Crouching Misfit Hidden COBRA

Disclaimer: Same as before.

~ ~ ~ ~

"How was training today?" Bilby asked from the love seat in the living room, his feet propped up on the arm rest. He had run physical training with Stoney that morning for the kids before their flying lesson from Akima. He was wearing a pair of jogging pants, a wife beater and a pair of dog tags with a towel draped across his shoulders.

Akima walked up to him and Bilby moved to make room for her, putting an arm around her slender waist. "Let's just say I've never seen a flight simulator catch fire in my entire life."

"Huh?" Bilby asked.

"Kitty." Akima replied, "I let her fly first. First she nearly hit the control tower, then she barely missed a barn, then she climbed at too steep an angle and we stalled out. When I took the controls and prevented us from hitting the ground, she got us up to a safe altitude then we nearly collided with a Boeing 747. Kitty tried to phase us through it, but she forgot it was a simulator and every electrical system on that side of the base went dead."

"So in other words, their lesson on inventing things with Gune is being scheduled a tad early." Bilby replied.

"Bingo." Akima groaned, tiredly.

"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" Bilby asked.

"I kept thinking of that prophesy the old man was telling us yesterday. I hope if that sacrifice is me, you're not going to hesitate." Akima replied.

"I hope to God it isn't, but if it is, I'm willing to make it." Bilby replied, he was close to tears when he said it, "You mean the world to me Akima. When I thought you died, I felt something inside die. It wasn't just knowing you were dead, it was knowing my heart was dead and it was only a question of time before the rest of my body caught up to it that was ripping me apart over the last year."

"I really feel sorry for Kitty though. At least we have the knowledge that we could help each other when the time comes, but Kitty has to live with the fact that she can't help Lance in any real way but to take care of him." Akima replied.

"I always knew Kitty would do something special for Lance, I just wish it wasn't what is to come." Bilby replied.

Akima sidled a little closer to Bilby, "Well, we'd best enjoy what little time we have together."

"True." Bilby said, taking her in his arms, holding her close, just holding her in his arms was sheer joy unto itself for he did not know if he would ever see her again, once the prophesy came to pass. They stayed, entwined in one another's arms and the passion of the embrace for a long time. There was a quality of desperation to their embrace, for neither knew when the prophesy was to take place. As much as he wanted to, Bilby knew he wouldn't use this as an excuse to make love to Akima. If he did so, he would do it on her terms, and not his.

~ ~ ~ ~

Lance Alvers swung the heavily weighted training sword again, bringing it down on top of the moving target, hitting it with a glancing blow. "Again, do it again and this time hit the target full on."

Lance grunted in frustration. This was the eight time today that he didn't hit that stupid moving target the way Stormshadow wanted it hit. Suddenly he saw a vision, he could see Kitty, her costume torn and ragged. She was suspended in mid air, her head lolling, and if the stream of blood mingling with tears from her closed eyes was any indication, she was in a bad way. The wizard Maleficent was continuing to pump magical energy that struck Kitty, absorbing into her body, causing her to shake and convulse in mid air. Maleficent turned toward Lance who spun and swung the weighted training sword in a downward arc, "Die Maleficent!!!!!"

The target was hit full on and flew off the mounting and crashed against the wall. Lance sunk to the ground, hugging his knees, weeping unashamedly. "Lance?" Donald said, "What happened.

"I saw her." Lance said.

"Saw who?" Donald asked.

"Kitty! Maleficent! Maleficent was torturing Kitty and I couldn't stop her!" Lance said, through tears.

"That's the Darkside trying to reach you. The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes." Donald explained, "It feeds upon anger and hopelessness."

"Well," Lance said, trying to regain some bravado and face, "At least I know what Bilby must have felt like when he lost Akima."

"Lance. You must focus. Worlds depend upon you." Spirit said, taking the boy in his arms.

"I know Spirit! It's not that I don't care about all the other worlds, but I just don't want to have to lose Kitty in the process." Lance replied.

"We've all lost someone to the Heartless at some point." Donald said, "Think of Bilby, his entire family was killed by the Heartless."

"Not to mention Akima." Lance acknowledged.

"Be aware that the Heartless may attempt to use your love for Kitty against you." Donald advised.

"You must meditate and clear your mind once more Lance." Stormshadow advised, "Shower and change and work on your meditation."

"Yes sir." Lance replied.

~ ~ ~ ~

Elsewhere Stoney, Link, and Morgan stood outside the house smoking cigarettes and talking. Looking at Bilby and Akima, who were taking care of the two babies, they started to shift their conversation.

"Ever notice how Bilby seems to have come to life ever since Akima was rescued?" Morgan asked.

