Man, this day was a total bummer.
The power turned back on earlier that morning, but Buck wasn't able to go out thanks to government agents all over the place. The guys who worked for his dad looked like they were having a good time, though Buck wished he could check to see how his friends were doing.
The Heartless were gone for the most part, but there were those news reports of that Heartless super-car wreaking havoc on the interstate like life were some big video game.
Buck felt sad for all those people.
Steven and the Gems were probably doing something about it though. They usually knew how to handle these sorts of situations.
A knock came at the door.
"Son, could you get that?" said his dad.
Buck didn't see much trouble with obeying such a request, seeing as he was sitting relatively close by.
When he opened the door, he saw four figures standing behind it. It was pretty clear that none of them were from Beach City.
Their leader, standing at the fore in a red vest, stepped forward and offered his hand. Something about his mustache and appearance reminded him of that British captain guy from that one movie he saw in school. Lagaan, was it? It had something to do with cricket.
"Good day to you, young sir! The name's Benjamin Rochester, but you may call me Ben!"
"Cool," said Buck, though something about these guys didn't sit quite right with him.
The black haired lady looked like she could have been one of those video game special forces snipers. The other two didn't look that remarkable; one of them was bald while the other had freckles and a red afro.
Come to think of it, they all looked pretty well built, though none of them were quite as buff as that Riku kid.
Mayor Dewey looked from over his desk, "So what are you all here for?"
"Well," said Ben, "the four of us were just passing through the area, but we couldn't help but notice the strange cars gathered around this building."
"You hear the news?" said Buck.
"Maybe," said the woman.
"Yes, it's rather unfortunate that that happened. We are just simple paranormal enthusiasts after all."
"So you're looking for info about the Crystal Gems?" Buck asked.
"Why yes, actually!" said Mr. Rochester. "Well, first we were planning on interviewing someone who might know more about them."
"So you've come to ask me?" asked Buck's dad.
"Well, to be honest," said Ben, "that wasn't what we originally had in mind…"
"It wasn't?" Mayor Dewey replied. "Who could possibly be more knowledgeable about this town than I, the mayor of Beach City?"
"Dad!" said Buck.
"The thought simply hadn't crossed our minds," said Ben. "But I do suppose this is too good an opportunity to pass up. What do you folks know about these 'Crystal Gems?'"
"They're pretty cool," said Buck.
"A bunch of troublemakers they all are," his dad added.
"Troublemakers, you say?" said Ben, raising one of his eyebrows.
"Every strange happening that goes on in this town involves the Gems in some shape or form," said Mayor Dewey.
"Yes, that much seems clear," said Ben. "I don't suppose they were related to whatever those things were."
"Those things?" asked Buck's dad.
They're probably talking about the Heartless.
Come to think of it, Buck had never actually seen one of those things up close, though he thought he might have seen a few while watching the news.
"Yes," said Ben, "they were a rather peculiar sight indeed. Our car broke down in the middle of the night, and we were left stranded in the middle of nowhere. We tried to set up our own campfire, but then we started to see these small, pitch-black creatures with beady yellow eyes."
"Yeah," said the guy with the red afro, "they were pretty scary."
Buck found it a bit strange that Ben seemed to be talking the most while the others weren't saying all that much, as if he had speaking for the rest of them. Come to think of it, the other guys hadn't even introduced themselves.
"Did they attack you?" Buck asked.
The woman seemed to glance toward Ben.
The bald guy began to say, "Well…"
Ben immediately interrupted the other guy, "Well that's the strange thing about it. Normally when you encounter unspeakable abominations from beyond the abyss, you'd expect them to attack you. But they didn't! They stayed their distance, as if warded by the fire we had just created."
"Though it could have just as easily been that Philly cheesesteak sandwich Bart over here left over from dinner," the woman added.
"Yes!" Ben exclaimed, before turning his voice dry and deadpan, "I mean yes, it could have just as easily been that daft odor from that wretched sandwich."
"Well," said Bart, the bald guy, "I did think keeping it with would bring good luck."
"You really are an idiot," said the redhead.
Something still didn't sit quite right with Buck about this story, but maybe he was just being paranoid.
"By the way," said Buck, "I don't think we ever got all your names."
"Mary Byrd," the woman said bluntly.
"I'm Chuck Testa…rossa," the redhead said as he rubbed the back of his head.
Buck couldn't help but notice the way the guy paused. Something about the name also seemed kinda familiar, but the boy couldn't quite figure out where he would've heard it from.
"And I'm Bart Simpson!" the bald guy said enthusiastically.
