Looming Darkness: Daybreak

by Shadow Horizons

Part I. Sora, Kairi and Riku are looking forward to a somewhat normal life. However, Maleficent has returned with powerful new allies, seeking revenge and control of Kingdom Hearts. All the while, an old enemy's revival is close at hand. Will our heroes be prepared? Or will they be consumed by the everlasting darkness? Rated M for language, violence, and some adult themes.

21. The Heart of Atlantis

Hello all.

Anybody go see the Hangover 2 yet? I'm hesitating. I don't think it's going to be as great as the first one honestly. But I did like the trailer. So I don't know.

Anyway, onto business. In this chapter, I touch on a specific subject that some people are uncomfortable with. No, it's not racism or biggotry or anything homophobic. I can't say what it is here because I don't like to give major spoilers.

Disclaimer: I still only own my plot and original characters, weapons and worlds.

I am a bad man.

---

Chapter Twenty One: The Heart of Atlantis

Sunday, June 13th 4794 P.C.

Equus Medical Bay

Olette let out a low groan as she sat up on the slightly less than comfortable hospital bed. All of her muscles throbbed as if they had just been pulled uncomfortably in multiple directions and her head felt like it had been split in two. She raised her hands to rub her weary eyes and gave a start as she realized her right hand seemed heavier than it usually was. Glancing down, she realized that she was tightly gripping the handle of the Aubade. She immediately released her grip, staring with interest as it vanished in a hundred sparkling lights. There was a loud shout from somewhere nearby and the Aubade reappeared in her hand.

"Oh crap! Where are they?"

"Who cares? Just keep running!"

Olette got to her feet and stuck her head out of the entryway to the medical bay. Hayner and Pence, both covered in white powder dashed past as she did so.

"Hi, Olette," Pence said quickly, vanishing around a corner.

"Bye, Olette!" Hayner called, quickly following his friend around the corner.

"Um, hi? Bye?" Olette said, the Aubade vanishing from her grip again. Olette felt a gust of wind strike her as Axel and Jenos ran past, both covered in the same white powder as Hayner and Pence.

"Get back here!" Axel cried out, fire burning in his eyes and across the backs of his palms.

"Come on, you brats!" Jenos shouted. "We promise to make it quick and incredibly painful!" Olette watched them round the corner and disappear, her confusion growing.

"What just happened here?" Olette asked the empty hall in a confused tone.

She exited the medical bay and made her way up into the Equus' bridge. Xanthos was slumped over on one of the dozen or so consoles occupying most of the space in the room. Olette walked over to him and sat down in one of the chairs bolted to the floor at a nearby station.

"I don't know who I'm going to kill first; those two morons who decided to open up a pair of flour barrels by cutting them or your friends who decided to hide in said barrels," Xanthos said after several minutes of silence.

"If it was Hayner's idea, then can I kill him?" Olette suggested with a small smile. Xanthos forced himself up and rotated his chair so he was facing his Apprentice.

"I take it the Destati was successful?" He asked. Olette smirked and summoned Aubade to her hand. Xanthos beamed proudly at her.

"Now we can finally start your training," he said. Olette grinned, blinked once and Xanthos was gone. Olette quickly looked around for him but the bridge was empty. Without warning, Olette felt the Aubade kicked from her hand as a bright, glowing blue ethereal blade was pressed against her throat. "And I'm not going to make it easy on you." The blade vanished and Olette spun to face her Master. Xanthos grinned and took a drink from a bottle now clutched in his hand that was filled with an amber liquid. "I think I'm going to enjoy this." Olette stared at the bottle in her Master's hand.

"Are you drunk?" She asked. Xanthos grinned and took another swig.

"Just a tad."

LD

Cliffs Surrounding Atlantis

The five warriors lowered their spears on the survivors of the convoy. Riku and Keila exchanged a nervous glance. Neither of them had been expecting to fight something that had weapons. Heartless, maybe, but not intelligent creatures.

"Holy cats! Who are these guys?" Rourke said, slowly reaching around for his pistol so as not to startle the warriors.

"They gotta be Atlanteans," Milo said excitedly.

"What?" Keila said with a shake of her head. "That's impossible."

"I seen this back in the Dakota," Cookie said quietly in a serious tone. "They can smell fear just by lookin' at ya. So keep quiet." The centermost warrior straightened up and spoke with a strong, female voice in its strange language.

"I think it's talking to you," Mole said, tugging at Milo's arm. The female spoke again, repeating the final portion of what she had said. Milo nodded and stepped forward, awkwardly trying to speak the language, only succeeding in repeating what she had said. The woman removed her mask and posed what sounded like a question to Milo. Milo massaged his temples as he slowly translated his speech into Atlantean. The woman asked him another question.

"Ita, sum amice viator," Milo said with a smile. Riku immediately recognized the words as Latin, silently being grateful that he had taken Latin courses in middle school. The woman looked taken aback.

"Dices lunguam Romae," she said, clearly impressed.

"Parlez-vous francais?" Milo asked. The woman smiled.

"Oui, monsieur!" She said eagerly. At that, Mole forced his way to the forefront of the group.

"They speak my language!" He said excitedly. "Pardon, mademoiselle?" The woman knelt down next to him. "Ah, voulez-vous…" His voice trailed off as he whispered into the woman's ear. She made an offended expression and punched Mole in his face, knocking him back several feet.

"I like her," Sweet said, giving the woman a round of applause.

"Hmm. 'Bout time someone hit him," Audrey said with a grin. "I'm just sorry it wasn't me." The woman nodded to the other warriors and they all laid down their weapons and removed their masks to greet the adventurers. Each of them had white hair and blue tattoo markings on their bodies as well as a pale blue crystal hanging from their necks.

"Buenos dias."

"Guten tag!"

"How do they know all these languages?" Riku asked as he and Keila dispelled their Keyblades.

"Their language must be based on a root dialect," Milo theorized. "It's just like the Tower of Babel."

"What's the Tower of Babel?" Keila asked, but Milo didn't seem to hear her. Rourke placed a hand on the linguist's shoulder.

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "maybe English is in there somewhere." He shoved his way past Milo and Riku to address the woman Milo had been speaking to in Atlantean. "We are explorers from the surface world. We come in peace." Riku rolled his eyes.

Take us to your leader and hand over a few herds of cattle for us to experiment on with our laser beams. He said to himself in a sarcastic tone.

"Welcome to the city of Atlantis," the woman announced with a huge smile. She grabbed Milo by his wrist and dragged him along after her. "Come. You must speak with my father now."

"Squad B, head back to shaft and salvage what you can," Rourke ordered. "We'll rendezvous in twenty-four hours."

The woman led the group over a long, rickety old rope bridge, past the partially submerged ruins of the city's outskirts and through the winding streets to a large temple at the city's highest point. The entire time, Milo felt the need to explain to Rourke and Helga all about how to translate the Atlantean language.

"Someone's having a good time," Helga noted to Rourke, who simply smirked at her.

"Like a kid at Christmas," he agreed.

"Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here," Helga continued, dropping her voice so Milo wouldn't hear her. "This changes everything." Rourke glared at her before turning his attention back on the native woman leading them through the city.

"This changes nothing," he said.

A pair of guards opened a set of intricately carved double doors to the temple's interior. Riku, Keila and Milo all gaped as they entered. Most of the room was filled with a small pond decorated with water lilies and a set of strangely arranged stepping stones that led across the pond to a carved stone throne set in front of a broken statue. Colorful fruits were piled next to the throne and a small, yet breathtaking canopy covered the seat. An old man, dressed in regal blue and white robes sat on the throne. The king of the once proud Atlantis. He had a long white beard and eyes that were completely white with age. His balding head was tattooed with angular blue lines.

The woman approached her father, the king and knelt before him, speaking to him in Atlantean. Milo and Riku did the same while Rourke, Helga and Keila felt content to remain on their feet. The woman and her father exchanged words for a few moments and judging by the man's tone, he was not happy that the woman had led them into the city. Milo stealthily pulled out a journal and began transcribing what the two were saying onto the paper.

"Your Majesty," Rourke said, stepping forward after the woman and the king had finished their conversation, "on behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city." He bowed to the king. Milo quietly cleared his throat and attempted to stop Rourke as he approached the throne.

"You presume much to think you are welcome here," the King said in his aged and rasped voice.

"Oh, sir," Rourke said in a determinedly calm tone. "We have come a long way looking for-"

"I know what you seek," the king said, abruptly cutting the commander off. "And you will not find it here." Rourke's smile vanished. "Your journey has been in vain."

"But we are peaceful explorers," Rourke said reassuringly. "Men of science." The king chuckled.

"And yet, you bring weapons. Both your own," he stared at Rourke's pistol, "and those that brought about the great war across many worlds." He stared at Riku and Keila. Riku raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Looks like the Keyblade War found its way here too.