"Da." Link replied, "He's also been more mellow, not as likely to snap at people. He's turning into the old Bilby his former Air Troop mates described."

"*Sniff* It's so beautiful...." Stoney said, wiping a tear out of his eyes as he watched the pair walk arm in arm back into the house with the two babies toddling after them. The sun was setting at the time, and it glowed bright orange red in the receding light.

"Stoney? Are you crying?" Morgan asked.

"No. No. Dave, I'm just wiping some dust outta my eye." Stoney replied, "*Sniff* Ain't love beautiful?"

"Come here Stoney." Link said, as he and Morgan hugged Stoney who started bawling openly.

The angsty moment was broken up by an explosion and the sight of the schoolhouse roof flying into the air. "Let me guess, yet another lesson gone wrong?" Morgan said.

"Yeah Akima told me about how the flight simulator caught fire when Kitty was using it." Stoney replied.

"Bilby told me about how Gune was always a little bit eccentric..." Link began.

"A little eccentric!? The little green monster invents things in his sleep. He actually took my watch apart, and reassembled it." Dave replied.

"So what? Any moron can do that." Link replied, "And what happened to your watch."

"It tells time almost exactly on the atomic time, the most accurate time scale." Dave replied.

"What's wrong with that Morgan?" Stoney asked.

"You'll find out in about five seconds." Dave Morgan complained.

Suddenly his watch alarm started to beep it's hourly chime, "Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!"

The words sang out mechanically. "And what's worse is I can't shut off the stupid alarm."

"Well you finally found someone who makes a bigger mess out of perfectly good machinery than you." Link replied.

"WHAT?" Dave shouted in reply.

"You're the one who, when he was sleepwalking, tried to tune up Captain Fetterman's alarm clock and it wound up going off every fifteen minutes for a week." Link replied.

"That was ONE incident!" Dave replied.

"Oh yeah, what about the time you tried to make a robot to do all the cooking in the kitchen. You created a monster that left a trail of destruction visible a mile away." Link replied.

The trio argued well into the night before getting tired and falling asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

Later that night, Cover Girl was aware of the sound of fidgeting in the bed beside her. She had grown rather used to it. Akima was notoriously skittish in her sleep. It seemed a remarkable contrast. Such a strongly self assured woman when awake, yet also fragile and vulnerable when asleep.

Therefore Cover Girl was fast asleep when Akima, eyes half closed, stood out of her bed and walked into the alcove where the computer was and with a specially encrypted code, sent the coordinates of the areas where both Mindbender and the Baroness were being held to COBRA.

It was one of Mindbender's hidden surprises during the time he had to tinker with her mind. There was no way Akima would remember anything she did, nor would she remember other vital data she had passed on to COBRA and the Heartless, the information regarding the wielder of the Keyblade. The Pit slept soundly, unaware that even as they slept an assault upon it was imminent and that part of the Prophesy of the Keyblade's Return, known only to the clerics deep in the Himalayas of Bilby's dimension, was on its way to being fulfilled.

"The sleeping beauty shall soon awaken." Said the old man, cryptically, "And the warrior's sacrifice must be made."

~ ~ ~ ~

"Lance?" Kitty whispered in his ear.

"Mmm, Kitty....?" Lance asked, waking slowly. At Stormshadow's insistence, he, Spirit, Donald and Goofy slept in the dojo with no visitors permitted. Of course, during his breaks in training, Xi or Polly would go and run interference between the two ardent lovers.

"Lance, why don't you come home?" Kitty asked.

"Kitty, you know what I have to do." Lance replied.

"Yes, I understand. But I still want you to come home." Kitty replied.

"BEGONE DEMON!" Donald shouted with previously unknown intensity and sent an aeroga spell into the apparition. Zarana's disguise fell away as Donald's wind gust stuck her against a post which Goofy tied her to.

"You're too late wizard." Zarana said, "The true power is already on the move."

~ ~ ~ ~

Akima dressed herself, her eyes, half closed and that sound was unusual for two o'clock in the morning. Cover Girl attempted to stop Akima, only to wind up knocked out, tied up, and gagged on the floor of the room.

She knew Akima wasn't herself, she was obviously in a trance, hypnotized maybe. She could hear a jeep starting in the driveway and the driver sending the vehicle off toward somewhere in the direction of the medical lab.

It took Cover Girl a full hour before she was able to untie herself. She went and alerted the entire base, only to learn that the base already knew that the medical lab was now in the hands of COBRA and the Heartless along with the entire medical staff as hostages...

~ ~ ~ ~

What side is Akima really on? Just what is the sacrifice Bilby must make to manifest the Keyblade? Will the hostages be saved?