Kingdom Hearts: Chaos Angel
Episode 3: DUDE, Where's Sora?
(New point in disclaimer! I don't own Sora, the Enigmatic Man or anyone you've heard of! But I DO own Sara. Leave her alone. And just so you know, this is NOT based on Final Mix (because it occurs here)!)
It's time we answered that question.
Where the hell IS Sora, anyway?
It so happens that the original Keyblade master is back in Traverse Town. Taking a short break with his friends Donald and Goofy, Sora ordered their third round of root beer. Having taken a two-year vacation/training session in the Magic Kingdom, Sora aged only one year. That's when he caught the message Pluto held. It told him, with great relief, that the King and Riku had safely made it out to Little Planet, and they would meet soon. Unfortunately, King Mickey had also given the heads up that the Heartless had returned sooner than expected. That meant one thing.
Ansem was back.
The once kind king was now a cold, cruel, villain. This note proved Sora's attempt to defeat him was in vain. And worse yet King Mickey also noted there was a Keyblade of Darkness, and its wielder had just been awakened to its cause.
"This is gonna take us a while," Sora sighed. "I mean, although my friends are safe for now, evil hasn't even been fazed, and now there's some evil dude with a Keyblade like mine."
"Perhapsh we'll find someone shoon!" Donald said.
"Just how many evil folks are there?" Goofy asked.
"I honestly don't know..." Sora answered as he looked at them. "I've got a feeling though that we might be in over our heads this time around..." He turned to his right (Donald and Goofy were both to his left) to note a girl with short silver hair. She wore a simple black shirt, what LOOKED like a kilt (Sora couldn't tell what it was) and some boots. This girl was reminiscent of Riku, although her nose was bigger. This didn't strip her of any beauty, however. Sora, out of his friendly nature began to ask her a question. "What brings YOU here?"
She simply "hmphed" although a very small smirk appeared on her face. "Not your business," She stated calmly.
"Hey, hey! Just being friendly! " Sora whined.
"Well you can stop then," She retorted with a snide grin. "I have no need for over-friendliness. I've got business to take care of," She took a once-over of Sora, looking at his classic red and white jumpsuit with baggy shorts. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here?"
" Have you heard of Ansem?" Sora asked.
"What's that got to do with anything?" she asked.
"Everything. Ansem is the reason I'm out here. I beat him, and I was sent to find King Mickey. But he was safe, and now he tells us Ansem's out. That demon is the source of all Heartless."
"Ansem... that name's familiar to me... I think I remember him..." The girl pondered. "Father said something about Ansem falling to the darkness, but I wonder what drove him mad? The Heartless, yes, but I think there's more to it... But to answer your earlier question, I'm searching for a woman."
"A girl? Yeah... I'm trying to find one myself. She a friend of yours?"
"You could say that."
"A... romance?" Sora winked.
Big mistake.
She began to laugh darkly. With lightning speed, she pulled out a sword, shaped very thin and long, and pressed it to Sora's neck. "Your sense of intolerance/perversion does NOT amuse me. She is twice my age... more than that, actually. You will not ask such questions again," She stated.
"Sheesh, I was only asking..."
"HEY!" Donald shouted.
"Calm down!" Goofy shot at the girl.
"Hey! Chill out!" Shouted the bartender.
The girl pulled her sword back. "Very well. Name's Sara."
"Sora." They shook hands. He turned to his buddies. "They're Goofy and Donald."
They waved.
She nodded. "Ah, the other King's lackeys. Father told me about them. Well I suppose I could come with you..." she leaned in close and whispered. "Although, I suggest you leave them, they look rather weak..."
"Huh? Okay, lemme tell you a secret," Sora whispered back. As soon as Sara got close, Sora yelled, "THEY'RE MY FRIENDS! I'M NOT LEAVING THEM!"
Sara gritted her teeth from Sora's response. She then started laughing.
Sora got the sudden epiphany that he was very screwed.
In an instant, her blade was pointed at his neck. She stopped laughing, and snarled, "I don't enjoy when that happens. I think you need a lesson in manners... come with ME."
She grabbed Sora's ear and dragged him away, much to the horror of Goofy and Donald.
"She's getting away!" Goofy panicked.
"She won't! Letsh get her!" Donald roared.
The two left the bar in a mad hurry. It was then that the other five people at the bar began to talk.
"'Keyblade of Darkness,' eh? Sounds like a swell find." The first, a man in a brown leather jacket said.
"Hmmm... Something with a name like that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. We should probably procure it and find some way to dispose of it." A second voice spoke, a voice that belonged to a large Blastoise with a cybernetic left arm and a scar over his right eye. He seemed to be the human's companion. "We'd have to find out more about it first."