"Our weapons allow us to remove obstacles we may encounter," Rourke explained, placing heavy emphasis on 'obstacles'.

"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force," the king said. "Return to your people." He slowly stood up, clutching to a tall walking staff for support as he stared at Riku. "And your own world. You must leave Atlantis at once."

"Your Majesty, be reasonable," Rourke said with a smile. Milo tapped Rourke on the shoulder in an attempt to gain the commander's attention. He brushed him off. "Not now, son."

"Trust me on this," Milo whispered, "We better do as he says." Rourke considered that for a moment before looking up at the king again.

"May I respectfully request that we stay one night, sir?" He asked. "That would give us time to rest, resupply and be ready to travel by morning." The king sighed.

"Very well," he said. "One night. That is all." Rourke and the others bowed to the king.

"Well, thank you, your Majesty," Rourke said with a large smile playing on his face as the group exited the room, leaving the king and his daughter behind.

"So how'd it go?" Sweet asked as Riku and the others exited the temple. Rourke brushed past the doctor without a glance, his face displaying his irritated mood. Milo flipped open his journal to where he had translated the king's conversation with his daughter.

"Well, the king and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye," Milo explained. "She seems to like us okay, but the king… I don't know. I think he's hiding something."

"Well, if he's hiding something I want to know what it is," Rourke said.

"Someone needs to talk to that girl," Helga suggested.

"I will go!" Mole said eagerly.

"Someone with good people skills," Vinnie agreed.

"I will do it!" Mole insisted.

"Someone who won't scare her away," Sweet continued the train of thought.

"I volunteer!" Mole said.

"Someone who can speak the language," Riku said.

"For the good of the mission, I will go!" Mole proclaimed.

"Good man, Thatch," Rourke said. "Thanks for volunteering." Milo looked up in surprise as Mole burst into a round of comical tears.

"Go get 'em, tiger," Audrey said, nudging Milo on his shoulder as Keila and Riku walked off.

"So what should we do?" Keila asked Riku as the two of them descended a large staircase into the heart of the city.

"I vote for sightseeing," Dawn's voice said suddenly, startling both Riku and Keila. "How often do you get the chance to explore a city known across countless worlds that no one else has been able to find?"

"She's got a point," Keila said, intertwining her arm around Riku's and dragging him after her. "Come on, Silver! Let's go do some sightseeing.

The pair of them spent the next few hours wandering the city like a tourist would. Perhaps not quite the same as normal tourists anyway. They frequently ran into groups of Heartless as the creatures of Darkness appeared and inflicted terror on the citizens of Atlantis. Riku had to admit, he was disappointed with the different 'breeds' of Heartless that kept appearing; just a few Shadows and Hook Bats, nothing more than the weaklings. Whenever they weren't battling the forces of Darkness, Keila insisted on taking countless pictures with Riku's camera, despite his pleading for her to conserve the battery life and the memory card space.

Riku had to admit, despite the fact that the city's true beauty was marred by the crumbling architecture, the mere sight of the artwork partially concealed by the vines, the thriving plants and foliage, and the disturbingly odd looking shellfish, the reverent beauty held by the ancient city was more than enough.

Every now and again, they would run across a few members of the expedition. Milo was being given a grand tour of the city by the King's daughter, who they had learned was named Kida, which was apparently short for Kidagakash. They ran into Audrey and Cookie at a tattoo stand where Cookie showed off his tattoo of all thirty-eight United States and his ability to make Rhode Island dance just by slapping his stomach, a sight Riku, Keila and Audrey could've lived the rest of their lives without seeing. Aside from the brief moments like that, the day ended up being pretty much uneventful until the evening rolled around.

Keila froze in place as she and Riku rounded a corner into a deserted square after leaving from a lavish dinner at the home of one of Kida's friends. A woman who appeared to be in her early twenties with mocha colored skin, raven colored hair and blood-red eyes was glaring at them. Each of her ears were pierced, the earrings shaped like a pair of crossed Kingdom Key Keyblades. She was dressed in the same black cloak that the former members of Organization XIII used to wear. Her heeled boots tapped a steady, impatient beat on the ground.

"Mother," Keila whispered breathlessly, her voice heavy with fear. Riku glanced at her and back up at the woman in shock.

This is Keila's mother? The woman smiled emotionlessly at the pair and bowed slightly to Riku.

"Greetings, Master Riku," she said. "I am Master Cynthia. I do wish we could have met under more… civil circumstances, but oh well." She turned the full intensity of her glare onto Keila, who by now had shifted herself so she was half hidden behind Riku. "Keila! Were you not supposed to kill him? Why does he still breathe?"

"Mother, I-" Keila began, her voice shaking from nervousness. Riku turned his head to stare at her. In the short time that he had known Keila, he had never seen her more terrified than she did at that exact moment.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, you pathetic excuse for a daughter," Cynthia snapped. "You were told to kill Master Riku here, not just by me, but by Maleficent and by my Master as well. Are you really going to defy all three of us?" Riku glared back at the woman.

"That's a bit much, don't you think?" He asked as the Way to Dawn flashed into his hand. He was really getting tired of people wanting him dead, occupational hazard or not. "If you want me dead so badly, then how about you kill me yourself?" With a roar, he charged towards Cynthia. The woman smiled coldly and held out her palm towards Riku. A column of pale red crystal burst from the ground, tossing Riku thirty feet into the air. The silver-haired teen let out a grunt of pain and twisted himself so that he landed on his feet.

"You're nothing compared to me, child," Cynthia said. "I survived the Keyblade War. Do you really think you can stop me?" Riku let out a low growl of irritation. He crouched down low and pounced towards Cynthia. The woman grinned and easily sidestepped his attack. Golden light encompassed Riku's Keyblade, accompanied by the roar of an engine starting to life as Riku activated the Sunblade. Cynthia let out a sigh.

"Kids these days," she said. She snapped her fingers, and a pillar of orange crystal formed around Riku, trapping him in place. Riku struggled as best he could, but he couldn't move in the crystal. Even worse, he could feel his strength and energy slowly being drained.

What's going on? He asked himself. Why am I getting weaker?

"Mother, please stop!" Keila pleaded. "Please! He's the only friend I've ever had." Riku glanced over at Keila in surprise.

She thinks of me as a friend? His glare hardened beneath the crystal. Good. Because I feel the same way. And I'll be damned if I let anything happen to a friend of mine.

"Now, as much as I would like to kill you myself, I can't," Cynthia said as she turned to face Keila. "You see, shortly before I was frozen in time to await the moment fate would release me, my original Master placed a curse on me, sealing away the majority of my powers and making it so I can't kill another living thing, no matter how hard I try. So I guess since Keila isn't willing to kill you, you get to live for now. Enjoy what little bit of your life you have left."

"Riku!" Keila cried out. Her Inverse Kingdom Key appeared in her hand as she dashed towards the prison of crystal containing Riku. Cynthia lashed out at Keila, who let out a scream of pain as Cynthia's fist struck her in the stomach and sent her sprawling across the ground.

"You're coming home, Keila," Cynthia said. She grabbed Keila by her forearm and twisted it behind the teen's back as she was hoisted to her feet. Riku winced as he heard the distinct cracking of a shoulder being dislocated. Cynthia smirked up at Riku.

"You do realize that if you had just died, Keila wouldn't have to be punished, right?" She said snidely as a portal of Darkness formed directly behind her. "It's really your fault. Oh well. It certainly was a pleasure meeting you, little boy." With a sinister laugh, Cynthia dragged Keila into the portal, Riku frozen in place, powerless to do anything but watch as Keila pleaded with her eyes for him to help her.

The instant the portal vanished, the crystal trapping Riku turned to dust and vanished. Riku collapsed to his knees, the Way to Dawn vanishing from his grip as he slammed his fist into the ground out of anger.

"Riku…" Dawn said softly from his side. "I'm sorry."

"I couldn't do anything," Riku said. "I'm weak. All I could do was stand by and watch as my friend was taken right in front of me. I couldn't help her. If I can't help one person, how can I help anyone else?"

You need my power… The voice of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness echoed inside Riku's mind.

Go to hell. I don't need you. I'll never be that weak.

Ha ha. Don't be so naïve. You needed me once, and you'll need me again. Just give it time.

I'll give it forever. I'll never need you again.

So you say…

Riku growled.

"We'll find her," Dawn said determinedly. Riku glanced down at his belt in surprise.

"Say what?" He asked, unsure if he had heard her right.

"Hey, just because I've been quiet doesn't mean I haven't been listening to you two for the past few days," Dawn huffed. "It's obvious she suffers a lot of abuse from that Cynthia woman, probably a lot more than she's letting on. One advantage to being a smart AI is that I have a sense of right and wrong. No one should ever have to suffer through abuse. So, when we leave this world, let's go find her and rescue her. Then we can go explore that anomaly we discovered." Riku smirked.

