I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the Avengers. They each belong to Marvel, Disney, and Square Enix. Wow, two updates in one day, that's actually impressive on my part. Anyways, I've got a bunch of juicy stuff in this chapter. Nods to KH1, to Dark Road, and some guest stars with some with their own role in the story. Let's reply to the reviews then we can just dive into the chapter.
the mysterious Mr.E: Oh, yeah, so expect to see an excited Spider-Man in this series. Especially at certain points in the story.
NaruSaku fan in Kentucky: Yeah, now he'll know what Uncle Ben felt like when he and his Aunt raised him when his parents couldn't. Hopefully, he won't die teaching Sora that with great power there must also come great responsibility. Let's say maybe around the mid-2010s just to play it safe, although most of the worlds will be with an exception of one will be in the pre-2010. That's fair right, and a little hint of what to expect from the worlds they will visit.
olehbilenko93: Thank you!
Guest: Well, here's the second chapter! Enjoy!
Monkey D. Conan: Oh, then you'll really love this story. ;D That's all I will say.
Maximum Rhapsody: Not really, I'm keeping Spidey on his basic powers and skill set but he does get a little something on the fifth world and uses it for the remainder of the story. I won't say what it is.
edboy4926: Well, Scarlet Witch's power will play a role in world traveling but not the way you think. I'm not really going with that angle with this story. And a small spoiler, there is already a Scarlet Spider in the universe. Besides as nice as it is, I'm going with a completely different idea as he does not possess Spider-Powers even if he will eventually run on walls. But you could say his outfits in KHDDD, KH3, and KH4 with the red on them will be dedicated to them. Hope you enjoy what's to come all the same.
Now with that out of the way, here's the second chapter of this tale! Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Keyblade's Chosen One
Long ago, on the very islands, the Avengers and King Mickey defended the one day Guardian of Light, a young man by the name of Xehanort watched the endless ocean ahead of him. He couldn't help but comment, "This world... is just too small."
It was at this moment, he realized, he was no longer alone on the play island. He around turned to see a figure in a brown robe approach him. The robs covered him head to toe, he couldn't even see any features on his face... if the mysterious figure even had one. Before he could ask who the being was, a voice spoke within the robes, "My waypoint."
Xehanort blinked in confusion, "What?"
"The world from your dreams... It does indeed exist. This is nothing but a prison surrounded by ocean," The figure told the young man, "There is nothing for you here. Is this where you wish to carry out your life?"
Xehanort hesitantly approached the figure, "Who are you?"
"I am your waypoint," The 'man' in the brown robes answered, "As you are mine."
"What do you mean?" Xehanort asked, not at all understanding what the visitor was saying, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"Answers are meaningless if you lack the knowledge to understand them," The figure replied as he informed the youthful islander, "Here, there is only so much you can learn. You must explore the world outside."
The silver head tilted his head, "Huh?"
The robed figure motions with his arm and a portal, a corridor of darkness, appeared before them, "It's easier than you'd think. One step forward is all it takes. But if you lack the courage and strength, your dreams will remain dreams forever."
Xehanort walked forward and stared into the portal. Could everything he had ever dreamed about just be within arms reach? Was one step all it took? For some reason, in his heart, there was something familiar about this man in the brown robes. He felt like he could trust him just like he trust himself. Xehanort took one step forward and entered the darkness...
Back in the present, Wanda exited the portal of the mouse created for them. Spider-Man followed shortly after by the time they turned around the portal closed behind them. The Scarlet Witched turned to the boy in her arms, "Are you okay?"
Sora looked up to her with a smile and nodded. This made her smile in relief as Spidey looked at the town before them, "So... where are we now."
The lights of the city shine around them, but it wasn't New York or any city known on the planet Earth...
Traverse Town
"Wherever we are, I think we're safe for now," Scarlet Witch admitted ruffling Sora's hair making him giggle. She then turned to Peter, "So, that mouse... do you think we can trust him?"
"You mean to tell me you never heard of Mickey Mouse," Spider-Man turned to Wanda dumbfounded, "Did Magento never watch you Disney cartoons or movies when you were a kid?"
She still seemed confused of what he was talking about so he went on further, "You mean to tell me, you've never seen movies like the Emperor's New Groove, Lion King, Aladdin, or at the very least you must have seen Frozen?!"
She once again blinked, before recalling, "Oh, you must mean all those children's flicks and that theme park that's mouse themed." She turned to away, "Yeah, most of my childhood has been running from people who tried to kill us for who were are with my brother. Even after my father found and rescued us, I was already too old to watch those sort of things."
"Hey, I happened to be around the same age as you and I still watch Disney films and cartoons," Spider-Man stated with pride, "And I'm not ashamed that I said that out loud because adults still watch them too!"
"You say it like you're proud of it," She muttered to herself not at all understanding the point.
Sora then spoke up with a concerned look, "What do you think happened to the islands? My home? My friends?"
"I'm... I'm sure they're alright," Wanda tried to reassure the child lightly patting his back. However, truth be told, she wasn't quite sure herself, she had never seen monsters like that before.
"Right, we'll put a pin on the Disney discussion for now," Spidey admitted, "The man in the black coat... Xehanort. Did you ever hear that name come up before during Avenger meetings?"
"No, up until today, I never even heard of a Xehanort," She shook her head before raising her eyebrow out of curiosity, "Considering this... Mickey knew him, I figured you say something along the lines of he's an enemy of the mouse of those cartoons."
"No, that would be a fat cat named, Pete," Spidey explained, "Or on occasions Mortimer Mouse." He crossed his arms, "Either way, until today, I didn't think he was real."
