Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the Characters, or any Game, Movie, or TV Show content that are mentioned in this FanFiction story. They belong to their respective owners and I honor respect their great works.
"Hey, Axel, you haven't forgotten?" A voice asks
In Twilight Town, Axel sat up on the clock tower, eating Sea-salt ice cream. But he wasn't alone. Sitting next to the red-haired Nobody on his left was his two best friends, Draxon and Roxas. Axel looks over at Roxas, who had spoken, with a confused expression.
"Hm? What?" Axel asks
"You made us a promise." Roxas says
"I did?" Axel asks
"That you'd always be there... to bring us back." Roxas says
"Yeah..." Axel says
Draxon and Roxas look toward Axel.
"Got it memorized?" Draxon asks tapping his head with his left-hand while smiling
Draxon and Roxas both fade away and disappear while Axel laughs by himself on the edge.
"Best friends forever." Axel says smiling
(Radiant Garden)
Lea, the original persona of Axel, laid on the floor of the computer room inside the Heartless Manufactory within the castle at Radiant Garden, now a revived human being. He slowly began to stir awake and regain consciousness.
"Where... What happened to me?" Lea asks
The red-haired human rose to his feet and looks up.
"Roxas? Draxon?" Lea says
Lea looks around the room and his gaze soon brought him to a window on his right, where he saw his reflection in it's transparent glass.
"That's me." Lea says
Lea glances to his left and saw four people lying on the floor, who slowly began to awaken. As he stared at them, he remembered who they were as he said their names.
"Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo." Lea says
These four were the original personas of Organization XIII's former members: Xaldin, Lexeaus, Vexen, and Zexion. With the destruction of their Nobodies, they, like Lea, have been revived as normal people.
Lea glances back at the window and gasped as he noticed something. He moves closer to the window and took a closer look at his reflection. The purple reverse-teardrop marks that used to be underneath his eyes were now gone.
"We're people again... But only the ones who joined the Organization here. I guess Xehanort doesn't count. But where are Braig and..." Lea says
The red-haired human fell silent for a moment. There was someone he had almost forgotten. Besides Draxon and Roxas, there was one other person, who was also his best friend. Lea glances back at the glass as he remembered the name of said friend.
"Isa." Lea says
Once everyone was awake, Lea searches the castle, hoping to find Braig, or at least Isa. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found.
"Where are they? I've turned the castle upside-down." Lea says
Lea walks into Ansem's study and saw Ienzo standing at his mentor's desk on his left and Aeleus on his right near a bookshelf. They were both going through Ansem the Wise's research on the heart to see if they could learn anything about the current situation to recent events.
"Hey, are the other two still out cold?" Lea asks
"Dilan and Even are conscious, but they're unstable. They're resting inside." Aeleus says
"Gotcha. Well, I guess I'll give the castle grounds a sweep." Axel says
Lea turns around to leave, but Aeleus stops him.
"Don't. If they were back, we would have found them by now." Aeleus says
"So, you think they were blasted off to some other world, or what?" Lea asks
"I highly doubt it. When someone who has lost their heart has been recompleted, they should have returned to the place where it happened. And if that world is unavailable for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the Realm Between... a world called Traverse Town. They would be sent there. Or perhaps..." Ienzo explains
Lea walks over to the wall and puts his hands on his waist as he looks at the large portrait of Terra-Xehanort.
"No, look, okay, I get it, the fact is we're here. We've been recompleted, right? They should be here too, plain and simple." Lea says
"I agree, it is strange." Ienzo says
Lea lets out a sigh and glances back at Ienzo.
"What a drag. Could they not have been recompleted at all?" Lea asks
"Well, you see..." Ienzo says
"Ah, forget it. Ya know what, I'll bring 'em back myself." Lea says
"Huh? How exactly?" Ienzo asks
The red-haired human glances up at the drawing on the wall, looking specifically at the 'DTD', which if one remembered correctly was short for 'Door to Darkness'.
"Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?" Lea asks himself
(The Celestial Temple)
Everything was all quiet at the Celestial Temple as the ancient building stood on the large floating island in the cosmic realm. As Devon, Sora, and Riku went on their adventures, all their friends waited for them inside the temple within the Celestial Archive.
The viking teens sat with their dragons on the left-side of the room near the celestial globe. Hiccup sat with his best Night Fury buddy, Toothless as he leaned back on his left-side against his large body. Astrid sat next to them with her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly, who sat down like a mother bird, curling the right-side of her body around her rider. Fishlegs sat with his Gronckle, Meatlug as she slept with content. Snotlout laid on Hookfang's neck, tapping his right-finger on his dragon's head, much to his annoyance as the Monstrous Nightmare growled slightly. Tuffnut and Ruffnut sat with their dragon, Barf and Belch, who had their heads down on the floor next to their riders.
