Chapter 38: Bygone Fortress
Noel, Ken, Banjo and Kazooie, Grace, Espio, Cream and Cheese, Knuckles, Carmelita, Alibaba, Morgiana, Aang, Katara, and Zuko leave Jump City and return to the space area and start searching for a new world while trying to find the whereabouts of Luke and Noel finds a world that has a giant castle floating in the sky with various machinery and below the castle is a deserted place.
"This world is the only one left that we haven't been to yet." Noel said.
"There's a big chance your brother is in there." Banjo said.
"We should be careful. This world could have many Black Xetis and Heartless than we can count." Katara said.
"I know..." Noel said as she uses Radiant Salvation to create another light trail and creates another light portal and they follow the light trail and go into the light portal to enter the next world.
In what looks like a deserted field with gloomy skies the light portal appears and Noel, Ken, Banjo and Kazooie, Grace, Espio, Cream and Cheese, Knuckles, Carmelita, Alibaba, Morgiana, Aang, Katara, and Zuko fly out of the light portal before it disappears and the group look around the deserted field.
"Wow. What the hell died here?" Ken asked.
"I'm not liking the looks of this place." Aang said.
"For some reason, I know it..." Noel said.
"You do?" Alibaba asked.
"Y-Yes..." Noel answered.
"I wonder if there's anything around this world." Knuckles said.
"We won't find out by just standing here." Zuko said.
"Right. We should..." Noel was cut off by a sound of fighting. "Something is happening... We should go see." Noel said and the others nod.
The group begin moving through the deserted field and they come across an area with many rocks and below them are flowing purple water and so the group jump on the rocks and go through each and reach the end of the rocks and keep going and they arrive at what looks like a deserted forest with cut up trees and the group keep going through the deserted forest and at the end of the deserted forest the group see some people and they see Porky and at his side is Odium and in front them are three people.
One is a girl with semi long blonde hair, wearing a pink dress, pink shoes, and a pink bow on her hair.
The second is a boy with short blond hair, wearing a green suit with a white shirt under it and a black tie, glasses.
The third and last person is another boy with a black long braid and wearing a white gi and a black belt.
The three people look really injured but they get up and prepare to fight.
"You three are SO pathetic!" Porky said.
"Haven't you idiots had enough? You had no vessel and there's no way in hell that Black Xetis and the Heartless helped you. How did you get here?" Odium asked.
"You want to know how? We are determined, that's how." The boy in the white gi said.
"After our world fell into darkness, we somehow survived." The blond boy with glasses said.
"But our friend, Ness was not with us and I assumed he was taken by your minions. I believed I would find him and we're all determined to find and save him." The blonde girl said. "So, Porky, you now know why we're here. Ness has to be here. WE WANT HIM BACK!" The blonde girl shouted.
"Oh, you want Ness? Sorry, he's not here. Take a hike." Porky said.
"Why you...! PK Fire!" The blonde girl yelled as she shoots a small lightning bolt at Porky and Odium and it creates a pillar but the two dodge it.
"You're riding on my last nerve! Chasing us down indicates you three have some issues." Porky said.
"And I know how to handle people with issues." Odium said as he takes out a shadow blade and delivers a slash at the girl and the two boys and the three are injured even more.
"No matter how often you stand, you'll fall in the end." Porky said.
"You're such a coward. You allowed our homes to be destroyed and you even joined forces with evil just to protect yourself." The boy in the white gi said.
"I'll do whatever it takes to accomplish my plan." Porky said.
"Your plot will fail! Now give us Ness!" The blonde girl demanded.
"You're too stubborn and spoiled! Let me introduced you to my new friend. Mental, come out!" Porky commanded and something appears in the deserted forest.
What everyone is looking at is a figure wearing a black and crimson torn cloak revealing only the chest, a black mask with two holes revealing crimson eyes, and has Black Xeti symbol on the chest.
"What...is that...?" Noel asked.
"What is that?" The blonde boy asked.
