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Chapter 3 Finding Answers
Sora and Riku emerged from the Corridor and arrived in a forest next to a small lake. They looked around for King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy for a while. In the distance they could see a large, evil looking mountain. They knew that this is where Maleficent's castle was located. They walked until they came to Maleficent's castle.
"Isn't this a bit too easy?" asked Riku as they walked up the road.
"What do you mean?" asked Sora.
"Maleficent has the most control over the Heartless now that Xehanort has been defeated." said Riku. "And she's not stupid. She's bound to know about them getting stronger, so why aren't they guarding the castle?"
At that moment, countless Heartless formed from the Darkness. These were the weaker breeds of Heartless. There were mostly Shadows and a smaller kind. The small Heartless were known as Bit Snipers. They had large, black teardrop shaped bodies, black bat wings, which enable it to fly and crawl around. It had the classic Heartless jagged jawline, and bright yellow eyes; looking closely around the eyes, blue vein-like patterns also can be seen.
The Heartless weren't the only creatures that formed. These creatures appeared out of green flames, like the ones that Maleficent uses. Two of the three types of these looked exactly the same; they had pig like bodies and carried either a spear or a mace. The other was more like a bird that carried a bow and arrow.
"You were saying?" asked Sora sarcastically.
Both Keyblade Masters summoned their Keyblades and fought against the monsters. When the pig and bird enemies were defeated, they burst into green flames. Sora used Ragnarok and shot out many lasers that destroyed several of the creatures.
"Lightning Ray!" cried Riku. His body became enveloped by electricity as he rapidly rammed into as many enemies as possible.
More and more Heartless and creatures formed. They formed as fast as Sora and Riku could destroy them. In a desperate attempt, the two Masters used their most powerful combination attack.
"Eternal Session!" Sora and Riku screamed.
Sora and Riku jumped into the air and together slashed through several of the creatures. They jabbed at many of them as well. Then they switched from another series of jabs to Dark Cannon, which launched a series of fireballs. Sora and Riku, while back-to-back, swung their Keyblades and unleashed a series of long-range slashes, plowing through their enemies. Sora and Riku them made thirteen blades of energy around them and sliced apart the Heartless. Right before their attack ended, Sora and Riku jumped away from each other and threw their Keyblades. Energy surrounded the two Keyblades and drew in many enemies. As they monsters were drawn in, the Keyblades fired off beams of light and dark energy, which exploded in an intense, bright light.
"How about that?!" asked Sora. The area was cleared of all the Heartless and the goons. However, the Heartless began reforming, as did the other creatures. Sora and Riku became surrounded. "Still?!"
"Don't give up Sora! Pearl!" yelled a friendly, high pitched voice. Several small orbs of Light collided with a few Heartless. Flipping into the scene next to Riku was King Mickey. In his hand was Kingdom Key D, the Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness. Its golden blade shined in the light of the sun.
"Sora! Riku! Your Majesty!" quacked Donald, the mage of Sora's group of friends. "Comet!"
Blasts of multi-colored energy that looked like fireworks rained down on the enemies. Then the Heartless and the other monsters were pushed off the edge of the bridge by none other than the Captain of the Guard himself, Goofy. Donald ran up and stood next to the group of heroes.
Donald and Goofy were wielding their most powerful weapons, which were given to them by Yen Sid and Merlin. Donald's staff was called Save the Queen. It has a relatively short, lavender handle with a blue tip. The head of the staff is quite tall and sports an ornate, golden heart in its center. This heart is surrounded by two blue-white wings that coil around the heart's base.1
Goofy's shield was named Save the King. The main shield is now shaped like a heart with a crown-like crest at its top. Its edges are gold and its face is predominantly light blue. An elegant heart symbol decorates the face, colored black with blue highlights. A yellow crown is present just above the heart. The main shield is encircled by two large, curved wings that are connected to the sides of the shield by four circular, bright blue gems. These wings are a faint gold color with white lower tips and power blue upper ones.2
"Garwsh! Are you two alright?" asked Goofy.
"We are now Goofy." said Sora. More of the pig and bird creatures formed. "What are these things?!"
"They're Maleficent's goons." explained Mickey. "They are created with her own magic, so as long as she wills it they will keep coming.
The five warriors of Light sliced, spelled, and rammed their way through the Heartless and Maleficent's goons. After fighting with all their might, they all arrived inside Maleficent's castle. The Heartless and the goons appeared less frequently, but still formed. With fewer enemies to worry about, they had a bit of time to recover.
"When did you three get here?" asked Riku. They all were hiding in an uninhabited part of the castle, unsure where Maleficent might be.
"A couple of hours before you two did." said Mickey. "We landed in the other castle that's on this World, the one that is home to Princess Aurora."
"The Princess of Heart?" asked Sora.
"Yep." said Goofy. "Although, when we arrived the castle was deserted. Princess Aurora was the only one there, but she was asleep."
