-Chapter 6-
-Castle Oblivion-
Aqua landed her keyblade glider and retracted her armor. Now that she knew Maleficent was staying in Castle Oblivion she knew Ven, the boy she had left unconscious in the castle twenty years ago, was in trouble. Ven had lost his heart all those years ago and Aqua swore to help him, leaving his body behind in at home after transforming her world into the enchanted dark castle it is now.
She stopped however when she heard a weak chirping sound. A weak looking animal was crawling by her feet. It was teal in color, kind of looked like a duck, but had a tail like a beaver's. A teal platypus? Aqua bent over, reached into her pocket, and pulled out some healing fairy dust that fell in in Pixie Hollow.
"Hey, little guy. You look like you could use this.", she said sprinkling it over the creature.
In seconds the platypus looked much better and chirped happily before running off.
Aqua then walked over to the large castle door and pushed it open. The interior was completely white, with pillars, carpets and vases of flowers all the same shade. Everything seemed to give off a sort of luminance too.
Just then, several Heatless appeared and Aqua went to work exterminating them. She left Ven's body safely locked in one of the basements so she headed downstairs. After a few levels she heard voices behind a partially open door. She peeked in cautiously and saw a red haired man in a black coat, Nexus. She didn't know him but she new the person he was speaking to. In the center of the room stood a pedestal and on the pedestal was a silver orb. Maleficent's voice was being transmitted through it.
"The plan is going accordingly", said Nexus.
"So you are positive that this will open Kingdom Hearts?", asked Maleficent via the orb.
"How do we know we can trust this guy?", asked another voice over the orb. This one definitely belonged to Mortimer.
"He was with those Organization XIII guys!"
"I assure you", Nexus said unfazed, "This boy is my dark counterpart. He's my clone who fights alongside the darkness. By merging with him I can create the X-blade and open the door to Kingdom Hearts."
Aqua gasped. The X-blade was what left Ven as he was. He joined with his dark counterpart, Vanitas, to create the X-blade but managed to stay in control. Somehow though, he lost his heart and fell into the state he's currently in. Creating a new X-blade would indeed open a path to Kingdom Hearts but to what cost.
"Well lookie here! An eavesdropper, ain't it.", Aqua looked up to see Pete standing over her.
She leapt and stood defensively. In seconds, Nexus opened the door and walked into the hall staring emotionlessly.
Aqua glared at him, "I warn you, do not forge the X-blade. No body will benefit from it, not even you!"
Nexus laughed, "What happens to me is my concern and mine alone. As for Kingdom Hearts, it's already been promised. General Pete, I'll let you handle our uninvited guest."
"It'll be my pleasure!", Pete snickered as Nexus summoned a dark corridor and vanished.
Pete summoned several large Heartless and stood with them. Aqua drew her keyblade and faced them. Just then there was a impact as a harpoon tip struck into the wall between Aqua and the Heartless and a teal platypus wearing a fedora-style hat swung between them and stood next to Aqua. Aqua looked down at it oddly. The platypus just nodded and beaconed the Heartless over.
/Notice: Fight alongside Agent P and defeat Pete and the Heartless...
Aqua started the battle by targeting one Heartless at a time and attacking them with long-ranged magic. She kept a distance and launched fireballs at them. Agent P was precausious and took on more than one with his martial arts.
Eventually Pete was all alone but the battle was far from over. Agent P's physical attacks seemed to have little effect on him. He knocked him out of the way like a fly and half charged/half rolled at Aqua, knocking her back several feet.
He then vanished and a yellow glowing path started following Aqua as lighting came down. Aqua did her best to dodge the lighting path as it streatched farther down the hallway. Finally the path disappeared and Pete reappeared. Apparently he couldn't keep this attack going for too long.
/Limit: Platy-kick
From the other end of the hall, Agent P shot his harpoon at Aqua's keyblade before she pulled him towards her and swung him around Pete, tying her opponent up as Agent P and the harpoon rope wrapped around him. Finally as he got close enough, Agent P kicked Pete square in the face.
