DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: HELLO THERE ONE AND ALL! I'M BACK WITH CHAPTER 46!
Since this is an EXTENSIVELY-LONG Chapter, I'll be letting read on - JUST GIVE ME A FEW MINUTE(S)! I WILL NOT SPOIL ANYTHING, SO DO NOT WORRY!
I'm sure I made it clear how School has ALREADY started; I wanted you to be aware that I may Not be able to post as often as I had been. Of course, this is one of those exceptions. After all, I just couldn't stop writing this particular Chapter because... well... I cannot tell you Directly like this. YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO READ AND SEE FOR YOURSELF! Please Keep On Reading AND Reviewing Alike! I have absolutely NO INTENTION TO ABANDON THIS STORY ANYTIME SOON! Do NOT Forget: THE NUMBER OF REQUIRED REVIEWS IS 107! YET, IF 120 ARE POSTED, I WILL ADD A "SNEAK PEEK" FOR THIS STORY'S SEQUEL - I HAVE PLANNED MOST OF IT OUT ALREADY! I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WRITING IT, TOO!
Also I wanted to indicate how Surprised I was to learn how many of you enjoyed Chapters 33 through 36; The Country of The Musketeers. I saw the SAME pattern during Chapters 37 through 41. It has continued into Chapters 42 through 45. Could there perhaps be a reason for this pattern? I wonder... Perhaps it might explain why very few of you seem to have read Chapters 16 through 18 [The Grid] and Chapters 24 through 28 [The 100-Acre Wood]. Interestingly, on Chapter 28, I actually didn't receive any Reviews pertaining to what happened. I wonder if you don't enjoy seeing The 100-Acre Wood in Kingdom Hearts... I personally see Nothing wrong with it, but it still makes me wonder all the more...
That's all I have to say. TIME FOR RIKU AND VIOLET TO CONTINUE THEIR SEARCH FOR SORA! PLEASE READ TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT! PLUS, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW - PRETTY, PRETTY, PREETY PLEASE - TOO!
ALSO, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR REFERENCES TO OTHER MOVIES, TELEVISION SHOWS, STORIES, AMONG OTHER THINGS!
CHAPTER 46
Saving The Sleepy Sora
Riku dashed down the light-grey hall ahead. His footsteps echoed throughout the immediate area and he continued to take in small gasps of air. Directly behind, could hear Violet panting more and more as the two proceeded further into the castle. He finally chose to stop for a short while when the angel shouted, "Please decelerate! I cannot keep sprinting like this!"
As he bent over to catch his breath, Riku placed his left hand on the wall. It took a few seconds of huffing and puffing before he had the strength to gaze back and see Violet still running over. He smiled at her; the angel had always seemed so extra cautious… just like his and Sora's moms.
Recalling how Violet had started to panic a little when the two had unknowingly set foot upon a rising platform shortly after the Spirits had carried them into the castle, Riku had to shake his head. The angel had grabbed his neck and clung on as though her life depended on it. He had barely been able to tell her to let go, to which she instantly released her grip. That was when she had said, "Riku, I cannot help but take note of how much you have transformed into Sora."
Not wanting to understand exactly why the Angel of Dreams had said such a strange thing or how she had arrived at such a peculiar conclusion, Riku had shoved the thought aside before he had detected a strong stench of Darkness somewhere close by. Violet's antennae had continued to twitch as the two headed down a nearby corridor — the same one they were still in.
Now taking a few seconds to analyze the current vicinity, Riku noticed how the scent had gotten much, much stronger. In the distance ahead, he could see a small doorway containing a pair of doors. Judging from his viewpoint, the silver-haired youth assumed the doorway was probably two hundred yards down. He glanced back and saw how Violet was now coming to a stop directly before him. She knelt to catch her breath and placed her right hand over the left side of her chest.
"Please… stroll down the hallway… with a steady pace," Violet stated.
Riku shook his head while wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead. "I thought you'd be used to it. We've gone chasing after Sora many times in the Sleeping Worlds."
Violet stopped panting long enough to give the silver-headed Keyblade wielder a disgusted look. "You have transformed into Sora so much, you are just as impolite as he is!"
"Sorry," Riku apologized with a smirked grin showing up on his face. "I guess he did rub off on me. I must've rubbed off on him, too."
Violet shook her head. She smiled before giving a short giggle. "You do realize how much you both resemble the famous 'Odd Couple' duo of Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. The same is truthful for Laurel and Hardy."
"What?!" Riku exclaimed in surprise. When the angel continued to giggle all the more, the seventeen-year-old understood what she had claimed was accurate. He had seen the older T.V. show "The Odd Couple" several times with his brother; they had been too young to understand all the details.
Nevertheless, Riku remembered how Oscar was a sloppy sports writer and Felix was neat-freak commercial photographer. The two of them had been divorced for unknown reasons (as far as he knew) and were forced to reside within the same apartment in the heart of New York City. Of course, nothing ever seemed to keep them from driving each other so crazy, anybody else would've been driven clear up the wall, through the ceiling, out the roof, into space, and so on.
Now that he thought about it, Riku had grown up in the form of Felix while Sora had ended up more like Oscar. Perhaps they were the "Odd Couple" after all. He now dreaded the idea of the two of them sharing a condominium on the beach — something they had been considering doing in the next few years once they had both graduated from high school. Maybe that wasn't such a great idea after all….
His contemplation ended when Violet strode forwards and declared, "Look over there!"
Taking into account how the angel was indicating the doorway at the end of the hall, Riku inquired, "What about it?"
"I can detect Sora's presence inside that chamber," the angel answered. "He is situated upon a short, white throne."
Riku nodded. "Then let's go. We need to save him!"
Following a nod from Violet, the pair darted down the corridor and straight to the doors. They were expecting to find Sora where the Angels of Dreams had claimed he was just beyond.
Being the first one to the doorway, Violet reached out and placed each of her hands against the double-doors. She pushed with so much strength, they swung open with extreme haste. The left door gave an audible creaking as it swung around and slammed into the wall beside the doorframe. To top it off, the right door had been flung open so violently, it snapped clean off its hinges and crashed onto the floor.
"Yikes!" was all the angel could say when she realized what had occurred. Now the doorway seemed to resemble the second-floor entrance of Pleasure Island's "House of Destruction" back in Rascal's Dreamland. Violet felt a sudden chill rush through her being when she recalled how anxious she had been while stepping through all the broken glass, smashed furniture, splintered wood, and across dozens of littered trash and tossed cigars. Although she had succeeded in locating Pinocchio inside, the puppet had turned out to be a Nightmare in disguise; the real Pinocchio hadn't been in there… had he? She had used a mirror to chop down a chandelier in order to crush the enemy, but had not admitted to doing so while explaining her experience after rendezvousing with Sora, Riku, and Jiminy. Of course, Violet was relieved when Sora and Jiminy informed the group they had encountered a Nightmare on the Ferris Wheel and Riku had stated he'd confronted another imposter inside the sandy pit area — whatever that was called.
"Violet?" Riku asked from behind. "What are you doing?"
"Huh?" Violet said, snapping back into attention. "What is it, Riku?"
"You're blocking the doorway," came Riku's reply. "I can't get through."
Violet's eyes lit up when she realized she was still standing in the middle of the now-open doorway. Her cheeks started to turn a shade of magenta as she took a few steps forward and turned around. Riku came strolling into the room and shook his head; a large grin was showing on his face. Violet's hands flew to her face and covered her mouth and nose.
"So sorry," the angel said. "I suppose my concentration was still lurking somewhere in heaven… "
Riku shook his head again. "Now you're acting just like Sora. He'd doze off and take a nap in the sun each day while he, Kairi, and I were trying to build our raft. Only I was the one really working on the raft."
Violet stared at the silver-haired youth. Had he just compared her to Sora? At least she had some form of manners and decency! He was not comparing apples to apples. "That was clearly not a just comparison!"
"Hey," Riku smirked. "I was only kidding. Don't be so uptight, Violet." He paused for a few seconds before his smile grew. "That's just like Sora, too."
Violet sighed. "You can believe what you wish."
"Speaking of Sora," Riku added. His eyes moved around the room. "Where is he?"
Violet spun her head around before taking a couple moments to take in the new surroundings. The color of the room was such a bright shade of white, it was impossible to see the outline of the walls, ceiling and most of the floor — with the notable exception of the small doorway the two had entered from. Her eyes lingered on a circular platform in the center of the room, which was located about two feet away. Surrounding the platform were at least a dozen or so thrones with a design similar to Sora's crown necklace — minus the circle cutouts. Most of the thrones were very tall, but it was still apparent they were all elevated to different heights. Unlike the background color, everything else was colorized in a dullish shade of light-grey that almost appeared to be whitish paint.
"Yeesh!" Violet awed at the sight. "It is arranged with precise perfection! Maybe it is a tad bit too precise?"
Riku shrugged. "Who knows? Let's just find Sora and get outta here before anyone from Organization XIII catches us."
It was then Violet sensed something close by; her antennae started twitching very, very rapidly. She stared in the direction of the throne circle. "There is something peculiarly-interesting over there," she informed Riku, pointing at the high-rise furniture.
Riku gave her a nod. "Then Sora must be over there."
He crept up to the platform. Violet was second behind. The platform was low enough for the pair to simply jump up and land on it without any problems. They scanned the area; Violet spotted a strange logo painted onto the exact middle of the platform in a thick black color. She was unable to make out exactly what it was supposed to be as she had never noticed it before now.
"Sora!" Riku shouted, grabbing Violet's focus.
The angel stared into the direction Riku was running. There was Sora, sitting in a short, white throne a few inches off the floor. He was slouched in the seat, his eyes were closed, and his head was tilted forwards a little; Violet knew this meant he was in a deep state of slumber. The sixteen-year-old Keyblade wielder was still wearing his red shirt bearing a large, black "X", open red jacket with the black hoodie, red shorts, yellow shoes that were probably three or four sizes too big (they at least had adjustable straps to secure them), and white fighting gloves lacking any covering for his fingers. His spikey, brown hair had not changed a bit; this did not shock Violet — Sora had always possessed that hairdo from the time she had first met him in Traverse Town.
Her antennae began vibrating all the more as a dark sensation flashed through her body. Violet froze for a mere two seconds; someone or something of Darkness was directly nearby. They or it could very-likely be within the same room. She cupped her hands over mouth. "Riku!" the angel yelled. "Look out!"
