Kingdom cure: Heya, readers~! I'm back~!
Aki: I'm surprised you're not being chased by Xion at this moment.
Happy: Aye! Me too! What happened to her?
Kingdom cure: Nothing really.
Aki: Really? Because if I recall, the last time you were here, you sent her to Antarctica.
Happy: Aye. I remember that too. What happened to her?
Kingdom cure: Ah... Let's just say that when I brought her back from there, she suddenly attacked me for sending her to such a cold place and broke the remote.
Aki: And what does that have to do with her current absense?
Kingdom cure: When she attacked, I may have accidentally pressed a button that sent her to some other world...?
Happy: Huh?! Then where is she now?!
Kingdom cure: Well, you see...
Aki and Happy: 'Well, you see...'?
Kingdom cure: Well, you see...
Aki and Happy: *more pressure and suspense* 'Well, you see...'?
Kingdom cure: Well... you... see...
Aki and Happy: *Unbearable pressure and suspense* 'Well... you... see...'?
Kingdom cure: That's something even I don't know~!
Aki and Happy: *anime fall* You're kidding me!
Kingdom cure: Relax, I'm getting the remote fixed right now. And when it does, I'll find her and bring her back.
Aki: And if you can't find her?
Kingdom cure: ... Disclaimer.
Aki: *white eyes and sharp teeth* Don't avoid my question!
Kingdom cure: I don't own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts, that should be clear by now. I only own the Keyblades, which also should be clear by now. And partial credit goes to EvanderAdvent, my beta reader, which should be known by now.
Aki: *airslapped* Oi!
Last time:
"I promised my friend," spoke the king, getting me out of my thoughts, "that if I meet a Keyblade wielder, I am to give them a test."
"Test?" I repeated in a confused tone. All of a sudden, I saw what I didn't expect to see at all... The king... has his own Keyblade...
The handle is black with a white tip and is surrounded completely by the yellow guard. Each side of the guard sports two spikes that point diagonally downward. The shaft of the Keyblade is yellow with concave edges and ends in a point. On the tip of the shaft is a large, silver, "X" shaped charm, which connects the teeth of the Keyblade to the rest of the weapon. The teeth are a black, circular arc lined with spikes. The Keychain is similar to the the teeth of the Keyblade. The spikes of the left and right sides round off in the middle as a longer spike, which has a black line that runs down its middle.
"A test to see if you are an ally or an enemy. As my friend said, there are Keyblade wielders who used their powers for evil. For all I know, you might be pretending to be a Keyblade weilder of light. So I must test you, see where your heart resides."
'What did I get myself into?' I mentally asked, as the king got into battle stance.
"I don't care if you are also a Keyblade wielder, or if this is a test. I won't fight you," I told the king. "You're Vivi's father, after all, and the king of this kingdom."
"Indeed I am. However, you cannot reason with me now. Not when we are both Keyblade wielders," he replied.
"What does us having a Keyblade have to do with anything? I understand that you're concerned about your promise to the person who left this warning here, but I assure you, I'm not one of the people who are looking for this X-Blade. As long as I'm with my friends, get my memories back, and find and revive the Dream Eaters, that's enough for me!"
"You cannot reason with me now!" All of a sudden, he charged at me with his Keyblade. I managed to dodge from his strike and, to my surprise, when his Keyblade came in contact with the floor, the floor cracked.
(Cue Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack - Destiny's Force)
'He's this strong?' I mentally asked.
"Stop running away. If you are true to your words, then fight like a warrior! And as a true Keyblade wielder, you are not to summon your Dream Eaters to assist you, nor can you use your magics." I cringed at those words and had no choice but to have out Burning Brotherhood and accept the challenge. "That's more like it." He then attacked me with all his strength.
However, even though I accepted the challenge, I couldn't bring myself to fight against him. Besides the fact that he's the king of this country and he is Vivi's father, he has done nothing wrong and he's not a Heartless. How could I raise my blade against someone who I don't see as an enemy?
"What's wrong? Why are you not fighting back?" he asked as he continued to attack me. "From what I heard from Vivi, you are stronger than this. Or is it that you cannot fight without your Dream Eaters? I don't know whether to call you soft or weak. It makes me wonder why the Keyblade chose you, since they only chose wielders who has a strong heart. If this is the strength of your heart, once this test is over, I will take away your rights as a wielder, and confiscate the Dream Eaters you've collected so far."
When he said the last part about taking away my Dream Eaters, something in me snapped. "I won't let you! I made a vow that I'll find and revive all the Dream Eaters their creator left behind here! Not only that, but they are my friends! I won't let you take away my friends!"
"Then prove to me how much you care about your friends!" King Cobra demanded, as he made an upward slash at me. I managed to avoid it in time. But when I did, one of my Dream Eater cards came out of my pocket, and he caught it.
"Oh? Lucky catch," he muttered.
"Give that back!" I demanded, trying to get my friend back, only for the king to jump back and do the one thing I didn't think would happen.
"Help me out: Hebby Repp!" He actually summoned Repp. I was in shock when he did that. Last time I remember, from the message the creator left, the Dream Eaters can only be called by the person who brings them to life. Unless...
