SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR (MOST) DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
The Gummi Ship soared through inter-World space, bound for wherever the Keyblade was leading them next. Joining Sora, Donald, & Goofy were two psychically powerful young women, guided by dream-visions to join Team Sora for this op.
"I wonder what we'll find…" Goofy remarked.
"Trouble" Donald replied. "What else?"
"The vision Ahsoka and I had was… odd" Angelise remarked, glancing over at her non-human comrade in the other guest-seat. "And disturbing – screaming souls, flashes of claws & scales…"
"Well, whatever it is," Sora rested his hands behind his head, "we'll handle it. We always do, right?"
There was a whirl of color as the Gummi Ship re-entered "real-space", emerging into a field of stars, one side of their view dominated by a forest-covered planet… or rather, a planet-sized habitable moon, its parent gas giant visible in the distance. In orbit around the moon were multiple masses of debris, the wrecks and pieces of spaceships, along with a sizable fleet of ships still intact, of a design most of the DDF had never seen in person before.
"This place…" Ahsoka murmured. "This feeling… It can't be…"
Aboard one of those ships, a young man still recovering from an arduous battle startled and looked outward as he sensed the arrival of newcomers, strong in the Light. Very strong.
"What is it, kiddo?" his older and rougher companion asked.
"I'm not sure" the young hero replied. "But… I think we might be about to meet some new allies."
Gazing out the nearby viewport in the direction of the Gummi Ship, Luke Skywalker felt the newcomers' potent presences in the Force.
Galaxy Far, Far Away
-Break-
It took a little doing from Team Sora, and some vouching from the Alliance's own Jedi, to convince the Alliance that the Gummi Ship and its occupants weren't hostile. Now, the little craft flew into the Home One's hangar, setting down beside the disc-like shape of the famous Millennium Falcon (being worked over by repair crews to patch up scratches & scorch-marks and replace the antenna dish knocked off during its escape from the Death Star II). The five travelers disembarked, Donald & Goofy earning a few curious stares from the Rebels. Luke, Leia, and Han were waiting for them. As the hero group approached, Luke's eyes widened as he saw the lightsabers clipped to Ahsoka's belt.
'Another Jedi… A survivor from the Purges? But she looks too young for that; the student of a survivor, maybe?'
'So that's them…' Ahsoka thought. 'Master and Padmé's kids… This might get a bit awkward, even without taking into account that they're older than me…'
"Hi, there" Sora waved. "I'm Sora!"
"And I'm Donald!"
"Name's Goofy; pleasure to meet ya!"
"I am Angelise Misurugi; 'Ange' will do."
"And I am Ahsoka Tano."
"Name's Han Solo."
"I'm Luke Skywalker; it's nice to meet you all."
"Leia Organa"
"The both of you…" Luke looked at Ange and Ahsoka. "Your presence in the Force is very strong."
Ange smiled a bit. "There is a species called the Protoss, who all possess psychic powers – what you call the Force. And at some point, centuries ago, some ancient meddling race was inspired by the Protoss' powers, so they found my world's people and granted their type of power to us. Although, it was only very recently that we became aware of and awakened that sleeping power."
"As for me," Ahsoka said, "I'm actually a survivor of the Purge at the end of the Clone Wars. I spent the last 20 or so years… in stasis, and have been out of it for a little over a year, I think." (She didn't quite think they'd buy "I got brought back from the dead" just yet) "And… during the Clone Wars, I was the Padawan – the apprentice – of Anakin Skywalker."
Luke and Leia reacted with naked shock, the latter almost reeling. "…My father?" Luke said. "You were his apprentice?"
"Did he turn on you?" Leia blurted out, wincing upon realizing what she'd just said.
Ahsoka glared at her. "Actually, Anakin was the only one who didn't. Another Jedi, one I thought was my friend, committed terrible crimes and framed me for it… And, with the exception of Master Skywalker, all the other Jedi fell for it – the Council members, Grandmaster Yoda, even Master Kenobi started doubting me as things moved on. Anakin was the only one who stayed strong in his belief that I was innocent. While I was locked up, being put on trial for something that would get me executed, he went on the hunt, found and defeated the real culprit, dragged her forward and revealed everything.
