Second Life-Special Episode
Author's Note: Second chapter, at your service.
I still don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.
CH 1: Not Over Yet.
In the Present...one day after the events of "Second Life"
Lea snapped his eyes open when a familiar voice spoke his name, as he had awoken from a strange but strangely familiar dream. Above him, at first the redhead thought he was looking at Axel, but then his mind cleared up a bit, when it was another familiar redhead, one whom is very identical to him, with some differences. But other than that, they would both be mistaken for twins.
"Mornin', Lea. And Tseng thought I was a lazy bum." Reno grinned as he hovered over his fellow redhead, before standing up straight to give Lea room to sit up.
When the pyro sat up, Lea resisted the urge to yawn, and stretched a bit. "I overslept?" he asked tiredly.
"Nah, I voulenteered to wake you up." Reno shrugged. He then frowned in thought, before saying, "Apprently that old guy-Yen Sid, was it?-wanted everybody to meet up with him on the situation about Chaos and...whatever the hell that other dangerous god is are up to."
Lea grinned on the mention of Yen Sid and said to the Turk, "Careful on what you say around him, Reno. He's pretty strict and is not one to take jokes."
Getting the message quickly, Reno sheepishly smiled and shrugged, scratching at the back of his head, messing up his messy hair even further. "I'll keep that in mind."
While waiting for everyone that had arrived at the tower yesterday after Xehanort's demise and the return of Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Zack, Angeal and Genesis, Mickey and Yen Sid were having a meeting alone, both discussing on the situation on the two gods who were banished years ago before things got as bad as it did. They added up on what Angeal has told them and summed up a conclusion.
Mickey, deep in thought and serious, had his arms crossed. "The gods who sought to destroy life or were deemed too dangerous; there was three of them. Hades in the Underworld, Chaos being created by millions of Chaos and Bhunivelze, who tried to destroy the souls of mankind." he thought, frowning.
"Indeed." Yen Sid replied. "Those three thought only of themselves and not of the lives of us mortals. They created such great evil, like Xehanort, Hojo and Deepground. In this case, the worlds are in grave danger if Bhunivelze would fully awaken once again, and Chaos doesn't realise he too is used."
This made Mickey mentally scared, but he held in his fear, and continued to be serious like he had been taught years ago. "So, there's gonna be a clash between the gods, and there's nothing we can do to avoid in triggering a war?"
His master was silent for a few moments, before Yen Sid spoke once more. "To gather more on our new enemies, we must first pin-point the realms of the deceased. The Underworld is no exception."
"Are they really more than just the afterlife and the underworld where the souls go to?" Mickey quired, though he wished that he didn't ask, but he felt that it was important if they wanted to know what Chaos was up to, and when or if, and he hoped it was just an if, Bhunivelze would awaken from the sleeping-death once again.
"More than just two, Mickey." Yen Sid grimly confirmed. "As you had heard from Cloud and those from his world, the Lifestream also acts as a spirital realm. The Unseen Realm, is far more dangerous. Souls connected to that realm are forever sent there and vanish into nothing-that is a realm that Bhunivelze himself created, and where one of his goddess creations, Etro, ruled until her demise."
Before either of them could continue the conversation, there was a knock on the door, causing Mickey to turn around, and soon enough, all of his friends at present arrived-Donald, Goofy, Riku, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Lea, Roxas, Xion, Namine, Isa, Cloud, Zack, and the new allies, Vincent, Angeal, Genesis, Rufus Shinra, Reno and Rude arrived and stood with the king, all of them ready for the meeting.
"Master Yen Sid, we arrived." Aqua announced smartly.
Yen Sid nods in gratitude, before beginning, "I am grateful that you are all here. Now then, it's time to begin the discussion of our new problem, one that I recently discovered overnight."
"What problem is that, Master Yen Sid?" Sora asked, though whatever the bad news was, he knew he wasn't going to like it. Apparently, both Angeal and Genesis were expecting whatever Yen Sid had to say.