"You... You helped him create the Dream Eaters, did you?" I asked.
"I'm surprised how fast you caught on with this. That's right, I'm one of the few people who helped my good friend create the Dream Eaters. This Hebby Repp is my own creation, truth be told."
"But wait, you said that Dream Eaters aren't allowed in this test. Are you breaking your own rules?"
"Who said that? I said only you are not to summon your Dream Eaters to assist you." My eyes widened when I recalled his words and found that it was true. Which means, I'm sitting duck. "Now then, my friend," Repp turned to the king, "will you lend me your power once more?" I thought Repp wouldn't agree, but seeing how it agreed happily, I feel like all hope is lost for me. "Then let us become one again. Link Style: Fire Raid!" Repp fused with Cobra and now, a fire-red aura is around him and the yellow on his Keyblade became fire-red.
"You're kidding me..." I breathed out.
"This is no joke, nor is this a dream. This is reality. Now I will say this one last time: if you are a Keyblade wielder, then fight like one!" At that, he charged back at me and began his assault. Now that he's powered up, at my current state, I can barely dodge and block his attacks. At one point, he managed to knock the Keyblade out of my hand and landed a hard hit on me.
(End of Soundtrack)
"ARGH!" I screamed at the pain and the burn.
"Why are you still not fighting back? Did you not say that the Dream Eaters are your friends? Or was that all talk after all? It once again makes me wonder just what the Keyblade sees in you. How can your heart be strong if you are this weak?"
'It's not that I'm weak,' I thought. 'And it's not that he's strong either. And it's also not that he fused with Repp that I won't fight as hard as I used to. And it's not even that I haven't recovered enough to fight. I'm not fighting back because I simply don't want to. I don't want to hurt or possibly kill him. Knowing that the Heartless are actually innocent people swallowed by darkness is bad enough, but to raise my Keyblade against someone like King Cobra... All because of a test...'
'Why are you still hesitating?' came a voice that I know so well.
'Isn't it obvious, you stupid voice? I can't fight him.'
'Is it because that he has done nothing wrong, or is it because that you have become weak?'
'What was that?'
'The Keyblade chose you for a reason. And like all other Keyblade wielders, it's because you have potential, you have a strong heart, you want to protect everyone. There's no other reason besides those that the Keyblade would choose you. And yet if this is how you act now that you're friend is in the hands of your opponent, then so be it! Once this is over, if Cobra doesn't strip you away from your right as a Keyblade wielder, then I will!'
Before I can say anything back, mentally of course, the king came at me again, relentlessly attacking me. Not prepared for this kind of attack, I dodged as best as I could, only to fail in doing so and get more cuts and burns.
'Now you listen to me, young lady. Eventually, you will have to fight against your friends whether you like it or not. And if this is how you will act towards them, I should take away your Keyblade right here and now!'
I got irritated from every word that comes from Voice. With each word, I can feel myself getting even more angry, I just want to take it out on someone right now!
"I believe now is the time to end this," I heard Cobra say. I looked up and saw that he was charging at me again, only this time with Fire Raid's finisher. So filled with rage, I recalled my Keyblade and blocked the finisher, much to his shock.
"Give him back..." I muttered. "Get him out of you!" With all my strength, I pushed him back, increasing his surprise.
(Cue Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack - Tension Rising)
"Limit Break: Wingblade!" My Keyblade multiplied and changed into the swords of light. "Time to get back at you for what you did, and get my friend back!" At that, I retaliated against him. Like what he did to me, I swung my weapons on him as swift as possible, leaving him little to no time to recover. I then tossed a couple of things on him, catching him off guard and took a leap back and away from me, thinking that they were bombs, as I had planned. I leaped after him, one of my swords secretly shooting a familiar light beam at the items I dropped as I did.
When I got to him, I grabbed my blades and continued my assault, only to be caught off guard when he used the Stop Magic on me. He took the chance to take me down, only to get hit by a small fireball. I smirked when I saw that, knowing that reinforcements of my own came.
"What the-?!" the king gasped. We both looked at the source, or at least I tried the best I can to in my current condition, and saw a red, devilish, duck-like Dream Eater, with his stomach opening up like a mouth, tongue sticking out. "Wait a second, I thought I told you not to summon a Dream Eater in this test. And it's impossible for an outsider to know and walk in here."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, as the spell wore off me. "I know you told me not to summon a Dream Eater, but I didn't summon this one. And I didn't summon him before this test began."
"What? Then can it be that-?!"
"Yeah. Those things I tossed were Dream Eater ingredients and that little light show wasn't a blinding explosion, I just created this Dream Eater," I told him. Hearing that, he smiled and chuckled a bit.
"You found a loophole to this test. That's the first time a Keyblade wielder created a Dream Eater in the middle of a fight."
"It's too late to change the conditions, not since the test has already started. Besides, I'm only evening out the odds."
"Could've said it myself. Now come! Let us finish what we've started." With that, we continued the test. Due to the fact that Cobra used the finisher and that he stayed in his link form for half an hour, he and Repp canceled the link, making this a two-on-two battle. Not only that, my Limit Break, although I didn't use the Shotlock finisher, went out on me. Well, it's actually better for it to go out now, because now we have a fair fight.