By the time Riku had screeched to a stop, he was about three feet in front of Sora's position. A super-swift blur of movement suddenly occurred, ending with a figure showing up between the throne and the speechless Riku. A shockwave suddenly struck the silver-headed Keyblader, sending him flying backwards and onto the platform. The result was an especially rough landing, which Violet assumed was probably very painful.
"Riku!" the angel declared as she rushed over to him. As she knelt to see if her friend had been injured, Violet's mind was going wild. Why had her warning not reached Riku in time? Could she have done anything to prevent such a catastrophe from occurring? Would Riku be safe now? Who had done this to him? How would she ever be able to locate all the answers to every single one of these questions crossing her mind?
"I'm fine," Riku announced a moment later, sitting up on the platform. "Wish I could've said the same for Sora."
With a smile, Violet gave a sigh of relief. Not only was her friend uninjured, he was already making strange jokes.
"Hands off my new vessel." an all-too-familiar voice demanded in a not-so-harsh tone.
The two spun their attention towards the figure who had seemingly not wished to have Riku retrieve Sora. There he was — the same young man in the black-hooded coat they had become accustomed to seeing at least once during each of their visits to the Sleeping Worlds. His spikey, silver hair had become a dullish tint and his golden eyes seemed to be glowing like Genesis's had. His mildly-tanned skin hadn't altered, which seemed atypical from someone on the side of the Darkness.
Violet's eyes quickly shifted into a glare. This individual had unleashed Nightmares throughout each of the worlds trapped deep within the Realm of Sleep. He had abducted both Inez and Jules from the Cybersquad back in Traverse Town before sending a monster that resembled a flying dinosaur at the others — the same one Sora later defeated at the resort hotel. He had told them Sora's heart was a prison a couple minutes before they had awakened Corona. He had shown up alongside Ansem… Xehanort's Heartless in Pixie Hollow to encourage Riku to give into the Darkness in his heart; Violet remembered this guy claiming Riku's heart was filled with anxiety. He had also appeared with Xemnas inside the clubroom in Rascal's Dreamland, although he had not uttered a single word. Sora had informed Riku and Violet how he had been in The Grid with Xemnas and told the brown, spikey-headed Keyblade wielder how the world was not sleeping and instead had been locked away inside a back-up file while the original version had been deleted by its creators.
Of course, Violet had not forgotten how the man had stolen the map in The 100-Acre Wood, knocked Riku and Tigger into the ravine before returning the parchment, and summoned the "Skullasaurus" Nightmare inside the cave. She refused to forget how he had held her as a hostage in Camelot while Ansem — Xehanort's Heartless confronted Riku. With no memory of the man being in the Country of The Musketeers, Violet allowed herself to recall his appearance in the Symphony of Sorcery after he had somehow manipulated the musical scores to bring Sora, Riku, and her to him.
Plus, he had shown up once the Spellican Nightmare had been eliminated and Mickey had been freed of the spell to trick Sora into believing Violet herself was a traitor, liar, and the only one the sixteen-year-old could trust was the man in black himself — something Violet refused to accept as truth.
One thing she knew for certain; this man in the black coat was a villainous individual — whoever he was. According to what Riku had said, he was probably linked to Xehanort.
"'Vessel'?" Riku questioned as he slowly rose to his feet.
"What are you discussing?" Violet stated in turn. "Sora is not a vehicle! He is not even an item! He is a person!"
"Yes," the young man replied to Riku while throwing his hand out at Violet. This gesture made the angel stare in shock; her mouth remained slightly open. "'We' originally had our sights set on you, Riku. But you developed a certain… shall I say, 'resistance' to Darkness. So we did what the Keyblade did and moved down the list."
Riku gasped while Violet remained puzzled.
"Roxas," the man continued with his voice showing hints of marvel. "Now, there was a worthy candidate. But unfortunately, he became too aware of himself and returned to Sora. So much potential wasted… until now."
Violet stared in surprise. Had Riku really been chosen for something so evil she couldn't allow herself to imagine what it was? Fortunately, he had been shoved aside for someone one else — someone the angel thought sounded like a person who had actually turned out to be related to Sora. None of this stuff made any sense to her. Whatever scheme these guys had planned, she was determined to foil it using one method or another.
"Could you please skip to where you reveal this scheme of yours?" the angel requested, having waited long enough to learn the truth. Then again, this would probably go on forever.
The man snorted at her before he continued. "You see?" he asked, gestured at each of the thrones. "Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels. Riku, thanks to you and Sora, we learned not all our candidates were 'fit' for the task."
"What a relief!" Violet said in a very soft voice. From what she could tell, Sora and Riku had already ruined Organization XIII's plans by somehow indicating how their possible candidates to become 'vessels' were not qualified enough.
"But," the man added, causing Violet to realize there was more to the explanation. "'We' managed to make up the difference. 'We' realized there was an easier way to attain our goal. All 'we' needed was a little more time."
As he gestured back at where Sora was slouched in the shortest throne, the man stated, "And now, Sora — the thirteenth vessel — is finally within our grasp. 'We' have much to thank you for, Riku and Violin."
Violet glared at the man as a rush of fury surged through her being. That guy had mispronounced her name one-too-many times. "My name is Violet!" she snarled. "Do not ever forget it!"
Riku looked more than startled. "'Thirteen… Xehanorts'?!"
While Violet was attempting to make sense of what the man was telling the two, a column of Darkness suddenly appeared over the seat of the second-tallest throne. It vanished a second later, revealing a figure wearing a black-hooded coat sitting on the throne; their hood concealed their true identity. A second column appeared at the next throne with the same result. This continued to repeat in a back-to-back style as both Riku and Violet stared in alarm. Only a few of the figures did not have their hoods concealing their faces.
One was a dark-tanned man with amber eyes, and long, silver hair — some hanging around his shoulders; Xemnas.
Another was a tall man also with dark-tanned skin and amber eyes. He also possessed long, white hair that was spiked; Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness — Xehanort's Heartless, wearing a black-hooded coat of his own.
A third was a middle-aged man sporting a long, black ponytail and small, round eyeglasses. Even though she was unable to place a name with him, Violet thought he resembled a scientist. Perhaps Sora had been honest when he claimed to have encountered a scientist somewhere inside the musical score.
There was also a man with short, red hair that partly covered his face with spikes at the end of each strand. His eyes were glowing a combination of yellow and orange. Violet instantly recognized him as Genesis.
The only other figure whose hood was not on was a tall man possessing long, black hair in a ponytail with a few greyish patches. His left eye was yellow while his right eye was covered by a black eyepatch. A somewhat-healed scar was positioned on his left cheek. He did not look familiar to Violet. Yet, judging from the scar and eyepatch, she arrived at the conclusion the man had been through a severe battle some time ago.
Riku started to say, "What is… ?"
"The real Organization XIII," the young man finished. "This is how our group was originally envisioned. And now, here 'we' all are — gathered together for such a special occasion."
Riku looked completely startled. "'The Organization'?!"
Violet stared at the man with both shock and perplexity. "What 'occasion' might you be referring to?"
"Who are you?" Riku demanded, summoning his Keyblade. He would have positioned it into his taunting battle stance if the young man hadn't given an answer a few moments later.
"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, slightly bowing forwards. Violet refused to allow such a pose to show any form of politeness for her eyes. "I am Xehanort from the most distant past. Back when 'I' was a teenager residing in my home world — the 'Destiny Islands' — before I sought a way into the outside world and became a Keyblade wielder in the meantime. To make it easy for you two, simply call me 'Young Xehanort'."
Violet could easily tell Riku was just as astounded as she was well-beyond speechless… if she could even describe her reaction. If what the man had said was true, then he really was Xehanort himself! The only difference was that he was a teenager, which it seemed was the villain back when he lived on the same island she'd learned about from Riku whenever the two of them were talking during the dives between the worlds. It sounded like the two had grown up on the exact same island where Xehanort had once lived. Perhaps he was originally born and raised there, too? Maybe all Keyblade wielders were from that island? Still, the last question felt awkward to the angel.
Either way, Violet knew without a doubt, she and Riku were both face-to-face with the corrupt-hearted villain himself.
"My future self gave me a task," Young Xehanort informed them. "To visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today. I won't deny it — it wasn't as easy as it sounds."
"From the past?" a baffled Riku inquired.
"What?" Violet said despite her shock. "Are you claiming you were time-travelling? I had always been mystified about that, until Sora informed me such an action was impossible!"
"There are restrictions to movement through time," Young Xehanort explained. "First, you must leave your body behind to do it. Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined to happen. Everything must be set perfectly for it to be possible. It can sometimes determine one's destiny."
As he looked straight at Riku, Young Xehanort added, "That was how you and Sora ended up on your island the night of the storm. It was there you both entered the 'Realm of Dreams' and found yourselves in the Sleeping Worlds. But 'we' were with you the whole time only because my future Heartless — the one you called 'Ansem' — was there at the time you entered that realm. He was watching from above, dressed in a brown robe, while you both were engulfed in the Light."
"I told you more than once previously," Violet snapped once the villain had stopped talking. "It is referred to as the 'Realm of Sleep' — not 'Dreams'!"
Now Riku seemed extremely agitated and angry was showing on his face. His fists were clenched, to top it off. "What have you done?!" he snapped.
Violet's glare was no lighter. "I demand you reveal what your scheme is!"
Young Xehanort snorted at the angel before gesturing at the tallest throne in the circle. "My most future self will arrive soon," he stated. "Then time for all of us will return to normal, and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that. And the result will be everything leading up to this — and beyond. The future is clear and 'our' time draws near, for my purpose has almost been fulfilled."
Noticing how Riku appeared to be frozen in total shock with his eyes aimed at the throne, Violet moved her eyesight up at the top of the tall throne. She gave an audible GASP when she saw the cloud of Darkness clumping together at the top. The shape was starting to resemble a male figure, although it was still too deformed and unfinished to tell for sure.
The angel shifted her eyes at Young Xehanort. "You cannot achieve victory!" she declared. "Riku and I shall crush your scheme before it is finished!"
Young Xehanort gave a snort that sounded more like a hint of mockery. "And just who else would try to stop me?"
Violet retained her glare at the young man. The moment seemed to continue for eternity.
Without warning, a small figure came dashing through the still-open doorway and straight for the platform. Through her peripheral vision, Violet thought she saw an anthropomorphic mouse with big, round ears wielding a key-shaped sword. The figure jumped into the air and flipped multiple times before landing directly onto the middle of the platform. The outcome was a powerful shockwave that sent Young Xehanort flying backwards.
