Secrets of Memories Chapter 54: Cold Fusion
Silver flashes. Gold fire. Blue thunder. Colors roared in his mind, swirling, flashing, filling him with a fiery warmth and a strength he had never felt before. The unseen entity pulsed in his mind, willing him to get up, to stand and face the premature dismantling of Atlantis.
If I am to show you, you must get up. If you refuse, you may be at fault for ridding this Universe of one of the last hopes of the Light.
Then tell me who you are, Sora demanded silently, staring at his reflection in continuing horror. His eyes, his blue eyes, they were like liquid metal. Who are you to invade my mind?
I am a voice of one imprisoned far back in Time, the nameless, sexless entity boomed and he winced. Designated guardian of the Crystal Force and a voice of the Queen of Light. She has bid me to teach you all that I know, all that you must know.
Why haven't anyone told me of this 'Queen of Light'? Sora asked angrily.
Why must you know now? The voice snapped back, growing impatient. Attack first, ask later. You will have time to know but now is not the time.
Sora sighed and closed his eyes. That's what it feels like every moment, every second of my life. But you are far from wrong. I will not bring about the downfall of everything and everyone I know and love. Teach me and I will fight.
He heard the voice whispering in his mind. Excellent…
Slowly he rose to his feet, his knees and hands dripping. He shook slightly, felt one last fiery impulse, hotter and more painful than the last.
" What's he doing?" Commander Rourke muttered to Helga as he became distracted from the very blue Princess Kida and faced a more immediate danger. He had read the look in Sora's face and didn't like it one bit.
" The Crystal Force did something to him," Helga observed sharply, raising her pistol. " He's still glowing that same blue. And his face…"
Milo stared first at the blue Kida, then at the glowing eyes of a stern-faced Sora. He couldn't figure out what frightened him more, the extraterrestrial animated crystal woman or the glowing-eyed vindictive teenager.
Simba stepped forward carefully, feeling a barrio rise up between them, a wall separating the mortal and real with the immortal and impossible.
" Sora?"
" Lay low, Simba. There are those who will receive their just reward for their actions." Sora spoke with two voices, his serious real voice and some strange, impassive voice.
" Commander Rourke!" Sora called out. " How much longer, until you receive your just reward?"
" The situation's getting far too out of hand," Helga decided once and for all. " Terminate…that little brat."
She pulled the trigger.
Sora stared impassively, even as the pistol sounded off. His glowing eyes watched the metal bit, what Yuna called the 'bullet', spin slowly in his direction. The Silver Keyblade materialized instantaneously in his hand and he simply waited for the bullet to pull through the last leg of its journey.
The others, it seemed that he pulled off an impossibly fast move in smashing the bullet away. Helga stared, dropping her pistol in shock.
He shifted his stance quickly, his left hand facing them, his weapon pulled back and ready to strike again. " Bullets are not going to stop me."
" But these will," Commander Rourke smirked. General Pete had given him the power to summon the Dusk at will. And Sora was hindering him. Time was short. Time to feed the bastard his own medicine.
He raised his left hand and eight Shield Nobodies immediately materialized.
" This is bad," Simba told himself, jumping to his feet.
" What are you doing?" Milo demanded as Commander Rourke reached out and grabbed Princess Kida by the arm. The middle-aged man yelped and yanked his hand back; the blue crystal was giving off its own heat.
" Do not interfere. I will follow," her voice, somewhat detached from her crystalline body, spoke.
" If you say so," Commander Rourke shrugged, yanked out a very hi-tech looking pistol, and quickly strode to the center of the platform. Helga picked up her pistol and ran behind Princess Kida, to make sure nothing would go wrong.
Milo turned around, spotting them make a hasty get-away. " Wait! No!"
" He will come," Princess Kida ordered. " But only to the edge of Atlantis."
Commander Rourke grumbled something incredibly unintelligible but let Milo on. The poor man looked back to the semi-circle of Shield Nobodies advancing on Sora, who still showed no signs of emotion. Simba was slowly inching on one side of the semi-circle, creeping through the rocky terrain of this underground.