Wanda had to admit, Spider-Man had a point. How did a character from a fictional cartoon save them from a real-life threat? It didn't make any sense. Maybe this was all just a really strange dream and she was still in her bed at Avengers Mansion. It was like that strange dream she had about marrying Vision. An Android of all things. She would be crazy if she actually did something like that, that relationship would never work. On the other hand, she never really knew about the Disney Cartoons so she had no idea why would she be dreaming the mascot saved them. And she didn't know why but something in her heart made her think this was no dream. It was all real. Sora was real. And very much in danger as this Xehanort was after him. She hasn't even mentioned to Spider-Man the visions she had of the mystery villain while hopping from place to place ever since Kang.
She sighed, before turning to Spider-Man, "We need to figure out what's going on."
"Well, before he brought us over here, wherever here is, that he would see us again soon with answers," Spider-Man pointed out, "So, probably a good idea if we laid low until he finds us or maybe Goofy or Donald Duck. Anyone who can provide us with answers. Maybe try again to contact the Avengers."
"Guess it's all we really can do," Wanda admitted, "If only we knew where here is."
"You're in Traverse Town, Kupo."
They blinked at the new voices. Both Avengers turned to Sora thinking he said something. Just then the voice called out again, "Down here, Kupo."
All three looked down to see a strange small white creature, with large, spherical heads, small ears sprouting out of the sides of their heads, and stubby hands and feet that lack distinct digits with large, red, spherical 'pom-poms' attached to the top of its heads by a thin, brown, antenna. After a moment of silence, "What? You never seen a Moogle before Kupo?"
"Uh... no, not really no," Spider-Man admitted mental wondering if they were still on Earth.
Wanda then asked, "You know where we are."
"Of course, you're in Traverse Town, Kupo." The Moogle answered before gesturing to the town they were in, "You see, should a world fall into darkness and survivors manage to escape the world's destruction with no one else to go, this world is provided as a shelter. Such as yourselves."
"Hold on," Spider-Man wondered out loud, "Did you say world? As in a completely different planet."
"Yep, that's how's been for years, Kupo," The Moogle answered, "There more worlds out there outside your own you know. Most people tend think that the Earth is the planet their living on, the truth is... the hasn't been an Earth for years, Kupo. No one truly knows how it happened, but it's how the worlds worked for years."
Wanda blinked in realization, "Wait, if that's the case, maybe that's our Avengers ID cards can't reach the others because..."
Spider-Man finished, "They're so far out of range. Kang didn't kick us out of our timeline, he kicked us off the planet."
Sora tilted his head in confusion, "Could someone tell me what you're talking about?"
"We'll tell you later, Sora," Wanda reassured Sora, "I promise."
Sora seemed to accept that answer as he seemed to be a very trusting boy. Spidey turned to the Moogle, "Say, is there any place that could spend the night at."
"You're in luck, Kupo," The Moogle answered, "There's a Motel in the second district. Just head out the large door to North. Then it should be on your left. You can't miss it, Kupo. Another plus is that your world is the first to fall in many years so business should be slow, easy to get a room if you have the munny."
"Thank you," She nodded to the strange creature. They then made their way towards the second district, as Wanda stated, "At least, we've got some answers."
"Yeah, but we have no way to pay for a room," Spider-Man pointed out as he slightly tugged on his tights, "I didn't make this suit with pockets."
Wanda froze as she winced at that though, she didn't have any money on her person either, "You're right."
"But aren't you two superheroes?" Sora tilted his head, "Don't you two have sort of super cool lair or something?"
Spider-Man didn't want to admit it to Sora, but his 'super cool lair' was just the apartment back home. Wasn't much to look at, he wasn't exactly rolling in cash like Tony Stark. Wanda smiled as she told Sora, "We do, unfortunately, that is back on the world Spider-Man and I are from."
"Oh," Sora blinked in understanding, "I guess that makes sense." He then asked, "Then what are we going to do?"
"Don't worry, we'll figure something out until we find Mickey," Spider-Man reassured the boy, "If your friends and family are still out there, we'll find them."
That seemed to ease Sora a little when someone with a Scottish accent spoke up, "Ah, greetings lads and lass, you must be the individuals the King told me about."
The two heroes and Sora turned to see a well-dressed anthropomorphized duck walking up to them with a cane and a friendly grin on his face. Spider-Man blinked under his mask, "Scrooge McDuck?"
The duck blinked in surprise, "So, you've heard of me," He gave a chuckle, "Well, bless my bagpipes, my business must be doing better than I thought if you heard of me from the other side of the galaxy."
"Okay, now how did you know him," Wanda turned to Spider-Man.
The Part-Time Avenger turned to the mutant girl in disbelief, "You know, from Mickey's Christmas Carol?" He got no reaction from her, so he also threw a bit of the old cartoon theme, "Ducktales~ Woo-oo~"
Still, no recognization from her before he crossed his arms, "Remind me to tell the Avengers that you really need to check out what you've been missing."
"And you must be the new key," Scrooge turned to Sora, causing him to tilt his head. The business duck continued to smile, "I can see why the King wants to prioritize your safety above all others. Not ready to defend yourself or the other worlds quite yet."
"Key?" Wanda turned to McDuck, "Why did you call him that?"
"Do you know what's going on," Spider-Man asked one of his old cartoon heroes, "Did... Mickey... sent you?"
"Ah, already on first name bases with the King," Scrooge smiled in response, "Can't say I'm not that surprised, the King is as good as a friend to any who meet him." He then answered, "To answer your question, the King turned to me when he learned how dire the situation truly is. He told me about the key and very likely the lad's parents... but I'm afraid I don't have all the answers you're looking for, but I do have an old friend that might."
Wanda turned to the anthropomorphized duck, "Where can we find him?"
"Don't worry about that, lass, he'll be here soon," The business duck promised, "Right now, the King asked me to help ye get started. I already booked ya two cozy rooms at the motel and five hundred munny to get anything you need for your journey." He proceeded to hand Spider-Man the money, "You'll find all that you need in the second district just ahead. Once my friend's here, I'll take you right to him."