"Stopza!" a very high-pitched voice proclaimed aloud.
All at once, an invisible wall of magic flashed all around. To Violet's amazement, she could see Young Xehanort floating in midair in the exact pose he'd been in while flying backwards. She swept her eyes around the immediate area and realized time had stopped for everyone except Riku, herself, and the mouse now standing at the center of the platform. The rest of the throne circle was engulfed in a bluish cloud of magic that seemed more like a humungous, transparent bubble.
Squinting her eyes to get a closer look, Violet realized the mouse did have large, round ears. His clothing consisted of a short-sleeved jacket with white lining, red pants, and very large, yellow shoes. The top half of his jacket was black, the bottom half was red, and there were two yellow straps dangling in front. His pants sported a zipper on the front of each leg, with a yellow pouch (the zippers were each partly shrouded by a black strap) and a blue strap on the outer side of each pant leg. His shoes had grey backs and two orange, intersecting straps attached to the front of each shoe. He also had a long, thin black tail and large, white gloves.
As she started searching her mind for anybody she knew who matched such a description, Violet recalled the mouse she had met in both the Country of The Musketeers and the Symphony of Sorcery. The one who had nearly drowned in the dungeons of Mont-Saint Michel… the "Sorcerer's Apprentice"… the one Riku had told her was the king of a world called Disney Castle. What was his name, again? 'Michael'? No, that didn't sound correct — not at all! So… who was it?
The mouse turned to face the two. Violet could now see the key-shaped weapon in his hand. It was shaped exactly like Sora's Keyblade, except the colors were switched; the handle was silver and the blade was a shiny golden. He smiled at the two with an innocent look the Angel of Dreams immediately recognized.
"I'm sure glad I'm not too late!" the mouse declared.
"Mickey!" Riku exclaimed with relief evident in his voice.
Violet was amazed. Of course! Mickey Mouse was the one she had been thinking of! That cute, little mouse with the gigantic radiance of strong Light… he could only make her smile. "You are really in our presence?!" she exclaimed. "Truly marvelous!"
Mickey glanced at the angel. "Huh?" he said with the right side of his eyebrow raised. "Have we met before?"
Violet shook her head. "Not exactly," she admitted. "My name is Violet — The Angel of Dreams. I have been providing assistance for Riku and Sora during their venture through the 'Realm of Sleep'. I am now present to rescue Sora."
"She's also a friend of Sora and I," Riku informed the mouse. "You should meet her Spirits. They'd really like you."
Mickey nodded before shaking Violet's hand with a warm, friendly smile on his face. "Nice to meet ya, Violet! Ya really seem like a 'True Friend'!"
Violet gave a smile back, knowing it was true. She watched as the mouse turned his focus back to Riku. "Just grab Sora so we can go! I can't stop them for long."
Riku was gazing at the tallest throne in the room. Wondering why he was doing so, Violet took into account how the clump of Darkness was still growing despite everyone else being trapped in a state of frozen time.
"Okay," Riku finally stated. "Let's do it."
"Correct," Violet added. "Time might not be on our side."
A shockwave shot out from behind the three, sending Mickey flying forwards. The silver-haired seventeen-year-old and the Angel of Dreams both stared in alarm as he flew through the air and his Keyblade fell from his grasp. The mouse bounced onto the floor beside the platform; his Keyblade clattered close by.
"Mickey!" Riku hollered in alarm.
"Yikes!" Violet exclaimed. "What caused this to occur?!"
The angel's antennae started spinning in circles so rapidly, they almost seemed to be a moving propeller. Her wings started flapping as a feeling of dreaded anxiety surged through her being.
Something dark and dangerous was directly behind her.
"I said 'hands off'!" an unmistakable voice loudly declared.
Violet spun around at the same time Riku did. They stared in complete alarm and puzzlement. There was Young Xehanort — standing before their very eyes with a patch of smoky Darkness radiating from his body. His eyes were glowing slightly and his hands were clenched into extremely tight fists.
"How can you be moving?!" Riku exclaimed.
Violet nodded in turn. Their answer was received a few seconds later. Young Xehanort reached his right arm out to its full length. There was a flash of dark electricity before a large, key-shaped weapon appeared in his hand. It was colored in different shades of blue and decorated with elaborate, spiked shapes. The tip resembled a stopwatch, the teeth were diamond-shaped spikes connected by a black web structure, its shaft resembled neon-glowing blades, demonic wings at the beginning of the shaft, a horned demon head at the end including a dragon-like eye. It had a chain at the end, which possessed an hourglass at the end. The angel and the silver-headed youth both stared in total alarm.
"Is that a 'Keyblade'?!" Violet exclaimed, barely able to realize what she was saying was most-certainly truthful.
"No way!" Riku shouted in a louder-than-usual voice, his own Keyblade still in his right hand.
In her peripheral vision, Violet took note of how Mickey was currently rising from the floor. He gasped before whirling around, a glare on his face. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "Are you—?!"
"Be gone!" Young Xehanort shouted in a voice filled with hatred, rage, fury, and every single other emotion involving the Darkness. Even his golden eyes were glowing with Darkness. They flashed multiple times as he emphasized in his next few lines. "You cannot control what you are not aware of! This wakeless sleep will be your prison — to wander forever!"
With a twirl of his Keyblade, the villain placed it into the same fighting pose Riku used. The room speedily flooded with Darkness. As several more waves of anxiety surged through her being, Violet grabbed Riku's left arm and started squeezing as tightly as she could. The silver-haired youth was too shocked to notice it.
With her antennae wildly swinging all over the place, Violet knew what she was sensing was accurate. Young Xehanort was not only Xehanort's teenage self, but an extremely hazardous Keyblade wielder, too! Perhaps he had gained the weapon while time-traveling? It did not matter — he was still a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very dangerous young man (YEESH! That was quite A LOT of "VERY-S"!)
The Darkness finally cleared, allowing Riku and Violet to reopen their eyes. They nearly froze at the sight of their new surroundings. The floor looked as smooth as glass — they could even see through it. The design on it resembled a clock face with the numbers twelve, three, six, and nine located at their standard spots in Roman numeral form. At the center of the clock was a dot, followed by a circle that became larger at regular intervals across the circular platform. The frame of the clock consisted of a silver-colored railing that rose higher near the numeral twelve and had what resembled the blocky-looking stone turrets of the castle walls in Camelot at the three, six, and nine spots.
Riku noticed how the clock was missing hands… then again, they were positioned beneath the thick glass floor. There was a long, arrow-shaped minute hand, a short matching hour hand, and even a curvy second hand… a curvy second hand? What an atypical design!
Surrounding the platform a short distance away was a metal circle containing spikes where each hour would normally have been marked on a clock. Situated at a perpendicular angle behind it, an enormous "C"-shaped structure was visible in the same color scheme of Organization XIII's not-so-deserted headquarters. A bunch of gears were positioned at odd angles in the otherwise dark empty space beyond. The only other exception were a bunch of seven hourglasses set in an arc floating in a line between the third to the ninth interval. Each hourglass had pointed ends and sand that was a different color of the rainbow; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,… even violet.
"Where are we now?" Riku wondered aloud.
Violet's eyes fell straight ahead. She gasped in alarm before pointing. "Look over there!"
Riku followed the angel's finger and gasped himself. Directly on the opposite end of the platform before the two was Young Xehanort — his Keyblade still positioned in the same taunting style Riku tended to place his own weapon into it.
"So easily you sink into the depths of slumber!" the villain proclaimed in a furious voice.
Riku hastily placed his Keyblade into his typical battle pose. "Save it for yourself!" he snapped. "We're going to save Sora and you're not getting in our way!"
"He is truly correct!" Violet declared in turn. "You had better prepare for serious defeat!"
Young Xehanort didn't respond; he simply remained glaring at the two. This continued for a few seconds before a bright flash of Light filled the air. A key-shaped sword with a violet-colored blade and neon-tinted handle suddenly shown up in Violet's right hand. She stared in surprise, seeing how the handle was a perfect circle while the blade had three points.
"Could it be?" she declared in marvel. "My Keyblade has returned once again!"
Riku gave a quick nod. "Then use it!"
Violet nodded in return. "Correct!"
After the angel positioned her weapon at her side, Riku rushed forwards and swung his Keyblade at Young Xehanort. The villain easily anticipated the oncoming assault and zipped around the silver-haired Keyblader before delivering a surprise attack. Riku fell forwards in a state of pain as Violet stared in alarm.
Young Xehanort was now charging at the angel. Fearing the worst, Violet flapped her wings and took to the air. As she swooped around, the villainous young man chased her around. By the time Riku took notice of how the angel was leading Young Xehanort around the clock in circles, he was feeling so dizzy he nearly fainted.
"Go!" a flustered Young Xehanort yelled.
Violet was so busy circling the area, she failed to take note of how Young Xehanort was summoning a wall of giant ice blocks. Riku saw this and tried to grab the angel's attention. There wasn't enough time, and several of the ice blocks clobbered Violet. Her wings suddenly became covered in frost and she plunged onto the platform — directly beside the number three. The impact stunned Violet, causing Riku to rush over and check if she was alright.
"I am not injured," Violet replied as she rose to her feet. "Come on! We have to defeat him!"
Riku nodded. "Got it!"
"Prepare!" Young Xehanort called out.
The angel and silver-haired Keyblade wielder both turned their attention back at the villain. The young man was spinning his Keyblade like a windmill, sending a whirlwind full of Darkness aimed at the two. It was followed by a glowing-red X-shaped shockwave. Through it all, Young Xehanort seemed to be showing an extremely dark grin.
"Look out!" Riku yelled. He would have rushed to the far edge of the platform if Violet had not grabbed him.
"We cannot flee," the angel stated. "We must utilize teamwork to defeat his strong powers of Darkness!"
Riku took one glance the oncoming shockwave and dark whirlwind. He nodded in approval. "Teamwork!"
"Light!" Violet declared, raising her Keyblade. "Grant us the power we require to succeed!"
The two started glowing with Light moments before they charged forwards and dashed straight through the whirlwind and shockwave without the slightest problem. Young Xehanort saw them approaching and shouted, "Time stop!"
Everything froze at that exact second. When Riku and Violet could move again, they saw a large, light-blue clock had mystically come to exist in the exact middle of the platform. The hands on it were both positioned at the twelve o'clock mark. With each passing second, the minute hand started moving in reverse, slowly dragging the hour hand behind.