Spyro and Cynder sat together with each other in the center of the room as they stared up at the floating large crystal orb as it glowed with it's dazzling light.
Donald and Goofy stood at the window of the room, gazing out at the stars that filled the cosmic space while Mickey stood nearby with his arms crossed as he pondered to himself.
The Inheritor sat at his desk in meditation with his eyes closed while his faithful white dragoness, Vervada, laid down next to him on his right like sleeping lion. Master Yen Sid stood next to the Inheritor on his left, also in meditation as his eyes were closed too with his hands in the sleeves of his robes. The new dragon Chronicler, Ignitus, went through books as they floated infront of him to ensure that they were all in order. And perhaps he might find a clue as to the whereabouts of the three missing Keyblade Wielders, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua. Although he had searched already, none of the books he went through could discern their locations. Despite this, he would not stop until he would find something that would help in the future fight against the Dark Lord of the Shadows.
Everyone wondered how the three Keyblade Wielders were doing on their Mark of Mastery exams, but none of them was more concerned that Luna, the female Night Fury, who was Devon's loyal dragoness companion. She laid down on the floor near the viking teens and the other dragons like a dog with her right-paw on top of her left-paw and her hindlegs stretched out to the right. She had thought about her rider every minute since he left. Her feelings toward him were very strong. She wanted more than anything to go with him into the Sleeping Worlds, but Luna knew that this was a very important time for Devon. This was his next big step into becoming the Legendary Keyblade Master that he was destined to be. It was a task he had to do alone. At least Sora and Riku were with him.
"Gee, I hope Devon and Sora are okay." Donald says
"Sora will be just fine as long as Riku's with him." Goofy says
"I'm sure Devon is doing well. I have faith in him." Luna says
"Of course. They're strong. Especially Devon. He's stronger than Sora and Riku combined." Hiccup says
Toothless warbles, nodding his head in agreement.
"If our past adventures with him are one indication, Devon can handle anything that comes his way." Astrid says
"Well, they better get done soon 'cause it feels like this Mark of Mastery or whatever is taking forever." Snotlout groans in boredom
"Yeah! I'd rather be getting in for some action! Fighting Heartless and Nobodies with our dragons!" Tuffnut says
"Me too! It's better than having to sit here on our butts!" Ruffnut says
"Don't you guys get it? This is very important for Devon, Sora, and Riku." Astrid says
"That's right. The Inheritor said it took years of training to become Keyblade Masters." Fishlegs says
"Can you imagine having to wait all that time before then? At least they're taking the quick way around it." Hiccup says
"Yeah? Well... it's still taking a long time!" Snotlout says
Mickey was thinking to himself, tapping his right-finger on his left-arm. He had a troubled expression like something was wrong.
"You don't think... No!" Mickey says
Luna's head perked up and the others looked over at the mouse king upon hearing the concern in his voice.
"What is it, Mickey?" Luna asks
Mickey turns around to face the Inheritor, Vervada, and Master Yen Sid.
"Inheritor!" Mickey says
Before the mouse king could say anything more, a black bird flies into the room through an open window behind the Inheritor's desk and hovers overhead.
"Look! It's a raven!" Goofy says
"Uh-oh!" Mickey says
"That raven is Maleficent's." Master Yen Sid says
"What's it doing here?" Cynder asks
"Obviously, it can't be nothing good." Spyro says
The group take a closer look and noticed that the raven had a crown in it's beak and a wrapped up letter in it's talons.
"What's it got?" Donald asks
The raven drops the items on The Inheritor's desk, then takes off through the open window. The group all come up to the desk and examine the items. Mickey instantly recognizes the crown.
"Why, that's Minnie's." Mickey says
"And there's a note." Astrid says
Mickey takes the letter, opens it, and read it silently.
"Well?" Donald asks
"What does it say?" Hiccup asks
"It's from Maleficent. She's kidnapped Minnie." Mickey says
"She took Queen Minnie?!" Donald and Goofy exclaim in unison
Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch growl at the sound of Maleficent's name.
"So, that witch is up to no good." Hiccup says
"We remember her." Astrid says
"Yeah. We sure do." Tuffnut says
Tuffnut remained silent for a moment, then shared confused glances with his twin sister.