" Fight all they want; they won't get out," Helga smirked as the platform rose and they vanished from view.
''
Sora watched each of the Shield Nobodies, as the voice spoke in his mind. There is a way of fighting the darkness. A different way, in which you are not bound to the earth. A way that could free you and let you do the impossible.
Two of the Shield Nobodies lunged forward, in a brutal attempt to pinch Sora into mush. His glowing eyes spotted their incredibly fast moves and he leaped into the air, somersaulted away from the imminent collision and landed safely from the clash. He then stepped forward and with two quick jabs, the two Shield Nobodies were dispatched.
As Simba watched in growing horror and fascination, Sora spun away from another Shield Nobody, used one as a launching pad, and eliminated more of the Dusk. Sweeping low, he avoided a jump, and spun around, his Keyblade coming up and slicing the descending Shield Nobody in half. The one he had used as a launching pad was still disoriented; he smashed the Dusk's helmet in and it exploded into a blue heart.
Three remained, wary now. Five minutes had gone and five Shield Nobodies had been destroyed by the brutally fast Keyblade Master. His metallic eyes seemed to glow even stronger. His right eye shone like gold fire; his left eye radiated mercurial silver. They watched each of the Shield Nobodies, pursued them mercilessly, as they tried to dodge the Keyblade Master's flying attacks.
Sora somersaulted, spun sideways, and swung at a Shield Nobody that had charged forward and ended up rushing by him. Caught in the back, the Shield Nobody stumbled forward and splashed spectacularly into the dark waters; a blue heart bloomed from the tumultuous waves and exploded like fireworks in the dark cavern. In the blazing light, Simba saw the tunnel that led out of the cavern. Apparently, the rulers of Atlantis had more than one way of accessing the Crystal Force.
A Shield Nobody went flying and smashed into bits against the lifeless remains of the spinning stones they first saw. Simba was unfortunate to be near; a finger of the Shield Nobody smacked his muzzle.
One remained, wary of Sora. Was the Shield Nobody actually full of fear? This was new.
Sora stood in the shallows of the water, watching, looking incredibly unemotional as the Shield Nobody danced to and fro, staying away from the water. Then the Shield Nobody lunged, its shield and jagged sword ready to try and smash Sora.
He quickly sidestepped and smashed the Shield Nobody with his elbow. The Shield Nobody toppled over and exploded again.
Simba stared. That was it? One jab of the elbow and the job was done?
" Sora?"
But he knew this was not Sora. Sora was no more. Something in the great spinning stones had done something to him. Simba knew that it was not only Sora that told him to lay low.
" This will lead us to where Donald and Goofy had gone," the Keyblade Master simply responded. " For it is Pete we are after, Peg-leg Pete. If we are to stop Commander Rourke, we are to stop Pete first. A man with no power over the Nobodies is nothing and easily dispatched."
" Sora, I don't like you killing everything," Simba told him. " If killing Commander Rourke is your intent, I will not fight."
" They must receive just rewards for their actions," Sora answered. " An eye for an eye, an ear for an ear. They have killed, so will we."
Ignoring Simba completely, Sora strode past him, dripping with the water from the cavern's pool. His stride was different now, Simba realized. Long, low, quick, and with a purpose. Sora knew where he was going and nobody was going to stop him.
There was something about Atlantis that Simba didn't like, especially if it turned Sora from a sad teenager to a murdering avenger. But why? What had happened?
''
Milo shifted his feet, full of fear, as his former friends began to load the casket bearing Princess Kida into their great tanker. Hundreds of Atlanteans stood behind him, watching the spectacle with consternation. They had yet to understand just how serious the problem was."
" Commander, how can you just…take off like that?" Milo demanded, finally summoning the courage to ask his question. " These people will have no hope, no reason to live, if you take her away!"
" Tough luck," Commander Rourke snapped back. " That's life, pal. To the victor go the spoils. We've won, they've lost, and so have you."