"Afterwards, the Jedi Council reinstated me, and they had the balls to declare all the hell I'd been through as my "Knight's Trial", offered to promote me. …I couldn't trust them anymore, any of them. With the exception of Master Skywalker, the only one to always believe in me, they'd all been led astray by one rogue Padawan's scheme, turned on me without giving me the benefit of the doubt. I didn't just decline their promotion. I abdicated the Jedi Order."
Even Han was visibly upset as he & his two comrades processed the girl's tale. "The great and wise and all-knowing Jedi Order, falling hook, line, & sinker for a frame-up…" he grumbled.
"The whole affair also eroded a lot of Anakin's faith in the Order," Sora spoke up, "and that made it easier for Palpatine to get his hooks in him later on…"
"How do you know about that?" Luke asked.
"Well…" Ange said. "This may be kinda hard to believe, but we're Realm-hoppers. And in some universes, the events of this universe are fiction. Star Wars, they call it. The main films, chronologically, start with the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo and end with the second Death Star's destruction, Palpatine's death, and the big victory celebration with the little furry natives."
"Which was just yesterday for us" Han said. "So you're in uncharted territory now, in a sense."
Leia sighed. "Movies that end with the big post-victory and celebrations always leave out the clean-up afterwards, what happens to the rest of the villains once the big baddie meets their end… Wait. If the events of this universe are films in another, do you know…?"
"That you're my old Master's daughter? Yes" Ahsoka said.
Leia frowned. "I'm not that man's child…" she growled.
"…I think I ought to tell you guys just how badly Palpatine played Anakin like a fiddle… Sith are good at getting into people's heads, and considering that Palpatine, Darth Sidious, was the second most powerful Sith Lord to ever live…"
"Who was number one?" Han asked.
"Darth Nihilus, about 4,000 years ago. He was basically a sapient, person-shaped wraith of the Dark Side, a living Wound in the Force. So you could say, Palpatine was the most powerful Sith who was still flesh & blood and hadn't become some full-on abomination."
"Do you know who our mother was?" Luke asked, a spark of hope in his eyes.
"I knew her personally" Ahsoka smiled as she remembered. "And she was like a cross between a big sister and mother to me. Padmé Amidala, first the elected leader of Naboo and then, once her term was up, Naboo's Senator. She and Anakin met when he was just 9 and she was 14; 10 years later, they got reacquainted and became an 'item'. Though, they had to keep it secret; the Jedi Order forbade "attachment"… She was strong-willed, fierce, a skilled diplomat and a hell of a shot with a pistol. But she also had strong empathy, tried to find peaceful resolutions to the Clone Wars at great risk to herself. She and Anakin were so devoted to each other…"
"What happened to her?" Han asked, afraid of what the answer might be.
Ahsoka sighed sadly. "Palpatine happened. He used vision-dreams Anakin had been suffering of Padmé dying in childbirth to tempt him away from the Jedi, telling him of how the Dark Side could be used to cheat death and deny fate. Master Yoda didn't exactly help matters, either, with his advice to Anakin being basically to let the people he cares about die if that's what the Force willed…" She shook her head. "By the time Padmé caught up to Anakin, the Dark Side had already poisoned his mind, and he was firmly in Sidious' clutches."
"…He killed her?" Leia asked.
"Not… deliberately. In the heat of the moment, in their argument, he briefly throttled her with the Force, but stopped in horror once he realized what he was doing. He and Master Kenobi then had their big duel that ended with Obi-Wan winning. Because this duel was on Mustafar, a volcanic hellhole of a planet, once the Force wasn't protecting Anakin, the convection set him ablaze, seared his lungs. That's why Vader had that clunky suit. They rushed Padmé to a hidden med-station, and she gave birth to the two of you, but…"
She sighed again. "Anakin and Padmé's bond of love, and the presence of his children within her, forged a Force Bond between the two of them. As he was being operated on, without his knowledge or will that bond leeched her life-force to keep him alive. She only lived long enough to birth you two. And once he learned what had happened, how the very bond he cherished with her had killed her… That horror, guilt, and despair destroyed Anakin Skywalker. That's when he truly became Darth Vader."
Luke and Leia were solemn and contemplative, finally learning just how Anakin had succumbed.
"How do we know for sure…" Han spoke up, "that Palpatine didn't put those visions of Amidala dying into Anakin's dreams in the first place?"
