Chapter 26: Battle Against Dracula
(Castle Exterior)
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Twilight, Tor, Amity, Kirby, Katara, Robin, Maka and Soul, and Richter are now back outside and are at the high exterior of the castle.
"Look how high up we are right now. It seemed like we were on the lower floor." Maka said.
"Yeah well, we're gonna get much higher to reach Dracula himself. This castle's massive." Richter said.
"Yeah, we noticed." Donald said.
"Well, no use standing around and gawking. We gotta move." Sora said and they nod.
The group begin to move through the castle's exterior while avoiding swinging axes and statues breathing fire and as they keep going, they find what looks like a purple orb.
"Another orb?" Katara asked.
"It'd better NOT send us back to that damn garden." Soul said, as Sora touches the orb, causing a bright flash.
After the flash dissipates, the group find themselves somewhere different.
"Wha...?" Sora asked, looking around the castle exterior.
"Uh, doesn't this look different AND the same?" Goofy asked.
"Wait..." Robin looks up to see the familiar exterior.
"Wait, you don't mean..." Amity stops talking.
"We're upside-down, are we?" Richter asked.
"Or in this case, the castle is." Twilight said.
"That's it, I HATE this world!" Donald yelled, jumping up and down.
"Calm down, we just gotta keep moving and hopefully find a way to make the castle back to normal." Katara said.
"Meanwhile, we gotta get used to this current situation." Tor said.
(Field Theme: Demon Castle Inverted)
The group begin moving through the now inverted castle, but as they keep moving, they see Ghouls, Werewolves, and Chimeras appearing and blocking the path.
"Outta the way!" Sora yelled.
"Begone, monsters! You don't belong in this world!" Richter yelled, taking out a chain whip with a small spiked ball.
(Information: Defeat the monsters!)
The Ghouls turn invisible and reappear and unleash energy to deal damage, only for Sora to cast Stop, freezing the enemies and then delivers five slashes with Kingdom Key followed by Ripple Drive while Richter delivers strikes with his whip followed by taking out an axe and throws it, but the Werewolves deliver strikes with their claws and then try to bite with their fangs. Twilight casts Hypno to make the enemies sleep and then casts Voltra while Amity uses her Abomination to uses Shoulder Tackle, only for the Chimeras to shoot fireballs while the Ghouls move around and unleashes waves of energy blasts, but Maka uses Scythe Wheel, but the Werewolves pounce to strike at the group with their claws. Goofy blocks with his shield and then uses Goofy Turbo while Tor diagonal slashes with his sword followed by bashing with his shield, only for the Chimeras to use their snake tails to unleash acid while the Ghouls vanish and reappear to try and spook the group, but Katara uses Freeze and then triple strikes with her water whip while Donald casts Thundra. The Chimeras retaliate with charging at the group with thei goat heads while the Werewolves unleash howls to try and stun the group while the Ghouls move around and unleash more energy, only for Kirby to use Hammer Spin while Robin uses Windmill Bow and they defeat all the enemies.
The group continue moving through the inverted castle exterior and they later come across a pit.
"Uh, HOW are we gonna get across?" Maka asked.
"Is there something we're missing?" Tor asked.
Twilight approaches the pit, but then, flames appear in the air.
"Hmm... If I'm right..." Twilight said, walking for the pit.
"Twi?" Sora asked, as Twilight is on the air, as more flames light up.
"Guys, these torches can guide us through." Twilight said.
"Ya think so?" Donald asked.
"Well, if she's fine, I guess we should go through." Richter said, as they go for the pit.
The group begin following the torches through the pit and later, they reach the other side of the exterior and keep moving while fighting off more monsters and later, they find another purple orb, so Sora touches it, causing another flash and after the flash disappears, the group are still in the exterior, but the castle is back to normal.
"What? Are we...?" Goofy asked, looking around.
"Well, looks like the castle's back to how it is." Richter said.
"Great, let's keep moving." Amity said, as they keep going.
Meanwhile in the chamber, Eilonwy dodges, as Bete Noire keeps slashing with his azure and crimson sabres, only for Eilonwy to keep dodging and then tries to attack the masked dark entity with her rapier, only for Bete Noire to vanish in black msit and then reappears in the air and tries to dive attack at the blonde girl, who conjures a barrier around her and then delivers a powerful counter burst, sending Noire back. Bete Noire sinks into the darkness and goes for Eilonwy to slash from below with his sabres, only Eilonwy to dodge and vertical slashes with her rapier followed by unleashing a large blue fireball and throws it at the masked boy, who counters with unleashing fifteen shadow hands that grab the large blue fireball and then sends out an azure and crimson cross slash streak. Eilonwy cartwheels away from the slash streak, but Bete Noire delivers many slashes with his azure and crimson sabres, only for Eilonwy to dodge every attack and delivers five graceful slashes with her rapier followed by casting five bolts of lightning and sends them to strike at Noire, who jumps away and lands on a wall.
Bete Noire jumps off the wall and delivers a drilling attack at Eilowny, who cartwheels out of the way and unleashes five magic orbs and sends them to strike at the dark entity, who dispapears and reappears to the blonde girl and delivers a heavy slash with both sabres, dealing damage to Eilonwy, who casts Mendra to heal herself and then unleashes five ice spikes from the ground, but Bete Noire dodges the ice spikes and lands on the tip of one of them. Elionwy jumps at the masked boy and tries to attack with her rapier, only for Bete Noire to block the rapier strike with his sabres and then delivers a kick to send the girl away and then Noire unleashes azure and crimson slash streaks at the blonde, who dodges the slash streaks and tries to send two magic orbs. Bete Noire swats the magic orbs away and then delivers a downward spinning strike at Elionwy, who casts a spell to keep the dark entity into the air, allowing her to deliver aerial slashes with her rapier followed by sending out a gust of wind to send the masked boy away. Bete Noire uses his sabres to stop and then summons dark hands from the ground to try and strike at Elionwy, who defeats the hands and then tries to strike at Bete Noire, who dodges every strike and then horizontal slashes with sabres followed by a double vertical slash and then unleashes black lightning to strike, only for Elionwy to retaliate with unleashing a fire burst to send Noire back.
