Chapter Fourteen: Summon
"Alright, kiddo. What've you learned?"
"Maleficent still hasn't gotten here yet."
"Mmmhmm."
"She was last seen ten years ago with someone called Pete."
"Yup. And the last thing?"
"The guards are total idiots."
"As i- Actually nevermind, you're right. But not what I was looking for. Tell you what, have another look around. See if you find something really strange."
"Like...Maleficent?"
"Bigger, I think you'll know it when you see it."
That was always the annoying thing about these recon missions. It seemed like Xigbar already knew what they were looking for, but he just wanted to make sure Roxas saw it. Unfortunately, they were usually the ones who knew how approved the door to darkness that would let them return to the castle.
So Roxas returned down into the depths of the castle. Torchlight flickering on the stone walls. By this point, most of the guards were busy with something that ran in the courtyard. A giant chicken from the sounds of things, but the guards had turned up nothing with their search.
Like he said. They were idiots.
But still, Xigbar insisted he stay out of sight. So he kept to the shadows, passing each patrol as they paced. Eventually, he came to a large round room with a gigantic ornate rug in the center. Around the room torches burned illuminating the few rotting crates. He began to walk over to see if they contained anything interesting when he heard a very loud voice from the large double doors at the end.
"Alright you runts! Out! Out! You got your home back, now get lost!"
Hide! He had to hide! Fortunately, the crate was large enough for him to fit inside. He quickly opened the lid of one that wasn't nailed shut.
"Y-yeah, sure thing boss! I-I mean Mr. Pete!"
Stepping inside, Roxas gingerly lowered the crate's top as he got comfortable inside it. Peering through a tiny hole in the box, he could see the doors burst open, as a handful of the guards were tossed in by what seemed to be a very large and angry cat. "And I ain't your boss! Who'd want to be the boss of you idiots?" Presumably Pete.
"A question I find myself asking with distressing regularity." An imperious voice resounded in the room, as Roxas saw a green orb floating through a hole in the roof. As it reached the ground, darkness and green flame coalesced to form a figure.
One which the minions and Pete recognized immediately. Of the two, Pete was more enthused by her appearance, walking forward in an attempt to shake her hand. "Maleficent! Boy are you a sight for sore eyes!" The witch raised her eyebrow in amusement, but did not return the gesture.
The small gaggle of creatures were cowed by their former master "M-Mistress! We were trying our best for Pete like you told us-"
"Silence." Maleficent commanded her minions, "I would prefer to speak with someone bearing at least one shred of common sense."
"Hey, Wait just a-"
She turned back towards Pete, ignoring the monster's protests, "Now, you are certain that there is no use for them?"
He grabbed one of the lizardmen by the back of his neck, shaking him in frustration, "I'm telling you these numbskulls are worthless! And I tried everything! Training em. Scarin' em. Heck, I tried to make some of the runts go heartless, but they don't turn into anything! Not even small fry! Not to mention the ones I used to get stopped showing up!" Punctuating his point, he tossed the hapless henchmen to the wall.
Maleficent sighed, massaging her temple. "Of course you got nothing, Pete. These creatures are but extensions of my will." With a wave of her hand, the minion that had collided with the wall dissipated into a dark miasma that flowed back into her. "At the time, I simply needed a few spare hands. However, in the decades that have followed, I realize that the price for their meager strength was the most rudimentary understanding of instructions." She turned to the familiar raven perched on her shoulder, a proud smile on her face. "Fortunately, I have others that are far more reliable and loyal besides the heartless." Her face grew more grim at the mention of her former dark minions " However, The walls between worlds have again reformed and The Door to Darkness has been shut for good. I fear that even if we did re-capture the princesses to recreate the key, we would be unable to open it again to release the heartless in earnest."
Pete's jaw hung at the news, "Wha! But how! That's been open for years! Why'd it just shut like that again?
"The Keyblade. Or rather, the one that wielded it..."
And then, out of the corner of Roxas' eye, he noticed the door open just a tiny bit. And in the crack he could make out three faces peering into the room. Two girls and…
His face.
That was his face.
Why was his face there!?
"...At least for now. But that's enough for now. I believe we should attend to our guests." At this, Roxas' breath stopped, had he been spotted?
"Huh? We got guests? Well, I don't know exactly what you do to entertain…"
Roxas stared from his hiding spot. Was this guy an idiot too?
However, a clearly angry look from Maleficent got him to the right conclusion. "Oh, OH! Intruders! Where are they? I'll tear em apart!"
"Well what are you waiting for? They're right there." And with that, Roxas let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't pointing at him. Rather, at the double door, and the three observers who had been caught.
