Clear Skies
Chapter 5: Group Projects
-"The closer you get to Light, the greater your shadow becomes."-
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A/N: Been a while, huh? Have you all played the last KH3 DLC bundle? I had a lot of fun with it, and it certainly helped (a little) with my issues with Kairi's portrayal in canon. I still think I can do better, though, if I haven't already.
EDIT: The next chapter, which is from Team Roxas' perspective has taken a significantly darker turn than I expected, so the chat segments in this chapter have been updated to reflect the new scenario.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff. All rights reserved to the owners, and all that.
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{Team Riku's POV} [Trial Worlds] Lotus University: Atrium...
The first thing Lambda did upon entering Trial World II was run a long-range scan. "Scanning...referencing...thought so! This Trial World's layout is an exact match for the Training World it's based on. And that means I know where to find the coolest thing ever! Firaga!" She sent an exploding fireball straight up into the ceiling, bringing down a rain of plaster, wood, and Shadows, the latter of which got mopped up by Riku and the King. "Looks like there are a lot of minor enemies, but I'm not getting any readings strong enough to be the 'boss'. Anyway, follow me!"
She equipped her Glider and pulled Riku and Mickey up through the hole she'd made, then set off down the left-hand hallway. She led them right past the Arena...and directly to the Mecha Hangar.
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Mecha Hangar...
Lambda kicked open the door and gestured widely to the huge room...the huge, empty room. "Ta-dah! ...Wait, there's nothing here? Crud."
"I wouldn't say there's 'nothing'..." Riku pointed out a mixed army of armored Heartless appearing between the heroes and the hangar door.
"Double crud." Lambda started scanning. "Targets analyzed: 40 C-class Armored Knights, 2 B-class Powered Armors, 2 B-class Rock Trolls, and 1 A-class Zip Slasher. We've fought the Armored Knights and Powered Armors before, but the Rock Trolls are at least a little new; they're big, bulky giants which fight like big, bulky giants. Dodge their slow axe swings and grind them down! As for the Zip Slasher - here it comes!"
Lambda interposed her Petal Blades as a wall between herself and the Zip Slasher. It could have been mistaken for another Armored Knight if not for its dual sword-arms and its much greater speed and aggression. It performed a spin attack followed by a double stab, grinding against Lambda's blades. "I'll keep this one busy! It's no Stalwart Blade; I can keep up with this level of swordplay. Might take a while to bring down its ridiculous S-tier defenses on my own, though." Lambda sent half of her Petal Blades forward to slash along the Zip Slasher's sides while keeping the other four blades close by for defense.
Mickey flipped into the middle of the Armored Knight platoon and started tearing the lesser Heartless apart like a little furry tornado of Light. "I'll handle the small fry! Riku, do ya think you're up to fighting those four big ones?"
"I was hoping you'd ask!" Riku leaped over his friends' battles and landed right in the middle of the largest foes.
Lambda sighed, "This is almost boring." Block, counter. Block, counter; the Zip Slasher seemed to have only one move. "My question is, how did these Emblem Heartless get down here in the Realm of Darkness? Weren't their kind manufactured in Radiant Garden?"
Mickey annihilated the last stragglers from the group he was fighting with a single blast. "Do ya think it could be because we took that crystal thing back to our Realm?" He fired a few Pearls to support Lambda, but the Zip Slasher just batted them away with its spin attack.
"Maybe. It might just be part of this illusory Trial World, though. What really worries me is that the Realm of Darkness somehow copied two of the Training Worlds, when even Xehanort didn't know about them. Is the Realm of Darkness...watching us?" Lambda blocked, countered, and blasted the Zip Slasher with a focused burst from her Braid Beam, staggering it long enough for Mickey to get in a jumping spin attack.
"If it is, then let's give it a show to remember!" Riku goaded a Rock Troll into knocking the head off of a Powered Armor, causing its floating limbs to lose cohesion and drop to the ground, where he blasted them with Dark Riser. Then he ignited Bladecharge and bisected the Powered Torso. The other Rock Troll tried to bring its axe down vertically, but Riku teleported behind it and chipped away at its leg armor with a Shadow Strike.
The other Powered Armor tried to spin its Gauntlets at him, but Replica put a Dark Shield in the way. "They can certainly keep us on our toes...but can these guys really be the biggest challenge here? We're not even using a quarter of this room to fight them."
"Don't jinx it, please. Tow Option!" With two hooks, Lambda caught the Zip Slasher in the middle of its predictable spin attack and lifted it helplessly off the ground, letting her whale on it with all eight Petal Blades until it finally popped with surprisingly little fanfare, aside from leaving behind a whopping 1200 munny.
"Okay, we're ready to help you out, Riku!" Mickey turned to look, and saw that Riku and Replica had already destroyed all four boss-sized enemies with an extra-long salvo of Dark Cannon blasts. The King sighed to himself. "It never fails. I'm always either too fast or too slow."
Lambda turned in the other direction. "Proximity alert: incoming Heartless from the hallway outside!"
The doors broke open under a tide of worthless cannon fodder. Mickey blanched. "There's gonna be no end to 'em!"
