Limit: Part Five: Before the Storm
In the darkest dungeon of the Forbidden Mountain, Maleficent, Ursula, Jafar, and Hades were together in one room. The Horned King's ghostly hologram was in the center.
"Did you evacuate your cohorts?" asked the Horned King.
"We did as you have asked. Our cohorts have returned to their specific worlds. All except Yzma's henchman and the man with the silly hat." said Maleficent.
"Then they are the ones who have been informing the one they call Riku about your fortress." said the Horned King.
"Your grace, may I ask why you have chosen us specifically?" asked Jafar.
Ursula smiled at the old man and laughed. "Jafar! I'm surprised you don't know. We are the darkest ones here! Why, I'm surprised the old queen Grimhilde is not here for this momentous occasion." said Ursula.
"Grimhilde was here? Is she still alive?" asked Jafar.
"No, I'm sure she's dead as a bump on a log. Trust me. I know." said Hades.
The Horned King folded his arms. "The fortress must be surrounded by the most powerful Heartless you have." he said.
"You didn't answer the question my liege." said Jafar.
"As the Sea Witch mentioned, you four are the darkest and most powerful witches and wizards of the universe. And your hearts are as black as mine. The other villains that were here had some little light in them. There is no room for weakness nor light in my new organization." said the Horned King.
"Well this will make things easier for all of us then," said Jafar.
"What about Vanitas?" asked Ursula.
"Do not worry. I have weakened his powers for the time being. He won't harm us now." said Maleficent.
"Then what about that moody teenager Max?" said Hades.
"Hades, you are the ruler of the underworld. Surely there is a way to pull his strings." said the Horned King.
Hades smiled, revealing his perfectly sharp teeth and his blue flame on his head began to glow.
"There is a way. I can turn creatures into corpses and all that crap." said Hades.
"Oh Hades, you shouldn't say such nasty words. We are under contract." said Ursula, chuckling.
"Are you talking about the Disney Contract? Woman please, this is a fanfic. Anything goes. What's the harm in having a little bit of risque fun? I got to cuss a lot in an experimental fanfic and it was GLORIOUS!" said Hades.
The Horned King quickly clapped his hands loudly. "Then it's settled. Hades, you do something about the boy. Maleficent, keep Vanitas powerless as you can, and the rest of you, Jafar and Ursula, create more Heartless. Use my blood if you have to. Make everyone who invades the fortress suffer."
….
Meanwhile, Pete, PJ, Summer, Axel, Roxanne, Red and Max were still in Twilight Town. Axel was in a motel room resting while Pete and PJ watched over him. Roxanne, Max and Red were in the lobby, waiting for news. Summer on the other hand was on edge. She did not trust Pete and Max. The fact that they were together made her worry and think a lot. And with Sky in the hands of that awful Vanitas…. The thought scared her. She grabbed her own wayfinder, but it did not shine at all. If only she could open portals. She wasn't at that stage yet.
"Please Max, you have to go to your father. He's been missing you all this time." said Roxanne.
Max didn't answer and Red had just about enough.
"Why did you come back anyway? Why do you care?" asked Red.
"I'm doing Pete a favor. He's helped me in more ways than one." said Max.
"Really? Pete. The traitor to the Kingdom? The man who mentally abused your friend, PJ. He was severely damaged." said Red.
Summer listened in to their conversation by standing close to a large pole. The motel lobby was empty. Even the receptionist went on break. Security in the motel was awful; thought Summer.
"I have my own things to deal with." said Max.
"You are impossible to talk to." said Red.
Roxanne held Red's hand and spoke to Max seriously. "Max. I'm pregnant." she said seriously.
It took a moment for Max to process this information. Red clenched his teeth and Summer's eyes went wide, seeing the drama unfold. Pete and PJ, who were just coming from the hallway stopped in their tracks when Roxanne said this.
"This is….. I don't know what to say." said Max, holding his hands toward his stomach.
"This is a huge reason for you to come back home. I can't have this baby without you." said Roxanne.
Max didn't say a word, but the tension was high in the air. He then spoke out quickly.
"Roxanne. I'm sorry. I'll pay for damages. I'll just pay for what you need, then…." Max stopped talking.
Roxanne held her hands towards her face and fought back tears. Red then stood up and folded his arms.
"You coward. Your just going to pay, then leave? That's it? What about her? What about your baby?" Red asked.
"Give me a break Red. I'm…. not going to be responsible for something I wasn't fully aware of. I have my own stuff to deal with." said Max, once again trying to escape.
Pete tried to intervene. "Max… think about what your doing. If Goofy were here…."
"DON'T MENTION HIM RIGHT NOW!" barked Max.
Pete stood silent and PJ summoned his shield. Max saw this and stared at PJ.
Red on the other hand quickly did the unexpected. He walked up to Max, and punched him straight in the face.
Roxanne gasped. Pete and PJ were stunned and Summer stood her ground, in case something happened.
Max got up and nodded. "You want to fight me Red? You want to end this?" he asked.
"I had to do it. I had to knock some sense into you." said Red.
Max chuckled, then he returned the punch at Red. He fell to the floor and PJ helped him right up.
"How can you do this? Why are you so heartless?!" cried PJ.
"Heartless? You're calling me heartless? All I wanted was a life free from the battles and the stupidity of this cult we are all in! Guardians of light! Keyblade Wielders! The outside worlds! I was expected to fight! But I didn't want this life! I wanted a better one! One where I don't have to worry about Heartless invading a world or hurting people! I just wanted to get away from it all!" cried Max.
"No. That is not true. You wanted to get away from Dad." said Red.
"Shut up." said Max.
"You never loved him! He loved you so much, he showered you with affection and unconditional love! It's not fair that you left him! The way you hurt him. You broke his heart! And not just Dad's. What about Roxanne!?" cried Red.
Max looked at Roxanne and watched her sob. Summer walked up to her and held her tightly.
"Roxanne, I'm sorry. But this is not the life for me." he said.
Roxanned kept crying and Pete quickly stood in front of him.
"You ungrateful brat! After all that was done for you, you're just going to leave? Just like that?" he cried.
"Sorry Mr. Pete. Just like that." said Max coldly.
Red got up and pushed Max. "Leave us! Leave!" he cried.
Max then pushed him back and they began to brawl. Red and Max threw each other punches and kept saying terrible things to one another.
Summer had enough.
Just then, Max pulled something from his pocket and quickly ran to Red. Red gasped out loud and it took a moment for everyone to realize that Red was just stabbed by a dagger.
Roxanne screamed as poor Red fell to the ground, putting pressure on his wound and Max stood there, with his dagger drenched in his brother's blood. Pete and PJ ran to Red's aid and Summer had enough. She summoned her Keyblade and shot a beam of yellow light against Max.
The light pushed the fool out the door and with all her might, she opened a portal. A light portal, similar to Sky's. The portal swallowed Max and he fell through. Summer then closed the portal, almost as if she knew how to do it. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She then turned around to help Red, who was held by Roxanne.
"Red, stay with us." said Roxanne, pushing back her tears. Red tried to speak, but he was too weak to move. Summer used a cure spell on Red, hoping it may work. It did not. But it did stop the bleeding for a bit.
"We have to take him to a doctor. He's not safe here." said Pete.
"I know where to go! I live in this town." said Summer.
Everyone quickly got to work to give Red the medical attention he needed. As this was happening, back in Axel's room, he moaned and tossed around in bed.
He felt the darkness in that lobby. It was way too dangerous. Axel woke up and shook his head. "Sky…" he whispered.