After a few extra hits from Aqua's keyblade, Pete was down.
Pete got up dazed and and holding his forehead.
"Ain't you a little too old to be travelin' to different worlds and fightin' the darkness?", he asked.
"Why no, no I'm not...", Aqua answered as she knocked Pete totally unconscious with her keyblade.
Her keyblade vanished and Aqua looked around her. It looked like the platypus split after the fight meaning she no longer had any reason to stay there. She ran down the hall to the next set of stairs.
It was then that she started to realize how long she was away from the realm of light.
"I could have been in the realm of darkness for decades. Pete was right, I could be an old woman in the body of a teenage girl..."
As she reached the stairs, a dark corridor appeared and Aqua drew her keyblade ready to fight Nexus or any other one of Maleficent's associates. But instead of seeing anyone she had expected, she saw a mouse with perfectly round black ears standing two to three feet high.
"Hiya! Master Aqua, right? We gotta hurry. Master Yen Sid needs to see ya. Riku will be there too."
At first she wasn't sure what to say. She knew Master Yen Sid, her late master Eraqus's associate. She was glad Riku was safe after that world collapsing. Finally she remembered something in Radiant Gardens so many years ago.
"I met you in Radiant Gardens, protecting that little girl, Kairi."
He looked at her wide-eyed, "Oh yeah! I'm Mickey, the king of Disney Town. I'm also Yen Sid's apprentice. Come on; we gotta hurry. Your friend Ventus will be safe. I've put barriers around him."
Hesitanly Aqua nodded and followed him into the dark corridor, donning her armor as she went.
-Land of Kami-
As Xenus, Donald, and Goofy headed toward the exit a figure in a black coat approached them. He was young and had long whitish-purple hair.
"Riku!", Donald and Goofy yelled simutainiously.
Xenus was silent.
Riku ignored the others and looked at Xenus, "You're looking for Nexus, right? Forget it. Stay away from that guy. Order of Master Yen Sid..."
Xenus drew his keyblade and Donald and Goofy gasped, "I don't give a damn about your Yen Sid or even know who the hell he is. Nexus is my business and nobody else's."
Riku sighed, "He said you'd be hard to persuade..."
He summoned his own keyblade and charged at Xenus.
/Notice: Defeat Riku...
Xenus was all alone for this fight; Donald and Goofy would not fight against Riku. Keyblades clashing, Riku and Xenus battled on, equally matched.
That is, until Riku jumped back.
"Guess I have no choice...", he close his eyes and leapt into the air.
Dark light engulfed him and he threw aside his coat to reveal a dark suit similar to the one he used to wear while under Xehanort's control.
He wove together a ball of dark purplish fire and shot it at Xenus. Xenus dodged it just as another nearly hit him from the other direction. Riku's speed was amazing.
Xenus was just able to block Riku as he lunged out of nowhere. It was hard to get a hit in.
Finally Riku jumped back again and rose into the air. Everything started to become pitch black.
"Dark Aura..."
He vanished then flew across the battle field, vanishing and reappearing over and over. Xenus did the best he could to not get hit. Suddenly Riku appeared right in front of him and tore right through him, keyblade drawn. Xenus fell to the ground and blacked out.
-Mysterious Tower-
Xenus awoke in a bed in a strange room. It looked like something out of a fairytale. He was a little light headed and struggled to get up. Just then a gray haired woman wearing a long blue dress came into the room.
"Goodness me, you are awake.", she pulled a wand out of her dress and pointed it at Xenus.
A small teacup on a saucer appeared floating next to him.
"Have something warm to drink, dear."
He glanced at her oddly and hesitanly took the cup and sipped from it. It was sweet and warm.
"Who are you? Where am I?", he asked.
"You can just call me the Fairy Godmother. And this is Master Yen Sid's tower. Master Riku brought you here in quite a condition."
Xenus got up angrily, "I wont listen to a word they have to say! I need to find Nexus now!"
"Please calm yourself. Yen Sid has reason for you avoid this man.", she spoke calmly, "At least stay and rest and then listen to what he has to say."
