Keep in mind that, if there are Heartless here, we need to find the Keyhole as well so they will stop coming through."
Kairi looked at the drill, then stopped and pointed. "Speaking of which, we've got company!" Sora whirled around to see three Stone Sentries emerge from the shadows of the cavern, as well as several Driller Moles, a bunch of Shadows, and a single Hoary Oratorio. The immediately set their sights on the drill, with the floating Heartless slamming into the ground and summoning stone spikes to rise and strike at the vehicle. The crew yelped and took defensive positions. The crew began throwing explosives at the attackers, Donald began casting long-range spells, and Goofy held up his shield to defend from the Heartless' projectiles, but they needed help.
Milo heard the commotion and spun around. "Oh no!" he shouted.
Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades. "Stay here," Kairi instructed. "We'll take care of them." The two of them ran to the drill, which began to creak as it was clawed and and rammed by the Stone Sentries and Driller Moles.
"That drill won't last," Sora said. "We need to get the Heartless off of it before it explodes!" He jumped into battle and hit the Hoary Oratorio, knocking it away from the drill and getting it to focus its attention on him. It threw a stone at him, and Sora dodged.
Kairi ran up to the small crowd of Stone Sentries, all three of them clawing at the drill's treads. She cast a Fire spell, circling her body in flames and striking all three. One was thrown back into the metal behind it, and the others were pushed from the vehicle entirely. They all turned on Kairi, charging at her with their stone bodies and their glowing blue markings. Kairi rolled out of the way, allowing them all to crash into one another.
Sora swatted the Hoary Oratorio away with Lightkeeper, knocking it even further back. As he prepared to attack again, he felt a pain in his leg. He looked down to see a Driller Mole drilling its pointed appendage into his calf. Sora kicked it, then hit it with his Keyblade like a gold ball and sent it flying off the path and onto the sharp stalagmites below, destroying it. Sora suddenly felt a sharp pressure on his chest and was forced back. The Hoary Oratorio had thrown one of its spiked stones into him, and it had hurt. Sora rubbed his chest, then jumped up at the Heartless and stabbed it in midair, destroying it.
Meanwhile, Donald cast a Blizzard spell to take out a Shadow. Vinny lit a stick of dynamite and threw it at the crowd of Shadows clawing at the drill. Some melted into the ground and scurried away, and the rest were caught in an explosion. While it destroyed a good number of Heartless, it also shook the drill.
"Vinny, how about we throw the explosives away from the drill?' Dr. Sweet asked in his deep, yet pleasant voice.
Vinny shrugged. "You want monsters to go boom? This is how monsters go boom."
A Stone Sentry pulsed its energy-like projectile at Kairi. She rolled out of the way, but another Stone Sentry intercepted her. It grabbed her with its claws and hoisted her up. Kairi grunted in pain and frustration as the Heartless' sharp appendages dug into her skin. It rammed her, simultaneously releasing her, and Kairi fell backwards and landed on her back.
"Oof!" she exclaimed as she landed on the hard stone. She jumped back to her feet, but another Stone Sentry pulsed at her, and the time, the mask-like shape of energy connected. The blast sent Kairi airborne, and she landed on a pile of sharp rocks. She yelped in agony as she landed on one of her arms, then rolled to a stop. She gritted her teeth and shut her eyes tight as she winced in pain, then tried to push herself up, only to feel a powerful agony in the arm she landed on. She screamed and fell back to the ground, opening her eyes and seeing her arm bruised and bleeding, as well as bent in a very unhealthy-looking shape. She was a bit confused, as she had taken harder hits before without issue, then realized that the Heartless' energy attack had drastically weakened her physical abilities, both in offense and defense. "All the more reason not to get hit by that anymore," she thought to herself. With her free arm, she raised Destiny's Embrace above her head and cast a Cure spell. She felt strength return to her body and glanced over to her arm. It was still bruised and had a sizable cut on her bicep, but it was shaped correctly now and hurt exponentially less.
