Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and everything else belongs to Walt Disney and Square-Enix.
The OCs and their alter-ego that appear in this story belong to their respective authors. More information about them are found in the "Original Characters' Intro" chapter.
Author's Note: This is the longest episode I've done. I'm bound to make more like this in the near future. Now I'm sure you were all expecting a new episode this coming November, but I prefer choosing this particular time, just in time for Halloween. Also consider this the November episode.
::KINGDOM HEARTS III Online HD::
-Nightmare in the Form of Nix-
The girl who now rivals Sierra for the Homecoming Queen position at the upcoming ball—her name again was Milene Vitali—was not a Keybearer. Nor was she a KH Player, like many of the mortals in this story. She was the most popular girl at Midlight City High School. Now second to Sierra. She was more popular than Matt Salazar and Talen Brightfire. One thing Milene hated the most was not getting things her way. Losing the pageant to Sierra and getting easy spot to the Homecoming crown during the upcoming dance was one of the many things that she hated; tasting the sweet taste of losing. But Milene was fully determined to see Sierra go down.
She secretly got an anonymous letter to meet with someone mysterious so late at night. It wasn't signed, but as head cheerleader of the school's football team you would think she was smart enough not to take it.
Wrong.
That night she went down the school's basement and entered an abandoned hallway.
"Uh… hello?" she called out, now feeling regret to have come here. The place gave her the creeps. Spider webs everywhere and broken tables and chairs all piled up together, used gums, trashes on the floor with stinking odor from whatever years ago it was… it was just gross! And the place was completely dark, except showing the faintest ray of moonlight through its narrow windows.
Milene's heart kept jumping at every step she took. She finally took a step backward, and turned around ready to leave this dump. A spider heartless zipped past her, causing her to shriek. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
She turned around and saw a face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!"
A hand slammed over her mouth. The girl stopped shrieking. She saw who it was: Naraku 'Death-Scythe' Shinigami, Kami's Keybearer alter-ego. sporting a black-buttoned trench coat, black shoes with white straps, white gloves; and under her trench coat were short dark blue jean shorts, and a black shirt with a white "soul logo" (from the anime Soul Eater) on it. The girl had shoulder-length snow-white hair and her eyes were as red as a crimson stone. Of course, Milene didn't know that.
"SHH!" Death-Scythe hushed at her, her hand still on Milene's mouth. Milene blinked, tears ready to leave her eyes.
"Don't… make… … …a sound." Death-Scythe whispered threateningly. With one eye's corner, she stared at Nix who was standing behind her. Milene too glanced over at the creature. Nix the Blackheart was in his true form: Nix Assassin Mode. He was skinny, just like his creepy flesh-eating self, but he donned a completely black ninja outfit that seemed to cover him from head to toe. He sported many ninja daggers and looked like he was ready to commit murder to anyone at any second. He also had piranha teeth around his face, where his mouth should be. Picture him as a Vanitas wannabee.
Milene then stared at Death-Scythe. Death-Scythe let go of Milene.
"Who is this?" Milene whimpered, nudging her head slightly and cowardly toward Nix.
"My assistance." Death-Scythe replied, "Do not worry. He would not hurt a fly…"
On cue, Nix watched a fly buzzing around him and on cue, it stuck its tongue out like a frog and gulped the fly to Milene's horror.
"…he will hurt a heart." Death-Scythe added.
"Gulp."
"But you're an exception, as you will do me a favor."
"Forget it!" Milene snapped. She turned around and saw Nix Vers.2, also known as Nix Creepy Mode (the Nix that look like the flesh-eating creature) blocking her path. Milene shrieked again. Death-Scythe put Milene on chokehold and raised her Death-Scythe weapon over the cheerleader's neck threateningly.
"I told you… do not make a sound. Do you understand?"
Milene quickly nodded.
"Now." Death-Scythe released Milene. The two girls faced each other, "Like I said I need you to do me a favor."
"Gulp."
xXx
The next day back at school, Rian was staring inside his locker blankly. He couldn't stop thinking about that dream he had. It was so vivid, so real, like it was actually happening. But what if it was true? He shook his head, dismissing his worry and closed his locker door.
"YO, Rian!" Axel startled him. He was with Talen and Pierre.
"Oh geez. Don't do that again!" he said before walking away. The guys followed.
"Boy, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Talen commented. Rian knew too well it was more than that.
"I know what can cheer you up!" Axel proposed, "Mirage Arena in the Kingdom Hearts III Online HD game!"
"All right! Test your might!" Pierre cheered and high-fived Axel.
"Mirage Arena? That's so yesterday!" Talen complained, "Let's do a quest together!"
"Guys! We're in trouble enough with school to even think about video games now, okay?" Rian sounded vehement.
The boys stood silence. "What?" Rian asked uneasily, seeing all eyes were all over him.
"Uh, are you having a headache or something?" Pierre gave Rian's forehead a good knock.
"Yeah, since when do you care about school?" Talen let out a slight uneasy chuckle.
Axel said nothing.
Rian looked back at his suspicious friends before scoffing and chuckling, "Me? School? No! I was just—!" he paused again and quickly changed subjects, "…hey! Let's do that Mirage thing together! Yeah, that'll cheer me up!" he turned to leave, but Taylor and Sierra found the boys and joined them.
"Hey guys!" Sierra greeted.
"There she is!" Pierre rose up his arms to his girl, "The future Homecoming Queen!" he hugged her and the two kissed. Sierra acted all proud, "Why thank you! It's a grand honor!"
"Yeah. Real honor." Taylor sounded dismissive as she was looking around the hallway, "Hey, have you seen Matt anywhere?" she asked.
The boys looked at each other for answer. They all shrugged.
xXx
Violet cornered Matt by the locker hall. She looked sternly into his eyes as if peering deep into his soul.
"What's up with you?" Matt asked her before turning away from her glare and heading out, "Can't blink?"
"Something's been eating me up alive." Violet came up strong at him, "It has to do with what Sage said." She then blocked his way as he was trying to distance away from her. Matt sighed exasperatedly. "I told you, she was only babbling."
"Keeping a secret are you?" Violet questioned, "Because it seems like you two have been tight before."
"She's a player." Matt said, "Like you and me. Get it?"
Violet shook her head, "Uh-huh. I don't think so. She's a Blackheart! And Blackhearts aren't Kingdom Hearts Players like us. They're real enemies from the game. You know that, I know that, everyone involved in this game knows that…"
"There's nothing to tell." Matt snapped.
"Does Taylor know?"
Matt frowned, "What does Taylor got to do with this? Why does she have to know everything?"
"Uh… because she's your girlfriend? She could be your future fiancé, your future wife!" she responded fervently.
"Look…"
Before Matt could say something, a blinding light shone above the duo, distracting them from their conversations. They looked up and they heard falling cries. They stepped aside and watched Donald and Goofy land hard on the ground from out of the light. They looked dazed, seeing stars. Their appearance drew the heroes together.
"Hey! Donald and Goofy are here!" Pierre announced.
