A/N: Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Guess you guys weren't expecting that to be a world in Kingdom Hearts, wouldn't you say? It probably would make sense since there's already Atlantica, the world of the Little Mermaid. I hated that world, the way fighting works in the first. It's even worse in KH2 with that whole singing nonsense. I mean, what is this? School of Fish Musical?
World: Atlantis
While we make out way to the Ancient Grove, we walk past all of Milo's friends. They seem to be interesting the city. All though Vincenzo was a hard one to tell, that dull expression and tone he makes. It's like he's completely motionless. I can sometimes relate to that.
We arrive at the Ancient Grove, which is a land with moss covered ruins. There are a ton of ancient tablets and writings on the crumbling ruins. Hopefully, this place will give me the answers I seek.
"What do they say?" I ask.
Milo approaches to the writtens. He observes them closely. "It's hard to make out...but it just stays Atlantan history about kings of the past. Live when the city was once surfaced. The guardians that protect the city...that's odd."
"What is it?" I ask, curious.
"I don't really think this has anything to do with Atlantis, but it's saying something about the Shadowmoon." Milos says.
That catches me by surprise. "Tell me, what does it say?"
"It seems strange, but it states that after a certain date...October 5th, 1998. The Shadowmoon invaded the city." October 1998...that was the date when I first met Aqua. "This man...Ras-put-in I think it's pronounced, he stoled the heart of Atlantis from the city. What he planed to do with it, no one knows. But a few days later, King Mickey arrived at the city, returning the Heart of Atlantis."
The Heart of Atlantis...why would the Shadowmoon steal something like that? "Kida? Do you know anything about this?" I ask.
"I don't really remember something like that happening." Kida says.
"Wait, there's more." Kida and I turn our attention back to Milo. "In the darkness, there lays powerful warriors known as LeiShens. Rasputin has them held captive and use them for a Heartless experimentation. But the experiment was proven to be too dangerous, too powerful. But it was locked away, far out of reach from anyone."
Held captive...is it possible that the LeiShen's are alive? Or did Rasputin leave them imprisoned to rot? What is this experiment mentioned here? It's all too confusing.
"But what did he want this 'Heart of Atlantis' for?" I ask.
"I don't know. What is the Heart of Atlantis?" Milo asks.
"Heart of Atlantis..." Milo and I look at Kida. "I've read that somewhere."
Milo stands up. "Where? I can perhaps translate it."
Kida mentions a hidden cave underwater filled with Atlantan history. She couldn't understand any of it, 'Heart of Atlantis' was all she read. Kida and Milo undress themselves, up until their just in their undergarments.
They're in the water just waist deep. "You coming, Patrick?" Milo asks.
"I'll pass, thank you very much." I say while I turn and walk away.
Kida and Milos submerges, swimming underwater towards the caverns. I stay within the Ancient Grove looking at the writings on the ruins. What sets me off is why. Why is Rasputin going so far to destroy the LeiShins? He is just as bad and reckless as the Heartless and those in the darkness that controls them. It's no wonder he's considered a traitor.
"You sure about this?" I'm alert hearing that. The voice is faint, but I can tell that's Commander Lyle. I follow the direction of the sound, which is further within the Grove.
"Trust me...The heart will be...and we...the LeiShen." That other voice I have trouble hearing. 'The LeiShen?' Hearing that catches me by surprise.
I walk right into a hidden area. There, I find Commander Lyle with Zaela. I hide behind a pillar, listening closely to the conversation.
"But where is the Heart of Atlantis?" Commander Lyle asks.
"My lord last found the heart within the kings chambers. I'm guessing it'll be in there." Zaela says.
"Soon! All of that power will be mine!" Commander Lyle says.
Hearing that ticks me off. Lyle is villainous. I probably should have seen this coming. I stealthily walk back, then turn to be greeted by Monks. I scream as the Monks toss me right into the hidden spot where Lyle and Zaela at in.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to be a snoop." Zaela says.
Monks, Samurais, Dusks and Dances appears all around me. "You work with the Shadowmoon?" I ask Lyle.
"I wouldn't say 'working' with them. More like making a deal with them." Lyle says.
I growl at Lyle hearing that. "You've meddled in our little plans far too much, sweetheart." Zaela walks up on me, cupping my cheeks in her hand. "It's time for you to learn your place. Just like that pathetic friend of yours who's playing puppet with Rasputin."
My blood boils hearing that. I know exactly who and what she's talking about. "Aqua is not a puppet!"