Violet gave another audible GASP when she realized what was taking place. "He is attempting to reset time! We could end up redoing part of this battle!"
Riku raised his Keyblade. "I'll take 'em!"
Violet nodded in confirmation before the two rushed over and swung their Keyblades at the clock. They were blocked and countered by a mysterious force. Looking back, the two saw Young Xehanort had prevented them from reaching their goal. Violet took a quick look at the clock; the time now read "5:45".
"Yikes!" she exclaimed. "We have less than six minutes to destroy that clock!"
Rather than listen, Riku charged at the clock again. When Young Xehanort didn't bother trying to stop him, Violet knew something was wrong.
"Riku!" she screamed as loudly as possible. "Retreat! It is a trick!"
Her words did not get to Riku. The silver-haired Keyblader sliced his Keyblade clear through the clock. "You're done!"
The clock remained intact. A shocked Riku tried to damage it, but it was in vain. "No way!" he finally declared. "It has some kind of force-field!"
Young Xehanort smiled at the sight of seeing Riku so flustered. "You shall wander forever!"
A bright flash lit up the platform for a few seconds.
When Riku and Violet looked again, they gasped in alarm. They were standing where they had been several minutes ago — the edge of the platform. The light-blue clock had disappeared and Young Xehanort was now standing in its place — his Keyblade back in its taunting pose.
"What?!" Riku exclaimed in astonishment.
"He has reset time!" Violet realized. "We must retry to achieve victory!"
"Prepare!" Young Xehanort called before sending a small gust of dark wind at the two. The only indication to the wind's existence were the red, brown, and yellow-colored leaves it had picked up. If he hadn't been so busy trying to avoid the attack, Riku would have noticed the same thing Violet had taken note of; the leaves strongly-resembled the one from The 100-Acre Wood.
"Light!" Violet cried, pointing her Keyblade into the air. "Let us attempt this once more!"
"Teamwork!" Riku shouted in turn. "Outta the way!"
When the two started glowing brilliantly, they rushed forwards and slashed their Keyblade straight through a startled Young Xehanort. They continued to strike the villain more than once. At one point, Riku thought he was doing more of the attacking than Violet. "Is that all you got?" he inquired.
Violet managed to keep Young Xehanort distracted by taking to the air and soaring around. This gave Riku enough time to strike the villain without any worries of being blocked and countered. When his Keyblade began glowing, Riku shouted, "You're gonna lose it all!"
An especially bright ball of Light struck Young Xehanort in the face. He was so stunned, it took a few more seconds for him to regain his concentration. "Time stop!"
Once Riku and Violet could move again, they quickly found themselves gazing at the same light-blue clock from before. The hands were moving much faster than last time, which Violet knew meant less time to destroy the clock.
"We cannot afford to allow him to reset time again!" she stated. "We must destroy his clock!"
"How?!" Riku demanded to know. "It's protected!"
Violet shook her head. "Allow me to gain access!"
The angel leapt into the air before swiftly gliding up to the clock. Young Xehanort saw her and stepped in front of the clock to defend it. With her Keyblade still in her right hand, Violet summoned her magical violet-colored wand with the transparent, five-pointed star into her left hand. She pointed the wand straight at the clock.
"It is time to stall time!" Violet declared as a beam of violet-colored energy surged through the air and struck the clock. A flash of white light occurred before shards of what seemed to resemble pieces of shattered glass fell from the clock. To top it off, Young Xehanort was stunned and had fallen onto the floor in a daze.
"Riku!" Violet called out, gesturing the seventeen-year-old over. "Now is our chance to dismantle this clock!"
Riku nodded as he raced over. At the same time, Young Xehanort zoomed from his place on the floor and charged at the silver-headed youth. Riku leapt over the young man and flipped through the air before he fell straight at the clock. Violet swung her Keyblade backwards; she would time her swing so the two would strike the clock at the same time.
An obnoxiously-loud chime rang — the clock now read "12:30". Violet was worried; there were only thirty seconds left!
Riku raised his Keyblade high into the air as he was just two feet from the clock. "Sorry!" he hollered as he sliced his Keyblade straight through the clock.
"This is the finale!" Violet shouted as she slashed her own Keyblade through the clock at the same time. The platform blurred and speedily became nothing more than a splattered paint mess. The environment vanished a few seconds later.
Riku reopened his eyes. To his relief, he was now standing in the same, white room where he and Violet had found Sora sitting in the throne. The two were both standing on the platform at the center of the throne circle.
Violet gave a sigh of relief as both her Keyblade and wand vanished from her hands. "That was slightly too much action-packed adventure for my needs!"
Riku shook his head. "Yeah," he said. "You're right as usual, Violet."
The angel smiled and covered her mouth to keep the silver-haired teenager from overhearing her giggling. It was true; Riku had finally transformed into Sora — almost.
"Are you guys okay?" a familiar high-pitched voice called.
Riku and Violet turned their attention towards Mickey. The mouse was now standing upon the platform with a slightly-worried look in his eyes.
"Yeah," Riku responded. "Thanks, Mickey."
Violet knelt down so she was at eye level with the mouse. Her right hand rubbed the top of his head, making Mickey laugh with delight. "You sure comprehend how to insert the innocence into the term 'cute'," she said with a smile.
Mickey smiled all the more. "Aw, gee thanks, Violet!"
The angel nodded in return. It was at that precise instant when the bluish bubble-like cloud surrounding the throne circle faded away. Mickey's spell had expired and time had just resumed for all the evildoers in the chamber. Violet's antennae started swinging all over the place, which seized the attention of both Riku and a puzzled Mickey.
"Huh?" the mouse questioned. "What's going on?"
"Her antennae is acting up," Riku informed the King of Disney Castle. "She must be sensing something very dark."
Violet swung her head around and gazed straight up at the tallest throne in the circle. She froze in complete shock; her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were filled with concern. Her eyesight rapidly switched to a glare. "You stupid idiot!" she shouted. "When will you finally abandon your cursed ideals?!"
Riku was taken aback in less than a second. He had never heard Violet speak in such a serious tone of voice before — not even when they had encountered Hacker and his "allies" back in the fountain plaza of Traverse Town. He was sure this indicated something horrible was up above. Judging from the context, Riku assumed the angel had seen someone extraordinarily engulfed in Darkness. Turning his eyes the same way, the silver-haired Keyblader gasped when he saw what had alarmed his friend.
Sitting proudly in the seat of the tallest throne in the room was a very old, bald-headed man with thin eyebrows and a curly, silver goatee that seemed more like a beard. His ears were pointed and he had yellow eyes. Judging from his broad, seemingly-hunched shoulders, Riku assumed he also had a crooked back. His clothing consisted of a white and black coat with an inner red lining worn over a white shirt with two thin black belts, white gloves, and tall, black boots that reached to his calves. His outfit strongly-resembled Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless, except this newer man had a fully-buttoned shirt and there was no sign of the Heartless Emblem on his chest.
"Master Xehanort!" Mickey declared in a state of astonishment. "We were right about you!"
Riku was so speechless, he was wondering whether or not everything happening was all part of another illusion gone completely out-of-control. Here he was deep within the stronghold of Organization XIII with Violet, and Mickey, and… and Master Xehanort himself. There was the darkest, most-corrupt Keyblade wielder the silver-headed teenager had ever heard of sitting in throne directly before his own two eyes.
Then again, Riku had initially pictured Xehanort as being someone roughly the same age as Mickey… which probably happened to be about the same age as Master Yen Sid. Of course, this "latest version" of Xehanort was clearly about the same age as Master Yen Sid and Mickey alike. He was a very old man — the description matched the stereotypical ideas of a creepy villain almost perfectly. No wonder the villain was so challenging to defeat! He looked much too fragile for someone so immensely powerful. Talk about deception!
Master Xehanort gave a sinister grin from his place overlooking the shocked, angry faces of Mickey, Riku, and Violet down below. "All of this was decided," he announced in a deep, scraggly voice that reminded Riku of a character from the older show, "Star Trek". "My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future that lies beyond my sight."
"Why are you doing this?!" Mickey demanded, a glare evident on his face.
Riku and Violet both nodded. Perhaps now they could learn exactly why all these strange events were taking place. They knew the villains schemes had been laid out long ago in such a manner, if anything went wrong and a scheme resulted in total failure, a back-up plan would already have been prepared ahead of time. This had been the case — up until now!
"In ancient times, people believed the Light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of 'Kingdom Hearts'," Master Xehanort explained. "But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart — the χ-blade. Warriors struggled for that precious Light, thus beginning the legendary 'Keyblade War'. The violent clash shattered the χ-blade into twenty pieces — seven of Light, and thirteen of Darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the Darkness — never to surface again."
"I already know about that!" Riku snapped. He remembered how Master Yen Sid had informed Sora and him about the legend behind the great "Keyblade War" before the two had started out on this quest. "Why don't you just skip to the part where you reveal why you're doing this to us?!"
An unamused Master Xehanort crossed his legs by placing his right over his lap, leaned his head onto his right arm, and relaxed in this pose. "I once tried to create my own pure Light and Darkness to forge the χ-blade," he went on. "But the attempt ended in failure. So, I tried it again with another possible vessel, but that also ended in failure. In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal."
With his grin showing a hint of regret, the villain added, "I acted very rashly. I can admit that now."
Riku was extra confounded. What was Master Xehanort talking about? Had he really tried to use others to achieve his goal without a care in the world? As far as the seventeen-year-old Keyblade wielder was concerned, such dangerous experiments were classified as "unethical" due to the expected results showing up outside of moral standards. Of course, Riku knew if Jiminy Cricket had been in this chamber now, he might've scolded Xehanort for everything he'd done; the thought of witnessing such a thing made him secretly snicker to himself.
Mickey looked furious. "What you did back then," he declared with clenched fists. "Your 'mistakes' — changed the destinies of three of my friends!"
"Ah, but destiny is never left to chance," Master Xehanort countered. "I merely guided them to their 'proper' places."
"Stop your deceitful attitude!" Violet shouted. "You can attempt to justify your actions, but the truth is still as plain as day!"
Master Xehanort shook his head before counting on his left hand. "The broken boy who failed to become the second blade… the misguided master who sacrificed herself for the sake of a friend… and the feckless youth who later became my new vessel," he announced. "They were some of the Keyblade wielders I found myself guiding down the road to destiny."
Mickey sighed deeply. "I couldn't find a way to save 'em," he wept, a tear sliding down his left cheek. He quickly regained his glare at the villain above. "But I wanted to believe their sacrifice stopped you for good!"