"Heh, not bad, but I'm better than you." Bete Noire said.
"You're not even using your full strength, are you?" Eilonwy asked.
"Oh, no. I'm giving all I got. You're just making it hard kill you." Bete Noire said, conjuring arrows of shadows and sends at Eilonwy.
Eilonwy conjures another barrier to block off the shadow arrows and Bete Noire goes for the barrier and starts attacking them with his sabres, but the barrier is not breaking, so Noire keeps striking the barrier with his sabres over and over, but still nothing, so the dark entity jumps away from the barrier.
"You can't hide in there forever." Bete Noire said.
"You can't fight forever!" Elionwy retorted.
"Then hurry up and let me kill you!" Bete Noire said, conjuring a black fireball and throws it at the barrier, causing a crack to appear.
"Oh, no..." Eilonwy said.
"Hehehe... You're gonna have to come out of it sooner or later, Princess!" Bete Noire said, conjuring a larger black fireball and throws it.
Meanwhile, the group continue moving through the castle's exterior, but then, Skeletons, Werewolves, and Gorgons appear, but Sora slashes with his Keyblade while Donald casts Blizzara while Goofy bashes with his shield Twilight unleashes magic blades while Tor uses Dancing Blade while Amity shoots pink fireballs while Kirby uses Final Cutter while Katara uses Ice Rain while Robin uses Arrow Barrage while Maka uses Reaper Dance while Richter takes out a cross and throws it. The group later find a door, which leads to the next part of the castle exterior and they find another purple orb, so Sora touches it, sending back to the inverted version of the castle and continue through, but they find Vampire Bats and Goblins, only for Sora to cast Fira while Richter uses Holy Water. As they keep moving through the inverted castle, they find another pit, as well as torches, so they follow the flames through the pit and reach the next part of the inverted exterior, where they come across swinging axes and more fire breathing statues, but they later find another purple orb, so Sora touches it, making the exterior back to normal again. As the group continue through the castle exterior while dodging more traps and obstacles and fighting off more enemies, they find another door, but it's blocked off by a purple magic barrier.
"So, any idea on how we're gonna get rid of this barrier?" Katara asked.
"Something or someone must've put a spell on it." Richter said.
"Heartless?" Robin guessed.
"Poyo!" Kirby said, looking at something.
"Look out!" Amity said, as she and Twilight use their barrier to block off what looks like a magic blast.
"Someone's gotta be here." Tor said.
"Come on out, coward! Are you afraid of a fair fight?!" Richter demanded.
Just then, something appears and it's what looks like a raven with crimson eyes, wearing a blue and purple robe, carrying a large staff with a glowing purple skull.
"Another monster, hooray." Donald said, crossing his arms.
"We gotta defeat it, so we can press on." Richter said.
"Right, let's go!" Sora said.
(Boss Theme: Shrouding Dark Cloud)
(Information: Defeat Corvo Magician!)
The Corvo Magician conjures four magic blasts to strike at the group, who dodge out of the way and Sora tries to attack the raven magus, who conjures a magic barrier to protect itself from physical attacks and then sends the Keybearer back with telekinetic magic, but Sora casts Blizzara followed by casting Earthra to deal some damage while Donald casts Gravira followed by casting Water, but Corvo Magician conjures bolts of magic and sends them to attack. Goofy and Tor block the magic bolts with their shields and Goofy uses Tornado while Tor uses a Light Mote on his sword and delivers vertical slashes with his sword followed by unleashing rays of light, dealing great damage, but Corvo Magician teleports away and reappears and unleashes waves of dark magic. Twilight casts Shellra to protect everyone and then casts Voltra while Robin uses Arrow Rain, only for Corvo Magician to retaliate with unleashing more blasts of magic followed by unleashing purple lightning to attack, but Maka uses Scythe-nado while Richter attacks with his whip and then delivers a multi lash attack. Corvo Magician teleports and reappears and then sends out a fireball to attack, only for Kirby to inhale the fireball, becoming Fire Kirby and unleashes flames to deal burning damage while Katara creates ice blades and delivers many slashes with them while Amity uses her Abomination to use Hammer Fist, but after enough attacks, Corvo Magician vanishes.
Corvo Magician reappears and casts a spell to make the castle upside-down again and the group are now back on the inverted exterior.
"Ugh, not AGAIN!" Amity yelled.
"That's it! We have to deal with it now!" Tor said.
Corvo Magician unleashes more purple lightning and then sends bolts of magic to home at the group, who dodge out of the way and Robin uses Cyclone Arrow while Kirby uses Hammer Throw, but Corvo Magician vanishes while unleashing many bolts of magic and sends them to attack the group, only for Richter to throw his cross to deal damage, but Corvo Magician conjures two giant orbs of magic and sends them to try and crush the group. Amity shoots three pink fireballs at the raven magus, who retaliates with unleashing blasts of magic, only for Katara to send out blasts of water while Twilight casts Frostra followed by casting Quakra, but Corvo Magician sends out more waves of black magic and then sends out fireballs. The group dodge the magic attacks and Maka uses Scythe Throw while Goofy uses Goofy Bash and throws his shield, only for Corvo Magician to teleport and then unleashes more lightning while conjuring bolts of magic, but Tor diagonal slashes with his sword followed by Sword Spin. Corvo Magician teleports everywhere while unleashing blasts of magic and then unleashes homing magic bolts, only for Donald to cast Earthra followed by casting Fira, but Corvo Magician unleashes waves of black magic followed by unleashing giant orbs of black magic, but Sora delivers vertical slashes with Kingdom Key followed by Blitz and they finish off Corvo Magician, who tries to cast another spell, but something slashes it, making it disappear.
"What just happened?" Twilight asked.
"I happened!" A voice, as they see Bill levitating with his hands behind his head. "Hey, guys, miss me?" Bill asked.
"I didn't know you're in this world too, Bill." Goofy said.
"Are you with Dracula?!" Richter demanded, readying his whip.
"Whoa, whoa, Professor Paranoid! I'm on your side. By the way, brace yourself for the position change." Bill said, as the castle reverts back to normal.