Zaela drops her hand. "You go on and believe that." Zaela punches me hard in the gut. "Now go to sleep!"
The Nobodies drop me. I try to fight the pain Zaela gave me, but my whole world turns dark as I fall unconscious. Lyle and Zaela just looks down at my dead body.
"What should we do with him?" Lyle asks.
"Leave him! We'll deal with him later. I believe we have ancient treasure to...extract." Zaela says.
Meanwhile, Milo and Kida are deep within the waters. Kida shows Milo to the ancient writings and stone pictures within the waters. Milo carefully reads through them, but acts fast for he can only be underwater for an amount of time. After seeing the pictures, he finally understands. He gestures Kida to swim up for some air to speak.
"The Heart of Atlantis! It's the very life-form for all Atlantan culture." Milos says.
"What does it look like?" Kida asks.
"It looks like a crystal!" Milos grabs the crystal Kida wears and shows it out of the water. "Kind of like this! ...Only this was never mentioned in the book unless...a missing page."
Milo and Kida swims back to the Ancient Grove. Milo bursts out of the water, greatly gasping for her. Who can blame him? It was a long trip after all. Milo hangs from the stone stairs at the edge of the lake, but looks up to see Lyle kneeling down to his level smirking, and Helga standing beside him.
"You had a nice swim?" Lyle asks.
Milo notices the Nobodies standing behind them. At first, he thought it could have been illusions due to having a near death experience, but then he realizes it's real.
"Uh, commander. Those white creatures are right behind you." Lyle makes no change of expression. That's when Milo realizes something. "They're...working for you? ...But why?" No answer, no change in expression. Then Milo realizes. "Oh! How could I have been so stupid. You're after the Crystal Heart!"
Lyle shows Milo a page from his book. "You mean this?"
Milo looks at the page. It's all about the Heart of Atlantis. It's certainly a page from his book. "So it's true. It's just another treasure hunt!"
"Well, look who's finally catching up." Lyle says.
Kida surfaces from the lake, then the Nobodies starts to attack her. Kida tries to fight back. In the end, Helga has her captured. Milo tries to help Kida out, but Samurais hold their swords out, blocking Milos way. Lyle forces Milo to turn and face him.
"All right, translator! Tell us where the Crystal is, or your lady friend here gets it." Lyle snaps his fingers. Helga pushes Kida to the ground, Snipers appear and they aim their guns at her, ready to shoot.
Milo has no other choice. He opens the book, searching through it then starts reading. "It says here the heart can only be found in the eyes of the king."
"Is that so? Well, it's time we have a little talk with the king." Lyle pushes Milo back, causing him to fall on the ground. "Now we no longer have any use for you." Lyle snaps his fingers. "Finish him off."
Dusks starts to weave towards Milo. Milo crawls back at the Nobodies are creeping up against him. Lyle and Helga takes Kida, heading to the Kings Chamber.
Meanwhile, my vision starts to return. I moan as I return conscious. I slowly get on my hands and feet. "What...happened?" I wonder what could have happened, then it hit me. "Lyle!"
I run right out of the hidden spot.
While I'm wondering the Ancient Grove, Lyle, Helga and the Nobodies barge right into the Kings Chambers. The rest of the explorers are in the chambers. They are surprised to see Lyle and Helga attacking the city. And what's more: That the Nobodies are working with him. The warriors arm themselves, but Helga shows them the captive Kida and threatening them that she'll shoot her.
"Tell them to drop their weapons! Now!" Helga says.
The king tells his warriors to drop their weapons in Atlantan. Just like that, they drop their weapons. Lyle approaches the king.
"All right, old man! Tell me where the Crystal is!" Lyle says.
"You have no idea of such power it contains. You cannot wield it." The king says.
"Oh, believe me. I am capable of wielding such power." Lyle shoves the king off the throne, onto the ground. Monks surrounds the king.
Dr. Joshua approaches to Lyle. "Commander, this was not part of the plan."
"Yeah, well plans changed, bud." Lyle says. Lyle returns his attention to the king. Lyle sits on the throne, taking out his gun. "Now, you're got the count to ten to tell me where the crystal is! One!" He cocks his gun. "Two! Nine!" He was about to say ten, but then he starts to have a realization. Lyle looks at the symbol on the book, then looks at the center of the pond. The rocks form the exact same pattern at the symbol on the book. "The Heart of Atlantis can only be found in the eyes of the king! This is it! We're in!" Lyle gets off of the throne heading towards the center of the pond.