"Wait a second!" Violet yelled, waving his arms around to grab the others' undivided attention. She pointed her right index finger accusingly at Master Xehanort. "You claimed Mickey's three friends were 'some' of your victims. What about the others? Whatever occurred to them?!"
Master Xehanort looked bored for a couple moments. "Oh, I see," he finally acknowledged. "You were referring to Yen Sid's last three apprentices before he resigned from his duties as the 'Main Keyblade Master'. I remember them well for they had such great potential. Too bad it was wasted in the end."
"What?" Mickey said, furrowing his eyebrow. "Are ya saying that Terra, Ventus, and Aqua weren't the only victims to your schemes?"
"Yes," Master Xehanort confessed. "How long has it been? About twenty-seven years? Back then, I was still exploring every inch of the worlds within the known universe. Yen Sid and my old 'friend', Eraqus were also masters of the Keyblade. We were busy training the next generation of Keyblade wielders. One was a girl I'd tracked down in the streets of Twilight Town. Another was a young man from a land I've never been to nor heard of. The third was a girl I learned came from the same islands I'd ventured off from as a teenager."
"So what happened to them?" Riku requested.
Master Xehanort started counting on his fingers again. "The first girl I was forced to strike down because she refused to become one of my vessels for this day," he explained. "The young man resigned from being a master due to the loss of his friend; a pathetic gesture indeed! As for the third, I cannot say for sure — she left in the middle of the night and never returned. However, I have a feeling she could be wandering aimlessly throughout the worlds… or be trapped somewhere inside the Realm of Darkness."
Riku and Violet stared at each other in alarm. Were the three Keyblade wielders Xehanort was referring to the same ones they'd encountered in the dreams of the Country of The Musketeers? If this assumption proved to be true, then it sounded like Crystal, Carlos, and Shelly had all become victims of Master Xehanort's well-beyond-absurd schemes. From what the villain had said, it would appear Carlos had resigned from being the Keyblade Master he'd claimed to have 'recently' become. It also sounded like Crystal or Shelly had been eliminated by Xehanort… only which one? Whatever the case, the other of them had seemingly ran off. To Riku, it sounded like she had gone home, but Violet was certain she had gone into hiding.
Mickey was overcome with anger. "Why?" he snarled, clenching his fists tighter as he gazed down at the platform. "How was I so blind?! I should've seen it coming — as soon as Maleficent started gathering the seven 'Princesses of Heart'!"
"Yes, they were all my doing," Master Xehanort specified. "I used the evil fairy to find seven pure Lights for me — just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure Darkness."
"But you failed," Riku broke in. "Sora stopped you in your tracks on both counts."
"Yes," Master Xehanort acknowledged, glancing over at where the brown, spikey-headed youth was still slouching in his short throne. "He did. That dull, ordinary boy — a Keyblade wielder so unlike any I have ever seen. He proved to be quite the challenge, along with his friends — the talking duck and dog."
"Are you referring to 'Donald and Goofy'?" Violet inquired.
"Yeah," Riku answered for the villain. "He does mean them."
Master Xehanort resumed his upright posture in the throne. "However, I have not abandoned my ambitions — the seven Guardians of Light and the thirteen Seekers of Darkness. They shall clash together to achieve my goal."
Now Mickey was trying to count on his fingers. "'Seven Guardians of Light'? Well, for Keyblade wielders, there's me, and Riku, and Sora, and Terra, Ventus, and Aqua — that's six. Then the seventh would be… "
He stopped dead in his tracks. He swept his eyes around the room with haste. "Then that means… the thirteen 'Seekers of Darkness'… "
"Yes, very little king. Perceptive," Master Xehanort agreed in turn. "But Sora and one other on your list belong to me now. That puts you three guardians short."
"Perfect," Riku muttered to himself. Not only was Sora going to be in danger, but it was clear Master Xehanort had been planning this crazy scheme for years and now it was almost complete. From what he could tell, Sora and him had been helping the villain and Organization XIII all this time and never realized it.
"But worry not," Master Xehanort said, trying to sound assuring (which he was unable to do). "All of the pieces are destined to appear; your seven Lights — just like my thirteen Darknesses. The final clash will create the prize I seek — the legendary, but real, χ-blade!"
Mickey was more than shocked. "The χ-blade! Of course! That's what you've been after all this time! You are willing to cause a disaster because of curiosity! I will never stand for something so dangerous!"
Violet was shocked. "This is truly intolerable! You truly are an actual Heartless!"
Riku was no less furious. "And you deserve to remain a Nobody!"
Master Xehanort remained unfazed as he rose to his feet and retained his balance in the throne. It was now apparent Riku's assumption had been true; the aged Keyblader was hunched over. He reached out his right hand and a few bolts of dark electricity surged in the air around it. The result was a large Keyblade with a spikey, black guard that resembled demonic wings, a horned, demonic head just above the handle, two barbed shafts, and teeth resembling a battle axe split into three nearly claw-like protrusions. "But first," he called. "The thirteen Darknesses shall be united."
The villain swept his eyes around the chamber before they landed upon Sora's shortest throne. "All the seats have been filled. And now, the last vessel shall bear my heart — like the rest!"
All of a sudden, the throne Sora was slouched in started to rise. Riku, Violet, and Mickey all swung their heads around and gasped at the sight. "Sora!" they all exclaimed at once.
The throne continued to rise and Sora remained dormant; Riku wondered if this meant his childhood friend's heart had fallen to the Darkness. Maybe Xehanort's Heartless had been telling the truth — for once.
Mickey jumped into the air and started to soar like a speeding arrow at Sora's position. A flash of super-swift movement, however, cut him off. He tried to get through, but Xemnas's red, laser-arms kept him stuck in place.
Riku was so horrified at seeing Sora about to be harmed and Mickey being stopped by Xemnas, he failed to see the being of Darkness tripping him. He landed face-first onto the floor — HARD! When he attempted to push himself up, Riku found himself pinned down by a strong arm against his back. He glanced back, only to see Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless holding him in place. To the silver-haired youth's astounded eyes, the villain was keeping him down with one hand at his side.
Terrified at seeing Mickey trapped by Xemnas, Riku pinned by Xehanort's Heartless, and Sora on the verge of becoming the true thirteenth vessel for Master Xehanort's scheme, Violet took to the air and sailed straight at the rising throne. She was just three feet from it when a blur of movement occurred and Genesis appeared between the two; his black, raven-shaped wing flapping to keep him hovering. He gave a smirk as a shockwave shot out from his extended left hand. Violet was tossed into the nearest throne, where she rammed into the middle-aged man who resembled a scientist.
"Quite a specimen!" the man marveled in a high-pitch, nasal-like voice. "Perhaps I need to conduct another experiment?"
Spotting a twinkling evident through his eyeglasses, Violet punched the man's face. "Set me free!"
She turned and was about to take flight once more when the scientist grabbed her left arm and held her back. The angel desperately attempted to break free, by the man's grip was too strong for her.
"Now, now," the scientist scolded in an insulting tone of voice. "'We' can't have you ruining the thirteenth vessel. It would cause another failure."
Violet kicked his leg. "You are convinced everything is an experiment! Have you ever listened to your conscience?!"
The man didn't reply and still retained his grip on the angel.
Sora's throne stopped rising. It was now the tallest throne in the entire circle — four feet higher than Master Xehanort's seat on the opposite side. After waving his hand across his weapon, the villain pointed his Keyblade directly at the left side of the spikey, brown-headed sixteen-year-old's chest; he gave a sinister chuckle. A deformed ball of Darkness mixed with a glowing, pink light shot out across the room. As it flew, Mickey, Riku, and Violet could only watch with everyone else in the room as it hastily continued to near Sora's slouched body.
"Sora!" Riku hollered.
"No!" Mickey shouted as loudly as he could.
Violet was now ready to panic. "Sora! Look out!"
Time seemed to slow down. The closer the Darkness blob got to its target, the more it appeared to be moving slower. By the time it was upon Sora's body, everything had nearly gone into a standstill. Mickey, Riku, and Violet were staring with complete and total alarm showing on their faces. Every member of the Organization whose hood had been pulled down were watching the display with evil grins. It now looked as though all was lost and Sora was going to be formally welcomed as a member of Xehanort's group. Violet slammed her eyes closed as a few tears slid down her cheeks. She did not wish to witness the tragic event unfolding upon one of her closest friends.
"Sora," the Angel of Dreams whispered to no one in particular. "I am sorry! Please accept my apology! Plus, I do forgive you for calling me a 'Demon of Nightmares'! Please do not allow Master Xehanort to succeed! Please! We require your assistance — it is a matter of life and death! Please! Help us!"
A flash of fire. Violet reopened her eyes and stared at the throne in surprise. In place of where Sora had been was a column of flame. She was speechless. Where had the flames originated from? Had Sora actually responded to her plea? Where was he?
"He made it!" an astounded Mickey exclaimed.
"You!" a shocked Xemnas declared.
"Impossible!" the scientist holding Violet exclaimed. "He faded away into the Darkness! I saw it with my own two eyes!"
Seated on a throne two spots to the left from where Master Xehanort was standing, the man with the scar and wearing the eyepatch slammed his right fist onto the arm of his seat. "Axel!" he snarled through clenched teeth and a furious glare.
Violet switched her eyes over to where the man was glaring, which happened to be Sora's throne. The flames had just subsided and a tall, slender man wearing a black-hooded coat was standing on the seat with his left foot placed on the left arm. He stood out like a sour cherry, no thanks to his thick, bright-red hair that was styled into slicked-back spikes and small eyebrows. He had bright-emerald eyes and a slightly-darker skin tone compared to Riku. In his right hand was a spiked chakram bearing the design of a spider web with a red perimeter and white middle.
If Violet had not noticed the unconscious Sora clutched under the man's left arm, she would have assumed he was also a member of Organization XIII. Yet, he had saved Sora from becoming part of Master Xehanort's scheme. Through the corner of her eye, the angel thought she saw Riku stared up with recognition in his eyes.
"'Axel'?" the man called out with a chuckle. "Pleeeeaaase, Xigbar! The name's Lea!"
As he pointed to the right side of his head, without poking himself with the chakram, Lea added, "Got it memorized?"
Xigbar was still furious. "You're not even supposed to be here, 'Flamesilocks'!"
"Promises to keep," Lea answered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice… or was that honest ridicule? Violet couldn't tell the difference between the two. "I'll always be there to get my friends back. I knew I meant it when Roxas reminded me."
