Walking around the field the four kept watch for anything odd or suspicious soon losing sight of the Gummi Ship as they continued on choosing to keep going in one direction while Larxene tried to feel out where this Keyhole might be. Whether it was actually working remained inconclusive, but it was the best guess anyone currently had. Soon enough the group came up to a wrecked plane pretty much confirming this must have been what made so many things disappear, and to make matters worse you could see the skeletons of the pilots in their chairs. "Pretty nice place for a graveyard all things considered." The nobody morbidly joked in terrible taste which did not amuse anyone else besides perhaps herself. The group continued to pass by a few more boats and other smaller planes with the blond even rummaging through anything useful they had. "Hey, they don't need it, sides last I checked with no cops around this technically doesn't count as illegal activity." She defended after essentially looting from the dead,
Kairi was not at all pleased and gave a hefty glare towards her friend as she did so but said nothing. Continuing on the group ran into a flock of Wild Monkeys and after a brief battle managed to take them down. "No doubt Monkeyfist sent these out to try and find the Keyhole. We need to hurry before they do and causing major trouble to our World and my already tight schedule." Kim stated.
Realizing time was of the essence the group sped up their search with Kairi noticeably having the most trouble keeping up. "Come on Princess I thought you were excited about the Adventure and you're already about to collapse. I know literal couch potatoes who have cardio than you." The nobody taunted with an empty chuckle making it really hard for her companion not to go for another whack on the head.
Wiping a bit of sweat off her forehead the girl began to regret the fact she tended to sit around and relax while Sora and Riku did most of the physical stuff, perhaps it was some sort of strange karma that now she had to put in so much work after being a bit on the lazy side all her life. "How is it you can keep up with all this?" She asked curious at Larxene's fortitude.
The girl considered her answer for a few moments before deciding a simple answer into her past couldn't cause any trouble. "Used to parkour all the time a few years ago, climbing tall buildings and jumping from one to another is some of best aerobic exercise you'll ever get." She made sure not to mention why that was a common activity for her as this was already getting a bit too personal. That got the girl wondering if maybe she should try it out sometime, although that also meant an increased likelihood of death so perhaps not. As they continued on the group battled more and more heartless along with finding a few Treasure Chests. "Oh hey a few Potions, this should come in handy." Larxene said while Kim and Ron just looked at the bottle of strange green they snagged.
Feeling thirsty after his shift the sidekick shrugged his shoulders and decided to just try it. "With a sip the man licked his lips finding the concoction delicious as he drank even more. "Hey KP this is actually pretty good, anywhere you can buy these?" He asked the other two.
"Well on my World there was just a shop you could get them at, not sure if there are any here that sell them." The red head responded now wondering exactly which Worlds would actually have them or not.
Larxene putting a finger to her chin considered this. "Well if they aren't readily available here maybe you could find a Moogle. They're like merchants who tend to travel the Worlds to sell their wares. Kind of funny looking though especially with that giant red pom pom on their heads." That comment got weird looks from the other three who had yet to ever see one.
Meanwhile in another part of this field a dripping wet Electronique coughed trying to get the water out of her lungs. "That... that brat will pay for her defiance." The woman seethed as pure anger coursed through her the darkness growing strong in the now weakened female feeding off of her need to destroy the Keyblade Wielder.
Suddenly she heard a voice call out to her. "In your current state that would only end in failure." She turned her head to see Maleficent approach the witch carrying a frown at seeing the sorry state of someone she took the time to break of jail. So far, the villains she had acquired to be her pawns were proving to be less than ideal in dealing with these pests. But perhaps here could be a golden opportunity to gain not eliminate Larxene but also gain a new tool. "But I can gift you the power to you seek, simply open your heart to darkness and that girl shall stand no chance of defeating you."
Too caught up in making Larxene pay the scientist allowed her own ego to dwarf her analytical mind desperate to finally destroy those who had been getting in her way. "Very well, deliver me this power and I shall crush that girl as you desire." Little did she know as Maleficent's Staff lit up those would be her last words. What they hadn't noticed was a fearful blue man watching from a safe distance with a pair of binoculars.
After what seemed like hours of exploring this eternal field filled with the many unfortunate victims to have ever been sucked in the four spotted something strange near them. A large tree off in the distance sitting on til of a hill where it also seemed some of the heartless were gathering. "Betcha that's our best lead to the Keyhole." Kim guessed and the group with renewed vigor ran towards it all while taking down the villains along the way. Arriving to the tree it stood tall and proud with both Kairi and Larxene feeling that same warmth from before now far stronger than before. "This tree, it's connected to the heart of this World." Kairi stated bringing a hand to it the light of which resonating well with her as it momentarily oozed the energy.
