DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: CHAPTER 40 IS HERE - AND IN LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, TOO! HIP-HIP-HORRAY! HALLELUJAH!
COME ALONG, SING A SONG, AND JOIN OUR JAMBOREE! K-I-N-G-D-O-M H-E-A-R-T-S!
Okay... perhaps that was a little TOO MUCH Excitement for one day. Either way, it's STILL True! I'm BACK! I've Also Brought Along CHAPTER 40, TOO!
To Start Off, I Just Wanted To Say: THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR ALL THOSE REVIEWS! AT THIS RATE, THE SNEAK PEEK WILL BE AVAILABLE - ALONG WITH THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HORRAY!
By The Way, I Wanted To Point Out How There Were A FEW Points I Somehow MISSED When Chapter 39 Was Posted - Probably Because It Was Late At Night...
(1.) I Have REVISED CHAPTER 17! NOW It Should Flow Better, And The Suspenseful Moments In It Should Seem MORE Intense, TOO!
(2.) CHAPTER 38'S ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTE Has Been EXTENDED! HOPEFULLY I Was Able To CLARIFY The "SONG" There, As Well As The Reference To "THE LEGO GROUP"!
(3.) If You Have Happened To Take A Look At MY PROFILE PAGE LATELY, You MAY Have Noticed The "TOP 12" LIST I Have Included! Since I Have Been Receiving LOTS Of REQUESTS/SUGGESTIONS For Particular Worlds For My Stories, I Made This List To Clarify What I Will NOT Be Including In ANY Of My KINGDOM HEARTS Stories! Hope This Helps SHOULD I Ask For Suggestions/Requests!
Also, It Has Come To My Attention How Some Of You May Be Having A Difficult Time Figuring Out Who The Two FINAL FANTASY Characters In This Story Are. DO NOT WORRY! AS I'VE SAID, THEY ARE BOTH FROM THE FINAL FANTASY 7 SERIES - THIS INCLUDES NOT JUST THE ORIGINAL GAME, BUT ALSO FINAL FANTASY 7: CRISIS CORE (I Think That's How It's Spelled), FINAL FANTASY 7: ADVENT CHILDREN, AMONG OTHERS! YOU NEED TO THINK THROUGH ALL OF THEM AND DECIDE WHO MATCHES WHICH PREVIOUSLY-MENTIONED CHARACTERIZATION/DESCRIPTION THE BEST!
So, With All THAT Out Of The Way, IT'S TIME TO READ THIS CHAPTER - NUMBER 40!
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, TOO!
CHAPTER 40
A Team of True Friends
Sora's scream echoed as he found himself plunging head-first into the depths of seemingly nothing. The darkness was so complete, he was almost convinced he could reach out and touch it. He found himself recalling his experience in the Endless Abyss during his original quest. When Donald, Goofy, and him had found themselves standing in mid-air, they had hastily swept their eyes around — only to see nothing but total Darkness. It wasn't until Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness informed them where they were that Sora had realized the location could very well have been somewhere inside the Realm of Darkness itself!
As he sighed in dismay, Sora allowed himself to ponder over what had taken place. Less than five minutes ago, he had retrieved another "Sound Idea" to save King Mickey… Mickey, that is. After the musical object had been swiped by a flamingo, the brown-headed Keyblade Master-In-Training had given chase, only to encounter a strange man wearing the signature black coat of the now-defeated Organization XIII. Sora had recognized the figure from their previous encounter in the Country of The Musketeers, but still was not certain as to who he was. He definitely wasn't the same guy Sora had seen on a regular basis during the journey through the Realm of Sleep. Although, if he was wearing the black coat… perhaps there was a connection between those two peculiar individuals? Remembering how Ansem — Xehanort's Heartless had appeared in Pixie Hollow and Xemnas had shown up in both Rascal's Dreamland and The Grid, the sixteen-year-old Keyblader reached a definite conclusion. All of their appearances were most-likely linked. Then again, maybe they were simply figments of the dream itself? Or was there some other explanation? Either way, Sora knew, unless he could uncover the truth, Riku, Violet, and him could very well be in serious trouble very soon.
Riku remained screaming as loud as he could until he found himself descending like a pencil with its point angled straight down. He immediately realized he was falling head-first. How or why this had suddenly happened, he was still completely in the dark. He gave a very, very deep sigh of annoyance.
One moment, he had been enjoying the sight of the girl-creature restoring the entire forest from the ashes. The next, the guy in the black-hooded coat had shown up. Riku had been shocked from the instant he had recognized the man from the treetops in Camelot's forest. When the man had insisted the silver-haired youth surrender to the Darkness, Riku had inquired if the stranger was allied with Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness. The man hadn't given a definite answer and departed — seconds before the landscape had disappeared and Riku had begun his descent.
As he was thinking over what had been told, Riku was starting to feel convinced all the unknown figures in the Organization's coat were somehow connected to Xehanort. After all, Ansem and Xemnas were the villain's Heartless and Nobody respectfully. Could he be behind this whole turn-of-events? How would he, Sora, and Violet be able to discover the truth? Chances were, by the time they finally did learn what was going on, it would be too late to do anything about it.
As she continued to plunge into the dark depths, Violet struggled to get her wings moving. No matter what she did, however, they wouldn't respond. All she could do was watch herself diving head-first into the abyss below. Since she was descending so rapidly, Violet straightened herself in the form of an arrow. She started descending faster.
