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.
(The Celestial Temple)
While Devon, Sora, and Riku continued on with their Mark of Mastery Exam through the Sleeping Worlds, their friends: Luna, Spyro, Cynder, Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Stormfly, Fishlegs, Meatlug, Snotlout, Hookfang, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Barf and Belch, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had returned from Disney Castle after saving Minnie from Maleficent and Pete and were now in the Celestial Archive with The Inheritor, Vervada, Master Yen Sid and Ignitus. Also with them was Lea, who had traveled back with the group and was now standing before the four wise beings. He said something that shocked the Disney Trio, Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and their dragons.
"What?!" Everyone exclaims
"Absolutely not!" Donald yells pointing at Lea with his left-finger
"I had sensed something was amiss nearly the moment Devon, Sora, and Riku departed." Yen Sid says
"We all did. Teridax must have known what we were attempting before we even began." The Inheritor says
"But do you know where they are?" Luna asks worried for her rider
"You must understand, this examination is in no way how the Mark of Mastery is usually earned. However, in light of what they must do next, it was a necessity. If Devon, Sora and Riku complete their tests and find the doors to the Sleeping Worlds, they will return home with a new power. At that point, they will become true masters. However, the dangers make this more trial than test." The Inheritor says
"But are they safe right now?" Mickey asks
"Considering their abilities, I would like to believe that they are. But unfortunately, all my efforts to locate Devon, Sora, and Riku end... questionably. Teridax is an incredibly devious tactician. There is nothing we can do that he will not, to some extent, be able to predict." The Inheritor says
The group then looks over at Lea as he stood infront of the Inheritor's desk.
"As we can see, the Organization's members are complete people again. Xehanort will be no different. Therefore, we cannot afford another moment's hesitation. We must consider any strategy to outwit the Dark Lord and catch him off guard. I must warn you again, the road will not be easy." The Inheritor says
"Fine. Let's jump right in." Lea says
Later on, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Luna, Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and their dragons remained in the Celestial Archive with The Inheritor, Vervada, Master Yen Sid, and Ignitus after sending Lea with his task.
Luna laid down on the floor next to Toothless, resting her head on her paws. Hiccup sat with the two Night Furies, leaning his back against Toothless and resting his arms on his bent legs. Spyro and Cynder laid down alongside them on their right. Astrid sat with her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly curled around her to the left of Hiccup and Toothless. Fishlegs sat with his sleeping Gronckle, Meatlug, twiddling his thumbs. Snotlout laid down with his hands behind his head next to his Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, who let out a snort and a puff of smoke from his nostrils. And the Thorston Twins sat with their Hideous Zippleback, next to the respective heads of their dragon, Barf and Belch.
Mickey stood infront of the Inheritor's desk with a concerned expression as both the ancient being sat in his throne with his eyes closed in thought while Donald and Goofy stood quietly nearby on his left, looking equally concerned. Master Yen Sid also had his eyes closed. Vervada laid down next to the desk on the left-side. Everything was quiet until Mickey broke the silence as he spoke.
"Inheritor? Gosh, do you think he'll be able to do it?" Mickey asks
"Hmm. It's clear you cannot teach a cat to bark, nor force a horse to drink water, but Merlin and the three good fairies are aiding him in a place that's more... temporarily flexible. My hope is that he can at least learn to wield it." The Inheritor says
"He is certainly gifted with fire, so it depends now on how strongly the flames burn." Yen Sid says
"Oh... But w-what about Devon, Sora and Riku?" Mickey asks
"If we are running on the assumption that the Dark Lord knew what we were planning, then he still would need to have been there, back in the very place and time when Destiny Islands were lost to darkness. Otherwise, Devon, Sora, and Riku would be far beyond his reach." The Inheritor says
"Gee, do you really think it's possible Teridax could have planned things that far in advance?" Mickey asks
"No, as a matter of fact, I do not." The Inheritor says
Goofy tapped his head with his left-finger, thinking to himself until he thought of something.
"But what if he did the same thing as Devon, Sora, and Riku did, and he jumped through time?" Goofy asks
"For that to work, a version of Teridax would have to exist in both source and destination. Not even he has the power to transport his whole body across vast reaches of time." Yen Sid says
At that moment, Mickey realized something else.
"Oh... Oh, no!" Mickey gasps
"What is it?" Luna asks
"I wonder... What if Teridax really did travel across time... through somebody else?" Mickey asks
Everyone looked over at the Inheritor, who narrowed his eyes. He knew that there was one person who was in league with the Dark Lord of the Shadows.
"Xehanort." The Inheritor says
Mickey nodded his head.