The Savage Key wondered if this meant the try was the Keyhole, or perhaps it was inside this giant hunk of wood. Before she could come to a conclusion suddenly the four saw a chunk of green fire connect to the tree and now it began to burn. Turning to the source they spotted Shego, Duff and Monkeyfist standing there and strangely Drakken seemed to be nowhere in sight, perhaps back at their ship trying to get it repaired. "Well this if it's connected to the heart, I say we open it up and see what's inside." The villainess suggested summoning more of her flames.
Immediately Kairi casted a blizzard spell to stop the flames as she had a bad feeling about the tree falling, whatever the case currently this was protecting the Keyhole from the heartless and it needed to be protected. Meanwhile Kim and Ron faced off against their mutual foes the former of which giving a smirk to her old enemy. "Figured you were tired at failing in the super villain business Shego." She taunted performing a jump kick towards the super-powered female who managed to duck trying to fry her foe but missed as Kim performed a roll successfully avoiding it.
"What can I say evil called right back to me, sides I've been looking forward at another chance to show you up." The green beauty retorted now sending out a wave of her fire at the Possible this time managing to the arm of her shirt forcing a quick pat down before the flames consumed her.
Meanwhile Ron and Monkeyfist were squaring off the latter trying to gauge Stoppable who he had heard quite a few interesting things about since he had been turned to stone. "Do not think just because you've had a bit of training you could possibly match my mastery of Tai Shing Pek Kwar." As if to demonstrate he performed a series of moves much to the blond's boredom.
Although he did see a golden opportunity and taking an arguably cheap shot clocking the monkey man right in the face who staggered back from the blow. "Dude no one cares about your crazy obsession with monkeys." He told matter of factly before launching a series of moves at Monkeyfist who was now on the defensive.
Larxene went to confront the Scotsman herself when suddenly she saw a dark corridor appear and out from it came Electronique who's skin seemed to have turned black for some reason. "What back for another ass whooping?" She taunted expecting an angry retort, but instead the villain just stood still looking at her with a blank expression. "What cat got your to- WOAH!" She shouted barely managing to avoid a sudden pulse of dark electricity, and even then, as it graced her skin the darkness burned it making her wince as she brought a hand to her side. "What was that?!" She tried to process as that power was far different from the same ones she faced maybe an hour ago at the most, but before she could question further Electronique attacked sending out a Dark Wave of energy nearly frying Larxene who this time was more prepared managing to leap over now summoning her Keyblade as she charged at the woman and landed a massive smack to the face knocking her goggles off.
Now able to see her eyes Larxene was surprised to see they were entirely yellow with not a hint of the pupils from a normal person, and then it clicked in her head. "A heartless." Was all she could get out before the monster summoned a black bolt of electricity nearly blowing her away. Rolling along the grass the nobody managed to catch herself now snarling at the creature ready to fight. "Round two it is." And charged summoning her own lightning as the two enemies duked it out in a thunderous battle.
Meanwhile Kairi found herself facing Duff her barrier defending against his exploding golf balls managing to hold. She reminded herself to thank Aerith later for teaching such a valuable defensive spell as it gave her some time to think up a strategy. "(Let's see from what I saw with his battle against Scrooge he tends to prefer long-range attacks with those explosives, maybe if I can throw off his aim and get close it'll give me a chance to take him down.)" She remembered how Aerith did also teach her about the basics of light magic after hearing about how the red head had managed to do it back on Destiny Islands. But the only problem was she didn't know how to really do it, which meant she had to get creative. Lowering her barrier now she began to taunt the man. "Those golf balls of yours aren't doing much good, why not retire and try a different sport." Not exactly her strong suit but it did seem to rile the already irritated Scot who now swung with a bit more force than necessary nearly taking her head off.
Thankfully that cheer leading practice with Kim helped her avoid it with a simple cartwheel managing to land right back on her feet. "Missed me, missed me now ya gotta kiss me." She laughed beginning to turn Duff's face red at being made fun of by a little girl. Grinding his teeth, the Scot again attempted to hit her now losing focus swinging his balls wildly hoping to hit but only managing to send them flying through the air serving as a sort of fireworks to the carnage taking place in the field.
Meanwhile in another location currently Launchpad was working on the ship attempting to make her airborne but found himself having a much tougher time than he though. "Gosh this baby really got banged up from the crash." And although he was a great engineer the more technical stuff was a bit out of his scope. He was better working on simple planes made of metal not this, yet still progress was being made even if it wasn't quick.
Up top Scrooge still counting his money kept an eye on the surroundings not intent on being caught with his pants down, and this proved valuable as the old duck spotted a man walking towards them. More specifically Drakken who seemed to be carrying a wagon of spare parts. "Oi stop right there!" The billionaire shouted jumping down ready to intercept and give a beatdown to the scientist.