The powerful Sorcerer paused, before looking at the others again, and the next thing he said sent shivers down most of the group's spines.
"All realms of the deceased are in turmoil."
Everyone present were shocked to hear this news, but none more so than Angeal, Genesis and Zack, while the others glanced at each other, some of them, especially Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roxas and Xion, remembering the Underworld, and the others thinking about the Lifestream, the Afterlife and even thought about the Unseen Realm they just learned recently. They turned back to the sorcerer, waiting for him to continue.
"You mean the afterlife and the Underworld are in trouble?" Roxas asked, stunned.
"As well as the Lifestream." Yen Sid confirmed. "I fear that the Unseen Realm may once again merge with any of the worlds, for the fact that Chaos has awoken. If these events are left unchecked, then the worlds are in grave danger, and for this, Bhunivelze may awaken once more."
Lea shifted uncomfortably, as he mumbled, "That's not a comforting thought."
"What's more, but those who are in charge of certain Realms of the Deceased, if not confronted by you all, may become allies with Chaos should he find them. There is also a man who has replaced Etro, who may be no exception."
"Just one question, sir." Ven spoke up, as he had missed out on a lot while his heart slept inside Sora. "Who is Etro?"
"A Goddess of the Dead." Genesis was the one who answered, which in turn had everyone else turn their attention to him, while the crimson man continued, "She was one of the creations of Bhunivelze, but had killed herself in grief, for she reminded him of his mother who died by his hands."
"WHAT!?" The rest of the group, except for Angeal and Yen Sid, exclaimed in shock, with horrified expressions.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Donald exclaimed.
"Wait a second." Reno began, not sure if he should believe what he just heard or not. "You're sayin' that gods can be killed, only by other gods? Not that I'm a crazy believer and all that, but I thought they couldn't die."
"It depends on the power that is far too much for them, or say, should a god become mortal or in another meaning, they would be trapped in human form." Yen Sid answered.
"So...there's the chance that even Hades is in risk?" Zack asked, hesitated. "Not that I liked the guy, but that's just...weird."
"Immortality is a strange thing, and most cases of it are a curse." Genesis answered. "Humans can find certain ways to become immortal. However, the price is steep."
"So basically, this immortal stuff isn't for free." Sora sumised, before shrugging with a grin, "That's cool, because I certainly don't wanna live forever."
"Me neither." Lea agreed. Everyone looked at him skeptically, before he realised why they were giving him looks, and sheepishly admitted, "Okay, okay, so I do wanna live forever, or at least have my spirit live forever. I just want everyone I meet to remember me, because inside people's memories, I can live forever."
"I certainly never forgot you, no matter how hard I tried." Isa commented sarcastically.
"So that's why you say "Got it Memorized" everytime you meet someone new?" Riku asked, puzzled.
Cloud snort, stating, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.'
"Hey, at least it's not like whatever else that can make people live forever, and I like my theory ten times better, thank you very much, blondie." Lea retorted.
That's when a memory triggered in Sora's mind and he perked up, "Oh, that's right! I know one world where there used to be a cursed treasure chest that makes people immortal if they take the gold from it." which also caused Donald and Goofy to remember too.
"Yeah, but them pirates of that world were cursed because the treasure is cursed and in the moonlight, they become all skeletiony." Goofy added.
"Pirates?" Ven asked, curious.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that world where that crazy pirate friend of yours lives-that Jack Sparrow." Lea remembered.
"Who?" Ven, Aqua, Terra, Rufus, Cloud, Zack, Angeal, Genesis, Rufus, Rude and Reno asked in confusion.
"Isn't he the pirate captain of the Black Pearl you told us about, Sora?" Kairi asked, having recalled in hearing all of Sora's adventures after Xemnas's defeat a year ago, in which Sora nodded to comfirm it.
Mickey frowned deeply about this, concerned, and said, "Hmm...sounds to me that there are some worlds out where that have knowlages of living forever."