"No need to be so dramatic." Replica blocked the doorway with a Dark Wall. "There, now you just have to blast 'em once."
Mickey did so. "LIGHT! I have to wonder, is this cheating?"
"No, I'll show you cheating! Keep the rest of them outside for a minute, I've got a plan." Lambda equipped her Glider and flew up to the command room overlooking the hangar, where teachers and maintenance personnel could manage the giant mechas if there were any people or mechas here.
Even so, there was a computer terminal up here, and Lambda hacked in through it to access the Lotus U intranet. "Surely the Realm of Darkness wouldn't simulate a computer network in this trial if it didn't want us hacking it," she rationalized. "Oh, look what we have here - a self-destruct program for the school! Let's see how it performs. Aaand...CLICK!"
Suddenly the lights overhead turned red and started pulsing on and off. A pre-recorded female voice announced over hidden loudspeakers: "Self-destruct sequence activated. All students and faculty, please evacuate immediately. Time until detonation of all campus facilities: Three minutes."
Lambda swooped back down to the doorway. "You heard the lady! Replica, clear the wall. We've got three minutes to push through the chumps outside and get back to the entrance!"
Riku glared at her with equal parts exasperation and desperation. "Couldn't you have just set it to detonate remotely?"
Lambda laughed nervously. "...Well, not anymore, I can't. Oops!"
Replica removed the Dark Wall and used a Dark Burst to briefly clear out the hallway on the other side, then returned to Riku, his energy spent for now. "Go, go, go!"
"Protect Option!" Lambda surrounded the team in a barrier so they could shove their way past the miscellaneous throngs, but the hall was soon blocked by sheer traffic volume. A solid clot of glowing yellow eyes filled the hall from top to bottom. "Rrgh! Well then, we're taking a detour." Lambda dismissed her Protect Option and launched a Firaga behind them, blowing a hole in the floor that led to the identical hallway below.
As the team touched down on the first floor, an announcement informed them, "Two minutes to self-destruct. Evacuate immediately."
"Gee, we'll get right on that after we get past this jerk! Looks like we've found the boss." Riku pointed his Keyblade at a huge, boxy Infernal Engine making its way down the hall, blocking every inch of it. If they could get past it, the entrance to the Trial World would be right on the other side.
Lambda remembered fighting one of these back when Organization XIII was stirring up trouble. At least there wasn't any room for archers to spawn on top of it this time. "If I recall correctly, the battering ram inside its mouth is its weak point. And wouldn't you know it, there it is!" Team Riku unloaded all their most powerful projectile spells into the Infernal Engine's bludgeoning tongue, shoving the boss almost all the way out of the hall. "Alright, grab on tight!" Lambda grabbed her teammates, equipped her Glider, and summoned her Protect Option again to physically ram the Infernal Engine across the Atrium and into the opposite hallway. "See you later!"
"One minute to...Error. Self-destruct imminent..." The team blasted off through the front door of Lotus U and returned to the Hub, just as the school exploded behind them.
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Trial Worlds: Hub...
Lambda, Riku, and Mickey were flung into the Hub and collapsed in a heap next to the Dark Save Point. Behind them, the door to Lotus U buckled inward under a massive blast from the other side, then clicked as it locked itself permanently.
"Lambda?" Riku asked without looking her way.
"Yes, dear?" Lambda replied primly.
"Never do that again."
"Of course, dear."
Replica was less upset. Not having a physical body made it hard to take the possibility of injury seriously. "To be fair, it did work. What's next?"
The next door read:
Trial World III:
The Black Lagoon
Lambda blinked. "That doesn't sound familiar..."
"So it's not another rehash of the Training Worlds?" Riku guessed.
"Still, if it's just the one lagoon, we'll probably run into the boss right away. Are you guys up for a third round?"
"I will be by the time we've sent our report." Riku pulled out his Gummiphone and started texting.
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GummiNet Chatroom: Exploration Log...
Riku: [Photo: the destroyed door to Trial World II] We've finished the second one...pretty thoroughly. #TeamRiku #LotusU #SelfDestruct
Riku: Looks like we can't expect the same tricks for the rest, though... #TheBlackLagoon #BossRush
Lambda: I think Riku's mad at me for putting us on a timer to get out before I blew up the school.
Riku: What gave you that idea? #LuckyGuess
Roxas: u blew up the whole school?!
Lambda: It was the best I could do to clean up the hordes of Heartless in there, since all the mechas were missing. I would've preferred to stomp on them in a giant robot. #MissedOpportunities
Kairi: Neat, everyone's online! Xion, Namine wants to ask if you can still turn into your "giant form"? I have no idea what she's talking about, though. I was apparently between kidnappings on Destiny Islands at the time. #PrincessProblems
Sora: [Photo: A Speed-Type Gigas shooting a Power-Type Gigas] we've been piloting enough giant robots to go around! well, giant compared to us i guess. sorry for late reply #toybox #teamsora #gigas #coolestthingever #youngxehanort
Xion: Guys, we don't have time for that! Lea's DEAD! [screaming emoji] Or he would be, but Roxas saved his heart at the last minute. We still need a new body for him, though. #Marluxia #SneakAttack #Replicas
Hazama: Aw, man, he was my favorite :( Next time I see those bastards, some revenge is in order... :)
Roxas: does anyone know where the keyblade graveyard is? we have to get even back #vexen #replicaprogram
Mickey: I could bring you there, but we're still in the Realm of Darkness...what happened to Marluxia? Is he still there?