But to his confusion Drakken immediately got on his knees and began to plead for mercy. "Wait please have mercy on me, I-I'm here to help!" He stated now bringing his wagon forward showing off some pieces of his hover car.
Skeptic of this sudden turn the duck still kept his guard up slowly approaching the man. "And why should I believe you?" Asking the obvious question.
Immediately the villain began to explain. "I didn't have a choice. Maleficent and Monkeyfist forced me and Shego to work with them or be turned into heartless, you have to believe me I'm not loyal to them. Here to prove it I'll even help you fix your ship up if you promise to give the two of us safety from that witch." Although he wasn't fully convinced Scrooge decided having an extra pair of hands to help would help and made sure to keep an eye on everything Drakken did.
Back with Kim and Ron the two stood back to back each facing their nemesis and while they may have seemed cornered the truth was this was a better position than any for the lovers. "How ya doin KP?" The male asked his partner.
With a confident smirk she replied, "Eh not bad, wanna switch dance partners for a moment?" She whispered earning a shrug of his shoulders. Bending down the blond allowed his girlfriend to roll on his back managing to land a mule kick on Monkeyfist before she landed right back on her feet now face to face with Ron.
Just then Shego ran forward intent on taking advantage attempting to strike the sidekick from behind with a fire powered fist, only to miss as the man leaped high before landing on her shoulders somehow managing to retain his own balance thanks to his monkey training. "Get off me!" The green gal raged trying to blast the sidekick with her fire, but he was far too nimble able to swing his body to avoid any blasts. this distracted the villainess who was too preoccupied to counter a right hook to the jaw by Kim knocking her flat on her rear as Ron landed back on his feet.
Back with Kairi the girl continued making fun of the man playing the part of a mischievous girl getting him more and more angry as he lost focus once again overshooting his target. "No wonder Scrooge managed to outplay you, all those hits and you can't even hit little ole me?" Finally, that seemed to be the last straw for the golfer and now he began stomping up to her waving his metal clubs around ready to start slamming away at her.
"We'll see who's laughing after I use yer wee head for a golf ball!" It was just as Kairi had hoped for managing to lure the bulky man closer to the tree. The girl was deathly afraid never having been in a fight such as this, but now it was too late to back out and steeling her nerves prepared herself and summoned her magic. Sending out a blizzard she managed to freeze the man's feet making him lose his balance and allowing her a chance to hit him right in the face with her Magic Rod knocking him for a loop before she ran back. Using his clubs to break the ice again he pursued her now running around the tree his cleats breaking up the grass and turning into dirt as they ran around, grabbing a branch she held on allowing it to pull back and just as he was coming around the corner let go smacking him right in the face. "Your tricks won't save you forever!" He shouted standing back up.
But Kairi was ready already having summoned a sizable blizzard in front of her where Duff would soon run by before summoning a large amount of fire melting the ice. Just in time too as the large Scotsman was coming in close now within spitting distance bringing his clubs up to strike and end this fight, but as he did his feet touched the now muddy earth tripping him up. Suddenly he landed back first his clubs flying up above before crashing down onto his head nearly knocking him out. This time it was Kairi who brought her weapon up seeing a chance to end this fight and with all of her strength brought her Rod down on top of Duff's sensitive head.
WHACK
In one concussion creating attack the girl knocked out the Scotsman leaving him beaten in a pile of mud. For a moment she couldn't believe it, that her plan had ultimately worked, and she had actually won her first real fight. "I did it!" She shouted in triumph even doing a victory pose similar to what Sora or Riku would do when winning a spar back home.
Sadly, things weren't quite going as well for The Savage Key who found herself mostly avoiding or blocking the attacks of Electronique's Heartless. "Fire!" She shouted sending out a fireball only managing to stun the monster for a few seconds before it continued sending out another wave of dark energy. Sliding under the blast she swung her blade managing to slice through the heartless, yet it showed no pain immediately going to grab the nobody wrapping its oily fingers around her throat. "C-crap!" This thing was definitely a cut above the other ones she had fought its claws sinking into her flesh as it threatened to rip out her throat out. "I-I thought you guys always preferred going for the heart." She groaned in pain knowing she only had seconds to get it off before she became a mangled corpse.
With quick thinking she brought her own hands up to Electronique's arms and focused all of her magic into a blizzard spell remembering a trick Vexen had demonstrated once before the memory coming back to her.
"Now Number XII pay close attention as today I shall be teaching you what it means to use magic." The elderly man went off immediately going into a lecture that she had no interest in beginning to play with her knives preparing to leave. A few moments later she suddenly realized her arm felt cold and suddenly it became unmovable along with the rest of her body besides the neck. In a panic she craned her neck to see The Chilly Academic's hand on her arm a cold expression on his face. "As I was saying pay close attention if you wish to be unfrozen my dear, I also advise against attempting to break free yourself as it will most likely shatter you to pieces if you should topple over." A cocky smirk now on his face as he began to lecture the paralyzed nobody.
