Disclaimer: The following series and characters belong to their respective corporations: Nintendo, Disney, and Square-Enix, including their respectful developers. The following characters of this fic: Kyle Nasher, Dirk Lionheart, Alana (Lana) Blade, Drew Devin, and Nived Werd belong to author Mace the Manakete in agreement to his written consent.

Nintendo. Disney. Square-Enix
Kingdom Hearts Chronicles: Vol.1
KINGDOM BLESSINGS

—CHAPTER 12—
Vaati

The Nobody Anaconda stood right in front of Dirk, Donald, Goofy, Mario, Luigi and Bowser. Kyle and Link stood about five feet from the gang. The gang was separated by an invisible wall and Dirk and company couldn't move a step forward. Kyle and Link were the only ones ahead.

"Gawrsh." Goofy shuddered.

"Oh boy." Donald breathed.

"Mamamia…" Mario uttered.

"We're doomed." Luigi whined.

"No, we're not." Dirk corrected then faced Kyle and Link, "Just go on without us!"

"What?" Kyle exclaimed, "Wh-What about you guys?"

"We'll handle it." Dirk said.

"We are?" Goofy stared at Dirk.

"Only chicken say that!" Donald remarked.

"Oh?" the offended Goofy looked at Donald, "and who's the chicken?"

"We can't face this beast alone." Luigi whined, "It's too dangerous!"

"We can! And we will!" Bowser pumped his fist in the air before facing Kyle and Link, "What are you two waiting for? Go! Go get that loser Vaati!"

Kyle and Link nodded and left for their destination, leaving Dirk, Donald, Goofy, Mario, Luigi and Bowser to face the anaconda alone. The anaconda roared.

"Gentlemen." Dirk said, "Let's defeat this thing."

-Elemental Sanctuary-

Kyle and Link arrived at the Elemental Sanctuary. Nobody—not a single person—seemed to be in the area. Link and Kyle looked around, searching for the enemy. At last, a dark wind-formed cloud took shape near the pedestrial where the Master Sword is resting. Vaati was here. He smiled evilly as the duo took their fighting stances. Kyle's Keyblade came into his hands.

"So it's you." Vaati cackled, his attention on Kyle, "I've told you that our next meeting will turn by a twist of fate."

Vaati turned to stare at the petrified Zelda at the far end of the sanctuary. Link was overwhelmed with shock at the sight of the princess. He approached her statuette, "Zelda…"

Kyle pointed the Keyblade at Vaati, "You!" he shouted, "Release the princess and her blessing. They don't belong to you!"

Vaati chuckled before warping between Link and Zelda as Link was near close to reaching the princess. He threw a slap at Link, knocking him to the ground. Kyle ran to help Link up. The angry Link unsheathed his sword and Vaati began to float, "Muah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" he laughed, "you'll reap the day you've come to know me."

"We'll see." Kyle and Link dashed toward Vaati and both started to chain him in combos. Link was the one to do all the chaining due to his anger on what had happened to Zelda. Vaati broke his fall midair and floated.

"That's it? That all you've got?" Vaati raised his arms and two eyes open to his palms. Kyle and Link looked up in horror.

"Wind Executionized!" Vaati chanted and wind swirled out of the eyes of his hands and twirled around him, forming a tornado. A series of beams came out of the tornado and also swirled around Vaati and around the sanctuary, trapping both Link and Kyle and chaining them nonstop. Kyle and Link are thrown in a wall, literally smashing it. Kyle and Link fell on the ground, severely wounded.

"He…he's too powerful…" Kyle groaned in pain as Vaati laughed evilly.

"No…can't end like this…" Link slowly rose from his feet and attempted to approach Vaati.

"Link, wait…"

Vaati extended his hands toward Kyle and Link. Violet and dark energies began to gather, forming a dark-violet orb, "Say good-bye to your life."

Suddenly, a holy bell wrapped in menthol foliage appeared above the two warriors, pouring on them a drizzle of leaves and white pixie dusts. Kyle and Link stood on their feet, energized and restored. Vaati was horrified, "What?"

Link…Kyle…

Link heard a faint voice and turned to face the petrified Zelda, "Zelda…she helped us."

"What…" Kyle breathed.

"Darn her!" Vaati cursed, his attention on the princess, "She still has some of her strength left." He faced Link and Kyle again, "Well, it doesn't matter, because you're going to die anyway."

Vaati fired the orb at Kyle and Link. The two boys dodged out of the way and the orb crashed onto the wall.

The nobody anaconda hissed.

"Get out of the way!" Dirk yelled and everyone jumped out of the way as the anaconda crashed on the ground. The anaconda turned to eye Goofy. Goofy shook. The anaconda hissed.

"Goofy!" Donald yelled.

The anaconda threw its tail at Goofy and binds him hard. "Help!" Goofy yelled.