"I remember. Xehanort gave up his body. It was a version of him that possessed Riku. His Heartless." Mickey says
"Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness." The Inheritor says
Master Yen Sid's eyes widened in shock.
"No! It cannot be! Could he be that cunning to possess that kind of foresight?!" Yen Sid asks
"Perhaps. We must remember: Teridax is an ancient entity, one who possesses a vast array of powers and abilities. One such power is Intangibility, which allows him to separate himself from his body in spirit form and enact his will across the Universe, even through time. It is possible that when Xehanort sent his Heartless back through time to the point when Destiny Islands fell to darkness, Teridax, a being of darkness, separated his spirit from his body and attached himself to Ansem, also an entity of darkness, and traveled with him to the past. It appears the Dark Lord is more clever than we originally thought." The Inheritor says
"But then that means..." Luna says
Luna's eyes widened with horror, and she let out a gasp, jumping to her feet as she realized. If the Dark Lord was able to travel through time, then he would be able to follow Devon, Sora, and Riku into the Sleeping Worlds and intercept them. The female Night Fury feared of the terrible things that could happen to her beloved rider. The Dark Lord would probably attempt to kill him, torture him, or worse.
"Devon, Sora, and Riku are in danger!" Luna exclaims
Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and their dragons all jump up to their feet, equally worried for Devon, Sora, and Riku.
"That's not good!" Fishlegs whimpers
"We need to get them back now!" Hiccup exclaims
"Before Teridax can get to them!" Astrid exclaims
"If it's all right with you, can I go help Devon, Sora, and Riku out?" Mickey asks
"How? You cannot enter the world of a dream. Where will you go?" Yen Sid asks
"If Teridax really is behind all this, then they won't stay in the dream worlds forever. Eventually, they're gonna reappear somewhere that we can reach 'em. And we can even probably guess the place." Mickey says
"The World That Never Was!" Hiccup exclaims
"Which was Organization XIII's stronghold!" Astrid exclaims
Toothless growls softly and nods his head in agreement.
"Right." Mickey says
The mouse king places his right-hand over his heart and closes his eyes as he remembers something that an old friend once told him.
"'Follow the hearts and you'll find the way.' That's something that Master Aqua told me once." Mickey says
The Inheritor nods in agreement. Donald and Goofy look toward Mickey, determined to go with him on his mission to save Devon, Sora, and Riku.
"King Mickey..." Donald says
"We're going too." Goofy says
Luna, Spyro, Cynder, the Viking Teens and the dragons stepped up to Mickey, also determined to save their friends.
"So are we." Luna says
"Us too." Cynder says
"Same here." Hiccup says
Toothless, Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, Barf and Belch, and the other Viking Teens nod their heads in agreement.
"Aw, you're all such best pals. But this time, I really do need to go it alone. The dangers are greater than anything we've faced before. If something were to happen to Devon, Sora, Riku, and me, why, you'll be the only ones left to keep this world safe." Mickey says
Donald and Goofy slump over and look down in disappointment as does the rest of the group.
"Mickey, I was not able to locate Devon, but I sense Sora and Riku's presence in the realm between. Trust your heart and I know you will find them." The Inheritor says
"Thank you. I promise I'll bring them back safe and sound." Mickey says
(The Realm of Darkness)
Deep within the Realm of Darkness, within the gigantic black castle that is the Palace of Shadows, the Dark Lord of the Shadows, Teridax, sat on his throne with his pet black dragon, Ragnarok, sitting on his haunches to the right of his master. The evil being stroked the back of his dragon's neck with his right-hand, making the beast growl softly as he gazed out at the Realm of Darkness and the rest of his realm through the large, circular, web-like window as a multi-branched bolt of dark blue lightning flashed before them from the clouds in the pitch-black sky with the deafening, loud crash of thunder, illuminating the dark world.
Suddenly, the doors to his throne room creaked open as Lord Thanatos and Lord Drazor enter the room. The two villains crossed the massive hall and ascended the first flight of stairs going over six steps near the end, then stopped before the foot of the second staircase, which had thirteen steps that led up to the throne. The Dark Lord sensed the arrival of his servants and neither he nor his dragon bothered to even turn around to face them.