Donald quickly recovered to his feet. He scolded, "Yeah, you quackin' right we're here!" he faced Goofy and bonked him in the head with his staff, snapping him off his dizziness, "Wake up Goofy!"
"Yoinks!"
"Uh… are we in trouble?" Rian asked the angry Disney character.
"In trouble?" Donald exclaimed, "You're in SOOO much trouble! You're supposed to be training at the Gummi Ship Atrium for your battle against the Blackhearts! But no, you're here at Midlight City!"
The teens finally realized what they did, "Oh right." Axel mumbled.
"Yes, we did sneak out," Taylor said. "But it was for good intention!"
"I had to attend the Beauty Pageant for the upcoming Homecoming Ball!" Sierra explained, "We didn't wanna miss all the excitement of school and such!"
The teens all tried to get an angry Donald and a clueless Goofy to understand what they did and why they did it, at least listen to reason. But it was at that very moment that Terra showed up, coming out of the Keyblade Portal in his suit of armor. Donald freaked out and hid behind Goofy, before realizing it was only the Keyblade Knight.
"Oh, it's you!" Donald snapped, "Must you always use that stupid portal every time you come in!"
Terra made his suit of armor vanished in sparkles before speaking, "We are locked from outside the Realm of Light. We can't go back there anymore."
"WHAT?" everyone exclaimed.
"But how?" Goofy asked.
"Blackheart member Phantamis, the Illusion." Terra informed them, "He used Keyblade Magic on all the Keyholes connecting to the Realm of Light and the real world to lock us out. Worse news of all, Snow White has been captured. Her heart of Pure Light is now under the Dominion's possession."
The news gravely touched the group, especially those who tried their best to protect the princess.
"An assault… How could they be so cruel, man?" Axel exclaimed.
"After all we've been through." Talen sounded pissed.
"What about the Prince? And the dwarves?" Violet desperately asked.
Terra had his eyes stared on the ground, before he revealed the grave news, "The heartless took them."
The teens all turned blank, "oh my gosh…" Taylor shuddered.
"And no one in the group was there to prevent this?" Donald cried out.
Terra turned to Donald, eyes locked on him. Then all the teens turned to face him also. Donald suddenly felt guilty.
"Uh… I think we were supposed to prevent this." Goofy whispered to Donald.
"I know that now!" Donald snapped.
"Wait a minute…" Matt said, "Did you…" he faced Terra, "Did you just say Keyblade Magic?"
All attention turned to Matt. "Yeah…" Terra responded.
"You know something?" asked Goofy.
Matt hesitated, "Well… yeah, I guess. Keyblade Magic is powerful magic done by a Keyblade, and its spell must be reversed by that same Keyblade. Other Keyblades or forms of magical instruments, even hands of a powerful wizard, cannot undo spells made by Keyblade Magic.
"Okay, back up." Violet interrupted him, "Keyblade?"
"Yes." Matt responded, "The Blackhearts may be our enemies… but they're more than that: they are Keybearers."
The news came as a shock to the group, "What?" they shouted.
"We played the game, and we didn't know that till NOW?" Axel argued.
"They're Keybearers whose hearts have been given to eternal pure darkness." Matt clarified, "They use the power of their Keyblades to do many manipulative things, including…"
"…locking away our own Keyblade powers." Talen remembered their ordeal back at Dwarf Woodlands.
"So wait, what are you saying? We're really up against dark-wielding Keybearers?" Rian demanded.
"Actually, they're past Keybearers, raised from the dead by darkness." Matt clarified again.
"Oh, boy." Donald muttered. Goofy looked like he saw a ghost. The teens didn't look at ease at all, and Rian had a pretty good idea on where this discussion was going: Master Xehanort in his dream. He had to tell them somehow.
"Guys," he called to them, "I don't know how to tell you this, but…" he suddenly paused just as he was about to reveal to them his dream. What if it was only a dream? It'll be stupid to tell them if it's not gonna come true.
He quickly changed subjects, "…we gotta find a way back into the Kingdom Hearts world—I mean, the Realm of Light. Fast."
Everyone agreed, before he added, "The princesses must be protected at all cost."
"But how?" Donald asked, "We're locked in! And it's not going to be that simple."
"It could be as we thought." Terra said, taking a few paces around the halls and looking around the busy school hallways, "I sense another Keybearer in this school. That person's power is strong and full of darkness. Only someone who can wield darkness, but can retain his form and Keyblade ability, will be able to manipulate Keyblade Magic in the same dark ways the Blackhearts have been doing."
"A dark-wielding Keybearer in this school…" Axel sounded amazed, "…and that person could very well be on our side."
Terra faced Axel and the rest of the teens, "I wouldn't be so sure." He said, "That Keybearer could also be a villain and very dangerous. If you are to search for him or her, I would suggest you keep it low profile. Stay as your regular selves and you'll be fine."
"So, what's the plan?" Rian asked.
Terra glanced over at him, "You'll come up with one."
Rian looked surprised, "Me?" he said.
"You're the leader." Terra said.
"Just make a smart decision this time." Donald pleaded to him. Goofy giggled.
All eyes were on Rian. Rian never led a group of eleven before: seven Keybearers (including himself), a royal wizard, a royal guard, and a Keyblade Knight. He mischievously grinned at the very thought, "Hee! Hee. Hee… I know the perfect plan."
Everyone leaned over to Rian for his idea.
"It's so perfect, it's so foolproof… you'll be calling me a genius in no time." His smile grew widely.
xXx
The whole gang met again in the school's cafeteria for Lunch. Donald, Goofy, and Terra all wore modern-day fashion clothing. Donald had a cap worn backward, basketball jersey and sportive wrist band. Goofy wore a Fedora, small round glasses (like Ozzie Osbourne's), and still settled with his brown sweater, long-sleeve orange shirt, and stretchy pants. Terra's wardrobe was okay. It was a long sleeve checkered shirt over a black graphic tee, baggy pants, and a bandana to attach his forehead.
"Okay, this idea is stupid." Donald grumbled.
"I know." Terra said, "We're supposed to keep it low profile, not getting low."
The teens laughed.
"Dudes! This is by far the best idea ever!" Talen laughed, proudly patting Rian's back, like a good friend.
"Thank you!" Rian said, before facing Donald and Goofy, "Aren't you guys stylin'?"
"No." Terra bluntly said, "the pants are too large, that jersey Donald is wearing looks too tacky, and then there's Goofy's round glasses, they're so last season."
"Ah, come on now. You're just blending in with the crowd so that people won't get suspicious like you said." Rian said.
"And who won't get suspicious exactly?" said a brazen voice that made Taylor cringed. She suddenly felt an arm wrapping up tightly around her in strong affection. The heroes immediately looked back at the uninvited guest.
"Skyler Vitani." Taylor fake smirked.
"That's me!" Skyler proudly beamed, sounding like a popular football player. He only had that attitude because he's tight with both Taylor and Matt. Or at least he was tight with Matt. Matt had already formed a fist the moment he saw Skyler getting close to his girlfriend.