"That's… disturbingly possible" Angelise admitted. "And it would've been in-character for him…"
"…He wasn't totally gone" Luke finally said. "At the end, I got through to what was left of Anakin Skywalker, deep inside him. And he gave his life to finally set things right."
Ahsoka nodded. "You did. You achieved the impossible, Luke. You saved my Master's, my father's soul. I can't thank you enough."
"Why don't we head for the lounge?" Han suggested. "You can meet the rest of the gang. Then we can get you set up with meeting the big-shots around these parts."
As they started along, Han sent messages ahead. Luke briefly slowed as a tremor of pain shot up his body.
"Are you okay?" Donald asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine" the youth said through gritted teeth. "Just still a… little sore from when Palpatine tried to barbecue me."
"You should probably let the doctors take a good look at you," Sora suggested, "see if there's any long-term damage."
"Psionic lightning can leave lasting effects if not configured to be non-lethal" Ange added.
"I will, once this meeting's done. …Wait, that trick he used can do more than cause agonizing pain?"
"That's how the Sith use it" Ahsoka replied. "Force Lightning can also be used to assault a target's central nervous system, basically kill them instantly with a minimum of suffering. It can also be used to make muscles lock up and lose feeling, leaving somebody relatively unharmed but paralyzed until it wears off. I like to focus it through and around my lightsabers to increase their range a bit and give a numbing effect to glancing blows."
As they arrived in the ship's nearest lounge, there were three more 'people' waiting for them – a gold-played humanoid droid, a blue & white droid with a cylindrical main body, and super-tall furry alien. Seeing a certain face among the newcomers, R2D2 rolled over, chirping excitedly.
"Artoo!" Ahsoka shouted happily, kneeling down to hug the droid. "I never thought I'd see you again!"
"{I thought you were dead!}" the astromech replied.
"Uh, long story, little buddy. I'll explain later!"
"You know Artoo?" Leia asked.
"He was Padmé & Anakin's astromech" Ahsoka replied. "He and I went through all kinds of adventures with them back in the day." She looked over the protocol droid in the room. "Threepio was Padmé's protocol droid, but unlike Artoo, they decided he was too chatty and memory-wiped him to keep him from blabbing about Anakin's fall or Luke & Leia's birth."
"What?!" the golden droid replied, stunned. "Oh, gracious…"
"Yeah, that sounds about right" Han quipped.
There was a warbling bark from the resident Wookiee as he came over. After a second, Ahsoka smiled.
"Chewbacca? I never thought I'd see you again, either!"
"Wait, Chewie, you know her?" Luke asked.
"{We got captured by Trandoshans}," the Wookiee responded with Han translating, "{along with a few other young Jedi}."
"At one point," the Togrutan was grinning, "another Padawan named Jinx tried to Mind-Trick a Trandoshan we'd captured. It didn't work at first, but then Chewbacca thumped him on the head and that got the Mind-Trick to work!"
Chewbacca chuckled at the memory.
"So," Leia said, "I get the feeling you folks didn't come by just to hang out and meet friends?"
Sora nodded. "That's part of it – for me at least – but yeah, we have some powerful enemies out there."
They all sat down, and 'Team Sora' told the local group all about their enemies – the Heartless, the Nobodies, the Unversed, the Seekers of Darkness, the Three Sorceresses, Joker & Infinite… This soon led to telling them about the Dimensional Defense Force, their numerous allies, the other foes they'd dealt with and those still lurking somewhere out there…
"We'll help" Luke said. "Whatever we can do to help you guys, we will."
Sora nodded. "Thanks. Odds are that someone from the Organization is up to something around these parts. We just need to find out who, where, and what."
Suddenly, Ange's Omnitool pinged, and she brought it up.
"I had the Gummi Ship's sensors scanning the system for anything unusual" she announced. "Something's just dropped out of hyperspace. It looks like… an Imperial message probe?"
-Break-
A quick retrieval mission brought the oddly-designed and heavily-encrypted probe aboard. In the process, it was discovered that Luke did indeed have some lasting damage from Emperor Palpatine's electric torture. Thankfully, Donald used some healing magic to speed up his recovery; Luke still wasn't at 100% yet, but he was better than he would be without the newcomers' aid.
After some work, the Alliance managed to decrypt the probe's message: a desperate distress call, sent from a remote Imperial-controlled world under siege by invaders from the Unknown Regions. The Alliance higher-ups ended up deciding to send a small carrier with some escort to render aid – get in some Imperials' good graces and those of the planet's, maybe win a few more converts to their cause.