"Asleep?" wondered Sora. "Why was she asleep?"
"Probably to protect herself from the Darkness or Maleficent." said Mickey. "There are several powerful barriers that protect her right now."
"But what about anybody else?" asked Sora. "You couldn't find anyone else?"
"There was no one else Sora." said Donald. "We think that they may have been attacked by the Heartless."
After they rested, they explored the castle. There were times when they encountered several large groups of enemies, then there were times they encountered very little enemies at all. They traveled throughout the castle, until they entered a circular room. The room was surrounded by pillars and there was a throne near the back. Behind the throne, but still easily visible, was a large, white Crack.
"You all took longer than I expected." said a fair voice that hid the owners anger and cruelty. Green flames swirled around the throne and Maleficent appeared sitting in the throne. "I guess the Heartless are becoming too much for you all to handle."
"Maleficent!" yelled Sora. The entire group readied their weapons. "Tell us what has been happening?!"
"You dare to demand anything from me?!" asked Maleficent. "How dare you?"
"You must know something Maleficent." said Riku. "Someone of your power must have noticed what's been happening, especially with the Heartless."
"Hm." Maleficent scoffed. "Of course I noticed you fool."
"Then are you causing all of it?" asked Mickey.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I do not have the power to do affect the Heartless like this." admitted Maleficent. "However, I have a very powerful…friend. Someone who will alter the very foundations of Creation."
"Who?!" asked Sora.
"Like I'll tell you anything." said Maleficent as she stood from her throne. She walked to the Crack, and then turned around. "I doubt we'll ever see each other again. But here is a little present to remember me by."
With a cackle, Maleficent entered the Crack. Then Darkness began pouring out of Crack and gathered into three towers of Darkness. These towers formed three, very large Heartless. Two of the three Heartless looked exactly the same. They were the same breed that Sora first fought before he began his first quest. They were massive, muscular, humanoid Heartless. One had black skin, while the other had dark purple skin. Their legs are rather short and their feet are very thin and curl upward. Their arms are quite long, and they have two relatively small, twisted wings on their backs. There is a large, heart-shaped hole in both Heartless's abdominal area, which penetrates straight through from the front to the back. Their heads are covered in dozens of twisted, black tentacles. Only their small, glowing yellow eyes are visible. The black skinned one was called a Darkside, while the purple one was a Dark Follower.
The third was an enemy that Sora, Donald, and Goofy fought when they first visited Beast's Castle. Named the Dark Thorn by Sora, it is a massive creature with black skin. Its entire body is wrapped in teal thorns and both of its wrists and ankles still have manacles on them. The chains on its arms are broken, but the chain connecting its feet is not. This Heartless has a heart-shaped hole in its chest. The Dark Thorn has a large, red, toothy maw and beady, glowing yellow eyes. While it is muscular and has large hands and feet, it also has rather thin limbs. Each of its limbs sports three digits with long, red claws. The Dark Thorn also has two enormous, orange horns and a massive, orange mane.
"This can't be good." said Riku. Everyone else readied themselves for battle. With a roar, the Dark Thorn pounced.
"Watch out!" said Mickey. He jumped at the Dark Thorn at hit it in the face with his Keyblade. The Heartless hit the wall and broke through it. Mickey jumped through the hole and went after the Dark Thorn.
The Darkside punched at Donald and Goofy. They dodged it and ran into the next room, the Darkside following them. Sora and Riku were left alone with the Dark Follower in Maleficent's Throne Room.
"Firaga!" yelled Riku. He shot out a massive fireball that went straight for the Dark Follower's head. The fireball exploded when it hit, but the Dark Follower didn't seem to notice it.
"Spark Raid!" screamed Sora. With his Keyblade shrouded in enveloped in electricity, he threw it at the Dark Follower. It went through its shoulder, chest and leg every time Sora threw it.
The Dark Follower kneeled to the ground and punched the ground. Where its fist struck a black pool of energy swirled and Shadows formed. Using the same strategies that he used to defeat the enemy before, Sora charged the hand that was embedded in the ground. He used Ars Arcanum, a technique that had him perform a series of powerful strikes that caused visible gashed to appear on the Dark Follower's arm.
While its head was near the ground, Riku performed Icebreaker. His Keyblade became covered in ice energy and he twirled it around him rapidly, damaging the head. Then he reversed his direction and covered his Keyblade in flame energy. The Dark Follower stood up and began charging energy in its Heart-shaped hole. Before it released the energy, Sora ran up the wall and used Arial Slam, knocking the Dark Follower to the ground.
"Riku!" said Sora. "Let's finish it!"
"Got it!" Riku said. He and Sora jumped close to each other and performed Eternal Session. The sliced, jabbed, and blasted the Heartless. But when the smoke cleared from the explosion, the Dark Follower wasn't hurt, just damaged. "What will it take to end this thing?!"