"Hey Sky, why don't you just back off?" Matt stepped in, barring him the space he invaded.
"Hey, chill man." Skyler raised his hands up in defense, "I just came to see what losing team you got yourself into?" and then he stared down at the gang impolitely, "Now I understand you had to team up with bad boy Rian Rivers up here…" Rian sarcastically mouthed an 'Ouch' phrase at Skyler's remark, "but these trio?"
He then stared down at Donald, Goofy, and Terra, "What are they, freshmen?"
He said that phrase so mockingly that Donald's rage came to him like a heat stroke. "Freshmen?!" he screamed, taking a leap toward Skyler and ready to rip his smirking face off its attached neck. But Goofy and Terra grabbed him moments before he could do that and held onto the struggling duck who kept shouting out names and lots and lots of vulgar insults in return.
"Hey who are you calling freshmen buddy?" Talen saw red too, and angrily came nose-to-nose to Skyler and stabbed his chest with his finger menacingly, "I happen to be popular too y'know?" he then pointed an accusing finger at the gang, "They're the ones who are losers!"
"HEY!" Sierra barked, "I WON A PAGEANT! I'M NO LOSER!"
Before everyone got caught up in the brouhaha, another student voice sounded among the group. It was female.
"Hey guys!"
All heads looked back toward another beauty and immediately recognized her, "Trishelle Banks!"
"High School's most reliable gossip girl." Talen called her. Trishelle, nicknamed Trish, always had something up on the news front whenever people came across her. There's not been a single day where she's been dried out of news since she calls her high school, the Hollywood of Teenagers, motivating her to get everything.
"Whatchu got there on the dish now girl?" Skyler asked her, smiling at her mockingly.
Trish returned the smile, "Heard about the Creepy Freshman? She struck again."
Sierra gasped.
"Last night." Trish finished on cue.
"The Creepy Freshman?" Goofy gritted his teeth, "Who is that? She sounds creepy…"
"Can tell you one thing though: she's not as dull as you three." Skyler replied.
"WHY YOU—!" Donald tried to jump on Skyler again and Terra and Goofy restrained him again.
Rian explained to those who didn't know, "The Creepy Freshman is one freshman people must be careful of. Well, she used to be freshman… but anyway, they say she used to be cheerful and full of spirits. But then, something happened in her life that changed her completely. She never showed up at school, she shunned out all her friends. She's now very, very, creepy."
"I thought I was the gossiper in here." Trish whined at Rian.
"Sorry." Rian said.
Trish cleared her throat and suddenly the entire cafeteria turned dark. Spotlight went on Trish upside-down, as she added more to the story, "They say that she has become friends with the devil, in the form of a flesh-eating zombie. Though these are the rumors, it sounds totally legit. Now whoever approaches the Creepy Freshman and tries to be friends with her is bound to be doomed to the dead and never to be seen in the face of high school or the earth… again."
Chilling music added to the tension. Sierra gasped. Pierre mumbled, "I… want… my…mommy…"
All eyes turned to Pierre. Pierre looked back, suddenly looking serious, "No really, I do." He said.
The lights went back up.
"So how is that Creepy Freshman struck again?" Matt asked Trish.
"She got Milene Vitali."
"WHAT?" they all gasped.
"Yeah… now she's spending her cheerleading days, moping around the Popular's Corner."
The gang redirected to the Popular's Corner and coincidently saw Milene there. But she was not moping. She was gossiping, surrounded by all the students at the school.
"OMG!"
"I KNOW!"
"OMG!"
"I KNOW!"
"OMG!"
"I know."
The cheerleaders kept squealing "OMG" and Milene kept squealing "I Know" randomly.
"She doesn't look like she's moping." Axel commented from what he saw.
Trish looked back at Rian, "btw, Rian, she wants you."
"I know." Rian sighed exasperatedly, "She's been wanting me since I became a bad boy." He then paused, looking up in thought, "maybe it's not such a bad thing."
Trish rolled her eyes, "No. She's been wanting you to talk about the Creepy Freshman. It sounds like you two share some…" she cleared her throat uncomfortably before whispering, "history… together. Gasp!"
Sierra gasped again. All eyes turned on Rian. Rian looked nervous, "History?" he gulped, "with the Creepy Freshman?"
"Hey, maybe you're creepy too!" Talen joked, and Skyler laughed with him. The two bumped fists.
"That's not funny." Terra told Talen, "Maybe by that, she means something more." Terra gave the gang a stern look. The teens, Donald and Goofy immediately got the signal. Maybe that Creepy Freshman has some history about the Dark Keybearer! "Ohhh…" they said in unison.
But Rian still looked confused, "What?" he squealed.
"What are you waiting for boy?" Skyler provoked, "Go out there and get some!" he pushed Rian in front.
"I'm coming with you!" Axel insisted, "I wanna see what that Creepy Freshman looks like."
"Oh no, you don't, Axelicious!" Trish pulled Axel by the colon dragging him back to the gang, "You're staying here with me!" she restrained him in a hug. "HEY!" Axel struggled.
"You be careful out there, Rian!" Donald called out to Rian.
"Ha-Yuck. Don't wanna be ya!" Goofy muttered.
Rian looked back at his friends who were waving goodbye at him like he was about to go out to war. But he wasn't even going to war. He was going to meet Milene, where through her, would end up meeting… the Creepy Freshman!
…maybe they were saying goodbye to him forever.
"Curse my bad boy charm." He grumbled, before facing the gossiping group in front of him. Here goes, he sighed, approaching Rian. All heads looked away from Milene toward Rian. Realizing what was going on behind her, Milene looked back.
"Rian!" she screamed and tackled him in a tight hug. "Whoa! Hey!" Rian grunted.
"Don't let her take you!" Milene squealed.
Rian looked back at the gang and shouted, "TAKE ME?" The gang exchanged glances of concern.
Milene released Rian and placed her hand on his cheek, "That Creepy Freshman." She said, frowning, "She wants to take you for herself, and she asked me to tell you to go to her. Well, guess what? I'm NOT gonna let her! You're staying with me, River Pooh! You belong to ME!" she hugged him again, and all the cheerleaders were squealing dramatically in response.
"River Poo?" Rian frowned in disgust, just at the sound of that name. The heroes who overheard, couldn't help but laugh.
"Wait a minute." Rian pulled Milene from the hug, "That Creepy Freshman… what does she looks like?"
"Creepy, duh."
"Could you be more specific?"
Milene looked up in thought for what felt like hours of thinking. Everyone who were listening to this story leaned in to hear what she had to say at any second.
"No. Doesn't ring a bell." She blurted out. Rian sighed, discouraged.
"Wait!" Milene spoke again, "I know something. She was with that flesh-eating zombie. It was disgusting and eating up its skin alive… oh gross…"
Trishelle approached Milene, captivated by her story, with a notepad on hand, "you mean the flesh eating devil?"