Taking into account how Xigbar was getting more agitated, Lea smirked. "What," he continued. "Bad timing? You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel. Now, let's find out what happens! Try and make it enjoyable!"
Xigbar was so frustrated, Violet could hear him gritting his teeth and growling through them. It wasn't hard since the man was sitting two thrones away from where the scientist was located. He swung his head towards Master Xehanort. "What now, ya old coot?!" he roared. "Our time here is almost up!"
All Master Xehanort did was grin all the more; his teeth were showing as he gazed at Lea. Without any prior notification, one of the mysterious figures located to the right of where Violet was being held prisoner pulled out a grey, anchor-shaped object and leapt into the air. He flew effortlessly toward Lea's position, his weapon sprouting extremely-sharp spikes in the process.
Violet gasped, realizing the weapon could potentially seriously-injure someone. She was about to shout a warning, but was yanked backwards and landed in the scientist's lap. The villain clamped his free hand over the angel's mouth and refused to let go as she struggled. Down below, they could both see Riku and Mickey struggling to break free.
The strange man was about to deliver a surprise attack when Lea took notice and raised his chakram to block the attack. The weapons clanged against each other, causing a noise that sounded like metal against metal and caused a minor shockwave to fill the air for a couple moments. The man's hood flew down, revealing his long, blue hair with spikes on top, and an unmistakable pair of scars between his yellow-orange eyes forming an "X". Violet stared in alarm, realizing this was the same man she and Riku had confronted earlier before fighting Genesis.
Lea stared in complete and utter shock, recognizing his best friend from when he was a teenager living in the Radiant Garden. The one who had inquired whether or not the fiery-haired man would choose their friendship or the so-called "make-believe" one he had formed with Roxas while a Nobody and member of the Organization. Now he knew why he hadn't seen the man upon awakening in the computer room back at the Radiant Garden. He'd been here — working alongside Xehanort, Xigbar, and several others. He barely was able to say the name. "Isa!"
Saïx was still glaring at Lea with a deep, dark hatred present in his eyes. "Move aside!" he demanded in a fierce tone of voice. "Or I'll ensure you receive more than the maximum punishment!"
"Forget it!" Lea struck back. "I promised Roxas I would be there to help my friends. Now that Roxas is part of Sora, I'm taking him with me! You're welcome to come along — if you promise to behave."
"And you really expect me to say 'Yes'?" Saïx countered, retaining his glower. "You have changed, Lea. The past means nothing to you now. It's so pitiful. You could've been one of us and we'd have been together until the end. But you just had to choose the 'make-believe friendship' and suffer the loss of a real one. You're not a friend — you're a traitor and a marked man."
"Shut up!" Lea snapped before licking his now-ex-friend, Saïx backward. The blue-haired man swooped around before returning to his seat.
Noticing how everyone else was focused entirely on the scene up above, Mickey seized the opportunity to break free from Xemnas's laser-arms. In turn, Riku spun his Keyblade around and jabbed it into Ansem's stomach. Upon watching both Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody retreating to some floating positions alongside Master Xehanort's throne, Violet kicked her feet into the scientist's chest. The man refused to let her go.
Violet was about to accept the fact she wouldn't be able to break free when a teenage girl rushed into view with a key-shaped sword in her hand. The angel was taken by surprise. The girl had mildly-tanned sin, deep blue eyes, and reddish-hair that seemed to spike downwards. She was wearing a yellow shirt under a fully-zipped sea-green jacket, blue skirt that extended to a few inches above her knees, and orange hiking boots. A blue scarf was tied around her waist and she had a blue bracelet on her left wrist.
The angel's eyes switched over to the weapon she was holding. It looked just like a Keyblade with a red triangular handle, white shaft, and blue blade shaped like a leaf. There were arrow-like extrusions positioned along the shaft at regular intervals leading to the blade. A few golden-yellow sunflowers decorated the three corners of the handle and a flower-resembling emblem was dangling at the end of the weapon's chain.
The girl swung her sword at the scientist and slammed the blade onto the back of the throne. If he hadn't ducked, she would have gotten a direct hit to his face. Violet broke free and swooped down to where Riku and Mickey were now located in the center of the platform below. At the same time, the girl's reddish-hair started flopping around. One look and the three realized what they were really seeing were red flower petals. The girl's real hair was a bright blonde tied into a short ponytail in the back.
She stared at the scientist. "Professor Hojo!" she exclaimed in alarm. "This is not possible!"
Hojo gave a self-satisfied smile in return. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Hope. How's my little 'experiment' been holding up?"
"Shut your mouth!" the girl retaliated. "You're going to pay for what you've done — unethical stupid-head!"
"Niccole!" Riku shouted from below, unable to believe his own eyes. Last he could remember, this very girl had been locked away inside the dungeons in the castle of Hollow Bastion. He had considered setting her free, but never had gotten the chance. For all he had known, she was going to be locked up in there forever, rotting away as a forgotten prisoner and lost memory.
His mind started wandering back to when he had first encountered her in middle of the flower's musical performance in Wonderland… back when he was helping Maleficent. Boy was he relieved to see she was alright after all! Then again, perhaps not.
Niccole turned around and stared with astonishment showing in her eyes. "Riku? Is that really you?"
She hopped down from the throne, landing a few feet from the others. At the same time, Lea leaped from the tallest throne and landed upon the platform without any problems.
"Yeah," Riku admitted. "It's me."
Rather than wait to see Niccole's reaction, the silver-headed youth turned his gaze towards Lea. "Why are you here, Axel?"
"No," Lea snapped in annoyance. "I told you, my name's—"
He gave a deep sigh. "Whatever! Axel, fine. Now let's get outta here!"
Mickey nodded. "Right!"
"Time to depart!" Violet declared in agreement.
Both Riku and Nicole nodded in turn.
Before any of them could do anything, Xehanort's Heartless rushed over as quickly as a bolt of lightning and sent his shadowy-guardian (which had appeared just then) to attack. The dark creature reached out and plucked Riku and Niccole in one hand, and snatched Mickey and Violet in the other. The only one left was Lea, who was frozen in place; it appeared he was clueless about how to get out of this mess.
Violet struggled to break free. Before her eyes, Genesis zoomed over and leaned in close. She could see the evil smile on his face and smell the strong Darkness he was giving off.
"'Legend shall speak…
…Of sacrifice at world's end.
The wind sails over the water's surface.
Quietly, but surely.'"
"Keep those riddles to yourself!" Violet shouted at the red-headed man. "They sound so illogical, they fail to match reality!"
Genesis glared at her. "They are all lines from the greatest epic poem to have been written — that of 'LOVELESS'!"
His sword showed up in his right hand. It was just a few inches from the angel's neck. "One more chance. Do you, or do you not, accept the 'gift of the goddess'?"
Violet gulped anxiously. Unless she gave a reply, she was a goner. If she told him the answer was "No", he'd still terminate her. Yet, she could not say "Yes" because it wasn't true. All she and the others needed was a miracle.
A tiny, yet bright sparkle of Light shot into view high above. Everyone gazed straight up to see what appeared to be a shooting star with a bluish tail zigzagging back-and-forth through the air. At the same time, a series of voices could be heard screaming in alarm. One was very garbled and sounded like it had too much "QUACK". Another sounded very deep and somewhat dramatic. The third was more like a combination of the two.
The shooting star glowing brilliantly for a couple moments before it vanished from sight. At the same time, three anthropomorphic individuals appeared in the air. They fell rather fast and bounced off of Ansem's shadowy minion. The creature retreated to the sidelines along with the villain himself. The impact was also enough to send Genesis flying backwards and forcing him to retreat, too.
Now free from the monster's grasp, Riku, Niccole, Mickey, and Violet all took a second to sweep around the room. Lying in three different spot on the platform were a tall dog and two ducks.
One of the ducks was about as tall as Mickey with white feathers, a golden bill, oval-shaped light-blue eyes with black pupils, and yellow webbed feet. He was wearing a dark-blue uniform that covered his entire upper body with two, zippers running along his chest and separating three small pockets. Through edges of his sleeves, a light-blue shirt could be seen. A dark-blue, bandanna-like piece of clothing was fastened around his neck by a small, metal clip. A pair of yellow cuffs were situated on his wrists in the shape of two donuts. A blue hat was lying crooked on his head with a long zipper running along the entire length of it. He was lying on his stomach in a bit of a daze. Nonetheless, it was quite obvious this was Donald Duck — the Royal Court Magician of Disney Castle.
On the other side of the group lay the tall dog. His long, black ears, tannish snout sporting two teeth and an oval nose, and large eyes with touching whites and separate pupils were enough to indicate who he was. Of course, he was also wearing a pair of white gloves with golden bands near his wrists, a green turtleneck sweater (that resembled Matt's sweater from the Cybersquad), a black, unzipped vest with a pair of pockets on each side, oversized yellow pants secured by a black belt, and giant shoes with metallic covers over his toes. He was lying on his back with his arms outstretched. A few inches from his head was an orange hat with a wide top like a sailor's cap; a pair of red goggles were wrapped around it. There was no mistaking it; this was Goofy — Disney Castle's Captain of the Guard.
Lying sideways directly in the middle of the group was a tall, muscular duck with a giant, orange-colored beak, red hair, and blue eyes. His outfit consisted of a crimson-red coat, red flight-cap, and gray pants. His feet were covered by a pair of brown boots that matched the shape of his feet exactly. A cream-colored scarf was wrapped around his neck so loosely, it looked ready to simply fall off. Although Riku and Violet looked at the pilot-like figure in surprise, it was only clear to Mickey, Lea, and Niccole who this was. Launchpad McQuack — the leader of the Disney Royal Air Force had made another unexpected crash-landing in the middle of the chamber. Beside him was a star-shaped item made from bluish-tinted glass that had a lime-colored, zigzagged extrusion in the form of a lightning bolt.
"Were we supposed… to do that?" a dazed Donald asked aloud. His eyes were spinning all over the place.
Goofy was just as stunned. "I… think so."
"Yeah," Launchpad agreed, gradually rising to his feet. He stood proudly before a somewhat startled Mickey, Riku, Violet, Niccole, and Lea. "'Any crash you can walk away from is a good crash', I always say!"
Riku and Violet exchanged glances. Was this guy totally oblivious to what was going on? He did seem a little "eccentric", though it was clear he was probably a friend of Mickey Mouse.