"Meet my new best friend, Mental! He's your guide to the afterlife!" Porky said as Mental unleashes a telekinetic force to lift the cut up trees and throws them at the three people.
"No...!" Noel yelled as she destroys the cut trees with Radiant Salvation.
"Well, well, well. Look who showed up." Porky said.
"So, ya still alive, huh, Crybaby? You're pretty stubborn." Odium said.
"Enough is enough!" Noel said.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha! Still tryin' to act tough, huh?! That won't get ya anywhere!" Odium said.
"You know where Nightmare and the Heart Crystals are. Tell me where they are." Noel said.
"I think no. I've already gave the Heart Crystals to Master Nightmare and now the final Keyhole will be revealed soon. It will be unlocked and I can't let you seal it." Porky said.
"No!" Noel said as she tries to stop Porky but Mental gets in the way.
"Hehehehehehehehehehe...! Face facts, Noel. It's over. Despite all your efforts to save all worlds, you've lost." Porky said as he leaves and Mental. "Hold on, Mental. Get those three pests out of my sight." Porky said and Mental delivers a telekinetic shot at the three people and has injured them.
"No..." Noel said.
"Do ya now see the torture and pain you bring people when you try to 'help' them! Like I told ya, NOBODY wants your help!" Odium said.
"That's not gonna stop me from doing the right thing!" Noel said as she tries to attack Odium who dodges and delivers a powerful kick at Noel's stomach and then slashes at Noel with his shadow blade and knocks Noel to the ground while Radiant Salvation is out of her hand.
"Nightmare and Rixla were right. You don't have what it to takes to save your pitiful brother or those around you. You see, only darkness wins and light becomes eclipsed by the darkness...never to appear again." Odium said picking up Radiant Salvation. "Lemme give ya a demonstration." Odium then unleashes dark energy on Radiant Salvation and it begins to become covered in darkness and as the darkness dissipates Radiant Salvation is now a Keyblade with a crimson edge with demon marks, teeth that look like demon fangs, spikes on each side of the edge, black hilt with demon wings, a grey handle, demon claws at the top of the edge, and a black chain with a black skull with crossbones as its Keychain.
The group were all shocked at the Keyblade's evil transformation and Noel is shocked, horrified, and devastated.
"That...that's impossible!" Espio said.
"This can't be right...Noel's been fighting her way here with the Keyblade!" Ken yelled.
"Please. She's not a Keyblade master. She's just a baby with a toy she doesn't know how to plat with." Odium said.
"You...sick BASTARD!" Ken shouted as he takes out his guitar and charges at Odium to strike.
"Idiot!" Odium said as he delivers an effortless dark push and sends Ken back and now he's in purple flowing water.
"K-Ken...!" Noel said.
"Hey! Nobody gives Music boy a hard time but me!" Kazooie said as she shoots eggs at Odium who unleashes a dark barrier.
"Nice try, birdie!" Odium said as he unleashes a shadow tentacle and lashes at both Banjo and Kazooie and then has the shadow tentacle toss Banjo and Kazooie to a cliff nearby and they fall into the cliff.
"You monster!" Espio said as he throws shurikens at Odium.
"Lemme at him too!" Knuckles said as he delivers a punch at Odium.
"I don't think so!" Odium said as reflects the shurikens back at Espio which strike at him and he gets knocked into a cut tree and then summons a shadow hand and it delivers a powerful punch at Knuckles sending him flying and lands into the ground with his head buried in the ground.
"Please stop this...!" Cream begged.
"No way! I'm havin' too much fun! In fact..." Odium unleashes a shadow shadow shot and throws it at Cream and Cheese striking them and are sent to a wall of rocks.
"Enough of this!" Carmelita yelled as she shoots electric shots from her shock pistol.
Odium dodges each strike and then unleashes a dark lightning bolt at Carmelita who dodges but the black lightning bolt creates a hole on the ground and it sends Carmelita into the hole to fall there.
"What are you?!" Alibaba demanded.