"SpEaK." Teridax says
"MI LORD, EVERYTHING IS WORKING TO PERFECTION, JUST AS YOU HAVE FORSEEN. THE VESSELS HAVE GATHERED UPON YOUR ORDER AND THE KEYBLADE WIELDER SUSPECTS NOTHING. YET, THE BOY GROWS STRONGER WITH EACH WORLD HE VISITS." Lord Thanatos says
"It MaTtErS nOt. EvEn ThE sTrOnGeSt MoRtAl Is No MoRe StRoNgEr ThAn ThE tInIeSt InSeCt. XeHaNoRt HaS aSsUrEd Me ThAt AlL iS iN pLaCe To TrAp ThE KeYbLaDe WiElDeR. He HaS sErVeD hIs PuRpOsE wElL. SoOn NoW, tHe ThIrTeEnTh VeSsEl Of DaRkNeSs WiLl Be WiThIn OuR gRaSp, AnD wE sHaLl Be OnE sTeP cLoSeR tO aChIeViNg OuR uLtImAtE gOaL: ThE fOrGiNg Of ThE X-bLaDe, AnD wItH iT, KiNgDoM HeArTs." Teridax says
The Dark Lord spins his chair around slowly to the left while his black dragon turns to the right as they face Lord Thanatos and Lord Drazor.
"ThE hOuR oF AsCeNsIoN dRaWs NeAr... LeT tHe SeEdS oF dArKnEsS bEaR tHeIr FrUiT." Teridax says
Teridax stretches out his right-hand and points toward the doors to his throne room.
"Go! BrInG uS oUr FiNaL vEsSeL! DeLiVeR tO mE tHe KeYbLaDe'S ChOsEn! BrInG mE hIs BoDy." Teridax commands
Lord Thanatos and Lord Drazor place their right-hands on their chests and bow their heads to their master, then turn to take their leave as they set out on their mission to capture their target: Devon. The Dark Lord watches with his glowing red eyes as his loyal servants leave the throne room, then he lifts up his right-hand and looks down as a black-red flames envelope it, showing Devon's image as he stood on his open palm.
"FoOlIsH hUmAn. YoU tHiNk YoU cAn ElUdE mE, bUt YoU cOuLdN't Be MoRe WrOnG. My WiLl HaS bEcOmE mAnY-pLaCeD, mAnY-fOrMeD. EyEs AnD eArS lIe EvErYwHeRe. NoThInG yOu Do WiLl Be LeFt UnSeEn. No DeEd Of YoUrS wIlL bE lEfT UnHeArD. SoOn, YoUr SoUl WiLl BeLoNg To Me, YoUr PoWeRs WiLl Be MiNe, AnD I sHaLl FeEd OfF yOuR eSsEnCe As YoU sUfFeR fOr AlL EteRnItY." Teridax says
The Dark Lord closes his hand on Devon's small image and grips it into a fist. A huge black-red aura of darkness enveloped Teridax' body, and it quickly spreads in a massive wave throughout the whole of the throne room, covering all of the walls and the floor with his dreadful malevolence. His hands sparked with dark blue electricity as they sat on their arm rests. In the center of his body, a black-red diamond gem shined with its sinister light, whispering dark voices heard from within. Then, the evil god narrowed his fiery eyes, which glowed even more brighter.
"Hm hm hm hm hm... YeS... SoOn NoW, aFtEr ManY yEaRs Of WaItInG, I wIlL rIsE oNcE mOrE." Teridax chuckles
Author's Note: Another intermission from Devon's journey. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Luna, and the others return to the Celestial Palace with Lea, and they make a shocking discovery. Teridax knows of what our heroes are planning with the Mark of Mastery, and he intends to intercept the three Keyblade Wielders in the Sleeping Worlds. The Inheritor assures everyone that Sora and Riku are safe but could not ascertain Devon's whereabouts. We can all probably guess where he's going to wind up. So now, it's a race against time to save Devon. Will they be able to reach him in time, or will the Keyblade's Chosen fall victim to the Dark Lord's terrible power? Since we're getting close to the end of Paths of Destiny, here's a bit of info for all of you. The next world is not Dinotopia, but a new one that I will reveal in the next chapter. And after that, all that remains is The Wizarding World with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Distant Galaxy with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and the World That Never Was. There were a few other worlds that I still wanted to include in this storyline, including Dinotopia, but like I said, I'll post them later on in separate stories afterwards as extra Sleeping Worlds part of Devon's journey. Spoiler alert: these worlds are The Land Before Time, Jurassic Park, Ice Age, and Shrek. The sequels for Jurassic Park, Ice Age, and Shrek will come into play later between Paths of Destiny and Kingdom Hearts: The Eternal Journey, though the hard part will be to figure out what order to put them in compared to the other worlds that I have planned next. I know there's the Land Before Time sequels as well and trying to figure out the order for them is a headache on itself. I wish I took more time to actually study them more before rushing them into posting. And I know everyone's begging for Prisoner of Azkaban, or now, onto the third and final segment of the story! Let me know what you guys think. No flames please. Hope you guys like and don't forget to review!