"Thanks," Spider-Man nodded as he stared at this world's currency, "You've been a big help."
"Not at all, lad," Scrooge reassured him, "Just head to the motel when your ready and tell 'em I sent ya."
"Understood, thanks again," Wanda smiled as they started heading over.
Sora smiled at the heroes as they opened the doors and entered the second district, "He seemed nice."
"Well, hopefully, this means we can finally figure out what's going on here," Spider-Man nodded, "So, five hundred... dollars? I think anyways. I mean, it's money. What do you think we should use it for?"
"You the one who suggested we should lie low," Wanda answered gesturing to the clothes shop, "Our costumes are a big target for Xehanort and his monsters."
Spider-Man blinked, realizing what she was referring to, while it was his idea, it would also mean revealing his secret identity to her and Sora. He hasn't told a soul of who he was, not the Avengers, not his friends, not even his own Aunt. The only one who knows at the moment is Venom, but thankfully, he's kept the secret to himself until he had his revenge. He even admitted, "You're right... but... I've got this whole secret identity... and we only just met and..."
"Wait, are you saying you haven't even told the Avengers," She realized, only to get a deafening silence as a result. She sighed, "Look, you and I are going to have to do a lot of things outside our comfort zone, but I promise I won't tell anyone who you are under that mask without your permission first. Please, for Sora."
Sora turned to Spidey, "Well, you don't have to worry about me. I'm like the best secret-keeper in the world!"
Wanda lightly giggled before turning back to Spider-Man, "See. Your secret's in good hands if we have the 'best secret-keeper in the world' on your side."
Spider-Man nodded as he ruffled his hand through the boy's hair, "Alright, I'll do it for you, kid."
They then head to the store to pick out some new clothes for themselves. At the same time, a ship flew over the first distract before landing in the hanger bay nearby...
A half an hour later, both Avengers picked out their respective clothing of what they would wear. While Scarlet Witch wanted some of the more fancy dresses she was more accustomed to, she agreed some of the munny should be saved for other things they could need and they didn't want to ask more for what they were given. She settled for jeans, a black T-shirt with a red light jacket. When she tried it on, Spider-Man couldn't help but comment, "Really?"
"What?" She shrugged innocently, "I always liked the color red. It's my favorite."
They also agreed to change one at a time to keep a close eye on Sora. Considering Xehanort and the Heartless seemed to be after him. Scarlet Witch managed to keep him entertained by talking about all his favorite subjects. His friends, his dreams, pirates, and of course superheroes. It was there, she told him all about the Avengers. How they are Earth's Mightiest Heroes and all the tales of the adventures and threats they faced. Sora got excited after hearing every tale, and Wanda promised him once they got to her and Spider-Man's home, they not only introduce him to the team, but they would do everything in their power to defeat the man in the black and find out what happened to his friends and family.
Not long after, Spider-Man left his changing booth, only was no longer in costume. No longer wearing a mask, for his clothes, he wore jeans, a white undershirt, and a green and blue pattern collared button shirt. Wanda was a little shocked seeing Spider-Man's face, for some reason, he always imagined a scarred or furry face with multiple eyes but he had simple caucasian, brunette hair like her own, and hazel eyes. Without the costume, Spider-Man looked like your average human. Not that there was anything wrong with that, some Homo superiors like her own family didn't appear any different than any other Homosapien. Even more shocking, despite being Spider-Man for eight years, he looked just about the same age as her. She was expecting an older man, how exactly old was he when he first started his career as Spider-Man. His hands were currently in his pockets, as he greeted him, "Well, meet the real me. Boring old Peter Parker."
She quickly snapped out of her shock and gave him a pleasant smile, "It's... nice to meet you, Peter." She picked up her backpack, containing her suit before asking, "So, where did you put your... work clothes?"
Peter lightly pulled over his civilian clothes revealing his suit underneath it all. She blinked in shock, "Isn't that a little uncomfortable?"
"I've gotten used to it," Peter reassured her, before gesturing to the motel building on the other side of the district, "So, shall we?"
After paying for their new clothes, they quickly went over to the motel, which was surely enough owned by a Moogle. Peter mentioned the rooms that Scrooge McDuck had reserved for them. The Moogle gave the key to their joint rooms, and they went right over. Each room contained a queen size bed and was nice and tidy waiting for them. Sora was tired from the long day he had, and he was already out by the time they reached the motel. So, Wanda tucked him into the bed in the first room.
She smiled watching the little boy sleep peacefully, despite everything he went through today. She sat on the bed beside him and she didn't want to leave his side in case the Heartless or Xehanort showed up. Peter chuckled lightly, "How's the kid holding up?"
"I think he's more excited about the amazing things he witnessed today and holding hope for the best tomorrow than everything else that's happened," Wanda lightly smiled before frowning, "What could anyone possibly want with him?"
Peter sighed, "I don't know. He seems like a completely normal kid." He looked to the door thinking Scrooge would be there soon, "Hopefully, Scrooge's friend can shed some light on the subject."
Wanda nodded, "I pray you are right. I'm also praying we can get Sora home safely then we can gather the rest of the Avengers to deal with Xehanort and his demons."
"Yeah, this a little above my job level," Peter admitted, "Something tells me we stumbled upon a greater threat than Kang or anyone the Avengers had ever faced."
Suddenly his Spider-Sense went off, it had taken him years to become fully aware of using it to its full capabilities, and something or something was just outside the motel wanting to get in. Wanda turned to him in concern, "What's wrong?"
He whispered to her quietly, "I think we might have company..."