Xion: No, I gave him a pretty nasty wound and he retreated [angry emoji]. #FinalWeapon #Coward
Roxas: do you think it's safe for lea if we keep on our mission here for now? we found someone who may or may not be a new princess of heart #rapunzel #badasshairday
Riku: If anything, it sounds like we should come to you. #WorkingTogether
Roxas: no we'll handle this. you keep looking for aqua. she can find the keyblade graveyard too right?
Riku: Will do. We'll check back in soon!
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The Black Lagoon...
Defeat the World of Night!
Team Riku passed through the third door and took in the scenery on the other side.
True to the name, The Black Lagoon consisted of a lake of pitch-black...something that definitely wasn't water, surrounded by an endless wasteland. The boss was sailing on the surface of that inky ooze. Its vaguely boat-like shape, with the upper half of a giant, humanoid monster in place of sails, reminded Riku of the World of Chaos: the form that Ansem...er, X-Heartless...took to fight Sora, right around the time when Lambda first showed up in the Heart Timeline. The main difference was color scheme: the World of Chaos was mostly pink, while the World of Night was mostly blue. And of course, X-Heartless wasn't fused with the giant monster on the back. "Great. So not only is this boss more of a final boss, we have to find some way to fight it way out there without falling into this stuff."
"Target ID: World of Night. Threat level: A. Defense: SS, except for various weak points with a Defense rating of A. Speed: B. Strength: varies by section. It has a lot more weapons hidden all over it besides the C-class turrets it's using right now. But you're right; the real problem is getting close enough to fight it at all. Blizzard Option!" Lambda sent a snowflake-shaped drone over the lagoon, trailing an icy grind rail, but a series of cannons on the World of Night's deck shot the Option down before it could reach the boss, causing the grind rail to shatter. "Drat. That rules out my second idea - sending Options to pick it apart - too. And out of the four of us, I'm the only one who can fly that far. Mickey, do you have any long-range moves?"
"Nope. Pearl spells won't reach that far."
"Why don't we just teleport there with a Gate Between?" Riku asked.
"...Well, the reason for that is...because that's an excellent idea that I should've thought of first. Actually, we should've done that in the last world." Lambda groaned at herself and opened a Gate to bring Team Riku right onto the prow of the Heartless ship...or she tried to, but it turned out there was, in fact, a restriction on the use of Gates Between. They could only be used to pass between worlds, not within the same world.
Mickey sighed. "Gosh, I wish we all had Gliders, but I've checked with both of my Keyblades, and they don't have alternate forms."
Lambda thought about it. "Well, I could always fly us over with us all bubbled up on the bottom of a Protect Option barrier. We'd hardly look the part of a graceful flying force, but it'll get the job done."
"It'll have to do. Bubble us up, Lambda." She did. The flight was ponderously slow, and it was kind of awkward to maintain personal space with everyone rolling toward the bottom of the barrier, but they were safe; the World of Night's turrets didn't have enough oomph to pierce the barrier.
Once they made it across the lagoon, Lambda opened the barrier and dropped everyone on the main deck of the ship. The team started carving up the weird, sea life-like cannons, which were a lot less threatening up close. Once they cleared the deck, a dark portal opened up and sucked them all in.
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Defeat all of the Heartless to escape from the Black Space!
The portal deposited them in a pitch-black pocket dimension full of Shadows.
Riku scoffed as he tore the wimpy Heartless apart. "What did it expect these little guys to accomplish? They're not even Demon Towers."
"Don't give it ideas!" Replica picked off a few Shadows with a Dark Cannon volley.
Lambda diced up the last Shadow with her Petal Blades. "All targets terminated. Now what...oh!" A glowing red orb appeared in the middle of the "room", with glowing blue-white cords of power trailing up and down from it - it was obviously some kind of power core for the World of Night.
"Let's cut through and get out of here!" Mickey twirled through the core with his Keyblade, detonating it and collapsing the Black Space.
When Team Riku reappeared on the deck of the ship, the monstrous, four-eyed face serving as its figurehead began to move and roar, blasting the area directly around it with storms of lightning and bursts of Darkness.
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Destroy the Face!
"Geez, it really doesn't want us to get close...not that most of us could even reach it. Well, I guess this part's up to me." Lambda equipped her Glider and swooped out in front of the World of Night. At a slight distance, the Face could only drop a lightning bolt on Lambda every few seconds, and each bolt was preceded by a glow that made it easy to dodge. Lambda's spells didn't deal much damage to the boss in return, though. Lambda considered the problem while idly dodging lightning bolts.