Sora & company volunteered to help as well, certain that the Organization would probably get involved somehow. They contacted the DDF, who promised to send a ship or two as further backup; they'd likely arrive shortly after the Alliance ship did.
Han sighed, sitting in the Falcon's pilot chair. "The Emperor's not even 48 hours dead, and here we go back into the fire. Okay folks, strap in and be ready for anything. Next stop: Bakura."
-Break-
The freighter-turned-carrier named Flurry, 350 meters in length, emerged from hyperspace accompanied by five gunships, a corvette, and about two-dozen fighters, along with the Millennium Falcon and the Gummi Ship. A battle was being waged – Imperial ships (a few gunboats & patrol-ships led by a light cruiser the same size as the Flurry) and TIE Fighters were engaged against odd, bulbous craft and their pyramidal fighters. The Falcon, with Leia aboard as their diplomat/negotiator, jumped out to hide amongst the star system's dead outer worlds, while the rest of the taskforce made contact with the local Imperial commander and jumped in-system to help fight the invaders – the "Ssi-ruuvi Imperium".
The Gummi Ship joined in taking on the Ssi-ruuvi drone fighters, which proved to be tough nuts to crack with durable shields and durable construction. Furthermore, whenever one was destroyed, Ahsoka and Angelise 'felt' the terribly disturbing Force-sensation of a long-agonized soul letting out a final pitiful 'scream' as it was extinguished, despite the fact they should've been fighting drone craft…
As the battle went on, the Falcon returned to the fray just in time to save the Flurry from taking heavy damage. Together with the rallying Imperial ships, the Alliance counterattack managed to destroy a Ssi-ruuvi light cruiser. Stunned by the loss, the Ssi-ruuk commanders of the remaining invader ships debated, on the fence whether to stay and avenge their brethren or fall back and regroup. But then, something occurred that pushed them into the latter choice. The Rebels and Imperials watched in worried confusion as spiraling bluish-black vortexes appeared in space, and out of the slipspace ruptures emerged three DDF ships: two UNSC Gladius-class heavy corvettes, each 243 meters long, and a UNSC Paris-class heavy frigate that, at 535 meters, was now the biggest ship in the system.
The UNSC Saratoga was a survivor. Through the skill of her commander & crew, along with sheer incredible luck, she had made it through numerous climactic and dangerous battles & campaigns – the Battle of Meridian, the Fall of Reach, the Battle for Earth, coming to the TSAB's aid against Scaglietti's droid fleet, the brief war against Arcturus Mengsk, the Reaper War, the Ur-Didact's attack on Earth, the war against Amon's forces… If her luck held out and she made it to decommissioning & retirement, they were thinking of turning her into a museum. Now, accompanied by the heavy corvettes Sagan Blue and Tyson, they were here to help fend off the reptilian invaders.
At the sight of the reinforcements, including the huge heavy frigate (a cruiser by the SW Galaxy's standard "Anaxes" classification system), the remaining Ssi-ruuvi ships turned and fled, retreating out to the edge of the system. As the UNSC ships made contact with the Rebel & Imperial "allies", the Falcon and the Gummi Ship made for the escort carrier Flurry.
Aboard the enemy command ship, now hiding out in the darkness, a deluded slave was now set to face an inner conflict…
-Break-
A sizable group of 'ambassadors' entered the council chamber containing prominent Bakurans and the local Imperial leadership. With Donald, Chewbacca, and R2D2 guarding the group's weapons, Leia was accompanied by Luke, Han, Ange, Ahsoka, Sora, & Goofy, while C3PO hung back by the door. The ensuing meeting was… difficult, thanks in part to the local head Imperial official, Governor Wilek Nereus.
Furthermore, there was a young woman named Gaeriel Captison who at first seemed quite interested in Luke, but as soon as he was revealed to be a Jedi, she gave off feelings of shock and religious revulsion… and then, when it was revealed that Palpatine had been a Sith Lord, it 'felt' like her worldview got a nasty shake. It turned out that her religion decried Jedi and Sith due to believing that if someone gains power, somebody else somewhere else will lose power & fortune to balance it out. She had thus thought highly of Palpatine for 're-balancing the cosmos' by wiping out the Jedi, but being met with the revelation that he had been an extremely powerful Sith motivated solely by power and conquest shook her.