" But-but you will be killing these people, Commander!" Milo cried out futilely, pulling out one last weapon, one last truth that would gain sympathy from one who was truly human.
" Do I look like I care?" Commander Rourke barked at him. " No! Might as well leave you here with your little underground friends; we've no more use for you now."
Milo stared at the middle-aged man in shock. He didn't care if the Atlanteans died!
Audrey Rocio Ramirez was stunned, too. She always had a soft spot in her heart for the poor young scholar and she made up her mind to join him at Atlantis. It was the only way to get rid of the guilt threatening to swallow her up.
" I'm with you," she said boldly and, jumping off the tanker, she ran to join Milo.
The others looked at each other. They were in for the money and they wanted to get away as soon as possible but what Commander Rourke said was rather chilling. They also had no idea what Commander Rourke had done in that underground cavern.
" I'm in," Dr. Sweet, the tall black man, declared and joined the two, staring at Commander Rourke and Helga in defiance.
" So am I!" Cookie laughed gleefully and ran to join them, hanging on to his mixing bowl in the process.
" Oh me, me, too!" Mole practically burrowed his way to them.
" Oh shame on m!" Vinny, their excellent dynamite expert, moaned. " I will not walk with someone so inhuman when others have joined forces against him! Farewell, home above the sea!"
He ran to Milo, Audrey, Sweet, Cookie, and Mole.
Commander Rourke scowled. Things were definitely not going well.
" What's going on here?" Packard demanded as she stuck her head out of the truck. " Ah, rebelling against that egghead at long last? I'm in!"
Commander Rourke scowled even more. " Very well. You mutineers might as well die with Milo and the rest of the Atlanteans!"
" I don't' think so, Rourke!" Audrey shot back. " We were in for some money and finding Atlantis and all but you have gone way too far. There was nothing in the agreement about wiping out a whole civilization!"
" That's right," Dr. Sweet agreed. " And I should know what it means to wipe out a whole people!"
He was referring to his own heritage; he was half Native American.
" The best land I've ever been on and I won't let you take it away!" Mole sniffed at him.
" And I've heard their libraries are extensive, especially in the area of dynamites," Vinny said. " Once these people are gone, the libraries would vanish and it will be all your fault! Return the Princess or we will do something about it!"
" Like what?" Commander Rourke sneered. " What are you going to do?"
The huge missile launcher on the tanker trained on them; Helga had gone and helped clear off the pathway out of Atlantis; now she had turn the gun around and was aiming at them, to silence them.
" Any ideas, hotshot?" Audrey muttered to Milo.
" Uh….well, not exactly. Anybody?"
" We only jumped ship with you. Thought you had a plan or something," Dr. Sweet decided to mention.
Milo sighed and hung his head. " Make my day."
" I will," Simba snarled, appearing from behind them, his eyes trained on Commander Rourke. " An eye for an eye, an ear for an ear, a nose for a nose. His intents make it clear who he is. There will be no repercussions for the one who stops Commander Rourke and Helga by extreme means."
" Lions don't scare me," Commander Rourke stated flatly. " Take her away, Helga. Let us leave these losers to die, as is the fate of all who lose."
" Wait, no!" Milo yelled and ran forward.
The missile launcher roared and a blast of hot air hit his face, throwing him back. The ground shook violently as smoke billowed upward, obscuring the tanker.
" No, stop!" Milo was ready to rush forward into the cloud of smoke and dust after the tanker but Simba lunged forward and pulled him back.
" Fool! They've blasted the bridge out!" the golden lion snapped. " We need another way out of the city after them."
" There is no other way," one of the white-haired Atlanteans stepped forward. " That was our only pathway out of here, if you're talking about where they're headed."
" This…is bad," Packard puffed on her cigarette.
" Maybe not." Milo remembered the crystal that Princess Kida wore around her neck. The other Atlanteans, she had informed, did, too. And they did come across strange machines with holes shaped to allow someone to insert their crystal in it. The serpentine machines seemed to have a purpose, known as flying.
