Chapter 1: Enemies
Cold. Dark. Filthy.
Alone. Disgraced. Hopeless.
During his years as Fire Lord, Ozai had never been forced to endure anything remotely like this treatment. He had won every battle he'd fought with lightning speed, and had been hailed as the most powerful man on earth.
Until the day his son betrayed him and joined the Avatar.
The Avatar. Ozai still couldn't believe he had been so thoroughly defeated by such a young, small, seemingly fragile boy. With a single punch, Ozai could have folded the kid around his fist and left him to die. If he'd gotten a grip on the boy's skull, he could have crushed his little bald head with ease.
In truth, that boy hadn't been Ozai's downfall. Aang's bending had been exceptional, but he never could have defeated the Phoenix King with just his own power. Not with that particularly contemptible brand of weakness called "mercy" filling the boy's indecisive heart. No, it had been all of the Avatars from millennia gone by, pouring their power through that small vessel. They, combined, had defeated Ozai.
Just as he realized he'd been thinking aloud, talking to himself like a raving madman, an oily female voice tore his attention away from self pity.
"You must feel cheated, for your grand empire to fall apart because a puny child called on forces beyond any mortal."
Ozai leapt to his feet, turning toward the voice. There was no one else in the dreary prison cell.
After a moment, the voice came again. "How would you like to turn the tables, with the assistance of powers your enemies would never expect? Forces from another world entirely. More than one world, in fact."
Still unable to locate the source of the voice, the former Fire Lord desperately hoped he wasn't losing his mind. "Show yourself!" Ozai commanded. He filled his voice with authority, as he had done for most of his adult life. No one had dared defy him before his fall, but this strange voice was utterly undaunted.
"Do you wish to have your power back?"
"What do you mean?" Ozai asked. "My bending, or my throne?"
"Both," the voice answered. "I can give you back everything and more."
"Really," Ozai growled, incredulous. "And what would something like that cost me?"
"Only your heart," the voice said offhandedly. "And your memories. But do not worry. When you take this step voluntarily, it is possible to prepare."
"Ok, everyone ready?" Donald squawked.
Somehow, even with the King and the Hero of the Keyblade aboard the gummi ship with him, the loudmouthed duck still acted like he was in charge.
Mickey, Goofy, Sora, Riku, and Kairi all ignored Donald as they prepared for battle. They sped toward a world that none of them had ever visited before, one that had miraculously avoided heartless incursions in the past. It had even been overlooked by Scrooge's survey vessels years before. Cid hadn't heard of it either. But if the anonymous tip was correct, this world had just been conquered by a group of six exceptionally powerful Nobodies. Supposedly, four of them possessed elemental prowess exceeding most of the fallen members of Organization XIII. Further, they were warned that all six of them looked quite young. The Keyblade masters wouldn't let appearances deceive them. If there were Nobodies causing trouble, especially if they'd overthrown an empire and seized control of an entire world, Sora and the gang would put a stop to it.
"This'll be just like old times," Sora said, leaning back in the pilot's seat.
"Dork," Riku said playfully. "It's barely been a week since we beat Xemnas. Did you really get bored so fast?"
Sora shrugged. "Guess I did."
In the semi-tropical glory of one of the Fire Nation's most scenic mountain ranges, near a low cliff overhanging the sea, the serenity shattered in the face of ecstatic, youthful exuberance.
"Isn't this just great!" Sokka whooped, delighted.
"Yep!" Aang answered enthusiastically. "It's our first real vacation together in, like, forever!"
"It's only been six months since my coronation," Zuko corrected.
"Something tells me that's not what Sokka was talking about," Suki said carefully.
"I think you're right," Katara said. "If you want my guess, I'd say his mind's still on—"
"My space sword!" Sokka declared, proudly holding his black-bladed weapon aloft. The hilt had been scorched from the intense flames that Ozai's airship's had rained down upon the Earth Kingdom. This didn't matter much to Sokka though, because the extraterrestrial blade itself had suffered no harm at all. "And Boomerang too! Victory or not, peace or not, the world just wouldn't have been right if I didn't have these!" Gleefully, Sokka hauled back and let fly. The scratched and chipped boomerang spun out in a huge arc that would send it out over the sea before eventually bringing it back to him yet again. A quiver of worry on Sokka's face suggested he'd overdone it, and he feared the boomerang might not make it back from such an outrageous throw.