"You didn't forget about that?" He asked the AI as he massaged his now throbbing knuckles.

"Of course not," Dawn said cheerily. There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them. "You're the one that forgot, weren't you?" Riku chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, I just caught up with finding Atlantis," he said guiltily.

"And staring down Keila's shirt every chance you get," Dawn added in slyly.

"How did you know that?" Riku asked as his cheeks turned a shade of red that would put Kairi's hair to shame.

"I just guessed," Dawn said with a laugh. "But thanks for confirming it for me." Riku sighed, trying to ignore the fact that his cheeks were burning red and got to his feet.

"Whatever. We need to find Milo, hopefully he knows where the 'Heart of Atlantis' is by now," Riku said, glancing around just to make sure the Heart wasn't hiding in plain sight. "I'm pretty sure that's where the Keyhole is. Once we get that sealed away, we can high-tail it out of here and go rescue Keila."

"Sounds like a plan," Dawn said. "I think Sweet mentioned something to Vinnie about seeing Milo and Kida down by the waterside when we left dinner earlier, let's go check it out." Riku nodded and headed off.

LD

Riku paced back and forth along the tiny edge of the tiny pond where he had managed to catch a glimpse of Milo and Kida diving into it. So far, they had yet to come back up for air which led him to the conclusion that they were stopping whatever they were doing to catch their breath in an air pocket somewhere.

"Milo's been down there a long time," Riku muttered. "It's been what, thirty minutes now?"

"Then it looks like we found the right place," Rourke's voice said from behind Riku. Riku spun around and was greeted with blow to the head from a rifle stock. Riku crumpled to the ground with a groan. "Thanks for helping us find Thatch." Rourke said with a chuckle as he knelt down next to the fallen Keyblade Master. Riku massaged his head, feeling the faint trickle of blood seep down his neck from the blow and looked up to find the survivors of the voyage all standing around the pond's edge wielding guns of varying sizes. Among their ranks stood several Neoshadows accompanied by a pair of Crimson Jazz hovering in the air.

"I'd invite you to join our team but I have a gut feeling that you'll refuse me now that the Heartless are on my side," Rourke continued. Riku spat on his face, which earned him another blow to the head, this time from Rourke's fist. He rolled his head with the punch and spat some blood out of his mouth. "What happened to your lady friend?"

"Is that all you've got old man?" Riku said weakly. Helga struck him on the back of his head with the side of her pistol stunning him.

"Looks like she ran off. Such a shame. She would've made a nice addition to the team." He turned to one of his faceless soldiers wearing a gas mask. "Bind his hands, we don't need him summoning his Keyblade. Our little friend Thatch should be back any minute now. Let's be sure to give him a warm welcome."

Riku stared at the pond as one of the masked soldiers clasped iron cuffs tightly around his wrists, binding his hands behind his back. The group watched the still water for several more minutes before Milo finally burst from the water, gasping for breath as he waded to the stone-hewn shoreline.

"You have a nice swim?" Rourke asked the linguist in a casual tone as he sat down on the water's edge. Milo quickly assessed the situation with a brief glance at the group.

"Hey, guys," he said apprehensively. "What's going on? Why's Riku bleeding? What's- what's with all the guns? Why are there Heartless here? Guys?" Milo let out a sigh and slammed his fist against the stone he supported himself on. "I'm such an idiot. This is just another treasure hunt for you. You're after the crystal."

"Oh, you mean this," Rourke said. He pulled a worn piece of paper from his boot and dangled it in front of Milo, whose eyes widened in shock.

"The Heart of Atlantis," Milo said in quiet realization, staring up at the missing page from the Shepherd's Journal.

"Yeah, about that," Rourke began, "I mean, I would've told you sooner but it was strictly on a need-to-know basis and, well, now you know. I had to be sure you were one of us." Rourke slid his pistol back into its holster and extended his hand towards Milo with a grin. "Welcome to the club, son." Milo backed away from Rourke's offered hand.

"I'm no mercenary," he spat with a shake of his head.

"You tell him, Milo," Riku said weakly, wincing in pain as another rifle stock struck him in the head. "Hey now, if I get brain damage because of you morons, I'll tear your hearts out." The Heartless all turned to look at him as he said 'heart'. "Okay, that's a little creepy."

Kida emerged near one of the other edges of the pond and was yanked from the water by her hair in the claws of a Neoshadow. Milo began to move towards her but was stopped by the appearance of three rifle barrels aimed at his face. Kida however, proved to be too much for the Heartless. She grabbed it by its antennae and threw it over her shoulder and into the water. A pair of Rourke's masked soldiers charged her. Kida kneed the first one in the fork of his legs and used his rifle to bash in the mask of his partner, rendering him unconscious. She forced the first one to the ground and drew a slender dagger from her hip and raised it, poised to stab the soldier in his throat.

A single gunshot rang out and the bullet's velocity tore the knife from Kida's hand, knocking it into the foliage and surprising the Atlantean princess. Rourke glared at her, hefting his now smoking pistol as a pair of Neoshadows gripped Kida by her arms and pulled her off of the soldier she had pinned to the ground.

"Mercenary?" Rourke asked as he turned towards Milo waving the page from the Journal at the physically inferior linguist. "I prefer the term 'adventure capitalist'. Besides, you're the one who got us here. You led us right to the treasure chest."

"You don't know what you're tampering with, Rourke," Milo growled as he climbed from the water, revealing him to be dressed in only his underwear.

"What's to know?" The commander asked. "It's big, it's shiny, it's going to make us all rich."

"You think it's some kind of a diamond. I thought it was some kind of a battery," Milo said angrily, glaring up at Rourke. "But we're both wrong. It's their life force. That crystal is the only thing keeping these people alive. You take that away and they'll die!" Rourke turned towards Helga.

"Hmm. Well, that changes things," he murmured as he passed the missing page to his lieutenant. "Helga, what do you think?"

"Knowing that, I'd double the price," she said with a grin as she passed the page back to Rourke.

"I was thinking triple," he said cheerily. Milo attempted to move closer to Rourke but found his way barred by Vinnie and his rifle.

"Rourke, don't do this," he pleaded. Desperation was starting to show on the man's face. Rourke waved his hand dismissively at Milo.

"Academics," he said as he tucked the missing page into his pants and turned to stare at Milo. "You never want to get your hands dirty. Think about it. If you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum you'd be left with an empty building. We're just… providing a necessary service to the archeological community."

"Not interested," Milo insisted. Rourke sighed.

"I gotta admit, I'm disappointed," he said. "You're an idealist, just like your grandfather. Do yourself a favor, Milo. Don't be like him. For once, do the smart thing." He waited for Milo to respond and was only met with the scholar's glare. Rourke let out another sigh. "I really hate it when negotiations go sour." He snapped his fingers and the Neoshadows restraining Kida threw her to the ground. Seven more Neoshadows rose from the ground and surrounded her, long black claws poised for the kill. Rourke dangled the missing page in front of Milo's nose.

"Let's try this again."

LD

Monday, June 14th 4794 P.C.

Dawn had barely begun in the city when an explosion shook the throne room in the city's largest temple as the massive double doors were blown open. Standing in the newly formed entrance were the members of the expedition, several Neoshadows, Riku and Kida. Vinnie casually tossed a stick of dynamite up and down in his hand.

"Knock, knock," he said.

"Room service!" Cookie added, cocking his double-barreled shotgun and staring down its sight into the room. The king's two guards gripped their spears. Both looked as if they would've rushed the outsiders without a second's hesitation had Kida not been held tightly in Helga's grip with the lieutenant's pistol jammed into her back.

"Tell them to drop their weapons," Helga ordered, pressing the pistol's barrel deeper into Kida's bare flesh. "Now!" The king of Atlantis said something in his native tongue and the room echoed with the clatter of spears falling to the ground as the guards disarmed themselves and backed away from the doors.

"Spread out! Search everywhere!" Helga ordered. The members of the expedition and the Heartless ransacked the throne room, tearing cloths, shattering pots and vases. Riku winced with every sound. So much damage to priceless artifacts.

"You're not applying yourself, son," Rourke growled at Milo, smacking the linguist on his chin with the Shepherd's Journal before shoving it into Milo's hands. "There's gotta be something else."

Well, there isn't!" Milo retorted. "It just says 'the Heart of Atlantis lies in the eyes of her king.'" Rourke tossed Milo aside and moved swiftly across the room to stand in front of the aged king.

"Well, then maybe Old King Cole here can help us fill in the blanks," Rourke said impatiently. "How about it, chief? Where's the crystal chamber?" A pair of Neoshadows flanked the king, blocking off his only hope for escape.