They had also shown a recorded message sent by the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium, mainly by a human youth who had apparently been taken by the aliens as a child and indoctrinated/brainwashed by their views. The heroes felt horrified and sick upon learning how the Ssi-ruuk would "entech" people – suck out their life-energies and souls, using them as power sources for all sorts of things, including battle droids and starfighters. And what's worse, the youth – Dev Sibwarra – honestly seemed to view this as a near-divine blessing and transcendence or something like that.
"One wonders whether his masters just feed him that to keep him in line with them," Angelise pondered, "or if they honestly hold that twisted belief, too…"
"Either way," Ahsoka replied, "we'll need to free all of those tortured, captive souls so they can finally pass on in peace."
"And in addition to the Ssi-ruuvi," Gaeriel's uncle, Prime Minister Yeorg Captison, spoke up, "we may have another new problem on our hands. A few of our scouts along the city perimeter have reported fleeting sightings of strange dark creatures, being coordinated by a humanoid figure in a full-body black hooded coat."
"The Organization is here?" Sora said. "Do you have any pictures?"
Curious at the youth's interjection, the man called up a still image, taken through a long-range scope, of a pack of Shadows and Neoshadows together with a figure in an all-too-familiar black coat. Judging by the 'shape', it appeared the figure was female.
"That's them, all right" Sora frowned. "A member of the Seekers of Darkness, with some Heartless in tow."
"Looks like it's a woman," Goofy muttered, "so it's either Karidé or Alektra. Unless Xehanort's got Larxene under his banner again, like he's got Marluxia…"
"Prime Minister, Governor," Sora said, "those guys are bad news – not affiliated with the Ssi-ruuk, but maybe just as dangerous. Me & my friends have experience dealing with them, though; if they come out of the woodwork and start making trouble, let us handle them while you guys focus on the invaders."
"You're asking us to ignore a potential threat to our world?" a senator asked.
"We're already dealing with the Ssi-ruuk" an older man replied. "If the newcomers want to lighten our load a little, I say we let them."
"Just like with the Jedi and Sith," Sora explained, "there are both good and evil wielders of powerful mystical weapons called Keyblades. The Seekers of Darkness, led by Master Xehanort and Ganondorf, are the main villainous wielders…" he summoned his Kingdom Key "and while I may not be the head honcho for the good-guy Keybladers, I'm kinda leading the charge against the Seekers at the moment." He dispelled his weapon. "If and when they make their move, my friends & I will be ready for them and will do what we can to minimize the damage they cause."
-Scene Break-
Things were relatively uneventful after that. The three UNSC ships kept a look out for the return of Ssi-ruuvi ships, and did what they could to coordinate with the surviving local (Imperial, Bakuran, Rebel) ships, come up with battle-plans and the like. Team Sora patrolled for Seeker activity; so far, no further sightings of the enemy leader, but they had encountered and vanquished a couple of Heartless packs. Ahsoka, at Luke's request, told him & Leia more about the adventures she, Anakin, & Obi-Wan got up to during the Clone Wars.
Luke continued in his quest to break through Gaeriel's religious prejudice against Jedi, even visiting her home and lending some aid to her seemingly-demented elderly aunt. He & Gaeriel even shared a meal together… but had no idea of knowing that, thanks to Governor Nereus, there was something extra in the food…
Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long. When Luke went alone to check out a diner/bar, he was rudely interrupted by a trio of high-ranking Ssi-ruuk and their 'pet' Sibwarra; Nereus had sold him out in return for the aliens leaving Bakura alone. In the ensuing brawl, Luke managed to kill one of the Ssi-ruuk and clandestinely use the Force to shatter Sibwarra's brainwashing & conditioning, but he was knocked out by one of the two other lizards and taken captive.
By the time the UNSC ships located and got in range of the returning Ssi-ruuvi ships, Luke had already been taken aboard the enemy flagship, meaning they couldn't risk unloading on it. They were at least able to help the Rebel and Imperial ships engage the Ssi-ruuvi fighters and other ships, with the Saratoga stunning the locals by using a MAC shot to literally punch a hole clean through a Ssi-ruuvi frigate from bow to stern; the 'locals' had never imagined a slugthrower-type weapon could be that powerful…
Meanwhile, planet-side, things boiled over as Nereus and the Imperials loyal to him turned on the Rebel forces and the Bakurans who tried to help them. What's more, the Heartless – stirred to action by all the chaos – came out of the shadows and started attacking Sora & company, trying to keep them from stopping the forces of evil from prevailing.
