TotM: Chapter 10
Back in the castle prison cell, Ebony was starting to come to from being passed out, "Ugh, what an awful dream…" she groaned.
Ebony then noticed where she was, as well as Shayla and Katrina beside her. She widened her eyes and gasped, remembering what had happened.
"Shayla! Katrina!" Ebony yelped in shock, rising from her ragged bed. She rushed over to Shayla first, shaking her shoulder to wake her up, "Shayla, Shayla please! Wake up, SHAYLA!"
Shayla groaned a little in annoyance at her friend's antics, "What the heck, Ebony. I'm trying to get some…?!" she started to say before realizing how dim the place was.
"Shayla, this is BAD!" Ebony started to say in a freaked-out tone, "That weird man must've brought us here!"
A few rough-sounding coughs could be heard from the other bed, Katrina was starting to wake up from Ebony's yells, "Oh god, I…" she muttered before coughing again.
Ebony and Shayla came over to Katrina's side, "Katrina, you're… Not okay, are you?" Ebony stated with worry, "Are you sick?"
Shayla reached out to touch Katrina's forehead, "She has a really bad fever," she concluded, "I don't know how long we've been in here, but if we don't try to find a way out, her fever is going to get worse."
"I-I know I'm not feeling well…" Katrina coughed as she then got up from where she was laying down, "But we got to escape, or else we'll be turned into dragons… Again."
Ebony made a small, angry growl, "I'm getting fed up with this!" she shouted, running up to the iron door of the prison cell, "HEY, someone let us out, RIGHT NOW!"
"Wait, please stop!" Shayla warned, "I don't think that's—"
"C'mon, OPEN!" Ebony grunted, trying to push up against the iron door with all her strength.
The door of the cell snapped off its hinges suddenly, making it and Ebony fall to the floor, along with the door, "Oof!"
"Ebony!" gasped Shayla and Katrina as they rushed over to where she fell down, "Are you alright?!" Katrina asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm okay!" Ebony replied, slowly pushing herself off the ground to stand back up, "Kind of startled me though."
Shayla looked back where the door used to be, "Looks like the hinges on the door were rusted through," she concluded, "How fortunate for us. Let's get out of here now!"
Ebony and Katrina nodded their heads in agreement as the three of them rushed out of the room, but not without being noticed by Emperor Belindra through his dark ball.
"So, they've finally awakened," he sighed, "I should capture them and bring them here to me…" a wicked smirk grew across his face, "Or I could let them roam free for a while, to show them there's truly no escape."
Emperor Belindra then changed the view in his dark ball, showing the Eds, Adam and Olivia walking towards the outskirts of his ruined castle, "Oh, it seems they've finally arrived. I should give them a nice welcome to my castle!"
He then raised his right hand to summon forth creatures from the ground; the very same kind of shadowy creatures that were seen in Ed's memory, "If what that witch and her crony said were true, I can now control these 'Heartless' creatures as a backup plan if things go awry," Belindra stated, "It's strange, I never thought these baseless creatures could be considered so handy!"
"Here we are, at last," Adam stated as he and the others now stood in front of the castle entrance, which looked to be a big courtyard.
Eddy narrowed his eyes and started to rush forward, "Let's get going! Right now!"
"Wait a moment, Eddy!" Double D gasped as Olivia quickly grabbed Eddy's shirt collar before he could go any further, "Do you not remember the plan we spoke about?!" Olivia asked.
"I do!" Eddy retorted, "That's why I'm going on ahead to see if I can find a weapon to fight with!"
Everyone, minus Ed, made a sigh at Eddy's attitude, "Eddy, we need to stick together; we have no clue on what we will find in this place," Double D explained. Eddy made a small grumble at him.
Ed, in the meantime, was looking around the big entrance of the castle. He could see a small stone building off to the right side of the castle, alongside training dummies for fighting, "Hey, maybe we can find something useful in there!" Ed stated, pointing to the training grounds to his right.