I need more firepower...and this time, I can't expect Lea to come barging in and provide some. I'm not feeling lucky with the IDEA Engine here, either...I wonder if my Keyblade might have another Formchange?
Lambda focused on her Keyblade, trying to come up with something more powerful than her Petal Blades. What came to her was a simple solution: Petal Gunblades. Each of the eight blades was slightly wider than the standard version to accommodate a beam rifle built in behind the edge. Lambda aimed them at the Face...
...And realized she was falling, since she was no longer using her Glider. "Whoops! Blizzard Option!" She landed on an ice rail just above the lagoon's surface and let it carry her back up to the battle. As she continued to grind in looping patterns to dodge more lightning and balls of Darkness, she peppered the Face with thin beams of white Light from her eight Petal Gunblades, intermixed with Firaga spells from each blade.
After a few passes, Lambda concentrated and pumped as much power through her floating weapons as possible - it was time for a finishing move! "Legacy Cannon!" Continuous beams fired from all eight blades arranged in a circle, intersecting into one giant beam that blasted down the World of Night's throat. When the smoke cleared, all that remained of the Face was another dark portal, which sucked the rest of the team along the deck and into another Black Space.
After a few seconds of resisting the pull, Lambda was about to follow them inside, but they came right back out, leaping out of the closing portal and back onto the deck. Lambda joined them and did her best to warm up her cold feet.
Replica crowed, "No sweat! With the two of us together, Your Majesty, no crowd of Heartless can get in our way!"
"Word." Riku pointed up at the colossal Heartless rising from the stern of the ship. More specifically, at the glowing Main Core below its torso, which was no longer defended by a force field. "There's our next target! My turn!" He leaped all the way up from the lower deck to the core, which was defenseless except for a few more turrets that popped out around it. As Riku cleaved into the core with a few heavy, Bladecharge-enhanced swings, Lambda and Mickey worked their way along the middle deck wiping out the turrets.
The Main Core exploded quickly enough, but the monstrous Guardian of Night remained active. With a mighty roar, it blew everyone off the deck and over the lagoon.
"Protect Option!" Lambda formed a barrier around the team, and they landed on the floor of the bubble. "...Okay, I've finally figured out how we can all get up there. Protect Option!" She created a second drone below them whose barrier didn't overlap the first. Then she dismissed the first Option and dropped the team on top of the second barrier, creating a curved platform that wouldn't just get shot out of the sky.
Riku eyed his feet with concern. "It's going to be tough to fight on this incline. It's slippery, too."
"Don't worry, I've got it covered. Everyone jump in three, two, one...now!" They jumped, and Replica affixed a Dark Wall tangentially to the top of the barrier, producing a flat platform.
"Thanks for the assist! Now let's beat this guy!" Lambda brought their creation up to the level of the Guardian of Night's chest. A pulsing mass of purple Darkness in the vague shape of the Heartless Emblem filled the cavity where X-Heartless had fused with a similar boss - a sight that basically screamed, This is my weak point! Hit me here!
So of course the team unloaded a bunch of spells on that spot, including five Pearls, eight Dark Firagas, and three Blizzagas. Lambda reported, "Moderate damage confirmed...uh-oh, it's counterattacking!"
The Guardian reared back its massive arms and swept a mighty double swing toward the heroes. Thankfully, the sheer force of the motion blew their platform far away before the monster's claws could connect. It followed up by generating floating spheres of Darkness that fired defense-piercing lasers as soon as they were fully charged. Lambda did her best to weave around the incoming attacks and bring the platform back into melee range, not letting any lasers strike her Protect Option and potentially ruin the platform.
Team Riku laid into the boss with all their Keyblade-wielding skill, but it withstood the assault long enough to launch a glob of Darkness from its mouth...straight past them? Lambda looked back just in time to see the glob grow into a huge void that began sucking in their floating platform. It clearly wasn't a relativistic black hole, though, since energy was constantly escaping it - in the form of streamer-like rays of Darkness that homed in on the heroes!
Lambda grabbed Riku and Mickey and equipped her Glider. "Hold on tight!" She dismissed the Protect Option to focus all her power on her thrusters, and managed to resist the suction of the void enough to take cover behind the Guardian itself. As she expected, the homing rays splashed against its torso to no effect.
Suddenly, though, the suction increased threefold, pulling Team Riku flat against the Guardian's back. They held on to its surprisingly spongy skin as tightly as they could before the suction suddenly died off, and a loud *BOOOM* let them know the void had exploded.
"Let's not let it do that again." Riku climbed up the back of the Guardian as it hunched over in fatigue, dropped down the other side, and laid a hand against the weak point. "Dark Cannon!" He pumped the Guardian full of Dark Firagas until the weak point finally gave way. The entire World of Night was wracked with explosions, leading to one final blast that sent Team Riku back to the Hub.
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Hub...
Riku wiped his palms against each other. "Nailed it. Great work, everyone!"
"What's next?" Mickey checked out the next door:
Trial World IV:
Mirage Arena
None of them recognized the name. Replica mused, "Hmm, could be a whole tournament, or just one extra-tough fight. Probably just one, the way things have been going. So let's clear it already!"