Now, as the five traveling heroes carved their way through a pack of Shadows, making their way toward where important Bakurans were being held by Nereus' forces, they were suddenly beset by a wave of dark-red mana bolts. Sora and Ahsoka quickly formed a barrier to protect them all, the dome of defensive magic rippling and straining but managing to hold. A figure clad in the black coat of the Organization leapt down, the hood falling back to reveal Alektra, looking at them all with her usual expression of cold disdain.
"Jill…" Ange growled, activating her psi-blades. "Are you helping the Ssi-ruuk, too?"
"Not really, no" the fallen woman replied. "Master Xehanort's belief, one that I share, is that the Ssi-ruuk would get a bit too… greedy if we gave them a hand. Some of their tech might be useful, though. At the moment, I'm a bit more interested in the local humans; with how much darkness, greed, and hate is in his soul, Governor Nereus would make a fine Heartless… and making him into a mindless beast wholly under our control would be quite poetic, considering what an arrogant, misogynistic bully with delusions of grandeur he is."
"He might deserve something like that," Ahsoka replied, "but not if it's going to strengthen your side!"
"Really, now? You're sure you wouldn't want us to get rid of a man who'd sell Luke Skywalker to the invaders to save himself, only to infect the Jedi with deadly lung-dwelling parasites that will tear their way out of him and kill the Ssi-ruuk the same way?"
Hearing that, the hero quintet quickly dawned expressions of stunned horror. Alektra then channeled her dark power and slammed her palms to the ground. Three huge swirling dark portals formed, and from them emerged a trio of Hybrids – two Reavers, one Destroyer – who'd survived their master's death and been taken control of by Xehanort & Ganondorf. Sora, Ahsoka, Donald, Angelise, & Goofy felt the abominable creatures' Aura of Fear affecting them, the strength of three at once nearly making Donald break and run, but Ahsoka & Ange then used their power to shield themselves and their comrades from the effect (mostly).
As Alektra slipped away, the Hybrids went on the attack. Angelise formed a barrier to block a psi-blast fired by the Hybrid Destroyer, while Ahsoka and Goofy leapt to avoid being crushed by a Hybrid Reaver's pouncing attack. While she was still thinking about it, Ahsoka desperately sent a telepathic message out toward Luke, hoping he got and understood it: 'LUNG PARASITES'. She then had to return her focus to here & now, ducking under a Reaver's claw swipe and then trying to cut its arm off with a lightsaber, only for the beast to pull its limb out of the way and avoid the strike.
Sora stunned a Reaver with a Strike Raid to the face, then fired a wave of Light-type Sagitta Magica at the Destroyer, forcing it to forfeit its chance to blast Goofy in order to protect itself with a barrier. The Reaver he'd hit charged at him from the side, but a Gravity spell from Donald tripped it up, letting Sora dodge and counter with a series of heavy blows with his Keyblade. Ange & Ahsoka double-teamed the other Reaver, dancing around its multiple limbs' attempts to slash and crush them, striking with psi-blades and lightsabers whenever they got an opening to.
A 'Goofy Bombardier' attack stunned and wounded a Hybrid Reaver, and Donald then blasted it with Blizzaza, freezing it in place. As the beast roared and struggled to break free of the ice restraining it, Ange moved in and put all her strength into a decapitating blow, slaying the monster. She then barely avoided a burning energy bolt from the Destroyer, her shields flaring just from the proximity of it. Ahsoka fired a compressed 'cannonball' of Force at the Hybrid Destroyer, while Sora fired a wave of Ragnarok bolts at it, the attacks battering at its psionic barrier and breaking through to mar its flesh. As the monster tried to fry them both with psionic lightning, Donald and Angelise cast a powerful dual-type barrier that (barely) fended off the assault.
The remaining Hybrid Reaver roared and pounced, trying to crush Sora with all four of its arms. The youth nimbly dodged its swings and thrusts, striking back whenever he got the chance, and then he cast a quick Light spell right in the Hybrid's face. The beast snarled as it reared back, one hand held to its face as it tried to blink away the sudden flash-blindness. Sora flew into an 'Ars Arcanum' barrage, his Keyblade glowing with power as he slashed and battered the monster. He finished with a full-strength blow to the head that finally proved too much, and the Hybrid Reaver collapsed, unmoving.