Recalling how she had ended up in the dark region, Violet began questioning what had occurred just beforehand. She remembered locating the "Sound Idea" shortly after defeating the hostile dinosaur-shaped Nightmare. That's when the familiar vulture had appeared and snatched it. After chasing the animal, the angel had encountered Hacker, Buzz, and Delete — the archenemy of the Cybersquad from Traverse Town (plus his henchmen). Following a brief confrontation, Violet had witnessed the three arguing over ridiculous stuff and taken the opportunity to retrieve the "Sound Idea" from her. When Hacker and his henchmen had seen the angel's glow increase due to the mystical object engulfing her, they had fled; Violet assumed they thought she was a ghost. The ground opened up a second later, sending the trio down, down, down and out of sight; the vulture [Scratch] had dove after them. Although she was wondering if the villains were okay, Violet didn't have the chance to check. The environment vanished and she was sent falling into the abyss of darkness.
Unable to arrive at a single possible conclusion as to why Hacker, Buzz, Delete, and Scratch had appeared in the world inside the musical score, Violet had shoved the remainder of the contemplation aside for another time. Still, she had the slightest sensation something terrible was on the verge of occurring.
~Symphony No. 5~
By Ludwig Van Beethoven
As Sora continued to plummet downwards, a handful of white flashes stole his focus. In the background, a loud series of low notes could be heard; the last one was longer than the others. The sequence repeated itself, ending with a column of light shining straight down. A second later, Sora found himself amidst a large cluster of clouds. The music had softened dramatically as the light shown down. In accordance with the melody of the song, the light struck a cloud, bounced into the air, and landed onto another one; this continued for a few more clouds as the light descended lower and lower. Every time the light made impact on the clouds, it made a visible splash that resembled water.
"Whoa!" Sora shouted aloud. He gasped in realization. For the first time since he had entered any of the musical scores, he could talk out loud. Talk about unusual!
The song started to crescendo. A couple thunderous, low notes seemed to hang in the air for a few seconds before fading. The melody played once more; a dozen or so rays of light merged with the single column as it continued its descent. The music continued at a significantly much softer volume.
Sora was so amazed by what he was seeing, he failed to notice he was drifting away from the column. His eyes lit up in realization a moment later. The brown-haired teenager struggled to flip himself upright so he could soar back to the light. By the time he realized it was in vain, something caught his eye. A tiny bit lower was a young man with medium-length silver hair; he was also plunging head-first. One look was all it took for him to realize who the individual was.
"Riku!" Sora hollered over the background music.
Riku snapped into attention the instant his name had been called. He glanced around, realizing he was now diving through an extremely abnormal environment. A column of white light could be seen pointing straight down into what appeared to be a vast, deep ocean. He glanced towards his feet and gasped from shock. Not too far away was a spikey, brown-haired youth wearing unmistakable, oversized yellow shoes. He immediately recognized who it was.
"Sora?!" Riku yelled in surprise. "How did you… "
By this point, Sora was at eye level with the silver-headed Keyblade wielder. "Where'd you come from, Riku?" he inquired.
Riku shrugged. "Once I found the 'Sound Idea', I was approached by that mysterious guy from the treetops. The one who speaks in riddles. Remember? We saw him when Merlin turned you and I into squirrels and Violet became a butterfly."
Sora's eyes lit up in alarm. "Really?!" he exclaimed. "My 'Sound Idea' was snatched by a flamingo! When I caught it, I saw the strange man in black from the Musketeer's Training Yard!"
Riku stared at his best friend. "A 'flamingo'? There wasn't anyone wearing a black-hooded coat in the Musketeer's compound."
A smirk formed on Riku's face. "Sounds like you're stuck in the land of make-believe — again."
Sora looked distraught. "But it… it's all true! That guy said something about 'not being part of the dreams'."
Sora crossed his arms. "And he mentioned something about 'this little experiment'… "
Riku was struck with a sudden feeling of disbelief. Perhaps what Sora was referring to was truthful. If only his nose could grow like Pinocchio's — then there would be no doubt. Of course, given that the sixteen-year-old's claim actually happened to be honest, chances were there were probably many other people dressed in the black coat of Organization XIII. Yet, there was one major question Riku had been carrying that still lacked a valid answer; what might those peculiar figures be up to? Were they plotting to prevent the pair from earning the Mark of Mastery? If they truly were aligned with Xehanort, then the villainous Keyblade Master must somehow have discovered the details of Master Yen Sid's plan of action to prepare for the worst. The only question left was… was such a thing possible?
As Riku continued to ponder away, the two teenagers plunged directly into the ocean below. They were sucked down in a flash, although it was nothing like when they had fallen during the storm (which felt like eons ago); they could breathe underwater. The music continued as they followed the column of light to the very bottom of the sea.
The music began picking up speed at an alarming rate. When the light reached a shadow-covered structure on the seafloor, both Riku and Sora stopped descending. They righted themselves and listened as the song rapidly grew louder. At once, the entire structure lit up when the melody hit a loud note. The two Keyblade wielders nearly leapt back in surprise.
The entire formation was shaped like a mountain. The sides of it were covered by a variety of colorful triangles. Each of the shapes were a different size, and they each came in pairs of the same color. From Sora's perspective, the triangles reminded him of bowties. The song hit a second loud note a few moments later; the pairs of triangles took to the air. Sora and Riku were both shocked to see all the shapes flying all around them; it had all happened so fast, the pair remained unsure what the pairs of triangles were supposed to be.
Another very loud note filled the air, followed by one final note. All the shapes were sent flying out of the water like a geyser with each blast. Sora and Riku found themselves thrown sky-high in the process. The song softened immediately after. In the meantime, the flock of shapes flew off and into the distance.
"Man!" Sora exclaimed in shock. "That was weird!"
"Yeah," Riku agreed.