"You will destroy yourselves," the king said.

"Maybe I'm not being clear," Rourke said. His hand balled into a fist and he struck the king in his stomach as hard as he could. The king collapsed to the ground as Kida cursed at Rourke in Atlantean.

"You're a grade-A cockbite, Rourke. You know that?" Riku shouted from the doorway where he was still bound and guarded by two of Rourke's soldiers.

"Save it for someone who gives a damn, kid," Rourke retorted. "Get used to it."

"Rourke, this was not a part of the plan," Sweet said as he rushed over to attend to the king. He had taken the Hippocratic Oath. He was a doctor first, nothing else.

"Plan's changed, Doc," Rourke said as he set himself down on the throne, kicking aside a bowl of fruit to raise his feet. "I'd suggest you put a bandage on that bleeding heart of yours. It doesn't suit a mercenary. Well, as usual, diplomacy has failed us." He briefly eyed the pistol in his hand before looking back down at the king as the Neoshadows hoisted the aged man to his knees. "Now I'm going to count to ten and you're going to tell me where the crystal is. One." He cocked his gun and the king bowed his head in defeat. "Two." He aimed the gun at the king's head. "Nine. Te-" Rourke's countdown stopped as he stared past the king at the pattern formed by the stepping stones on the pool that filled the majority of the room. They were arranged in the same pattern as the symbol on the front of the Shepherd's Journal.

"'The heart of Atlantis lies in the eyes of her king'. This is it," he said excitedly, glancing from the Journal to the pool. "We're in!" Rourke got to his feet and waded into the pool, tossing the Journal to Milo, who waded in after him.

"Rourke, for the last time, you've gotta listen to me," Milo pleaded. "You don't have the slightest idea what this power is capable of."

"True," Helga said as she pushed Kida into the water after Rourke and Milo. "But I can think of a few countries who'd pay anything to find out."

"What is it with bad guys and money?" Riku mumbled as Rourke dragged Milo onto a platform that was slowly lowering itself beneath the pool. The pair of them vanished along with Helga and Kida. An apprehensive silence filled the room for several long minutes as they waited for the four to come back up. When they finally did, something seemed off. Riku felt a great Light rising from the hidden chamber along with the four, a Light that vaguely reminded him of a Princess of Heart's Light. A Light untainted by darkness.

Everyone stared at the four in awe. Rourke and Helga looked triumphant. Milo wore a defeated expression. Kida's entire body had turned into a glowing blue crystal. Rourke and Helga led Kida towards the exit, the others following their lead. All except for Sweet, who chose to remain by the king's side and provide him with medical attention.

"Bring him," Rourke growled to his soldiers as he passed Riku. The soldiers dragged Riku to his feet and led him along with the others to the rope bridge where a trio of trucks awaited them. Kida was marched into an iron container with a small viewport on one side to keep an eye on the contents. Several Atlantean citizens approached the group, curious at what was happening. They were kept at bay by the surface dwellers firearms as Rourke's men stood guard alongside twenty Neoshadows.

"So," Milo said as he and Riku were forced back to stand with the Atlanteans. "I guess this is how it ends, huh? Fine, you win. You're wiping out an entire civilization. But, hey, you'll be rich." Riku gently massaged his throbbing head as one of the soldiers undid his cuffs. "Congratulations, Audrey. Guess you and your dad will be able to open that second garage after all." The chief mechanic refused to turn and look at him as she climbed into the driver's seat of one of the trucks.

"And Vinnie," Milo continued, causing the demolitions expert to pause in his duty of securing the container to the bed of one of the trucks. "You can start a whole chain of flower shops. I'm sure your family's going to be very proud." Vinnie sighed and turned his gaze away. "But that's what it's all about, right? Money."

"Get off your soapbox, Thatch," Rourke said, stepping out of one of the trucks to walk over to the linguist. "You've read Darwin. It's called natural selection. We're just helping it along." Milo and Riku glared up at him.

"Commander, we're ready!" Helga announced.

"Yeah, give me a minute," Rourke called. "I know I'm forgetting something. I got the cargo, the crystal, the crew… oh, yeah." Rourke spun and punched Milo in the face, knocking the scholar on his rear. Milo's glasses flew off of his face and a framed picture of Milo and his grandfather, Thaddeus Thatch, fell out of Milo's bag.

"Look at it this way, son," Rourke said with a sense of superiority. He caught Milo's glasses in his hand and walked over to the linguist, crushing the glass of the photo beneath his foot. "You were the man who discovered Atlantis, and now you're part of the exhibit." He tossed Milo his glasses as the linguist wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. "Let's move people." Audrey and the others glanced back sadly at Milo as he pulled the photo from the shattered frame.

"That was an order, not a suggestion!" Helga barked. "Let's go!" Audrey let out a sigh and stormed away from the trucks to help Milo to his feet, fully aware of the eyes of her fellow crew members on her as she did so. Vinnie followed her lead, abandoning his post to place his arms around Milo in support of his friend. Cookie, Mole and Mrs. Packard all followed suit. Packard pausing long enough to take one final draft from her cigarette before flicking it to the ground.

"We're all gonna die," she said, following the others.

"Oh, you can't be serious," Rourke said, noticing the group gathering around Milo in his rearview mirror.

"This is wrong and you know it!" Audrey shouted.

"We're this close to our biggest payday ever and you pick now of all times to grow a conscience?" Rourke asked in disbelief.

"We've done a lot of things we're not proud of," Vinnie said as he began to list them off on his fingers. "Robbing graves, plundering tombs, double parking, but nobody got hurt. Well, maybe somebody got hurt, but nobody we knew."

"Well, if that's the way you want it, fine," Rourke growled, waving his hand dismissively at his former crew members. "More for me. P.T. Barnum was right." He climbed into one of the trucks and started it up. The group was forced to stand and watch as Rourke and Helga drove off with Kida. "Hope the Heartless don't give you too much trouble!" The Neoshadows quickly converged on the group, claws bared and ready for a fight, a fight they never got as the Way to Dawn cut them down in an instant.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Riku said with a cold grin. As the trucks drew further away, the water falls on the edge of the city ceased to flow and the light's in the crystals around the necks of every Atlantean grew slowly dimmer.

"We can't let him do this!" Milo shouted as the trucks reached the cliffs on the other side of the bridge. He ran towards the bridge, determined to give chase on foot but was stopped as Vinnie grabbed his arm.

"Wait a second," the demolitions expert said. Across, the bridge, Rourke grinned and hit a switch. Three explosions blasted the bridge apart, isolating Atlantis and sending wood fragments falling into the lava river below. "Okay, now you can go."

"Well, that's just fantastic," Riku grumbled.

"Milo! Riku!" Sweet's voice called out from the king's temple. "You better get up here!" Milo and Riku rushed up to the temple, where Sweet knelt at the injured king's bedside.

"How's he doing?" Milo asked as he crossed the pool. Sweet sighed and removed the earpieces from his stethoscope.

"Not good, I'm afraid," he said sadly. "Internal bleeding. There's nothing more I can do."

"What a nightmare," Milo said, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. "And I brought it here."

"Nah, don't go beating yourself up," Sweet said in an attempt to console his friend. "He's been after that crystal since Iceland." Milo's eyes wandered to the dimly lit crystal hanging from the king's neck.

"The crystal," He repeated slowly. His eyes lit up with sudden revelation. "Sweet, that's it." Milo's hand darted out and cupped the crystal in his palm. "These- these crystals, they have some sort of healing energy. I've seen it work." The king's hand suddenly clutched onto Milo's startling the man.

"No," the king rasped. "Where is my daughter?"

"Well, she- she…" Milo trailed off, trying to find the right words to tell the man that his daughter had turned into a living crystal being.

"She has been chosen," the king said sadly, "like her mother before her."

"What?"

"In times of danger, the crystal will choose a host, one of Royal blood to protect itself and its people," the king explained. "It will accept no other."

"Wait a minute," Riku said. "Choose? So this thing is alive?"

"In a way," the king said weakly. "The crystal thrives on the collective emotions of all who came before us. In return, it provides power, longevity, protection. As it grew, it developed a consciousness of its own. In my arrogance, I sought to use it as a weapon of war, but its power proved too great to control. It overwhelmed us, and led to our destruction."

"That's why you hid it beneath the city," Milo realized. "To keep history from repeating itself."

"And to prevent Kida from suffering the same fate as my beloved wife," the king admitted as he shifted painfully.

"What do you mean?" Milo asked, watching the old man with worry etched on his face. "What's going to happen to Kida?"

"If she remains bonded to the crystal, she could be lost to it… forever," the king said gravely. "The love of my daughter is all I have left. My burden would have become hers when the time was right. But now, it falls to you." The king removed the crystal from his neck and placed it in Milo's hands.

