Aqua and Sora's Sentiment were staring down the witchdoctor as he channeled energy from Sora and Ven's heart into his own power. The Sentiment and Aqua were about to charge when he leapt back and raised his cane with a villainous laugh before stabbing it into the ground, summoning a number of Heartless shaped like human sized Voodoo dolls.
"My friends on the other side are here to play! You think you can entertain them?" Facilier laughed as he stood atop a mausoleum, watching the battle. Aqua and Sora's Sentiment were cutting through the heartless as fast as they could but more kept on coming. Aqua then leapt back a bit, using reflega to block the attack from one of the heartless. The resulting burst of light obliterated a large swath of them but they still kept coming. She then started using random magic attacks, cutting down large numbers of Heartless until finally she felt the surge of energy in her heart and she unleashed the Magic Wish Command Style, laying waste to the Heartless even faster. She kept glancing at Sora's Sentiment, waiting for it to do something more than just attack with the Keyblade.
They all paused for a moment when they saw a large pink hippo fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the hippo, laughing as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged before the battle resumed.
"Why won't he use a Command Style? Surely he can…wait, no he can't! Not without a heart!" Aqua said mentally as she looked at Facilier who still clutched the talisman in his hand.
"Sora! You deal with him! I'll deal with these guys!" Aqua said as the Sentiment nodded. Aqua dropped down to one knee as the Sentiment charged towards her from behind and used her back as a jumping point to leap over the heartless. His jump carried him over the heartless and over Facilier to the opposite end of the mausoleum Facilier was standing on.
"That ain't gonna help ya boy." Facilier said with a grin as he aimed the orb on his cane at the Sentiment, firing a Thundaga blast. The Sentiment dodge rolled out of the way before coming back around with a vicious swing, nearly knocking Facilier off balance as he blocked. Facilier grinned and leapt backwards, over the edge of the mausoleum itself and landed on the ground. It then tapped his cane into the ground, causing a large floating shrunken head shaped Heartless to appear in the air overhead. Facilier leapt up and landed on the top of it, laughing maniacally. The Sentiment attempted to leap at it with a swing of its Keyblade but it fell short and landed behind Aqua. Facilier laughed tauntingly at the Sentiment's failure.
They all paused again for a moment when they saw a large pink elephant fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the elephant, laughing again as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged again before the battle resumed once more.
"We've got to get that talisman away from him!" Aqua said mentally. Sora's Sentiment quickly joined her in battling the Heartless as she used Blade Charge to cut them down in piles.
"Switch with me!" Aqua said as Blade Charge finally wore out and she back flipped over Sora's Sentiment which quickly started battling the Heartless in her place. She then aimed her Keyblade at Facilier who looked down at her curiously. She then used Rainbow Shower, firing off a wave of rainbow colored magic bolts at the witchdoctor who quickly caused the giant shrunken head Heartless to veer out of the way, causing the bolts to miss their mark and fly harmlessly past. Aqua fired off another wave but Facilier dodged again. Yet another wave. Dodged.
"You're pathetic powers are no match for mine! Give into defeat! It's time to end this!" Facilier said as the shrunken head opened its mouth, causing a long green whip like tongue to launch out from the head's mouth and fly directly at Aqua. She quickly swung at it but it dodged and quickly wrapped around her. She struggled to break free but the tongue simply constricted her. The shrunken head started slowly raising her upwards towards it as Facilier let out a maniacal laugh.
"You see little lady, I made a deal before ya'll arrived. The deal is that in exchange for unlimited power, the spirits would get your heart and the heart of your Apprentice. Problem is, I have to have both at once to seal the deal. Well little lady, this heartless will deal with freeing your heart from your body and from there, I can take it and gain unlimited power!" Facilier laughed as Aqua continued being slowly pulled up by the giant heartless. Aqua looked down and saw that Sora's Sentiment was still fighting the Heartless.
"SORA! HELP!" Aqua called down to the Sentiment who glanced up before looking back down at the Heartless. He then quickly leapt over them with one mighty leap, catching the tooth of the Keyblade on the roof of the mausoleum. He then swung back and upwards onto the roof before turning towards the giant heartless.
"What'cha gonna do little man? You gonna knock me out of the sky?" Facilier asked mockingly.