" You, come with me!" Milo exclaimed, gesturing to the man who had spoken. " I've something to try out. If it works, we may have a way to cross the bridge."
Minutes later, one of the serpentine machines roared to life and soared upward, to the cheering of the jubilant and hopeful people. More Atlanteans pulled out their crystals, searching out machines to turn on with their crystals. Soon, formidable tankers and flyers congregated in front of the blown-out bridge.
Milo, tired but happy that they had a plan to stop Commander Rourke, looked at Simba. Worry suddenly crossed his mind.
" Simba, where's Sora?"
''
" Donald, I'm…I'm tired," Goofy sat down abruptly, breathing hard.
" You can't be tired now!" Donald yelled at him. " Firaga!"
Pete simply cartwheeled away and laughed at them. Was this really all they could give him? Look at them, their weakness, their pathetic-ness; fools, they were, fools they are, fools they will always be.
" Look at you, out of breath, weak in the face of darkness!" Pete mocked them. " See what happens when you remain in the light? The longer you stay in the light, the farther you go in its aura, the more it will blind you to your path and the longer your shadow will grow. A pity it is too late to invite you into your ranks now; my pity for you died long ago."
" We…don't need your pity!" Donald spat at him. " Gwaahhh! King Mickey should've done you away while he had the chance! If only!"
" No matter…the darkness…" Goofy struggled to speak; he was so tired he could do nothing but breath…and speak a bit. " No matter…the darkness…the light will always shine. So will our hearts…though yours…was lost…long ago."
" Sympathy upon a heart of stone; my heart is stronger than yours!" Pete laughed. " Ansem was right when he discovered that all hearts were born from darkness! And you resist its calling, the darkness calling your heart back to its place of birth! And that is why I am so much stronger than you!"
" You…are not!" Donald shrilled. " Waterga!"
All three stared at the trickle of water that fell from Donald's staff and created a hole in the ground.
" Weakness, the light is too weak," Pete remarked. " This is the power of darkness. Firaga!"
" Aeroga!"
A huge wind shield whirled up around Donald and Goofy, protecting them while deflecting the massive fireball that Pete had thrown at them. Pete, startled as he was, was able to react fast enough to throw himself out of the way of the incoming mass of fire, which set the tree behind him on fire.
" Sora!" Goofy cheered enthusiastically as Sora appeared from between the threads of the wind.
Donald narrowed his gaze. Something seemed wrong here, something very wrong. Why was Sora's right eye shining gold and his left eye gleaming silver?
" Sora? Is that you for sure?" Donald squalled as Aeroga died away.
" It depends," Sora spoke, but the wizard could hear the layering in his voice. Despite his tired state, he leaped onto his feet and pointed his staff at the Keyblade Master.
" Who are you and what have you done to Sora?" Donald demanded angrily. Both Goofy and Pete stared at this exchange in surprise.
Sora seemed unfazed. " I am Sora. But…I am also someone else. A power in this land wishes to see its wrongs righted, for one last time!"
He turned to Pete, his eyes narrowing dangerously. " Your ally Commander Rourke will be of no use once Milo Thatch and the Atlanteans stop him. I, the voice of the forces of Atlantis, know this and so do you. The darkness here will fade one last time before the great destruction and I will see that it will come to pass!"
" Give me all you got," Pete spat, shifting into fighting stance. " I've always wanted to fight the famous Sora, the one Ansem always talked about!"
Sora's face didn't even flinch; he merely watched the great, hulking enemy passively. " One last thing: try as you might but his powers will unlock. And then…you will be in trouble!"
Sora turned to Goofy. " Fusion Force!"
''
It was the most brilliant thing Donald had ever since, the most intimidating display of power seen. He basically just sat there, gaping in utter shock.