"That's the one!" Milene said, "…and she was carrying a Death-Scythe."
"A death-scythe?" everyone gasped.
"Yeah…" Milene replied, "…but it was in a strange shape. Like in a giant key or something."
The moment the heroes heard 'key', they knew immediately. Keyblade! They said together. The watching students turned their attention to them, captivating by that word as if they knew more. The heroes froze up.
"Err…" Axel hesitated.
"You know something, don't you Axel?" Trish narrowed her eyes on him.
"No, not really." Axel shook his head, "Why would we… ahem… why would we know something? We don't know Keyblade about nothing!"
Suddenly the Keyblade found itself to Rian's hands. All the students saw that and gasped.
"Uh-oh…" Donald mumbled.
Trishelle slowly stepped toward Rian, her eyes beaming at the Keyblade, "What is that?" she asked.
Rian moved the Keyblade behind him and grinned, "Nothing! Gotta go!" Rian took off in a mad dash. "HEY!" Trishelle screamed.
"Hey wait! Don't leave me here, River Pooh!" Milene went after the heroes who had also taken off with Rian. An angry Trishelle barked, "They KNOW something! AFTER THEM!" she called in her student body mob and they charged down the hallways after the heroes. "You're not leaving me here alone too, Taylor!" Skyler barked, chasing from behind.
xXx
The Keyhole Portal opened up inside the Gummi Ship's Atrium, where the heroes materialized after being chased by the student mob.
"These kids are onto us." Matt sighed.
"You had to open your mouth did you?" Violet scolded Axel.
Axel shrugged, "Hey, don't look at me! We were all thinking the same thing! And don't blame me, blame Rian for summoning that Keyblade!" He shot him a cold glare, "Showoff."
"Hey, I didn't show off! That thing came to me!" Rian protested.
"Speaking of what we were thinking…" Terra went over to the ship's computer. Donald and Goofy followed.
"Whatchu looking for?" Donald asked him.
"Something to help us locate the Creepy Freshmen." Terra said, "Without ever been spotted."
He finally found the location, "There." He declared, "It appears that she dwells deep down in the school's basement in isolation." He faced the teens, "One of you must go down there to meet with her and get some information out of her."
"But how can we even do that, without people questioning us?" Pierre asked, "Now pretty much everyone in the school is gonna know our secret."
"I got an idea." Donald stepped in, raised his finger up in the air and cried out, "SHAKRRAAH!!"
A powerful bolt of Thundaga struck the teens hard. "YEEEOWWWCH!" The bolt vanished, leaving the teens completely smoked and on the ground.
"Jeez, man! What was that?" Talen barked at Donald.
"It's called Sparking Vanitas." Donald said, "It's a spell of memory erasure, that in less than 24 hours, everyone who saw you will forget what has happened."
"Gee, that gotta hurt." Goofy said. Then Rian agreed, "Yeah, does it had to hurt like that?"
"You deserved it." Donald said.
"So, any volunteers planning to meet with this… Creepy Freshman?" Terra asked the group. There were blank stares everywhere.
"Hey, I know who to send." Violet proposed before turning her attention toward Axel. Then all eyes went on Axel. Axel stared back at the many eyes staring, not liking where this is going. "Ohh no, no, no, no, no." he shook his head swiftly.
"Aw come on now, you wanted to volunteer no?" Talen teased him.
"I was joking!" Axel barked, "Can't you guys learn to take a joke? Why can't any of you go?"
Everyone stepped back in response, with collective head-shaking and phrases like "no!" or "are you out of your mind?" or "That's madness." coming out of them.
"Okay, fine!" Axel raised his hands in surrender. But then after a short pause he added with a poker face, "But how about we determine who gets to go while we play a game of—!"
"NOTIT!" everyone but Axel yelled out.
"Aw, COME ON!"
xXx
Axel stepped into the school's basement, and as usual it was dark and not such an unpleasant place to hang out for a long time. Dang it, you say one thing, they perceive another, Axel mumbled, blaming the others for the mess he was getting himself into.
A cracking sound was heard behind him and he looked back, startled. He saw nothing. He gulped.
"Maybe I should summon my Keyblade…" he muttered. But then he quickly shook head, dismissing the idea, "No. It's best that Ikeep it low profile."
A bat flew by and he almost screamed. He didn't see another thing again.
"Aw, who am I kiddin'?" he summoned his Keyblade and morphed it into his Dessert Eagle. With a gun in hand, now he felt comfortable… or he felt like being in one of those action/horror movies where the next victim goes into danger further and further until the moment he let his guard down, bam. He's dead.
"HEY!"
"AAAH!!" he turned around and pulled the trigger. The impact resounded and caused the bullet to shatter something that forced the lights to get turned on. Axel saw Trishelle. Axel quickly made his gun vanish when Trish wasn't looking, staring at the bullet hole on the wall. She then faced him, startled.
"Whoa! Geez!" Axel gasped, "I'm so sorr—!"
"SHHH!" Tishelle hissed before pulling Axel's arm and quickly dragging him to a hiding place. She then whispered harshly, "What are you doing talking at a high voice when we're actually facing a criminal here?" she scolded.
"Criminal?" Axel looked confused.
"That Creepy Freshman has a freaking gun!" she whispered, "We're not dealing with someone with social issues, we're dealing with a full-blown psychopath! And she almost killed my Axelicious here!"
"Yeah, man! We are dealing with crazy… people out here." Axel quickly played along, before breathing a quick sigh of relief. She almost discovered his secret, and what's worse he almost blew up her head at the same moment. Now she's thinking the Creepy Freshman is behind the gunshot. "That was close"he said to you, breaking the fourth wall.
"Who are you talking to?" Trish asked him, catching him at a bad time. He turned to face her, looking sincere, "Forget about what am I doing! What are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you!" Trish replied, "Ever since we started talking about the Creepy Freshmen, you and your friends suddenly got tensed up. And you never even answered to my question? You said something about Keyshape or whatever. Now, Skyler think you guys are going crazy like the Creepy Freshman."
"Look. She's not creepy. She's just a girl with insecurities." Axel theorized, "If we talk to her and listen to her story, she might come around and not be creepy anymore."
A smudgy skeleton hand grabbed on tight to Axel's clavicle and effortlessly pulled him back into the darkness. "AAAAAH!!" Trishelle screamed, then made a run for it. Something fell from the ceiling, blocking Trishelle's road: Nix Vers. 2, the same creature that Kami holds as pet! His skeleton eyehole transfixed her in place, and allowed Spider heartless to materialize before her in an inexhaustible army. Trishelle knew exactly what to do.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
xXx
xXx
Everyone was quiet inside the Gummi Ship. Donald and Goofy were playing Chess, Terra was just chilling, and the teens were doing what they love doing the most: hanging out and playing some video games on their PSP.
Sierra, sensing something was totally wrong, put down the romance novel book she was reading and said, "Guys, I'm worried about Axel. He hasn't even called once!"