"Wait. Who was Maleficent again?" Tuffnut asks
"You got me." Ruffnut says shrugging her shoulders
"The last time we saw her, Maleficent was in Organization XIII's stronghold." Fishlegs says
"But why would she kidnap Queen Minnie?" Goofy asks
"Did the note say anything else?" Spyro asks
"It says for me to return to Disney Castle... or else." Mickey says
"Mickey, there is no time to waste." Master Yen Sid says
The mouse king nods his head in understanding. Then, the Inheritor spoke.
"Do what you can to save your queen, Mickey, but remain vigilant. There is no telling what Maleficent's intentions are in kidnapping Minnie. We do not yet know what side of the board she is on." The Inheritor says
"Right." Mickey says
Mickey turns toward Donald and Goofy on his left.
"You fellas stay here." Mickey says
Donald and Goofy salute Mickey.
"King Mickey! We're going with you!" Donald and Goofy say in unison
Luna takes a step forward, drawing Mickey's attention as he looks over to his left.
"We're going too." Luna says
"Count us in." Hiccup says
Toothless puts on a determined expression and he nods his head with a growl.
"Gosh... I guess you're right, pals. We friends need to stick together." Mickey says
Mickey turns and looks toward The Inheritor and Master Yen Sid.
"Inheritor, Master Yen Sid, we'll be right back!" Mickey says
"Travel safely and return victorious, my friends. May the light of Kingdom Hearts protect you." The Inheritor says
Moving fast to save Queen Minnie, the group leaves The Celestial Temple in the Gummi ship and take off for Disney Castle. The Inheritor, Master Yen Sid, Vervada, and Ignitus began to wonder about the sudden change of events.
"The timing is too perfect, too calculated." Master Yen Sid says
"Maleficent must sense a change in the forces of darkness." Vervada says
The Inheritor had his eyes closed in thought as he pondered over this. Master Yen Sid was right. Maleficent's timing was too perfect. For her to attack in this fashion during the Mark of Mastery exam, there must have definitely been a big change in the forces of darkness. Only one person in the entire Universe could cause such a change. The holy being soon opened his eyes with realization.
"Teridax... He is on the move." The Inheritor says
"Can we be certain that Teridax' hand is involved in this?" Ignitus asks
"With the Dark Lord, nothing is certain. He is masterful in manipulation. Always he works within the shadows, maintaining his presence to a minimum while his servants tend to do his will." The Inheritor says
"Like Lord Thanatos and Xehanort." Ignitus says
"Yes." The Inheritor says
"And what of Maleficent? Could she be working with him?" Vervada asks
The Inheritor closes his eyes in thought.
"It is difficult to say. Even with my foresight, I cannot predict what may come. The future is always in motion. It is plausible that Teridax sees Maleficent as an ally. His power and wisdom holds great influence, something that she cannot ignore. Many are drawn to the promise of power. Such is the allure of darkness. One that Teridax uses to his advantage. However, there is still the possibility that Maleficent could still be a red herring. A pawn like the rest of us. Whatever her intentions, always it is for her own gain. All she desires in her heart is power and Teridax provides much of that." The Inheritor says
"Do you think he could know what we're planning to do with Devon, Sora, and Riku?" Vervada asks
"If he did, he would've attacked immediately. Teridax is much too clever. He could be bidding his time, seeking out allies for his empire, new members for the Dark Order, expanding his army. Whether or not Maleficent is league with Teridax remains to be seen. But already the Dark Lord has enough forces at his disposal to claim dominion over the Universe. If he can enlist powerful beings like Sauron, Malefor, or Xehanort to his side, he can very well win over any heart that has ties to darkness." The Inheritor says
Vervada and Ignitus shared concerned looks on their faces. Even Master Yen Sid was in deep concern.
"For now, it seems that Maleficent plays a neutral part in this war. Let us hope that she remains so." The Inheritor says
(Disney Castle)
Over at Disney Castle, the group confronts Maleficent in the library as they stood across from the evil witch. Pete stood over to the left of Maleficent with Queen Minnie held hostage. The large cat held the mouse queen back with his right-hand and covered Minnie's mouth with his other hand to gag her and keep her quiet. Luna, Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch all growled at the two villains.
"Pete, you big thug!" Donald says
"Hehehe. 'Thug' works for me. We all got a role to play, right?" Pete chuckles
"Gawrsh, at least he's honest in a dishonest way." Goofy says
"Silence! No underling of mine shall be insulted so. I have great plans for dear Pete and for all the worlds... once I have taken them for my own." Maleficent says
"Then, we've got bad news for you! That day's never gonna come." Mickey says
"Perhaps you should take a few moments to reconsider. Or does the queen's life mean nothing to you at all." Maleficent says
Minnie manages to free her mouth from Pete's hand for a moment and cries out to Mickey.