They all paused yet again when they saw a large pink dragon fly overhead and crash somewhere else in the graveyard. They waited a moment before they saw Shantotto fly past overhead after the dragon, laughing once again as she flew. They then all looked at each other and shrugged yet again before the battle resumed.
Sora's Sentiment glared up at Facilier, aiming its Keyblade at the shrunken head. The Sentiment started glowing with white and black energy, reminiscent of the Nobodies, before it stepped back and leapt towards the head. It then raised the Keyblade horizontally across in front of it as the Keyblade glowed with a bright light. Behind it, a row of thirteen glowing spheres of light appeared before transforming into thirteen glowing Keyblade clones. All thirteen of the clones aimed themselves at the head as Facilier looked at them confused but Aqua was stunned.
"He's doing it! It's a Shoot Lock!" She exclaimed in her mind. The Keyblades immediately streaked towards their target, moving so fast that Facilier couldn't dodge in time. The Keyblade clones pierced through the giant head, causing it to explode, releasing a large pink glowing heart as well as Aqua from its tongue. Aqua and Facilier both fell quickly but Sora's Sentiment quickly flew in and caught Aqua before she hit the ground. Facilier however landed in the sea of heartless beneath him, which cushioned his fall.
"Now then! Where were we-HOOAHH!" Facilier grunted as a nearly unconscious pink rhinoceros landed on top of him. Shantotto appeared atop the mausoleum nearby.
"What an inspiring bout." She said with a bored yawn and a stretch. Madam Mim then transformed back into her normal hag like form as Facilier picked himself up.
"It doesn't matter how many heartless you destroy! I'm invincible!" Facilier shouted with a dark smile, dangling the talisman by a black thread in his hands, before he started laughing.
"Oh? Is that fact set in stone? For as I see it, your hopes are all BLOWN!" Shantotto yelled as her staff started glowing and she quickly hurled it at Facilier with a spin. The staff cut the thread on the talisman, carrying it towards Aqua and Sora's Sentiment. Facilier gasped in horror as the Sentiment leapt forward and caught it before throwing it down at its armored boot, causing it to shatter in a flash of bright light.
"No! NO!" Facilier freaked as he dove for the pieces, picking them up in his hands in horror as the outlines of various voodoo symbols started scattering everywhere. Aqua, Shantotto, Sora's Sentiment, and even Madam Mim backed away from him. Aqua, the Sentiment, and Shantotto, taking cover behind a row of headstones as the Heartless all backed away.
"How am I ever gonna pay back my debt?" Facilier asked in a complete panic. He then froze, white as a sheet in terror as he heard what sounded like people singing…
"Bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom-bom…"
Facilier turned around to face three nearby headstones where three floating voodoo masks with glowing purple eyes burst free from the headstones, floating towards Facilier slowly. They were the source of the singing. Facilier grinned innocently at them.
"Friends!" he said before the masks sang with evil grins…
"Are you ready?"
"No! I'm not ready at all! In fact, I've got lots more players." Facilier freaked, leaping to his feet as he started backing up in fear towards a large headstone where Mim was standing, who was watching in silent disbelief as Facilier tried to escape the spirits' wrath, but the spirits had no interest in excuses as they sang…
"Are you ready?"
"This is just a minor setback in a major operation-YIE!" Facilier yelped, jumping fearfully into Mim's arms as the voodoo doll heartless started crowding around them both while they still backed up towards the headstone.
"As soon as I work up another spell, we'll be back in business! I mean, I can still get those silly Keyblade kids' heart's locked away! I just need a little more time!" Facilier said as they backed into the headstone. In a flash of lightning, the headstone transformed into the giant demonic voodoo mask with the downward swept horns, razor sharp teeth, elongated face, and glowing green eyes. Facilier and Mim leapt back away in fear of the giant mask.
"No-no-please-no!" Facilier pleaded as he backed away in fear. Suddenly two ghostly hands, made of green mist, grabbed him by both legs and started dragging him towards the mask's open maw. Facilier cried out in fear as he tried to claw his way to freedom.
"JUST-A-LITTLE-MORE-TIME!" he pleaded. He then spotted Madam Mim and grabbed her by the ankles.
"HELP ME!" he pleaded as he started dragging Mim towards the mask along with him, the voodoo doll heartless and voodoo masks watching and continuing their haunting song.