After wiping some dust from his clothes, Launchpad noticed he had grabbed the attention of everybody else in the room. He took a couple minutes to sweep his eyes around; his mouth open in marvel. Taking notice of all the figures wearing black-hooded coats, the pilot chuckled. "You didn't say you were gonna be at a costume party."
Donald and Goofy slowly rose to their feet in time to see Launchpad pointing at Master Xehanort. "And I'd give him the prize for meanest-looking," the pilot stated. He paused. "Gee… Didn't know it was already Halloween."
Donald rolled his eyes before slapping his face. "Aw phooey!" he muttered in a soft voice.
"Goofy, Donald, Launchpad," Mickey said with a friendly smile. "You saved us!"
Noticing Riku and Violet standing before him, Launchpad strode up. "Say, I don't remember meetin' you two before."
"Riku," Riku introduced himself.
"My name is Violet," Violet said in turn, feeling slightly anxious. "I am the 'Angel of Dreams'."
Launchpad bowed forwards in an extremely polite gesture. "The name's Launchpad McQuack!" he declared both loudly and proudly. His voice seemed to echo throughout the entire room. "If it's got wings, I can crash it!"
Violet looked uncomfortable. "Actually… I would prefer you do not crash me — let alone touch my wings."
Riku gently slapped his face like he had seen Donald do previously. All Launchpad had meant was he was great at crashing airplanes. Then again, the pilot hadn't been specific. Perhaps he did mean all things with wings. If that happened to be the case, then there was something for the angel to worry about. The very idea of a pilot crash-landing an angel didn't make any sense for the silver-haired seventeen-year-old.
Before anyone else could speak or move, a dark portal suddenly showed up in the room — about twelve feet above the platform. Three individuals came falling out of it — screaming at the top of their lungs; they were followed by a strange-looking vulture moments before the portal sealed up.
There they were, lying in a pile on the floor. One of the figures was tall, with alien-green skin, a long pointed chin, oval eyes containing black pupils, and a black wig. His outfit consisted of a white shirt, tiny black pants for his small feet, a purple-colored cape fastened by a black mini bowtie, and a small pocket holding three ball-point pens. The other two were green robots with black lining around their eyes. One was short and wide; the other was tall, had a long snout, and its horns occasionally buzzed with electricity. The pair of robots were lying on the larger figure's back. All three were lying in a daze and a few stars could be seen around their heads. The pink-furred vulture landed upon the three and stared at the bystanders with a mystified look in its eyes.
Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Lea, and Niccole all stared at the three newcomers in bafflement and bewilderment alike. However, Riku and Violet instantly recognized them.
"Hacker?!" Riku exclaimed in astonishment. He raised his Keyblade towards them in a defensive stance. Violet shifted to her prepared-for-emergency pose. The two glared at the villains.
"That's 'The Hacker' to you!" Hacker shouted in an irritated voice as he rose to his feet. "'Thee'! 'Thee'! 'Thee'!"
The two robotic figures slid off and landed upon the floor.
"Huh?" the short one said before looking at the other. "Deedee? Where are we?"
"I dunno, Buzzy," the taller one replied as he took a rapidly sweep around the immediate area. He gasped at the sight of Master Xehanort, Xemnas, and Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless hovering in the air directly behind them. He nervously pointed up. "I think we've got company!"
"Buzz and Delete!" Violet exclaimed, inadvertently drawing the pair's attention. She now realized Hacker and his henchmen had somehow survived their fall into the crevice back in the musical score of the Symphony of Sorcery. "How did you all survive such a hazardous descent into that crevice?!"
"Don't toy around with me!" Hacker snapped at the two. "I already know you two are friends of Motherboard's little helpers. Now, tell me! Where are we?"
"Do you really think we're going to just say it?" Riku asked in reply. "You've got to be kidding!"
"You both know them?" Mickey asked from the group gathered behind Goofy's shield.
"Correct," Violet admitted. "Hacker is a villainous cyborg from the parallel universe of Cyberspace. He was responsible for a labyrinth of events during the times Riku, Sora, and I were exploring throughout Traverse Town. Somehow he ended up venturing into this universe."
"Huh?" Mickey asked, clearly puzzled by the angel's words.
"What did she say?" Niccole questioned.
"Sounded like a bunch of gibberish to me," Lea quipped.
"Gawrsh," Goofy commented. "I didn't understand nothin' she said."
"That's because you never finished college," Donald informed the knight. "You only went three years. I was in the Navy and saw the world."
"Oh yeah," Goofy said, realizing what Donald had said was truthful. "A-Hyuck!"
Launchpad placed his finger to his chin. "What's college like? I've heard people get degrees, but never understood why they would want a bunch of thermometers."
Donald slapped his face before allowing his hand to slide down and bounce off his bill. His bill vibrated for a few seconds. He softly muttered a series of illegible garble before saying, "…Aw phooey!"
Riku shook his head and smiled. This was how he had imagined Donald's reaction would be to every little action Sora did whenever he was in his naïve state of mind — which was common.
At that moment, Xemnas, Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless, Xigbar, Genesis, Hojo, Saïx, and Young Xehanort started to get engulfed in floating flakes of Darkness. All the other figures had the exact, same thing happening to them. Master Xehanort looked a little disappointed. "We are out of time," he declared, seizing the focus of everyone down below — including a now-frightened Hacker, Buzz, and Delete. "Neither the union of Light nor Darkness has been achieved. Now we must all return whence we came… until the next time we shall meet."
As all the other individuals slowly disappeared from sight, Riku glared up at Ansem, The Seeker of Darkness/Xehanort's Heartless. Violet was glaring over at Young Xehanort and Genesis; the two were situated in thrones besides one another. Niccole was glowering towards Professor Hojo with her left fist clenched. Mickey was glaring towards Xemnas and Xigbar. Lea was staring in the direction of his friend-turned-enemy, Saïx.
An unforeseen event happened before their eyes. Hojo glared at Young Xehanort. "This experiment has been a failure," he snapped. "No thanks to you!"
Young Xehanort glared back. "I told you to stop meddling," he struck in return. "Why do you always have to interfere with everything I am doing?! You nearly caused Sora to reawaken from the deep slumber 'we' had him in."
Hojo snorted his disapproval. "I refuse to listen to such pathetic excuses from failures!"
The two remained glaring at one another until every single one of the thrones was empty — with the exception of the one Master Xehanort was in. He snorted his disapproval of two's disagreement before turning his focus back to the spectators down below. "But remember this," he proclaimed in a loud voice. "The gathering of the seven and thirteen is nigh. Let us finish this at the fated place, once your Guardians of Light and my Seekers of Darkness have joined together! Until then, farewell!"
With that final cry, Master Xehanort vanished into a dark portal. The entire chamber was in utter silence for several minutes as all the flakes of Darkness from the other members faded out of existence. Time seemed to go on forever.
Riku was shocked. Even though Sora was safe, Master Xehanort had escaped. Now, it appeared his plans were going to be fulfilled after all — whenever that would be.
Violet was shaking anxiously as her antennae stopped wobbling so violently. If what Master Xehanort had claimed was accurate, everything was working perfectly in his favor — even time itself was on his side. It seemed any attempt to prevent the villain from achieving victory would be in vain.
Niccole was furious. After everything she had gone through, Professor Hojo had escaped once more. All things she had learned he'd done to her mother… and she had been unsuccessful in disposing of him yet again. To make matters worse, he was now working alongside Master Xehanort — the same dark Keyblade wielder Lea, Aeleus, and Ienzo had told her about some time ago. She knew she just had to keep trying until the corrupt scientist was no more — no matter how much time it took!
Lea gave a deep sigh of dismay. No wonder he hadn't seen his now-ex-friend, Isa, upon being recompleted back in the Radiant Garden! The man had chosen to become one of Xehanort's vessels and remain a part of the Organization for good. If only there was a way he could rescue his "former" friend….
Mickey was discouraged. If what Master Xehanort had said was true, he had to obtain seven pure hearts of Light to clash against the villain's thirteen Darknesses. Then again, perhaps he could do nothing… that wasn't an option; Xehanort would find another method to achieve his goal — one that might actually work. No — he had to act quickly! Maybe Master Yen Sid would have an idea or two of how to resolve the current situation?
Donald was just as perplexed as Goofy and Launchpad. Having used Master Yen Sid's star shard to teleport themselves into the location of where King Mickey had gone to find Riku, and perhaps Sora too, they had missed most of the events that had taken place. They were as lost as someone arriving late to a party.
Hacker spun around and glared at Riku and Violet. "Mark my words," he declared, pointing at them with an accusing finger. "You have not seen the last of The Hacker!"
Violet shook her head as Hacker hurried off the platform and straight to the still-open doorway; the villain had clearly been terrorized after watching Master Xehanort and his Organization depart. He halted in his tracks when he realized his henchmen weren't following. He whirled around and yelled back at the two robots, "Buzz! Delete! Follow me, you two 'Dunce-Buckets!'"
Buzz and Delete dashed from their places on the platform in such a rush, they bumped into each other and clattered onto the floor beyond. After rapidly getting untangled, the pair darted over to where there boss was waiting. Hacker was still not pleased. "Scratch!" he yelled loudly.
The pinkish-furred vulture was perched on the villain's, raised right arm in no time. All three of the villains and vulture headed into the castle's long, extensive maze of corridors and various rooms. It wasn't long before Riku, Violet, and the others had lost sight of them.
"Should we locate them?" Violet inquired.
Riku shook his head. "No," he answered. "I'm sure they'll find their way out of there — eventually."
Launchpad slapped the silver-haired Keyblade wielder's back a little too hard; Riku recoiled at the impact. "I'm with this guy all the way," he announced. "Even I could get lost in Mister McDee's money bin and still find my way out."
Instead of slapping his face, rolling his eyes, or anything else, Donald shoved the pilot's remark aside. "What do we do now?" he asked the others.
"I think we'd better get outta here before any of them guys come back," Goofy suggested. "We may have-ta fight 'em!"
Mickey nodded. "Let's go back to Master Yen Sid's tower. We'll be safe there."
Riku nodded before he noticed Niccole's right hand on his left shoulder. He silently gave a deep sigh. This was going to take much longer than he would have preferred.
Nightfall had just fallen over the Mysterious Tower. A few hours had flown by since the group had entered the circular study of the long-retired Keyblade Master, Yen Sid. At the present moment, the sorcerer was sitting at his wooden desk in the center of the chamber with his head bowed and eyes closed. Mickey and Riku had quickly informed him about what had taken place inside the Organization's stronghold. Lea and Niccole had pointed out a few more things.