"We're expecting his call every fifteen minutes. It's only been nine minutes, Sierra." Pierre told his girlfriend.
"I know! But—!"
"Hey." Talen suddenly got an insight, "I just got an idea! What if, just imagine this, what if the Creepy Freshman had lost its hand to an extremely bad fire accident, and he used all of that hand to effortlessly kidnap Axel without putting much of a struggle? Wouldn't that be cool?"
Talen received no response. Just blank stares. Talen felt the tension, "What?" he said.
"Boy aren't you gonna feel so sorry if that actually happens." Matt said before the ship's door shifted open and Skyler stormed inside, uninvited! The alerted heroes stood up, "Skyler?" Taylor exclaimed.
"You won't believe what just happened today. Trishelle has actually met the Creepy Freshman and she got traumatized on a full-scale level."
"What?" the heroes all gasped, standing up.
"And that monster has captured your little daredevil buddy Axel." He added to the announcement and the heroes boomed out, "WHAAAT?!"
"Yeah! There's no way in reasoning with this lady Malade now." He referred to the Creepy Freshman "She is one crazy yoooohooo!" he sang.
"See I told you! Axel's in trouble!" Sierra shouted.
"We gotta get him guys." Rian proposed, "We don't know who we will be facing up against but we gotta find him. Now if only we could—!"
"NOTIT!" Everyone but Rian shouted out. Rian just stood there, totally blanked.
"Okay, wh-wh wh-wh-wha…" he stammered, "what are you doing?" he tried not to sound too edgy.
"We're giving you the torch of the Brave." Goofy said and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I don't want no torch of Brave," Rian disputed, "I want—!"
The team took further distance from Rian. "…to leave you alone huh?" Rian gloomily finished his sentence.
"Hey cool! Sweet setup!" Skyler said, staring around the Gummi Ship interior before facing the heroes, "Where did you get this ship?"
Everyone hesitated, not knowing what to say. This Skyler guy was too much in their business. But then Goofy lit up, like a lightbulb came up above his head. "It's not a ship Skyler, it's for Drama Class."
Skyler cocked his head on one side, "huh?"
"Yeah!" Donald added, already liking Goofy's idea, "we're rehearsing for the next school play of Star Trek!"
Everyone noticed Skyler's frowning. Then Terra put in the finishing touch, "This week, we are gonna battle the Orcean Army of Unversed in Fat Suits and Freaky glasses."
The teens giggled as Skyler pulled back, repulsed, "Ugh… please! No more of that geek stuff! I'm outta here!" he stormed out.
Taylor let out a sigh of relief among the others, "Phew, and I thought he was gonna figure it out."
"Yeah, thanks guys!" Talen said to Donald, Goofy, and Terra.
"Just remember next time, we're not cleaning up your mess." Terra warned.
xXx
Axel slowly opened his eyes at the creaking sound of a rocking wood chair dancing in the chilly wind. He blinked hard several times, clearing up the blurry image of darkness circling in front of him and saw himself in an old abandoned room that smelled like smoke and looked like trash everywhere. It took him a second to realize he was still in the school's basement at a new section, trapped on another rocking chair, his wrists bounded by dark magic in the form of bracelet.
"What the…?"
He moved his wrist an inch and the dark magic released sparks, shocking him. "Waaa!" he yelped, the shock finally woke him up. He tried to move his feet also, and same scenario. He tried to struggle but then feared he was gonna get jolted again. He looked around, "Hey! What's going on here?" he shouted.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSCHHHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
A high-pitch scream that sounded like a preying snake rented the room. Axel froze up. His eyes stared at every corner of the room, searching for the freak that just hissed. "…what was that?" his voice shook.
On cue, Nix vers. 2 came up to his face, "HIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSCHHHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The rocking chair sent Axel to the ground and shattered. The dark magic vanished too and Axel quickly stood up. The creature pinned Axel on the wall before he even had a chance to react.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSCHHHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" the creature breathed again. Axel frowned in repulse, "Oh my GASH! You really need to get a breath mint!!"
"Same sense of humor as always." The voice of Death-Scythe caught their attention. Nix vers. 2 rushed up to her and to its other Nix half who was lurking behind her like a shadow. Axel appeared surprised yet frightened to see Death-Scythe.
She noticed Axel was no longer bounded on the rocking chair, "I see you have easily broken away from my dark magic. No doubt, you really are him. The one who PKed my brother."
"PK?" Axel said, "What are you talking about?"
"Like you don't know… Thunder."
Axel flinched, thinking a thunder bolt was gonna strike him. It took him a few second to realize she wasn't casting any magic. She was calling him Thunder. She called him by the wrong name.
"Whoa, wait a minute, Thunder? I'm not who you think— WHOAAH!"
Axel got cut off when Nix suddenly pinned him to the wall. Its piranha teeth got close to his face and slowly moved up and down as if scanning him.
"What are you talking about you're not Thunder?" Death-Scythe spoke as Nix was analyzing him, "Don't lie to me boy! You smell like a Keybearer, and my assassin's a Keybearer. A PKer!"
"I'm not lying to you!" Axel protested, "I'm telling you the truth! I'm Axel and," he hesitated, glancing over at the staring Nix, "…y-yes I'm a Keybearer, but I'm just a cosplay character… I mean, not a cosplay character! And…c-could you tell this freak to move an inch away from me, unless he wants to feast on me for dinner? I would really appreciate it." He finished with a nervous chuckle.
Nix stared back at Death-Scythe and shook his head. Death-Scythe growled, "Grrr…" she angrily slammed her Death-Scythe on the ground, "DAMNIT where is he? That girl LIED to me!" she mumbled as Nix returned to her side, "If I ever see her the next time, it's 'Good Night World' for her."
There was an awkward silence in the room. Axel noticed her weapon and spoke, "Hey, you must be the Creepy Freshman everyone is talking about!"
Death-Scythe glared back at him. He gulped, "… and you must be the Keybearer of Darkness too."
"So what if I am?" she said before pointing her scythe at him threateningly, forcing his hands up in the air, "And don't call me Creepy Freshman again or else—!"
"It's 'Good Night World' for me. Yeah, I get the message. Can I…" he gulped, "Can I go home now? I promise I won't tell a soul about you."
Death-Scythe thoughtfully pondered. She then stared back at Axel, glaring more murderously, "Why would I do that, when you're his bait?"
Axel didn't like where this was going, "aw, come on…"
xXx
Rian reached down the school hallway toward the Popular's Corner, which as usual was always crowded. This time it was crowded because they all wanted to see a traumatized Trishelle. Rian could hear her inside the School's Newspaper room.
"This is Trishelle Banks, High school's most… (shuddering)… reliable gossip girl. Getting all the…(shuddering)… dishes on the what's what, who's who, and everything… (shuddering)…unspeakable to you…"
Rian saw Tidus and Zidane there and he approached them, "Hey Tidus! What's going on?"
"Rian, what's up?" Tidus cheerfully greeted him.
"Looks like you came in just at the right time." Zidane told him, "Gossip girl's having a breakdown."