"If you're going to keep blathering about it, you could stand to say 'thank you' a little more often," Toph grumbled. "Remember, it was me who stomped around that ash-covered wilderness for days. And when I found them, 'Boomerang' was buried under several feet of muck and your sword had embedded itself completely inside a boulder. I doubt even Aang could have found them, cuz he's still too new to earthsight. You owe me big time."
"Come on guys," Aang said diplomatically. "Let's just enjoy the scenery for a few minutes. We hardly get to be all in one place anymore."
"Yeah," Katara said wistfully. "And the water's beautiful."
"And with Appa and Momo back at the palace, we're more likely to get some peace and quiet," Zuko muttered. Katara gently elbowed him in the ribs.
Surprisingly, the group managed to quiet down for a moment as they all admired the horizon. Sokka's boomerang, on its way back from the tremendous throw, briefly drew their attention to a strange speck in the sky.
That speck grew from tiny to huge in mere seconds.
Six brilliant flashes later, chaos reigned.
Heh, not bad, Sora thought, as he led the charge against the clustered Nobodies. Whoever tipped us off, they were right. These guys have some serious power.
His group had just beamed down from the gummi ship, right next to their targets, but their alpha strike had failed. Donald's first rush of flame, Riku's dark blast, and even Mickey's burst of light had all broken against a great wall of rock. That wall had burst upward faster than sight, guarding the clustered Nobodies with apparent ease. Then the wall fell just as quickly, allowing the Nobodies to strike back.
Sora had to flit to one side as a gush of fire shot toward him. A hail of boulders hammered against Goofy's shield, knocking him back and drawing out an involuntary "A-hyuk!" The knight's laughter was briefly cut short when a boomerang thwacked into the back of his head before inexplicably returning to one of the male Nobodies.
"The bald kid's combining his powers with the others!" Riku yelled, analyzing the Nobodies' movements with perception and insight Sora could never match.
"Split'em up!" King Mickey commanded, leaping extraordinarily high to avoid a whirling wind attack. "Force them into one-on-one confrontations!"
"This is so weird!" Sokka laughed, as he slashed enthusiastically at a five-foot-tall mutant talking dog. The freakish thing wore wacky clothes, walked on his hind legs, and it handled a shield like a master of drunken fist kung fu. "Did somebody spike my drink with cactus juice? Is anyone else seeing this?"
"Oh yea, I'm seeing it!" Zuko shouted as he lunged and kicked, expelling a ravenous inferno. "Why am I fighting for my life against a big, semi-talking duck? And how is this freak firebending and waterbending? And his ice is coming out of thin air!"
At that moment, the deranged duck in question, having just extinguished Zuko's fire with a blast of ice, rained lightning down on the Fire Lord. Barely reacting in time, Zuko thrust one hand upward, channeled the energy through his body, and then sent it screaming back at his bizarre attacker. It felt very different from the lightning his father and sister had sent at him during the final days of the war, but Iroh's technique still worked. A shriek of wild, unintelligible quacking accompanied the direct hit, but the freakish bird didn't go down. A humming aura of green energy briefly engulfed the duck, who recovered immediately.
"I know I'm normally the brains of the group," Sokka called out in the tone of one stating the obvious, "but I'm starting to doubt my sanity. Are you sure none of you guys see a zipper or a seam on this thing? Cuz if this isn't a costume, then I'm–" Sokka abruptly lost his train of thought when his opponent drove him back with a cheerful shield bash and a dorky laugh. "Does anybody have a clue what's going on?"
"Only kinda!" Aang answered, as he air-scootered away from a teenager in black who swung away with an enormous key. "I'm guessing the duck, mouse, and dog are from the spirit realm, so I suppose it's my job to try to find out what they want!"