He then gestured to the door to the patio outside the building. Wanda's eyes narrowed and nodded to Peter. While the Wall-Crawler placed on his web-shooters to confront the possible danger outside while Wanda quickly placed on her backpack and prepared to move Sora if the danger came for him. He slowly opened the door to the patio. While the view wasn't much to look at, he couldn't see the danger, because it wasn't in front of him. It was above him. He fired a web in the sky clogging up the large gun aiming at him. Holding said weapon, was a very familiar creature that was definitely not a raccoon, "WHA-?! HEY! YOU CLOGGED UP MY FAVORITE AMBUSH GUN, YOU FLARKIN' HUMMIE!"
Peter blinked in recognization of the assailant, "Rocket?"
Spider-Man looked higher in the sky to see the Malino flying above the Motel, and several other familiar faces appeared surrounding the Part-Time Avenger on all sides, a large live tree-like alien that needed no introduction wondering, "I am Groot?"
Drax the Destroyer pulled out his knives, as he prepared for battle, "I agree with Groot, what's a Terran doing all the way out here."
"You mean other than Quill?" Gamora drew out her sword, "Probably something way out of his league like him."
"Hey, I take offense to that," Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy flew down to Spider-Man's height, "Now unless you want to be sliced to pieces while your remains get blown up, I suggest you hand over whatever power source you got in there."
"Hey, Quill," Peter sighed as he put his hands up, he really didn't want to do this without his costume on, but he guess he didn't have much of a choice, "Don't shoot, it's me. Spider-Man."
"Right," Star-Lord rolled his eyes under his helmet, "And I'm Thanos. You're not fooling us so easy."
"Wait," Gamora told the others as she stared at Rocket's clogged-up alien gun, recognizing the webs, she study Peter's height and body type before asking, "If you are who you say you are, then answer this. During the Secret War, what costume did you wear, and who were we up against?"
"I was wearing my standard red and blue before I went to the wrong machine for a costume repair and got the black suit which later on turned out to be a symbiote. We fought some space hippie guy called the Beyonder before Dr. Doom stole his powers for his own. Can't look that one up on the texts books."
Gamora took another minute on guard before putting her sword away, "It's him."
Star-Lord then removed his nano-helmet, "Wait, for real?"
"Yes," Spider-Man nodded before adding, "A Footless is still not the greatest film of all time."
"Oh, don't you start the again," The intergalactic outlaw told him before realizing Gamora was right putting away his weapons, "So, that's what you look under that mask, huh? You look like the kind of guy that gets bullied in school."
"Yeah, that was the case with me," Spidey admitted, "Care to tell me why Rocket nearly blew up my room?"
Rocket complained, "I wasn't going to blow up your room!"
Groot turned to him with a glare, "I am Groot!"
"No, I really wasn't!"
"I am Groot!"
"...fine, maybe a little," Rocket admitted as he put his weapon away.
"We'll explain everything," Gamora walked up to the unmasked hero, "But how about a little privacy. We don't want to attract the wrong people."
"Fine, but be quiet alright," Peter told the Guardians, "I've got a kid who had a rough day today trying to sleep."
All the Guardians stared at the Wall-Crawler, Peter Quill could sum up their thoughts with just a few words, "Say what now-?"
After getting the Guardians to agree to be quiet to let Sora sleep, and making sure Wanda wouldn't blast them upon entering the room, they had settled in quietly while the boy slept. While Wanda was aware of the Guardians' existence, she never truly met them until now but still remained cautious around them. They seemed to understand, Drax probably did the most, being a father once himself.
Groot couldn't help but adore Sora, "I am Groot."
"No way that's the cutest thing in existence," Rocket quietly glared at his long-time friend and partner, "This thing is so weak and lazy. Probably can't even move without someone carrying..."
Wanda instantly cut him off, as her eyes began to glow red with her power, "I dare you to finish that sentence."
"Hey, easy," Peter told the mutant woman, "We did not come here to fight."
The Scarlet Witch's eyes narrowed harder at Rocket, "Tell it to the Rodent who tried to blow us up."
Rocket growled quietly, "What did you call me?!"
Sora moaned as Groot shushed the two quietly, "I am Groot!"
Spider-Man turned to Star-Lord, "Speaking of, why are you guys doing here?"
Star-Lord sighed as he told Spider-Man, "Well, I'm not going to sugar coat it with the kid asleep, but it's bad out there man. Crazy stuff has been happening all over the galaxy."
Rocket nodded in agreement, "Yeah, there's been cracks through time and space popping up all over, releasing a bunch of monsters all over."
"They seem harmless at first," Drax admitted, "But as they consume people's hearts, their numbers grow by the minute."
"Wait," Wanda turned to Sora in concern, "You saying those things eat hearts?!"
Sora moaned again causing a brief moment of silence before he turned over a went back to sleep. Gamora turned to Wanda, "Unfortunately, and once the hearts are gone, everything else gets lost into darkness. We've been going all over finding them almost everywhere. Knowhere, Xandar, Hala, Sakaar..."
"Thankfully, the cracks are small and manageable, it's the big ones we're concerned about," Rocket stated, "If those bad boys stay open for too long, those worlds will be lost with everyone on them. That's not to mention the other ones get will bigger."
"I am Groot," Groot frowned at the sound of it.
Spider-Man couldn't help but ask, "Is there anything we can do to stop them."
He then turned to Rocket, "I am Groot."
"Yeah, I was getting to that," Rocket nodded to Groot, before the two Avengers, "Well, I built a device that lead us what could possibly fix the cracks in reality, which lead us to you three. Not sure how you got here without a ship and I very much don't care. You've the solution to the problem at hand, and that's about sums up the things I care about at the moment."
Groot tilted his head, "I am Groot."
"We can give them a lift back to Terra," The not-raccoon replied to the living tree, "As soon as we save the galaxy."
"We don't even know what you're looking for," Wanda admitted, "If we did, we most certainly would have given it to you by now."
"It's no problem," Star-Lord shrugged, "Rocket, do a quick scan for our reality glue."