The other guys looked like they had seen a ghost.
Even Buck's dad couldn't help but let out a sharp laugh. "Wait, your name is actually Bart Simpson?"
Ben groaned, "Yes, it really is an unfortunate coincidence.
"But back to the topic at hand, would either of you happen to know where the Gems might be at this fine hour?"
"Well, they could be anywhere right now," said Buck.
It was technically true, but there was more to it than that. The government agents said they needed the Gems for something, but everyone was supposed to keep quiet about it. Buck may have been a rebel, but even he knew it wouldn't be in his best interests to speak out about something like this.
"Usually they just sorta do their own thing, with saving the world and all," Buck continued.
"That is a rather interesting occupation," said Ben. "Before we take our leave, I just have one more question to ask both of you."
"What question would that be?" asked Mayor Dewey.
"Would either of you happen to know anything about the disappearance of Andrew DeMayo?"
"Can't say I do," said Buck.
"The name sounds vaguely familiar," said Buck's dad. "I would have to look into it."
"If you do happen to find anything, be sure to give us a call. Speaking of which, would you happen to have something I can write on?"
"Right here."
As Ben made his way toward the mayor's desk, Mayor Dewey passed a notepad and pen over to him. Ben wrote down his phone number and then passed the note to Buck's dad.
"Thank you for your time, Mayor Dewey."
"I do hope you enjoy your visit here."
The two men shook hands.
"Well, we'd best be on our way. Cheerio!"
As Ben and his… subordinates made their way out of the office, Ben briefly turned around and added, "Oh, and do be on your guard. If the rumors are true, there are more layers to this mystery than you might think."
The door closed.
Wonder what he meant by that.
Though, putting two and two together, it probably had something to do with Ronaldo and his conspiracy theories.
While on their journey back to the military base, there was movement underneath the sheets.
"Lea!" Steven shouted excitedly.
"That was fast," Pearl remarked.
"Looks like you're finally up," said Riku.
Lea let out a pained groan, but nevertheless managed to upright himself.
"Man that hurts."
Riku summoned out his keyblade and then applied a healing spell to Lea, likely the same one used to heal Stevonnie.
"Thanks," said Lea. "So what did I miss?"
"Your friend here was just telling us about this 'Organization,'" said Agent Thompson.
"Yes, but most of their members should be gone by now," said Riku.
By that of course, he meant that their leading "Nobodies" had been defeated. From what Riku said, they were supposed to be the leftover husks of a person's body after their hearts had been taken to form a Heartless. Despite their unnatural nature, Agent Thompson argued that their quest to acquire hearts was admirable in a sense, though he did not approve of the methods used to acquire said hearts.
Lea simply nodded.
Despite this new information, many questions still remained.
"So who is this Larxene person?" Connie asked.
"She used to be part of the Organization," said Lea.
"I take it she was one of the ones guarding Castle Oblivion?" said Riku.
He did mention something about a castle before, Connie thought to herself.
"Yeah," said Lea. "I'm not sure what her actual name was, but she was one of the later recruits."
Wouldn't that imply he worked with the Organization at one point? Didn't Riku say that group was only for especially powerful Nobodies?
"What do you mean by that?" Connie asked.
"They probably had codenames or something like that," said Amethyst.
"Our names were given to us upon entry to the Organization," said Lea.
That confirms it, but that still doesn't explain everything.
"So you were a spy?" said Agent Thompson.
"Not exactly," said Lea, "though I did some of that kind of stuff while in the Organization."
"What he means is that his Nobody, Axel, was part of the Organization," said Riku.
"Oh," Connie uttered.
"Most of us still have memories from the time when we were Nobodies, even though they're not really us."
"That sounds kinda like fusion," Amethyst remarked.
Connie had to agree with that, seeing as she still had memories of her time as Stevonnie.
"Except, not really," added Lapis.
"So the Larxene we met in the forest was her human self instead of this 'Nobody' as you call it?" said Pearl.
Lea looked down and then folded his arms, as if something about Pearl's conclusion didn't quite line up with reality.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Steven.
"I think there's more we need to hear from him," said Agent Thompson.
"That's the thing. Larxene isn't the only one I saw."
"Huh?" uttered Amethyst.
"Wait, are you talking about Kevin?" Connie asked. There was no one else he could have possibly been talking about.
"I'm not talking about that boy," said Lea.
"But who else would you be talking about?" said Pearl. "Besides the seven of us and our two adversaries, there was no one else out there."
"Was there someone else out there that we didn't see?" said Steven.
