EPISODE 5

THE ONE WITH THE KEY

"Come on, wake up."

When Sean came to, none other than Rain was standing in front of him. "There you are. You okay?" she asked.

He felt a small bump on the back of his head, and his vision was foggy. "R…Rain? Is…Is that you?"

"Rain? Who are YOU talking about?" she responded. "My name is Turquoise!" In a flash, Sean saw that it was not Rain, but the green and blue dragon. He jolted backward, then realized where he was. He was lying on a big bed inside a cozy room, supposedly inside the hotel. Across from him was a large stone fireplace with large red socks hanging on the mantle. There was a table in the middle of the room with a plate of cookies and a mug, as well as what looked like a stack of Christmas cards. To his left were a wooden door and a Christmas-y cuckoo clock. The entire room had the look and feel of the inside of a ski lodge bedroom. It was hard to believe that he was still in Gadget Town.

Looking back at the door, Turquoise proclaimed, "I think you might've overdone it again, Claw." Sure enough, Claw, in his human form, was standing right next to the door. "I told you before that I went easy on him," Claw remarked as he leaned on the wall. Turquoise just smiled and rolled her eyes.

Shifting to sit on the side of the bed, Sean noticed that he didn't have his Keyblade on him. "Huh? Where's my –" That's when he noticed it leaning on the wall next to Claw.

"Oh, yeah," Turquoise said as she walked on over to Claw, "We had to get it out of your hands to shake off those creatures. Turns out that's how they were tracking you." Getting off the wall and standing up, Claw remarked, "It was the only way to conceal your heart from them. But it won't work for very long."

Then he picked the Keyblade back up, saying, "Still, it's hard to believe that, of all people, YOU would be the chosen one." He swung it to the side, and then it suddenly vanished and reappeared back in Sean's right hand. "Chosen one?" Sean asked as he looked over the Keyblade again. "Hey," Claw stated, "Beggars can't be choosers."

"W-Wait a sec," Sean exclaimed. "Why don't you make some sense! Tell me what's going on here!"

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Meanwhile, in the room next door, Tara was sitting on a cot and speaking to Rob, Hobbes, and Cody. This room had a very Asian flavor to it, covered in anime paintings and decorated like a room in a Japanese lodging.

"OK," Tara explained to the three heroes, "Now, you three know that there are many other worlds out there besides your kingdom and this town, right?" "Yes, that's right," Hobbes responded. "Wait," Rob quipped, "I thought all this 'other worlds' business and stuff was supposed to be secret." Cody didn't speak, as, even as he was paying attention to the conversion, he was admiring Tara.

"It's all been secret," Tara continued, "Because the worlds have never been connected…Until now. When the Heartless came, everything just…Changed."

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"The Heartless?" Sean inquired in the other room. "You know," Turquoise explained, "Those black creatures that keep attacking you."

"They were all either humans or animals once," Claw explained grimly. "But they lost their hearts to darkness, and became Heartless. They are neither living nor dead; only lost souls stalking and thirsting for hearts to capture." Claw seemed disturbed talking about the Heartless.

"What's more, they are attracted to the darkness in people's hearts," Turquoise picked up. "And there is supposedly darkness in every heart." "That sounds terrible," Sean stated, "But…Why are they going after me specifically?"

"Oh, that reminds me," the dragoness exclaimed. "Sean, have you ever heard of someone named Sun?"

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"Sun?" Hobbes repeated. "Wh…Who's he?" Cody asked, finally able to speak. "Lord Sun was a scholar who studied the Heartless," Tara explained. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

"Wow," Rob cut in, "This guy sounds like a real egghead. You...Wouldn't happen to have this report on you, by any chance?" Tara just shook her head, saying, "No. Its pages are scattered all across different worlds." "Scattered?" Rob responded. "Across different worlds? Oh, wonderful…"

"Oh!" exclaimed Cody. "Maybe Lord Storm went to look for them." "Yes, that's a very good assumption," Tara assured. "I was thinking the very same thing." Cody found it amazing that he and Tara were on the same track.

"So," Cody said, careful not to lose track of their original mission, "That means we have to find Lord Storm, and fast!" "But," Hobbes reassured with determination, "We have to find the 'key' first!"