"I am a demon!" Odium answered.
"A demon must be destroyed." Morgiana said as she delivers a strong kick.
"I'll end you!" Alibaba said as he slashes with his knife.
Odium delivers a strong shadow kick at Morgiana and then slashes at Alibaba with his butterfly knives and sends them both to the ground and then attacks the wall of rocks causing rocks to fall and bury Alibaba and Morgiana.
"Stop it!" Aang yelled.
"You're bringing pain and suffering upon others for amusement! You're sick and evil!" Katara yelled.
"You're just now figuring that out?" Odium asked.
"You're worse than my father and my sister! I'll put a stop to you!" Zuko yelled as he unleashes a jet of fire.
Odium catches the fire and then retaliates with a black jet of fire and it gets Zuko who tries to dodge but Odium unleashes a shadow cannon and fires a huge shadow shot at Zuko getting him.
"ZUKO!" Katara cried and she bends the purple water and tries to get Odium.
"No." Odium said as he unleashes a shadow hand under Katara and it grabs her and it starts bringing her into the ground.
"KATARA! NO!" Aang cried but Katara has sunk into the ground by the shadow hand.
"You...YOU MONSTER! THIS ENDS NOW!" Aang shouted as he unleashes powerful gust of wind and then bends purple water and throws them at Odium.
"Too bad for you, this is the end!" Odium said as he unleashes a black lightning bolt and strikes at Aang electrocuting him and he falls to the purple water.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's all your friends have got?! They're all WEAK!" Odium said.
"Why...? Why are you doing this?" Noel asked.
"Why?! Because bringin' pain and suffering to others is FUN! It's like Porky said, Crybaby. You lose. It's over." Odium said. "Here, I got a new toy for ya to play with! Have fun!" Odium takes out a stick and throws it at Noel who kneels to the ground and tears are streaming from her face. "Cry, wittle Noel! Cry, cry, CRY! HYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Odium laughs sadistically as he leaves the deserted forest.
"Eevee..." Grace said sadly.
"Is this...really over?" Noel asked.
Noel is now all alone and she has no idea what to do.
"What's going on here? What happened?" A voice asked and Noel turns to see someone and it's a young man with semi long blond hair, wearing silver armor, and a blue cape on the back of the armor.
"Wh-Who are you...?" Noel asked.
"My name is Siegfried. I'm here on a mission I must fulfill." The young man named Siegfried said.
"A mission...?" Noel asked.
"Where is Soul Edge?" Siegfried asked.
"Soul Edge...? I think I heard that before...from Ry and Tsubaki... I don't know where Soul Edge is..." Noel said.
"I see. Then I must continue my search." Siegfried said.
"Why are you searching for Soul Edge?" Noel asked.
"I'm seeking to destroy it. Once I destroy both Soul Edge and its wielder, my sins should be cleansed." Siegfried answered.
"S-Sins...? Did you do something...wrong?" Noel asked.
"..." Siegfried remains silent.
"I'm sorry..." Noel said.
"No. I have committed many sins. I am responsible for countless slaughters years ago. I am only myself to blame. I will never rest until the wretched Azure Knight is defeated and destroyed along with Soul Edge." Siegfried explained as he keeps moving.
Just then Noel sees the three people trying to move but their injuries are stopping them from moving forward and so they kneel down but Noel runs to them and tries to help.
"Please stop moving. You're hurt...all of you." Noel said.
"I-I can't stop moving. We came here for a reason. Why did you come here?" The blonde girl asked.
"W-Well..." Noel stops talking.
"We came here to get our friend, Ness back." The blond boy said.
"It doesn't matter how many wounds we have or how many battles we fight. We will find Ness and save him. We're not leaving without him." The boy in the white gi said.
"That's why we're here." The blonde girl said and they keep moving.
Noel looks back at the stick Odium threw and she begins thinking about her brother Luke, her friend Ruby, her friends that have always been there for her, and even thinks about everyone she has met in other worlds throughout her adventure.