"Let me go you fool!" Mim yelled, trying to kick herself free but it was no use.
"I promise to pay ya'll back! I PROMISE!" Facilier cried out one final time before the spirits dragged him and Mim both into the giant mask's maw before the smaller masks and voodoo doll heartless all were sucked into it after him. The mask slammed its mouth shut, creating a massive burst of blue and black smoke around it.
Aqua started to stand up from behind the headstones in stunned silence as the smoke started to clear and a whispering voice on the wind said…
"Hush."
And revealed the headstone now had busts of Facilier and Mim with expressions of absolute horror on their faces. Beneath their busts were their names. Shantotto gave a smug chuckle.
"Total losers." She said casually as she approached the two headstones.
"Looks like Hades is going to have some guests." Aqua said, still in shock. She then looked around and noticed that Sora's Sentiment had disappeared. She then saw it standing nearby, holding Sora's heart and the piece of Ven's heart wedged into Sora's, in its armored hands. It turned and started approaching Sora's covered, bound, and still unconscious body in a wagon nearby. The brown covering over Sora's body magically fell free and the ropes around his feet and wrists fell apart. The Sentiment then brought the heart and a half, closer to his body. In a bright flash of light the heart and the Sentiment completely vanished, the armor piece back on Sora's shoulder. Aqua hurried over to Sora as he let out a soft moan and started to stir.
"Sora? Sora, are you alright?" Aqua asked, holding him slightly, gently caressing his forehead.
"Aqua?" He asked weakly as he cracked open a pair of tired blue eyes. Aqua smiled at him with tears of joy.
"I'm here Sora. Everything's going to be alright now." Aqua said. Just then the flower and vines of a Curaga spell appeared over Sora's head. Aqua turned to see Shantotto nearby, sitting atop a headstone with her staff in hand.
"Aqua…I'm sorry." Sora said, still a little weak, as Aqua smiled sweetly.
"It's okay Sora. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have told you from the beginning about Terra and Xehanort." Aqua said as Sora smiled and started to try and climb up onto his feet but his knees buckled from the sudden weight.
"Careful! You're not quite ready to walk yet. You've suffered quite a shock to your body, Sora. You need time to recover." Aqua said as she turned around and pulled him onto her back, holding him under the legs as he held on to her by the shoulders, resting his weight on her back. Shantotto hopped off the top of the headstone and planted her staff into the ground, causing a blue circle with various markings to appear on the ground beneath them before they both vanished in a flash of blue light.
Back at Shantotto's manor…
Sora was sitting on the couch with Aqua next to him. Shantotto was back in her chair and Merlin back in his.
"I suppose I better start from the beginning, huh Sora?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded with a yawn.
"Tell me what happened, Aqua. How did Terra become Xehanort?" Sora asked as Aqua took a deep breath.
"Well, it all started with Terra's and my Master's Qualification Exam. Back then, Xehanort was an old Keyblade Master known as Master Xehanort, and he was an old classmate of Master Eraqus, mine and Terra's master. Master Xehanort was also Ven's original master before he split Ven's heart in two, separating the light from the darkness, creating two completely different beings without our knowing it. He called Ven's dark half Vanitas. Anyway, Xehanort tampered with the Exam course, making it seem like Terra had too much lingering darkness in his heart, thus causing him to fail the exam. Afterwards, Terra was sent to go find Master Xehanort and Vanitas, who he had taken as his apprentice. Vanitas tricked Ven into going off in search of Terra, and Master Eraqus sent me to find Ven and send him home, while simultaneously trying to keep Terra on the path of the light. At some point, Ven learned the truth about the fact his heart had been split in two and why. The reason was so that Ven and Vanitas could rejoin as one and create a particular Keyblade as a result. It was a Keyblade known as the X-Blade. This Keyblade was so powerful that it could open the door to Kingdom Hearts without needing the Seven Princesses of Heart." Aqua explained.
"The fiend! Using poor Ventus like that!" Merlin said in disgust as Sora nodded in agreement.
"So what happened next?" Sora asked.