Donald and Goofy's fight wasn't going well either. As soon as the Darkside entered the large, open room it summoned many Shadows. Donald fired off every spell he knew to get rid of the Shadows while Goofy used his Goofy Bash technique to throw his shield at the Darkside's head. The shield bounced off the Darkside and the Heartless fired off many dark lasers from the Heart-shaped hole. The lasers homed in on the mage and royal guard. Goofy blocked the lasers with his shield which came back to him like a boomerang while Donald ran around.
"AH!" screamed Donald. "Take this! Flare Force!"
Raising his staff into the air, Donald summoned a series of large rockets that flew right at the Heartless's head. The Darkside tried to defend itself against the rockets, but a few blasted past it and blew up. Near the end of the spell, Donald called forth an even larger barrage of rockets that were bigger in size. They collided with the Heartless and detonated in an inferno. When the smoke cleared the Darkside was revealed to be very much alive, but it was burning and smoldering.
"What do we do Donald?" asked Goofy as they regrouped.
"I don't know!" screamed Donald. Then he got an idea. "Let's do this Goofy."
Donald whispered in Goofy's ear his plan. Goofy chuckled and nodded. Goofy began spinning around faster and faster then let go of his shield as it was in the direct line with the Darkside's head. Donald released a barrage of Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga magic. When he threw an Aeroga, the shield spun faster and the other three spells converged on the shield, making it more powerful. The magic enhanced shield slammed into the Darkside. The three elements erupted around the Darkside and blasted it back into the room where Sora and Riku were fighting.
King Mickey was having an easier time fighting the Dark Thorn than the others were fighting their Heartless opponents. As fast as the Dark Thorn was, Mickey was even faster and more agile. He would slam his Keyblade into the Heartless and jump away as the Dark Thorn would swipe its claws in retaliation.
"Pearl!" yelled King Mickey. He swung his Keyblade and released small spheres of Light that collided with the Heartless. The Dark Thorn screeched in pain and ran away to the room where Sora and Riku were located. "Oh no!"
As Mickey jumped into the throne room he saw that Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy were still fighting the other two Heartless. But with the Dark Thorn back in the small room, they were being outmatched. The room itself was practically destroyed, the walls crumbling and pillars were on the ground in pieces. King Mickey launched several more Pearls at the three Heartless as Sora, Donald, and Riku blasted them with spells like Firaga Burst, Comet, and Balloonga respectively. The three Heartless backed up, but were healing as Darkness surrounded them.
"We need to do something Mickey!" said Riku.
"Right…uh" said Mickey as he tried to think of a plan. "Oh! Everyone, concentrate on the brightest Light you can think of, feel it within your Hearts and cross your weapons!"
"Got it!" said Sora.
"Yes your Majesty!" said Donald and Goofy. Riku nodded.
They crossed their weapons and concentrated. The three Heartless attacked while the heroes concentrated. The Dark Thorn dove on them from the ceiling, and the Darkside and Dark Follower punched at them from the left and right respectively. Before their attacks hit, the five heroes of Light became surrounded by a faint white sphere. At the top of their converged weapons a sphere of pure white Light appeared. The Light spread all around the room and obliterated the three Heartless.
"Wha-what was th-that?" asked Sora who was really exhausted. He was breathing really heavily, and he wasn't the only one.
"It was a powerful Light spell." said Mickey. "Kind of like Pearl and Faith in one spell. I guessed that it would tire us out, but not this bad."
"Don't worry you guys." said Goofy. He reached into his pocket and took out a small golden jar that had a star on its center and the lid was a crown. "I have this Megalixer that'll fix us right up."
"Thanks Goof." said Sora. Goofy took the lid of and tossed the Megalixer into the air. The Megalixer exploded in the air and golden dust fell on all five of them. With a golden glow surrounding them, they fully healed.
They stood up and walked towards the glowing Crack. Even with the wall destroyed, the Crack still hung in the air. They looked it over, and tried to figure out what it was. While everyone had their own theory, they all agreed that the Crack gave off a feeling. A feeling of pure evil.
"Maleficent went through this Crack." said Sora. "We need to follow her."
"We don't know what's through that Crack." said Mickey. "It could be just a trap."
"But Maleficent knows something about what's happening." argued Sora. "We need to get answers."
"Sora's right." said Riku. "Whatever Maleficent knows, or is planning, we need to stop her."
"I guess you're right." said Mickey. "But we must be on our guard at all times. And we must all agree that if anything happens we have to leave right away."
They agreed. Making sure that they were as prepped as they could be, they walked through the Crack. Despite not knowing where they would end up, or what they would face, they knew that they would give their lives to stop whatever the threat was.
1. This is the Kingdom Hearts 2 version of Donald's Save the Queen weapon
2. This is the Kingdom Hearts 2 version of Goofy's Save the King weapon