"Yes, the world of Port Royal does hold more than just one secrets of cursed immortality." Yen Sid agreed, which made everyone turn their attention back to him, as he continued, "However, Sora, you were not there long enough to know of the other secret."
"You mean there's more than just the cursed chest in Port Royal?" Sora asked, confused.
"That reminds me." Roxas suddenly remembered. "While we were trying to make our way to Disney Castle, we came across Port Royal, and this lady named Tia..something that Jack knows mentioned about another chest...except it doesn't have any money in it."
"I actually forgot about that." Xion mumbled, shivering a little. "That's where we heard a little bit about Davy Jones."
"Davy who?" Reno asked, confused.
Riku, Sora and Kairi on the other hand, had their eyes widen in shock, as the trio glanced at each other, unable to believe that Davy Jones is real. As young children, they heard many sailor stories about the Captain of the Flying Dutchmen, the most infamous pirate that sailed the seas years ago, long before either of them(and their parents as a matter of fact) were even born.
"Davy Jones, you say?" Rufus asked, skeptical. "I've never heard of him before."
"That's because you didn't grow up on the sea-side, Rufus." Cloud pointed out, before admitting with a shrug, "Then again, most of us didn't either."
"Wasn't he of the Captain of the Flying Dutchmen?" Mickey questioned, "I remember reading up about him one time a few years ago."
"The Flying Whatmen?" Zack asked, confused over the name. "Say that again, please?"
"We haven't heard that much, except that Davy Jones was in love with a woman, but I guess something happened to her that caused him to unable to bear the pain in his heart, but..." Namine paused, shivering as she still was too terrified of the story itself. "...But it wasn't enough to cause him to die."
"That part I missed." Sora blinked. "So, what did happen to him?"
"You're gonna be freaking out when you hear this part, Sora." Lea grimiced. "I'm still finding it hard to believe myself. But after everything we've been through, I'm willing to try my luck in believing in pretty much any crazy story."
"So...what did Davy Jones actually do?" Riku asked.
"...Uh, well...uh..." Lea hesitated, too nervous on how to say this, "How do I put it simply?"
Isa rolled his eyes, before saving his childhood friend the troubles of answering and told everyone else, "He cut his heart out and placed it inside a chest, but did not turn into a heartless or create his nobody, because he is still alive."
There was tensed silence in the room, that even Yen Sid was shocked on the news, though the Sorcerer shouldn't be surprised, but then again, he couldn't keep an eye out on all the worlds, and it's not like he can see everything that's going on within them anyway. He was a sorcerer, not a god.
"...Uh, literally, or figuretively?" Zack asked, uneasily. And he thought his own death and revival were scary enough.
Reno rolled his eyes, and said, "Come on, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. There's no way anybody would survive cutting out their hearts, let alone place the damn thing in a chest."
"One would think." Vincent muttered, finally speaking up for the first time since the conversation started. "Perhaps, just as Hojo had discovered a way to experiment on liveforms, and Xehanort to implant pieces of his heart into twelve vessels, Davy Jones discovered a way to keep himself alive while placing his heart inside a chest."
"So...he's like when Xehanort split himself up and turned into a heartless?" Aqua questioned.
"And managed to place his heart inside me." Terra added, still haunted in the memories of Xehanort taking over his body.
Sora shook his head in disbelief at this, and protested, "But that's crazy! Even if he managed to do that, the darkness would've consumed his heart and turned him into a heartless!"
"Oh, it gets even better." Lea laughed incrediously. "Apparently, from what the five of us heard," he gestured at himself, Isa, Roxas, Xion and Namie, before continued, "Davy Jones has a giant octopus for a pet that goes around eating people and dragging down ships into the ocean." shuddering at Gibbs's description.
He then paused, before looking at Isa, asking as he couldn't remember the name of the said giant octopus, "What was the name of the giant squid again?"
"I think it was the Kracken." Roxas thought, and at Namine and Xion's nods, the blonde-haired teen nodded, convinced, "Yeah, it was the Kracken."