"Thanks for the help, Bill, even though we had the fight under control." Katara said.
"Hey, think nothin' of it. After all, what're FRIENDS for, right?" Bill asked.
"So, what are you doing here?" Tor asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to take down the Prince of Darkness himself." Bill said.
"What?! YOU'RE after Dracula as well?" Richter asked.
"That's right! Told you I'm not the enemy. I just arrived here while dodging traps left and right and that's when I found you guys dealing with one of Dracula's minions and I figured, 'Why not give 'em a hand?' It was fun." Bill said.
"Um, okay." Donald said.
"But wait, where were you? You disappered when we were dealing with Saturos and Mendari." Amity said.
"Oh, Gideon got away and somebody had to go after him. Besides, I knew Sora'd seal the Keyhole anyway." Bill said.
"Yeah, guess you're right." Sora said.
"Oh, yeah, I just noticed, someone seems to be missing... Oh, that's right! Artie! Where is he?" Bill asked.
"Oh, um, he allowed himself to be captured so he could save Richter when he was captured." Sora said, hanging his head down.
"Jeez, Spiky really cares about that weakling THAT much? How sad! This could be our advantage, though." Bill said in his mind. "Hey, I'm super sorry to hear that, but I'm sure we'll find a way to save him. My guess is since it's Dracula's trap, we gotta deal with the big man of this castle." Bill said.
"That's what we thought too." Amity said and the group see the magic barrier disappearing.
"Finally, the door's unlocked." Soul said.
"No more time to waste. Let's hurry." Richter said, as they go for the door and open it.
Meanwhile in the Chamber of Imprisonment, Tod is resting while looking after the unconscious and chained Arthur, but then, Tod's left ear perks up, as he hears someone coming, making him growl.
"Hehehe, oh, you are terrifying when defending your pathetic master, but we all know you can't stop me." The figure said, revealing to be Ruber. "Now, step aside. I'm going to taking this boy somewhere and I'm afraid there's no one to protect him." Ruber said, but Tod gets into his fighting stance with his stick ready. "Oh, I admire your bravado, but it's actually idiocy." Ruber said, delivering a kick at the fox kit, sending him away. "Now then, boy, you'll be coming with me." Ruber said.
"Don't even think about it, Ruber!" A voice yelled.
"Oh, what now?" Ruber asked, as he turns to see someone entering the chamber and it's a young man with blond hair, blue eyes, pointy ears, wearing a green tunic with brown belts, white long sleeve shirt under the tunic, brown fingerless gloves, brown boots, blue scarf, and green long hat. "You?! I thought I got rid of you along with your pathetic kingdom!" Ruber yelled.
"Heh, typical mistake! Ya didn't bother to make sure if I was actually gone! You had no idea I was searching high and low for you! Now that I finally found you, I'm gonna get my payback!" The young man said, unsheathing a red and white sword and taking out a red blue shield.
"Well then, at least there's a mistake I can correct." Ruber said, taking out his flaming sword. "Need I remind you about your failure of stopping me?" Ruber asked.
"Oh, believe me, my failure has played back in my head more times than I care to count! It's why I've been tracking you down! Now I'm gonna settle this!" The young man yelled.
"Very well. Come on, entertain me again. I look forward to more of your suffering." Ruber said, using his sword to unleash black flames.
The young man blocks the black flames with his shield and then takes out a bow and arrow and shoots the arrow at Ruber, who manages to deflect the arrow away and then jumps at the young man to attack, but the young man rolls out of the way and tries to deliver three slashes at Ruber with his sword, only for Ruber to grab the sword and lifting, along with the young man.
"Hmph. You call this a sword? It's nothing more than a toy compared to mine." Ruber said, headbutting the young man to the ground.
Ruber tries to stomp on the young man, who rolls away and the takes out a boomerang and throws it at Ruber, who catches it, breaks it in half, and then unleashes more black flames to attack the young man, who keeps dodging and fires more arrows, only for Ruber to deflect more arrows and slams his sword to the ground, unleashing black flame waves, only for the young man to jump to dodge and tries to attack with his shield. Ruber delivers a giant at the young man, sending him to a wall, but the young man takes out two bombs and throws them at Ruber, who catches them and throws them at the young man, who dodge rolls, grabs his sword, and then delivers a slash at Ruber, dealing some damage to the deranged warrior.
"Ha! Like that?!" The young man asked, smirking.
"A good hit, boy. Now it's my turn!" Ruber said, delivering a big swing at the young man, dealing better damage. "You see, without the blade of evil's bane, you can't stop me. Realize your attempt to stop me is in vain." Ruber said.
"Sh-Shut up! You'll pay for what you've done to Hyrule! What you've done to the Princess!" The young man yelled.
"Ah, yes. That was the fun part of it! Her screams were like music to my ears! Just perfect!" Ruber said, making the young man scream.
The young man charges at Ruber and delivers five slashes with his sword followed by a shield bash at Ruber's head, but Ruber retaliates with slashing with his sword followed by unleashing lightning to dealing electric damage to the young man, who recovers and vertical slashes with his sword followed by a diagonal slash and then delivers a slamming strike, knocking Ruber back. Ruber growls in anger and then delivers two punches at the young man, who dodge rolls and tries to slash with his sword, only for Ruber to counter and delivers a giant flaming swing with his sword, dealing some burning damage, but the young man recovers and then delivers a spinning sword slash and then delivers an impaling strike.
"Hehehe... HAHAHAHAHA! Was that supposed to hurt?! You truly are an idiot!" Ruber said, slamming his fists down on the young man, knocking him to the ground, but Ruber picks up the now semi-conscious young man. "I think I've had my fill of fun. I'm going to kill you and this time I'll make sure you STAY gone!" Ruber said, but just then, something bites him, making him turn to see Tod. "You filthy mutt!" Ruber yelled, swatting the fox kit off him. "Fine, you both DIE!" Ruber yelled, but then, needles fly towards the warrior, making him jump back while dropping the young man. "What?!" Ruber asked.
"Did you truly think he came here on his own? You are mistaken, Ruber." A voice said.