"Oh yeah, those are the training grounds that the knights used to practice fighting with their weapons," Adam stated, "There could be a weapon in there you three could use!"
The five of them walked over to the training grounds, searching the area for weapons that could be useful. After looking for a few minutes, they finally found weapons that were not rusted over; Ed found a battle-axe, Double D found a lance, and Eddy found a broadsword, along with a sheath for the sword that he could hang from a belt on his side.
"Alright, now we're ready to rock!" Eddy cheered aloud, placing the broadsword into the sheath. He then glanced over to his friends, "What about you two?"
"I'm ready to chop down wood and any enemy in our way!" Ed chirped, posing with his battle-axe by placing the long handle of it on his right shoulder.
"E-Everything seems to be in order for me!" Double D stuttered nervously, gripping tightly onto the lance he found, "Though I'm still feeling very anxious about all of this…"
"Double D, there's nothing to worry about!" Eddy stated, jabbing his thumb into his chest in a cocky manner, "We'll rescue them and stop that jerk's plans! I promise!"
Double D made a small sigh, "Eddy, there's no need to hide your fears by acting tough," he started to say, "It's okay to be scared."
Eddy froze in place at Double D's words, "W-Well what about Ed?!" he retorted, "He never seems to have anything to fear!"
"That's not true, Eddy!" Ed replied to him, surprising Double D and Eddy, "I'm really scared about this whole thing," he then started to get a little teary-eyed, "Not just for us, but for everyone here!" he then narrowed his eyes a little in determination, "But sometimes you gotta do what needs to be done, even if it scares you!"
"Ed…" Double D muttered with shock while Eddy remained silent at Ed's statement.
Meanwhile, off to the side, we could see Adam and Olivia watching over the Eds, "Do you really think they can help out?" Olivia asked, "They have no experience with those weapons."
"Yeah, I know it's very risky," Adam started to say, "But they've seen their past selves use them, maybe it will rub off on them when they do start to fight with them."
Olivia sighed at her partner's statement, "I sure hope you're right."
Adam and Olivia see the Eds coming over to them, "You three got everything you need?" Adam asked.
"Yes sir," Double D stated to him, but then noticed something, "Do you two not need a weapon to fight with?"
The two partners glanced at each other, "Well, about that…" Olivia started to say, pulling back the right side of her lab coat to reveal a hunting dagger in a sheath on her side, "I already have something to defend myself with, if push comes to shove. I also have a Swiss army knife in my pocket for smaller things to cut."
"As for me…" Adam stated, pulling back his lab coat to reveal a revolver in a holster on his side, "I'm also well prepared if anything goes wrong. Hopefully I will not have to use it for anything; the emperor being the exception."
The Eds stood there for a moment in shock before regaining their composure, "I-I sure hope you have the licenses to carry those around!" Double D said.
"Don't worry, we do," Olivia replied, "Being an archeologist can be a dangerous job, especially when you're out in the wilderness."
"Besides, doesn't gun beat sword in any piece of media?" Adam laughed sheepishly, trying to crack a joke, "It might work better on magic as well!"
Everyone groaned at Adam's statement.
"A-Anyway! Let's get going!" Eddy stated, walking a little ahead to the castle doors, "We have some friends to save!"
"Right-o, Eddy!" Ed chirped as he dashed to Eddy's side. Double D, Adam and Olivia only sighed, following closely behind them.
Meanwhile, back with the girls, the three of them were running up a spiral staircase made of stone, making a mad dash out of the prison section of the castle. Finally, they could see a small bit of light coming from the top of the stairs; they were almost at the top. Once they reached the light, they could see where they were; a smaller courtyard with dead grass and dirt all around the area. Apparently, the girls were locked in an underground prison that had an open door in the ground.
"Looks like we're outside now…" Shayla stated, glancing around at their surroundings; she also noticed Katrina had grown even paler than before, "Doesn't seem to look that dangerous, but we should be careful."