"Hardy har har," Rocket faked a laugh as he pulled out the device, "You're hilarious, Quill. Now then, let's see what you got here..." He began scanning the room for the source of the power that will allow them to fix reality, it got little to no response, until he aimed it at the sleeping boy, "What the-?" He double-checked it, triple-checked it to get the same results, he blinked in shock, "You mean to tell the one who can fix the cracks is just a kid?" He angrily smashed the device on the ground as he exclaimed, "THE GALAXY IS DOOMED?!"
Everyone in the room angrily shushed Rocket, but the damage had been done, as Sora slowly began to open his eyes. Everyone glared at Rocket, as Drax stated, "You woke the kid."
Rocket retorted without care, "Well, how else was I supposed to react?"
Sora turned to Wanda and Peter before noticing all the new people around them. Groot lightly waved to him, "I am Groot."
Sora turned to Wanda, "Are these people heroes too?"
Wanda glared at Rocket, "Well... most of them."
Grumbled under his breath, "You wake a child once, and you're on everyone's bad side for life."
"Okay, everyone, this is Sora," Peter introduced the boy, before turning to the boy and introducing the Guardians, "Sora, this is Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and..."
"I am Groot," Groot smiled happily.
Peter shrugged as he gestured to Groot, "He is Groot. They are the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"Oh," Sora smiled brightly, "It's nice to meet you."
Gamora lightly waved to Sora, before turning to Spider-Man and the Scarlet Witch, "So, what's his story? If he's the only one capable of fixing all this then he must have a story."
Wanda crossed her arms before asking, "Have you ever heard of a man named Xehanort?"
"Or at the very least heard of a man in a black coat," Peter added in case they never of the name.
The Guardians of the Galaxy turned to each other before shrugging at each other. Peter Quill answered on his team's behalf, "Not really. No. Who is he?"
"We don't know," Wanda admitted before adding, "But he can control the monsters."
"Impossible," Rocket waved it off, "The Kree tried that, they nearly lost their entire army if it wasn't for us."
"No, it's true," Peter Parker spoke up, "We saw him doing it."
"So, the monsters have a leader," Gamora realized before crossing her arms, "That complicates things."
Wanda continued turning to Sora in concern, "Whoever he is, he wanted Sora... we had no idea why until now..."
"Guess it's because he's the only one who can stop him," Star-Lord realized turning to Sora, "And the poor kid never even realized it."
Sora blinked in confusion, before there was a knock on the door, getting all the Avengers and Guardians' attention. Wanda turned to Spidey, "Your Spider-Sense picking up anything?"
"Nothing," Peter admitted, "Mr. McDuck? Is that you?"
"Aye, I just wanted to tell you my friend has arrived," Scrooge answered, "If the lad's asleep, wake him up. He's gonna want to hear what my friend has to say."
Quill blinked, "Wait, McDuck? And that voice sounds like..."
"Yes, as it turns out," Parker revealed to the Guardians, "Scrooge McDuck and Mickey Mouse are very much real."
While the Guardians didn't know what the two Peters were talking about all Star-Lord had to say in response was, "No... flarking... way!"
When Peter and Wanda said that Scrooge said he had a friend who can answer all their questions, the Guardians followed the two Avengers. Wanda carried Sora as they followed the anthropomorphized duck to the third district of Traverse Town.
When asked if they could bring the Guardians along Scrooge didn't seem to mind as the galaxy and quite possibly the universe was at stake. "The more the merrier."
As they followed the duck to a door with a fire logo on it, Rocket couldn't help but comment, "Why are we following Howard's distant cousin again?"
"Okay, first off, he's not Howard's cousin, he's Donald's Uncle," Parker answered the not-raccoon, "Second, because he's got the information we need to understand what's going on."
"Whatever," Rocket shrugged, "So, why are we following him again."
This time Peter Quill answered, "Because if the cartoons hold any truth to the real deal, then he's like stupid rich."
Rocket grinned as he beamed, "Now that, I can get behind! Following the rich duck without any more complaints from me!"
Wanda glared at Rocket, "There's more to life than money."
They followed him on a rocket path across the waters to a small hut on a small island. They entered inside the hut, which felt familiar to an old movie both Parker and Quill had seen before. Scrooge called out, "Hey, Merlin. I brought them here on behalf of the King's request."
Before the heroes could react to what the duck said, a poof of blue smoke appeared to reveal an old man with a long white beard, "Ah, so they've arrived, quite earlier than expected actually. Welcome to my humble home."
"Holy crap!" Star-Lord's eyes widened in shock, "Merlin from Sword and the Stone is real?!"
Wanda glared at Quill, the former had covered Sora's ears to make sure he didn't hear the foul language, the latter quickly apologized, "Uh... Sorry."
"Still, it's a little hard to take in," Peter admitted as he turned to the wizard, "I used to watch your movie all the time with my family."
"Ah, yes, I remember," Merlin smiled fondly, "Your world seemed to have a link to others, making many films based upon the many worlds that may or already happened." Merlin then turned to the group, "Now then, where's the key?"
His eyes looked through the crowd before smiling brightly, "Ah, Sora! My lad! I should have known you were somehow involved with this!" He then pulled out his watch, "Of course, you're about ten years early, but no matter, I'm glad to see you're safe."
Sora tilted his in confusion, Wanda seemed about equally confused, "Wha... what are you?"
"In the movie, Merlin can travel through time," Spidey turned to her, "He probably meets Sora later on in his future."
"Quite right," Merlin nodded to Spider-Man, "It feels like only yesterday when you came in here to fight the Seekers of..." He then cleared his throat, "Well, I'm getting ahead of myself, not to mention, we've got a serious situation at hand."
"Yes," Gamora nodded, "We know about the monsters and the tears in reality."
"Ah, you must be referring to the Heartless," Merlin assumed before nodding, "Yes, with the Door to Darkness still closed, they shouldn't be escaping the Realm of Darkness. They probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for the tears between the Realms of Light and Darkness."