Kairi pushed herself back up to see the Stone Sentries changing at her. Kairi quickly evaded, allowing all three to pass her. She spun around and rammed the closest one with her Keyblade, forcing it back and off the path, falling onto the spikes below. The other two turned around and blasted energy attacks at her, but Kairi avoided them and rapidly closed the distance to one of them. She slashed repeatedly with her weapon, chipping away at its stony body, until she swung a powerful blow and smashed it to pieces. The last Stony Sentry clawed at her, and Kairi jumped back to avoid its flailing black limbs.
Sora smote another Driller Mole and a few Shadows with relative ease. A few Driller Moles burrowed back into the ground, and the Shadows assumed their two-dimensional forms and moved like their namesake across the stone. Sora stabbed into the stone, destroying one Driller Mole beneath his feet.
"Thunder!" he cried. The lightning bolt traveled through his Keyblade into the ground. While the Shadows were unaffected, the remaining three Driller Moles were shot out of the floor by stress of electricity, all jolting and seizing from the shock. Sora pulled his Keyblade out of the rock and spun around swinging it, defeating all three before they even reached the ground. The Shadows emerged, and Sora began striking and defeating them.
The final Stone Sentry chased Kairi back towards the drill, Charging and blasting. Kairi managed to avoid its blue energy attacks, but was hit with a ram and skidded back. She stabbed at the Heartless and pushed it back. As she readied another swing, she saw an object fall between her and her foe. They both glanced at it, and Kairi recognized it as a dark red stick of dynamite with a sizzling lit fuse. She quickly dove out of the way as the stick exploded, blasting the Heartless with enough force to pulverize it into pebbles and release its trapped Heart.
Kairi stood back up and looked up at the drill. Donald and Vinny gave her thumbs-up, and she smiled and did the same.
Commander Rourke leaned out of the driver's side window of the drill. "Who's not dead? Sound off?" he said. There were unenthusiastic murmurs from the crew, and Milo came out from hiding behind a boulder.
"That was excellent!" he shouted over to Sora and Kairi.
Sora smiled and waved back. Unbeknownst to him, another Stone Sentry materialized behind him, and was approaching stealthily.
Milo gasped and pointed. Kairi looked in Sora's direction and did the same. "Sora, look out!" she yelled.
Sora whirled around as the Stone Sentry lunged for him. Sora began to raise his Keyblade, but before he could get it up, something fell on top of the Heartless and pinned it to the ground. With a quick motion from the figure, the Heartless smashed and was destroyed.
Sora stepped back. In front of him was a humanoid figure, wearing what appeared to be fur and stone armor. Their entire head and chest was covered by a large mask-like plate, which wore an angry expression and glowed blue, almost like the Stone Sentries. It held a spear-like weapon with a hooked end.
"What is that?" Milo whispered to himself.
Sora and the figure stared at each other for a moment, then the figure quickly turned and bolted away.
"Wait!" Sora called, giving chase. Kairi gripped her Keyblade tighter and ran after him.
"Where are they going?" Helga Sinclair yelled from the drill.
"There's somebody else down here!" Milo called to her. "We should follow them!" He turned and closed the Shepherd's Journal, then jogged after Sora and Kairi. Donald and Goofy jumped out of their compartments and did the same, and the crew of the drill, along with the Commander and the Lieutenant, slowly and reluctantly disembarked.
Sora gave chase to the figure, which was jumping with ease over the jagged rocks and large boulders. It expertly climbed a narrow, rocky ledge up to a part in the stone wall. Sora jumped on the rock wall and ran up, boosting himself with a bit of magic to make the jump. He entered the opening, and saw the figure vanish into light at the end of the short tunnel. Sora flung himself into the light, and suddenly the cavernous, stuffy air of the caves dissipated, and fresh, moist oxygen filled his lungs. He looked out in front of him, and slowed to a jog and then a stop. He stood frozen in amazement as he stared out.