"Well hurry!" Katara shouted desperately. She drew more water up from the ocean and slipped into her octopus form. "Not all of us are up against silly weirdos!" At that moment, her own opponent struck with feral ferocity. He appeared to be close to her age, though his silver hair was unlike any she'd seen. He was also built like a powerlifter, wielded a wicked-looking sword, and his bending was unbelievable. His attacks seemed composed of darkness itself, and it took tremendous concentrations of her most powerful waterbending to absorb, channel, and deflect it. When he closed in, Katara had to strike with all her fury to keep him away. His frightening blade disrupted her water tentacles wherever they clashed, and she knew she could not survive a direct hit.
This Nobody has a lot more skill than me, Kairi realized, beginning to panic. White face paint masked her female opponent, who moved with grace and speed that made Kairi's head spin. Only the superior reach and great strength of her Keyblade kept Kairi alive. The Nobody fought with metal fans, but unlike the weapons of Organization XIII, these weren't indestructible. One of the fans had crumpled and split from blocking Kairi's Keyblade only once. Even so, Kairi had to attack frantically, whirling and slashing, drawing on the advantage of her superior weapon like her life depended on it.
And quite frankly, it did. The Nobody danced around her, carefully avoiding direct clashes while redirecting and disrupting Kairi's movements with frightening skill. It's only a matter of time before she outmaneuvers me, but I don't want to beg for help... What should I do?
Panic came closer to overpowering Kairi at the King's next words. "Their powers are different from other Nobodies!" Mickey shouted. "Their elemental attacks don't drain their energy! It's like the elements simply respond to their physical movements! They can probably use their powers far longer than we can!"
Though such news could mean terrible danger to her friends, Kairi still had hope, for her own enemy had yet to show any powers beyond physical expertise. A moment later, Kairi's flickering hope brightened. By sheer luck, a Keyblade swing that should have went wild accidentally shattered her enemy's remaining fan. The enemy had attempted an attack that would have laid open Kairi's arm. Ironically, had Kairi been more skilled, it might have worked, but luck was on her side. Suddenly unarmed and still facing Kairi's powerful Keyblade, the Nobody gave ground. Her superior athletics would make her a very difficult target to hit, but at least the tide had turned. I won't fail the others. Kairi thought. I will defeat my opponent!
"I've had enough of this!" Toph bellowed, planting her feet, thrusting her palms toward the sky, and bringing up a tremendous boulder to launch at her astonishingly quick and agile enemy. "Sokka! Aang! Why are you guys having such a hard time taking this situation seriously! These weirdoes mean business! Get it together and help me squash'em so we can go back to our vacation! I still haven't had a real field trip with Zuko!"
"If you could see you'd understand!" Sokka yelled, even as he landed a flying kick directly to his opponent's face. With another weird laugh, Sokka's almost rubbery enemy hopped back to his feet no worse for wear, and then he sent Sokka sprawling with a whirling bash from his shield.
"Don't you notice what's unusual about your opponent?" Aang asked, flipping, cartwheeling, and leaping to avoid crossfire.
"Besides the fact that this little guy is crazy fast, can jump higher than you, and can block most of my attacks even though he doesn't move like an earth bender?" Toph asked, exasperated. As she spoke, she jabbed and kicked with vicious intensity, launching a near constant hail of watermelon-sized rocks at her tenacious and dangerous enemy. "In fact, none of them are moving like any bending form I've ever heard of!"
"Well, I guess that is pretty unusual," Aang allowed, spinning and driving back his own enemy with an air blast. "But I was talking more about what your opponent is."
"A child?" Toph guessed, basing this on size rather than skill and power. Toph of all people would never consider "child" synonymous with helpless.
"Nope," Aang answered. "You're fighting an oversized mouse wearing a funny red outfit and swinging a big golden key, kinda like the one my enemy's using."
"A mouse?" Toph shrieked. "You're insane Twinkle Toes!"
Katara's powerful opponent, after deflecting a storm of icy shrapnel with unreal skill and timing, shouted, "If you guys keep taking us so lightly, you won't be around long to regret it!"
Aang's opponent spoke up too. "That's right! Listen up you dirty Nobodies! We're here to put a stop to your sneaky takeover!"
