Aqua and Si'Lea were still traveling through the stars, following information from the Reaper's Game. Si'Lea was looking at her phone while flying her Glider. Aqua would occasionally glance over towards her, keeping an eye on her as they flew.
"Si, you shouldn't text and fly." Aqua commented. Almost on cue, Si'Lea's phone beeped.
"Sorry, I got a 'stand by' message from Reaper 1. Apparently things in the world he's monitoring are starting to kick off." Si'Lea said as she checked her messages again.
"I assume that's him?" Aqua asked.
"Yep and its show time! Come on! We've got a world in danger of falling into Darkness! I've been absent for too long and I'm not letting a world go down on my watch anymore!" Si'Lea said as they veered off, Si'Lea putting away her phone as they rocketed towards Nomanisan.
"So what kind of world is Nomanisan?" Aqua asked.
"According to Reaper 1, tropical island jungle!" Si'Lea replied as they saw the world in question approaching fast.
"What kind of danger are we facing?!" Aqua asked.
"Unknown!" Si'Lea replied as they passed through the world barrier but what they found was nothing like Si'Lea had described. Instead it was a sprawling urban metropolis.
"Okay, something's weird." Si'Lea said but Aqua shook her head.
"Must be a different part of the same world." Aqua replied as they set down in the strangely deserted city streets near a large river that cut through the middle of the city.
"Where is everyone?" Si'Lea asked, suspicious of the lack of people. Aqua spotted something that made her even more concerned. It was a series of craters dotting the area.
"I think I've got an idea why." Aqua commented just as they felt the ground shake beneath them.
"What was that?" Si'Lea asked, summoning her Keyblade and shield, Aqua doing the same as the ground shook again.
"It's getting closer." Aqua said before they turned to see, at least three blocks away, was a massive round sphere of an unknown black metal with six long arms and a stumpy head with glowing red eye.
"What…is…that?" Si'Lea asked as the machine turned to glare at them.
"You're asking me?!" Aqua asked as the machine noticed their Keyblades, a gun extending from the left side of its head, pointed towards them. Before it could fire however, it was struck several times by bolts of blue energy, causing the machine to suddenly freeze in place, a mechanical grinding sound being heard from inside as if the machine was being forced to remain in place.
"Huh?" Si'Lea asked, confused before suddenly a figure in a black costume with a large letter S across the front in white, a black domino mask, a head full of red hair that was groomed up into a single massive poofy spike, white gloves and boots, and a black cape flew in from out of nowhere.
"Never fear citizens! I, Syndrome will save you!" the man declared as he fired at the machine, punching it at one of the leg joints near the base, causing the entire leg to pop off. To Si'Lea and Aqua there was something very suspicious about what was happening.
"A punch that weak can detach an entire limb off that thing? Something's not right here." Si'Lea said as Aqua nodded in agreement.
"Yeah I mean even you hit harder than that and do twice as much damage." Aqua said, Si'Lea rolling her eye.
"Thanks for your vote of support." She muttered as Aqua gave a light two finger salute.
"My pleasure." Aqua replied with a cheeky smirk. Syndrome overheard the two and scowled towards them.
"Uh! Excuse me! I'm over here being heroic and you two are busy insulting each other!" Syndrome yelled, earning a scowl from both women.
"In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly need saving." Aqua commented, resting her Keyblade on her shoulder, something that Syndrome noticed.
"That weapon. You must be supers, like that kid!" Syndrome said as Si'Lea and Aqua glared at him.
"Kid? Spikey hair? Carries a key or two like this?" Aqua asked as Syndrome scowled and flew up towards them, literally hovering in front of them.
"Let's get this straight. I'm the only super here. I don't need your help! I've got this completely under contr-!" Syndrome yelled but was suddenly silenced as the gauntlet on his left arm was shot off by the Omnidroid. Syndrome whirled around to see the Omnidroid glaring at him, its gun pointed straight at him. Syndrome let out a scream of terror, flying away on his rocket boots as the Omnidroid fired at him, managing to score a hit on one of his boots which sent him spiraling out of control to crash land on a nearby balcony, getting knocked out on impact. (Battle Music Cue: Saving Metroville - The Incredibles)
"So about two minutes later and we're right back to where we were two minutes earlier." Aqua commented, she and Si'Lea dropping into their fighting stances just as the Omnidroid turned towards them.