"Hang on, buddy!" Donald jumped on the anaconda and ran to its tail end where Goofy was trapped and began to smack it endlessly with his staff, hoping to release Goofy, "Let him go, you freaky nobody!" he quacked.

"Donald! What are you doing?" Luigi screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Come on! Let's help!" Mario went for Donald as well, followed by Dirk and Bowser. Luigi trembled, "You two!"

Mario went to where Donald and Goofy were and began to smash the snake's tail as well. Dirk and Bowser traveled to the snake's face. The snake hissed and spat a pool of its venom. Dirk and Bowser dodged. Dirk pulled out his gun and fired endlessly at the anaconda while Bowser did his part by breathing fire at him. The anaconda moved restlessly and the heroes had a hard time keeping their balances. The snake finally released Goofy, and Mario and Donald all fell on the ground.

"Gwarsh…" Goofy muttered, "That didn't hurt."

"That's because you're on top of us, now get off." Donald muttered.

Goofy noticed he really was on top of Donald and Mario. "Oops." He jumped off them.

Luigi ran to the trio, "We can't just stand there. We have to help Dirk and Bowser."

"Really? Then what were you doing earlier when we were all up there?" Mario questioned Luigi.

The anaconda was still moving restlessly. Bowser and Dirk were on the verge of dropping to the ground.

"It's useless!" Dirk exclaimed, "We can't defeat this thing!"

"We can! And we will!" Bowser boomed, "And I know the perfect plan!"

"What?"

Bowser grabbed Dirk with only one hand and flung him to the top of the snake. Dirk grabbed the snake's eyelids upon landing. The snake continued to move around.

"Are you trying to kill me or something, Bowser?" Dirk yelled.

"Just hold him still!" Bowser commanded.

The rest of the heroes watched Dirk and Bowser trying to tame the anaconda, "What is Bowser up to now?" Mario asked.

"I dunno, but I think they're trying to stop the snake!" Goofy replied.

"Snake! Meet your match!" Bowser breathed in and, with all of his might, breathed a storm of fire down the snake's throat. The snake's stomach began to turn red and began to inflate. The snake exploded into ashes and Bowser and Dirk fell on top of the others.

"Man, Bowser. I gotta give you props. You rock." Dirk told Bowser.

"No. We rock." Bowser corrected, "We did it together."

"I'm glad you're all okay." Goofy said.

"Yeah. I thought you were all goners. But can I ask you something? Could you get off me! Your weight is crushing my spine!" Donald was addressing Bowser.

"You mean our spines." Mario corrected Donald.

"Oh, whose side are you on?" Donald quacked.

-Elemental Sanctuary-

Kyle and Link are thrown off hard on the ground. Kyle slowly stood up one knee and in pain. Vaati laughed, "You fools! And to think you will defeat me."

A waterfall of light shot out from the sky to the ground, summoning Jadis right besides Vaati. The startled sorcerer turned to see the White Witch, "You!" he boomed.

"Hello, Vaati." Jadis spoke calmly.

"Zelda is not yours to take!" Vaati said, "So begone, witch!"

"I'm not here for Zelda, if that's what you think." Jadis said, "I'm here for something else."

Jadis turned around and stared up the ceiling. She raised her hands and the ceiling vanished. A dark storm began to form as Jadis began to sing an ancient lore.

"Kyle! Link!" Dirk's voice spoke. Kyle and Link turned to face the heroes approaching them in haste. They looked exhausted and futile.

"Gwarsh. What's going on? I don't like this." Goofy watched Jadis creating a storm.

"Let's not stand here! Let's rescue Zelda!" Donald ran for Zelda, but another strong force barred his path, "Quack!"

Vaati chuckled, "There's no way I will allow you to defoliate my plan, especially you two, Wielder of Mars and Venus."

"We'll just have to see 'bout that, won't we?" Dirk cracked his knuckles. Suddenly, a chime sounded.

Dong!

Dong!

The chime caused everyone in the room to stand still. It was the last bell. The heroes were too late. They watched Zelda's petrified body rejecting the Holy Triforce from its core. The bright shining Triforce flew up into the sky and vanished.

"Zelda!" The thunders roared in reply to Link's cry, the clouds began forming a swirl, and the entire scenery turned frigid and bleak.

At the same time, Vaati began yowling in pain. His body—his arms, head, and feet, began to stretch and form in hideous possible ways. His body began to inflate and a blind light suddenly flashed before everyone's eyes. The light faded out and the heroes opened their eyes to see a one-eyed dark cloud monstrosity with several bat wings standing before them. Vaati had transformed into his true self.

Emperor Mickey: It seems Kyle and the others have come too late. Zelda has lost her blessing and Vaati had transformed into a hideous being. What other fate awaits our benevolent warriors? Will they still have an advantage against the wind sorcerer?

The epic continues.

NeXt ChApTeR