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Sharkboy could hear the painful screech of his fellow sharks, but it was all he could do just to fend off the plughounds and the Heartless that reappeared. Mr. Electric observed his struggle from midair like he got front row seat. And his army's suffering was the entertainment.
That only made Sharkboy angrier. He could feel rage like electricity traveling up to his head. His vision was slightly blurred with tints of red. Then something throw him off balance and dropped down. Before he could recognize what it was, pain ached in his stomach. It was like his insides were turned upside down. He did not even have time to regather his thoughts or comprehend the plughounds standing in front of him before his whole body spasmed uncontrollably at their shocks. He just laid there, helplessly receiving the electrical attacks that were killing him slowly. He tried to fight back, to press his palms on the icy ground. If he could deliver just one kick to one of the monsters, the power would lessen and then perhaps he'd be strong enough to fight off the rest. But his limbs couldn't obey. The attacks were sapping away his strength, and soon enough he will be dead. Or rather destroyed, since he was only a being created from Max's dreams.
His mind was close to slipping out of consciousness. He didn't even notice the absence of the shocks. The feeling still lingered in every part of his tissues. When he finally noticed, he opened his eyes and saw the plughounds barred and slaughtered by Sarox. He pushed a palm on the ground trying to support himself. Then he looked up and saw Marlene soaring in midair with wings outstretched. One Heartless jumped up to attack her, but she thrusted her wings which blew it back with a powerful gust of wind.
"Heal!" he heard someone say.
A warm bolt of light appeared above him and showered down on his body. It calmed the pain and the shocks, and suddenly he was strong again. His senses and his strength were back. He immediately jumped back up and met PJ's eyes.
"Can you still fight?" he asked.
Sharkboy risked a glance at their surroundings. Everyone was fighting. Pathetic as it seemed, he was glad that they had come to his rescue. He had always felt stronger in Lavagirl's presence, but even though she wasn't here now, he had these people. Four kids who fought for the safety of the worlds, and for Max's dreams. A feeling of empowerment flowed into his core.
He realized that he hadn't answered PJ's question, and nodded. "Let's do this."
With that, PJ raised his staff and Sharkboy his fists, and they charged into battle together.
Sarox swiped his Keyblade at a charging plughound to deflect its assault. It fell to the side, off balance. He didn't miss a second as he raised his weapon and threw downward to slice off its head, severing its connection to the power core embedded in its chest.
"Sarox," a familiar voice called. He didn't even feel startled.
Marlene soared down next to him. "You should go and help Max with Minus. We will handle things here."
"Are you sure-"
"We'll be fine," she insisted with a determined tone.
It had taken Sarox some time to let Marlene into battle, and though he knew she could hold her own stance, he couldn't shake off the need to be by her side when danger came.
She must have seen his expression, because her expression changed and flashed with a look that seemed to say you have to trust me.
He took in a deep breath. Yes, she can do it, he thought to himself.
"Be careful."
She answered with a nod before he whirled around and darted toward the miles-long horizons. A small part of him wanted to turn back and stay by Marlene's side, but his bigger part adviced against the idea. Marlene wouldn't like his lack of trust in her ability, especially after everything they had been through. The battle wasn't much of an obstacle now, anyway. The Darkness and the Heartless were being exterminated by Light, and with the enemy's forces thinned, his friends could handle the fight. He knew he had to put more trust in Marlene's ability, just like she had put trust in his.
He just prayed that Max was strong enough to hold his own until he made it to him.
Max blocked a fireball sent his way by Minus with Aqua Flame. The impact of the power sent him staggering a few feet back. The air was now lingering heat emitted from a dozen fireballs that he deflected.
"Stop it!" Max said without removing the weapon from his face.
"But. I. Don't. Want. To!" Minus spat and tossed another one.
Max had it. This can not go on. He blocked the attack again, then raised his weapon up in the air, tip pointing upward, his mind completely focused on the image in his daydream. "Brainstorm!"
Minus stood there, dumbstruck. Then noises from above caught his attention, and by the time he looked up, the first ball of brain landed on his face, accompanied by more than descended around him, falling heavily from the sky like rocks. Before long, he was covered in a mountain full of brains.
"Brain Freeze!" he yelled out with his hands raised.
The descending brains froze midfall like they had landed on an invisible net, and no more new brains appeared. Then, with a flick of his arm, the brains surrounding him dissolved into millions of tiny sand-like fragments and vanished. He then made the floating brains gather behind himself and collide into what looked like a massive boulder. And Max knew he would be the target once Minus sent it after him.
"Linus! Stop this!" Max yelled. "This isn't what you want. This isn't what you dream."
"What are you talking about?"