Xenus sighed and sat back down, "I'm sorry...it's just...until just a couple days ago I thought I was a totally different person."
"I understand, but know this; Nexus is extremely powerful. You may possess memories of the hero Sora but that doesn't mean your as powerful as he is yet. True power comes from experience."
Xenus laughed, "I didn't think my fairy godmother would be lecturing me about power."
"Sorry", she laughed, "I've been around Master Yen Sid a little too long. He's a powerful sorcerer as well as a keyblade master."
He nodded, "He still sounds kinda arrogant. But I'll stay and listen."
He started to leave the room before the Fairy Godmother stopped him again.
"Wait, you should probably change clothes before your meeting.", she waved her wand at him.
A light engulfed Xenus and when it settled, he was dressed in a black short sleeved jacket with red cross belts and black roomy pants with large red storage packs attached to either legs. It felt very similar to his Sora outfit but had a darker tone to it.
"I can't do much to aid dark powers but the magic in this outfit should at least work alongside your dark powers. The clothes will also help you blend in to whatever world you head to.", she said, "Though I know you are sure where you are headed, I feel that you will be traveling a lot more."
Xenus nodded, "Thank you, Fairy Godmother."
He then left to see what Yen Sid had to say. When he opened the door to the next room, he saw what looked like an office but nobody was behind the desk. Instead Mickey and Riku were standing there.
"Hiya, my name's Mickey and this here is Riku! I guess you two already met."
"Yeah...", he said remembering their not-so-great first encounter, "My name's Xenus. Exactly why won't you guys let me see Nexus?"
"I told you", said Riku, "Master Yen Sid will tell you. Unfortunately he's not here yet. Be patient."
Xenus grit his teeth, "Great, the guy pretty much forces me here just to listen to him and can't even show up?"
"Master Yen Sid's probably in his workshop in the basement.", said Mickey, "He almost never leaves this tower and spends a lot of time down there. Hey! I could take you down there and we could look for him. What do ya say?"
"You're not going in there, right?", asked Riku, "Master Yen Sid said the workshop was off limits."
"We'll just go wait outside the door.", said Mickey, "We might even see him on the way."
"Okay, just be safe you two.", Riku nodded.
Mickey and Xenus went downstairs. The tower was at least five stories high and there were just stairs. Finally they reached the basement door. It was slightly ajar.
"That's where the workshop is.", said Mickey, "We'd better wait up here."
"We can't just call down to him?", Xenus suggested.
"Well we never know what he's up to. Funny though, he usually keeps the door closed..."
Suddenly a shadowy hand stretched up the basement stairs, through the open door, and grabbed Mickey, pulling him down the stairs into the workshop.
Xenus gasped and ran after him, "Mickey!"
Mickey screamed and tried fighting back but the hand's shadowy fingers had his arms clenched down. Once in the workshop there were shelves of spell books and potions and tables covered with strange devices. On one table stood a miniature model of a town.
"Is that suppose to be Disney Town?", Xenus wondered.
A sort of portal was hovering over the model and that's what the arm was coming out of. The hand pulled Mickey all the way in and Xenus jumped after them just as the portal closed.
-Disney Wasteland-
Xenus plummeted through the sky and watched the ground grow closer and closer. Everything looked grey but that's hard to tell when you are execrating with the force of gravity. Finally Xenus fell to the ground and landed hard on something...or someone. It was a green mustached creature who wore a red suit and a helmet with antennae. Both got up dizzily.
"Ow... What the...? Oh! Are you okay?!", Xenus gasped and got up.
"Watch out before you go skydiving off of skyscrapers, Sonny!", the creature got up and dusted himself off, "Aw, it's alright. Not the first time I've been landed on. The name's Gus; Gus Gremlin."
Gus offered his hand and Xenus took it, a little stunned. After all, he just landed on top of the guy from at least 50 feet up.
"I'm Xenus and I'm...not from around here.", it was his first real glimps of the place. It looked like a dreary black and white version of Disney Town. Everything was faded, even the things that were in color.