"Breakdown?" Rian repeated, and Tidus and Zidane nodded. Rian squeezed through the crowded students and saw Trishelle in front of him, sitting and rocking back and forth behind a wall and surrounded by books and magazines. Milene was with her.
"Whoa… talk about a breakdown." Rian muttered.
"This isn't funny, you know?" Milene shot back at Rian, "She had to face that creature all alone after your friend abandoned her!"
"Axel didn't abandon her. The Creepy Freshman captured him!" Rian said, and Trishelle blurted out, "OHHH, the world is ending with us!!"
"Actually, the world ends with you." Rian joked. Milene and Trishelle glared back at Rian. Rian stopped smiling, "Sorry."
"RIAN!" Rian heard Sierra calling out to him. She entered the room and saw the mess in front of her. Milene saw Sierra and she turned cold. Sierra saw the unwelcoming staring, "Wow, talk about nervous breakdown at a young age." She said.
"Ah-Ha!" Milene mocked, "Very funny. Now why could it not have been YOU to go there? You stole my Pageant crown you know?"
Sierra rolled her eyes before Rian responded, "We took a vote." He then glared back at Sierra, "a vote which I was suddenly not a part of."
"Oh stop whining and take this!" Sierra grabbed Rian's hand and placed something on his palm. Rian saw the object. "A charm?" he observed its shape which highly resembled the one Kairi gave to Sora, and the one Aqua gave to Terra and Ven. He touched the skin and looked grossed out, "made of banana peel? Wow, how thoughtful, Kairi wannabe."
"HEY!" Sierra barked, "It took me hours to make that stupid thing, alright! And it worked for the others! They came back together again!"
"Okay, okay!" Rian said, putting the charm in his back pocket, "I'll remember to cherish it always while I'm gone."
"WAIT A MINUTE!" Milene shot up to her feet and rushed to Rian, "YOU'RE LEAVING?!" she bawled.
"Well, yeah. I gotta go rescue my friend from the Creepy Freshman." Rian explained, "I'll be back, I got a charm!"
Milene glared back at Sierra, "You steal my crown and are getting rid of my boyfriend?! You NEVER want me to have happiness don't you? Why don't you just rip out my heart?" Milene stormed out of the room, "MOVE!" she screamed and the students pushed themselves away from her to give her room.
"HEY, what about me?!" Trish went after the popular vixen, "Don't leave me here!"
xXx
Night fell again in the school. Thunder peeked inside the abandoned hallway. It was dark again, so he was carrying a flashlight that was shedding only the faintest light. As usual there was no one in the room.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" he called out but only got an echo. He bravely stepped into the hallway and heard his footstep creaking on the ground. He couldn't see anything, except that small light coming from the moon outside through an opened window.
"Jeez, what is this place? A haunted house?" he thought before turning off his flashlight and gave his necklace a slight tap. The necklace radiated a shining light, illuminating the entire basement and revealing a crowd of spider heartless: eighteen small ones, six medium ones, and three giant ones. Thunder startled at his menacing childhood fear facing him. He slowly paused for combat.
xXx
xXx
The army of spider heartless came face-to-face with Thunder. Thunder had already summoned his Keyblade and ready for battle.
The heartless army jumped. Thunder struck them one by one with his Keyblade, twisting and turning as he swung in grace. But the more he attacked the more aggressive they became. The assault felt like it was gonna go on forever.
The heartless army jumped back for an intermission. Thunder stood still with his Keyblade, exhausted and unable to move. The giant spiders heartless saw that chance to attack with their web string. Johnny dodge-rolled out of the way then used his Skid ability to skid around the spiders who were chasing him with their strings. The little spiders tried to jump on him again but he knocked them away before they could land on him while skidding away from the strings.
He reached behind the spiders and fully launched his Blast attack, propelling the spiders to oblivion. The little spiders were left. They rushed toward him and he dodged with a somersault and in midair, he twirled his Keyblade gracefully like a swordsman and raised it up to the ceiling, casting a Thunder Spell on the creatures. The impact blasted them but then it hit Thunder to the ground with recoil.
Thunder sat up, exhausted from the battle he just endured. Then a small spider jumped on his shoulder and tried to bit him. He yelped, quickly grabbed on the spider, slammed it on the ground, and squished it with his foot.
"Ew, ew, ew…" Thunder shuddered, stepping away as the spider vanished, "Next time I see a spider, I'm gonna keel over."
He made his Keyblade disappeared and turned around, "Whoa!" He jumped at the sight of a figure, standing a few feet in front of him.
It was Death-Scythe! Nix, the Assassin version, was lurking behind her like a shadow as always.
The girl stared coldly at Thunder. Thunder sighed, "Girl, you gave me a scare!"
"Hmph." was all that came out of her.
"Now why don't you run along back home and--!" Thunder stopped, noticing Death-Scythe's weapon. Rian smiled at the figure, "Hey, cool scythe!"
Thunder immediately stopped smiling, feeling cagy, "Hey, wait a second…"
The girl swung her weapon and posed for combat.
"Johnny Thunder Keyblade." the girl spoke in a moody serious tone, "Just the PK I was looking for all these years."
"PK?" Thunder suddenly felt tense, "Wait a minute… you're not--! Are you--! You're the one who's--?!"
"Quit your yammering and fight!" the girl swung her scythe behind her, and to Thunder's surprise, the scythe turned back into a Keyblade. She posed again for combat.
"The Keybearer of Darkness…" Thunder gasped.
"Death Spirit Mode!" she said before raising her Keyblade and it morphed into a Kusarigama. She swung it menacingly.
"Wait! Whoa! I don't wanna fight you!" Thunder exclaimed, but the girl didn't listen. She twirled her Kusarigama in the air and swung its end right at Thunder. Thunder thrust his hands up and his Keyblade appeared to him again. The Kurasigama wrapped around Thunder's Keyblade and pulled it off his grasp.
"Hey, that's cheatin'!" Thunder shouted. The Keyblade reached Death-Scythe's grasp, but before she got the chance to grab it, it disappeared in a million bits. Thunder stared in horror.
"Cheatin'?" Death-Scythe snapped, "Says the guy who PK'ed my brother! And you think this is cheatin'?"
"What?"
"I, Death Scythe, will end your world!" she angrily swung her Kurasigama again, this time its end touched the ground and she bounced into the air as a momentum. Thunder watched her fly and then descend toward him with her weapon's blade pointing down. She struck him hard then followed in a two-hit combo, sweeping him off his feet. Thunder crashed through the school's roof into the air, where the girl chased after him, Dissidia-style.
Her weapon turned to her death-scythe again during the chase and she swung at Thunder again, sending him flying further into the moonlight. She then appeared upside-down facing Thunder, her cold eyes on him.
"You killed my brother! And now I'm going to kill you!" she yelled before taking another swing of her death-scythe and Thunder flew further to the sky into the school's flag pole, splitting it. The air chase went on. The girl was ready to deliver the final blow, but then Thunder flipped, dodging the attack. His Keyblade had reappeared to his grasp and he swung at the girl. The girl blocked the attack with her Death-Scythe and the two weapons were locked-on each other.