"Who are you calling a nobody?" Toph demanded, stomping and launching her next boulder at the boy who'd just spoken, rather than the "mouse." The boy didn't have the same agility, but he still chopped through the boulder like it was nothing. She again marveled. Only an earthbender should be able to cut through rock with a hand weapon…
"Wait a second…" Aang said, pausing for a moment. "What do you mean, 'sneaky takeover'?"
"Don't play dumb!" squawked Zuko's opponent. Or, Toph guessed that's what he said, because he sounded like he was quacking rather than talking. "You Nobodies conquered this whole world less than a year ago!"
"Conquered?" Zuko roared, leaning back and kicking forth a wave of fire so intense that he nearly roasted the latest speaker. "I am the rightful heir of Fire Lord Ozai, and when the Avatar overthrew him, it was for the sake of the whole world! Ozai had been planning a second genocide! We didn't conquer the world! We saved it!"
Aang's opponent chopped aside another boulder, then shouted, "Enough of your lies, Nobody!" With that, the teenager hurled his strange key at Aang. The Avatar grinned as he ducked under the spinning key, then he raced in.
Good thinking, Twinkle Toes, Toph thought. Take down your enemy before he can retrieve his weapon. I taught you well…
Sora confidently locked eyes with the small, bald Nobody who raced toward him. Big mistake, thinking I'm unarmed. I've just lured you into close combat. A split second before his foe reached him, Sora slashed out with his empty hand, and the Keyblade appeared in that hand with a brilliant flash.
Yelping with alarm, the Nobody brought up one arm, but Sora's swing carried such power that the layer of rock shielding that arm split and shattered. The Nobody tumbled and rolled away, clutching at his wound, and Sora rushed in to finish him. At that moment, the water-manipulating Nobody cried in pain as Riku landed a glancing blow, while Kairi narrowly missed smashing the skull of her own opponent, who called out for help. We're about to mop up here, Sora thought proudly. That's one more victory for the good guys.
Just as Sora brought his Keyblade crashing down, his world exploded. He struck the ground hard, and for a moment, the Keyblade vanished, forgotten. When Sora struggled back to his feet, he beheld a raging tornado, reaching high into the sky. Following that whirlwind to its base, he saw his opponent. The arrow tattoo that adorned the Nobody's forehead glowed brilliantly blue, along with his eyes, and power radiated from him, immense, awe-inspiring, yet fully controlled.
Taking a brief look around, Sora saw that his friends had fallen back without finishing off their opponents, unsure of what to make of this display of elemental might. Even the King seemed intimidated, which was saying something.
The other Nobodies, some of whom were injured, fell back, clustering together defensively behind and to the right of their powerful leader.
The terrifying bald Nobody spoke, and his young voice resonated with authority that belied his apparent age, layered with countless other voices. "Whoever you are, your unprovoked attack will not be tolerated. After a hundred years of war, our world has finally won peace with our help. Wherever you're from, return now, or I, the Avatar, will remove you by force."
"You go, Aang!" shouted the Nobody with the black sword. "Glow it up and splat these punks! This'll be great! Did anyone bring popcorn?"
Impetuous Donald called down a barrage of lightning, but the Avatar smoothly absorbed it all with one raised hand, and then emitted the bolts from the fingers of his other hand, scattering Sora's friends and even knocking Kairi and Goofy off their feet.
Ok, this is serious, Sora thought, as flames erupted into existence around the Avatar, forming long, lashing whips. It's hard to believe, but this Nobody looks more powerful than most of Organization XIII. I can't hold back.
Closing his eyes, and reaching deep within himself, Sora called to his other half. Roxas, I need you. Let's do this.
Power surged through the Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade, and for an instant, his eyes shone as well. A burst of light erupted from him, scattering a great flaming whip that had just come his way.
As the Avatar rose into the air, suspended by his own tornado, Sora rose as well. His garments had transformed, and as he lifted skyward, two Keyblades, Ultima and Fenrir, hovered nearby, spinning around his body and crackling with power.