"Right," said Tara with confidence, "The Keyblade."

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"So," said Sean as he looked at the Keyblade, "THIS is the 'key'?" "Yep, that's it," Turquoise confirmed. "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," Claw told Sean, "That's why they'll keep coming after you. They won't rest until they have consumed you. So you should be ready to fight for your life."

"Wait, fight...for my LIFE??" Sean repeated with dread and uncertainty. "But...I didn't ask for this!" "Well, tough luck," Claw said, "The Keyblade chooses its master, and it chose you."

"Man...How did all this happen??" Sean asked. "I mean, one minute I'm in my room, and the next -" Then Sean gasped and jolted right up. "Wait a sec! What happened to Forest Hill?? My home?! And Blood! And...Rain..."

"Well, sorry Sean," said Turquoise sympathetically. "It's probably all long gone by now." A tear rolled down Sean's face as he dreaded over what might've happened to his friends. "I wonder if I'll be able to see Blood and Rain again..." Claw let out a heavy sigh, and said, "Sorry, but there's nothing WE can do."

"Well," Claw said after a short pause, "We'd better go join Tara. She and the others should be in the other room." Just then, a loud crash shook the room, almost knocking everyone off their feet. "Damn, they're already here," Claw said in a worried tone.

Suddenly, a Soldier Heartless materialized in the room. "Go, Turquoise!" Claw shouted. "Go and save yourself!" "Just be careful!" the dragoness said as she ran for the door.

In the other room, Rob ran for the door as well, but Turquoise got there first and swung the door right on him. "Turquoise??" Tara exclaimed, shocked and concerned. "We gotta get outta here, Tara!" Turquoise shouted. The tiger soon followed. Then Cody quickly slammed the door, took the flattened Rob, and followed suit along with Hobbes.

Back in the Christmas room, Claw transformed into his wolf-man form as Sean brandished the Keyblade. Baring his claws and fangs, Claw exclaimed, "Sean, let's go!" "Right!" Sean responded, ready to fight.

The Soldier spun right for the warriors, but Claw lunged at it, going right out the window. Sean followed, jumping down from the balcony to the alleyway below.

With the Heartless pinned down, Claw exclaimed, "Don't bother with the small fry! We have to find the leader!" With another claw swipe, the Soldier disappeared in a cloud of darkness, releasing a small heart into the air. They were surrounded by Soldiers and Shadows, but they took out only a few and headed out back into the Residential District.

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Sean and Claw eventually found themselves in Gadget Town's Entertainment District. Another wing of the hotel branched out in this District, which basically looked like a giant casino. There were huge slot machines, pinball boards, and various amusement park rides all over the place. In the District's main plaza was a checkerboard floor, overlooked by a big slot machine above a bejeweled fountain.

But when Sean and Claw arrived, the plaza was unusually quiet. "Be on your guard, Sean," Claw warned. "The boss could strike at any minute." Sean nodded in response, and the two headed down the steps and into the plaza.

However, Sean stopped when he heard some commotion up on the balcony above him. He looked up to see Rob, Hobbes, and Cody fighting for their lives against a pack of Heartless. "Come on, everyone!" Hobbes was shouting to the others. "Fight! Give it all you've got!" "Hey," Rob exclaimed, "We're trying our best, OK?!" After blocking a claw strike, Cody shouted, "There's too many! We'll have to bail out!"

One of the Soldiers unleashed a spinning somersault kick, which knocked the three heroes into the air. Sean looked up and noticed that they were coming down right on him! He tried to get out of the way, but he was too late. The three heroes landed on top of him with a loud thud.

Claw saw this occur, but more Soldiers appeared and forced him to fight them. As the four recovered from the collision, Cody noticed Sean's Keyblade and exclaimed, "Hey! It's the key!"

Rob and Hobbes perked up at this declaration, and saw the key themselves. "Yeah!" Rob exclaimed, "I knew we'd find it! Trust me, I knew it all along!"

"Nice to meet you, too," Sean stated as he pushed them off.

Then the entire plaza started rumbling violently. Huge walls came up around the heroes, trapping Claw on the outskirts. "No!" Claw shouted as he noticed the walls coming up. But there was nothing he could do. Sean, Rob, Hobbes, and Cody were trapped.