"Not entirely, it's only got five legs instead of six." Si'Lea commented before they both quickly leapt out of the way just, narrowly dodging a shot from the Omnidroid. Unfortunately, the explosion from the blast knocked Si'Lea's shield and Keyblade out of her hands and dazed her in the process. Aqua saw the Omnidroid focus its weapon on the older Keyblade Master.
"'Lea!" Aqua exclaimed, preparing to fling a Reflega towards her but just as the Omnidroid fired, an airborne car flew into the blast's trajectory and intercepted, the car exploding on impact.
"Huh?" Aqua said, confused just as a quartet of people in matching red and black costumes came running up, the older man running up to her and lifting her up onto her feet with one mighty arm.
"You alright?!" Mr. Incredible asked while Mrs. Incredible helped Si'Lea to her feet. Aqua however noticed the Omnidroid aiming at her and Mr. Incredible and quickly threw up a Reflega around the two of them, the blast impacting harmlessly as Aqua slapped her shoulder guard, her armor activating.
"Peachy!" Aqua replied, Mr. Incredible recognizing the Keyblade in her hand.
"Hey, you're a friend of Sora's aren't you? 'Aquila? No Aquaria! Aqua? Aqua!" Mr. Incredible exclaimed.
"Good to know he's been here already!" Aqua replied as she and Mr. Incredible quickly ducked behind a building, Dash zooming up to them while dragging Si'Lea. At the same time Mrs. Incredible swung across overhead to land near them, Violet turning visible next to them.
"So what is that thing?!" Si'Lea asked.
"Omnidroid! Weapon of mass destruction! Designed to cause havoc on Syndrome's command all so he could look like a hero!" Mr. Incredible explained quickly as they ran for cover, the loud thumping of the Omnidroid's approach getting closer.
"Oh you mean the guy with the big S on his chest? We've met!" Si'Lea replied.
"We need to stop this thing before it destroys the city!" Mrs. Incredible said as Aqua turned and cast a Blizzaga across the entire street behind them, leaving a layer of slick ice on the ground, causing the Omnidroid to slip and stumble. Si'Lea spun around at this and hurled her Keyblade towards the machine, her Keyblade spinning through the air but when it hit the Omnidroid it harmlessly bounced off and clattered to the ground. Si'Lea immediately paled.
"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me! That thing has armor?!" She exclaimed before quickly getting shielded from a near direct hit from the Omnidroid's gun by one of Violet's forcefields, the two quickly turning and running for cover.
"How do we stop this thing?!" Aqua asked.
"Well Sora and I took out one of the prototypes but even that was nearly too much for us! Syndrome's upgraded since then and that machine can learn!" Mr. Incredible explained while Mrs. Incredible slung a manhole cover at the machine, striking it hard on the armor but not doing anything to the machine.
"Then we'll have to find another weakness! How did Syndrome mean to control it?!" Si'Lea asked.
"Beats me!" Mrs. Incredible replied.
"Right, then we hit this thing until we can find the soft spot!" Si'Lea replied, the six scattering to confuse the Omnidroid. Mr. Incredible quickly threw another car at the machine which was promptly destroyed in midair. The explosion gave the six enough of a smoke screen to scatter. Before the smoke could even settle, a Fission Firaga Fireball rocketed through the smoke, smashing against the Omnidroid's armor but not denting it. The explosion was enough to rock it back a little but not enough to damage it. At the same time, Dash and Violet went rolling past in an Incredi-ball, the Omnidroid turning to fire at the pair, taking a step forward but when it did, the ground beneath its claw exploded as it set off several of Si'Lea's Magic Trap Shotlock mines, causing it to stagger forward slightly before stabilizing itself. Si'Lea herself used the distraction to race up the side of one of the Omnidroid's arms towards its head but the Omnidroid detected her and swiveled around, firing at her on sight. Si'Lea just barely managed to bring up her shield in time, the force of the blast launching her backwards and into the air. Mrs. Incredible saw her get launched and quickly sprung towards her, quite literally, as she scrunched her highly elastic body down before springing high into the air, grabbing the airborne Si'Lea and turning her body into a parachute to slow their descent.