Kairi, Donald, and Goofy helped each other scale the rocks, and Goofy pushed down some rocks to clear a steep path up for their allies. They followed Sora into the light, and similarly stopped and stared in awe beside him. When Milo and the others reached the top, they too looked around with wonder and amazement.
In front of them, across a wooden bridge, was an entire city on top of a watery plateau. Waterfalls poured from all sides of the circular structure, and pyramid-like structures sat triumphantly on the waters.
"Oh my…" Milo muttered.
"It's beautiful," Kairi stated.
"I can't believe it…" Rourke said quietly.
As Sora was taking in the magnificent sight, he heard rushing behind him. He turned around, Keyblade still in his grip, and saw the masked figure descending from foliage above them. Sora raised his weapon, and everyone else became alerted to the figure's presence and turned around as well. The figure landed and pointed its spear-like weapon at the group. Suddenly, a voice emerged from the figure. It was a feminine voice, speaking in a language Sora could not understand. It sounded angry and confrontational.
"Milo, you're the expert," Audrey Ramirez said, nudging Milo. "What's she saying? Who is she?"
"She's got to be an Atlantean!" Milo exclaimed. He slowly and gently began to approach, keeping his hands raised. He spoke back to her in the strange language. Sora kept his Keyblade ready for if the negotiations went sour.
The Atlantean lowered their weapon, and then slowly removed their mask. Underneath was a pretty, dark-skinned woman with long white hair. She wore golden earrings, a blue fabric skirt and bikini-like top, and a necklace with a glowing blue crystal on it. Light blue, curved tattoos decorated her cheek. She spoke again to Milo in a cautious tone, and Milo responded. The woman's face softened, and the two began a brief, pleasant conversation.
"What's she saying?" Donald asked.
"She's welcoming us," Milo replied without turning away from the woman.
"My name is Kida," the woman then said in a language everyone understood. She smiled and raised her arms. "Welcome to the city of Atlantis!"
Kida was kind, and gladly showed her visitors across the wooden bridge to the city on the water. She led them quickly to a large pyramid near the outskirts of the city, and showed them inside. Sora looked around in amazement. The structures were large and vast, and were teeming with vegetation and color. Statues of people adorned the grand rooms, and cloths of pink and purple hung from the mossy ceilings. Kida led the way into a large room. Glistening blue water covered the floor, with flat stones making paths and symbols. On the far end was a stone throne, draped in cloths and jewels. Upon it sat an elderly man with a flowing white beard and a body adorned with blue tattoos. He wore regal blue and grey robes, and held a curved wooden scepter in his his eyes were faded and white, he still kept his gaze over his chamber.
Kida kneeled before the man, and Milo did the same. Sora saw what they were doing and knelt down as well, and motioned for Kairi, Donald, and Goofy to do it as well. Rourke, Helga, and the others kept standing, but stood back.
"Father, I have brought the visitors," Kida declared.
"Kida, you know the rules," the man said in a gravelly, almost familiar voice. "We do not allow outsiders here."
"But Father," Kida replied, "they can help us. Some of them wield the-" She then spoke a word that Sora again could not understand. "They can help us fight back the Corruption."
"We do not need their help," the man, who Sora presumed was the king, rebutted.
"Excuse me?" Rourke interjected, stepping forward. "Your majesty, may I just say that it is an honor to be welcomed into your city."
"You presume much to believe you are welcome here," the king growled back.
Kairi felt unease, and was not used to not being welcomed to a new world. She remembered what Aslan had told them about the Black Cauldron, and knew that they would have to be on good terms with the Atlantan people in order to get the help they needed. She did not know that Sora was thinking similarly.
"But your majesty, be reasonable…" Rourke continued.
Sora was about to speak up so that the Commander would not ruin their chances, but Milo did so for him, standing up and speaking gently to his superior. "Commander, trust me, we should do as he says."
Rourke sighed. "May I respectfully request that we be given time to rest and resupply, so we may leave without issue?"