"Wait, we should report in again." Lambda tilted her head back and started mentally typing.
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GummiNet Chatroom: Exploration Log
Lambda: [Photo: Door to Trial World IV] We cleared another one! It looks like the next one is another single boss fight, too. At this rate, we'll be done with these Trial Worlds before the day's through! #BossRush #DarkRescue
Kairi: [Photo: Kairi as a birdlike monster with pink feathers and cat claws] We've been keeping up the pace on our end, too! These transformations are getting weird, though; I can't say I'm a huge fan of the beak... #Monsteropolis #WorldOrder
Donald: [Photo: Group picture of Team Sora's monster forms, along with Mike and Sully] heres what we all look like! team sora exterminators are on the case! #exterminators #unversed
Goofy: [Photo: A Flood type Unversed] Speakin' of the Unversed, Donald and I haven't seen these around in a while! I thought there was a reason for that, but I can't quite remember...
Mickey: WHAT?! But those came from Vanitas! That must mean he's one of the ones who came back with Master Xehanort! Make sure you look into the Archives on your Gummiphones, fellas! #Ventus #Vanitas #XBlade
Sora: oops ive kinda been ignoring that stuff. sorry jiminy. #toomanywords #confusing
Roxas: speaking of confusing, im almost certain rapunzel really is a new princess of heart...or at least a princess #royaltyreveal #kidnapped
Xion: She raised our local buddy Flynn...I mean Eugene, from the dead with her tears! [angel emoji] I don't think it would've worked on Lea, though... #TrueLove #Miracle #Light #HappilyEverAfter
Kairi: But wait, I still have all my #PrincessPerks! Are we sure Rapunzel's a new Princess? If so, which Princess lost her powers, or died, or what?
Hazama: Intriguing! I'll look into it ;) Shouldn't be too hard to match the Princesses recorded on my phone to the ones out there. Meanwhile, you should know Marluxia's trail led me to Larxene in #Arendelle.
Hazama: I think she was sent to find another one of those New Seven Hearts they're looking for...or two? Someone should follow up on that. Someone besides me; that whole world's already frozen over, and I really hate the cold!
Roxas: we'll handle it. we've got coats, and lea's heart is literally warm. as for our other task, though, ienzo, hows ansems code coming along? #heartwarming #crackingthecode
Ienzo: I've actually decoded most of it! The majority of it is data on hearts that used to reside within Sora...but most of them have since been reconstructed, and you already have a plan to save the one that remains. It seems Master Ansem's data came too late...but his notes on how hearts can be enveloped within other hearts have given me a few ideas on how to help Namine and Replica...among other applications that I dare not speak of on a public channel. #ZexionVI #CrackingTheCode #ExOrganization #PossiblySpies
Xigbar: BOO! It's about time one of you noticed! ;) #TotallySpies #AlwaysWatching #NewOrganization
Xion: I know you're trying to jump-scare us, but shouldn't your emoticon be .) instead of ;) because you only have one eye?
Roxas: lol
Sora: lol
Donald: rofl
Goofy: ROFL
Cid (Admin): Take a drink every time those three names show up in order! I just logged in to remind everyone to keep your conversations civil in the chatroom. Remember, there are (maybe) kids listening! #SoraDonaldGoofy #DrinkingGame #VagueAges
Riku: LOL
Lambda: All joking aside, we should probably avoid making plans and in-depth discussions on this channel if Xigbar's lurking on it.
Xigbar: I'm lurking on all of them! And for the record, it would be "(," because I still have my left eye.
Lambda: Case in point. But there might be a silver lining here...nope, it looks like they don't use the chatroom to discuss their evil plans. I don't see any reason not to chat openly with your group, though.
Xigbar: Already trying to hack us? ). Good thing we saw that coming (.
Lambda: Already succeeded, for the most part. Catch you later, Darknesses!
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Hazama's Gummiphone display...
[Lambda has sent you a private message, and an attached app. Download program Y/N/Later?]
Later
Hazama ran the file through a virus scanner he'd transferred from his old NOL-issued phone, just to be safe.
[Scanning...no malware detected.]
Download FakePhoneTracker
Lambda (Private): This app tracks the location of the knockoff Gummiphones being used by the "Darknesses". Do whatever you want with it if you have the time. Thanks for all your help! Also, here's some lunch money, so you're not only helping us for that warm fuzzy feeling.
[Lambda has transferred 1200 munny to you.]
Hazama closed the message with a bemused smile. "Well, a hero's work is never done, as they say. At least she's not badgering me to stay on schedule like a certain Architect I used to know."
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Trial World IV: Mirage Arena...
Riku, Lambda, and Mickey found themselves in the middle of a colorful arena floating in space. The whole place was made of angular, glowing red and blue blocks that enclosed a huge, circular blue platform. Between the blocks, a cloudy sky could be seen, reminiscent of the Darkness that surrounded most people's heart's Stations. There was enough space to fight some of the most massive enemies they'd ever encountered, though it wasn't quite big enough to accommodate Xemnas' old robot dragons.