"Thanks!" Si'Lea said as they landed, quickly running towards some cover as the Omnidroid turned to go after them. Mr. Incredible was running towards the machine at the same time.
"Take out its guns!" Mr. Incredible yelled, Aqua taking aim at the machine with her Keyblade.
"On it!" she yelled before she fired off a volley of rainbow colored bolts of energy, her Rainbow Shower Shot lock! The bolts struck the Omnidroid head-on, smashing into its armor but at least one bolt destroyed the gun on its head. The Omnidroid quickly swiveled its head towards her, raising one of its claws towards her and fired off its claw at her like a missile. She quickly cartwheeled out of the way, the claw just missing her. Meanwhile, up on a balcony overlooking the street, Syndrome finally awoke, staggering to his feet and looking down at the battle below.
"Huh? NO!" he snarled, watching the battle below. At the same time, Si'Lea sent her Keyblade spinning into the air again, the Keyblade pinging off of the Omnidroid's armor, keeping it distracted. Si'Lea smirked as she started to run but stumbled over something and fell to the ground. She looked and saw a strange white gauntlet lying on the ground and almost instantly recognized it, grabbing it and holding it aloft.
"Syndrome's remote!" she exclaimed, only to earn the attention of the Omnidroid. She was barely saved from being crushed beneath the Omnidroid's arm by one of Violet's forcefields. The two were quickly grabbed by Dash as he raced past, pulling them both away by the arms
"What good is having the remote going to do?! If it doesn't obey Syndrome's commands, why would it obey ours?" Mrs. Incredible asked as she landed nearby.
"There's gotta be something we can do with it to stop it!" Violet exclaimed.
"How did you and Sora stop it the last time?" Aqua asked Mr. Incredible who furrowed his brow, thinking back to the fight.
"We almost didn't! Its armor is so strong that the only that can penetrate it is-…" Mr. Incredible said before pausing with a look of realization on his face, turning to look at the claw on the ground.
"-…itself." He said, Aqua realizing what he meant and immediately following after Mr. Incredible as he ran for the claw, picking it up with his incredible strength and pointing it towards the machine.
"We need to find the button that fires it!" Mr. Incredible said, Dash running the remote up to Aqua.
"You find the button, we'll distract it!" Dash said, handing the remote off to Aqua before racing back towards the fight. Si'Lea was flinging Firaga spells while Mrs. Incredible slingshot random heavy objects at the machine. Dash and Violet quickly joined in via the Incredi-ball, distracting the Omnidroid.
"Okay, what about this button?" Aqua asked, looking at the remote. She was about to press one of the buttons when a bolt of blue energy struck the ground near them. They both looked up to see Syndrome struggling to remain airborne on a single rocket boot.
"I'm not going to let you take away my destiny!" he yelled, trying to blast them with his remaining gauntlet. Aqua quickly slapped her shoulder guard, armoring up and leaping towards Syndrome with her Rainfall Keyblade in hand. Syndrome let out a girlish scream as Aqua grappled onto him, knocking out his boot with a pointy toed kick to the side, knocking him to the ground. She proceeded to pin him to the ground, keeping her Keyblade pointed to his chin.
"Don't move." Aqua's voice echoed warningly from within the suspiciously hollow sounding armor. Aqua was once again controlling her armor remotely while still standing next to Mr. Incredible with Syndrome's remote. Aqua looked at the remote with a hesitant expression.
"What are you waiting for?!" Mr. Incredible asked.
"I'm really no good with machines! I'm a bookish kind of girl!" she argued, hitting one of the buttons, causing the claw to start rotating.