"Mickey! Don't you listen to her! You can't let Maleficent have her-" Minnie exclaims
Pete covers Minnie's mouth again, muffling her voice.
"No! Minnie!" Mickey exclaims
The mouse king lets out a sigh. He couldn't endanger Minnie's life by resisting. If anything were to happen to her, Mickey would never forgive himself. Forced into his decision, Mickey eases off and asks the witch for her demands.
"All right, Maleficent. Tell us what you want." Mickey says
"Let me see... Shall I begin with this world? I much preferred it in it's darker, more ominous permutation." Maleficent says
"You said it. This place needs some lights-out time!" Pete says
"You're lying, Maleficent. Not even you would go through this much trouble just for that. What is it you're really after?" Mickey says
"Very perceptive. I presume you're familiar with Makuta Teridax, the Dark Lord of the Shadows, who led me to discover worlds outside of my own?" Maleficent says
The group gasps in shock.
"Teridax!?" The group exclaims in unison
"You know him?" Mickey asks
"As do you, I see. Yes, he shared everything with me. His dark power is one truly to be feared. And his wisdom is far beyond that even myself. It was he who shared with me all his secrets, how to go about winning a heart over to the darkness, and, most gloriously, about the seven hearts of pure light, the ones that would grant me the power I need to conquer all worlds. However, the worlds were too complex. Too much for even me to contain. It seemed I had miscalculated. Then it came to me, of course! I could go about conquering other worlds in my own manner. You do have the 'Data' for all the worlds, do you not? And now you will hand it over to me." Maleficent says
"What do you mean?" Mickey asks
"Don't you bozos pretend you don't remember! Me and Maleficent was trapped inside it! Now cough it up!" Pete says
"Why do you want the data?" Mickey asks
"I'm afraid that is no concern of yours." Maleficent says
Mickey grunts.
"Ah-ah-ah... Wouldn't want her royal Minnie mousiness to get a boo-boo, now would we?" Pete says
"I see you have failed to recognize the futility of your situation. Very well..." Maleficent says
Maleficent's staff starts to glow with green flames.
"Face your doom!" Maleficent says
The Mistress of Evil thrusts her staff forward, sending green flames toward the heroic group while they brace themselves.
Suddenly, two familiar chakrams fly out of a dark corridor. One shields the group from the green flames while the other flies toward Pete, nearly hitting him. Pete loosens his grip on Minnie and backs away. Seizing her brief chance of freedom, Minnie raises her right-hand up and calls upon the light.
"Light!" Minnie says
A beam of light shines down on Minnie, throwing Pete back and causing Maleficent to shield herself with her dark cloak. While they were caught off guard, Minnie rushes over to Mickey.
"Oh, Mickey!" Minnie says
"Minnie!" Mickey says
Mickey and Minnie share a brief mouse kiss with each other, then the group quickly turn back to Maleficent as they made their stand. Mickey summons his Keyblade while Donald and Goofy summon their weapons.
"Maleficent, you lose." Mickey says
"Say, uh, milady, I think the pipsqueak's right. We better hit the road!" Pete says
"I know now that what I seek lies within these walls. Trust that I will eliminate you all in good time." Maleficent says
Maleficent turns and opens a dark corridor to her right and walks into it, taking her leave while Pete runs to catch up with her.
"Hey! Wait for me! Maleficent? Wait!" Pete says
Maleficent and Pete disappear into the dark corridor, which closes soon after they left. Once they were gone, the group turns to the other dark corridor. They were very surprised when they saw who it was walking out.
"You used the darkness to get here? That was reckless. But gosh, I didn't expect you to save us... Axel." Mickey says
"Axel didn't."
Lea walks over and grabs his one chakram as it stood up on it's side, hefting it over his right-shoulder as he turns to face the heroes.
"My name is Lea."
The red-haired human points to his head with his left-hand.
"Got it memorized?" Lea says smiling
Author's Note: Here's a little intermission from Devon's journey. As the three Keyblade Wielders partake in their Mark of Mastery exams, there's trouble afoot at Disney Castle. Queen Minnie been kidnapped by Maleficent and Pete, who are obviously up to no good. The heroes go to confront the evil witch and her minion, but are saved when Lea steps in to lend them a hand. So, now Lea joins the heroes. The first segment in Devon's journey is through. Now, it's onto the second segment in Paths of Destiny. Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!