As the pair started to take in their new surroundings, they noticed a large pinkish-red sky with a hint of faded orange. It was then, they both spotted a glowing figure plummeting from the clouds above; her slender being straight like an arrow. Thanks to the girl's violet outfit, transparent wings, and radiance of Light, Sora and Riku were instantly able to identify her.
"Violet!" they both shouted.
When she heard her name, Violet glanced up and stared at the two familiar youths before her eyes. "Riku! Sora!"
The angel hurriedly spread out her arms and stretched out her wings. Her descent slowed with such haste, it would have seemed unnatural. Violet did a speedy flip so she was hovering with her feet below her head. She approached the spot where Sora and Riku had been spectating her arrival.
"It is marvelous to know you both are uninjured," Violet said with a relieved smile. She sighed very deeply. "I sincerely hope the same is true for Hacker, Buzz, and Delete… "
Sora and Riku stared at each other in surprise. Had Violet encountered the arch-enemy of the Cybersquad? Last they had recalled, the villain, his henchmen, and the other troublemakers had fled Traverse Town once they had become convinced Sandora was a ghost — no thanks to Matt stating it was so. They had been informed how Hacker was terrified of ghosts… which had made Sora give a stifled laugh from the mechanical arm that had grabbed him. However, it appeared Hacker and his henchmen had shown up in the musical score Violet had ventured through.
"Fortunately," Violet continued. "I successfully retrieved the 'Sound Idea' for Mickey."
Riku nodded. "Same here."
"Wait!" Sora shouted aloud. "You saw Hacker?!"
Violet gave a nod. "It seemed he was attempting to stall me from obtaining the 'Sound Idea'. I interrogated him about why he had mystifyingly shown up. This somehow caused Hacker to get into a heated argument with Buzz and Delete, and allowed me enough time to recover the 'Sound Idea'. They most-likely saw me glowing and… "
"I was glowing, too!" Sora blurted. "It's like… the 'Sound Idea' was inside of me!"
"Yeah," Riku affirmed, glancing at his best friend. "I think we all had the same experience. But let's let Violet finish her story."
Sora placed his hands behind his head and a giant smile formed on his face. "Sorry about that!"
Violet shook her head before continuing. "Like I was stating, it appeared Hacker, Buzz, and Delete caught a glimpse of me glowing and they started to flee. That was when the landscape vibrated and a crevice opened. All three of them descended into the canyon and I lost contact with them. I sincerely hope they were not injured from such a plunge!"
As Violet's gaze dropped, Riku placed his right hand on her shoulder. The angel didn't show any signs of acknowledgement.
"It's okay, Violet," Riku reassured her. "I've watched some terrible things happen and, even now, I wish I could've prevented them from happening."
"You mean like when we were in Merlin's world?" Sora asked. "You said you were responsible for its fall to Darkness."
"Yeah," Riku admitted. "But there were many other things that happened while I was being deceived by Maleficent. Some of them I already know are irreversible… "
Violet looked back up. A smile started to show upon her face. "Riku, thank you for the encouragement."
Riku gave a nod in return followed by a grin of his own.
Sora shook his head before he noticed a couple pairs of triangles below. One was large and was a bright orange color. The other was tiny and its color was a light shade of blue. He pointed them both out to the others. In the background, the soft, graceful melody of the song could be heard.
"Those appear to be triangular butterflies," Violet surmised.
"Yeah," Riku nodded in agreement. "They seem to be playing together."
Sure enough, the two butterflies were spraying water at each other at the steady beat of the music. When the two took to the air, Sora, Riku, and Violet silently decided to follow. Before long, the pair of butterflies were nearing the main flock Sora and Riku had seen earlier; the song started to get faster as its volume gently increased. The orange and blue butterflies stopped at one point while the rest of the flock swooped into the distance. They had departed with such speed, the two Keybladers and the angel were wondering why the main group seemed to be uncomfortable about lingering anyplace.
Their answer came a second later. The music volume began getting louder as the sky darkened. One beat at a time, what seemed to be a dark cloud filled the environment. Before long, the area was so full of darkness, it appeared to be the middle of the night. Nonetheless, a clear, bluish sky could be seen where the flock was fluttering around in the distance.
"What's going on?" Sora questioned out loud.
The pair of butterflies hovered around for a few seconds as though puzzled by the sudden change of the landscape. As a small mound seemed to be rising in the middle of the terrain, the duo neared it with curiosity. When pieces of fire sprayed out from the ground at random spots, the two butterflies panicked and zoomed away. The music started to crescendo quickly.
"This can't be good!" Sora exclaimed, indicating the rising parcels of land below.
"C'mon!" Riku declared, staring straight ahead. "Let's follow those two!"
"Excellent idea!" Violet approved. "They most-likely know where the most-secure location is around here!"
While the two Keyblade wielders and the angel swiftly soared away from the crumbling terrain behind, the music continued to pick up. Sora glanced back at one point and saw the mound rising higher and higher. When one loud note echoed in the background, the mound popped open, releasing countless dark shapes with irregular designs; it almost appeared to be a jagged column of smoke. A second mound exploded in a similar manner, followed by another, and then another. This continued until Sora had the trio halt to watch.
"What are they?!" Riku exclaimed in shock, studying the appearances of the strange shapes.
The song's melody started to gain speed as the strange shapes neared a strange-looking sky above. A circle had formed in the middle of the sky with rings of a dark greenish color surrounding it at regular intervals. The song reached its climax as the rings and circle started flashing an orange color. The flashes were so bright, the three had to shield their eyes for a moment. When it ceased for a moment, they looked again — only to watch the ominous-looking shapes dive down from above as the song hit a deafening volume. From Sora's perspective, it appeared the unusual shapes strongly resembled Heartless. By this point, Violet had reached a conclusion as to what the creatures were.