The other party watching was a bit less enthusiastic, as the doors were promptly kicked open, and Roxas' doppelganger charged toward the witch. Maleficent conjured a wall of flame, stopping the boy, scoffing "You simpleton. Are you truly that desperate for a death wish?"
The attacker was unphased. "I don't care! You're not getting your hands on the χ-Blade!"
Wait, what? That wasn't how you said Keyblade.
Maleficent's eyes widened. "χ-Blade? What are you talking about?"
The boy became confused. "You didn't know about it?"
Pete cracked his knuckles and began to walk towards the flame. "Well, if you know more, maybe I can persuaaaAAAHHH! Maleficent! Let me through!" Apparently, her flames did not differentiate between friend and foe. He wasn't sure if the fact that his box was on Maleficent's side was good or bad for him in that regard.
"I won't let you lay a hand on him!" The blond girl was the one to speak, and she pulled out...a card? Whatever it was, it summoned a shimmering figment with its own keyblade, who rushed pash the flames to knock Pete on his back.
Why was she so familiar to him?
Maleficent was doing some pondering of her own, "Key...Chi...interesting. Perhaps there is more to that Keyblade of People's Hearts than I first knew." she turned to her associate, "Pete. This is clearly no longer a secure refuge if it can be broken into so easily. We must depart elsewhere. But before we do, I believe I should get one last use of this lot." Though she tapped her staff to the floor with little effort, the *CRACK* echoed loud and clear. At that sound, the few guards fell limp, and began to float into the air. Monstrous creatures slowly dissipating into a cloud of magic. "Given the Heartless have proven more capable, I should reforge these meager foot soldiers towards something more powerful to match them." From the windows in the chamber, a smog began to pour in and congeal.
Maleficent reached into her robe and pulled out a glowing blue gem. One which the blonde girl recognized. "A summoning stone?"
"You are familiar with such things? Then allow me to show you its true potential." With that, Maleficent spoke in an echoing voice. With each word, the gem glowed brighter and brighter with an azure glow. "Lord of the Whorl. Master of of the Maelstrom! I call you, Leviathan!"
At the call of the creature's name, the light grew in size, and began to take form. As if sprouting from Maleficent's hand, A colossal serpent sprang forth, scales shining with the same magic that brought it forth.
Pete glanced at the beast, then back at Maleficent. "Wait, this sounds like this is more of a water kind of monster. Aren't you all about fire?"
Maleficent chuckled, "It never hurts to diversify. Now stay close." with a wave of her staff, a shield of shadow surrounded her. As she spoke, the sea serpent above began to dance in the air, water materializing around it. The doppelganger began to cast magic, "Thunder!", while the blonde girl tried to use as many of her cards as she could. In the midst of the magic and figments, the black haired girl had tossed a huge Shuriken at Leviathan. As the attacks raked across the beast's hide, it certainly seemed to wince under the blows. But it managed to hold on.
Roxas began to think of the rules he knew. Do not draw unnecessary attention. Do not interact with the inhabitants of other worlds unless necessary. And above all, do not harm the keybearer.
Well, if he didn't do anything the keybearer might be in trouble. Him included, if Maleficent's shield were anything to indicate. In that case, it wouldn't matter if he didn't attract attention. And so, he really had only one option.
Quickly pulling up his cloak to hide his face, he punched off the lid of the crate. In a second, Roxas leapt out of his hiding spot and towards the serpent.
"What the?!""Another interloper? With a keyblade of his own?"
Paying no attention to Pete or Maleficent still behind their barrier, Roxas began to slash away at Leviathan.
"A Keyblade?" "A cloak?" "The Organization!"
Though the attacks from the three strangers had ceased, Roxas couldn't care. All that mattered was that they had weakened the serpent enough so that Roxas' attack finally broke whatever ritual it was conducting. With a shriek, the beast ceased it's motions and dived away to face it's new attacker. As such, the water it was gathering dropped to the chamber floor, only succeeding at creating a slight layer of water on the floor.
Maleficent sighed. "Hmm. Perhaps it is best to be thorough." And so retrieved a second summoning stone from her cloak. This one red. Again, she chanted. "From the Bowl of Embers, Forged in the Crucible of Flame! Come forth, Ifrit!"
This time there was a red light that grew in size. Leaping from her hand, the orange glow began to roar as it became a ball of flame floating high above the room, drawing in the wall of flames that Maleficent had created. In a flash the orb exploded, and Roxas began to worry that he would catch fire from all the heat. When he looked at where the orb once was, a colossal horned beast was floating in the air above. Clawed hands and feeds wreathed in flame.