Wanda turned to Merlin with concern, "What exactly are the Heartless?"
"Well, in sort they monsters that lack a heart," Merlin answered, "They seemed to be attracted to the darkness in people's hearts and there's darkness in everyone's hearts. The more the hearts they consume, the greater the numbers grow. Frankly, it's a miracle very few worlds have been consumed by the Heartless at this point."
"How do we stop them?" Spider-Man wondered.
"Well, the only way to truly destroy Heartless, is with a Keyblade," Merlin answered, "And it just so happens that one day, the Keyblade will choose Sora."
The Scarlet Witch blinked in shock, "Keyblade?"
Rocket's eyes lit up, "Hold up! I heard about those weapons! I thought they were just a myth!"
"Oh, I assure you, they're real alright as real as you and me," Merlin answered, "King Mickey wields one as well. For many generations, Wielders of the Keyblade are keepers of the peace and protectors of the light of the worlds."
"So, wait, they're like Jedi?" Spider-Man wondered out loud.
Merlin smiled, "Funny you should mention that, they were actually the predecessors of the Jedi Order."
"Wait," The Peters gasped in excitement, "Star Wars is real too?!"
Wanda and Gamora lightly elbowed them, "Peter."
"Sorry," They apologized before Quill turned to Parker, "Wait, your name is Peter, too? How come I never knew that?"
Peter pulled out his mask, "It's called a secret identity."
"What happened to them?" Wanda wondered, "If that was the case, the Avengers should have heard all about them."
"I'm afraid as time passed, one by one their numbers lowered to near extinction," Merlin admitted, "Only a few remain today, but Sora was the spark that brings their return when his Keyblade comes into form."
Spider-Man then asked, "Then what's Xehanort got to do with this?"
"I beg your pardon," Merlin gasped in shock, "Where in the Worlds did you hear that name?!"
Peter turned to Merlin as Wanda answered while concerned for Sora's safety, "The man in the black coat, he could control the Heartless, and that's what this King Mickey called him."
Merlin stroked his beard, "Oh dear, this much worse than I imagined."
Peter turned to him, "You know who he is?"
"I'm afraid so," Merlin answered before explaining, "Xehanort was a Keyblade Master who fell to darkness. He's the large reason why Keyblade Wielders are so rare now. The problem is, he's not due to confront Sora for quite some time now."
"Great, so he's like a Sith Lord then," Spider-Man groaned understanding why Xehanort's so dangerous.
"Yes," Merlin nodded, "That would be a good comparison. Question is, why Xehanort is doing all of this? What could he possibly gain by rewriting the present, in fact, if it weren't for these blast tears between the Realms of Light and Darkness it shouldn't be possible."
Just then, they heard a faint beep from Scarlet Witch's backpack. Gamora turned to the source of the sound, "What's that?"
Realizing what the sound was, they unzipped the bagged and pulled out the device Spider-Man found on the Destiny Islands. Wanda turned him slowly backing away from it with Sora, "You said it wasn't a bomb."
Peter was about to say his Spider-Sense was picking up any danger from it when Rocket cut him off, "That's because it ain't." Rocket hopped on the table to examine it, "It looks a little different but it's built to send a message."
"A message?" Wanda blinked in shock, "From Kang?"
"Wait, this is a Time Travel thing," Spider-Man realized before turning to Merlin, "Is it possible Kang might know something about all of this?"
"Hmmm... I suppose the tears had to have come from somewhere and at some point in time," Merlin thought aloud, "I think it's best to see what he has to say about all this."
Quill walked up to Rocket, "So, can you play the message?"
"Of course, I can but it only has enough juice to play this sucker once, so better listen up," He replied as he examined the device before pressing a button.
When he had done this, a holographic image of Kang the Conqueror. However, his expression wasn't something they had never seen before. He looked desperate, "Greetings Avengers. I need your help."
Wanda and Peter turned to each other in shock, "Our help?"
"Make no mistake," Kang's eyes narrowed, "Under different circumstances, I would handle this matter myself." He then frowned, "If I didn't play my part in the crisis..."
He then revealed, "When I escaped you 21st century prison, the two of you tried to stop me, while I was punching in the coordinates back to my time, you, Scarlet Witch, managed to hexed my chair but what you didn't know you damaged more than just my chair, you damaged the stability in the barriers of space and time causing tears between the Realms of Light and Darkness allowing creatures known as the Heartless to enter our world almost ten years before they were supposed to."
Wanda blinked in shock and horror, "What?!"
The tears, the Heartless, Sora losing his world... it was all her fault? Peter placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you didn't know. This wasn't your fault."
Wanda then turned to Sora, who gave her a friendly smile, it looked like he didn't blame her either. Kang continued, "To be fair, I should have taken the time to fix the damage before I made the jump back to my time. I too am to blame for all of this."
He closed his eyes before assuming, "I can only hope, you had found a small boy named Sora before the Heartless did. He plays a strong role in the coming Keyblade War and he needs to survive. One day the Keyblade will choose him and he'll make an enemy in a man called Xehanort."
"However, Xehanort from the past took notice of the tears and is using them for his own goals," Kang revealed, "If he gets to Sora before the boy can become the hero he's meant to be, the 31st century will cease to exist."
"My Time Chair was too badly damaged from our last battle, so I cannot get back in time before the battle took place to prevent this from ever happening in the first place," Kang revealed before turning to them, "However, I was able to go back far enough to send the two you to the Destiny Islands with this message. You must find him, find a way to fix this mess or there may not be a future for any of us."
Wanda turned to Spider-Man, "But why just us and not any other Avenger?"
"Because we were caught in the hex too," Peter recalled now remembering what happened after Kang attempted to return to his time, "After he got free of us, he tried to leave us within the time-stream, probably hoping he'd never see or hear from us again but he came back at the last minute to breach open a pocket in time and sent the two of us through because he can't get to anyone else."