However, he was shortly blocked by All the other explorers. "Oh come on! You can't be serious." Lyle says.
"This is wrong and you know it!" Aubrey says.
"I'm with her on this." Dr, Joshua says.
"If this was a demolition site, I would resign from it." Vincenzo says.
"Fine! So be it!" Lyle snaps his fingers and Nobodies appears by his commander. "Seize them!"
Nobodies chase Audrey, Dr. Joshua and Vincenzo out. Helga and Lyle stands on the center dot of the stone symbol, with Kida held hostage. The stone sinks in, and so does all of the other stones. The stones go into the hidden caverns underneath: The Cavern of Heart. Up ahead, at the end of the lake, is a large glowing orb surrounded by stone masks, the kings of the past.
"Jackpot!" Lyle says.
I wonder through the Ancient Grove until I arrive at the lake area where Milos and Kida. There I found Milos cornered by the Nobodies.
"Hang on!" I rush right in summoning my Keyblade. I yell as I charge, killing the Nobodies in one single blow. Milo relaxes once he sees the Nobodies defeated. "You okay?"
I help Milo stand up. "Yeah. Lyle has gone crazy! He's after the Heart of Atlantis."
"We've got to stop him." Milo and I run back to the city.
As soon as we arrived, the city is overwhelming with Nobodies. Not only the Nobodies are attacking the Atlantan citizens, but also the explorers. I rush right in and start attacking the Nobodies harming Vincenzo. The Ninjas and Snipers. I first gather them with Magnega and then unleash Thunderza. That finished off the Snipers, but more Nobodies appear.
I enter Spell Weaver, the Ninjas attacks me with their nunchucks. The Magicians are also using their magic to create illusion copies of myself. Fighting my Illusion selves wasn't easy, then I give them a taste of Shadow Dash then Chaotic Fusion. I enter Black Maelstrom, which didn't matter cause the Nobodies were defeated.
"I appreciate the help, man. But if I have like a hundred sticks, twelve grenades, a time bomb. I could have taken them." Vincenzo says.
"Your welcome. Now lets help out the others." I say.
We move on to the next group of Nobodies that are taking Aubrey. She seems to be fighting back at them by punching them. Only she's not fighting too well, compared to Tifa at least. I join in on the fight and attack them with my dark attacks. The Duelists and Dancers could hardly touch me with my fast moves and attacks. They die quickly, but only to have more take their place.
I gather all the nearby nobodies with Magnega then unleash Black Maelstrom. They were all defeated halfway through the dark vortex.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks a bunch." Audrey says. She sounds uninterested or unpleased. She looks at me, she makes a fighting stand. I flinch back, but not in worry, but in defense. She's not attacking. "Two for flinching!" But she does give me to punches on the shoulders.
I'm surprised by how strong she is. "Man! Girl is packing a few guns." I say, rubbing my shoulder.
When we're done with her, we move on to the next group of Nobodies. They are attacking Dr. Joshua. I attack the Nobodies. Dusks, Samurais and Magicians. I strike at them, casting Quakza then doing Ars Arcanum. I enter Critical Impact. The Dusks attacks me, but I block with Holy Shield then unleash Counter Aura.
The Magicians attacks me with their magic spells of fire, ice and thunder. I heal myself with Curaga then continue attacking. I unleash Ruin Storm. That defeats the Nobodies, but more appears. I cast Zero Graviza, sending the Nobodies in the air, then attack them until I reach full power and unleash Critical Impact. I continue attacking the Nobodies, up until the Zero Gravity wears off and then I finish them off with Pyro Storm.
"Thank you kind sir. You're not hurt are you? Showing any signs of bleeding, drowsiness, memory loss-" I interrupt Dr. Joshua as he goes on with examining me.
"Would you stop with the medical stuff, please?" I ask.
Dr. Joshua leaves to join the others. "We have to help Kida. She's probably with Lyle in the Kings Chamber." I nod and Milo and I head towards the Kings Chambers.
The moment we arrived, we stop right by the doors. For we are greeted by a giant Nobody. A fifteen-foot tell creature that's beastly with sheep teeth, claws and wild hair. Hollow Vessel.
"Jesus Christ! What is that thing?" Milo asks.
"A Nobody." Hollow Vessel unleashes a loud monstrous roar. It causes the very ground to shake. "Milo! Help Kida! I'll handle this beast!"
Milo runs right in and dive right into the hole that goes to the Cavern of Heart. I stay up here, summoning my Keyblade, and battle Hollow Vessel.