The king sighed as well, but reluctantly agreed. "Very well," he said. "One night."
"Thank you, your majesty," the Commander replied, bowing slightly and turning to leave. Helga and his crew followed, with Milo trailing behind.
Sora rose, but decided to try his luck with the king. "Your majesty?" he asked carefully.
"Were you not instructed to leave?" the king said angrily.
"I apologize, sir, but our mission is of great importance," Sora said, trying to sound as sophisticated as he could. Kairi could not help but giggle slightly at his attempt at being proper.
"You are one of the welders of the-" He said the word that Sora could not understand again. He must have noticed the confusion on Sora's face and clarified. "The Great Key."
Sora nodded. "That's right. My friends and I are trying to protect everywhere we travel from Dark forces called the Heartless. We've been told that a dark and ancient weapon was kept here, and we want to get it so no forces of Darkness can get to it. We know they're searching for it."
"I know the weapon of which you speak," the king growled. "A Cauldron of Corruption, a vessel of evil."
"Yes!" Sora said. "We'd like to retrieve it, and store it in a safe place."
"It is no longer here," the king said bluntly.
Sora's Heart dropped as Kairi's eyes shot up towards the king in disbelief. Donald and Goofy sighed.
"W-what do you mean?" Sora asked, stumbling over his words.
"When another one of your kind stored it here in Atlantis, it proved to be too much of a temptation," the king explained. "And a conduit for the Corruption. So we rid ourselves of it."
"Please, sir," Sora pleaded. "Do you know where it is?"
"Such knowledge has been lost to us," the king replied. "And we will not seek it out. The Corruption it brought forth still linger like a plague in Atlantis. It is better off unfound."
"Sir, someone else, an ancient evil, is the one sending the Darkness here," Sora tried to explain. He assumed the "Corruption" was just the Atlanteans' term for the Heartless. "If we get the Black Cauldron, and find a Keyhole in your city, we can stop the Heartless from appearing again!"
Kida looked to her father, hoping he would hear what Sora was saying and agree to let them help.
"We do not need your aid," the king growled. "It will be a dark day before the people of Atlantis are forced to turn to outsiders for help, especially ones who wield the Great Keys like the one who cursed us." He tapped his staff on the ground. "I suggest you join your companions. You will leave Atlantis with them."
"But your majesty…" Sora sputtered.
Donald stood up and gently grabbed Sora's arm. Sora looked down at him, and Donald shook his head. Sora sighed and lowered his head in defeat, then bowed slightly. "Yes, your majesty," he said dejectedly. He turned and walked out, with Donald, Goofy, and Kairi following behind. As they left, Kairi looked back to see Kida watching them leave with look of sadness on her face.
Sora kicked a rock. It skidded along the stone and down some steep stairs.
"Darn it!" he exclaimed. "We came so far, and now that guy won't even let us help! We're lucky if the Horned King hasn't found the Black Cauldron already!"
Goofy crossed his arms. "So, what are we gonna do?" Goofy asked.
"I doesn't matter what he said!" Donald quacked angrily. "We came too far just for him to blow us off! We'll search the city anyway!"
"That may not be the best course of action…" Kairi said.
Sora was about to say something when he heard footsteps approach. He looked up to the stairs and saw Milo ascend them.
"Hey," Milo said. "How'd your meeting go?"
"No better than yours," Sora huffed, crossing his arms.
"Sorry to hear that," Milo replied. "I'm going to wait here until someone comes out, and demand some answers. You're free to join me."
Kairi shrugged. "Is making demands any better?" she asked.
Suddenly, a figure dropped down from above, startling everyone, but they relaxed when they saw it was Kida. She looked at Sora, and then Milo.
"I believe you can help us," she said. "Follow me!" She took off down the pyramid stairs. Sora, Milo, and Kairi did not hesitate to chase after her, with Donald and Goofy bringing up the rear. Kida ran down the stairs to the base, then diverged from the stone path and ducked into foliage. Sora and Milo weaved through the vines and farms, pushing through to keep up. Kairi stumbled on a low branch, but kept up.