Who are these people? Katara thought desperately, leaning against Zuko and doing her best to heal her left arm.
High above, a terrible battle unfolded between Aang and what must surely be the most powerful of the attackers. The teenager with the wild brown hair and silly key now looked more frightening than Azula ever had. His clothing had turned white, and his weapon had been replaced by two new ones. The first, a long, elaborate, lethal variation of his original key, looked dangerous enough. But the other more resembled a massive sword. Surely a boy his size couldn't have physically swung such a huge weapon, but he didn't need to. They both rotated around the boy's body, struck out as if of their own accord, and chopped through earth attacks with freakish ease. Occasionally, powerful bursts of damaging light accompanied these blade strikes.
Raising his hands, this strange, terrible boy unleashed storms of ice crystals that surpassed anything Katara could have managed. Aang had to employ waterbending to deflect them, for they punched through his tornado with ease. The strange newcomer flew forward, engulfed in a fierce firestorm, and even with full control of the Avatar state, Aang barely channeled the flames enough to avoid injury.
Twisting and diving, the superhuman combatants clashed like titans, splitting the air with roaring flame, shattering ice, and crushing boulders. Storms of lightning engulfed Aang, redirected back at the boy in white, and broke against a sphere of shimmering silver energy.
Even Zuko could barely believe his eyes. "That crazy-haired kid is more powerful than my Father was!" he shouted over the din. "His bending's different from anything I've ever seen, and those weapons must be from the spirit realm!"
The two boys, both overflowing with power, shot toward each other for one final clash. Aang wove a four-element spiral and sent it drilling forward, while his enemy charged both of his weapons with brilliant light and hurled them spinning toward Aang.
Neither attack reached the intended target.
A bolt of blue lightning tore into the air from the forest to the north, passing between the two boys just as their attacks met. The combined power of that three-way clash overloaded in a devastating shockwave, knocking all earthbound observers off their feet and destabilizing both combatants just before they met. Briefly losing control, Aang and his opponent smashed bodily into one another and ricocheted away in opposite directions.
The bizarre mouse leapt astonishingly high, catching the enemy champion, whose clothes had reverted to black and whose weapons had vanished. With water that she'd earlier drawn up from the ocean, Katara launched Toph to the spot where Aang would land. Hitting the ground just before he did, Toph softened the earth so that Aang sank harmlessly into the clay. The mouse landed smoothly and set the teenager down, even as Aang rose back to the surface and got shakily to his feet. He'd been shocked out of the Avatar state, but he'd held on to consciousness.
A wise old voice reached them from the edge of the jungle. "Such unnecessary hostility. Why can't we all take a breath and explain ourselves over a nice cup of tea?"
"Uncle!" Zuko called. "Good timing. These maniacs attacked us without warning, and we have no idea why!"
Iroh strode confidently toward the opposing forces, carrying a small teapot and two cups. To the surprise of everyone present, he casually walked right up to the mouse and the young man who'd matched the Avatar blow-for-blow.
"Would you like some?" Iroh asked calmly. When the boy and the mouse just stared at him, he poured a cup of tea and held it out. Several more seconds passed in tense silence, in which only Iroh himself appeared to be relaxed.
It was the bizarre, goofy dog that broke the silence. "Well, if you guys don't want it, I'll try some!" Striding over with a huge smile, he said, "The name's Goofy! What's your name, Sir?"
"I am honored to meet you, Goofy," Iroh said with a polite bow as the dog gulped down the tea. "My name is Iroh. I run a teashop in the distant city of Ba Sing Se. I'd heard my nephew and his friends planned to take a vacation together, and I traveled here in hopes of meeting them. I heard some commotion, and upon investigation I discovered that I'd found who I was looking for. But to my surprise, they'd gotten into a scuffle with beings I suspect are not from this world. Do you care to share your side of the story?"
Katara's heart still pounded from the intensity of the battle that had raged barely a minute before. Even so, she took this chance to start applying her healing powers to Suki's and Aang's injuries. Only Iroh could diffuse a situation like that so quickly. But who would have thought it would be the most ridiculous of these attackers who'd be the first to see reason?