Flashes of blue flames licked the air as light shone skyward and outward. Sora and Goofy glowed in pure, white-hot energy, until Donald could not see them anymore for fear of frying his retinas. There was a roar as air rushed up into the sky, surrounding a pillar of hot white flame as it shot for the skies of Atlantis. There was a silent explosion, a violent but quiet ripple of energy as the white flames poured down from the spectacular burst.
" By the dark fox!" Pete was heard swearing.
Wisps of white power continued in a dancing circle around a glowing form in the middle of the great pillar of power. It looked like Sora…but not really. Goofy's power ran through the strong lines of the glowing Keyblade Master and he was holding two weapons, which came as a surprise.
" Sora? Goofy?" Donald asked tentatively.
His eyes were gold and silver but shone with the souls of those within. His clothes were bright red, crimson red with strength and unfailing courage. He spun the Kingdom Key and the Oathkeeper in his hands, unafraid of the power within him.
" The Brave Suit," Pete growled, his eyes narrowing darkly. "Only three times before and never in our lifetimes. A challenge indeed."
" The powers of Fusion have awaken once more in a Master," Sora spoke but now he spoke with three voices. " Whether or not the power will stay…we shall see! Hyah!"
He came at Pete, both Keyblades flying. Pete quickly pulled his armored arms up to block the blows but had underestimated the power behind the two Keyblades; he stumbled backwards in astonishment. Sora/Goofy didn't give him time to rest, flitting to the side and striking out. He then somersaulted over Pete's head, then whirled around and slashed out with the Kingdom Key. Pete easily blocked it but could not regroup in time to stop the Oathkeeper that came flying a short time afterwards.
" Argh!" Pete screamed, picking himself up from the ground. " Such power! One that the Society can handle. This has gotten out of hand; my part in your doom is done!"
" Coward!" His eyes blazing, Sora/Goofy suddenly appeared before Pete and blocked off his exit. " False courage you display, you false noble. If you keep up this gimmick, soon you will see that even the darkness is false and that your very life is but a dream."
" GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Pete roared and slashed at Sora/Goofy, who merely jumped backwards and landed lightly on his feet. He did nothing as Pete fled from them, crashing through the underbrush in the manner of the wild animals of the forest.
Donald stared after the yawning pathway Pete had just created. There was an audible pop behind him and he whirled around. Goofy sat on the ground, blinking in stunned astonishment, his shield cast off a little ways. Sora stood a little way, looking longingly at the obvious trail the rogue darkness left behind. But he made no move to pursue Pete.
To pursue the untouchable darkness is to waste good time, the strange entity whispered in Sora's mind, lassoing in his urge to chase after the enemy. There will be another time, if all the forces will allow it, for you to stop him once and for all, and avenge the slander and pain that Disney suffered from his evils. But only if the forces will allow it.
" Only if the forces allow is…" The words sounded so strangely ominous.
Here I will leave you, to find your own path to the one that equals you in all but the color of the heart, the voice spoke, solemnly, seeming to know what darkness lay before Sora's path. Ask what questions you will but the identity of your adversary I will not speak. Perhaps you've met your adversary, perhaps not. But beware the flames of darkness. That is my only counsel. I bid you luck of the most immediate kind, for darkness is your path and the path you will take, whether you like it or no.
" Darkness?" Sora demanded out loud, whirling around. " What darkness? Tell me the truth!"
Donald started. Sora had turned his head and his eyes had turned the sky blue that Donald and Goofy had known. But now there was a spark of gold in his right eye and his left had a strangely silver sheen.
" Um…Sora?"
Sora shook his head. " I'm…I'm fine. Don't mind me…Donald, Goofy, where are we?"
" We, ah, we're in the middle of a jungle…in Atlantis," Goofy remarked.
Sora started, as if he had just realized where he was. " Atlantis…Milo! C'mon!"
""
Poor Milo. He may have the alliance of the Atlanteans, he may have the power of their incredible technology, but Commander Rourke was still more powerful. Though Helga had been brought down, though by the Commander's own hand, he more than held his own.