Then a huge armored Heartless came down onto the plaza. It was in individual pieces at first, but it quickly assembled them together. The hands and feet clicked into the cylindrical torso, and touched ground just before the head came down and completed the Heartless. Sean and the others found themselves going up against the Guard Armor.

As Rob's jaw dropped, Sean expressed, "Oh no...This is bad..."

One of the Guard Armor's hands came right for Sean, demonstrating its amazing attack range. But Hobbes stepped right in front of him and blocked the attack with his shield as Cody got Rob's jaws back in place.

"We'll back you up!" Hobbes shouted to Sean. "Yeah," Cody agreed, "So let's fight together!" At this Rob toughened himself right up, saying, "Yeah. Together we can take down this overgrown trash can!"

The Armor attempted another hand attack, but Sean rolled right out of the way. But he didn't see its feet coming, and he was kicked right into the wall. He had already suffered huge damage, and felt his strength fading again.

"Cure!" Rob shouted as he pointed his staff toward Sean. A bright green aura of magical energy surrounded Sean for a brief second before disappearing. Just like that his strength had fully recovered. "Wow, thanks!" Sean shouted as he got back up and re-entered the fight. "No problem!" Rob responded, "But don't mention it! I'm just a snake doing my job!"

As the Armor's hands detached and start spinning around, Hobbes deflected them before punching them with the shield. Meanwhile, Cody was dashing right through its feet with his Transform Blade while dodging its powerful kicks.

Sean rushed in for a follow-up attack to the hands, slashing them with the Keyblade. But one of the hands delivered a counterattack, knocking both Sean and Hobbes backward. This time Sean landed right on his feet and helped Hobbes up.

"Fire!!" Rob shouted as he pointed the staff at the Armor's torso. A fireball shot right out of the staff and hit the torso in a small explosion. Meanwhile the feet were going after Cody, trying to stomp on him. Sean rushed in to help him and slashed at both feet.

When both feet fell on the ground in a heap, Sean grabbed one of them and threw it right into the torso. The foot was destroyed as the torso suffered a big blow. But the other foot made a quick recovery and kicked Cody hard. "Cure!" Rob shouted as Cody fell backward. The green aura surrounded Cody and instantly healed him.

"Rob, look out!" Hobbes shouted as one of the hands punched Rob right into the wall. Sean then ran up, leapt up to grab the hand, and threw it into the torso as well. That destroyed the hand.

"Ugh, this is it!" Rob shouted, having taken a critical hit. "I'm...I'm done for! Farewell, cruel worlds! I barely knew you all!"

"Come on, Rob," Hobbes said, "You'll be OK. Here, have a Potion!" He took a Potion out of his pants pocket and tossed it right at Rob, who drank it right up. He recovered, and shouted as he perked back up, "Done for...NOT!! I'm back in the game!"

Hobbes spun around just in time to face the upcoming other hand. He blocked it, as Sean ran up and kicked it into the torso. Now the other hand was destroyed as Cody finished off the other foot himself.

All that was left now was the torso. But it wasn't ready to give up without a fight. It started spinning around the plaza real fast, blowing everyone into the walls. Recovering, Sean saw Hobbes lying against the wall, supposedly knocked out. Sean ran right to him, pulled out a Potion of his own, and gave it to him. Hobbes recovered, saying, "Thanks. I owe you one." "Hey, don't mention it," Sean responded.

"Hobbes!" Rob shouted again, "I just healed me AND Cody, and I'm shit outta mana!" "Here, take this!" Hobbes shouted as he threw an orb of magical energy at the snake. The orb was consumed, and Rob found his mana restored.

"C'mon," Sean exclaimed, "Let's finish this guy off!" Rob kept a safe distance flinging Fire spells as everyone else ganged up on the torso. Hobbes blocked the next spinning attack, and when it was stunned, Cody rushed up and shouted, "Propeller Blade!" Then his Blade turned into a fast-spinning, double-bladed weapon that, indeed, hit the Armor like a propeller.

When the Armor looked weak enough, Sean firmly grasped the Keyblade and ran up to it, saying, "Here comes the..."

"FINAL BLOW!!!"

