Just a head's up, this is the last new Disney world for this story. From here on out it's Marvel, Earth, and old Disney worlds. These next three chapters are going to be shorter than the last few, but then we're going to get back to longer ones.
Chapter 21: Kingdom of Prydain:
The Land of Departure – Library:
Vanitas shuddered as he closed the book he'd been pouring over and added it to the pile. He'd lived with Xehanort for four years, so he wasn't one to be frightened or repulsed easily. But the information he'd just uncovered had rocked him to his core. The Gauntlet of The First Master was an ancient legend dating back several thousands and thousands of years to the very first Keyblade War. Records of what this was were scarce, but with the advent of the Coalition, enough knowledge had been pooled together that Vanitas was able to collect enough research to paint a complete picture of what it was they were dealing with: an ancient weapon with enough raw power to make its user omnipotent.
According to legend, the Gauntlet had been made from six singularities from a dying galaxy, shaped and refined by the very first Keyblade Master in existence and attached to armor strong enough to channel the ingots' energies to form something that granted its wielder god-like powers. Teleportation to any location in the universe at any time, long range mind reading, long-distance mind control, energy beams powerful enough to destroy the universe, and time travel. What truly frightened – no, terrified Vanitas, was the fact that just one of these so-called "Infinity Stones" had enough power to make whoever used its power an invincible force of destruction. And Maleficent's got one of them already…
The raven-haired Keyblade wielder shivered in fear as he realized the extent of Maleficent's ambitions. She wasn't just going to conquer all worlds, she was trying to achieve godlike power sufficient to ensure that she will have always been the supreme ruler of the universe. The implications were staggering, and Vanitas shuddered to think about what such a universe would be like. I need to pass this on to the Director, he thought to himself as he pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed Director Cassim. After a few tense minutes, the former King of Thieves answered the phone, and the former apprentice of Xehanort frantically explained what he'd discovered.
If the implications of the Infinity Gauntlet as it was otherwise known were enough to terrify Vanitas, then Cassim nearly went catatonic in a horrified stupor as the weight of what Maleficent was after hit him like a freight train. But as the director of C.I.N., he recovered quickly and ordered Vanitas to make contact with his informant find out every scrap of information possible on the progress of Maleficent's hunt for the Stones. How many did she already have? Which ones did she have? Did they know the locations of any of the others? Vanitas nodded before hanging up and firing off a quick text to Loki to set up a time and location for their rendezvous. He needed to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.
Kingdom of Prydain – Witches' Cottage:
"Are you sure this is the place?" Riku wondered as he and Mickey found themselves facing a small wooden cottage in the middle of the wilderness. A tip from Coalition Intelligence had revealed that there was an artifact in this kingdom called the Black Cauldron that Maleficent wanted for her own plans. From the intel they'd been given before their arrival, the Cauldron had the power to create an army of undead warriors. A local tyrant known only as The Horned King had attempted to use the Cauldron's power to rule this world, only for its power to be undone by the willing sacrifice of a heroic creature named Gurgi. Although the cauldron was now inert, Riku didn't doubt for a moment that Vanitas' sources would indicate the "Mistress of All Evil" wanted it unless she had a reliable method of restoring its powers.
For that reason, he and Mickey had been dispatched to handle the situation to give Terra and Ventus a break and allow Terra some time off to spend with his family. Last Riku heard, Ven and Yuffie were spending the rest weekend at his parents' house on the Destiny Islands while Terra had gone back to the Land of Departure so that he could get ready for his and Aqua's wedding anniversary in next week. As they walked up to the house, Riku mentally reviewed the information Coalition Intelligence had gathered on the three witches who lived here. The Witches of Morva were apparently always looking to make bargains with anyone who sought them out, preferably for something roughly equal to what they were offering.
To that end, he and Mickey had brought a worthless enchanted statue from the Cave of Wonders that could be trained to act as a bodyguard. One magical artifact for another, Riku thought to himself as he knocked on the front door. Should be easy to convince them to trade. To the silver haired young man's surprise, however, the witches didn't even bother trying to make them trade anything for the Cauldron. Prydain had been part of the Coalition for going on three years now, and the three witches were informed enough on Coalition news to know about the resurgence of the Hellfire Club. Evidently, they had reached the same conclusion that Riku and Mickey had, and while all three women could take on Maleficent in a fight, these "Dark Elves" sighted in San Fransokyo and Agrabah outright terrified them.
"That was easier than I thought it would be," Riku commented as he and Mickey walked out of the cottage carrying the Black Cauldron between them. A thundering roar directed their attention skyward as they looked up to see several ships of varying size descending from the sky. The unfamiliar dagger-like shapes matched the descriptions of the Dark Elf spaceships sighted in San Fransokyo, while the two Keyblade Masters instantly recognized the red painted wood of Captain Hook's pirate ship sailing through the skies. I spoke too soon, Riku thought to himself as he sent a quick text to Coalition Intelligence requesting reinforcements. I just hope we can hold them off long enough for back up to get here so we can get the cauldron off world.