"Those creatures," the angel was barely to say. "They resemble bats!"
"Wait!" Sora exclaimed. "Don't bats sometimes eat butterflies?"
Riku gave a nod. "That's what I've heard."
Watching with worry in his eyes, Sora saw the flock of butterflies in the distance bunch into a clump before rushing into the distance. At the same time, the swarm of bats grouped together and swiftly attempted to catch up; they were packed together so tight, the swarm looked more like a dense storm cloud moving through the air — including an anvil-shaped top.
When it became apparent the pair of butterflies the three had been following were also being stalked by the bats, Sora, Riku, and Violet flew into the direction of the swarm of irregular shapes. Up ahead, they could see the large orange and tiny blue butterflies trying to flee. The song in the background rapidly became more intense. It was then the angel and the two teenagers witnessed a horrible event unfold directly before their very eyes.
As the swarm of bats closed in on the two butterflies, one of the irregular shapes shot out like an extra-fast bullet train. It was zooming with such speed, the bat left a huge bite-shaped tear in the orange butterfly's right triangular wing. When the orange butterfly began losing speed, the tiny blue tried to pull its companion along. To Riku, it seemed the smaller butterfly was desperately trying to save the larger orange one. The swarm of bats rapidly overtook the orange butterfly, forcing the blue one to abandon its friend and soar away; it was zigzagging back-and-forth in a state of panic.
"Yikes!" Violet exclaimed after witnessing the display.
"Oh no!" Sora shouted in alarm. "That little butterfly won't stand a chance against all those bats!"
Riku summoned his Keyblade while a determined look appeared on his face. "Then let's save it!"
"Right!" Sora approved as his own Keyblade appeared in his hand. "We must protect all the butterflies!"
Violet's Keyblade magically appeared in her hand, too. "Those bats might actually be Nightmares! Do not proceed without any caution!"
Sora and Riku silently nodded before the three flew off to carry out their plan of action. As they chased the swarm of bats, the irregular shapes started to pursue the small, blue butterfly. In the meantime, the music went through a series of loud and soft moments; it almost felt like a pattern. Each time the song hit the louder parts, a set of three jagged shapes mysteriously appeared in the background. To Sora, they seemed to be creepy-looking mountains. With each mountain shape appearing, the song's melody became more and more suspenseful.
As the song's melody started to near a climax, the trio of Keyblade wielders (including the angel) reached the flock of butterflies. Noticing how the triangular-shaped creatures had gathered together in the form of a ball, the three swooped in to help. Without warning, Sora was shoved aside by the bat swarm soaring past and surrounding the butterflies.
"Sora!" Riku hollered as he watched his best friend being dragged away by the bats.
"Riku!" Violet shouted, seizing the silver-haired youth's attention. "Allow Sora to defend himself! What matters is we prevent those bats from harming any of the butterflies!"
Even though Sora had been separated from the two, Riku followed Violet as they both landed on either side of the cluster of triangular butterflies. Before their eyes, the little blue butterfly swooped into view and joined the flock gathered in the middle of the area. Riku gave a small grin, knowing the tiny butterfly was safe and secure with the rest of the flock.
The background melody started to pick up for a second. Several of the irregularly-shaped bats rushed at the cluster of butterflies from both sides. Both Riku and Violet raised their Keyblades, causing mystical shields to appear in the form of rainbows. The shields bounced every single hostile bat back into the swarm. The moment seemed to go on forever.
A bright beam of light shone down a moment later as the song's climax filled the air. Riku immediately realized the song was the melody from when the turtle had put-down Donald back in the Country of The Musketeers. The melody repeated itself as the light beam became larger.
"What's that?" Riku softly wondered.
The soft, yet swift, melody continued playing in the background. Through the light beam, the silver-headed teenager saw two individuals appear from above. One was the large, orange triangular-shaped butterfly with the torn wing. The other was a brown, spikey-haired sixteen-year-old wearing oversized, yellow shoes. Riku was astounded at the sight of the figure.
"Sora!" Riku called out. He tapped Violet on the shoulder before pointing at the beam.
Violet was relieved. "Sora!" she called, gesturing down below. "We are awaiting your arrival down here!"
As though he was a homing pigeon, Sora soared lower and reached his friends in no time. "That was weird," he admitted. "One moment, I was following you. Then, there was this strange light… "
His words were cut short by the music striking some earsplitting low notes. The first two were so short, they sounded like a chef stabbing a piece of meat with the point of a knife. At the same time, the beam of light struck two spots — directly in the middle of the swarm of bats. The hostile, irregular-shaped creatures shattered into molecule-sized fragments with each impact. Riku wondered if the light beam was disintegrating them the way a lightning bolt can set trees up in flames. It wasn't long before all the irregular-shaped bats had been destroyed.
A series of light beams shone down as the song's melody's pace quickened. The flock of butterflies were sucked up like a vacuum and disappeared once they had travelled beyond the clouds. The last ones to leave were the large orange and tiny blue butterflies. The song came to a rapid close as the pair of triangular creatures hurried into the beam together. Once they were out of sight, the song had ended and the light faded from view.
Sora, Riku, and Violet allowed their Keyblades to vanish.
"We did it!" Sora cheered, an enormous smile on his face.
Riku gave a friendly grin. Out the corner of his eye, he noticed a patch of Darkness forming in the sky. His grin faded. "I wouldn't be too sure of that… "
Sora glanced at his friend in surprise. It was then he caught sight of the Darkness now surrounding the group. Within seconds, the pinkish-red sky had been replaced by such a thick blanket of Darkness, it would seem nightfall had just descended.