Violet had taken the time to introduce herself to the former Keyblade Master, Donald, Goofy, Launchpad, Niccole, and Lea. When she had told him she was the Angel of Dreams, Goofy had asked, "Ya mean Heaven's where muh dreams come from?"
Even though Violet had tried to convince Goofy he had misinterpreted the name of her identity, the knight had become more and more confused, which didn't help when Launchpad had commented, "I didn't know angels slept. I thought they only existed on the Christmas Trees and people's houses."
In the meantime, Riku had also endured a difficult discussion with Niccole. "Why didn't you try to save me?" she had asked.
"I told you five times now," he had replied with annoyance being present in his voice. "I was sent on a mission. When I came back, Maleficent had found Kairi and sent me to retrieve her with Captain Hook. I never had the time."
Niccole had remained stubborn. "I suppose you let Blaze go free, too. Am I right?"
"No!" Riku had argued. "Yes! I don't know what happened to him!"
"And now you're dating her," Niccole had declared, indicating Violet. "Some friend you are!"
Riku had attempted to persuade the girl they were still friends, but she refused to listen and instead got tangled up in a detailed conversation with Lea. Riku had sighed deeply before wandering over to where Sora's body was leaning against the wall near the room's star-shaped window. Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad were all gathered around the spikey, brown-headed youth with worried looks in their eyes.
Now Riku was feeling more than discouraged as he knelt on the carpeting. Not only had his friendship with Niccole been damaged due to his decision to utilize the Darkness around two years ago, but Sora hadn't awakened. Even a simple nudging wasn't doing the trick.
Riku sighed before looking down at the floor. His long, blue jeans stood out amongst the forest-green color of the carpet. Once he had returned to the tower, Riku's outfit had reverted back to its original form; a sleeveless white shirt with a yellow jacket, long blue jeans, and red and black tennis shoes.
He glanced back up at Sora. The sixteen-year-old was once again wearing his black hoodie with silver armor on his shoulders, navy-blue undershirt with the red patch, black pants with silver-white edging and yellow straps holding them on with a black belt, and black fighting gloves bearing a yellow line. His large black-yellow shoes had silver soles, a zipper across the top, and black straps keeping them together with various buckles. His shiny-silver crown pendant was visible around his neck.
"Seven Lights," Yen Sid finally said. "Thirteen Darknesses… Master Xehanort has been busy."
Lea and Niccole both nodded from where they stood at the nearby bookshelf. Violet stopped pacing the floor to the right of the group gathered around Sora. She paused long enough to look at him with small tears showing up in her eyes. "Sora… "
Mickey strode from the desk and up to his unconscious friend. "Aw, Sora," he said. "Don't tell me your heart's sleeping, too."
Violet froze in place. "Did you just claim Sora's heart is 'sleeping'?"
Mickey nodded. "I just gotta care for him so he'll return."
"No, Mickey," Yen Sid spoke up. Everyone turned their eyes towards him. "This affliction is not the same. I fear it may be far worse than last time."
"Can we do anything for him?" Riku questioned. Violet nodded, knowing the silver-headed teenager had read her mind.
Donald, Goofy, and Launchpad all gazed at Yen Sid with eager facial expressions. Even Lea and Niccole were curious to see what the elderly Keyblade wielder had to say.
"In your Mark of Mastery Exam," Yen Sid explained to Riku. "You and Sora were to unlock seven Sleeping Keyholes. By doing so, you would awaken all those lost worlds from their prison of slumber."
"You mean the 'Realm of Sleep'," Violet acknowledged.
Yen Sid nodded. "Yes, and in doing so, you would also acquire the power to free a heart from its sleep."
Now this was something Violet had never heard of. Despite being the Angel of Dreams, she had never learned about the action of freeing someone's heart from its sleep. Apparently, she would naturally have the power to awaken someone's heart, too.
"Riku," Yen Sid added. "You helped unlock those Keyholes within the world's dreams. Therefore, it stands to reason that you now have the power to awaken a heart — including Sora's heart."
Mickey was puzzled. "Ya mean he has to go back into the 'Realm of Sleep' and find Sora's dream?"
"That is impossible," Violet stated. "Sora's heart has descended deep into the abyss plains of Darkness — that is where his dream shall be located. It is so hazardous that, unless Riku had someone who has significant experience guiding him along the way, he could most-likely end up imprisoned in there, too."
"I'll go instead!" Mickey declared.
Yen Sid rose from his desk and turned to face the group. "And perhaps you may even succeed, Mickey. But there is no denying Riku stands the better chance, having dived into several dreams as long as he has. However, he may still need a guide and you have no experience inside the dreams of others."
Donald and Goofy both sighed deeply. Launchpad leaned over and patted Sora's hair. "Yeow!" he cried a second later, jerking his hand away. He started to pluck strands of hair from his hand. "His hair is so sharp, it gave me splinters!"
Riku shook his head before looking straight at the still-dozing form of Sora. He smiled brightly. "Mickey… I really appreciate it," he finally said. "But… I'll go wake Sora up. Look at his face. Sleeping like nothing's wrong — like there's nothing to even worry about."
Riku sighed, making everyone else stare at him. "He's always been like that. The three of us would agree to work on the raft, and then this guy would go take a nap on the beach. You see? It's my job to keep him on his toes."
Violet shook her head and smiled. If there was one characteristic of Sora's she would never be able to forget, it was how laid-back and carefree he tended to behave. Although it was clear he was far from being stupid, Sora was often gullible and oblivious to what the angel was certain should have been obvious. Violet had also taken notice of how Sora seemed to lack any manners, which probably meant he also didn't respect anybody in authority. The very idea of Sora waving to King Mickey and saying, "Hi!" instead of bowing made her giggle a little.
"Besides," Riku went on. "What kind of Keyblade Master sleeps through his test? I'm doing it for me, too. Sora saved me once. And… I heard him call my name. He needs me."
Mickey nodded. "There's something real strong that binds us to each other," he said. Donald and Goofy both nodded in turn; a puzzled Launchpad hastily gave a nod to keep in tune with them.
"Even in the Darkness," Mickey continued. "You can reach him. All you gotta do is follow that connection!"
"Gawrsh," Goofy declared. "We're all connected to Sora."
"You said it!" Donald cheered in turn.
"And if the Darkness gets ya," Lea spoke up. "I promise I'll bail you out. 'Dark Rescue' is my middle name."
"I highly doubt that." Niccole shook her head. She turned towards Riku before striding closer. "Don't worry," she reassured him. "I can sense you've overcome the Darkness. Now all you need to do is save your friend."
Launchpad saluted. "And any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" he stated proudly. He paused for a few seconds. "Or was it 'any friend of mine is a friend of yours'? Maybe it was 'any friend of mine is a friend of mine and any friend of yours is a friend of yours'?"
Riku shook his head at the pilot before returning to face Niccole. "You aren't mad at me?"
Niccole crossed her arms. "Why don't we get back to that later," she said. "You currently have a special assignment to complete and someone else is counting on you."
Riku gazed back at Sora. He nodded. "Guys, thank you. Sora and I will be back soon."
"I thought you guys said he'd need a guide," Lea spoke up.
With a nod, Violet stepped closer to Riku. "I volunteer to guide Riku through the 'Realm of Sleep'."
Now Niccole looked worried. "How'll you lead him in such a dangerous place?"
Violet smiled at her. "I am still the Angel of Dreams," she replied. "The 'Realm of Sleep' will always remain my true home."
Following a pair of bows at Yen Sid, Riku and Violet approached Sora's body. Their Keyblades appeared in their hands; everyone but Yen Sid stared when they saw how Violet had a Keyblade of her own.
"A-Hyuck!" Goofy marveled at the sight. "Guess anybody can get a Keyblade these days."
Launchpad was staring at the weapons like he was in a trance. "If Goofy's right, maybe I'll get one!"
"Never!" Donald yelled at the pilot. "Not in a million years!"
Launchpad sighed from disappointment. "Aw gee… "
Riku and Violet pointed their Keyblade straight at Sora. They started to glow a light-bluish tint while Sora's body began glowing a shade of orange. A strange keyhole-shaped object magically appeared in the room. It was glowing.
"A 'Sleeping Keyhole'," Violet remarked before nodding.
Everyone else nodded at the sight of the keyhole. With a nod in response, Riku and Violet both sent a pair of beams of Light aimed at the keyhole. The beams merged directly before the object and struck it in the exact center. The keyhole glowing brilliantly as it unlocked, creating the unmistakable tunnel of precious, calming Light — except the Light was gone and Darkness had taken its place. There was no trace of the tranquility.
With a wave at everyone around them, Riku and Violet rushed forward and dove head-first into the tunnel. Their chance to save Sora had arrived. The only question now left was… would they succeed, or was it already too late?
Now, only time would tell….
A/N: THAT WAS A [CLOSE] CALL! A LITTLE [TOO] CLOSE FOR COMFORT INDEED! Nevertheless, it looks like Riku and Violet are finally starting the final step of their journey - in This Story, that is. At least Master Xehanort has been stopped - for now.
Yes, I added some references to the shows "The Odd Couple" and "Star Trek". I may never have actually Seen the second one, but I have learned Leonard Nimoy was one of the characters - the same actor who now voices Master Xehanort.
I HOPE you weren't annoyed by all of Launchpad's silliness in there. I thought a LITTLE Comic Relief might be helpful in SUCH an Extremely DARK Chapter.
Plus, I'm sure you noticed how Hacker, Buzz, and Delete returned in there. You didn't think they would Simply Vanish after what happened in Violet's musical score in Chapter 39. Did you? This shows the "CYBERCHASE" Crossover is likely to continue beyond this particular Story and might be included in the next one.
In addition, I included some "Hints" to some "Past Events" regarding the whole overall story of my own version of the Kingdom Hearts Series. Try to guess what might've happened! I'll give you ONE MORE HINT to narrow it down - there were TWO STORIES that took place BEFORE This one!
As I'm sure you already know, Niccole and Violet are among my Original Characters. The three other Keyblade wielders Master Xehanort claimed had been part of his scheme before Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are ALSO my Original Characters. I OWN ALL OF MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS, SO PLEASE DON'T ASK FOR THEM! I WILL SAY "NO"!
Also, PLEASE Do NOT Expect Me To Write So Much In Such A Short Time! I Am Now Back In School, So THAT Takes Top-Priority! I HOPE You'll Understand!
So, This Is It - For Now Anyway; 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!" And Of Course, "Have A ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH DAY!"