"Can't believe I actually may have to thank that quack." She sighed as a few seconds later Electronique's arms has turned to frost stopping their assault and with a slash of her Keyblade were sliced off before shattering into pieces as they hit the ground. This time the heartless did react letting out a menacing roar now that it had lost its arms opening its maw. Suddenly a ball of electricity began to gather in its mouth and Larxene realized she had zero time to run away, again she needed to think of something fast and then perhaps the craziest idea she had so far brought both hands forward grabbing the heartless by the head. Wrestling with the monster soon the nobody used all of her strength to force the creatures mouth shut as it continued to build up electricity its mouth now beginning to puff out needing an escape. The monster thrashed with all of its might attempting to knock The Savage Key off but without any arms it proved difficult as Larxene kept her arms securely around Electronique's head even as she was slammed into the ground by the beast.
As the seconds passed its head grew bigger and bigger and bigger as the energy stored up continued to grow with nowhere to go it expanded her head like a volcano needing to burst. But the nobody was beginning to lose her grip having trouble hanging on as it continued to violently struggle against her, she needed to a way to detonate this ticking time bomb now or else this thing would release it all and kill her. Using the last of her magic left she shouted to the heavens above. "LIGHTNING!" Bringing a large yellow bolt down on the both of them supercharging both and like a match to a stick of dynamite the head grew twice the size and a few seconds later it popped.
BOOM
In a massive display of electrical light Electronique's head blew up sending Larxene flying into the tree twenty feet behind her nearly breaking her back from the impact, yet it was a far better fate than her opponent. The heartless no longer possessing a head simply stood for a few moments before its legs buckled and the woman collapsed to the ground fading away a small pool of darkness until there was nothing left of the woman not even her silhouette. Yet one thing did rise up as a large heart emerged going up towards the sky. Rubbing her now sore head the nobody stood up gaining horrified looks from the other three who had just seen that display. "Did you just blow someone up?" Ron questioned.
With a roll of her eyes she replied, "She was already dead, whatever happened she turned into a heartless so in that way you can't really kill someone." She explained and after a few moments the trio just went along with it as they tied up the other knocked out villains. Now with the threats handled they could focus on the tree when once again Dark Desolation summoned itself now raising towards the top. Suddenly the large mountain of wood lit up once more this and soon began to focus on a specific spot at the center revealing the Keyhole inside. Just like in Traverse Town a beam shot out of her blade connecting with the hole and a few seconds later everyone heard the sound of a lock clicking shut closing the hole forever. Just then a strange block seemed to fall out of the Keyhole rolling along the tree until it came to Kairi's feet who pocketed it.
But before anyone could celebrate suddenly the ground began to shake and the four began to feel water fall on top of their heads like a heavy downpour. Looking up to their terror the whirlpool seemed to be slowly closing shut. "What's going on?!" The blond male shouted feeling panic gripping his heart.
Kim racking her brain only needed a few seconds to realize what happened turning to Larxene. "Whatever you did must have triggered the supernatural effects of the Bermuda Triangle to shut off. We need to get out of here now!" But the problem was they had no idea where to go as all they could see for possibly miles was rain and grass which would soon turn to mud and pretty doom them right where they stood.
Fortunately, it seemed fate was on their side as soon the group heard a honking sound and looked up to see The Gummi Ship flying towards them landing just in front of them opening up so they could hop on. Dragging the unconscious villains with them the four got on the ship and thanks to Launchpad's expert flying they managed to escape the hole just before it could close and became the first and last survivors of The Bermuda Triangle.
After that everything wrapped in no time with Drakken and Shego being offered pardons and protection if they testified against Monkeyfist and Duff Killigan. Now with everything over the group dropped off Kim, Ron, and Rufus back at middleton where they said their goodbyes. Giving each other a firm handshake Kim and Larxene nodded with a feeling of mutual respect. "Nice moves out there." The Savage Key giving out a rare compliment.
"You too, thanks for the help in saving our World." She reciprocated.
Meanwhile Ron and Rufus gave a double high five to Kairi and the former even pulled out what looked to be a pair of coupons. "Ten-percent off your next purchase at Smarty Mart a little gift for the road." He gave to their two new friends.
Larxene unimpressed with this gift went to comment when Kairi gave her a subtle elbow to her arm. "Thanks Ron it means a lot to us." Taking the coupons, the two went back on the ship and soon they left the World ready to find their next adventure.
Journal Profiles
Heartless Electronique: Being born of Maleficent's attempt to create a servant strong enough to defeat this growing threat her power is far beyond that of her previous incarnation with the power to use Dark Thunder attacks. Unfortunately, that power proved to be her demise as without a mind to properly use it Larxene managed to destroy the heartless.