So it was kind of odd that the only enemy facing them was a single, human-sized entity that looked exactly like Riku, except it was pitch black with the typical glowing yellow eyes of the Heartless. It stood out starkly against the glowing floor.
"Scanning... Target ID: Anti-Riku. Threat level...WAAAGH!"
The Anti-Riku didn't give Lambda time to finish her report before it made its first attack, a brutal swing of its pitch-black copy of Way to Dawn. Everyone jumped backward to avoid it, but Anti-Riku kept pressing its advantage with endless aggressive melee attacks. Only Mickey managed to split off from the group, trying to circle around.
"Enough of this! Dark Shield!" Replica repelled one of Anti-Riku's attacks, causing it to stagger, but then it vanished in a burst of Darkness.
Recognizing his own Shadow Slide technique, Riku spun around to parry his shadowy double's counterattack...but the strength behind that blow was ridiculous! It was so strong, in fact, that Riku's Keyblade was sundered and cut in half, unable to hold back the Darkness. Riku watched, dumbfounded, as the angel-winged tip of Way to Dawn tumbled away, leaving him holding just the hilt. The slit-pupiled blue eye set in the handguard seemed to mock him.
"No! Riku!" Lambda rushed at Anti-Riku and distracted it from going for a finishing blow, but found herself unable to keep up with more than a few fast swings of that dark Keyblade copy before she was forced to back up again. Rather than try to match its superior swordsmanship, Lambda equipped her Glider and darted in and out with kicks and spells, trying to keep the enemy off balance.
Riku tried dismissing and re-summoning his Keyblade, but it came back just as broken as before. "How is this even possible?! Rrgh...fine!" Riku dismissed his broken Keyblade and summoned his old sword, Soul Eater, instead. (As a reminder, it looked almost the same as his Keyblade, except its blade was more curved and lacked any angel wings. Instead of the iconic round handguard of a Keyblade, what looked like blunt teeth from some beast protruded from the base of the blade.) The demonic wing-shaped blade pulsed with the Power of Darkness, and the slit-pupiled eye set into its hilt glinted with reflections of the battle. "Sunder THIS! Maelstrom!" He shredded his double with a spin attack and an uppercut while Lambda had it distracted.
"IDEA Engine, activate! Firaga!" Lambda launched several enhanced fireballs that slipped past Anti-Riku's defenses, but didn't trigger any Quantum Criticals.
"Here, have a few more! Dark Barrage!" Replica summoned a storm of twelve Soul Eaters that rained down on what he viewed as the inferior copy.
"HOLY!" Mickey, who had been forgotten in the crossfire, dropped a charged-up pillar of Light on Anti-Riku, disintegrating it for good.
Riku dismissed his sword and caught his breath. "*Huff, huff*...Did we do it?" As if in reply, the Mirage Arena faded away.
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GummiNet Chatroom: Exploration Log...
Riku: [Photo: Way to Dawn's broken hilt] Bad news, everyone. While we did clear the next Trial World, the boss there managed to break my Keyblade somehow. #Anti-Riku #MirageArena #BrokenKey #SoulEater
Riku: How does that even work? Can it be fixed? Am I already a failure as a Keyblade Master?
Mickey: Of course not, and I'm going to text you while standing right next to you to make sure everyone knows! There are ways to fix this, but we'll have to leave the Trial Worlds for now. #YenSid
Sora: dont worry, riku! weve both lost our keyblades before, and it worked out fine! #myfriendsaremypower #AndImTheirs
Riku: Thanks, Sora. That means a lot to me. I guess we'll be heading back now.
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Twilight Town: The Old Mansion: Library...
Team Riku stepped out of the Dark Save Point, where they nearly appeared on top of Pence. "Whoa! Hey, what are you all doing here? And don't I recognize you...oh wait, you're Mickey and Lambda! And that would make you...Riku? You look completely different than you did during the Time Break incident!"
"Long story short: don't go through the Dark Save Point over there. There are things in there that can overpower a Keyblade Master." Riku showed Pence his broken Keyblade.
"Oh. Then, isn't it...maybe a bad idea to leave it active like this, then?" Pence examined the gargoyle with the glowing eyes. "Ah-HA! Found a button! Aaand...CLICK!"
"Wait, what if-" Too late; Pence had already pushed the button. The gargoyle's eyes went out, and the Dark Save Point vanished. "Hey! What if it doesn't come back on?!"
"No problem." Pence pushed the button again, and the Dark Save Point reappeared. He deactivated it again after the demonstration. "There'd be no reason to create a 'Save Point' if you couldn't resume your progress!"
Lambda groaned. "Great, we've got another one. But video game logic does seem to consistently apply to us..."
"So, Pence," Mickey put in, "are you here for the computer downstairs?"
"Yep! I just managed to connect it to a different terminal somewhere before I took a break for lunch. I can't wait to show it to Hayner and Olette! We've been meeting up here for a few days now, trying to figure what all that stuff down in the basement is for."