"Well, shucks," Goofy began, sheepishly. "I'm startin' ta worry that maybe there's been a big misunderstandin'. We were told that a bunch of young-lookin' Nobodies had taken over this world, and we came here to free everyone. There were s'posed ta be six of'em, four with special powers, but…" Goofy gestured toward Suki. "I've never seen Nobodies bleed before. Sorry ladies!" he added with a wave.
"Ah," Iroh mused. "Long ago, in Wan Shi Tong's library, I read something strange about 'Nobodies." I still know almost nothing about them, except that our world is supposed to be insulated from them by the Spirit Realm. Here, have some more tea."
"Wait a minute," the mouse said, stepping forward. Then, he remembered his manners, bowed politely, and introduced himself as "Mickey" before continuing. "Are you telling me these six people are just ordinary kids? We attacked the innocent?"
"I fear that is indeed the case," Iroh said, giving up and handing the entire teapot to Goofy, who guzzled it happily. "That one over there is my nephew, and the rightful Lord of the Fire Nation. Perhaps you should reassess the source of your information."
The teenage boy who had battled Aang with such ferocity now rushed forward and dropped to his knees. "We are so sorry!" he blurted. "We don't even really know who it was that sent us the tip. Boy, are we gonna have to be more careful next time… Oh, and the name's Sora. Um… want a rice ball?"
"Sure!" Sokka answered, gleefully dashing forward. Skidding to a stop next to Sora, he snatched the rice ball from his hand and stuffed it in his mouth. After a moment of focused chewing, he noticed his friends staring at him. "What?" he asked through a mouthful of rice. "Fighting makes me hungry."
"Did you notice where he got that?" Katara asked carefully. "He's not wearing a pack…"
Sokka suddenly looked worried. "Oh… um… huh… Sora, where exactly did you get that?"
"Do you want another?" Sora asked eagerly, desperate to make amends. He pressed on the end of one of his comically oversized shoes. It popped open, revealing a spacious compartment containing a small water bottle, a first aid kit, a bag of some sort of dried meat, and another rice ball. When Sora straightened and saw that just about everyone was staring at him, including Toph, he blushed. "The extra space can really come in handy…"
As the intensity melted away, everyone who hadn't yet introduced themselves now did so. Toph and Donald had the hardest time accepting that the fight was over, but Sokka, Goofy, and Aang managed to help bring them around. Reluctantly, Donald raised his staff, and a glowing aura of soothing green energy washed away everyone's remaining injuries.
"Wow," Aang said, embarrassed. "As the Avatar, I'm supposed to help build bridges of understanding between worlds. I'll have to work harder on my diplomacy next time."
At that moment, a deep and powerful voice Katara had hoped never to hear again echoed as if from the ground. "Such a pity. You managed to figure things out without destroying each other."
The earth opened up twenty yards to the north, and in a tremendous gush of blossoming flame, Ozai rose into view. Only, it wasn't quite Ozai. Something was different. Everything about him seemed a little… faded. His eyes were more pale, his hair was lighter, and he looked thinner than before. Further, he wore a long, white coat unlike any fabric Katara knew of. "It would have been convenient if those ignorant interlopers had eliminated the Avatar and my disrespectful son… but I suppose I can enjoy doing so myself."
Before either Aang or Katara could ask how he'd regained his firebending, a curtain of green flame appeared to Ozai's right, and when the flames parted, a terrifying woman stepped into view. Her black robes and horned crown weren't a good sign, and the staff she held glowed with dark fire.
"So… Maleficent," Mickey growled, or at least as much as he could with such a high-pitched voice, "you were behind this."
"You're the one who sent the anonymous tip!" Donald shrieked.
"Yes," Maleficent answered in her oily voice. "I would have preferred it if these locals had brought down a few of your little gang for me. But as Xaizo said, we can always destroy you ourselves."
With that, Maleficent raised her staff aloft, and dark pools of energy formed all around her. From these, countless black, swarming things poured forth like living shadows. "Let it begin."
Author's Note: 2 Chapters to go. Writing this was a load of fun. Reviews welcome.