Wanda's eyes widened realizing the logic, they weren't the preferred choice but they were all they got, "I suggest you seek the wizard Merlin, he may know how to fix the rifts and stop Xehanort. I have no doubt you're willing to protect the boy anyway, but if you succeed, find his closest friends, and help to become the hero he was meant to be... I will abandon my claim to conquer your time."
Both Avengers and Guardians blinked at what Kang just told them. Did they hear him right? Kang promised, "If you succeed, then you have my word that you'll never see or hear from me again. It pains me to say it but I promise to leave you be if Sora lives and Xehanort's stopped. Good luck and Godspeed."
With that, the message ended and the device died on Merlin's table. Groot turned to his friends, "I... am... Groot?"
"Yeah," Rocket nodded, "I'm having a hard time hearing it too, buddy."
Drax leaned into Rocket's ears, "Hmm... I see nothing clogging up your ears so you shouldn't have any difficulty hearing anything."
Rocket groaned in annoyance, "Get away from my ears."
"Do you think he was telling the truth," Wanda turned to the others, "I mean then again, it's Kang..."
"Kang is many things," Spider-Man crossed his arms, "A liar is not one of them." He then turned to Sora, "Either way, Sora's innocent in all of this and we can't let Xehanort have his way with him."
Wanda nodded, whatever Kang actually promised was true or not, they had to protect Sora. Scrooge turned to Merlin, "Well, Merlin? Do you know how to fix all of this?"
"Well, now that I know the full story," Merlin walked up to the heroes, "I know just how we can save the worlds and stop Xehanort." He then turned to the Scarlet Witch, "You yourself may actually play a large role in it."
"Me?" Wanda turned to Merlin.
"Yes, now that I know the tears between the Realm of Light and Darkness come from you," The wizard nodded, "Your power may be needed to close them." He then cleared his throat, "Now then, I take it some of the smaller tears in reality are still manageable?"
"Yeah, these Heartless are tough but for the most part, those worlds are still around to defend themselves," The leader of the Guardians admitted.
"Good, then that means theirs still time," Merlin nodded before continuing, "Now then, the bigger threats are... well, the bigger tears in reality. The moment the King informed me, I was able to identify how many of those are. There should be about six of them in total. If we're able to seal those tears, the small ones will repair themselves on their own."
"Great," Rocket nodded before asking, "Now how do we fix 'em?"
"Well, truth be told the Keyblade could be used to fix them, but since the King is not currently here, and Sora has yet to wield his, it's not really an option we can do," Merlin admitted getting a groan from everyone in the room, the wizard then spoke up, "Not to worry, I do have a plan be." He then turned to Wanda, "My dear, would you be so kind to lend me your bag. You might want to take your costume out anyway."
Wanda did after setting Sora down and did what she was told. She quickly emptied the backpack after pulling out her costume and handing the wizard the empty bag. With a wave of Merlin's hand, seven globes of magics appeared in the bag. Blinking in shock, the Scarlet Witch took one out to examine it, "What are these?"
"They are a little something of my creation, these Reality Globes, if put inside the tears will fix them on the inside out," Merlin answered the Scarlet Witch, "I made them just for this sort of occasion but they're very rare so try not to lose them."
"Is that way you gave us a spare," Peter asked the wizard from Sword and the Stone, "You said there were six big tears but you gave us seven Reality Globes."
"Ah, yes, I'm glad you brought that up as there's still one issue even if you are successful in sealing all six," Merlin nodded to Spider-Man, "With Xehanort out there he may do everything in his power to keep the tears from closing with his own Keyblade, the seventh one was made for him. After you seal the six big ones, you must use one of the smaller tears to throw him in and seal him inside, after that, his time should reset before he discovered the tears in the first place and the tears will fix themselves."
"So, let me sure if I got this right, we've got to find all six tears God only knows where, through swarms of Heartless, use your Reality Globes to fix them," Spider-Man began to list off, "And assuming we survive all of this, draw out the big baddy, throw inside one of the little ones, and uses the last one to make sure he stays down."
"That just about summons it," Merlin nodded, "But we must do it with haste, the longer they remain open, we risk letting the small ones get bigger and it'll be too late to undo it without a Keyblade. So, we need to get you to the big ones quickly," He then turned to Wanda, "That's where you come in, since it was your power that created these tears, your power can also be used to travel to the other worlds through the tears."
The daughter of Magento wondered, "Wait, if we use the globes to close them, then how can I use my power to travel through them."
"Well, the tears will still need a few minutes to close so, once you throw the Reality Globes in, use your power to take you to the next World," Merlin informed her before she nodded. Peter Parker raised his hand, Merlin already knew what he was going to ask, "And yes, most likely those worlds will likely be something you've seen in a movie but don't assume you know everything about that person or the world just because you've seen it on screen. Things could end up very differently than the stories you know."
"So, like Jafar could actually be a misunderstood hero while Aladdin can be a horny psycho villain," Spidey commented, "Noted. I've seen Twisted on YouTube."
"Yes!" Star-Lord beamed, "I dreamed of going on an adventure like this! Reliving all be the best film of all time! Footloose! Ghost Busters! Ninja Turtles! King Kong! This will be the best thing that's ever happened!"
"Not so fast. First of all, all of those are actually fiction," Merlin told Star-Lord causing him to be shocked and disappointed. "Second, not all of you can go. The mutant abilities Wanda possesses are great but they can only be used to bring herself and two others. Sora must go without a second thought as he's the key to all of this and must be protected at all costs as well. As for the second, well, I'll leave that up to you."
Wanda thought for a moment, "Peter..." Quill lightly beamed before she told him, "Not you Quill, I meant Parker." Star-Lord frowned as she turned to the Wall-Crawler, "Kang asked the both of us to do this. Plus, I could use another Avenger on this."