"These two should be more than enough to-" Maleficent's monologue was cut short, as a kunai suddenly knocked the summoning stones from her hands. "How...dare you!" She turned toward the direction of the attack. But the black haired girl had already moved. Making a dash towards the summoning stones.
"Oh no you don't!" Pete shouted as he made a dive for the gems. However, he only succeeded at knocking them away. The blue one towards the girl, and the red one to Roxas.
"Hey! Hope you don't mind if I borrow this! Along with your monster!" The girl quipped as she grabbed the jewel. Right! If he was able to take the stone, he might be able to control Ifrit! Wasting no time he grabbed it and…
And…
Wait, how did this thing work?
Maleficent chuckled. "Fools. As if you could turn my magic against me! Ifrit! Leviathan! Reclaim what brought you forth!" And with that, the summoned flamed turned towards him and bellowed a gout of flame towards him. The force of the blast knocking back his hood.
Pete and Maleficent seemed only a little surprised. "Wait? What!?" "Well now…"
The two girls gasped seeing him. "Ventus?" "No way!"
The boy only looked on in horror. "Wha...who...why do you have...my face?"
His face? His face?! Oh, that was rich coming from him! "Look who's talking! Where'd you get my face?!" However, his rant was cut short as he was suddenly grasped by one of Ifrit's claws.
The blonde girl shook the boy, "Ventus, worry about him later! Right now we need…"
Ventus. That was his name. He heard it before, but it had no meaning till now. It was the name of his imposter. But right now, he couldn't deal with that.
He had to deal with Ifrit tossing him through the castle walls.
"Okay, wasn't expecting that." Axel was staring at the highest tower in the fortress. Watching where the magic from all the guards had gone to after they had spontaneously disintegrated.
Xigbar shrugged from his perch, "Well, at least it makes our lives easier. Assuming Roxas hasn't made too much of a mess of things."
Axel looked around from the castle walls. "Where is Roxas anyway?"
"Oh right. Sent him out to do some searching, see if he could find his look-alike." Axel raised an eyebrow at Xigbar's task. "Thought it could be a learning experience." The older man squinted his eye as there was one flash of blue light from the tower. Then a few minutes later, a red one. "Huh. Certainly feels powerful. Maybe the kid kicked the hornet's nest after all." Not a minute later a hole in the tower exploded in an eruption of flame, from which a beast emerged holding...
"Wait, is that Roxas?" Axel watched as the flaming beast tossed the Organizations' recruit into the ground. He turned towards an entirely too amused Xigbar,"Well, aren't you supposed to be looking after him?"
Xigbar simply manifested his guns, "Me? I'm a sniper, just waiting for the right moment. If you want to help manage that inferno, be my guest." He gestured towards the courtyard which had been covered in flame. Roxas stood alone against the infernal beast.
Axel sighed. "Well, it's probably a bad idea for us to lose one of our keyblade wielders." At the very least, he hoped Larxene was still keeping track of Ventus.
Granted, he hadn't seen her at all in this encounter.
Roxas shook his head, trying to find his balance after being tossed through stone and over who knows how many stories of stairs. As his vision focused, he saw he was in the castle courtyard. A courtyard that had begun to catch fire. Hearing another roar, he turned towards the sound to face Ifrit. This time the beast began to charge at him, an inferno wreathed around his body. Roxas wasted no time dodging, rolling out of the way of the attack. Skidding to a halt, Ifrit faced him again and began to gather flame in its mouth, the light almost becoming blinding. He winced as he could barely see from the glare.
"Roxas! Get a grip!"
That voice. He knew that voice. "Axel?" He heard two chakrams whistling through the air, and a second later, the sound of them slicing into Ifrit. He heard the beast bellow once again, and the glare which had blinded him finally stopped. Looking again, Roxas saw that one of the walls had been blasted to pieces, an attack he was thankful that Axel interceded against.
Rushing up besides him Axel recalled his weapons, "Was passing through. Figured I can lend a hand. At the very least, keep this fire from getting out of control!" Holding them out to the side, Axel began to funnel the flames into his chakrams. "Don't think it'll be a good idea for me to fight fire with fire."
Roxas nodded. "That'll be enough for me to stop this!" He could hurt the other monster with the keyblade, he could definitely hurt this thing too! Seeing the opening, he rushed forward, and began to strike at the beast's limbs while it was distracted. Roaring back, Ifrit tried once again to grab at Roxas. This time, however, he was ready, and rolled away from the hands. Getting some distance, he pointed his keyblade at the creature. "Freeze!" A ball of ice shot from his keyblade, and the creature shrieked when it collided with one of it's limbs leaving a patch of it frozen . Taking the opportunity of the creature's pain, Roxas began to use more of the magic on the same limb. Bit by bit. Ifrit's leg was encased in ice, but after a moment it began to hiss with steam. No doubt the infernal beast was trying to heat its way free. Still, Roxas had enough time to rush forward, and strike the beast in the head. A few more slashes, until finally Ifrit slumped forward.