Finally, the foliage ended in a small clearing. A carved stone pillar sat collapsed nearby, and a wall of vines covered an entire edge of the clearing.
Kida slowed to a stop in the middle of the clearing, and Milo and Sora joined her. Kairi followed next to Sora, and they could hear Donald and Goofy struggling in the vines behind them. There was a loud angry quack followed by a thud and the rusting of leaves, and Sora and Kairi could not help but laugh.
"My father says that we do not need help, but he is wrong," Kida said. "The One with the Great Key brought the Cauldron of Corruption here because they knew we could defend it, and protect other realms by sealing back its Darkness. But somewhere along the way, Atlantis began to only care about itself. We acted with cowardice, and simply removed the burden from our path without taking into consideration the harm it could do to others. It was around that time that Atlantean minds closed, and our very culture began to fade."
Kida walked over to the vines and pulled them back, revealing two murals surrounded by Atlantean writing. One was of what appeared to be a glowing blue crystal or star, and the other was of the Black Cauldron, surrounded by wisps of black and green smoke and with red running down its sides. It was framed in a green triangular shape.
Sora pointed at the picture of the Cauldron. "That's what we're looking for!"
Kida nodded. "These murals tell the story of what happened."
Milo inspected the murals, running his finger over the writing. "This is fascinating!"
Kida stopped and stared at him. "You… can read it?"
Milo laughed and pushed up his glasses. "Yes, I can read Atlantean, just like you," he said, turning to face her. He then noticed her expression of curiosity and awe.
"You… can't, can you?" he said.
Kida looked back to the murals. "No one can," she said. "Such knowledge has been lost to us, along with our stories and histories."
Donald and Goofy fell out of the foliage, Donald grumbling as he brushed leaves off of his feathers.
"Milo, what does it say about the Black Cauldron?" Kairi asked.
Milo read the Atlantan out loud in their language, and Kida translated.
"The Cauldron of Corruption, a beacon for Darkness and Evil, was forced through a gateway to another world of gold and jewels. It was concealed on a decrepit vehicle, left to be forgotten."
Kairi turned to Sora. "I remember now. Aslan said that this world would contain a gateway to the Black Cauldron, not necessarily the Cauldron itself."
"But where's the gateway?" Sora asked.
"That's the weird part," Milo said, still reading. "The inscription is pretty detailed up until that part. It just describes a Great Door, opening and closing, opening and closing. Weirder still, the inscription says that the technology of the Great Door wasn't even Atlantean."
Kida's eyes widened. "There is one thing here that is not Atlantean. It is some kind of platform over on the other edge of the city. That might lead to the Door you are speaking of."
"We should go!" Sora said excitedly. He turned to run back into the foliage.
"Wait!" Kairi said, stopping him. She turned back to Milo and Kida. "Does it say anything about something called a Keyhole?"
"Oh yeah," Sora said, running his hand through his hair with an embarrassed smile.
Milo shook his head. "No. The other inscription is about…" He read to himself before taking an awestruck step back. "The Heart of Atlantis!"
Sora and Kairi glanced at each other. Donald and Goofy did the same.
"The Heart of the World?" Goofy said.
Milo looked at it excitedly. "It says it's the power source, no, the source of life for Atlantis! Light and Darkness passes through it!"
"Could it be?" Kairi asked Sora. "That we'd have to find the Heart of the World to lock it?"
"I'm not sure," Sora said. "But let's get the Black Cauldron first. We don't know what the Door is, and it could be affected by us sealing the Heart of the World, so we might only have one chance at it."
Sora glanced over to Donald and Goofy, asking their opinions with his expression. They nodded in agreement. As Sora stared at his friends, he thought he saw one of the vines behind them move. Before Sora could say anything, he heard a yell behind him. He whirled around to see a vine wrap itself around Milo and hoist him upwards. Kida pulled out a dagger, but Milo was left dangling above the ground, kicking.