Ruber looks up to see a young figure with red eyes, some blond hair tied to a braid and covering the left eye, wearing a blue and white armored outfit with a red and tear symbol, a white mask and turban covering the face, and white scarf standing on the chamber's ceiling.
"Who are you?!" Ruber demanded.
"I am the servant of the Royal Family that you has destroyed! I intend ensure your madness will not go unpunished!" The young figure said, throwing two small objects that explode in a blinding light.
"ARRRRRGH! YOU WRETCHED WORM!" Ruber shouted, covering his eyes.
The young figure jumps off and goes for the young man.
"It was reckless of you to confront him alone. Have you learned nothing from your failure?" The young figure asked.
"I told you I didn't need your help..." The young man said.
"Well, now it seems you do. We need to leave before Ruber regains his sight." The young figure said.
"Too late! I will show you what will happen to those, who make a fool out of RUBER!" Ruber shouted.
"No good. We cannot defeat him in our current situation." The young figure said.
"But we can't leave him to take that kid!" The young man said.
"Yes, you're right. We need to get him out of here." The young figure said, but Tod gets in front while growling.
"Hey, what're you doin'?! You're gonna get killed!" The young man said, but Tod remains in front.
"Your bravery is admirable, but alone, you cannot defeat him. We have no choice, we have to drive him away." The young figure said, casting a spell to heal the young man. "Come, we must do what we can." The young figure said.
"Yeah." The young man said.
"So, you're still willing to fight, knowing you will lose? Fine, I'll gladly toy with you until I grow bored and end you all!" Ruber said, as he charges at the trio.
(Twisted Dimension)
The group arrive back inside the castle and are now in what looks like a distorted room with staircases twisted and portals around the room.
"Well, this is something." Amity asked.
"My kinda place." Bill said.
"And there're so many portals. How will we know which is the right one?" Goofy asked.
"Looks like it's trial and error for us." Soul said.
"Try each portal until we find the right one." Richter said.
The group begin moving through the distorted room while choosing which portal to choose and they decide a portal on a lower door, so they go for the portal, which takes them to what looks like a different room, but are upside-down and just then, Chimeras, Fenrirs, Orcs, and Goblins appear and attack, but Sora slashes with his Keyblade while Richter uses Holy Water and they defeat the monsters and they find another portal. The portal takes the group to another room that's more twisted, along with swinging axes and spinning blades, where they find more monsters, only for Bill to cast Stopra, freezing them and then teleports and slashes with his Caneblade while Sora uses Sonic Blade, defeating the enemies and they find another portal and use it. The group are now in another room and are on the walls, but they find Skeletons and Cyclopes and attack, only for Donald to cast Sleep, allowing Goofy to use Charge while Twilight shoots magic blasts while Tor uses Sword Thrust while Amity shoots pink fireballs while Kirby uses Fire Hammer while Katara uses Ice Rain while Robin uses Arrow Barrage while Maka uses Scythe Wheel. After defeating the enemies, the group find another portal, which takes them to another distorted room, where they find what looks like another portal, but Chimeras and Cyclopes appear and attack, only for Sora to use Strike Raid to defeat them and they go for the portal, taking them to the end of the room.
"Finally, outta that room." Donald said.
"Like I said, trial and error." Soul said.
Just then, Kirby hears fighting going on.
"Poyo?" Kirby asked.
"I'm hearing fighting too." Katara said.
"Whatever's going on, we'd better go see." Sora said, as they go for a door and open it, taking them to a different room.
In the chamber, Eilonwy and Bete Noire continue their fight with Eilonwy unleashing magic orbs and sends them to attack the masked dark entity, who deflects them with his sabres and then unleashes dark hands to attack Eilonwy, who defeats the hands and tries to slash with her rapier followed by casting Blazra, only for Bete Noire to sink into the darkness and then rises to slash at Eilonwy with his sabres followed by an aerial spinning attack. Eilonwy recovers from the aerial assault and then casts Voltra to strike and manages to do some damage to the masked boy, only for Noire to vanish in black mist and reappears behind Eilonwy and delivers a wide slash with his sabres, but Eilonwy quickly casts Barrier to protect herself from the attack. Bete Noire conjures four black fireballs and sends them to destroy the barrier while sending Eilonwy back, but the blonde girl recovers and summons blocks of ice and sends them to attack Noire, who dodges every ice block and then sends out azure and crimson slash streaks at Eilonwy, who cartwheels to dodge, only for Noire to get close and delivers a hard kick, sending the blonde down.
"You're not giving up already, are you?" Bete Noire taunted.
"Why? Do you just enjoy hurting others?" Eilonwy asked.
"Yeah, I do. It's fun and I enjoy hurting you, but honestly, I'm tired of dealing you, Princess. Here, I'm gonna put you outta your misery, but before I do that, you get take one good look at me before your light goes out." Bete Noire said, removing his mask, shocking Eilonwy.
"N-No...! Wh-Why?! I... I..." Eilonwy was cut off.
"You failed, plain and simple, Princess. By the way, that face is priceless. It's a good look before you stop living." Bete Noire, putting his mask back on and then readies his sabres. "Nice knowing you, Princess. Thanks for being useless." Bete Noire said.
"Stop!" A voice yelled, as Sora and the others arrive.
"That's..." Tor stops talking, seeing Eilonwy.
"Eilonwy?!" Twilight asked.
"What have you done to her?!" Katara demanded.
"Ugh, it's the Key brat and his annoying circus! Tch, looks like the blond twerp finally knew he couldn't handle being a hero." Bete Noire said.
"Don't say a word about Artie!" Sora yelled.
"What're you doing here?" Maka asked.
"Weeeeell, I was sent to help Dracula keep his castle standing, but he and his minions got it under control." Bete Noire said.
"So, you an ally of Dracula!" Richter said, readying his whip.
"You're gonna pay for you did to Eilonwy!" Sora said, pointing his Keyblade.
"As much as I would LOVE to torment you again, I'm gonna wait for the right moment for that. Besides, I've already had my fun here." Bete Noire said, summoning a dark portal.