The lone remaining Hybrid roared and started firing psi-blasts at everyone in sight. As Donald, Goofy, & Angelise engaged the Destroyer, attacking from multiple directions to divide its focus, Ahsoka waved Sora over, her hand sparking with electrical energy. Sora started forming a Rasengan, and Ahsoka infused it with Force Lightning, resulting in a slightly larger sphere in a deeper blue than normal, crackling with lightning energy. Donald hit the Hybrid Destroyer with a Slow spell, and Ahsoka gave Sora a Force-assisted launch at the vulnerable enemy. The attack grinded through the Hybrid's weakened barrier and then into its chest while electrocuting it, the monster's psychic roar echoing out.
Then, Sora let the attack 'detonate', the focused spiraling electrified concussive blast launching the Hybrid Destroyer back and tearing almost all the way through its chest. The monster landed with a thud, twitching a few times and then going still. The quintet caught their breath, confirming the three monsters were dead, and then moved on to see what else they could do to help.
-Break-
It turned out that while Team Sora was dealing with the Hybrids, the Bakuran Resistance Movement finally sprang into action, catching the Imperials off-guard and capturing Governor Nereus. Meanwhile, up in orbit, when Nereus tried to have the Imperial command ship turn on the Rebels, the Saratoga's mere presence had frightened the ship's commander into standing down peacefully instead.
Also, Luke had indeed received Ahsoka's warning, detected and neutralized the parasites inside him, and made his way through the Ssi-ruuvi flagship. At the bridge, he managed to kill the admiral leading the attack; unfortunately, at one point in the fight he'd been briefly disarmed, and Dev Sibwarra had thrown himself into the path of a fatal shot meant for Luke. Despite desperate medical attention, Dev's wounds proved too much, and his soul, finally repaired and cleansed, passed on.
In the aftermath, the Ssi-ruuvi ship was captured mostly intact, after Luke had finished freeing the captive souls being used to power things inside. Planet-side, Nereus snapped upon seeing Luke alive & well, and his attempt to shoot the Jedi was reflexively parried, resulting in the evil governor being killed by his own blaster bolt. Sadly, although Bakura did indeed decide to join the burgeoning New Republic, Gaeriel Captison came to realize that her & Luke's lives had too much different, and she had too much responsibility here on her homeworld, for the two of them to be an item…
The Rebel Alliance / New Republic made formal contact with the Dimensional Defense Force, and were welcomed into the DDF. Ships were already coming over to help secure the Alliance's borders and spruce up their ships; the Millennium Falcon, for example, was going to get a sorely-needed tune-up, a better-stocked armory, improved shields, more weapons, and a slipspace drive, and might end up getting the same emission-capture stealth technology used by the Normandy II and its predecessor.
-Break-
"Sorry we couldn't do more to help you out there, Luke" Sora said.
"It's fine, Sora" the young Jedi smiled. "You did fine. For one thing, I don't wanna think about what could've happened if those 'Hybrid' things had gotten past you guys. …Even from orbit, I could feel the wrongness of those monsters… So! You guys helped us, now we'll help you. I'll do what I can to help you in the fight against the Seekers of Darkness… once the doctors clear me, that is. And I can't wait to meet Rahm Kota and Galen Marek… So, where are you headed next?"
"We don't rightly know yet" Goofy replied. "We sorta just go where the Keyblade leads us. But it always brings us someplace where we can help stop the forces of darkness from causin' trouble."
"Speaking of which," Sora said, "we probably should get going. Xehanort & Ganondorf aren't gonna just sit around, so neither can we."
The young Jedi nodded. "See you soon then, Sora. May the Force be with you."
-Break-
In the Deep Core, something stirred…
-CHAPTER END-
Next Up: Arandelle
Also, I have discovered Goblin Slayer, and am working on thinking of ways to implement that world into things (so far, I've figured "it's heavily implied the goblins are alien invaders; that would give the DDF free rein to render assistance in repelling and exterminating them"), as well as trying to map out how the events of RWBY Season 4 & onwards will be changed by the various factors introduced or changed in the Travels-verse.