"Me?" Milo asked for clarification. The king gripped Milo's hand tightly.

"Return the crystal," he said weakly. "Save Atlantis. Save my daughter." His grip slackened and he laid back against his pillows as he was embraced with the arms of eternal rest. Riku bowed his head in honor of the departed. Sweet let out a low sigh and closed his medical bag.

"So, what's it going to be?" He asked Milo as he stood up and turned to face the linguist.

"Excuse me?" Milo asked in confusion.

"I followed you in, and I'll follow you out," Sweet said in elaboration. "It's your decision.

"Count me in on that," Riku added.

"Oh, my decision," Milo said with a hint of sarcasm, his voice steadily rising. "Well I think we have seen how effective my decisions have been. Let's recap. I lead a band of plundering vandals to the greatest archaeological find in recorded history, thus enabling the kidnap and/or murder of the royal family. Not to mention personally delivering the most powerful force known to man into the hands of a mercenary nutcase, who's probably going to sell it to the Kaiser! Have I left anything out?"

"Well, you did set the camp on fire and drop us down that big hole," Sweet pointed out.

"Thank you!" Milo said sarcastically. "Thank you very much." His face fell and he hung his head as he turned away from the throne. Sweet bent down and picked up the dropped copy of the Shepherd's Journal, brushing a small amount of dirt off of the aged cover.

"Of course, it's been my experience, when you hit bottom, the only place left to go is up," he said as he passed the Journal to Milo.

"Who told you that?" Milo asked with a snort.

"A fellow by the name of Thaddeus Thatch," Sweet replied. Milo looked up at him for a moment before glancing down at the dimly glowing crystal in his hands. A look of determination crossed his face as he strode out of the throne room with an air of renewed purpose, closely followed by Sweet and Riku. The members of the expedition that had remained behind watched as Milo marched past.

"Where are you going?" Audrey asked.

"I'm going after Rourke," the linguist said in response.

"Milo, that's crazy!" Audrey said.

"I didn't say it was the smart thing," Milo said. "But it is the right thing." He vanished into the early morning mist.

"Come on," Audrey said to the others with a sigh. "We'd better make sure he doesn't hurt himself." They followed Milo to a slightly secluded area away from the prying eyes of the Atlantean citizens. Milo climbed onto the back of what appeared to be the carving of a large fish with an open gaping mouth.

"Milo, what do you think you're you doing?" Riku asked.

"Just follow my lead," Milo replied. He took the crystal in his hand and inserted it into a tiny slot. There was a pulse of blue energy and the fish carving floated off of the ground as its eyes and mouth began to glow blue.

"It's a vehicle?" Riku asked. Milo nodded.

"Wow, I'm impressed," Packard said in her usual monotone voice as she took a drag from her cigarette.

"It's simple," Milo explained as Audrey climbed onto the carving to sit behind him. "All you've got to do is-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Audrey said. "We get it okay?" She placed her hand on the glowing blue pad on top of the carving.

"No, no, wait!" Milo cried out. The fish lurched backwards, striking the stone behind it with a loud crash, attracting the attention of the nearest Atlantean warriors who quickly gathered to see what was going on. "Gently. Just gently!"

"Hey, Milo," Vinnie said as a pair of warriors approached the linguist. "You got something sporty? You know, like a tuna?"

"How is this done?" One of the warriors asked, glancing at the stone carving.

"All you gotta do is use the crystals," Milo explained as he slid off of the fish vehicle. "Kida showed me." He ran over to where a hammer-head shark shaped vehicle rested on the ground and inserted his crystal. "Half-turn right, quarter-turn back, keep your hand on the pad." The vehicle flared to life. The warriors gathered nearby all looked eagerly down at their crystals before rushing to try it for themselves.

"Saddle up, partners!" Cookie shouted as he climbed onto a massive tuna shaped vehicle. "Bring jerky and ammo!" In a matter of minutes, a small group of about twenty or so flying fish vehicles hovered in the middle of the clearing.

"All right, this is it!" Milo called out as Riku joined him on the hammer-head shaped craft. "We're going to rescue the princess! We're going to save Atlantis! Or we're going to die trying. Now let's do it!"

"Great plan," Riku said sarcastically. "I am filled with confidence."

The ancient Atlantean vehicles of war sped out across the lava filled chasm and into opening created by the digger towards the shaft of the volcano as the citizens of Atlantis cheered them on.

LD

Rourke stared triumphantly up at the ceiling of the volcano as the Cannon Gun Heartless finished blasting apart the blockage.

"I love it when I win," he said with a smile.

LD

"Okay, here's the plan," Milo shouted to his companions, "We're going to come in low and fast and take him by surprise."

"Well, I've got news for you, Milo," Audrey said from her seat beside Sweet in a hammerhead, "Rourke is never surprised and he's got a lot of guns."

"Great," Milo said sarcastically. "Well, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah!" Vinnie shouted. "Don't get shot!"

"Shot? Perhaps I should've waited for you back at Atlantis," Dawn's voice said to Riku. "I don't think I could handle being shot. It might damage some of my important systems." Riku chuckled.

"Too late now!" He said with a grin as they entered the shaft. A large red zeppelin comprised of one main pod surrounded by several smaller pods was slowly rising towards the now open ceiling. Secured at the bottom of the zeppelin was the container where Kida was imprisoned.

"There they are!" Milo shouted. Rourke turned around and spotted the craft headed towards them.

"We've got company!" He shouted. Rourke's men scattered and immediately opened fire on the incoming craft. Portals of Darkness opened up and a dozen or so Aeroplane Heartless flew out into the fray. The bright blue, single-winged Heartless aircraft fired their guns, bullets spraying off of the fish shaped vehicles. Riku leapt off of Milo's craft and plunged the Way to Dawn into a passing Aeroplane, splitting it in two as he dropped to the ground to take down the blue Cannon Guns. The Way to Dawn flashed sinisterly in the gloom as Riku hacked and sliced his way through Cannon Guns and Rourke's soldiers alike. Above him, one of the Atlantean craft exploded in a burst of blue energy as one of the remaining Cannon Guns shot it down.

"Holy smokes!" Milo shouted as a Cannon Guns attack narrowly missed him. "You told me he only had guns!"

"What I said was he's never surprised," Audrey retorted as she and Sweet swerved out of the way of an Aeroplane. One of Rourke's soldiers on the ground situated himself behind a machine gun turret and unleashed a burst of hot lead at Vinnie. The demolition's expert swerved to avoid the bullets and his hand pressed down on the glowing blue pad in front of him by accident. A bolt of bright blue energy flew from his fish's mouth and vaporized a pair of trucks and the last of Rourke's soldiers.

"Okay, now things are getting good," he said with a grin. Around him, the Atlanteans had figured out how to activate the energy weapons and were able to fight back against the Heartless. Riku cut down the last Cannon Gun and leapt into the air as an Aeroplane passed by. He grabbed onto the Heartless and hitched a ride further up the shaft. The Aeroplane turned its comically large head (adorned with pilots goggles and a yellow scarf) to look at Riku.

"Hi there," Riku said and he plunged the Way to Dawn into the Heartless' face. He leapt off of the Heartless as it exploded into a cloud of black mist accompanied by a crystalline heart. Riku landed on the back end of Sweet's and Audrey's hammerhead craft.

"Need a lift?" Sweet called back to him. Riku gave him a thumbs up.

"Vinnie! Head's up!" Milo called. "We can't let them reach the top of that shaft!" Vinnie nodded in agreement and joined Milo as the two of them made a beeline for the zeppelin. They were met with heavy resistance however as a fresh wave of Aeroplanes emerged from their portals. Milo let out a cry and spun his craft around to avoid being hit by the Heartless' bullets. A split second later, a beam of golden light cut down his pursuer as Audrey, Sweet and Riku sped by. Cookie wasn't even bothering with using the energy weapons, he was more than happy to fire off his shotgun as he flew past, whooping and hollering as one of the Aeroplanes crashed into the side of the shaft and exploded.

"Vinnie, new plan!" Milo called out to the demolitions expert as the man flew through a cloud of soot. "You and me, we're going to be decoys. Audrey, Sweet, Riku, fly up under that thing and cut her loose!"

"We're on it!" Sweet said, angling their hammerhead into a downwards dive so they could come up directly under the zeppelin without being noticed. Milo and Vinnie dodged the Heartless and drew the attention of Rourke and Helga. Rourke hefted a hand-held machine gun, carefully firing at the pair while attempting to avoid hitting any part of the craft as Helga fired her pistol as fast as she could. Below them and out of sight, Audrey hacked away at the chains with one of Sweet's surgical saws as Riku charged up the Sunblade.

"I thought you said this thing could cut through a femur in twenty-eight seconds!" Audrey shouted at Sweet as the Sunblade made contact with the chains.