"Oooooh, I wanna be a part of THAT! I think I'll share the fun!" Bill said in his mind.
"Please, wait..." Eilonwy said.
"Oh, yeah. About you, Princess, I'll spare you for now. Next time I see you, you're as good as dead." Bete Noire said going for the dark portal.
"And he's gone again." Amity said.
"Are you okay, Eilonwy?" Sora asked.
"Yes. Thank you for coming when you did." Eilonwy said, casting Mend on herself.
"What were you doing here?" Tor asked.
"Oh, I'm here to find the master of this castle and that's when I came across Bete Noire and that's when we fought." Eilonwy said.
"So, you're here to destroy Dracula too?" Richter asked.
"In that case, let's join forces and stop him." Sora said.
"Yeah, you helped us before." Twilight said.
"Very well. I will." Eilonwy said.
"But we still haven't found Dracula yet." Goofy said.
"How much longer do we have to search the castle?" Robin asked.
"I dunno, but we gotta push forward." Sora said, as they leave the chamber.
"Bete Noire... I can't believe the one I was looking for was..." Eilonwy stops talking.
"Eilonwy?" Katara asked.
"Oh, nothing. Let's continue." Eilonwy said.
(Corridor of Madness)
The group arrive at a very long dark corridor of the castle with walls blocking the way, but they later find an open wall, so they go through it, only to find Fenrirs, Gorgons, and Cyclopes and they attack the group, but Sora casts Thundra while Donald casts Blizzara while Goofy uses Goofy Bash while Twilight unleashes magic orbs while Tor uses Sword Spin while Amity shoots pink fireballs while Kirby uses Stone while Katara uses Freeze while Robin uses Windmill Bow. After defeating the enemies, they continue moving through the corridor and they find another open wall, where they find Goblins, Vampire Bats, and Skeletons, but Maka uses Scythe-nado while Bill unleashes blue fireballs while Eilonwy triple slashes with her rapier while Richter attacks with his whip. The group keep moving through the corridor, only to find ground saws and spinning scythes, but they find another open wall, so they keep pressing through the corridor while fighting off more enemies and avoiding traps and later they find another open wall and then find a door and open it, taking them to a different area.
(Chamber of Death)
The group arrive at what looks like a chamber full of spikes and as they continue moving, they run into Gideon.
"Well, howdy, y'all. I'm impressed that you made it this far. Gave me a great amount of time to prepare fer some entertainment. I do hope y'all enjoy it." Gideon said.
"We're not interested in your 'entertainment'! Twilight said.
"Now, step aside! We're off to deal with Dracula!" Richter demanded.
"Oh, yer most certainly welcome to him, well, if y'all survive." Gideon said.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.
Just then, many monsters, such as Skeletons, Goblins, Vampire Bats, Werewolves, Fenrirs, Gorgons, Chimeras, Cyclopes, and Wither Willows appear and surround the group.
"Wak! Not MORE monsters!" Donald said.
"These lovely fellers're gonna make sure to keep y'all company and not disturb Dracula, as we're gettin' ready to get that Keyhole." Gideon said.
"Wait, what?!" Maka asked shocked.
"The Keyhole's in THIS castle?!" Tor asked.
"Darn tootin' and there's NO way yer gonna stop us this time! Bye-bye now!" Gideon said, disappearing in darkness.
"You twisted little..." Robin was cut off, as the monsters attack.
Just then, Bill freezes the monsters and confronts them.
"Bill, what're you doing?" Goofy asked.
"I'll hold off these freakshows. You guys go on ahead and deal with Dracula." Bill said.
"You're serious?" Richter asked.
"But, why?" Amity asked.
"I told you, didn't I? That's what friends are for. Trust me, will ya?" Bill said.
"Bill..." Sora said, as the monsters attack, but Bill slashes them with his Caneblade.
"Hurry! Stop Dracula and seal the Keyhole! The worlds depend on you!" Bill said, unleashing blue flames to deal burning damage to the monsters.
"We have no choice. We have to go." Eilonwy said.
"Thanks, Bill. We'll see ya later." Sora said, as they leave.
"Good luck." Bill said, as the group are gone. "It's funny how dumb they are!" Bill said, smirking.
Meanwhile, the young man, the young figure, and Tod are fighting against Ruber, who slashes with his flaming sword followed by unleashing black flames, only for the young man to block with his shield and then vertical slashes with his sword followed by a spin slash while the young figure vanishes and reappears and delivers a somersault kick, but Ruber counters and slams his flaming sword to try and strike the two. Tod gets behind and tries to bite at Ruber, who delivers a spin punch and then slams his fist on the ground to try and crush the fox kit, who dodges, as the young man charges and horizontal slashes with his sword followed by an upper slash and then delivers a big swing while the young figure takes out a chain and delivers a lashing strike at Ruber, who grabs it. Ruber pulls the young figure toward him, but the young figure takes out two small nuts and throws them, creating another blinding flash, allowing the young man to deliver a shield bashing strike while Tod uses Skullbash, but Ruber regains his sight and then diagonal slashes with his flaming sword followed by a roundhouse slash, only for the young man to clash.
"You never give up, do you?" Ruber asked.
"Nope, never!" The young man said, bashing Ruber with his shield.
"This is getting rather annoying! I was toying with you, but now that you really irritated me, I'll kill you right where you stand!" Ruber yelled.
Ruber leaps at the trio and delivers a slamming strike with his flaming sword while unleashing black flaming pillars, only for the trio to dodge and the young figure delivers a somersaulting kick at the deranged warrior, who retaliates with a strong vertical slash with his flaming sword followed by unleashing a giant wave of black flames, but the young man jumps at Ruber and delivers a spin slash with his sword. Ruber manages to block the attack and the two clash their swords, as Ruber tries to slam his fist on the young man, but Tod uses Tackle to deal some damage to the deranged warrior while the young figure takes out five needles and throws them at Ruber, deflects the needles and then charges to deliver strong swings with his flaming sword. The young man blocks the flaming sword swing with his shield and then diagonal slashes with his sword followed by a somersault slash while the young figure delivers fast slashes with kunais followed by a handstand spin kick and then delivers a flipping kick, only for Ruber to strike back with a shoulder charging strike and then slashes withi his flaming sword. The young man retaliates with shooting four arrows while the young figure vanishes and then reappears and delivers a lashing strike with the chain, only for Ruber to slam his flaming sword and unleash more black flame pillars, but Tod uses Bite while the young man delivers five slashes with his sword and manages to knock Ruber back.