Kairi activated Destiny's Embrace and turned to Donald and Goofy, only to see two vines wrap around them and hoist them up. Goofy collared and Donald sucked with anger as their arms were pinned. Donald squirmed and struggled.
A mass moved in the foliage above. As Sora activated Lightkeeper, he, Kairi, and Kida all moved away from the foliage and stood back-to-back in the center of the clearing, their respective weapons ready. The mass, entangled in vine-like appendages, lowered down nearby. It was a Vine Wraith Heartless: a black humanoid form clothed in squirming vines of green and brown, two yellow eyes peering out from the shadows of its vegetative hood. It raised its arms, revealing its thin black arms that, instead of ending in fingers, were connected to vines that strung up like puppet strings back upwards. A mess of vines fell down towards Sora, Kairi, and Kida, slithering like snakes and cracking like whips.
A vine shot out to ensnare Kairi, but she slashed it with her Keyblade. One did the same towards Kida, but she cut it with her dagger, As she extended her arm to slash at the vine, another one reached out and wrapped itself around her arm. It began pulling, attempting to drag her towards the tangled web of foliage on the edge of the clearing, but Kida planted her heels and resisted.
Sora quickly cut the vine that had captured Kida, but left himself open. Several vines shot forward and wrapped around his arms and even one around the Keyblade, pulling Sora. This time, Kairi jumped up and cut the vines. Suddenly, all of the Vine Wraith's appendages began to close in.
"Stand back!" Sora ordered. Kairi and Kida stepped back, and Sora rushed forward and cast a Fire spell, surrounding his body in rings of flames. The vines caught quickly, and began to burn. The Vine Wraith screeched as its appendages flailed, and Kairi and Kida rushed in. The Vine Wraith tried to shoot out flaming vines to stop them, but they both avoided the attacks. Kairi reached the Heartless first and rammed it with her Keyblade. Kida jumped up and vertically slashed at the monster, sending it stumbling back. The Vine Wraith leaned back, then pink-and-purple flower suddenly bloomed on its viny exterior. Kairi instinctively jumped back, but Kida hesitated. The flower puffed a cloud of purple poison, and it engulfed Kida. She coughed and sputtered as the Heartless readied a vine whip and struck her, throwing her backwards.
Sora ran forward while the creature was distracted, and stabbed at the flower, piercing it and causing it to instantly wilt. The Heartless readied another vine whip, but Kairi jumped on top of the Vine Wraith and began repeatedly striking it on the head with her Keyblade. It squirmed and tried to throw her off, but Sora slashed at it one final time, cutting into the writhing vines. The Heartless collapsed, and it and all its vine-like appendages vanished into black mist. Milo, Donald, and Goofy all yelped as they were dropped, but landed relatively unhurt.
Kida groaned and stood up, still coughing and clearing her throat. "The Corruption grows," she coughed. "We had best hurry, so that you may seal the path from the Darkness."
"Best idea I've heard all day," Donald quacked, straightening his hat. "Let's go!" With that shout, he ran back the way they had come, and everyone else followed.
Atlantis was truly a beautiful city. As they ran towards the direction Kida pointed them in, Sora was able to take the time to admire its flowing water features, grand statues, luscious foliage, colorful flowers, and open air. Sora had to constantly remind himself that he was underground, as the top of the stone was so high up it could be mistaken for a blue sky, reflecting the water and natural blue glow of the city itself.
Though they faced a few Shadows along the way, the group made good time to the other side of the city. Sora could see the edge of the main island, with water flowing from the stones and raining in the waterfalls off of the edges. Kida, who had since taken the lead, slowed to a stop and waved the others to do the same. Sora stopped next to her and looked out in the direction she was, only seeing water in front of them.
"Well, where is it?" Donald asked.
Kida pointed to a long strip of metal on the edge of the stone. "There. We're not sure what it is, or how to activate it."