"I know it. I saw it. Someone smashed your dreams once, and all you can do is smash everyone else's."
Minus hissed in response to his words. Max had apparently struck a nerve. And as though to prove his point, Minus held a fisted hand over his shoulder and thrust it out like a commander. The brains behind him immediately fired. Max only had time to hold up his weapon to block the oncoming attacks that he knew will surely break his defenses in a matter of seconds. He did not even had time to acknowledge a figure that suddenly in between him and the flying brains.
"DEFENSE!"
Light materialized around Max and the figure and shielded them from the brains' assault, then erupted a circular explosion that bounced off the attack while leaving them unharmed. Max looked past his Keyblade and recognized Sarox.
"Are you okay?" Sarox asked with his back facing him.
"Yes," he answered. "Thank you." He was glad to have a companion to back him up. A realization hit then. Linus must have been very lonely. He was lonely once, too. But not anymore. He had friends now. Friends who put their strengths together to help one another. This was how it should be. This was what it meant to dream a better dream.
He walked around Sarox to face Minus again. "Linus," he spoke softly this time. "Don't you see? The world needs us. Our dreams are what make us special. If you lose a dream, it's a painful thing, but that doesn't mean it's the end for you. Your dreams are your own. But together, we can make our dreams better, stronger, even make them real. We can create a better world. Don't you understand?"
Linus's features softened a little bit.
Max held up his Keyblade, tip pointing downward.
"Look. This is my dream. It's the fuel of my power. Power not to fight, but to protect what's important. So don't go destroying others' dreams, because if you do, you will stop believing too."
He lowered his hand holding the Keyblade and stretched out the other one in offer. "What do you say?"
Linus hesitated.
"You don't have to be scared," Sarox encouraged. "Destroying a dream is easy, but rebuilding one is better. Harder, but better." He encouraged further with a grin.
Linus seemed to take his words into consideration, then bravely took Max's hand.
Max felt it right then. The life of dream spread from inside his Keyblade, seeped out through the weapon's metal and touched the ground.
"Come ooooooon!" Mr. Electric goaded. His claws sparked with electricity. His face fully confident.
Sharkboy wanted more than anything to run his fist through that robot's screen for a face and smash it to smithereens, but he was too busy defending himself. The army of plughounds were fighting strongly despite their dissipating number. Marlene had switched her wings for a devastating power of energy infused with her Keyblade by a summon spirit. Her power combined with their strengths and Sharkboy's shark army, which lurked underneath the frozen ocean, proved devastating to Mr Electric's forces, but even with all of their efforts combined, the enemy was standing strongly. They were surrounded by hundreds plughounds that kept emerging from the mountains. It was all they could do to hold the line. Sharkboy could feel his stamina waning, but he pressed on. There was no going back now. He had to keep fighting. He was in the midst of delivering another punch to an oncoming plughound when the robot suddenly staggered backward, spasming uncontrollably before dropping to the ground. He stood there, awestruck, and then witnessed the rest of the plughound army do the same as though their circuits had been cut. He looked to PJ, who answered his silent question with a shrug.
"What's going on?" Marlene asked.
"NO!" Mr. Electric's high-pitched scream drew their attention.
He's standing alone now, Sharkboy thought smugly. Mr. Electric was now completely alone. He was sure that he could beat the robot with one hit.
"He did it! That little runt!"
Sharkboy bared his sharp teeth and readied to skii across the ice to strike. Mr. Electric, now angry, flared with electricity... and dark smoke. But it did not come from heat, Sharkboy could tell that much.
"Be careful, boys," Marlene warned, sounding wary. "There's darkness seeping out of him."
"I will not let this happen!" Mr. Electric shouted to no one in particular. Then his feet blasted flare and his body flew off toward the mountain.
Max G kept watch while Lavagirl continued to generate the pillar of light and fire. It was burning as brightly as the sun itself. Then it descended from above and slowly dove back inside her. Max G looked at her for a moment before something else caught his attention. The sky above was now bright blue. Turning around, he noticed the rest of the world beginning to show signs of life as well. The ice covering the Sea of Confusion bloomed to life as it thawed, excluding the waters surrounding the Ice Kingdom. A fish jumped out and then disappeared into the ocean again. In the farthest distance, behind faraway mountains, fallen buildings arose. The restoration of life spread until it reached the volcano, where greens of grass and trees appeared just a mile down the hill.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Max happened," Lavagirl answered.
When he turned to face her, she greeted him with a smile that shined as brilliantly as the fiery glow that engulfed her body. It was almost like looking at a goddess.
"We should catch up to the others."
Max G blinked out of his amazement. "Right. Let's go then."