The young man charges at Ruber to strike, but Ruber delivers a punch, sending the young man back.
"I've grown tired of this nonsense! Time to undo my mistake!" Ruber yelled.
"Not so fast, Ruber." A voice said, as Dr. Facilier and the Darkest Faerie.
"You!" The young man yelled.
"Ah, ah, no need to get all barbaric." Dr. Facilier said.
"What are you two doing here?!" Ruber asked.
"It's time to take our leave." The Darkest Faerie said.
"But the boy!" Ruber said.
"Fear not, the cards tell us he will be right where we'll want him." Dr. Facilier said.
"Hmph! Fine then! I'll let you off for today, but know this, if you continue tracking me down, I will end your life." Ruber said.
"I'll count on that." The young man said, as Dr. Facilier, Ruber, and the Darkest Faerie disappear in darkness.
"It seems they may have departed, but I fear their plan is progessing." The young figure said.
"Then let's take the kid and get outta here." The young man said.
"No, he's still under Dracula's clutches. Nothing can be done unless another takes his place. Our best bet will be letting the Keybearer defeat the Prince of Darkness to undo the spell. Our only option will be to retreat. I assure you, we will see him and the Keybearer in due time." The young figure said.
"I hate it when you're right." The young man said.
"You were very brave to stand up for your companion. Rest assured, the spell will be undone." The young figure said, petting Tod. "Shall we?" The young figure asked.
"Yeah, whatever. I almost HAD Ruber! I was SO close to making him pay!" The young man said.
"We will find him again, but this was not the good time. Your recklessness and impatience almost got you killed. Never forget that." The young figure said, as they leave the chamber.
Tod goes for the pedestal to look at the still unconscious Arthur and whimpers a little before lying on the ground again.
Meanwhile, the group continue moving through the chamber while dodging spikes and they later come across what looks like a hall full of black hands and claws that try to grab the group, only for them to defeat the hands and keep going through the hall and they later find a spiral staircase, but come across swinging axes and spinning spikes, but they manage to avoid the traps and keep climbing upstairs until they reach the the next floor. The group find unlit torches and a door with another magical barrier blocking the way, but more black hands and claws appear and try to grab the group, only for Sora and Donald to cast Fira while Twilight and Eilonwy cast Blazra while Amity shoots pink fireballs while Tor uses his Fire Mote on his sword. After lightning the torches, the black hands and claws disappear, as well as the magical barrier, allowing the group to go for the door and open it, taking them to a bigger room full of fire-breathing statues, ground saws, spinning blades, and swinging scythes and find another staircase, so they begin climbing up while avoiding the traps. The group later reach the next floor, which is a long hallway, but black fireballs come flying at the group, who avoid the incoming black fireballs while going through the hallway until they reach the end of the hallway and come across another door, which they open, sending them to another room.
(Dracula's Throne Room)
The group arrive at the dark throne room, only to find the room empty.
"This is such a big room." Robin said.
"There has to be someone around here." Maka said.
"No doubt about it. Dracula must be here." Richter said.
"You sure?" Sora asked.
Just then, the room lights with purple and blue flames, revealing to be Dracula himself sitting on his throne room and at his side is Gideon.
"I must admit, your tenacity through my castle is to be admired. Those, who enter my castle rarely survive, unless it is a Belmont." Dracula said.
"Then clearly, you don't know us very well." Tor said.
"And you mouth-breathers don't know what Dracula's capable of! He's all-powerful and immortal! Do y'all really think you can defeat the Ruler of the Night?" Gideon asked.
"I came to this castle to do just that! Destroy you and restore peace to the land!" Richter said, taking out his whip.
"And we'll help out!" Twilight said.
"Looks like I'll have to teach y'all the meaning of fear!" Gideon said.
"No, boy. I shall deal with them myself." Dracula said, getting his throne room. "This should prove some enterainment to torment new souls. After all, those with hearts are nothing more than miserable pile of secrets." Dracula said.
"Are ya done talking?" Sora asked.
"'Cause we're ready to take you on!" Donald said, pointing his staff.
"Yes, enough talk. Have at you!" Dracula said, confronting the group.
"Prepare yourselves!" Eilonwy said.
"Prepare to be destroyed!" Richter yelled.
(Boss Theme: The Deep End)
(Information: Defeat Dracula!)
Dracula waves his cape and unleashes a trio of hellish fireballs to deal burning damage to the group, but Sora casts Aero for protection and then tries to triple slash the Dark Lord, only for Dracula to cast a spell to transform himself into a cloud of mist, making him immune to the Keybearer's attacks and then poisons the teen, but Sora casts Cure and then casts Thundra while Eilonwy vertical slashes with her rapier followed by casting Frostra. Dracula casts a spell to teleport in a mist of black bats away from the group and then conjures a rain of acid blood to deal poisoning damage, but Twilight casts Shellra and then casts Voltra while Donald casts Blizzara followed by casting Earthra, only for Dracula to transform into a bat and flies away. Tor uses Sky Dance to strike at Dracula's bat form in the air while Goofy uses Goofy Bash to throw his shield, but Dracula conjures more hellish fireballs to burn the group and then unleashes a giant pillar of hellfire to deal more burning damage, only for Amity to summon two Abomination hands, which transform into flails and deliver heavy swinging attacks. Dracula creates more rain of acid blood while transforming himself into his mist form and then conjures orbs of darkness to explode, dealing great damage, but Kirby uses Hammer Throw while Katara uses Ice Rain and rains down ice needles, only for Dracula to retaliate with unleashing more hellish fireballs. Robin uses Arrow Barrage and fires a storm of arrows while Maka uses Reaper Dance, but Dracula disappears in a mist of black bats and then unleashes another giant pillar of hellfire, only for Richter to use Holy Water and throws it at the Dark Lord, dealing very good damage, but Dracula teleports away again.