"These illusions are really starting to intensify," Violet said aloud. When Sora stared at her in perplexity, the angel added, "I meant, the dreams are becoming out-of-control."
When Sora nodded in understanding, Riku shook his head. For some reason, Riku was certain his best friend had only given a nod to prevent too much information and thus total confusion.
The Darkness remained in the air for several long seconds. For the group, it felt like several extensive hours.
The Darkness started to fade away. As they took in their new surroundings, Sora, Riku, and Violet realized they were now hovering over a vast landscape that was probably a mile or two below. Despite the darkness of the night, a large plain was visible. On one end was a thick forest. A few low-lying hills separated the foliage from a large town with mostly peaked rooftops, the ruins of a crumbling castle, and a few lampposts. The entire view was covered in a bank of fog.
Sora turned his gaze up and stared in wonder. He pointed ahead. "Look at that!"
Riku and Violet shifted their focus to spot what Sora had. Rising from the far edge of the town into the sky far above was a mountain so tall, it could've rivaled Mount Everest or Mauna Kea. A long strand of wispy filaments were calmly drifting between the mountain and the distant sky. From the appearance of it, the mountain was giving a thin column of smoke; Riku was shocked, having witnessed such a sight less than two hours before.
Riku informed his companions, "It's a volcano… "
Violet was busy scanning her eyes across the summit. They landed upon a strange figure standing at a flat section of the peak. She gasped and gestured at it. "Someone is positioned over there!"
When Riku and Sora saw what the angel was referring to, they gasped in alarm. The trio immediately decided to soar over and see who it was. Away they flew like birds over the land.
Riku set his feet down gently on the ground. While Sora and Violet landed on either side of him (Sora to the left), the silver-headed teenager took a moment to observe the igneous rock beneath his feet — the type of rock he had learned was formed through hardened lava. However, the ground didn't appear to possess such a concentration. For some reason, it was almost like the volcano had never erupted before.
Riku moved his gaze up to the higher part of the rim where Violet had initially spotted the figure. As expected, a young man wearing the black-hooded coat of Organization XIII was standing there as though awaiting the arrival of the three. Riku recognized the individual in a flash; it was the same guy who had been following the group since their quest had started at Traverse Town.
The silver-headed seventeen-year-old took a brief second to observe the strange man — taking into account how the latter's golden eyes were much darker than ever before and his silver hair was slowly changing into a dark-grey color. As far as Riku was aware, such alterations in appearance typically occurred if anyone had been lurking in the Realm of Darkness for too long. First, the person's body would gradually darken. Then their eyes would transform into a dark shade of amber. Finally, their skin would slowly transition into an especially dark tan. If someone remained in the Darkness beyond that point, they would surely be consumed by said Darkness and basically cease to exist.
"You waiting for us?" Riku questioned the strange man. In his peripheral vision, the silver-headed Keyblader noticed Sora and Violet silently glaring at the figure.
"Yes," the man answered in an abnormally calm voice. His eyes met Riku's. "The one chosen by the Keyblade — Riku."
Riku stared at the figure in question. "What?"
"What're you talking about?!" Sora demanded. Violet clamped her right hand over the sixteen-year-old's mouth.
"It was yours to begin with, wasn't it?" the man continued. "But you succumbed to the Darkness you could not control. Your prize — the Keyblade — passed on to Sora instead. Your mistakes always end up being other people's problems."
Riku clenched his fist tightly as he looked down. Deep down, he knew what the young man was saying was true. Long ago, he had made a promise to keep a special secret — something no one else was ever supposed to know about. That man who had come from the outside world… the one who had told Riku he would be able to protect his friends with the Keyblade… who was he? For some reason, Riku had once sensed that guy's presence inside Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness, but wasn't sure why. Why would that friendly, yet strange, young man with the spiked, brown hair have become a Heartless? Unless they weren't connected….
Riku shoved the unneeded contemplation aside. Even though he had once been on the side of Darkness, the silver-headed youth had grown quite confident that nothing would prevent him from walking the 'Road To Dawn'. He had to achieve the Mark of Mastery, become a Keyblade Master, and keep the power of Darkness locked away deep inside his heart.
"Maybe so," Riku finally said, raising his eyes back up. A determined smile shown on his face. "But I'm here to change all of that!"
The man shook his head. "Once again, you have performed predictably — although on a much grander scale than any of us had initially imagined."
"If you're feeling so chatty," Riku challenged. "Why don't you just skip to the part where you reveal what this is all about?"
"Yeah!" Sora shouted out, finally breaking free from Violet's grasp. "Why are you guys following me around?!"
The man gave an unamused look at the brown-haired youth. "You really haven't caught on," he muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "You do assume this is all part of your stupid 'test'. None of us are part of the dreams!"
He gave a sinister-looking grin. "Since you thought we were… you are softer than they say."
"What?!" Sora shouted loudly. It was clear to both Violet and Riku that the man in black had offended Sora. "Just… who are you people?!"
The man turned back to Riku. "I don't know how you did it, but you have somehow discovered a way to trap Darkness inside your heart. A boy who's immune to Darkness is of no use to us."
Riku's smile became more obvious. "Well… there's some good news."
The volcano started to quake slightly as the shockwave from a tremor passed through it. Checking to ensure he had the group's undivided focus, the man quipped, "Sora, sleep on and we'll meet again. Riku, you're abyss awaits. Violin… "
"My name is Violet!" Violet snapped in anger.