"It doesn't matter, just keep hitting buttons until you find the one that fires this thing!" Mr. Incredible argued back. Aqua suddenly hit another button out of frustration, this one caused the rockets on the claw to fire up, Mr. Incredible struggling to keep it steady.
"EVERYBODY DUCK!" he yelled, everyone looking and seeing him with the claw. They quickly scrambled for cover just as he released the claw. Syndrome saw this and quickly threw off Aqua's armor and leapt up to try and deflect it but fell short.
"NO!" he yelled but his cape snagged on the claw as if flew past, pulling him towards the Omnidroid, the claw piercing the machine's armored hull. But when it flew out the other side, the machine's power source skewered through it, Syndrome wasn't on it.
"Did we get it?" Mrs. Incredible asked, looking up at the Omnidroid as it continued standing, frozen without power. Suddenly it started to emanate with black energy, black smoke spewing from the holes left from the claw, a loud feral growling being heard from inside.
"That isn't good." Violet commented as she and her family started backing up.
"No, this is where we come in." Si'Lea said, armoring up. Aqua hurried up to her, her armor reappearing on her as she approached.
"You took away my Destiny!" A Heartless Syndrome bellowed from within the machine, a large Heartless insignia appearing on the machine's hull. The smoke from the holes died off, revealing a pair of glaring yellow eyes from within. Si'Lea pointed her Keyblade at the hole, the Heartless Omnidroid just starting to slowly move as Syndrome merged with the machine. Her Keyblade started to glow as a large sphere of blue fire started to form on the tip in preparation for her Megaflare shot-lock.
"Tell the Second Sister that Master Si'Lea sends her regards!" She said before firing off the shot-lock, the fireball screaming into the hole and impacting with Syndrome at the very heart of the machine. Massive jets of blue flame erupted from within the Omnidroid upon impact, the entire Omnidroid being ripped apart from the inside by the explosion. (End Battle Music) When the light from the explosion faded, all that remained of the Omnidroid were smoldering scorchmarks where it had been standing and the claw with the severed power core lying on the ground.
"That was totally wicked!" Dash exclaimed as the Incredibles approached the two Keyblade Masters.
"What was that? Some kind of magic?" Mrs. Incredible asked as, Si'Lea and Aqua turned towards them.
"It was. It's kinda hard to explain." Si'Lea answered.
"You're friends of Sora's aren't you?" Mr. Incredible asked, although it was more of a statement than a question.
"You've met him?" Si'Lea asked but Mrs. Incredible seemed confused.
"Sora? Who's Sora?" she asked.
"He's my former Apprentice and a good friend of mine. He carries a sword kinda like mine and Si'Lea's. It's called a Keyblade." Aqua replied.
"We've seen one of those before, haven't we Violet?" Dash asked, Violet nodding.
"Yeah, we ran into a girl with a Keyblade. Said her name was Nixe." Violet commented.
"You've seen Nixe? Is she alright?" Si'Lea asked, clearly worried for her daughter/apprentice.
"She took on one of those women in white and made it out just fine." Violet replied.
"But the girl in white also had a Keyblade." Dash added.
"Namine." Aqua commented with a smile.
"She's the girl Sora's been looking for, isn't she?" Mr. Incredible asked.
"Yes. She is." Aqua replied as Mr. Incredible pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment.
"I think I remember meeting her once. It's strange, I remember meeting her but why am I only remembering it now? It's like I'd forgotten all about her until just this moment." Mr. Incredible said, confused.
"That's part of Namine's power. She can manipulate people's memories. Luckily she's on our side, it seems. She's just being forced to help the Sisterhood of Seven against her will. We've plenty of proof that she's still good at heart…err, so to speak." Aqua explained, momentarily forgetting that Nobodies didn't have hearts. Si'Lea however rolled her eyes at the pun with a smile, shaking her head.
"That's what she said…at least, that's what I remember her saying. I don't think she said it aloud. Kinda like putting a memory of her giving some kind of detailed explanation to me." Mr. Incredible said as Si'Lea arched an eyebrow.