"Less talk, more saw!" Sweet retorted. Rourke went to feed another belt of ammo into his machine gun when it was blown from his hand by an energy blast from Vinnie, who smiled and waved at him. Helga's pistol clicked empty and she tossed it over the side of the zeppelin. Rourke watched it fall and spotted Riku, Audrey and Sweet.

"Looks like somebody's working overtime," Rourke commented. Helga glanced down before pushing off a fuel canister from the zeppelins railing, sending it plummeting into an Atlantean as he flew close to the container and exploded. Sweet grabbed hold of Audrey and pulled her onto the hammerhead before flying away to a safe distance as Helga pushed more of the explosive canisters off. Riku shimmied his way up the chain and closer to the walkway that circled the zeppelin. High above them, Milo observed nervously.

"All right, Milo," he said to himself as he rubbed his hands together nervously. "This is it. Any last words? Yeah. I really wish I had a better idea than this!" He angled his craft downwards and kamikaze-ed it into one of the pods on the side of the main zeppelin. He leapt off at the last possible second and clutched onto the netting holding the pods together. Rourke watched as the pod deflated, reversing the zeppelin's ascent.

"We're losing altitude, lighten the load!" He ordered. Helga was already once step ahead of him, having thrown everything but the barrel in her hands off of the platform.

"That's it," she grunted as she tossed it over the edge. "Unless someone wants to jump.

"Ladies first," Rourke said as he grabbed Helga by her upper arms and tossed her over the edge. She let out a cry of shock and managed to grip onto the platform's edge before plummeting to her doom. She swung herself back onto the platform, the flats of her feet striking Rourke in his face and knocking him off balance.

"You said we were in this together!" She said angrily. Her foot lashed out again, striking Rourke twice."You promised me a percentage!" She spun around to kick him off of the zeppelin but was caught off guard as Rourke grabbed hold of her foot.

"Next time, get it in writing!" He snarled as he threw her off of the zeppelin once more. He watched as she missed death from the spinning blades helping to propel the zeppelin up into the air before calling out "Nothing personal!"

Milo took advantage of Rourke's distraction and swung down on a loose rope, knocking them both down to the smaller platform set right above the rotors. Rourke got to his feet and smirked at Milo.

"Well I have to hand it to you, you're a bigger pain in the neck than I would have ever thought possible!" He said with a tone of amused irritation

Milo got to his feet and attempted to punch Rourke, but the bigger man grabbed his fist within his hand, and punched Milo in the face with his own fist before kicking him into the railing. The force of the kick snapped the railing when Milo crashed into it, the pieces falling and jamming the rotor as Milo clung to the platform's edge for dear life.

"I consider myself an even-tempered man," Rourke continued. "It takes a lot to get under my skin, but congratulations. You just won the solid-gold kewpie doll." Milo struggled to reach the sturdy chains that supported the container before Rourke could finish him.

Several hundred feet below them, Helga rolled herself over on the bed of volcanic ash with a groan of pain. It felt as if a few of her ribs were broken, and judging by the blood on the ground around her legs, one of them had broken the skin as it snapped. Weakly, she pulled out her flare gun and aimed it up the shaft at the zeppelin.

"Nothing personal," she said venomously as she squeezed the trigger.

Milo winced in pain from the sounds of the hydrogen in the zeppelin exploded violently, shredding the fabric and bringing the whole thing hurtling back to the ground. He lost his grip and dropped to the top of the container as Rourke lowered himself down, now wielding an axe with a deranged look in his eyes.

"Tired, Mr. Thatch?" Rourke asked as he swung the axe at Milo's head. The scholar dropped down, barely dodging the blade. "Ah, that's a darn shame!" Rourke swung down again, and shattered the glass viewport. "'Cause I'm just getting warmed up!" Milo grabbed a piece of the broken glass, infused with the power of the crystal as Rourke grasped him by the throat and lifted him up. Before Rourke could deal the finishing blow, Milo sliced open the commander's arm with the shard of glass. Rourke cried out from the unexpected pain and dropped Milo, who quickly began to climb up the chains to put distance between him and Rourke.

Rourke glared up at the scholar before looking back down at his wound. To his horror, his entire arm had transformed into blue crystal. In a matter of seconds, his entire body had been transformed into a crystal statue. Milo breathed a sigh of relief

"Thank heaven," he sighed. Rourke's crystallized blue hand grasped the ring where Milo was and hoisted the completely crystallized body of the former human up to glare at Milo with inhuman yellow eyes.

"Yo! Rourke!" Milo and Rourke turned to look over in time to see Riku dive at them, plunging the Way to Dawn into Rourke's face. "That's for punching me!"

Rourke let out a shriek and exploded suddenly and violently into thousands of crystal shards that shredded through the chains holding the container, causing it to fall the few dozen feet to the ground, rolling until it came to a stop. The flaming zeppelin's remains slammed into the base of the volcano a split second later as Milo and Riku rolled out of the way. The earth beneath them began to shake violently.

"The volcano," Mole said, his voice hysterical with panic, "she awakes!"

"Hey," Vinnie said, hefting a lit stick of dynamite, "I had nothing to do with it."

"This here'd be a good place not to be," Cookie said as Vinnie extinguished the lit fuse.

"No wait," Milo said, "we've got to get her back or the whole city will die!" He scooped up some chains from the wrecked zeppelin and ran to the container.

"And if we don't get out of here we'll die!" Audrey said as she helped Milo to secure the chains. Around them, vents of steaming hot gas broke out of glowing orange fissures that were forming in the ground.

"It's the only way to reverse this!" Milo argued. "Just do it." Audrey tossed the chains to Vinnie and Riku, who quickly secured them to their craft.

They took off as quickly as was possible, Vinnie's and Riku's crafts dragging the container behind them with Audrey and Milo on the tail of Vinnie's. They had only managed to travel about hundred feet when the chains snapped. Milo slid down the chain and ran back to the container, dragging the hook of the chain with him while avoiding the spurting bursts of lava that had replaced the gas. He wrapped the chain several times around the container before securing it to itself.

"Go!" He shouted as he gripped onto the container for dear life. The craft all took off at breakneck speed, Vinnie and Riku were barely able to keep Milo and the container ahead of a flowing river of molten rock that chased them through the tunnels. The burst out of the caves a split second before the river of lava burst out after them. The digger, which still remained parked by the cave entrance, was completely covered in the glowing orange river of doom before being knocked off into a bigger river of lava. The craft touched down on a large platform in the city, gently setting the container down.

"The fissure," Mole said pointing at the glowing orange cracks in the walls around Atlantis, "it is about to eject its pyroclastic fury!"

"Milo, Mole says the wall's going to blow!" Sweet rephrased.

"Move," Riku told Milo as the linguist attempted to force open the container. A beam of light shot from the tip of his Keyblade and lit up the container. The light grew stronger until it suddenly vanished, leaving the shattered remains of the container on the ground and the crystal figure of Kida standing on the platform. Beneath her feet, blue light filled the carved designs on the ground before spreading to cover the entire city. For a long moment, Atlantis glowed bright blue. The ground beneath Kida's feet cracked and shattered as ten massive stone masks, each carved in resemblance to the past kings of Atlantis rose. Kida rose with the masks and hovered high above the city. The masks spun around Kida, forming a halo of white and blue light that was almost too bright to look at.

A bolt of bright light shot from the halo and stuck what appeared to be a sunken ruin on the edge of the city. Several more beams of light flew out and struck several more rocks and ruins. At first, nothing happened, then the rocks and ruins shifted and rose from the water, revealing that they were instead statues, each one easily three hundred feet tall. The monoliths moved to stand at the edges of the cliff, unfazed by the projectiles of lava and stone. They clapped their hands together with a deep boom and as their hands pulled apart, bright, glowing blue shields of energy formed in front of each of them. Everyone watched in awe as the shields grew in size until they all joined as one, forming a dome of protective energy over the city.

The stone walls exploded outward and a sea of lava spilled out, completely covering the dome for several minutes. There was a bright flash of light and the lava solidified into black rock. Atlantis remained in near darkness for a few moments, lit only by the light of the crystal and the halo surrounding it. Then the ground shook as an energy pulse shattered the solid magma, sending it tumbling over the edges of the cliffs to the river of lava still flowing below. The shield faded and the waterfalls began to flow again with renewed vigor, breaking down the rocks and leaving the monoliths back at their original positions. Mist from the waterfalls sudden reemergence covered the city in a thin layer of cloud, concealing the crystal and halo of stone masks from view.