"Right. I knew it." Lea smiled, pretending that he knew.
Still, it wasn't comforting news, as even Rufus and Vincent were quite disturbed by the knowlage of the Kracken's existance. Reno and Rude glanced at each other nervously, Zack and Cloud both looked like they were about to be sick, Angeal and Genesis groaned, which this knowlage just adds to everything else, Sora and Ven both shuddered in fear, Kairi was rubbing her upper arms, Riku just stood blankly, Terra and Aqua shared a concerned glance, and Mickey, Donald and Goofy all gulped nervously.
"Uh, how'd you know about this?" Riku asked.
"We met up with that crazy Pirate Jack Sparrow on our way to Disney Castle." Roxas explained, "Xion, well...she uh..."
Xion sighed, before glancing apologetically at Ven and said to everyone, "I've been seeing Ven's dreams and I passed out, terrified while we were on our way. The others took me to that world where Jack Sparrow lives so I could quickly recover."
"Yeah, but since I was stupid, at first, that black ship of that guy's was ported on an island which uh..." Lea shivered, not liking to recall that horribile experience of the Isle of Dead-Meat. "...Was inhabitited full of cannibals."
Everyone either groaned, or looked sick, or in Donald's case, fainted.
"Wait a second." Sora blinked, "What was the Black Pearl doing on an island full of cannibals?"
"Blame that stupid pirate friend of yours." Isa grumbled, "And even Shelke and her sister for capturing us and offering us to the cannibals."
"But that's another story." Lea quickly intervened, "Anyway, we managed to get out with those Pirates safely, and well, I guess that world was having some problems that has that pirate guy one someone's dislike list in arresting that blacksmith guy and his girlfriend."
"WHAT!?" Sora, Donald(who woke up seconds later) and Goofy exclaimed as they realised by these words that Will and Elizabeth were arrested.
"And I thought the Underworld was having some major issues lately." Zack groaned.
"Then perhaps we should set off to both Olympus Coliseum and Port Royal at all haste." Genesis suggested, with a concerned frown. "These could get the attention of Chaos."
"I would like to return to Edge for further investigation." Rufus added.
"Then maybe we should split up into teams and decide who goes with and who goes to which world." Sora decided. "I'll head over to Port Royal. I don't trust pirates, but Will and Elizabeth are friends and I'm worried about them. Jack, well...uh...he can take care of himself."
Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion and Namine all looked at each other, concerned both at Sora's gullibleness, and remembering a certain black spot on Jack Sparrow's left hand, for neither of them still knew much about that, and wondered if they should tell Sora and the others about this or not. If that lady, Tia Dalma gave Jack a lousy jar of dirt to protect him from Davy Jones, then it was obvious that even Jack was in serious trouble.
"I'm comin' with ya' Sora!" Goofy added.
"Me too!" Donald added.
"Think I might head back to the Coliseum. I know that place a bit better." Zack decided.
"I'll go with you." Cloud decided to his friend, "I'm not losing you again, Zack."
"I will head back to Midgar to inform Reeve about the situation." Vincent decinded.
"I'll go with Zack and Cloud to the Coliseum." Riku decided, much to his friends' surprise, before he pointed out, "I still owe Hercules an apology since I've been there before." to which Sora and Kairi both realised what he meant and nodded.
"I'll go to the Coliseum too. I've been there before." Aqua declared, "And if Hades knows something about Bhunivelze that we don't, and even though he can't be trusted, we have to get answers out of him."
"I'll go with you." Terra nodded, "I still need to give Hades a piece of my mind."
"I'm going with Sora." Kairi declared, and at everyone's surprised looks, and Sora's grave concern look, the Princess of Heart stared at him sternly, adding before he could say something like that she shouldn't go, "And don't think you can convince me to stay put! I can fight now too, you know, so I won't be in your way, promise."