"What else did she say?" Si'Lea asked. Mr. Incredible furrowed his brow in thought.
"She said that the Sisterhood was after Nixe for some reason. She didn't know why." Mr. Incredible said as Si'Lea nodded understandingly.
"I know. Thank you for your help." Si'Lea replied. At the same time, Violet and Dash noticed someone watching them from nearby.
"Hey, you're the ones who helped us." Mr. Incredible said.
"Helping people is part of our job." Mrs. Incredible added.
"Hey, who's that?" Dash asked. Everyone looked and saw someone that only Si'Lea recognized and smirked.
"Neku! Glad to see you're alright!" Si'Lea called, Neku giving a silent two fingered salute back with his right hand while typing something into his phone with his left. Si'Lea's phone then chirped. She quietly checked her phone, the message reading…
"Mission accomplished. Nomanisan secure. Returning to Steadfast. – 1"
"Right, we'll see you later, Neku!" Si'Lea called. Neku then proceeded to reach into his pocket and pulled out a small pin. The pin suddenly shimmered with light, the light enveloping in a blue sphere of energy which quickly disappeared, leaving nothing behind.
"Who was that?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, that was Neku. He's one of my agents. He's been keeping an eye on things here for me. You kinda owe him for our being here. If he hadn't raised the alarm, we wouldn't have known to come here." Si'Lea explained.
"And I think we best be going. Your world should be safe for now." Aqua said as Mr. Incredible nodded.
"Yeah and if any trouble shows up, we'll protect it." He said as Aqua chuckled.
"We'll be sure to let Sora know you said hello." Aqua said.
"And be sure to tell Namine that everything worked out for the best here." Mr. Incredible said, Aqua nodding as she and Si'Lea armored up and summoned their Keyblade Gliders.
"I will." She replied.
…
A few minutes later, Aqua and Si'Lea were flying through space, away from Nomanisan.
"Looks like Namine's been busy wherever she goes." Aqua said as Si'Lea gave a slight nod.
"Yeah." She replied, absently.
"You seem distracted. What's wrong?" Aqua asked.
"One of Namine's messages, the one where they said the Sisterhood was after Nixe…it's starting to make me wonder what exactly their motives are beyond revenge." Si'Lea said as Aqua looked her way.
"You think First is after her for some other reason besides getting payback against you?" Aqua asked as Si'Lea gave a nod.
"At first I wasn't so sure but the more we hear about their actions, the more I believe that maybe, my worst fears are true." Si'Lea said, earning a look from Aqua.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Maybe it isn't fear of her heart that drive's First to go after Nixe. Maybe she craves her heart. They believe stealing the hearts from others is how they'll achieve independence, but attempts to steal the hearts from ordinary people has proven to be a failure. Perhaps stealing the heart of a Keyblade Wielder is what she craves." Si'Lea pondered.
"But if that were the case, then why not try to steal yours?" Aqua asked.
"I'm not sure yet. It's something I'd need more information. But the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that stealing Nixe's heart isn't motivated so much by vengeance as it is necessity. Like there's something about Nixe's heart that is different from ours, something that would make First's plans possible that wouldn't be so with yours, mine, or Sora's hearts." Si'Lea explained.
"Does anything come to mind about Nixe that might stand out?" Aqua asked. Si'Lea was quiet for a moment, deep in thought, before answering.
"Some of the messages I received after Sora killed the Second Sister included transcripts of the footage of the match. It seemed that Second was operating under the assumption that Sora was only an Apprentice. And First didn't believe us when we claimed Sora was a Master. Second made the assumption that Sora's heart would provide one of the Sisters their first heart. If that's the case, then maybe they're focusing only on Nixe for the simple fact that she is a Keyblade Apprentice." Si'Lea theorized.
"Then there must be something that sets a Keyblade Apprentice apart from an ordinary Keyblade wielder and a Keyblade Master." Aqua suggested.
"It's worth looking into...and I know exactly who to speak with. Professor Von Drake." Si'Lea replied as they flew across the stars towards Sublime City.
End Chapter 51
And so ends the Incredibles world.