Dracula conjures more orbs of darkness and sends them to attack the group, who dodge, but the dark orbs unleash dark explosions, dealing excellent damage, but Katara uses her Waterbending to heal and then creates ice blades and delivers slashes with them while Amity uses her Abomination to use Shoulder Tackle, only for Dracula to unleash pillars of dark magic to deal more damage to the group. Kirby takes out a Warp Star and flies around while striking the Dark Lord with his hammer and then sends the Warp Star to crash, dealing damage while Goofy uses Charge, but Dracula transforms himself into his mist form to poison the group and then conjures more rain of acid blood to deal more poison damage, only for Richter to take out his axe and throws it. Dracula transforms into his bat form and flies around the throne room and unleash sonic waves, but Twilight flies to confront the Dark Lord and shoots five magic bolts followed by casting Gale while Robin uses Arrow Rain and rains down arrows to bring down Dracula, who retaliates with summoning more pillars of hellfire. Maka delivers four slashes with her scythe followed by Scythe-nado while Tor uses his Light Mote on his sword and delivers vertical slashes while unleashing rays of light, dealing excellent damage, but Dracula teleports in his mist of black bats and then fires hellish fireballs to deal burning damage. Eilonwy casts Barrier to deflect the fireballs and then delivers two diagonal slashes with her rapier followed by graceful ballet style slashes and then casts Blazra while Donald casts Gravira followed by casting Water, but Dracula transforms into his mist form and then unleashes more pillars of dark magic, only for Sora to use Strike Raid and throws his Keyblade four times.
"Impressive. You are proving yourselves to be much harder to kill. Can you handle THIS?" Dracula asked, conjuring flaming meteors and sends them at the group.
The group dodge the incoming meteors, but Dracula shoots more hellish fireballs, only for Twilight to cast Hydro and then unleashes magic blades while Kirby uses Final Cutter, but Dracula teleports in his mist of black bats and moves around the throne room while unleashing pillars of dark magic, only for Eilonwy to deliver five slashes with her rapier and then uses Spell Weaver and unleashes a giant magic pillar. Dracula unleashes more orbs of darkness and sends them at the group, who dodge the orbs and the dark explosion and Donald shoots magic bolts followed by casting Fira while Amity shoots pink fireballs, only for Dracula to unleash pillars of hellfire and then unleashes more rain of acid blood. Katara double water whips and then unleashes two blasts of water while Richter throws his cross to deal great damage, but Dracula transforms himself into his mist form and then unleashes more flaming meteors down at the group, who dodge and Maka vertical slashes with her scythe followed by Scythe Wheel, only for Dracula to disappear in his mist of black bats. Dracula reappears and unleashes hellish fireballs followed by orbs of darkness, but the group avoid the attack and Goofy uses Tornado while Robin uses Windmill Bow, only for Dracula to unleash pillars of hellfire and then conjures pillars of dark magic to deal damage to the group, who recover. Dracula disappears and reappears and unleashes more flaming meteors while also unleashing pillars of hellfire, but Tor uses Dancing Blade while using his Light Mote to unleash blades of light, only for Dracula to unleash hellish fireballs, but Sora delivers five slashes with Kingdom Key followed by Ripple Drive.
Dracula conjures more rain of acid blood to deal poisoning damage to the group, who manage to avoid the acid rain, but Dracula unleashes more orbs of darkness to deal dark explosions, only for Richter to deliver four strikes with his whip followed by a multi strike while Maka diagonal slashes with her scythe, but Dracula unleashes more pillars of dark magic to deal more damage, only for Robin to use Cyclone Arrow. Dracula teleports in his mist of black bats and moves around the throne room while unleashing hellish fireballs, as well as pillars of hellfire, but Katara unleashes ice daggers to deal ice damage while Kirby uses Hammer Spin, only for Dracula to unleash more flaming meteors at the group, who dodge. Dracula shoots hellish fireballs followed by unleashing orbs of darkness to deal dark explosions, but Amity has her Abomination create a sword and axe and delivers many attacks with its weapons while Tor uses Sword Thrust while using his Light Mote to unleash a beam of light, dealing excellent damage, only for Dracula to vanish and reappear and then summons more pillars of dark magic. The group avoid the dark magic pillars, but Dracula sends out more flaming meteors to rain down at the group, only for Twilight to cast Frostra followed by casting Voltra while Eilonwy diagonal slashes with her rapier followed by three ballet style spin slashes and then casts Magic Volley and shoots magic orbs. Dracula retaliates with unleashing orbs of darkness and then conjures hellish fireballs, but the group dodge and Goofy uses Goofy Turbo while Donald casts Thundra followed by casting Blizzara, only for Dracula to unleash pillars of hellfire, but Sora uses Sonic Blade and dashes all over and they finish off Dracula.
"This...cannot...be...!" Dracula said, clutching his chest.
"You're as good as finished!" Richter yelled, using his whip to deliver the final strike at the Dark Lord.
"Foolish Belmont...! You may have defeated me, but I shall be revived once again! I shall rule the night once more!" Dracula said, disappearing.
"So, it's finally done, huh?" Soul asked.
"I suppose now we gotta..." Goofy was cut off, as a quake occurs.
"What now?" Twilight asked.
"The castle! With Dracula destroyed, his castle will begin to disappear as well." Richter said.
"Then we need to get outta here!" Tor said, as they leave the throne room.
In the Chamber of Imprisonment, Arthur regains consciousness and is free from Dracula's curse, as Tod licks the blond's face.
"Hehehe, thanks, Tod. Glad to be back." Arthur said, but a quake occurs. "Huh? What's going on?" Arthur asked.
"The castle is collapsing." A voice said, revealing to be the same young figure. "Your friends and Richter Belmont have defeated Dracula, but now his castle is on the verge of destruction. Come with me. I can help you escape." The young figure said.
"But, Sora...!" Arthur said.
"They will escape as well. Trust me." The young figure said.
"O-Okay." Arthur said, as he, Tod, and the young figure leave the chamber.