"Ya know what? Let me introduce you to a...friend of ours." Mickey set up a video call. "Hello? Ienzo? I've got someone here who might be able to help us with Ansem's computers."
Ienzo's face appeared on the phone's screen, peering in Pence's direction. "Ah, excellent! It's always a joy to see young minds interested in electronics! I'll make sure he gets a Gummiphone right away. But wait...how does he know about Ansem's computers?"
Pence spoke up. "So that computer in the old mansion belongs to someone named 'Ansem'? I just got it working again and started poking around. Is it important?"
"If I'm right, you found the lab my late master used while he was in hiding. There could be a great deal of data to be mined from that terminal! And even if not, it's an important link between our worlds. Uh...you do know about other worlds, right?"
"I know a little, yeah. My friends and I would be glad to help out, Ienzo!"
"That's great," Riku interrupted, "but we can't stick around and chat. I have to ask Yen Sid how to fix my Keyblade...aaand we left the Highwind back in your world, didn't we, Ienzo? Now we're stuck."
"We could use Corridors of Darkness, if we really needed to," Lambda reminded him.
"No need for that. Conveniently, I now have a delivery to make. If I may borrow your vessel for the journey, I can bring Pence's friends some Gummiphones, bring you back to Radiant Garden, and you can head out from there."
Pence cheered, "Thanks! My friends are Hayner and Olette, so bring three phones!"
Mickey nodded. "Sounds good. We'll be waiting by the Station Tower - ya can't miss it! See ya!" He ended the call.
Lambda shrugged. "I guess we have some time to kill before they get here. Who's up for a meal break at Le Grande Bistrot?"
Riku rubbed his belly. "Definitely."
Pence pumped his fist in the air. "Count me in!"
Mickey offered, "I'll pay!"
Lambda counter-offered, "Only if I manage your budget. No need to go overboard."
"No problem."
They all headed out to make the short trek back to town. The typical Heartless infesting the woods and the tunnels were oddly absent, but there were scorch marks and gouges in a few places along the walls. Someone must have cleared out the Heartless recently.
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Twilight Town: Tram Common...
Team Riku (plus Pence) arrived in front of Le Grande Bistrot, where most of the tables were already full. One table in particular seated four familiar teens.
Pence called out to them, "Heya, Disciplinary Committee! Nice job clearing out the tunnels!"
Seifer drawled, "It was easy...no thanks to you Usual Suspects. But I suppose I can let it slide, since the other two are here serving our meal."
"Gee, thanks," Hayner grumbled as he brought out a plate of food. "Oh, hi, Riku! Here for the same thing as last time?"
Riku shrugged. "Just something small. We're expecting someone to come pick us up soon."
"Okay, three recommended appetizers coming right up!" Hayner jotted down the order on a notepad and turned to go.
Lambda spoke up, "Hey, can I try cooking with 'the Little Chef'?"
"Sure! He's always happy to work with new faces, and you'll get your order made faster that way. Follow me!"
Hayner led Riku and Mickey to a table on the edge of the pavilion and led Lambda inside the building. A few minutes passed to the sound of sizzling vegetables and clanking pans before Lambda returned, carrying a platter of yummy-looking food with an apprehensive expression on her face.
"I hope I got these right. The records from the Azure Timeline paint a...gruesome picture of my sister Prime Field Devices and their cooking skills."
"You try the first bite, then. I'll pass." Obviously, since Replica was physically unable to eat.
Lambda set everyone's food out and speared a fried shrimp on her fork. "Here goes nothing...Mmm! This is pretty good!"
Riku took a bite of his own food. "Yeah, it's actually better than Sora's. I thought Remy was in complete control, but I guess he still needs a competent partner."
Remy took his paws away from where he was using Lambda's hair curl as a joystick, nodded, gave Lambda a thumbs-up, and scampered back into the kitchen.
Mickey wiped around his snout with his napkin. "I sure wouldn't mind eating your cooking again, Lambda!"
Lambda sighed in relief. "Thank goodness I don't share Noel's curse of the Death Dinner."
"How bad could it be?" Pence asked with his mouth full.
Lambda shuddered. "You don't want to know. I don't want to know. I shouldn't have asked the database, but I did, and now I'm telling you: you don't want to know."
"Oookay then..."
Riku stood up and pushed in his chair. "Ienzo should be here soon. Let's head over to the Station Plaza." Everyone said their farewells to Pence and headed out.
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Station Plaza...
As the team reached the top of the mountain on which Twilight Town was built, Riku crinkled his nose. "Uh-oh. I'd recognize that dark stank anywhere. Get ready for a fight, everyone!" He summoned Soul Eater and whirled to the left as a Dark Corridor opened.
"Indeeeeed. It is I, Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness!" The humanoid Heartless floated through the Corridor with his arms crossed.
Unimpressed, Lambda informed him, "We've taken to calling you 'X-Heartless' nowadays. Less confusion with the other Ansem that way."
Ansem retorted, "Yet the other Ansem is dead now, thanks to his misguided attempt to keep Xemnas from acquiring his artificial Kingdom Hearts. Why should I not take a name that is not in use?"