Sora walked over and knelt down. The spray of the water reminded him of the beach back home on Destiny Islands. He inspected the metal. It was about twice as long as he was tall, and was decorated with circles connected by lines. In the stone in front of the metal was carvings of Atlantean writing, as well as what looked like a small hole.
"Milo!" Sora called. "Can you read this?"
Milo jogged over and kneeled down next to Sora. He ran his finger over the writing and began to read in Atlantean. Kida walked over and looked over him.
"I've secretly been experimenting with it," she said. "But no matter what I try, I get nothing."
"Okay, let's see here…" Milo said. "Place crystal into slot…" he read.
"Yes, yes, I have done that," Kida said.
"Okay, did you turn the crystal a quarter-turn back?" Milo asked.
"Yes, yes," Kida assured.
"While pressing the button?" Milo asked.
"What button?" Kida asked, leaning closer.
"It says something about a button," Milo said, underlining the writing with his finger.
Sora glanced at the metal strip, and noted all the circles. He reached forward and ran his finger across the textured metal, and rested his finger on one of the circles in front of Milo. He moved his higher, and the circle jiggled slightly.
"I think I might have found it," Sora said. "Kida, can you try your crystal?"
Kida complied and removed her necklace. She pushed the glowing blue crystal into the slot and turned it. As she did so, For pressed down on the circle. It slid downwards, and clicked. There was a pulse of blue energy from the cravings in the stone, and Milo and Kida jumped back. The decorative markings on the metal strip began to glow, but instead of the Atlantean blue, they glowed a lime green. Kida pulled her crystal out, but the metal still glowed. Sora looked out onto the water to see what appeared to be lines of green light heading from all directions towards the strip, and as soon as the lights reached the shore, they converged into a single, glowing line of bright green light that shot up from the metal strip and into the air. Sora stepped back, and Kairi activated her Keyblade, preparing for the worst.
The line of light travelled a few dozen feet above the ground, then stopped. The light expanded, and suddenly formed into a glowing green triangle. However, in the center of the triangle was not the Atlantean waters, but instead what appeared to be a massive spherical chamber with high-tech looking vents dispersing purple energy. Sora could only see the top of it, and the rest was obscured by what looked like a copper-colored platform on the other side.
"Wow," Milo muttered. Kida muttered her amazement in Atlantean.
"Gawrsh, what is it?" Goofy asked.
"It's some kind of portal," Kairi said.
"It's not like the doors that we've seen before, like the one to Timeless River," Sora said. "It… leads to a completely separate world."
"It looks like the mural that Kida showed us!" Kairi exclaimed, pointing out the triangular shape.
"Then it must be where the Black Cauldron is," Sora said. "So it's where we need to go."
"I shall go with you," Kida said, pulling out her dagger.
"No," Sora said, waving her down. "We need you here to keep the Heartless away from here. If they shut down the Door while we're still on the other side, we won't be able to help Atlantis."
Kida put her dagger away. "Very well," she complied. She and Milo stepped back as Kairi, Donald, and Goofy stepped in front of the portal. Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons, and Sora activated Lightkeeper. He inhaled sharply, then let out a long exhale. He looked over at Kairi.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded. "As I'll ever be."
Sora nodded back, then looked at the Door and stepped forward.
Maleficent looked into her staff. She was growing impatient. She had searched many worlds already looking for the Black Cauldron as she was instructed to do, as well as a treasure that she alone sought. As she was told to do, she summoned Heartless in each world she visited, allowing them to spread Darkness. However, she had not found any signs of the Black Cauldron or her item. She now sat, impatient and frustrated, deciding where to go next.
As she gazed into the green orb atop her staff, Pete lumbered into the room. "Maleficent?"
Maleficent's evil eyes gazed up in a frustrated, but inquisitive look.
"I think I might know where we can look next," he said. "It's a bit of a long trip, but there's this world where all kinds of treasures are stashed. Might be worth taking a look."
"Very well," Maleficent said, standing up and letting her black robes flow around her. "Take us there."