Gus gasped, "Then...you must have a heart! Only people from outside the Wasteland have hearts."
Xenus though, "Do clones have hearts...?"
"To be honest...", he said, "I don't even know. But my friend does. He-", suddenly he remembered Mickey and gasped, "The King! I lost him!"
Gus gasped, "The King?! We need to save him. I'll go with you."
Xenus realized that Gus knew a lot more about this world than he did. He'd be a perfect guide.
"Okay, you follow me. Where should we start? He could be anywhere.", Xenus asked.
He landed next to what looked like an old castle and decided they may as well start there.
"Creepy people live in creepy castles. May as well take a look.", he said.
"This old castle has been abandoned for years.", Gus said, "It would be a good place for a criminal to hide."
They went inside the castle to see it was empty. All the furniture and everything must have been taken ages ago. As they passed by a basement door however, Xenus noticed light.
"Somebody must be downstairs...", he thought.
He crept down the stares with Gus close behind. Beyond the iron railing they could see an examination table in the center of the room and strapped to it was...King Mickey.
"The King!", hissed Xenus, running down the stairs.
Gus looked down confused, "That's not the king...", but ran after Xenus.
It was indeed Mickey, wearing nothing but red shorts and huge yellow shoes. Although he was not the only other person in the basement. A tall, skinny, mustached man in a lab coat was standing by a huge machine aimed at Mickey.
"It looks like you brought friends.", he said chuckling, "Do you have hearts too?"
"Actually I'm a citizen of this town and this guy doesn't even know if he has one.", said Gus cowardly.
Xenus glanced at him narrow eyed and looked back at the Mad Doctor, "We're here to rescue him..."
Xenus drew his keyblade and ran to the table with the intent of smashing it.
"Not so fast!", the Doctor yelled and pressed a button on the machine. Mechanical arms holding saws dropped down from the ceiling. Xenus dodged them and glared at him.
"Wanna do this the hard way..."
/ Notice: Save the King
Xenus slashed and hacked at every saw that got in his way. He tried to get closer to the table but more and more kept dropping. Just then, something, or someone dropped into the room. He was a black and white rabbit wearing light blue shorts.
Xenus gasped, "He looks just like the King..."
Just as he said that, the rabbit held out his arm and a keyblade appeared in it.
"Let 'em go, Doc...", he said glaring.
Gus gasped, "Your majesty, King Oswald!"
Xenus's eyes widened and he looked at the rabbit, "King...? So Gus thought I was talking about him..."
/Notice: Oswald joined the party!
Oswald helped knock the saws out of the way and soon they were all destroyed. Just then the Mad Doctor hit another button and hanging drills fell from the ceiling. Xenus dodged the drills, and at the same time slashed them down. Oswald ran ahead and started yanking at the restraints holding Mickey to the table.
Just then the Doctor hit one last huge button marked with a skull. The machine hummed menacingly as an arm holding a toilet plunger popped out.
Xenus and Oswald stopped and stared with narrow eyes, "You gotta be kidding me..."
The plunger came down on Mickey's chest and started tugging at him. Mickey winced and Xenus and Oswald ran over and started knocking the arm away.
Finally Mickey took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and somehow yanked himself free from the table. He drew his keyblade and jumped off the table and next to the Doctor. The Mad Doctor smiled weakly and pulled a lever which caused a trap door to open underneath himself.
Mickey looked at Xenus and Oswald and smiled. Oswald just glared at him. Xenus looked at Oswald oddly.
"Why is he looking at the King like that? Especially after saving him..."
Before he could say anything, Gus ran over to them.
"Thank goodness your majesty is safe.", he cried clearly relieved, "Let's get you out of here!"
"Yeah...", Oswald took one last look at Mickey and followed Gus out.
Xenus looked at Mickey who was just standing there looking as shocked as he was to Oswald who was walking away.
"Why does he have a keyblade like me and the King? And why does he look so much like the King?"
Xenus needed to know and couldn't believe Oswald was now leaving. Luckily Mickey ran ahead.