"Whatever," the man murmured. "Stay out of our way!"
Another tremor shook the mountain. The vibration rapidly intensified as the man in the black coat departed from view through a dark portal. Riku, Sora, and Violet were blown away when a cloud of thick smoke filled the air.
~Night On Bald Mountain~
By Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky
An extremely intense, violent piece of music started to play in the background. When they looked back, Sora, Riku, and Violet were well beyond astounded. The smoke had cleared enough to reveal a gigantic creature standing inside the volcano's crater. It was half-human, half-bat and was as black as night itself. Its bat-like wings were so huge, they seemed to fill the sky on either side. On its head was a pair of horns and its hands were shaped like claws. It had two, glaring yellow eyes and a mouth full of large, crooked teeth; it appeared the monster was glaring at the three.
Sora gasped in recognition of the demon. "I — I know him!"
Riku and Violet stared at the brown-haired Keyblade wielder in alarm.
"What?!" Riku shouted out loud.
"You encountered this demon previously?!" Violet exclaimed.
Sora gave a nod. "Yeah! It was in the 'Heartless World' when Donald, Goofy, and I went to defeat Ansem! He was blocking our way, so we fought him! It was inside the volcano where we found a door leading to where Ansem was!"
"Strange," Riku commented. "But if you've fought him before, can you tell us how to do it?"
Sora gave a second nod. "Just fly in and attack! It's as simple as pie!"
Violet gazed at the monster. "There might very likely be a trick or two he never revealed to you," she said. "We must be prepared for the worst!"
Sora and Riku nodded before the two Keyblade wielders and the angel took flight. Their Keyblades appeared into their hands as they soared off to battle the demon waiting in the volcano. In the background, the intense song was now upon its first climax.
There was a brief pause of silence. When the song started again at a low volume, Sora noticed the humungous demon turning its gaze at Riku, Violet, and him; a frown on its face. At the same time, many of the wispy filaments from the smoke curved around back at the mountain and dove into the crater. The song's volume began increasing as it neared another climax. The demon reached its arms out one-by-one. A pair of fireballs flew out from its grasp and sailed directly at Riku.
"Riku!" Sora yelled. "Look out!"
As the fireballs closed in, Riku swerved to the left and then to the right. The balls of flame disappeared into the distance. When the demon realized its initial attack had failed, it tried throwing several parcels of flame aimed at all three of the approaching Keyblade wielders. By this point, the group was close enough to swerve to the sides as the flames whooshed clear past them.
"Man," Sora muttered. "This is getting dangerous."
"Yeah," Riku agreed.
The song's melody continued in the background. When the demon pointed at the group, a small group of ghost-like creatures emerged from the crater. The beings were as black as the monster in the volcano with yellow eyes that seemed to be glowing. As they neared the group, two of them grabbed Sora. Feeling uneasy with the enemies trying to cling onto his shoulders, the brown-haired teenager spun himself in the form of a top; the monsters were immediately flung off and vaporized in the time it would've taken for him to blink his eyes.
"That was weird," he commented under his breath.
After watching Sora's response to the approaching beings, Violet noticed a few closing in on her from above. Unlike the ones Sora had gotten rid of, these creatures were wearing sky-blue sheets. As they grabbed the angel by her shoulders, Violet spun herself in the same manner Sora had. It was no use; the monsters held on firmly. Her vision suddenly began blurring, causing Violet to realize the ghosts were attempting to make her fall asleep. Spotting a column of fire shooting out from the mountainside below, the angel zoomed ahead and spun once more as she rushed through the pillar of flame. The ghosts' sheets burned up and they were rapidly incarnated in the process.
"Thank goodness!" Violet remarked with a smile.
The song reached what seemed to be its final climax as Sora, Riku, and Violet evaded a few columns of flame and crossed into the crater. The demon's frown grew darker as the music's pace picked up dramatically. The group swooped in close, only to run straight into a multitude of eerie monsters. The gigantic demon continued to swing its arms around and throw fireballs at the three Keybladers while they swerved into the vicinity.
Riku barely dodged a fireball before narrowly escaping a flying creature that was half-vampire bat and half-human. Sora dashed past a skull-resembling ghost and a few tiny goblin-like beings as he swerved around the larger demon's torso. While avoiding getting snatched by a ghost resembling a horse and rider, Violet had to slash her Keyblade directly through a flying bat-shaped monster with red eyes. The three continued to swerve, dodge, and evade the demon and its minions as they searched for an opportunity to strike.
When the larger demon raised its arms into the air and a wall of flame shot up, Sora's eyes filled with alarm. He knew what was about to happen.
"Riku! Violet!" he shouted. "Fly out of the volcano!"
The two teenage Keyblade wielders and the Angel of Dreams darted out of the crater as the wall of fire rushed high up into the sky. The song hit an extremelyloud set of notes as the demon lowered its arms. On cue, the wall of fire rushed back down into the crater. The flames vanished from sight — just as Sora, Riku, and Violet realized the giant monster was no longer focused on them. They swooped into range of the demon.
"Now's our chance!" Riku informed the other two.
"Yeah!" Sora approved. "Let's do this!"
"Remember to strike while our adversary is distracted!" Violet reminded them.
With that, Sora, Riku, and Violet all rushed in with such speed, it would have appeared they were moving at the speed of light itself. One by one, they each struck their weapons into the humungous demon's neck. The monster was so stunned from such a surprise set of attacks, it attempted to send a second wall of flame out of the crater to consume its opponents. Sora, Riku, and Violet readied their weapons in case of a sudden counterattack.