"Hey, slow down!" said the third, who seemed to be some sort of hellish-looking biker, "Why waste somethin' dat could be really powerful? Somethin' like dat could really help in this business."
"Yeah, besides, the damn thing could be worth a steal!" said the fourth, who appeared to be a red squirrel. The other four people stared at him blankly, to which the squirrel replied with a confused "What?"
"Hrmph...Who cares about a stupid key?" noted the fifth man, a bizarre looking pink creature with an antennae, "If I can't eat it, I don't want it!"
"Heh...even after a full dinner the only damn thing on your mind is food," commented the human, "Keep your appetite to yourself for a moment. Right now, we got ourselves a nice little opportunity. Let's go see who else is interested in this 'Keyblade.'"
All five of them rose up and left the bar.
This sucked. Poor Sora was being dragged by the ear by some silver-haired freak not unlike an evil Riku. "LET ME GO!" Sora complained for the fifth time. "IF YOU DON'T, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"
"Really?" Sara let go of his ear and pointed her sword at his neck again in a matter of seconds. "Try me."
"How can I kick your ass if you're pointing that thing at my neck?"
"My point exactly." She went back to dragging Sora away.
"Where are we going, anyway?"
"If you must know, I'm taking you to the World Terminus on this planet so we can get to Hollow Bastion."
"Hollow Bastion?" Sora asked. This girl had picked up his interest already, even if she WAS kidnapping him.
"The Heartless are flooding the place. Somehow they are unable to consume the world's keyhole, and yet..."
"Why didn't you say so! You could've ASKED!" Sora shouted.
"You'll have to excuse my behavior then. This is a extremely dangerous undertaking; your friends are better off hunting for your king."
Sora just sighed. "Have it your way. But could you PLEASE stop dragging me?"
She reluctantly let him go, and he crashed into the earth. Sora got up, dusted himself off, and hesitantly followed Sara, not wanting to leave his friends.
Sara came to a sudden halt. Sora stopped as well. "What's wrong?"
"Something... dangerous is coming this way." She murmured, and she drew her sword.
"What?" Sora pulled out his Keyblade, but he saw nothing.
"BEHIND YOU," Sara warned. Sora whirled around to see a fading figure walk right... through him. Sora fell over in shock and his right eye began twitching as the figure came to a halt. Sora recovered and came to stare at this odd figure. He was now an apparently solid figure, a man completely shrouded by a dark gray hooded coat with a long zip, and two drawstrings hanging from the collar.
"What? Who are you?" Sora regarded his new foe with weary apprehension, having a loose grip on his Keyblade.
The being spoke, more or less like it had psychic power. However, it spoke very cryptically. (It seems you are special too.)
"King Ansem?" Sara asked.
(That is a familiar name to me...)
"You aren't, I guess," Sara kept her sword ready.
The Enigmatic Man's black gloved hand opened and a strange, blue light filled with a lattice of hexagonal shapes begins to fizzle in it. He turned in Sora's direction. (You look like him.)
"What's THAT supposed to mean!" Sora asked angrily. He then saw the energy and gasped. Bringing the Keyblade in front of him, Sora tried his best to block the insane amount of energy aimed directly at him. At first, he struggles, but eventually he holds steady and even pushes it away. It rockets off into the night sky.
The Enigmatic man appeared to be staring Sora down and thinking. After a slight pause he concluded. (Which means, you are not complete...)
Sora could only raise his eyebrow at this statement as he prepared his Keyblade. Sara prepared her sword as well.
The Enigmatic man "spoke", (Incomplete one... that power...) he stood. (Allow me to test that power.)
The hooded one struck first. A red energy sword formed and Sora had to pull a Matrix rip-off to narrowly avoid being sliced in half. Sara leapt over the Keyblade Master and struck with her sword, sending the Enigmatic man back a bit. A huge wall of blue energy formed, and Sara painfully crashed into it. She quickly recovered and backed away.
"He's tough..." Sara snarled and cursed.
"Right..." Sora lunged, and the hooded one dodged, but Sora whirled around quickly and caught him in a brutal Ars Arcanum combo. Sora reacted quickly enough to dodge several blasts of blue energy, but a red sword swipe knocks him off his feet, and he was forced to roll out of the way before a second one could crush him. Now shaking with not-quite-fear, Sora began to run towards the Enigmatic Man, but the hooded one sprinted towards him as well. Sora stopped and bounced back in alarm, but the Enigmatic Man did nothing...yet.