"Why are you doing this? I don't want to fight you!" Thunder yelled.
"…you just wanna run." The girl hissed.
"Look! I don't know who you are, really, but I didn't kill anyone! I don't know your brother! I don't even know you!"
"You're a liar, you know that! You know who I am. The Creepy Freshman, is that right? Is that what everyone's been calling me at school since then? They don't KNOW what happened to me and my brother since the accident!"
"Accident?"
The two weapons separated and the girl swung at Thunder again, sending him to the ground. His fall impact shaved most of the concrete entryway of the school. The girl landed on her feet and stabbed her death-scythe to the ground.
"Well let me tell you what everyone should be calling me: Naraku Death-Scythe Shinigami, the Keybearer of Death. Bringing justice to criminals of the Kingdom Hearts Online HD World." She pointed her death-scythe at Thunder again, "And you are no free man to me."
"Such… unbelievable strength…" Thunder struggled to stand on his feet, but immediately fell, too weak to hold on.
"That's right. Grovel and beg while you can. If I were you, I would pray instead." She raised her death-scythe and brought it to a descent. Her weapon suddenly vanished at the resounding of gunfire.
"What?" Death-Scythe shouted, looking around to see who did that. She saw no one, "Who's interrupting?" she hissed.
"Yoohoo…" Nix heard something and before he could turn around, felt a kick in the face, and fell to the ground in front of Death-Scythe. She looked back but saw no one.
"Sorry girl, but I can't let you do that." She heard Axel's voice but she couldn't see him. Thunder heard him too but couldn't spot him either. Suddenly he saw him, as Sharx, fading in like an image and sneaking behind Death-Scythe. "There's one thing you need to know girl."
He thrusted a kick on her back by surprise, sending her to the ground. He finished, "…I'm in Stealth Mode."
"Err… Sharx?" Thunder tried to warn him.
Death-Scythe turned to face Sharx who was approaching. He kept kicking her, bullying her, and tossing her side by side, not realizing he wasn't invisible anymore.
"I am invisible," he claimed, "and I can attack you any way I want without even revealing myself." He readied a kick.
"Sharx!" Thunder yelled out, and Sharx threw his kick at Death-Scythe, but Death-Scythe vanished and he missed. She reappeared behind him and clutched him by his hair. Sharx gasped.
"…you're not in Stealth Mode anymore." Thunder finished his warning.
Death-Scythe suddenly emitted a violet aura and her eyes went white. Teeth grew fangs and her face turned grizzly-like. Her clutch tightened Sharx's hair as the aura overwhelmed her and she screamed, "GGGYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOWWW!!"
The whole front entryway started shaking, releasing rocks from the concrete road and releasing winds everywhere. Sharx struggled, trying to release himself. Thunder finally stood up and watched in awe to Death-Scythe sudden transportation.
"PSYCHOOOO!" she yelled out, finally looking like a bloodthirty hound, ready to kill for thrill. As she cackled psychotically the guys looked on as if the world was coming to an end. The still-struggling Sharx returned to his Axel-self. He was losing his life fast.
"AXEL!" Thunder cried out. He aimed his Keyblade at Death-Scythe. She easily snatched the Keyblade from him telepathically and it morphed to her death-scythe. She aimed at him, speaking with a changed voice, "YoU'rE fInIsHeD! YeAaAaAH! Ha! hA! Ha! hA! Ha! hA! Ha! hA! Ha! hA!"
Thunder transfixed, unable to do a thing.
Suddenly a small burst of air split the group apart. It was Cross, in Bike Mode! Cross had casted a Gust attack on the gang. He wasn't alone, Soledad and Flora came in also, rushing up to the guys to help them.
"Are you all right?" Soledad asked.
"Y-yeah… never better." Axel grunted, exhausted from almost being instant-killed.
"You guys are pretty banged up." Flora told Axel and Rian. Cross, still on his bike, pointed his Keyblade at Death-Scythe. "It's over now, Death-Scythe." He said to her.
She got up, weaponless, still looking pissed, "Oh, look! You brought your whole posse with you."
"Listen to reason, Death-Scythe!" Soledad spoke, "These guys came to you for help."
"We need your help in accessing the Kingdom Hearts world and with your power you can." Cross added.
"And you attacked them?" Flora exclaimed, "How low."
"Johnny Thunder needs my help?" Death-Scythe snarled, "He killed my brother!"
"I didn't—!" Thunder tried to speak but Death-Scythe cut him off, "Look. I got reliable sources from Alistare that the person behind the crime inflicted on Tenshu was done by you, Thunder. You expect me to believe that you're the good guy?"
"Alistare…" everyone knew that name, before Cross spoke out, "Hey, you got this all wrong. Alistare works for our real enemy the Blackhearts. He's playing you to get justice on the wrong person."
"He's the enemy." Axel added, still recovering.
"The enemy?" Death-Scythe blinked, her Psycho Mode suddenly diminished to Normal Mode, before she reverted back to Kami. Cross, Soledad, Flora, and Thunder reverted back to their regular form. Everyone gathered together, "What do you mean Alistare is the enemy?" Kami spoke, wanting to know why Alistare be called an enemy by these Keybearers.
"Alistare the Mastermind is using you to get what he wants," Matt explained, "and that is our hearts of Pure Bravery. They are thirteen Keybearers besides us six who too possesses that heart. Three more are back at the Gummi Ship, and four more has yet to be identified. And then there's you. But we're telling you, you are being played by the enemy."
"I won't be surprised if he sends something to attack you right this minute, betraying your trust." Flora added.
"Trust is the last thing I need to put in people." Kami said, "and right now, I can't trust you and your words. What makes you think Alistare is the enemy?"
Nix vers. 2 sneaked behind Kami, ready to launch a surprise attack on her. Rian warned, "Watch out!"
Nix vers. 2 leapt on Kami. Kami teleported out of the way. The creature hissed at the teens. The teens, without transforming summoned their Keyblades, including Kami.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSCHHHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" The creature hissed again. The teens saw themselves surrounded by a double team of Nix vers.2.
"What in hell…?" Axel gasped.
"Heel, Nix." Kami ordered the creature but the creature didn't response. It still looked edgy, its many images paced around the teens like lions. "Heel!" Kami tried again, nothing.
"You got your proof. Happy now?" Violet told Kami.
"Okay, why isn't it listening to me?" Kami asked.
"It is listening to me now." They heard Alistare's voice now and directed their attention toward him. Nix the Assassin was behind him like a shadow now, no longer lurking behind Kami.
"Alistare…" Rian angrily said his name.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kami barked at the Blackheart Mastermind.
"Things have changed." He said.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"I am talking about your sudden conversion to the enemy." Alistare said, giving her a disappointing stare. He then faced Matt with that same stare, "Already knowing a few besides you."