"I think we all would have noticed if there was someone else nearby," Lapis remarked. "The forest was practically cut down after that fight was over."
For a moment, Lea folded his arms and closed his eyes, before opening them once more.
"Tell me," said Lea, "did any of you happen to see her face?"
"Her… face?" Amethyst uttered.
"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" asked Pearl.
Connie had been too far away to actually see the mysterious woman's face during that fight, and it had been obscured underneath the shadow of her hood.
Did he see something different?
However, when Connie happened to glance at Riku, something about the way he leaned back and crossed his arms implied he knew something.
"I think I see what you're getting at," said Riku.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Connie asked.
"We're dealing with a replica."
"A what now?"
"While the Organization still had Castle Oblivion, they performed experiments on memory."
"You mean like psychological experiments?" Connie asked.
Despite her young age, Connie had some familiarity with the field of psychology, though she had no idea why some nefarious organization would want to devote so much time to making memorization tests.
"Something like that," said Lea.
"I had to face a clone constructed from my own memories while ascending through that place," said Riku.
So there was bioengineering involved as well.
"Speaking of which," Riku continued, "there was another replica, constructed from Sora's memories."
"Wait," said Amethyst, "who's Sora again?"
"You know," said Steven, "as in Sora, Donald and Goofy."
Of course, only Steven would remember something like that.
"Now that I think of it," said Lea, "I think I remember who that other face belonged to. The three used to eat ice cream on top of the clock tower after missions. Roxas, Xion and I."
"Xion!" Riku exclaimed.
"Shion?" Pearl said.
"What about Roxas?" said Steven, wondering why no one else found any significance in the other name.
"Roxas was Sora's Nobody," said Riku, raising his arm as if to hold up his own keyblade. "As for Xion, the Organization created her so that they could harness the power of the power of the keyblade."
"So they could collect hearts for this 'Kingdom Hearts,'" Agent Thompson added.
"We had to take down Xion and Roxas so that Sora could be whole again. I was the one who took down Roxas, though I don't remember what happened to Xion. She sorta just… disappeared."
"Yeah, that's the strange thing," said Lea. "What is she doing here of all places, and why am I only remembering her now?"
"I suspect that once she was returned to Sora, our memories of her must have disappeared along with her," said Riku.
"I don't think memories work like that," Pearl remarked.
"Maybe it's something specific to where they come from," said Steven.
That could be true, but it was hard to conceive that something like one's memories could be dependent on other peoples' existences.
"Anyway, now that this replica has returned," Riku continued, "this must mean our enemies, this so-called Shrekpire, must have captured Castle Oblivion, and likely Sora as well. Otherwise, how would they be able to accomplish something like this?"
"The same way they must have manufactured those keyblades," Lapis suggested.
"You make a good point," Lea replied.
"Well," said Agent Thompson, "perhaps if we had some time to inspect these keyblades, we might be able to determine if such a method is possible."
Speaking of which, Peridot was still back at the military base. She wasn't really good enough with her skills to be effective in battle, so the military guys were probably having her develop weapons using gem technology. Connie just hoped nothing too bad would come out of it.
"Okay, so this Larxene-Xion person is this 'replica' or whatever," said Amethyst, "but why is this such a big deal?"
"Well," said Steven, "it's one more thing we know about this person."
"Yes," said Agent Thompson, "putting this together, it's likely this Shrekpire is using this method to assemble some sort of clone army, but I don't see why they wouldn't go for a more conventional route."
"Conventional what?" said Amethyst.
"Something like you'd see in Star Wars. Test tubes and all."
Agent Thompson probably meant something more along the lines of how actual cloning was supposed to work, instead of whatever Riku and Lea were trying to describe.
"Oh, I see," said Steven.
"I think I see what you're getting at," said Lea, "but that doesn't really explain why I saw Larxene, as she isn't really connected to Sora in any way."
"Maybe this replica also has memories of Larxene," Connie suggested.
"Yeah," said Lea, "but why her of all people? Out of anyone, Larxene is one of the last people I'd want to make copies of. Maybe her skill set might be useful, but she's kind of…"
"A thorn in your side?" Agent Thompson finished.
"Yeah, that."
"This certainly does raise a lot of questions," said Pearl. "You're certain she's not related to this Sora or Xion person?"
"Well Sora did fight her a few times in Castle Oblivion, but I don't think he'd remember anything."
"I'll take your word for it."
Compared to the gem magic Connie was used to seeing, the way stuff worked in Riku and Lea's dimension was kinda weird.