"Oswald, wait!", he caught up to Oswald and ran in front of him, "Oswald, that's really you? I haven't seen ya for ages!"
"70 years...", Oswald pushed past Mickey and kept walking.
"Oswald?", Mickey called concerned, "What happened; what are ya doing here?"
Oswald's ears twitched and he spun around furiously, "What happened?!", he yelled, "YOU happened! I could have had everything. I could have had it made, but than you showed up and took away everything that was important to me..."
Mickey gasped, "You mean the Mark of Mastery exam? You are still mad about that?"
Xenus could hardly take this all in. First of all Mickey said he didn't see Oswald for 70 years? How old WAS the King?! Secondly Oswald took the Mark of Mastery exam? That explained the keyblade.
"What are you both talking about?!", Xenus asked kind of loudly.
Mickey, Oswald, and Gus all looked over at him.
Oswald sighed, "You have a keyblade and obviously know Mickey so I may as well tell ya... I was Master Yen Sid's first pupil. As soon as he saw me with a keyblade he was eager to train me. Everyday I improved and he kept telling me I was closer to becoming a keyblade master."
His voice started out sad but after a while his tone hardened.
"But then HE came, and HE had a keyblade. After several lessons, Master Yen Sid started to see more promise in him. I felt replaced, and after the Mark of Mastery exam it was official. Master Yen Sid passed Mickey but not me... Afterwards I continued my training, but this time with 'Master' Mickey. Everywhere we went it was all about Mickey until he freed an entire town...and then they offered to make him king! I was Master Yen Sid's top pupil, not you!"
He ended by glaring and pointing dramatically at Mickey. Xenus sighed and shook his head.
"Sounds like a major disappointment and I'd be ticked too if that happened to me, but arn't you overreacting a bit?", Xenus asked.
Oswald turned his glare to Xenus, "Listen, you have no idea what happened to me in the past 70 years! I've been trapped in this world, unable to get back while HE, a king AND a keyblade master is free as a bird!"
Gus walked over to Oswald, "But your majesty, you are the king of this world. Of Disney Town."
"You mean Disney Wasteland", said Oswald now looking at the ground, "And I'm no longer your king. The Shadow Blot took over..."
"Shadow Blot?", Xenus asked, "Who's that?"
"The Shadow Blot is a dark shapeless creature who's black as ink", Gus answered, "One day an enormous bottle fell from sky, if you can believe that, and tons of black liquid gushed from it washing away all the color from the town. Afterwards the Blot formed from the liquid and began the take over of the town. Afterwards King Oswald vowed to take back this world but with little success."
"Okay...it's settled.", Xenus nodded drew his keyblade, "We are going to help you take down the Blot."
Mickey nodded, "Exactly! Friends help friends.", Mickey drew his and touched it to Xenus's.
Oswald looked away from them, "You are NOT my friends...", he drew his keyblade and touched the other two with them, "But I'll let you help. I owe this world a lot."
The other two nodded and Mickey smiled, "Hot dog! So tell us, where is this Blot?"
Gus broke in, "Nobody knows. The Blot sends his minions out to terrorize the townsfolk. Nobody has seen HIM in years."
Xenus thought for a moment, "Then we need to find the minions and and maybe they will give us clues to where he is."
Oswald was silent and had a look of thoughtfulness and guilt.
'Is he hiding something...?', Xenus thought.
The three headed into town and Gus followed behind.
/ Notice: Mickey joined the party!
/ Notice: Obtained Magic Paintbrush
A keyblade with a thin smooth shaft and a single tooth shaped like the bristles of a paintbrush. The keychain is shaped like the Mickey's head but it looks like it's dripping with ink.
As they entered the town they heard somebody yelling. Mickey, Oswald, and Xenus all drew their keyblades. A horse wearing pants, a shirt with a scarf, and a bowler hat was being chased by strange
Sorry folks! The website wouldn't let me post the entire chapter 'cause it was too big. But I posted the other half in the 'next' chapter. Sorry for the mess! '^_^