Sara leapt in and launched a five-hit parry against the Enigmatic man's onslaught. She backed away from the large energy shield he put up and lunged to strike once it fell, but she met not one but TWO red energy swords, which she could barely block. She crashed into the ground.
Sora stepped in this time and used a Sonic Blade to rocket to the other side of the man, then swept with another combo. The Enigmatic Man, however, grabbed him, and began to shock him with a steady stream of lightning. Sora screamed in pain, and although Sara tried to rescue him with a swift attack, the Enigmatic Man simply countered with a steady beam blast, knocking her away.
That's when Donald and Goofy struck.
A bolt of lightning crashed through the Enigmatic Man, making him release his grip on Sora. Goofy plunged like a wrathful angel from above and smashed into the hooded one. The lone man countered by expanding an energy field he used earlier, smacking duck, dog, and boy with key away.
However, by this time, Sara stood up. A single black wing extended from the right side of her upper back, flaring to its full size. "Flame Pillar," She echoed, as the walls of fire knocked the Enigmatic Man back into another combo pulled off by Sora. The hooded one dodged a swift attack made by Donald and used a red light sword to repel Goofy.
Sora gritted his teeth in rage. He had enough of this freak. Focusing his anger into an attack, he swung his Keyblade in a mighty arc and knocked the Enigmatic man away. The hooded one surrounded himself in a sphere of his blue energy as Sora and Sara stood back and kept their weapons ready. The Enigmatic man suddenly pushes away the energy and it dissipates.
(... Truly fascinating. This is going to be enjoyable.)
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, wasting no time in hopping up to smash down the man one last time, but at the zenith of his jump, time appeared to suddenly stop. The man faded slightly. At this, Sora simply crashed right through him, and Sara raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Sora got up and shook himself off. He snarled at the Enigmatic man as the hooded one turned to Sora and began to speak. (In your present state you probably cannot understand... In any case, the time when we can meet again will doubtless come.)
"W-wait! Who are you--!" Sora asked as the man faded away.
(I am...) the man had completely faded away by this point. (... A mere shell...)
"A mere shell?" Sora whispered to himself. Sora turned to Sara, who was now laughing. Getting that distinct feeling that he was screwed again, his confusion turned to fear and he started to run away again. Donald and Goofy prepared to fight once more, but Sara simply said, "Wait...!"
Sora turned around. Normally, she only laughs as a warning that you pissed her off. What was this? "Hey Sara, what's with the One Winged Angel thing?"
"My father taught me those moves."
"What?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy paled. If this was the daughter of who he THOUGHT it was, he would be SOOOO dead... Sora asked, "Umm... have you seen your father lately?"
"No... Ever since King Ansem went mad, I've never seen him..." she sighed. "I hope that when we go to Hollow Bastion, we will meet again..."
"Okay..." Inwardly Sora panicked. He had nearly beaten the One Winged Angel himself in a tournament last year. And if he found his daughter with him... Sora paled at the very thought. Sora hoped for his sake that Sephiroth was calm, or sedated with lots of drugs. "But Sara... who WAS that guy? what did he mean 'You are not complete'?"
"I honestly don't know..." Sara answered. "For all I know... he could mean you have yet to reach the apex of your power..." She turned to Donald and Goofy, and gave a slight bow with a smirk. "I underestimated you. You impressed me back there. Forgive me for my actions."
"That's okay," Goofy admitted.
"Don't pull any more stunts like that!" Donald exclaimed. "You scared us!"
Sara sheathed her sword. "You'll have to be weary of things like that." She began to walk towards the World Terminus now found at the exit of the 1st District. "We've got little time. Our best bet is to move to Hollow Bastion as quickly as possible."
"Fine, let's go," Sora made his Keyblade disappear, and the four of them headed off towards a whole new challenge, unaware of a stranger in a hooded coat watching them leave...
Rob gazed at the never-ending sunset. "So far away from home..." he sighed. Maybe there was hope that he could get home, but now... He had a long, long journey ahead. Although he aspired to "do anything" like Kim Possible, or kick major butt as a Teen Titan, he never imagined that the whole damn UNIVERSE would soon be clutching onto him and a select few heroes to save it from a terrible darkness. As he thought of his overdramatic summary of The Mess He Just Landed Himself In, he was faintly aware of a "Here!" shouted by Sonic. Rob snapped back into reality just in time to catch an odd pair of shoes. They were black and white high-tops, streaked with red, with what appeared to be some sort of jet boosters underneath.