Violet noticed the tension between Matt and Alistare, but the others didn't.
"We had a deal Alistare." Kami barked.
"And have you kept part of your deal?" he asked her, then answered, "Didn't think so. Nix!" he readied his finger for a snap, "Commence." He ordered before snapping his finger and vanished on cue. The Nixes took mad dash toward the Keybearers.
The Nix Assassin jumped on Rian and delivered ninja combos at him. Rian nimbly dodged most of them but got struck by the finisher. The teens gathered to fight the Nix vers. 2's team but they were too quick for them. They threw slashes and delivered bloody combos at them while Nix Assassin kept landing flip kicks and jabs at them, almost wiping them all off. The whole show felt like in an action movie, with the teens trying to fight the army of Nix creatures but the ninja would always get in the way and being too good for them.
The ninja suddenly summoned a katana blade and raised it up in the air while mumbling some gibberish spell. The flesh-eating creatures that followed the ninja-like figure jumped on the teens as if in response to his mumbling. The teens all screamed.
"No way you're getting your way!" Axel yelled out, before pushing the creature off him. He faced the creature, morphed his Keyblade to his Dessert Eagle and shot at the creatures. Rian joined him and with his Keyblade performed his FOCUS MODE, consecutively blasting enemies as Axel kept shooting. Kami sneaked behind them, her weapon, now looking like a laser scythe, was up in the air. She cried out "TRI-EDGE!" as she descended in front of the boys and halved on the enemies twice before harnessing immense energy on the scythe to create the final/third strike, causing fatal damage on them.
Matt and Taylor fought the creatures side-by-side, their backs on each other, swinging at the creatures. Matt and Taylor then faced each other, nodding and quickly transforming into their Keybearers form, pushing away the Nix vers.2s.
"And my demons lay in waiting…?" Cross said to Soledad and Soledad added in response, smiling, "…tempting me away."
They clasped hands and the duo performed a Cyclone Blazer, Cross twirled with Soledad, creating a Cyclone-style move while Soledad with her Keyblade pointed forward, forming a wheel of fire around it, dancing with the cyclone and scorching enemies at bay like wildfire.
Violet fought one-on-one with Nix. As Nix delivered jabs and flip-kicks, Flora countered with her Keyblade and soared in thrusts, kicks, somersaults and back-flips, fighting like professional ninjas. She blocked one kick and threw a forward one, sending Nix flying. She went into a Dancing Breeze Mode and quickly attacked Nix in a flurry of swings, finishing it with a slam of the Keyblade to the ground, raiding the enemy to oblivion.
The gang noticed the enemies were defeated. Cross and Soledad morphed back to their regular forms.
This isn't over, Keybearers. The gang could hear Alistare's voice renting the moonlit sky like a god, Someday you will greet your end! His voice faded out in laughter.
"Everyone okay?" Matt asked.
"We're okay." Axel breathed in relief.
"Boy, what a rush!" Rian sighed.
Kami stepped away from the group. Rian called out to her. "Hey, where are you going?"
"Going after my brother." She said without looking back.
"By yourself?" Taylor sounded surprised, "You can't do this by yourself!"
"Someone's gotta bring justice to these runts!" Kami sounded angry, "They tricked me into thinking that you guys killed my brother."
"But why bring justice on them alone when you have allies with you?" Axel told her.
"Sorry. I work alone." Kami said.
"Hey, come on now." Axel approached Kami, placing his hand on her shoulder. She glared at his hand, then back at him. Axel moved it away.
"Look, I know we have our differences." Rian said, "but to be honest, we too are fighting for a cause. The Kingdom Hearts world and our world are in trouble of being dominated by the Blackheart Dominion. They recently locked us out of the world and stolen Snow White's heart."
Kami looked surprised, "One of the Princesses of Hearts?" everyone nodded to her question. Kami's face showed no emotion, but deep down there was concern; concern that the hearts of Pure Light were in grave peril from being stolen by the Blackheart Dominion, and these are the same Blackhearts that tricked her.
Rian went on, "We need to head back to the Kingdom Hearts world if we can, and you can do this since you can manipulate their powers with your own dark one. Come on, Kami. I know you don't want to do this, hanging out with us. But together we're a team. What do you say?"
Everyone awaited Kami's response.
xXx
Alistare watched through the glass window of the Dominion's Lounge to stare at the endless nightsky, like he didn't give a care of the world. He then senses a presence behind him. Already giving an hint at who it was through the glass' reflection, he greeted his comrade, "Ah, Denzol…"
He then turned to face him, "…the Demeanor."
"Tell me Alistare. What are you planning?" he asked, oh-so-quietly.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I overheard you talk to Phantamis the other day."
"Oh, so you know?"
"Of course I know!" Denzol suddenly exploded, "We're supposed to be trapping these Keybearers pest to this world, not locking them out to their real world! Damnit, we have a mission to fulfill!"
Alistare suddenly grabbed Denzol by the neck and lifted him up, "You'll learn to treat me with respect, boy. I may not be the leader of this group, but I'm the oldest. And wisest! So no foul mouth got it?"
"You may be the wisest…" Denzol choked, "but my foul mouth will… run you like a truck either way… so put me down and tell me… what… the… hell… is going on?"
Alistare and Denzol exchanged glares in this tensing moment of silence. Then Alistare released him. Denzol fell on his knee, coughing.
"Smart mouth." Alistare mumbled, "Since I already explained to Phantamis, perhaps I shall tell you. Maurchel plans to betray us."
Denzol looked surprised, "…how?"
"He's been visiting the Room of Sleep for some times, paying frequent visit to Father." He then faced Denzol, "He plans to revive Master Xehanort."
He looked back out the window. Denzol looked more and more confused, "But… isn't that good news? And what does this has to do with locking the…" Denzol stopped talking, suddenly getting the message, "Oh… you mean…"
"Yes." He said, "The Thirteen Hearts of Pure Bravery are essential to revive our Father. But these hearts will also give us ultimate power to Kingdom Hearts. So I had no choice…"
"…but to lock the Keybearers back in their world." Denzol finished and Alistare nodded.
"Of course it won't be long until they find their way back in. And Father gave us the will to fight for power." He said, "We have matured ever since his loss. We're not going to be acting like children of war anymore. It'll be back to square one if he ever revives."
Alistare then faced Denzol, "That's why I did what I had to do. In the meantime, we'll focus on our mission for the Kingdom Hearts. And the Kingdom Hearts we will be focused on. Nothing else."
xXx
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Hiya, guys? This is King Mickey Mouse, giving you an update of what's gonna happen next time on Online HD! The roster is almost complete, as Jean-Michel Elincio, Denzel, and Trayne will all debut in this next lengthy chapter, as the teens are getting ready for the biggest event worth waiting for the year: the Winter Homecoming Ball! What mayhem shall awaits them during this eventful bout? And stay tuned as one of their mortal friends finally learns their secret… and Talen gets a disturbing vision that could affect them all, forever.
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Next Chapter:: Homecoming