"I'd never give up on my friends...not after all we've been through..." Noel said as she picks up the stick and walks to the three. "I have a reason for being here. I'm looking for someone very important to me." Noel said.
"Eevee!" Grace said as he stands with Noel.
"So you're coming with us?" The blonde girl asked.
"Yes. My name is Noel. Who are you three?" Noel asked.
"I'm Paula Polestar." The blonde girl named Paula introduced.
"My name is Jeff Andonuts." The blond boy named Jeff introduced.
"I am Poo." The boy in the white gi Poo introduced.
"Okay. Let's go." Noel said.
Noel, Grace, Paula, Jeff, and Poo leave the deserted forest and now arrive at what looks like a ruined and deserted village and so they go through the deserted village to find something and they find Siegfried standing at the end of the village and on a stoned pedestal looking at the sky.
"What are you looking at?" Noel asked.
"Look at the sky." Siegfried said pointing at something in the sky.
"It looks like a castle." Jeff said.
"It is a castle. That must be where Soul Edge is. I must find my way to reach it." Siegfried said.
"It's not like we can fly there..." Noel said.
"Eevee!" Grace said.
"What's wrong, Grace?" Noel asked.
"Eevee." Grace points at something.
"I think he's trying to lead us somewhere." Paula said.
"Okay, Grace. Lead the way." Noel said.
Grace leads the group through the village and then leads to the left side of the village and the group arrive at what looks like an area with more flowing purple water and there are rocky hills and so the group climb up the rocky hills but then Darkball Heartless and Wraith Black Xetis appear and attack the group but Noel attacks with the stick but does little damage but then casts Thunder while Grace uses Tackle while Paula uses PK Fire while Jeff shoots with a blaster while Poo attacks with his fists while Siegfried slashes with a large white and blue crystallized sword with a blue crystal in the center and the group defeat the Wraith Black Xetis and Darkball Heartless and they continue to climb up the rocky hills and later on Noel finds something and it's a red orb.
"This orb might help us with something..." Noel said.
"Let's hold onto it." Paula said.
The group leave the area and return to the village and Grace leads the group to another place and it has a cave and so the group enter the cave and they search the cave for something but more Darkball Heartless appear and attack but Noel casts Fire while Grace uses Growl while Paula uses PK Thunder while Jeff unleashes rockets while Poo uses PK Starstorm while Siegfried spin slashes with his sword and then slams his sword and the group defeat the Darkball Heartless and Noel finds a yellow orb and takes it and they leave the cave and return to the village.
The group continue to follow Grace and they arrive at what looks like a water grounds and they search the area for something but Wraith Black Xetis appear and attack with their skeletal claws but Noel casts Earth while Grace tail whips while Paula uses PK Freeze while Jeff shoots from his blaster while Poo attacks with his fists while Siegfried slashes with his sword and the group defeat the Wraith Black Xetis and Noel continues to search the water way and later on they find what looks like a blue orb and Noel takes it and the group leave the water grounds and return to the village.
Grace leads the group to another area and it has whirlwinds and so Noel walks over to the whirlwinds and they take her upward to the upper part of the area and the others follow suit and they find more whirlwinds and they take the group even more upward until they reach the top of the area and Noel searches for something and then she finds a green orb and takes it and the group leave the area and return to the village.
The group go through the village and then as they arrive at the stoned pedestal the four orbs fly out and they land on four open sockets and the stoned pedestal glows.
"What is this?" Jeff asked.
"I think it might help us get to that castle in the sky." Noel said.
"Then let's try it." Paula said.
The group get on the stone pedestal and it starts to lift up and it's going to the sky and the stoned pedestal is taking the group to the castle in the sky and later on the stoned pedestal arrives at the gates of the giant castle and the group get off the lift which goes back down to the village.
"So this is the castle. This must be the castle of the Fearmongers..." Noel said.
"Nightmare and Soul Edge must be here." Siegfried said as he goes through the gates.