Ebony and Katrina nodded their heads in agreement, "Right!" Ebony replied.
The three girls continued to walk towards a door they could see in front of them in the courtyard, which leads them inside a corridor in the castle.
"So, Katrina, you know I gotta ask this," Ebony started to say, "You and Eddy; are you two in love or something?"
"Ebony!" Shayla gasped, "I don't think this is the time to ask that kind of question!"
Katrina coughed a little before a blush came to her cheeks, "H-Honestly? I don't know… Ever since I started going blind, all I could see clearly were the constant dreams I had almost every night," she started to explain, "In them, there was a boy named Alexander; a childhood friend who left to work and live somewhere else. I then tried to go find him, and I eventually did," she sighed, "He was kind and gentle to me; but could be temperamental to others at times…" Katrina then lowered her head a little, "I can't tell by appearances because of my lack of sight, but Alex and Eddy have the same voice."
"Wait, are you saying that Eddy was also reincarnated like us or something?" Ebony asked in confusion, "That would be a really big coincidence if it were true."
"… I-I guess you're right," Katrina stated sadly, "Besides, there's no way he feels the same—"
Katrina suddenly started to violently cough, making her stop dead in her tracks and kneel over, covering her mouth as she did.
"Katrina!" Ebony and Shayla gasped as they turned back to her, coming up to her side as they did. It was then they saw something horrifying; there was a small amount of blood in Katrina's hands, "You're coughing up blood…!" Shayla muttered with shock.
"I'm… F-Fine for now, I think," Katrina stuttered, slowly standing back up, "I have to… Keep going…!"
"Not like that you aren't!" Ebony yelped with a small gasp. She then gestured Katrina to her left shoulder, "Come on, you can lean on me until we can get help, okay?"
Katrina made a small smile at the gesture, "Okay."
Back with the Eds, Adam and Olivia were walking slightly ahead of the Eds, to protect them from anything that could jump out at them. Luckily, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as they entered the castle proper. The entrance of the castle was all torn and busted up from the battle that happened here eons ago, and you could tell by how many holes were in the walls and ceiling. Piles of stones and rubble laid scattered everywhere.
"The throne room is just up ahead," Adam stated as he turned to the others, "Is everyone ready?"
The others firmly nodded their heads, "As ready as we can be, Adam," Olivia replied, her eyes narrowed with determination.
Adam took in a deep breath, "Alright…"
The five of them soon entered the throne room; the room itself was freezing cold, just like the day Belindra came to the Cul-De-Sac. They could see the emperor sitting on his throne, looking down at them with a cocky expression on his face.
"Well, well, well…" Belindra started to say as he got up from his seat, "Looks like you finally arrived at my castle. How do you like the place?" he gestured towards the many holes in the walls and ceiling, "My castle could use some more renovations, after I get what I want…" he then pointed to the Eds, "The revenge I've desired, along with ruling this new world!"
"Like hell you will!" Eddy retorted to the emperor, taking out his broadsword from its sheath, gripping onto the handle tightly with both of his hands, "Where are the others?!" he asked while the other two Eds also got their weapons ready.
"Worried about them, are you?" Belindra chuckled, "Personally, I think you should be worried about yourselves…" he then held out his right hand, "But I'm feeling a bit 'generous' right now," his hand started to emit a dark energy, "Why would I not bring them here to you? I think that would be very amusing!"
Suddenly, three dark portals floated a little above the emperor, and out came the three girls, yelping a little in shock as they did. They fell to the floor with a small thud.
"Ebony! Shayla! Katrina!" the three Eds shouted.
Two of the three girls glanced up to the Eds in shock, "You guys…" Ebony gasped in surprise, "You really came for us!" Shayla started to say with relief, a few tears formed in her eyes.
Katrina, in the meantime, was coughing loudly once again, struggling a little to get up from where she fell. This certainly did not go unnoticed by Eddy and the others.