As we sparred, neither of us could land an actual hit on each other. Not only that, our Dream Eaters were also fighting against each other. Seeing them fight though, it strangely reminds me of two little kids fighting. Whenever Cobra would try to use a magic spell on me, due to the fact that I've studied all the magics that a Keyblade wielder would know, the basics at least, I reacted fast enough to counter each magic he would use and strike at close range.
After half an hour of this sword fight, we both decided to end this.
"Salamander!" Cobra called, having Repp to go to his side. "Link Action: Flamethrower!" Grabbing the lizard Dream Eater, he then threw it towards me, turning Repp into a blazing boomerang of some kind.
"Draco!" I called my Dream Eater, who jumped at me."Link Action: Tail Groove!"
(End of Soundtrack)
As soon as I did the link with my own Dream Eater, we somehow avoided the flame. The next thing you know... I actually don't know what happened. All of a sudden I hear an upbeat music and lost control of my body. Not only that, my body was dancing to it. Draco was also dancing to it.
"This is no time to be dancing," Cobra said, obviously misunderstanding the situation. "If you have time to dance, you should also have time to prove yourself!" He then charged towards me and, dancing to the rhythm, I narrowly dodged his attacks. As my body went along with the music, I even landed heavy hits on the king, much to our surprise.
'I like this link already,' I thought, hearing the music close to its end.
"Finale~!" I suddenly shouted, as Draco and I did the finishing move to the dance, which caused an explosion onto our opponents.
"It's my defeat..." I heard the former say. "You pass the test."
"Your majesty!" I rushed over to his side. "I'll heal you up now. Curaga!" I used my healing magic and the king was back at full health, his wounds from the spar gone.
"It is as you said this entire time; you are on our side. I apologize for not believing you."
"What are you talking about? Seeing it in your point of view, I probably would've done the same."
"I guess that is true." He slowly got up. "Well, since you've passed the test, I would like to give you something." From his pocket, Cobra took out an orb of some kind and let it float towards me. Since he said that it's something he'll give me, I held out my hand and made contact with it. As I did, the orb suddenly glowed, causing us to cover our eyes. Once the glow died down, I slowly opened my eyes and, to my surprise, my clothes suddenly changed. From the green desert clothes I was given to a dark blue t-shirt over a black shirt, blue shorts, long black leggings and blue shoes. On the sleeves of my black shirt and my black leggings are emblems that resembles blue flames. As if it's not weird enough, I even have a new Keyblade in my hand.
The new Keyblade has a yellow guard similar to my first Keyblade, Starlight. Where the blade is supposed to be, a vortex is there instead. As the teeth, a cloud is there instead. I even noticed that the top of the guard has a hole. As the Keychain is a peacock slasher, similar to Vivi's
"What kind of Keyblade is this?" I asked.
"Desert Nakama," the king replied. "It may not look much, but looks can be deceiving. Give it a swing, is what I want to say but, apparently, while in that form, the Wisdom Form, you can't use your Keyblade to attack physically. Instead, you attack with your magic."
"Really?"
"Yes. And why don't you start running around for a bit?"
Obliging to his words, I tried to run, only to glide instead. Not expecting this, I somehow tripped and fell. "Okay... Now that was something," I said.
"I bet it was. With that speed, you can easily dodge an enemy's attack or get to some place on foot. Now try a magic that isn't a thunder, wind or water attribute. And a basic one at that," he then told me.
"Okay. Fire." I used my magic spell and, even though its the most basic one, the fireball was much bigger and more explosive than a Firaga's. "AHHH! I set the whole room on fire!"
"You see? In this form, all your magic power has greatly increased. Of course, the deadly magic that you know becomes deadlier," Cobra calmly said. "Now, try using a thunder, wind or water attribute magic."
'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' I wondered. Despite that, I went with his words and used my most basic wind magic. Instead of a small ball of calm wind, the blade of the Keyblade suddenly extended greatly and quickly blew out the flames, as well as moving the rubbles away to near the entrance.
"No way! That looked stronger than Fire!" I shouted in disbelief.
"That's because Desert Nakama greatly increases all thunder, wind and water based attacks. Combining that with the Wisdom form, and you'll be causing a ridiculously crazy and dangerous storm, one that may rival the Grand Line's," Cobra explained and joked.
"I'm surprised you can joke about this." It was then that I realized something. "AH! I wasted too much time here and everyone's waiting for me outside. Not only that, but it should be near morning by now. The Marines must've gotten to them at this time!"
"Don't worry about that. Although hours passed here, out there, only minutes had passed," the king told me.
"You serious?!"
"Yeah."
"Oh, that's good. I don't want my friends to be captured because of me."
"Heh. Well, you should hurry and get going. Like you said, they're waiting for you."
"I will. And your majesty, thank you for both this training and this gift."
"Use them well, Xion. And remember, this is something between us and Vivi." I nodded, called my Dream Eaters back into their cards and left the room.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
'That is something between us Keyblade wielders,' I thought, looking down at the hand I used to obtain the new power. 'I can't wait to use them in battle.'