With a deafening leap, Sean thrust the Keyblade deep into the torso. Then a flash of light came from the torso, indicating its defeat. As soon as Sean landed, everyone stepped back.

Lazily hanging in the air, the head shook before falling into the torso and forcing it to the ground with its weight. The Armor collapsed onto the ground like a heap of metal as the head rolled out. Then, with another flash of light, the heart it stole was freed and floated off towards the night sky. With its heart gone, the Armor dissolved in a whirlwind of light until it was no more.

A few moments later, Sean, Rob, Hobbes, and Cody starting high-fiving each other as they celebrated their first major battle victory together.

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"Wait...So, you were looking...For me?" Sean asked the others later. "Yup," the three heroes confirmed. Tara, Turquoise, and Claw in his human form were looking on. "Yup," said Turquoise, "They've been looking for the wielder of the Keyblade, too."

"Hey," said Cody exuberantly, "Why don't you come with us? We'll be able to go to other worlds in our ship!" Sean responded, "Sounds great. But..." He slumped slightly as he continued in a sad tone, "Will I able to find Blood and Rain?"

"Heh, no problem!" Rob exclaimed. "You can count on it!" "Rob," said Hobbes as the three started whispering to each other, "How do you know we'll find them??" "Well," said Rob, "I had to tell him SOMETHING!" Cody responded, "But who knows? We might find them, just as we might find Lord Storm!"

"But," said Rob, "We need this guy to help find Lord Storm. Right?" "Right!" confirmed Hobbes.

Noticing Sean's blue expression, Claw stated, "Sean, go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends." In a glum tone, Sean responded, "Well, OK. I guess..."

"HEY!" exclaimed Rob as he saw Sean's sad face. "Wipe that dumb frown off your stupid face! SMILE!!" He gave his best smile, and continued, "See, ya gotta look sharp and confident, like us!" He gave what looked like a thumbs-up with his tail.

"Or silly, in Rob's case," Cody said with a chuckle. Hobbes managed a slight smile as well.

Sean looked at everyone's faces. "Silly? Sharp?" he responded glumly. "You mean...Like THIS?" he said as he lowered his head and lifted it right back up with a huge, ridiculous-looking grin on his face.

Everyone looked at Sean for a moment, then Rob and Cody started laughing hysterically as Hobbes simply laughed. "Now THAT'S a sharp face if I ever saw one!" Rob laughed. Sean couldn't help laughing as well.

As soon as they all stopped laughing, Sean stated, "Well...OK, why not? I'll go with you guys!"

"That's the spirit!" Cody exclaimed. "Oh!" Hobbes said, "We haven't properly introduced ourselves yet. My name is Hobbes."

"Call me Rob!" Rob said.

"I'm Cody. Pleased to meet you!" Cody said.

"And I'm Sean," Sean stated.

As each hero said his name, he put his hand, or tail in Rob's case, out. "All for one, and one for all!" Cody said as they all placed their hands together, forever securing their bond.

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Meanwhile, the four heroes were being viewed as holograms in the center of a large stone table in a dark room. Five figures stood at the table.

"That little squirt took down that Heartless!" said the first figure, a tall figure with a long face and flames atop his head. "Whouda thunk it?!"

A second figure, sporting fiery red hair and a deathly pale face, said, "Such is the power of the Keyblade. The boy's strength is not his own."

"Why don't we turn him into a Heartless?" a third figure, obese and feathery and wearing a black cape, said. "That should settle things quick enough."

Then a fourth figure, with his hooked hand and pirate hat, spurted out, "And the brat's friends are the wolf lord's lackeys. Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats, by the look of them!"

"You're no prize yourself," laughed the pudgy, baggy fifth figure.

The fourth figure took his hook to the fifth, spitting out, "Shut up, you -!"

"ENOUGH," an imposing female voice spoke. Coming out of the darkness, the source of the voice revealed herself as a tall sorceress. She was dressed in a black robe with hints of red and purple, had what looked like horns on top of her head, and carried a crystal staff and a raven on her shoulder. Her eyes were empty and her face was a pale shade of green.

"The Keyblade has chosen him," the sorceress stated. "Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness devour him?"

"Either way, he could be quite useful..."