"Wait for us." Paula said.
The group go through the castle gates and they find the doors to the castle and Noel tries to open the doors but they're not opening.
"Locked..." Poo said.
"There must be a way to open them." Noel said.
"Eevee." Grace said as he goes through the castle gates.
The group follow Grace through the castle gates and they go down some stairs taking them to a lower area of the giant castle and they see what looks like a door and so the group open the door and enter somewhere.
The group are now in a passage area and they search around for something but then Black Xetis and Heartless appear and attack but Noel casts Blizzard while Grace uses Bite but the Black Xetis and the Heartless strike back but Paula uses PK Thunder while Jeff unleashes rockets while Poo uses PK Starstorm but the Black Xetis and the Heartless attack back but Siegfried charges with his sword and then delivers a wide slash with his sword and they defeat the Black Xetis and the Heartless move on through the passage but more Black Xetis and Heartless get in their way but the group fight them off and keep going and later on Noel finds what looks like a lever and she pulls the lever and something is happening and gears around the room start to move and spin.
"I think something is happening now..." Noel said.
"That must be the doors being unlocked. Let's get out of here." Jeff said.
"Yes. We must get to that castle's interior." Siegfried said.
The group make their way out of the passage and return to the outside of the castle and they climb back upstairs and hurry back to the castle's doors and Noel tries to open the doors again and this time the doors open.
"Good. The doors have opened. Now, let us go and fight our way through this castle." Siegfried said.
"Ness, I'm coming for you." Paula said.
"This might be dangerous and there will be lots of Black Xetis and Heartless, but I think we'll be okay." Jeff said.
"There is no more time to waste. Let us go." Poo said.
"Eevee?" Grace asked Noel.
"Yes. I'm ready for anything. I'm not running away anymore." Noel said as the group enter the castle.
Meanwhile in another dark room that looks like an evil chapel Nightmare and Rixla walk over to the chapel's tall altar that has a large heart shaped door and all the Heart Crystals the Fearmongers have collected are placed on the the heart shaped door from white to pink to cyan to green to purple to orange to yellow to blue to violet to red and to brown.
"At last. All of the Heart Crystals are collected. Now the Keyhole shall be revealed. With one more Heart Crystal." Nightmare takes out another Heart Crystal that's black and places it at the bottom of the heart shaped door.
"Soon, no one will be able to stop us. Not even the girl. She is too late." Rixla said and Millia arrives.
"Have the Heat Crystals been placed?" Millia asked.
"Yes. Now the Keyhole will be revealed." Rixla answered.
"Then the world will be purged in darkness like all the rest?" Millia asked.
"Indeed." Rixla answered.
"How I have waited to hear that. I shall dispose of anyone who tries to hinder this moment." Millia said as she leaves.
"What's this? My sword is sensing something in this castle. No...it cannot be. Soul Calibur! That fool knight has arrived." Nightmare said.
"No matter. Our minions will be disposing of them really soon." Rixla said.
Meanwhile in the dark room Odium is examining his new evil Keyblade and and also examines his dark powers dancing in the palm of his hands.
"Hehehehehehehehe...these powers. I used them to end the baby's friends. Now, I'll use 'em to bring forth hatred and despair upon every world. All will swallow to my darkness!" Odium said.
Just then Odium hears something entering the castle.
"Who the hell is that? No one should be able to get into this castle. Whatever. I'll use my new Keyblade to destroy this trespasser." Odium said as he leaves the dark room.
And this is gonna be a chapter end right here. I hope you enjoyed this one. Let me know what you think. Yeah, like Void Citadel, this is gonna be an arc as well. I think I'll look forward to what's gonna happen in this world. Anyway, Noel enters the castle of Bygone Fortress, but is confronted by her enemies once again and has to fight with her Keyblade to prove how strong her heart is, but Odium attacks Noel again, but something happens to Noel's encounter with Odium. I'll see you in the next chapter. Take care. Goodbye for now. Also, Happy New Years! :)