"Actually, now that you mention it, we never found his body," Riku mused.
"Hey, you're right!" Mickey exclaimed. "I'll bet that blast of Light just swept him away to another world! After all, something similar happened to me before."
Replica took up the theory. "Then Kingdom Hearts would've drawn him into the Realm of Darkness, like Sora and Riku did after beating Xemnas."
X-Heartless began to laugh, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Ha ha ha ha...very interesting! I had intended to merely taunt you and undermine Riku's confidence, but the possibility that Ansem the Wise yet lives in the Realm of Darkness is one I wish to investigate without delay. He and I never finished our last...scholarly debate, after all. Farewell for now. We shall meet again...at the Keyblade Graveyard!" X-Heartless vanished in a swirl of Darkness...
...Just in time for the Highwind to land in the Station Plaza and generate a teleport circle to let Team Riku board. Ienzo had finally arrived.
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Gummi Space: Starlight Way...
Once the team boarded the ship and sat down on a bench, Ienzo gave them a polite nod and launched back into Gummi Space. "I took the liberty of delivering those Gummiphones while you dealt with 'X-Heartless', so we can be on our way immediately."
This sector, Starlight Way, was surrounded by a brilliant panorama of stars. Nearby, chunks of various biomes could be seen floating in space: a volcanic cave, a foggy forest, and a few large, barren asteroids. Littered throughout the zone were formations of Heartless ships, loose munny, and some "Waypoint" satellites that had been spread all across the Ocean Between by Cid to maintain the GummiNet and function as targets for Warp Gummis.
Ienzo ignored all of this scenery and set a course for an unoccupied edge of the zone. As the Highwind approached the invisible wall dividing this zone from all the others, the apprentice scientist pressed a button that opened a wormhole to a different zone.
Lambda briefly wondered why Ienzo hadn't said, "Aaand CLICK!" as he pressed the button, before the ship passed through the wormhole. Must have been because he was still an apprentice.
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EX Gummi Space: Shining Depths...
The wormhole led them to a zone they hadn't seen before, since Mickey had crashed the ship so quickly the last time they were in the area. Shining Depths was less like the depths of outer space, and more like being just under the sea. Starlight flickered and refracted through a medium with the consistency of liquid, surrounding the zone in rippling patterns of light. In place of asteroids, a giant coral reef dominated the center of the zone. Lambda caught a glimpse of a massive shadow that might have been Monstro moving among the colorful towers of coral, but their course was taking them around the reef, toward one of four worlds along the edge of the zone: Disney Castle, Destiny Islands, the Mysterious Tower (which had apparently moved around again), and their destination, Radiant Garden.
Riku remarked, "Wow, who would've thought we'd be so close to home? Small World, I guess."
"We should all definitely check in with our families and loved ones soon," Mickey suggested.
"Soon, but after you rectify Riku's Keyblade problem," Ienzo agreed as he carefully directed the ship into a newly-constructed Gummi Garage. "I will depart here, and Riku - not Mickey - can take the controls to bring you to the Mysterious Tower, which should be simple enough to reach from here." Ienzo teleported off the ship, and Riku shuffled into the pilot's seat, directing the Highwind to take off once more.
Mickey sighed at his inability to form a properly repentant frown. "They're never going to let me live down that crash, are they?"
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A/N's: EDIT: One important line of dialogue added.
EDIT 2: All GummiNet conversations updated to reflect changes in the next chapter...
EDIT 3: ...Again.
Dear guest reviewers "Ultrabeast", "UltraHero", and "Freehero21": are you all the same person, or are you three different people asking the same question? Please get an account of your own in the future, rather than posting guest reviews (which I can't reply to) in the wrong fanfic!
Seriously. It's free, it's easy, it doesn't actually require you to write any fanfics of your own, and it lets me answer your questions in private.
To answer your oft-repeated question: remember that Young Xehanort was being beaten up by Riku at the time, and thus he was thoroughly distracted. And since the main other one whom I'd expect to be immune to Stopza - Master Xehanort himself - had his consciousness riding shotgun with his younger self to provide his anomalous Keyblade, the old master was left just as oblivious to the goings-on in the Round Room. Plus, his half-formed body was definitely stopped along with the rest in the game. It's vaguely possible that Xigbar might be immune as well, if he's actually Luxu in this AU (I'm not quite sure whether I should take this fic in that direction yet), but even so, he would definitely pretend not to know, in order to maintain his illusion of incompetence. And Luxord hadn't rejoined their group...yet.
As for Team Kairi being immune to Stopza: they aren't. They simply arrived after the spell was already cast. All Stop spells work like that in the games. They don't halt any Heartless that wander into the spell's area after the initial cast. As an ex-Prime Field Device equipped for the temporal shenanigans of the Boundary, Lambda would be able to tell that she had been stopped once it was over, but she still wouldn't have been able to move during the effect...if it had actually hit her. But it didn't.
I hope this clears some things up for you, and I look forward to chatting with you and replying to your reviews via PMs if you decide to get an account. I'm glad you're trying to make sure I keep my facts straight, so I would appreciate your continued oversight.