" Which finger shall I stomp on first?" he asked, striding about on the small platform that surrounded the container that held the crystalline form of Princess Kida. Milo, hanging for dear life, whitened as he tried to move his clasping fingers from the range of the Commander's boots.
" This one? Or this one? Or this one?" Commander Rourke stomped at the last and Milo yanked his hand back.
Helga, grimacing, came into consciousness. She felt as though every bone in her body had broken and she knew just as well that this was true; Commander Rourke had betrayed her and cast down her to kill and silence her.
" He may bring me down," she muttered through gritted teeth, feeling weaker by the moment, " but bring him down I will. Vengeance shall be mine before the teenager meets him!"
She pulled out her flare gun, aimed at the parachute pulling the container, Princess Kida, Commander Rourke, and Milo Thatch up the volcano passageway – never mind the still-smoking wreckage that was the gummi ship - and pulled the trigger.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy, thanks to their High Jump skills, had cleared the gap in the bridge and were running to where the others had gone when a violent, fiery explosion, followed by a blue blast, threw them back.
From the smoking cavern came flying the great, slender machines, bearing many riders tainted with soot, followed by Milo on foot. Sora, Donald, and Goofy, briefly stunned, staggered back onto their feet, and noticed how fast people were fleeing the source of destruction.
" Is it a good time to run?" Sora yelled to Milo.
" RUN!"
Lava came steaming out of the cavern, frying the air around it as it hungrily slid its way towards the earthbound people on the bridge.
" The gap!" Goofy yelped to Milo, who screeched to a stop and stared in horror.
" Hang on!" Sora jumped into the air. " Super Glide!"
He grabbed Milo by the collar and safely hauled him across. Donald and Goofy High Jumped after him as the lava came pouring down. Atlantis shook violently as the volcanic lava continued to flow; the Atlanteans screamed or stared in frozen horror as the air around them shivered and steam rose from the water below. The high ceiling above them violently shook as well; Helga had unknowing set off the most violent explosion ever witnessed by the Atlanteans since their great city first sank under the sea.
" We're gonna die!" Audrey screamed and Mole madly dug a hole for himself to hide in.
" PEACE!"
Blue light flashed through the city, reaching to the skies and piercing the lava.
And all turned to light…
""
" Perhaps some day we will visit before your city finally dies," Sora said tentatively, as soon as they had retrieved the pieces of the gummi ship and, through Queen Kida's power, rebuilt it. He stood with solemn silence, knowing that though Atlantis had escaped destruction, the day of doom was drawing nearer.
" If you can spare the time," she smiled. Her wise eyes were still solemn, filled with the pain of her father's undoing by the now dead Commander Rourke's hand. " If you can spare the time."
" And make sure you find Pete, too," Milo added fiercely. He had elected to stay in Atlantis, recording their history as known by the eldest of the Atlanteans, studying the architecture and the ancients, and especially the incredible technology. And of course to be with Queen Kida. His friends had already begun the arduous climb to the surface and Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to go.
Simba, the proud lion king, would stay with them and begin mobilizing defenses around Atlantis; then he would return to what remained of his world back in Traverse Town.
" Make sure to visit," the scholar added, " or we shall all be terribly disappointed."
" So would I," Sora smiled. " So would I."
" Sora," Queen Kida seemed ready to give council and council she gave. " Be careful. The next place you must go to is dangerous, very dangerous. We've lost one of the Order and that means the Heartless can freely roam. Be careful, for our sake and yours, for your life may be in far graver danger than you think."
" They…will not get me," Sora said slowly.
" And we'll make sure they don't," Goofy nodded grimly and with assurance, crossing his arms and nodding.
" But if only…he be still with you…" Queen Kida left the sentence undone as she, arm in arm with Milo, began the walk back to the palace. " Farewell…"
Sora looked on, troubled and frustrated at the same time. With a huff, he turned and headed for the gummi ship.
Chapter 55…
" Where'd the hell did you send me?"
" Well, I come from the ocean."
" It's about time you got back on track."