"Ven went to seek advice from Master Eraqus about what to do since Ven was unaware that he was simply being used, and the master, realizing Xehanort's plot, decided he had to kill Ven to keep Xehanort from succeeding. Terra, having been completely tricked by Xehanort into becoming his pawn, arrived on the scene, and correctly assumed that the master was trying to kill Ven and intervened, injuring the master. Xehanort however dealt the final blow, killing Master Eraqus and plunging my homeworld into darkness. Terra realized then that he had been used. The three of us met up in the very world we fought his armor, the Keyblade Graveyard, along with King Mickey, who then was still just an apprentice to Master Yen Sid. Ven and Vanitas became one, creating the X-Blade which Vanitas, in Ven's body, used against the King and I in battle but we succeeded in defeating him but at the cost of Ven losing his heart. Terra in the meantime had gone to face Xehanort on his own, his anger and rage staining his heart with darkness and causing him to succumb to it. Xehanort, at that moment, freed his own heart and possessed Terra's body, creating the younger more agile Xehanort we both encountered in Radiant Garden a while ago. Terra's will and memories took root in his armor and became the Lingering Sentiment that we fought. I was knocked unconscious during the fight with Vanitas and learned a while later from the King and Yen Sid, that Terra had lost his heart. I went searching for his heart, having stashed Ven's body away in the ruins of our homeworld beforehand. I found Terra in Radiant Garden, only now he was known as Xehanort, and he attacked me. I defeated him and he started falling into darkness. I couldn't let Terra's body fall into darkness, because right when I defeated him, I sensed a faint glimmer of Terra's heart still inside his body, so I sacrificed my Keyblade and armor so that he might escape. I fell into darkness instead, and that's where our two paths finally met, Sora." Aqua said as Sora pondered.
"So…Terra didn't become Xehanort by choice, rather he's being possessed by Xehanort." Sora said as Aqua nodded.
"Now you know why I want to save him. I know we can save him. We just need to pull Xehanort's heart from Terra's body and allow Terra's heart to take back over. Problem is, I don't know how to do it." Aqua said with a sigh as she sat back on the couch. She then felt Sora put his hand atop of hers.
"We'll find a way Aqua. I know we will. Together, as Master, and Apprentice." Sora said as Aqua smiled at him.
"Oh, Sora." She said before quickly hugging him. Shantotto finally cleared her throat.
"If that is the end of this sappy discussion, can we move on before I get a concussion?" Shantotto asked as Aqua and Sora separated.
"Well, Sora do you remember using a Shoot Lock?" Aqua asked as Sora nodded.
"Yeah. I focused the power in my Keyblade on a single target, and released the energy once I felt it had built up enough." Sora explained as Aqua smiled and nodded.
"Congratulations, you have now officially learned how to use the Shoot Lock. We probably should go somewhere so you can get some more practice in. I know of a place, but I think we could use a break after all of this." Aqua said as Sora arched his eyebrow at her.
"A break? Are you serious? I'm eager to go find Terra and bring him back to his senses!" Sora exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
"Sora, you just reunited your heart with your body, you need time to recover your strength and energy." Aqua said as Sora rolled his right shoulder a bit.
"Now that you mention it, I am a little stiff. Maybe I could use some down time…and I know just where to go for it too." Sora said, earning a curious look from Aqua and Merlin.
"Where?" Aqua asked.
"Disney Castle. The King mentioned the Million Dreams Celebration, and Snow mentioned that Riku and Kairi were there. If we hurry, perhaps we can still get in on some of the fun!" Sora said as Aqua smiled and stood up with a nod.
"Alright then Sora, to Disney Castle it is." Aqua said as Merlin and Shantotto both stood up. Shantotto then laughed heartily again.
"Not bad for someone to handle such powerful magic. A little bit of work, and maybe your days as a total loser, won't be so tragic." Shantotto said.
"Ignore her; she's going to pay for her insults in time." Merlin said but Shantotto smirked and ignored his comment.
"Now don't forget all that you've learned, and on that note, class is adjourned." Shantotto said as she raised her staff and in an instant Sora and Aqua disappeared in a flash of light.
"What-what-what? Where did you send them Madam?" Merlin asked the tiny wizard who smirked up at him.
"To Disney Town I did send them, now to my insults I shall make more than an addendum." Shantotto said with a laugh. Soon afterwards, anyone passing by Shantotto's Mansion, would hear shouting and screaming as the two wizards dueled using their powerful magics, shaking the house and causing bursts of multicolored light to appear in random windows as they battled throughout the house.
End Chapter 21.