Agrabah – Market District:
"I did the research," Vanitas told his contact as they sat huddled in the corner of a crowded bar in the heart of Agrabah. "You were right about the Infinity Stones." Loki nodded.
"Now that we've established my credibility," the prince of Asgard replied. "I have some critical information on that subject. Maleficent has decided to make a move for the Mind Stone. It's in the possession of a wealthy collector by the name of Taneleer Tivan on the decaying planetoid known as Knowhere. It's a mining colony beyond the borders of Coalition space, out in the greater galaxy. Here are the coordinates." He paused as he conjured a pen and scribbled the world's location on Vanitas' notepad. "Maleficent hopes to either recruit Tivan into her cabal or trade him for the Stone. If that won't work, she has no problem with killing him and razing the place as an example."
"Will the Club be arriving by Corridor or by ship?" the deputy director of Coalition Intelligence inquired. If Maleficent was travelling by Dark Corridor, then she could be in and out with the Infinity Stone in less than an hour, requiring a swift and deliberate strike consisting entirely of Coalition Intelligence agents. If she wanted to take the slow path and show up with the Jolly Roger and the Nathalis (Loki was able to properly identify Malekith' species as Dark Elves and provide the name of their flagship during his last information dorp) as a show of force, then they had time to organize the usual inter-agency strike team and hopefully seize the Stone so that it could be kept out of the wrong hands.
"Both," Loki answered. "Sort of. She and select members of her inner circle will arrive using the Space Stone to test its range, while her growing fleet will blockade the colony in advance of their arrival." To keep anyone on the outside from interfering and anyone on the inside from calling for help, Vanitas followed the train out thought to himself. Clever.
"So ideally," he began, sounding out the strategy that was beginning to take shape inside his head. "Sora and I could use our dark powers to summon up Dark Corridors to get us onto the surface of Knowhere, while a small flotilla of Gummi Ships kept the blockade distracted enough that our arrival will go unnoticed." Loki nodded his head in agreement.
"I'll do what I can to add to the chaos to provide you with some cover," the Jotun wizard added. "But I need to war you that should the protective container we're using to house the Tesseract be broken, the results will be unpredictable. It won't teleport anyone who touches it into the heart of a star or anything, as long as the person in question doesn't secretly harbor suicidal thoughts, but should someone pick it up in the midst of the fighting they could be transported to any planet in the galaxy."
"And it will potentially take a long time to pick up the trail of where they landed," Vanitas finished as he put the puzzle pieces together in his mind. "I'll be sure to include that in the briefing. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a strike team to assemble." Loki nodded in understanding before placing enough Munny on the table to cover the cost of his beer before his astral form melted away and his consciousness returned to his body. Vanitas paid for his own drink and returned to Twilight Town to prepare for the battle to come. If they were lucky, they could slip in, steal the Mind Stone, and get out with minimal actual combat against the Hellfire Club. While Vanitas wanted the villainous group gone as much as anyone, he was also practical about the need to dismantle the Club systematically in order for their actions to have any lasting impact. Minions like the Leroys or the Heartless were easily replaced, and it would take a miracle to pull off a successful ambush of even just one of the inner circle. He would have to plan this carefully.
Kingdom of Prydain – Forest Clearing:
Figures that they'd leave the Heartless to do the dirty work, Riku thought bitterly as he dodged a blow from an Armored Knight before grabbing a Poison Apple by the head and flinging it at a nearby cluster of the dark monsters. Though the Heartless were much fewer in number now that Xehanort was gone, they were still plentiful enough to be considered a serious threat, which was why local law enforcement officers or their equivalents were given the weapons and equipment to keep them away from innocent bystanders until a Keyblade Wielder could swing by and release the captive Hearts.
Unfortunately, it seemed that with Xehanort out of the way, Maleficent was taking advantage of the power vacuum to reassert control over the Heartless. Thankfully, she'd learned from past experiences and supplemented the demonic minions with flesh and blood troops, so that in the event that some other rival equal to Xehanort in power ever came along and took control of the dark creatures from here, she would still have an army to fight for her. This made stopping the Hellfire Club rather difficult, as at present they had no idea just how many living soldiers the dark fairy had under her employ, and how far her influence spread.
The silver-haired Keyblade Master forced those concerns out of his mind as he focused on the task at hand: keeping Maleficent from getting her hands on the Black Cauldron and reawakening its formidable power. He and Mickey stood side by side as they faced off against a horde of Heartless, Leroys, and Dark Elves that emerged from the Dark Elf spaceships as they landed on the surface of Prydain. They had positioned themselves so that each of them could keep one eye on the Cauldron and one eye on the advancing Hellfire forces, to keep them from just opening up a Dark Corridor underneath the thing and stealing it right then and there.