Sora blushed, feeling awkward yet still worried and couldn't help but think of the worse case scenario, as he still remembered that he admitted to Kairi two years ago that she'd be in his way when he left to try and save Riku while defeating Ansem. And while Kairi has grown and was actually pretty well skilled for she made her point clear that she refused to be a helpess damsel in distress anymore, Sora didn't want to risk the safety of his friend, or any of his friends, really.
But the look on Kairi's face told him that she wasn't giving in this time.
Despite Aqua's look that said that Kairi should not go, Sora sighed in defeat, and said, "Okay, you win this time. But if anything happened to you or anyone else, I'd never forgive myself. If the situation gets too dangerous, I want you to get yourself to safety, alright?"
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." Kairi smiled, "I don't want to lose your or Riku again, Sora. It was hard enough for me to wait for you guys to come home for a year."
"Sounds like your girlfriend's gotten to the point of not wanting to leave you out of her sight, man." Reno teased, causing both Sora and Kairi to blush at this. Thankfully, the two teens were saved by any more embarrassment when Rude slapped upward on the back of Reno's head, causing the red-haired Turk to grunt, "Ow!"
"She's not my girlfriend! We're just friends!" Sora protested, his face turning dark pink.
"I'm not his girlfriend! We're just friends!" Kairi protested at the same time as Sora did, her face turning dark pink.
Yen Sid, Rufus, Angeal, Genesis, Vincent and Cloud all groaned, all of then pinching the bridge of their noses in exasperation. Even Mickey sighed in annoyance, shaking his head at the scene before him.
"This is exasperating." Donald grumbled.
"Indeed." Rufus agreed.
"So, where does this leave the rest of us?" Lea shrugged.
"I'll go with to Olympus Coliseum. I've been there a few times before." Mickey decided.
"Then perhaps two teams should be this." Yen Sid concluded, glancing at the group who turned their attention back to him, making up his mind. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, you will take Ventus, Lea and Xion with you to Port Royal; Mickey, Riku, Cloud, Zack, and Aqua, you will take Terra and Isa with you. Roxas will both go with Vincent, President Rufus and the Turks to Midgar to learn more about the Lifestream. Namine, you will return to Radiant Garden to inform the Restoation Committee of the dangers." and while some of the group agreed to this, Lea and Roxas grumbled that they would be separated from the rest of their best friends, and while Isa didn't like this idea either, there was not much they could do.
"We'll meet up with each other at whatever world we'll still be at." Sora decided.
"Right." Mickey agreed, "But we'd better be careful. Who knows what we'll find in each of the worlds."
"Fine, let's do this then." Lea sighed, not looking foward in going back to Port Royal with only Xion. He knew that this trip was going to suck, especially since he'd bee worrying himself into a nervous wreck about Isa, Roxas and Namine.
"Hey, I'm thinkin' that maybe we should interrogate the two sisters back at WRO. They might know something that we don't." Reno suggested, remembering both Shelke and Shalua who were both arrested for kidnapping Namine earlier.
"Agreed. Let's get a move on." Vincent declared.
"I'll go with to the Coliseum." Angeal declared.
"Then I suppose I shall go to Radiant Garden with Namine." Genesis added.
"Be warned, all of you." Yen Sid cautioned, "The dangers are not yet over, and who knows what other kind of threat may pose to you all. Be vigilant."
Everyone nods in agreement. So it didn't take long for Sora, Kairi, Ven, Lea, Xion, Donald and Goofy to get into the Gummiship to head other back towards Port Royal. Riku's group decided to take a quick trip to Radiant Garden since they realised that Aqua's Keyblade and armor were left there, as Terra recalled for being stuck trapped in Xehanort's heart twelve years earlier. Mickey teleported Rufus, the Turks, Vincent and Namine back to Midgar, promising to rejoin Riku's group as soon as possible.
However, no one knew what other danger that was slowly approaching.
A/N: Sorry that it's late. No excuses for me here. Probably not the best chapter, but I'm finding myself wanting to start up my version of KH3, but one never knows.