Axel walked forward, weapons vanishing from his hands. "Not bad at all. Looks like you're really getting the hang of this"
Roxas let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks. I guess I'm finally...LOOK OUT!" he then pushed Axel away, as Ifrit had risen up for one last strike. Dodging the flaming fist, Roxas plunged his sword into the beast's forehead. Finally, the creature disintegrated into magic it was created from.
Dusting himself off as he got back up from the ground, Axel groaned, "Geez. Couldn't you be a bit more careful?"
Roxas dismissed his keyblade, "Sorry. Just didn't want you to get hurt. I mean...friends look out for each other. Don't they?"
Axel blinked at the word, "Friends?"
"Like when you saved me just now?" Or when Erxart had protected him?
A moment's pondering, then Axel nodded, "Yeah. I guess they do."
Before they could talk more however, they heard the sound of clapping coming from the other end of the courtyard. "Well, Well! Looks like you managed to take down tall, dark, and burning! I'm going to guess you found something important?"
Important? Oh, he found a lot that was important. "Yeah, Maleficent, Pete, the person with my face, χ-Blade."
"Woah, Woah, Woah, Kid. One thing at a time." Xigbar held up his hands. That's a lot we've got to go over, and I think it's better if we talk about this with the boss." Xigbar waved his hand, and opened a dark portal. But before he could guide Roxas through, he turned to Axel, "We'll be heading back now. Just check in on Ventus and Naminé and make sure they haven't died yet." Naminé. That must have been one of the girls Ventus was with, but which one he had no clue.
A question for next time, he supposed. And something told him it was only a matter of time before he saw that face again.
"Ventus, worry about him later! Right now we need to deal with Leviathan!" Naminé tried to get his attention, but Ventus could hear any of that.
"Well, this certainly has been enlightening. I believe I shall wait for the two of them to finish you off. Come Pete." Maleficent had conjured a dark portal, but Ventus couldn't focus on that.
"Hold it!" Yuffie shouted as she chased after the two only to miss them as the portal closed in front of her, but Ventus couldn't chase them.
That boy. That reflection of himself.
"Is that really all you got? Man, you are worthless!"
"You never had a chance!"
"The χ-Blade will be forged!"
No. There's no way he was back. Vanitas died, right? He was gone right?
So why did something inside him scream that he was wrong? Why-
"Ven!"
Warm. A hand on his shoulder. Naminé's hand. He had to keep her safe. Had to keep his promise. Had to keep at least one promise.
"Sorry! Where's Leviathan?" She pointed towards the serpent who had begun to circle around the walls of the room. This time, the water began to gather towards the center and began to pull everything in the room towards a growing whirlpool. Thinking quickly, he stabbed his keyblade into a gap in the stone floor and wedged it in. "Hold on!" Without wasting a moment Naminé grabbed onto him as hard as she could, and Yuffie anchored herself to the castle walls with a pair of kunai. Not a moment too soon, as soon the entire room held a miniature typhoon. The trio had no chance to strike back, all they could do was hold on for dear life as the water battered their bodies.
Eventually though, the storm died down, and the serpent looked down on the room to survey the destruction. However, it growled realizing its quarry had survived. Ventus gripped the star in his pocket, and thought of the bond he shared with Aerith. Of the magic she commanded. In that moment it linked with him and he called out, "Thunder!" In a flash, a bolt of lightning coursed through the serpent's body, stunning it.
"Alright! Now's our chance!" Yuffie let go of her kunai, and with her oversized shuriken began to hack away at Leviathan. Ventus and Naminé kept their distance, casting spells and figments respectively. From the earlier attack it had withstood earlier at their hands, as well as at Roxas', It was only a matter of time before one final lightning bolt from Ventus caused it to vanish into the magic that had formed it.
Naminé gasped, catching her breath. "We did it." She turned to Ventus and smiled. "We did it!"
"Yep, you made quick work of that. Not as quick as I would be, of course." It was a new voice. But at its sound, Naminé's smile vanished, and she began to pale. She turned to the blonde woman in the black cloak in the Organization that had spoken. The newcomer gave a smile. "Oh, and it's so good to see you again, Naminé." One that did nothing to dispel the unease that had settled over the group.