~Ave Maria~
By Franz Schubert
The sound of a bell tolling echoed in the background as a flash of light filled the air. The demon and its minions cowered with fear and seemed to be in pain as the bell rang a few more times. The smaller monsters leapt into the volcanic crater as a soft, gentle musical piece played in the backdrop. Before Sora, Riku, and Violet's eyes, an army of transparent, white ghosts drifted out of the volcano and calmly descended to the town far below. At the same time, the enormous demon ducked its head down into the crater and its humungous bat-shaped wings covered its body and shrouded the crater from view. There wasn't any indication of the monster's presence inside; the crater now looked like a mountain peak instead of an opening.
"What's going on?" Sora asked in wonder.
"It is the melody being performed now," Violet clarified. "Not even a fierce Nightmare can withstand anything possessing the unmatched power of the Light."
Riku nodded in agreement. "The Darkness is unable to destroy Light," he added. "Ansem refused to admit it, and that's why he was defeated."
Sora gave a nod of understanding. That's when he took note of how the ghosts had all returned to their graves in the town at the mountain's base. A number of tiny, golden lights could be seen in the distance as a choir joined the song's melody. Although none of the three could make out the lyrics, it was still obvious the selection of music was a serene, graceful one.
"I wonder what's going on down there," Sora told his friends, indicating the glowing dots near the forest.
"Let's check it out," Riku suggested.
Violet nodded. "Do not forget: we must follow the rhythm and melody in order to locate the passage out of here."
Sora and Riku gave nods of comprehension. Together, the three drifted down the mountainside at the rate the music allowed them to. They passed through the seemingly-deserted town and past some patches of mist forming in the streets. Beyond the buildings, the group hovered over the smooth hilltops before reaching a long procession leading across a stone bridge and into the nearby forest.
It was here the three carefully followed what turned out to be a line of robed monks walking in pairs as they headed into the trees. When Sora realized the monks were carrying torches, he pointed his Keyblade into the air as Riku and Violet did the same. Small patches of Light glowed at the tips of the weapons, allowing the group to blend in with their surroundings. They continued to follow the procession over a small river with water as smooth as a perfect mirror. Once in the trees, the three drifted a tad too high into the air and lost sight of the line of monks. The song seemed to be decrescendo-ing as darkness surrounded them.
"What happened?" Riku inquired aloud.
"We must have soared too distantly," Violet said, trying to reach a possible explanation. "We shall have to veer back on course."
"Man," Sora sighed. "And I thought we were gonna get out of here… "
It was then Sora heard a voice singing in the background. Up ahead, he spotted a column of white light. When he pointed it out to Riku and Violet, they both silently agreed with him to investigate. Even though none of them could tell what was being sung in the background (due to the choir and soloist being illegible), the group continued as the music grew steadily louder. The closer they got to the light, the clearer the melody became. It took less than five minutes for the three to reach the column and realize it wasn't a light beam like they had assumed.
It was an opening leading into the foliage beyond….
"Whoa," Sora awed in amazement. "Look at that!"
Riku smiled. "Yeah, it looks nice."
Violet nodded. "One fact is always proven," she said. "The beauty of Light will never cease to impress me."
As they casually floated through the opening, they could see a patch of trees lacking leaves before them. They swooped slowly through the branches and into the open air beyond. Up ahead, a scenic view of distant clouds was visible. The golden rays of the morning sun shone out from the clouds as the song finally hit a calm, gentle finale and the choir sang out their own final note.
That was when Sora, Riku, and Violet saw it — the large, rainbow-colored piece of furled paper with music notes scribbled all over it. They instantly knew what it was.
"Another 'Sound Idea'?!" Sora exclaimed.
Riku's smile grew. "Yeah!"
"Looks like this is the finale," Violet reminded the other two. "From here, it should be a steady descent."
The rainbow-colored piece of paper drifted over to the group. It split into three balls of Light that immediately entered each of them. Brilliant smiles shone on each of their faces as Sora, Riku, and Violet found themselves soaring directly into a patch of soothing, tranquil Light within the sun's rays. They closed their eyes and took a few moments to absorb the Light-filled sensation.
When they reopened their eyelids, Sora, Riku, and Violet were astonished. Their feet were submerged in a partly-flooded room in the shape of a circle. Along two sections of the walls, a series of music stands held different-colored songbooks above the gradually-rising waterline. When they saw the long, rectangular wooden desk in the middle of the room and the mouse slouched in the tall, green chair behind it, they relaxed. They had returned to the Study, only to find nothing had changed at all — Mickey was still in a trance, and the Spellican Nightmare was yet to be defeated. Until then, the room had continued to fill with water.
As the broom came in through the door with another pair of wooden buckets full of water, the three heard Mickey's voice echo through the air. "Welp, you did it!" he cheered in his typical high-pitched voice. "Sora, Riku, Violet — you have each found some more 'Sound Ideas'! I can sense them within you!"
Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Donald and Daisy were a great help!"
"It was no problem," Riku added, not wishing to inform Mickey about the incident with the strange man in the black coat. "Except for the fiery bird I chased through the forest."
Violet crossed her arms. "At least neither of you had to evade meteors, get sucked to the sea depths, persist past colossal insects, and battle a strong Nightmare to defend a dinosaur!"
Sora was awestruck. "You had to fight a dinosaur?!"
"She said 'defend a dinosaur'," Riku clarified. "But I had to watch a forest burn down. At least I saw it being restored… "
Sora shook his head. "That's nothing!" he declared. "I was in a flood and watched Donald lose, miss, and reunite with Daisy!"
Riku had to smirk a grin. "Yeah, that sure sounds worse."