A narrow column of blue light broke through the thin cloud layer. Kida, her body returned to its natural form, drifted down inside of it. Milo rushed forwards and caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground. Another light caught Riku's gaze, he turned to see the Keyhole set into the back of one of the monolith's heads. Confident that no one was paying him any attention; Riku raised the Way to Dawn and aimed it at the distant Keyhole. A beam of light shot from the tip of his Keyblade and struck the Keyhole in its center. The Way to Dawn vanished in a thousand twinkling lights as the Keyhole, now sealed, vanished. Over in Milo's arms, Kida's eyes slowly began to open.

"Milo?" She asked weakly. They smiled at each other for moment. Kida glanced down at a silver bracelet in her hand. It was her bracelet she had been wearing the night Atlantis sank into the sea. The same bracelet her mother had accidentally taken from her as the crystal chose her. Kida squeezed the bracelet in her hand, her eyes squinted shut in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing. She threw her arms tightly around Milo's shoulders, embracing him in a hug that he was more than grateful to return. Riku tapped them on their shoulders after a few moments had passed and gestured to where there had once been water pooled on the city. The submerged sections of the city were mostly drained and for the first time in several millennia, the true beauty of Atlantis could be seen. Riku smiled as he saw Milo and Kida's hands intertwine out of the corner of his eye.

"It really is a beautiful city isn't it?" Dawn whispered in awe, as her visual sensors recorded as much of the city as she could see.

"Yeah," Riku said, patting her storage unit. "It is. And Sora's going to be so jealous the next time I see him."

"Oh, brother."

LD

Tuesday, June 15th 4794 P.C.

"Atlantis will honor your names forever," Kida said as she slipped an Atlantean crystal around the necks of everyone from the voyage. "I only wish there was more we could do for you."

"Uh, you know, thanks anyways," Vinnie said, glancing behind him at the massive narwhal shaped vehicle where several warriors were loading it with gold and jewels, "but I think we're good."

"They'll take you as far as the surface," Milo said with a chuckle.]

"We're really gonna miss you, Milo," Audrey said with a grin.

"Now, you're sure you want to stay?" Sweet asked him. "There's a hero's welcome waiting for the man who discovered Atlantis."

"Ah, I don't think the world needs another hero," Milo said, waving off the idea. "Besides, I hear there's an opening down here for an expert in Gibberish."

"You take good care of yourself, Milo Thatch," Sweet said proudly, holding out his hand to Milo.

"Yeah, you too, Sweet," Milo said with a grin as he took Sweets hand, only to be pulled into a bone-popping hug. "Sweet, before you go, could you…" Milo gestured at his neck.

"No problem," the doctor said. He grabbed Milo's head in both hands and twisted it from side to side, cracking the vertebrae in his neck.

"Thanks," Milo said, sounding relieved. Sweet chuckled.

"Oh, you're getting a bill."

"Can we go home now?" Mrs. Packard asked.

"Come on, y'all," Sweet called. "Let's get one last shot in front of the fish." The group all followed his orders and went to stand around the pile of treasure in front of the narwhal craft as one of the Atlantean warriors manned the camera. Dawn even activated the holo-projector built into her storage unit to project herself onto Riku's shoulder, effectively startling everyone until Riku explained all about her.

"Say 'Gochk'!" The cameraman said.

"Gochk!" The group all replied with massive grins.

LD

Riku smiled to himself as he set the framed picture on the console next to him alongside the Atlantean crystal he had received.

"Well, where should we start our search for our lost friend?" Dawn asked as Riku sat down in his chair.

"Take us to wherever's closest," he said. Dawn's image nodded and the Dawn's First Light spun around a hundred and eighty degrees above the world before her engines roared to life and she vanished into the starlit horizon.

Hang on, Keila. Your friend is on his way.

LD

Cynthia's Manor, Unnamed World

Keila cried out as Cynthia pulled the long, silver knife from her shoulder. Droplets of her blood struck the marble carved floor of Cynthia's personal chambers. The older woman stared down at her adopted daughter with a lack of compassion. Tiny streams of blood ran down Keila's right arm from the cuts Cynthia had dealt her. The word Slut stared up at her from her shoulder, carved deeply into her flesh.

"I'm disappointed in you, Keila," Cynthia said as she wiped the blood off of her knife with a bleached white cloth. "I thought you had learned not to disobey me after the last time I punished you." Keila winced, still remembering the strike of the metal-tipped whip as it struck her back over and over again. "You had been such a good daughter, just like I raised you to be. I was confident that you were ready to serve directly under Master Xehanort. But instead I find you fraternizing with the enemy!" The back of Cynthia's hand struck Keila across her face, the jagged crystal rings on her fingers raking the young girl's skin.

"I wasn't flirting with Riku!" Keila spat. That earned her another slap.

"You weren't flirting with him?" Cynthia asked quietly. She snapped her fingers and the massive, crystal mirror that dominated most of the room glowed slightly as an image took form in the center. Keila stared up weakly and watched her and Riku singing with each other, their faces moving slowly closer until their noses were practically brushing up against each other.

"Looks to me like you were." The image vanished and Keila turned fearfully back to her mother. "And looking at the defiance in your eyes now, you leave me with no choice but to go with an… alternative form of punishment." She strode to the murky, white crystal door and opened it. Keila's eyes widened as one of her three oldest brothers entered.

"Jake," she sighed in relief. Jake turned towards their mother. Cynthia nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the crystal door slowly behind her. Jake turned towards his younger sister, grinning at her with lust burning in his eyes. Fear coursed through Keila as she watched his hands stretch out towards her.

Cynthia sighed as she locked the door. Despite the fact that the door was designed to keep her children from listening in on the room, Keila's screams of terror and pain, and the sounds of her clothing being torn from her body to allow her brother better access could be heard through the crystal.

"Having her brother rape her as a punishment? That's just sick," Naleten said. Cynthia turned to where the silver cloaked Nobody leaned against the black marble wall, doing her best to ignore Keila's pleas for her brother to stop.

"Perhaps," she said softly, "but hopefully Keila will learn not to disobey me anymore. Besides, you're a Nobody now. I thought you and your kind are incapable of having feelings anymore."

"That doesn't mean we can't tell when something is disturbingly sick," Naleten said as he lowered his hood, revealing his pale skin, blood-red shoulder length hair, pointed teeth and amber-colored eyes. "And what if your plan doesn't work?" Both of them winced as Keila shouted out a single name, a plea for help.

"Riku!" Cynthia felt anger course through her. How dare that whore cry out the name of her enemy? How dare she call out for him to help her?

"That's why you're here, Naleten," Cynthia said, taking a deep breath to keep her anger in check as she led Naleten into the grand entrance hall, several of her children were scattered throughout the room, they all immediately stopped whatever they were doing to bow to their mother. Cynthia smiled warmly at her children as she and Naleten descended the staircase. "I need you to place seals on her heart, just as a precaution. Make her forget about Master Riku and any feelings she may have for him."

"You know full well that I cannot permanently dispose of a memory," Naleten said slowly as he followed Cynthia deeper into the heart of the manor. "I can make it inaccessible to her with one of my seals. But it's still possible for the seal to be broken. The same goes for those feelings she has for the Wielder. I can seal them, but they can be released."

"I just need them sealed long enough for her to follow orders and eliminate Master Riku," Cynthia said. She paused outside of a pair of massive double doors sealed shut with hundreds of midnight-black chains and a single, large padlock. "Can you do it, Naleten?" The Nobody nodded.

"Of course I can," he said with an emotionless grin. "Would you like me to also seal her memories of the punishment she is going through at the moment?" Cynthia shook her head.

"No," she said harshly. "She needs to remember the punishment. But you can make her forget the reason behind it. Make it so she can only remember that it was because she disobeyed me." Naleten nodded and bowed away from her.

"Very well," he said as a portal of Darkness formed behind him. "I shall pay her a visit after her punishment is done. But this shall also be the last time I can assist you, Cynthia." The woman raised an eyebrow at him as he vanished. "Maleficent and Jevenan will grow suspicious if I continue to disappear. I must go make my appearances and then I shall return to deal with Keila."

"Thank you for your services, Naleten," Cynthia said. "I wish you luck."

"As do I." The portal closed around him and he was gone.

Cynthia turned towards the door and summoned her Keyblade, an obsidian weapon nearly identical in design to the Oblivion Keyblade, except the teeth were a row of seven razor sharp, curved, jagged teeth and in place of the chain that ran along its blade was a glowing red crystal. The Treason Keyblade. Cynthia raised the Treason and pointed it at the lock. A beam of black light burst from the tip and connected to the lock. In a flash of bright blue light, the lock and chains vanished. The doors opened of their own accord, revealing a poorly lit chamber, the only light source being a single silver flame burning on a candle in the room's center.

The shadows created by the dim light nearly concealed the slumped figure resting on a crystal throne in the back of the room. Several IV tubes ran from the figure's body, pumping its body full of life saving medicines. The figure opened its glowing amber eyes. Cynthia fell to one knee.