"Agent Thompson," said the pilot in front, "we should be landing at the base in ten minutes."
"Splendid," said the agent. "Be sure to buckle your seats everyone."
Connie checked to see that her straps were buckled, and they were, though Riku and Amethyst begrudgingly listened to the Agent's advice.
"Once we land," said Agent Thompson, "we'll have the doctors perform a brief check up on everyone, especially that poor lion over there. Then you can walk home free."
Well, I'll finally be able to call my parents.
"And what about us?" Lea asked.
"Oh, right. One of our headquarters should be stationed near Beach City, so if you have trouble finding someplace to stay, you're welcome to stay with us. Just try not to wreak any havoc."
"You could stay with us," said Steven.
"Don't worry about us," said Riku, "we should be able to handle ourselves."
"But what about those… keyblade warriors you mentioned earlier?" Pearl asked.
"Hmm…" Riku uttered.
"We'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activity," said Agent Thompson. "Even if they're shape-shifting aliens from another planet, I'm sure they'll leave behind some kind of trail."
He could have just as easily been talking about the Gems.
"Thanks," said Riku.
"Now let's get you all patched up," said the agent.
Within minutes, the copter had landed at the airbase. The loading dock whirred open, and once outside, Connie saw Peridot waving at everyone, holding a duffel bag in her other hand.
"Welcome back, friends! How was your little adventure?"
"Surprisingly easy," Lea uttered, despite lying in a stretcher.
"By the way," Connie asked, "what's in the bag?"
"The humans in this facility were kind enough to provide me with materials for reconstructing my limb enhancers. They are not quite finished, but I have completed most of the schematics and have assembled the basic structure, even with your cumbersome human ways of doing things," said Peridot.
Once Steven and Riku had finished moving Lion out of the transport, Peridot turned to the beast and said, "What happened to him?"
"He took quite a bit of beating," said Riku. "But he should be better in no time."
"We ran into this… 'replica' thing while we were out there," said Connie.
"You folks can discuss this when you get inside," said Agent Thompson. "I'd rather not have you dilly-dally longer than necessary."
Right.
Although there wasn't that much activity aside from the copters that escorted them, they were standing in the middle of an airfield.
"I'm kinda hungry anyway," said Steven.
Come to think of it, Connie hadn't had anything to eat since that morning. She was surprised she hadn't noticed anything until now.
"Make that two," said Amethyst.
"And three," said Lea as he sprung out of the stretcher and ran towards the base. "Come on, what are you all waiting for?"
Once they had gone through the debriefing and finished their extremely late lunch, Connie, Steven, Riku, Lea, and the Gems finally made their way back to the nearest warp pad. Thanks partly to Riku's healing magic, Lion was back on his four feet, though he opted to walk back with the others instead of using his powers of teleportation.
This has been a long day.
Steven, Pearl, Connie, and Amethyst were the first to step onto the warp pad.
When they returned to the Beach House, two armored figures, one lime-green and one a dark navy blue, stood within sight, the former looking out the front window and the latter resting on the couch.
"What the…" Amethyst uttered aloud.
"Where's Garnet?" whispered Pearl.
"Who are you people?" Steven yelled.
The green figure turned back from its watch, summoning a silver keyblade in its right hand. Although Connie didn't think much of it, the green-armored figure held its keyblade opposite of how Riku and Connie normally held their blades.
The navy-armored figure planted their foot on the table, cracking it in half, and then leap towards Steven, Connie, and the others.
A black keyblade, similar to the one Larxene-Xion held, materialized in the blue warrior's hand.
The warrior then lifted their keyblade up. A spark of black magic burst from it, and for a brief second, a circle of light and darkness flashed underneath the warrior.
Connie suddenly felt herself being lifted off the ground.
"Whaa!"
"What is the meaning of all this?" Pearl cried out.
From the looks of things, the others seemed to have been caught in whatever spell the warrior had used. No matter how hard everyone struggled, they all seemed to be helpless as they levitated in place.
"Oh snap!" the green-armor figure uttered. The voice had a high-pitched, nasally quality, though it definitely belonged to a guy.
Seconds later, Peridot, Lapis, Riku, and Lea materialized in the warp pad underneath them.
"Well," said the navy-armored warrior, a stern-voiced woman, "looks like we've found our target."
A/N: Sorry for another long delay. Chapter is kinda info-dumpy, though it's kinda expected that everyone would be talking about stuff. I just hope I didn't accidentally miss/skip over anything too important while writing this.
Anyway, hope you all are still keeping up with this.