CHAPTER XXXVII

DEAD-END CONVERSATION

"Residents of Emptiness Crossing! Gaze upon the masters of the dragon! These four foolish intruders are the very same people who unleashed the dragon on you that fateful night!" Maleficent cried, smiling at Sora with an evil glint in her eye. "Destroy them, and destroy the problem…"

All the townsfolk looked at Sora and his friends as if they really were the dragon…they began to scream and run in all directions, taking shelter in their houses…none of them got near Sora as they ran, as if he were cursed…a plague on their city…

"No! Wait, we have nothing to do with the dragon!" Sora yelled.

"Lies! Silence the liars! Obey your Protectress!" she called out, screaming at the weak fools who were hiding in their houses.

The only two residents of Emptiness Crossing that stayed outside in the square were Biggs and Wedge. The stood in the gazebo, looking between Maleficent and Sora, an equal distance from both. Biggs pointed one of his sausage-like fingers directly at the friends.

"He has the mark of the castle on his necklace! He's got to be the dragon's master…" he said, secretly not wanting it to be true.

"The dragon's master…he's got to be." Wedge said, reaching behind him.

Biggs reached down to his side and untucked his shirt – safely hidden in his belt were two medium sized mallets, each bearing a shiny silver head. Wedge unhooked a large staff from his back and screwed a large, pointed spear to the head of it. They stood holding their weapons out, ready to defend themselves from Sora, Kairi, Goofy and Donald, the supposed dragon masters.

"No! We're not the dragon's masters!" Kairi screamed to the people in their houses. "She's the one lying! She IS the dragon!"

"Lies!" Wedge said, holding his spear tighter. "Shut up! She's the Protectress, and you're a group of filthy liars!"

"Yes…they are liars, boys. Destroy them!" Maleficent cackled.

"If she's truly your Protectress, then why won't she fight us herself?" Sora asked, directing the second half of the sentence toward Maleficent. She cringed as Biggs and Wedge turned to face her, lowering their weapons.

"That's true…we do offer our penance, Protectress…why don't you…uh…" Biggs stammered.

"Protect us!" Wedge said, slamming his spear to the ground. The curtains of the houses started to part, and Sora could see people nodding and looking at Maleficent with question in their eyes…

Maleficent looked at Sora with daggers in her eyes. "How dare you make such bold accusations, boy. Of course, I'd protect them from the dragon, should he arrive…but I'd rather not waste my energy on the likes of you…so my two most loyal servants, Boggs and Wetch, will do it for me. Isn't that right, boys?"

Biggs and Wedge looked at each other, and turned back to Maleficent. "It's Biggs."

"And Wedge."

Together, they added in a very sarcastic tone, "Protectress."

"Face it, Maleficent…you don't even know these people's names, and you claim to be their hero? People of Emptiness Crossing – Maleficent is the dragon, and I'll prove it to you!" he said, running straight for Maleficent, passing the gazebo.

She's got to turn into the dragon to protect herself…she's just got to…it'll prove her wrong, and we can defeat her once and for all…he swung his keyblade and knocked her backwards off of the pedestal. Several of the townspeople shrieked with terror while others called out encouragement…it was clear that he was tearing the fabric of this town apart, but how could he let them live under Maleficent's rule?

She slid off the wall with ease, walking back toward Sora in the center of the square. "If you think I won't defend myself in order to keep up my ruse, then you'd better think again, Sora. This city has outgrown its usefulness…I think it's time to show these people who they're truly dealing with…" she said, raising her arms to the sky.

As she grew darker and darker until she was just a void of blackness, her body began to shift. It grew taller and wider, as four large clawed feet touched the ground; a large, swishing black tail with a pointed end whipped around her backside; and a long neck reached out to the head of a monstrous dragon, filling half of the square with green flames.

All of the townsfolk closed their shutters and the sound of fifty doors locking rang through the city.

To add insult to injury, a new face had shown up as Maleficent finished transforming into a dragon – a large, fat, dog-faced creature, now wearing a too-tight Legion uniform with only one section of tribal marks, right on the belly. His buck teeth showed as he looked up at the Maleficent Dragon for a moment, then shifted his focus back on Sora and his friends.

"Aw, youse pipsqeaks again! Why can't we ever have an evil plot without you guys gettin' in the way!" Pete whined, looking back at Maleficent. The Dragon extended her two long, sleek wings overhead, completely eclipsing the square as she flew upward into the sky, heading for the castle.

Pete looked up and then back at the heroes. "Guess I'ma hafta teach youse a lesson 'bout keepin' yer noses outta our business!" The Legion outfit made Pete look almost…formidable.

Pete's description changed from 'almost formidable' to 'downright foolish' as he clenched his hands together out in front of him, as if summoning a keyblade. Instead of a keyblade, however, a large pogo stick formed in his hands.

"What? A pogo stick? Aw…I hate bein' the weakest member of the Legion…" he said, tossing his toy in a corner.

"What's the matter, Pete? Can't even get a decent weapon?" Kairi taunted.

"It ain't my fault! This stupid suit gives ya powers based on your rank in the Legion…and they won't make me a level 2 no matter how much I do! But…they'll hafta promote me once I trounce you twerps!" Pete bellowed, cracking his knuckles.

Kairi smiled. "Leave it to Pete to give us more information than we really need…" Sora, Donald and Goofy agreed.

"So, Biggs…Wedge…you gonna stick with Maleficent and Pete, the traitors who've been deceiving you for a year…or us, the ones you've known for twenty minutes?" Sora said.

Biggs looked at Wedge and nodded. They smiled at Sora as they exited the gazebo, holding their weapons out at Pete.

"Ya know, twenty minutes don't seem so short…" Biggs said.

"Yeah…don't seem so short, twenty minutes," Wedge mimicked.