"Greetings, my Master," she said, her head so low to the ground she could've kissed it. "I trust you are feeling somewhat better today, Master Xehanort?"

LD

Alliance Fallback Headquarters, The Frozen Fields

Olette shivered as Xanthos led her away from the hangar where the Equus was now docked. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the rough, stone-hewn hallways of the Alliance's new fallback headquarters, lit dimly by magical flames that would burn in their lanterns for all eternity. As they descended into the labyrinth of underground tunnels and rooms, Xanthos shared the history of the world with them.

They had landed on a world appropriately named The Frozen Fields. Back before the Keyblade War, the Chasers were the only residents. Due to the abundance of natural magic in the world, forging Keyblades that possessed magic-enhancing abilities was made easier. Unfortunately, it was for that reason alone that the first battle of the Keyblade War broke out on the snow covered plains of the Frozen Fields.

The Chasers fought back against the invading Servants of Darkness but they were quickly overrun. In three days, all but four of the Chasers had been eliminated. According to Xanthos, those four were some of the greatest warriors on the Chaser's side during the War. They took down the invading forces of Darkness without so much as taking a scratch to themselves. By the time the fighting was over, the War was in full swing and the Frozen Fields were forgotten.

Axel's and Jenos' voices could be heard in the distance both shouting orders to Hayner and Pence as the four of them worked to unload the equipment from the Equus and bring it into the headquarters.

"The resident chambers are down this hall right here," Xanthos said. "I want you to take some time to make yourself feel at home. We're going to be here for awhile." Olette nodded and wheeled her bags down the long hallway lined with stone doors. It took her awhile to decide on which room she wanted, finally settling on a moderately sized room complete with her own personal bathroom set off to the side. Silver flames crackled in a small fireplace, providing ample heat to the room. Olette grinned and threw herself down on the queen-sized bed already in the room, sighing in contentment at how soft the mattress was.

It didn't take her long to unpack. Her clothes were neatly placed into the cherry-wood dresser already provided in the room and her personal possessions were quickly arranged on the shelves carved into the stone wall. To her surprise and relief, she found an electrical outlet for her to plug in her radio and laptop charger. On her walls hung a poster of her favorite movie actress, Echidna Parass, and the red and gold flag emblazoned with the words 'Remember Twilight Town'. She nodded happily to her room and proceeded to throw herself down on the mattress where she quickly succumbed to the urge to take a nap, despite her growing nerves about the training Xanthos had in store for her.

Deeper within the bowels of the fallback headquarters, Xanthos stepped into a room lined with dozens of suits of segmented pieces of armor, all an identical shade of bluish-gray and shining in the silver fire light despite their age. Xanthos grinned.

This is going to be fun.

LD

Thursday, June 17th 4794 P.C.

Cynthia's Manor, Unnamed World,

Keila's Room

Keila clutched the sheets of her bed tightly around her naked body. The memory of her older brother violating her, ruining what innocence she had held onto was still burned fresh into her mind. Silent tears flowed down her face. She had spent what felt like hours scrubbing her body until her flesh was pink and raw. She felt wrong. Nothing felt right. And above all else, she remembered praying for Riku to save her.

"Why did I cry out for him?" She asked herself. "Why did I want Riku to come save me?"

"Because you started to develop feelings for him," a male voice said from nearby. Keila leapt out of her bed and threw herself across the room in terror, dragging the bed sheets with her. Her heart pounded against her chest as she stared in terror at the man. Naleten stepped into the dim moonlight streaming into the room from the tiny window.

"It is only natural to cry out for someone you care about to help you when you're enduring such tortures," he continued, slowly striding towards the terrified girl. "Don't worry; I'm not here to punish you further. I'm here to attend to an important matter." Faster than Keila could react, Naleten leapt across the room and pressed his palms to the sides of her head. Keila tried to escape the Nobody's grasp, but he held her head perfectly still and forced her to look into his glowing red eyes.

For the briefest of moments, Keila's entire body was engulfed in a faint, ruby-red light. Then, the light retracted and became solid, forming a necklace made from a chain around her neckline, decorated with a single, ruby heart with a tiny keyhole carved into the center. Keila slumped into unconsciousness and Naleten allowed her to fall to the ground as he stepped into a portal of Darkness. Cynthia stepped out of the shadows and knelt next to Keila as the teen slowly came to her senses.

"Are you alright, Keila?" Cynthia whispered in mock worry, gently cradling Keila's head in her arms.

"Yes, Mother," Keila replied. "Please, forgive me for disobeying you. I don't remember what I did. But I promise to not go against your word again." Cynthia smiled sinisterly, hidden in the shadows of the night.

"Of course I forgive you, my child," Cynthia said, hugging Keila tightly. "I'll let you get back to bed. You have to prepare to execute a Keyblade Master, remember?" Keila nodded.

"And then you want me to go back to spying on Maleficent, correct?" Keila asked as she climbed back into her bed.

"Yes, child," Cynthia said as she slipped out of the room. "Good luck."

"Thank you, Mother," Keila sighed as she slumped against her pillows. "I promise I won't fail you."

"You're welcome," Cynthia said, silently chuckling softly to herself. "I know you'll do me proud." She gently closed Keila's door and slipped a tiny, ruby key that glowed faintly into her pocket before whispering under her breath, "It's not like you have a choice anyways."

LD

Monday, June 21st 4794 P.C.

Onboard the Dawn's First Light Mk. II

In Orbit over the Frozen Fields.

Riku slowly zipped up his black cloak. According to Dawn, the world they were about to warp down onto was covered in snow and ice with minimal life signs scattered here and there. Over the course of the past week, he had traveled to nine different worlds. To his disappointment, the only life he had found on each one was the occasional animal. He found ruins of what appeared to be grand cities and townships, but what interested both him and Dawn the most was that each world possessed a field where thousands of Keyblades were driven into the ground. At every stop, he had tried to find any trace of Keila's Light. At every stop, he had come up empty.

Now they were in orbit above a world of snow and ice, two of Riku's least favorite things in the universe next to Maleficent and watermelon flavored candy. Riku let out a sigh and slipped the warp system's activation remote into his pocket as he stepped into one of the warp pods.

A bright flash of light later, Riku found himself standing ankle deep in snow on the edge of a very high cliff. At least a thousand feet below him was a field of snow and ice, decorated with a couple thousand ice covered Keyblades that had been driven point first into the ground. The bitter wind whipped against Riku's face, the snow striking his face repeatedly and turning his cheeks red with cold. Shivering, he quickly pulled up hood to provide himself with a little relief.

"I hate snow," Riku grumbled, kicking the white powder away from his feet.

"Well, let's make this quick then," Dawn suggested. Riku nodded in agreement and closed his eyes. Within the darkness behind his eyelids, he began to feel around for any form of Light from a living creature. He could feel the steady beating of the hearts from a pack of arctic wolves several miles away. Underground, he could sense the Light in the hearts of at least six humans with several more approaching those six from multiple directions. And directly behind him, slowly walking towards him was the light in her heart.

Riku's eyes snapped open and he spun to face Keila. She was dressed in heavy winter gear. The faux fur trimming of her parka shifting in the bitter wind. Her hand was clenched tightly around her Keyblade as she slowly strode towards him. Riku sighed in relief and grinned at her. Keila glared as she continued her advance. Riku's grin faded as he stared at Keila's cerulean eyes. They weren't the normal shade of blue Riku had been used to seeing; they were broken with veins of faint, glowing red light.

"Hello, Master Riku," Keila said, bowing slightly to him. "I believe a proper introduction is in order. My name is Keila, Keyblade Wielder of Shadows. Nothing personal, but I've been ordered to kill you." She hefted her Keyblade and charged a Riku with battle cry. Riku stared in mild surprise as Keila's Keyblade flashed towards his exposed throat, Darkness taking form along its edge.

LD

---

And that draws a close to Atlantis and now we are left with the fight that started off the Riku segment and the answers on whether he lives or dies by Keila's hand.

So, how many of you fans of Keila hate me now? I'm assuming a lot. I told you that I'm a bad man.

My beta actually hit me repeatedly after she finished reading this chapter. She almost considered having me change it actually.

Anyways, because this chapter demonstrated some of why I rated this story as M, I feel the need to let you all know that I will not be including Lemons in this story. Limes, maybe. Lemons no.

I hope I didn't lose any readers because of what I did to Keila. I hope you all stick around to find out to learn all about her fate.

Rape is a serious issue, but in modern society it isn't taken as seriously as it should be. You should not ever joke about it or take it lightly. If you or someone you know was raped, then you know just how serious it is.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next one. As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated. But please don't focus solely on what a terrible person I am. I have much worse things in store for our main heroes in the near future.

Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.

Shadow Horizons