(Escape Theme: Destruction of the Castle)
(Information: Escape the castle before time runs out!)
The group begin moving through the castle, as it's collapsing while avoding falling rocks and debris, as they go through the chambers and the exterior while dodging more falling debris and they later arrive back at the foyer and head for the door and return outside in the garden while looking for a way to escape and they later find a gate, so they go for the gate, but the quake gets worse, so they hurry for the gate and find a bridge and cross it while leaving the castle.
The group are now in a forest, where they turn back to see the castle falling apart later, the entire castle is gone.
"Whew, glad we made it out." Soul said.
"It's finally over." Richter said.
"Yeah, but where's..." Sora was cut off.
"Sora!" A voice called, as they turn to see Arthur and Tod.
"Artie!" Sora cheered, running to hug the blond.
"How did you escape?" Katara asked.
"Um, after I was finally free, Tod and I escaped as fast as we could and here we are." Arthur said.
"You're the one, who traded places with me. Thank you. We defeated that devil Dracula." Richter said.
"Well, that's what matters." Arthur said.
"But what about the Keyhole?" Tor asked.
Just then, something appears on the ground where the castle was and it's the Keyhole and so Sora uses his Keyblade to lock the Keyhole, making it disappear.
"There. Now it's done." Sora said.
"That's odd. There doesn't appear to be a Faerie Heart in this world." Arthur said.
"I guess it wasn't sent here." Twilight said.
"Hey, does anyone know where Eilonwy went off to?" Goofy asked.
"What? She's gone again?" Sora asked.
"Eilonwy was here?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, she helped us stop Dracula, but she must've gone somewhere after we left the castle." Amity said.
In the forest, Eilonwy is running through and stops.
"That was close." Eilonwy said and she finds the young man and the young figure. "I had no idea you two would end be sent here." Eilonwy said.
"Oh, we weren't. HE grabbed the Star Shard and used it to get to this world after hearing our enemies were meeting with the Prince of Darkness." The young figure said.
"I said I was a sorry!" The young man said.
"The Star Shard!" The young figure said, making the young man give a glowing item. "Using the Star Shard to try and travel to the world without knowing it's power is highly reckless, but you'll be getting an earful from Master Yen Sid." The young figure said.
"Ugh, I was just trying to help..." The young man said.
"Well, my mission is complete, but..." Eilonwy stops talking.
"What is it?" The young figure asked.
"It's nothing." Eilonwy said.
Just then, someone arrives and it's Princess Luna.
"It would seem the castle is no more. You have done well." Luna said and sees the two. "Coming to this world without permission was very foolish." Luna said.
"Blame him." The young figure said, making the young man cross his arms annoyed.
"Do you not realize the danger you have placed yourself?" Luna asked.
"I'm not a little kid! I'm a hero! I could've handle Ruber and..." The young man was cut off.
"Fool! Fighting him alone would have resulted in your doom! Did you believe risking your own life is an honorable way of the hero?" Luna asked.
"Will you quit lecturing me?" The young man asked.
"You are right. That is for Yen Sid himself." Luna said, creating a portal. "Let's be off." Luna said, going for the portal and the young figure and the young man follow.
"Bete Noire... I WILL find you again..." Eilonwy said, going for the portal, before it disappears.
Meanwhile, the group are talking to Richter.
"So, what're you gonna do now?" Sora asked.
"With Dracula defeated, I guess now I'll just live my life." Richter said.
"Well, good luck, Richter." Arthur said.
"You too and thanks for helping me out." Richter said, going through the forest.
"Looks like we should be going too." Maka said.
"Right. Sorry I was much help, like always." Arthur said.
"Artie..." Sora stopa talking.
"You're not unhelpful. You've been proving yourself time and again that you support us and you did a selfless action to help someone else." Katara said.
"Yeah..." Arthur said.
"Just promise not to scare us like that again, okay?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, it wasn't fun without you." Donald said.
"Hehe, thanks. Anyway, let's moving." Arthur said, as they make their way to leave the forest.
Meanwhile in the pirate ship, Silver Knight and Morgan are talking to Gideon, Azula, the Darkest Faerie, Kay, and Bete Noire.
"Arthur and Sora are still saving world after world and ruining what we're working so hard to achieve." Morgan said.
"This is getting rather annoying." Silver Knight said.
"I think these brats need a lesson." Bete Noire said.
"As much as I would LOVE to torment them, I don't think we're allowed to kill them." Azula said.
"Oh, we don't have to kill 'em. They just need a nice...reality check that they're still on the losing side of things." Gideon said.
"For once, I actually agree with the cockroach!" Kay said.
"I'm always down for some fun." Bete Noire said.
"Count me and Knight in. It's not enough to torment them, though." Morgan said.
"No, because I have somethin' better. They say a hero's main weakness is someone that matters the most. We're gonna make Arthur and Sora suffer, make 'em realize their attempts are futile. We make 'em wish they were dead!" Gideon asked.
"Yesss. That's perfect." The Darkest Faerie said.
"Then, after that's complete, we grant them that wish!" Azula said.
"And the best thing to do is go for where it hurts the most." Morgan said.
"The heart! We attack their hearts!" Gideon said, smiling evilly.
"Perfect!" Kay said.
"Let's strike them where they're gonna go to next." Bete Noire said.
"Then lure them into a trap." Azula said.
"Once they take the bait, we ATTACK!" Kay said.
"Lemme go get two people, who'll help out first! I think they'll be perfect for the roles!" Gideon said, disappearing in darkness.
"Meanwhile we get ready." Morgan said, as they prepare to leave.
Here's Chapter 26 and finally, after three days, I've managed to get this chapter finished. Hope this was worth the wait. That's it and time to be moving on with the adventure once again. That's all from me. Chapter 27 is coming. See ya later and have a good day. Also, if you suggestions on helping with Arthur's growth as a character, kindly let me know via review or PM me and please do tell me. Also, if you've favorited and followed Two Chosen Heroes, I'd suggest you move those over to this story, as once I'm done with this story, I'm gonna remove Two Chosen soon, so it's just me saying. Anyway, later.