While Sora folded his arms, Violet strode forwards a few steps. "Shall we utilize these three new 'Sound Ideas' and combine their influence with the other three to dispel the Darkness unleashed by the Nightmare inside the musical score?"
"Wow, Violet!" Mickey's voice exclaimed. "It's almost as though you can read my mind! That's exactly what we need to do now! Put those new 'Sound Ideas' to work with the old ones!"
Sora and Riku nodded before they stepped up to the red songbook. Violet was moments behind. One by one, they each watched as their recently-acquired "Sound Ideas" appeared before them and drifted up to where the other three were grouped together in the form of a clump. Sora's golden-yellow, Riku's dull-orange, and Violet's dark-scarlet musical scores began orbiting the bright-green, sea-blue, and deep violet "Sound Ideas" they had previously retrieved. In the distant background, the faint melody of the previous attempt could barely be made out.
Summoning their Keyblades, Sora, Riku, and Violet swung them back and forth with such gracefulness, they resembled real symphony conductors. A bright glow appeared around the group of "Sound Ideas" and the same, memorable piece of music from before could be heard returning to the air. The song once again sounded like a perfect performance on the keyboard of a piano.
That's when something different occurred. While the song from before had contained very little musical depth, the three newer "Sound Ideas" (orbiting the others) glowed with such brilliance, it seemed to duplicate the brightest star in the night sky. The image of a stain-glass window from a cathedral showed up around the musical scores as the song's melody started to gain ground. In the same effect of what Riku had learned was referred to as "Surround Sound", the musical depth rapidly increased.
"Wow!" Mickey's voice exclaimed through an echo. "All those 'Sound Ideas' have joined together, and they're creating even more powerful music!"
In addition to the three thin beams of Light from before, three thick Light beams shone down from above and struck the reddish songbook. The Darkness receded from the music stand in a hurry, leaving the half eighth musical notes floating in the air around it.
Sora gave his famous smile, knowing the Darkness had been vanquished once and for all. He raised his Keyblade into the air with pride. "Yeah!" he proclaimed. "Two forces are better than one. Right Riku and Violet?"
Riku gave a nod of approval. "Yeah! Anything is possible when you have a helping hand."
"This must be what they refer to as 'teamwork'," Violet stated. "I suppose that is what 'true friends' do for one another. Am I correct?"
Sora and Riku both gave nods of agreement. Violet smiled at them and they each smiled back. From the looks of it, the three of them were definitely true friends, too.
Sora strode up to the music stand with the red songbook. "Okay," he said. "Can we get in there to fight that thing now?"
"Of course!" Mickey's voice echoed in reply. "But, remember Sora, Riku, Violet… "
"We'll be fine," Sora reassured the mouse. "See ya in a bit!"
"Yeah," Riku added. "And then this place shouldn't be underwater. Right?"
"That would be correct," Violet affirmed. "The spell shall be shattered once the Nightmare has been annihilated!"
Sora and Riku both nodded at the angel before all three of them shifted their attention at the red songbook. Their smiles faded out for looks of determination. They knew, without any doubt, the time had come to defeat the Spellican Nightmare — the same monster they had watched escape Traverse Town long ago.
A/N: FINALLY! AT LONG LAST, SORA, RIKU, AND VIOLET SHALL BATTLE THE "SPELLICAN" NIGHTMARE AND VANQUISH THE SPELL IT UNLEASHED UPON MICKEY MOUSE - THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE! THE TIME HAS COME TO DEFEAT THE NIGHTMARE WICKED SUMMONED BACK IN TRAVERSE TOWN!
So, I'm SURE You've Already Taken Note Of How I "Bended The Rules Of FANTASIA" In This Particular Chapter! Yet, It Was The ONLY Way To Ensure This Part Of The Story Flowed Well!
Also, I Wanted It To Appear That Guy In The Black-Hooded Coat Was Responsible For The Sudden Turn-Of-Events - Just Like In Riku's Story Of This World In KINGDOM HEARTS 3D!
Plus, In Case You Were Wondering, "Symphony No. 5" Is From "FANTASIA 2000 (1999)", And "Night On Bald Mountain" And "Ave Maria" Are Both From "FANTASIA (1940)"! The Concept Of "Butterflies" And "Bats" In The "Symphony No. 5" Segment Is What I Interpret Through The Animation There!
In Case You Never Knew, "Ave Maria" IS Considered A Christian Hymn! Makes Senses, Considering "Night On Bald Mountain" Contains A Story Involving The Devil - Or Satan (IF YOU PREFER)!
The Reason Why I Didn't Use The Name "CHERNABOG" In This Chapter Is Because Sora NEVER Learned What His Name Was - Same For Riku And Violet! Besides, He IS Drawn As A "GIGANTIC DEMON" - Am I Correct?
By The Way, In Case You Haven't Played KINGDOM HEARTS 3D, The Song That Played When All Those "SOUND IDEAS" Merged Together Is REALLY The Song "DEARLY BELOVED" - THIS TIME From KINGDOM HEARTS -1.5 HD ReMIX-! If You Ask Me, THAT Version Has MUCH MORE DEPTH To It!
Last, But Not Least, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
REMEMBER - A MINIMUM OF 107 IS REQUIRED FOR THE SEQUEL! IF 120 ARE POSTED, I WILL INCLUDE A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THE SEQUEL ITSELF! HOWEVER, THAT/THOSE GOAL(S) MUST BE MET BY THE TIME CHAPTER 49 IS POSTED! THAT WAY, I WILL HAVE TIME TO ANNOUNCE WHETHER OR NOT EITHER GOAL WAS MET!
This is SoraLego278 saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!" Also, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"