"I want you to have these. The guys at G.U.N gave me this as a token of apology. But I don't need the speed boost. I thought you might like it better." Sonic explained. Rob threw off his old shoes and put them on. "These allow you to skate on energy to rocket at maximum speeds. You'll be ALMOST as fast as I am! Go on, knock yourself out!"
"Thanks." Rob said. He stood up and pressed in his right toe. The shoe surged to life, and Rob was flying uncontrollably into various walls, screaming "Ow!" every five seconds. Sonic smacked himself before running over to Rob, who had conveniently crashed himself into a garbage can.
"Hey, I didn't mean for you to take me seriously!" Sonic groaned as he pulled the weary Rob out of the garbage. "The G.U.N guy who told me about these shoes said to press it lightly and they should work like skates. Pressing it any harder makes it work more like a jetpack."
"NOW you tell me!" Rob muttered. He lightly pressed the shoe this time, and the shoes began to hover. Now that the shoes weren't trying to send a message to him by dumping him in local trashcans, Rob could now put his skating experience to work. He first started slow to get a feel for it; it felt like he was skating on air. He then poured on the speed, and the buildings began to become a blur. He now knew what it felt like to be Sonic.
And frankly, it felt good.
"I'm glad you enjoy it," Sonic grinned as he easily caught up to Rob.
"I owe you one, Sonic!" Rob beamed. They skidded to a halt. "You know, I'm feeling better about this. Maybe I won't screw up, and I can save the world just as good as any hero."
"Don't give up! It doesn't matter who's wrong or right, as long as the voice inside still drives you," Sonic gave a heartfelt poke to Rob's chest. "That's my motto."
"Well isn't that sweet," A calm, somewhat sarcastic feminine voice answered right behind them.
"AIYAH!" Rob and Sonic jumped up in surprise, crashing down about 20 feet away from their original spot. They whirled around to leer at the person who had caught them by surprise. This person also wore a dark gray hood with drawstrings, not unlike the person Sora had met earlier this episode. Her face was not visible, but the two could tell that the girl was reasonably young.
"Who are you!" Sonic shouted, assuming a fighting stance.
Rob conjured his Keyblade, ready to deal with this person.
"Ah, the other Keyblade master," the woman noted. She took off her hood, revealing a blond with strange blue eyes and shoulder length hair. Two strands of that hair stuck out, but curled back with the rest of it. The woman folded her arms. "You can call me Larxene. I just came to warn you."
"Warning?" Rob raised his eyebrow. The woman deeply reminded him of someone, but whom he couldn't place just yet. "What kind of warning?"
"I see you're more interested in what presents a danger to you," Roxanne's face contorted into a knowing grin. "Very well. Heed this well: the Light will resist you at all costs. For you, it is stronger than the Darkness. Don't fight it alone."
Rob carefully edged closer to Sonic. "Don't fight WHAT alone?"
"The other Keyblade master will not take kindly to you. He believes you to bring a harbinger of terrible destruction," Larxene answered. "He is stronger than you. It is best you not take him on alone."
"You sure about that!" Sonic challenged. "Last time I checked, he's a good guy! Why would we fight him!"
"Trust me, you're probably too STUPID to understand right now... for now, it is best you stay clear..." Larxene winked at them and giggled a bit before she put back on the hood. "When you return to earth, your first order of business is to find out as much as you can about this war... it will do you good," she disappeared in a swirl of darkness, leaving our heroes to scratch their heads.
"Who WAS she!" Rob made his Keyblade disappear. "She reminded me of Charlotte," he added with a grimace.
"Charlotte? If this Charlotte's anything like the girl we just met, I wouldn't put too much faith in her advice... unless she's quoting me!"
"Don't be a ham, Sonic," Rob admonished. "But you're right. Don't know what that Larxene's up to. But one thing she's right about: Earth has more answers."
"HEY YOU!" They whirled around to see Barret, Tifa's employer. The tall black man walked towards them. "Tifa says that Tails and the fat man ain't ready yet, but they got a 'unique' way to your home planet."
"What! How?" Rob exclaimed.
"The Twilight Town Train can't just travel around town, it also travels between universes. I suggest you haul ass RIGHT NOW before you miss the next train to earth! Tifa and what's-that-girl's name ("MAYA!" Rob corrected.) are waitin' for y'all!"
"WHAT!" Sonic panicked. "What are we wasting time for! Let's GO!" He grabbed Rob and began to speed away.
Rob and Sonic headed to the train, ready for their first true adventure.
(Those five people in the bar are based on a perfect team made by my friend, consisting of several borrowed characters what would NEVER share a universe together-maybe the Blastoise and the demon biker, but almost no similarities. You're not supposed to know who they are... yet.)