"There. Are you satisfied to see them unharmed?" Belindra asked the Eds before making another cocky smirk, "Sadly, that will not last for very long. What a shame."
What came next was something out of a horror movie.
Belindra snapped his fingers that were glowing with dark energy. The three girl's heads shot straight up while clutching their hands onto their heads, as if they had a severe headache. Screams erupted from the three as they started to glow into different colored lights; red, green and blue.
Meanwhile, in an unknown location in space, we could see a weirdly colored, blocky ship flying through the stars. Inside said ship, we could see three people sitting in cockpits, with one 'person' piloting the ship at the front, while the other two passengers were sleeping while sitting up. The pilot looked to be a mouse with two very round ears, while the passengers were an older teenage boy with shoulder length silver hair and a teenage girl with short red hair.
Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, three different colored lights flashed before their eyes, startling all three of them and waking up the two teenagers from their nap.
"What the heck was that?!" the silver haired teen asked as he looked around to see what it could have been.
"Hmm… It almost looked like it was a sign of someone asking for help," stated the mouse piloting the ship.
The two teens blinked a little, "A sign for help, your majesty?" asked the girl before making a small gasp, "You don't think it was Sora, Donald and Goofy, do you?!"
"I'm not sure myself yet, Kairi," the mouse replied, glancing over to the silver haired teen, "Riku, do you mind guiding me toward the direction of those lights with your Keyblade?"
The silver haired teen named Riku nodded his head, "Of course."
The three lights slowly began to grow larger and larger, taking up 1/4 of the room near where the emperor was. The Eds, Adam and Olivia had to shield their eyes at how bright the lights were. Once the lights had died down, three booming roars could be heard from where the girls once stood.
"Oh no…" Olivia muttered to herself; a few tears started to form in her eyes at the sight.
On the other side of the throne room near the emperor's side, there stood a black dragon with red eyes, a golden-yellow dragon with green eyes, and a silver dragon with blue eyes.
The Eds were stunned at the sight before slowly realizing the fear they now felt from the dragons, who were once their friends just a short moment ago.
"… Guys, please listen to what I have to say here," Adam started to say to the Eds, "I need you three to try and weaken them as much as possible."
"H-How can we do that?!" Double D asked, his voice trembling a little.
"… Fight them."
"What, are you crazy?!" questioned Eddy with shock, "We might hurt them if we did that!" Ed retorted.
"I never said to hurt them," Adam continued to say, "Once they are tired out from fighting, I'll try to go for Belindra and finish the job," he then turned to Olivia, "You'll help me out here, right?"
Olivia nodded her head to him, "As I always do."
A maniacal laugh could be heard coming from Belindra, "Finally, revenge will be MINE!" he then pointed towards the Eds, "Now, my beautiful dragons, KILL THEM!"
The dragons roared in response to their master, flying very fast towards their three targets.
"RUN FOR IT!" cried out the Eds as they split up to go in different directions of the castle.
Ed was being chased by the black dragon to the left, leading towards the courtyard that the girls were in before. Double D was being chased by the yellow dragon to the right, leading up towards a tall tower. Finally, Eddy was being chased by the silver dragon, leading him further away from the throne room and towards the entrance.
Meanwhile, Adam and Olivia ducked down to the floor and hid behind a stone pillar that was nearby. It was then they noticed that Belindra looked to have a forcefield of darkness around him.
"Dammit, I can't take any shots at him with that forcefield up!" Adam growled to himself in anger.
"Adam, this is not looking good," Olivia stated, "At this rate, these kids will die!"
Author's Note: Gasp! A cliffhanger! Sorry about that, you guys. I'm going to need a little more time to write the action scenes. Also, I decided to reveal that this fanfic is actually a crossover with Kingdom Hearts! At first, I was going to make the crossover the sequel, but then I started to think of a way to intergrade the sequel's plot within this story a little early. Hope you guys don't mind the sudden change!