Now if only we can just hold out until reinforcements arrive, Mickey mentally reminded himself as he fired off a Stopza spell at an approaching Leroy before following up with a Fire Strike. Riku brought up a Reflega shield when one of the Dark Elves tried to get in a cheap shot and retaliated with Thundaga Shot, knocking the enemy's laser rifle out of his hands. While the two Keyblade Masters had plenty of experience fighting Heartless swarms and Maleficent's goons, not even they could keep fighting forever. But they were still surprised, however, when a massive fireball shot out of the trees and struck the Cauldron. Mickey and Riku leaped out of the way to avoid being scorched, but the inert mystical artifact was blown to smithereens.
The Hellfire Club troops were just as stunned as the heroes were, and everyone turned to the tree line in concert to find a group dressed entirely in brown robes with chains wrapped around their shoulders and torsos. Interesting outfit choice, Riku noted dryly in the privacy of his own mind. The chains are obviously supposed to signify something, but what? He tabled the question for a later date as the man in the lead spoke, his hood up like his fellow Legionnaires to conceal his face.
"It's a privilege to meet you at last, King Mickey, Master Riku," he greeted. "Regardless of my personal feelings about you, I admire and respect the work you did at Castle Oblivion."
"And how do you know about that?" Riku demanded out loud. While information on Castle Oblivion wasn't exactly kept secret (it had been a key component of stores told about his and Sora's exploits after all), the exact details of what had transpired in what used to be and now was the Land of Departure were far from common knowledge.
"Because I was there myself," the man replied, producing a large, elegantly designed curving blade, with a curved handle to match. "While I cannot say I will particularly mourn your deaths, I can say that your demise will be an improvement upon the universe. Indeed, it will be a blessing that future generations of Keyblade Masters will not have their perceptions skewed by the views of those tainted by Darkness."
"What the hell are blabbering on about?" Riku demanded, letting a little of Vanitas' choice of language rub off on him for a moment. "Have you not been paying attention to the last seven years, or are you just one of those zealots who talk about balance but think that darkness is inherently evil? Well guess what, in case you haven't figured it out by now, light can't exist without darkness, and darkness can't exist without light."
"Oh I'm well aware," the mysterious figure retorted. "My fellow legionnaires and I simply understand that those who actively use Darkness are inevitably corrupted and consumed by it. Such arrogance in thinking that one can control the primordial forces of chaos is a heretical defiance of the laws of nature. And the day is coming when all such offences will be punished. The mouse king will inevitably receive a Howler, and you, young man, will likely be consigned to the Cleansing process." Riku glared at the man in defiance. In his arrogance, their foe had revealed enough key details for him to start figuring out the Legion's plans.
"Zealot it is then," Riku commented with a resigned sigh before charging into battle against the man, Mickey right behind him. The battle was brief, but like his fight against Vexen in Castle Oblivion all those years ago, he got the distinct sense that his opponent was holding back in order to test him for some as-yet-unknown purpose. When he was defeated, the man vanished into the usual portal of light the Coalition had come to expect of the Legion's agents. The rest of the Legionnaires followed soon afterwards, leaving a trail of vanquished monsters and dead Hellfire Club minions in their wake. With the cauldron destroyed, Riku and Mickey could do little except report its destruction to the witches before returning to their Gummi Ship. Once they were aboard, they called Cassim to pass along the information they'd discovered.
The Black Cauldron world is set after the movie, since I didn't really enjoy it all that much, and I don't want to have to force myself to sit through the movie again for the sake of writing, since that'll just make these chapters take more time to write than I want them too. I apologize for those who were anticipating a Horned King boss battle, but that's just how I feel. Anyway, most of the plot details reference the events of the movie in passing, and although the Cauldron was rendered inert at the end of the film, I wouldn't put it past Maleficent, or Malekith to figure out a way to restore its power again.
That's right Marvel fans, we're going to Knowhere next chapter. Be ready for surprising revelations, cryptic hints about various plot threads, and a shocking cliffhanger that will set the remainder of the saga in motion. The Siege of Knowhere is going to be the halfway point of this story, the turning point from one part to another. Pieces of the puzzle will begin to fall into place. And the identity of the robed High Praetor the heroes keep running into here and on St. Canard will be revealed. It's someone you'll be familiar with. I'm saving the reveal of N.I.'s identity for KH5, but I figured I needed to offer some kind of dramatic reveal in this story. The meaning of the acronym N.I. will be revealed near the end of this story. And the Howlers comment should give a clue as to one part of their plans.
The Poison Apple breed of Heartless comes from the smartphone game Unchained X. And for everyone wondering why the allegedly secret Legion is acting more and more openly despite N.I.'s orders, the mysterious High Praetor discussed it with her and figured that since the Coalition knows about them now, they don't need to be as violently secretive as before, so he has the authority to conduct strike missions for specific purposes, but not giving him Carte Blanche to just act in the open.
Loki and Vanitas meeting at a bar is another shout-out to the SHIELD Codex fanfiction series. The attire of the Legionnaires is a reference to the Sparrows/Faith Militant from Game of Thrones, and also a subtle clue as to their origins. If you've read my previous Acolytes of Chaos fics and The Xehanort War, you'll pick up on the reference. If you haven't read them, then get going and get caught up, otherwise you'll be horribly confused as to previous entries.