"Even if I am just a part-timer?" Spidey wondered. Wanda smiled as she nodded. He nodded, "Alright, I'll do it. We did both promise to keep Sora safe so, I guess it has to be us."
Sora tilted his head with a little excitement, "So, we will really be exploring other worlds?"
"It would appear so," Wanda smiled as she knelt down to him, "Looks like you get to live your dreams sooner than expected!"
Sora cheered happily, "This is so awesome! I can't wait!" He then stopped to frown, "Then what about Riku and Kairi? Where are they?"
"Not to worry, Riku and Kairi play an important role in the future that even Xehanort wouldn't risk losing either of them," Merlin reassured the child, "They could very well be on the worlds you visit or on one where the smaller ones are."
"Then that's what I'll do," Scrooge vowed, "I'll do my part in saving the universe." He turned to Star-Lord, "Mr. Quill. I will be hiring you and your crew to take me and look around the worlds for these missing little ones. As well as letting the King know where we sent the key."
Star-Lord and Rocket beamed quietly at that, sure, Scrooge McDuck was joining them but not only that, there were getting paid by the richest duck in Duckburg. The former quickly pulled himself together, "Yes, sir. We're honored to have you aboard our ship, we just need to make sure we have everything we need then we can depart immediately."
"Yeah, yeah," Rocket waved off his leader, "What he said. We'll send you the bill when we save the galaxy again."
Drax turned to him confused, "But wouldn't Spider-Man, Scarlet Witch, and Sora be doing the galaxy saving?"
"Eh," The not-raccoon shrugged, "Details."
Peter turned to Wanda, "We should probably suit up. We're likely going to face a lot of monsters and bad guys on this journey."
She nodded as she stared at her own costume before turning back to Merlin, "Do you anywhere private where we can change?"
Peter Parker didn't take long to change as most of his suit was under his clothes, all he needed was to put on the boots, gloves, and mask afterward. Wanda's however was a bit more complex and needed more time to suit up. Sometime later, she returned to her teammate and Sora as she placed the red wimple on her hair, "Now then, you two ready to save the galaxy?"
Sora eagerly bounced up and down with his hand raised in the air, "I do! I do!"
Both Avengers chuckled at Sora's excitement. Groot lightly tapped Sora's shoulder, and told him, "I am Groot."
Rocket walked up to Sora, and told him, "He said you better not screw this all up."
"No, he didn't," The future Keyblade's Chosen shook his head, "He was just wishing me good luck and to stay safe."
Sora then joined the two Avengers as the dumbfounded Rocket stared at Sora in shock, "Wait... You can understand Groot?!"
Wanda picked Sora up as Gamora told them, "Stay safe and be ready for anything. If all goes well, we'll meet the three of you on Terra and help you stop Xehanort once and for all."
"To you as well," Spider-Man nodded under his mask, "And if you find the other kids, make sure the others don't do anything that a child isn't supposed to see."
Gamora smirked, after being raised by Thanos, she knew exactly what to make sure another child doesn't experience, "Will do."
Spider-Man, picked up the backpack with all the Reality Globes, before turning to Merlin, "Okay, so now what?"
The advisor of King Arthur smiled, "Well, now we need to get you three throw that first world. Fortunately, I discover the small crack in Traverse Town quickly before the Heartless could get loose, we can use that to get you started." He turned to the Scarlet Witch, "I'll help with the first one, after that, you're on your on your own."
"So, these big cracks," Peter commented, "They're not going to be easy to find are they."
"If that was the case anyone would find them," Merlin chuckled before getting serious, "No, if Xehanort's smart, he likely hid the cracks to those who would use the Heartless to their own gain, I suggest you find allies on those worlds in order to stop them and find the cracks between the Realms of Light and Darkness."
The two nodded as Merlin presented them with the first crack. It looked very similar to the one Xehanort used on the Destiny Islands to summon the Heartless. He turned to Wanda, "Ready?"
She nodded as the two raised their hands, Merlin opened his fingers to make the crack just big enough for them to fit through before Wanda blasted it with her powers creating a small portal. Her power spread to herself, Spider-Man, and Sora before they walked through the portal before they vanished from the eyes of the others. Gamora turned to Merlin, "So, you think they can pull this off."
"I hope so, God willing," The wizard admitted, "It'll take a miracle."
Star-Lord then got his team's attention, "Alright, Guardians. While they fix the big breaches in reality, we'll look over the smaller ones and try to find Sora's friends. And find King Mickey and let him know the plan so we can all arrive to Earth to stop Xehanort. Mr. McDuck will be joining us for this so hopefully by the end of the week, the galaxy will be saved and we'll get paid handsomely for it."
With that, everyone followed the Star-Lord while Merlin turned to the stars above to notice a small GummiShip arrive in the town. He sighed to himself, "So, this is how it all begins..."
Meanwhile, on the GummiShip, Cid Highwind, in his early thirties, got everyone aboard his ship as they lost Rad... Hollow Bastion to the witch, Maleficent, and her own Heartless. He managed as many people on the ship as he could but they were mostly children. A young teenage girl dressed in pink prayed that everyone back on their homeworld made it off-world in one piece. A little girl, who dreamed of becoming the greatest ninja, sobbed sadly in a corner. A young teenage boy, with a badge covering his recent injury on his face, walked up to their pilot before asking, "So, this is it, huh?"
"Unfortunately, yeah," Cid nodded to himself, "Until we find that Key, and all of Ansem's notes, we'll just have to stick here and check on the other survivors that their worlds fall by that witch's hand. You sure you alright with that, Squall?"
"We'll do whatever it takes to stop that witch and save the worlds," The teenage boy picked up a gunblade on the side before giving it a few test swings, "And until that day comes, call me Leon..."
Bet you weren't expecting to see Leon and the gang at the end there. Hey, they had to be a Traverse Town one day where Sora will meet them in the first Kingdom Hearts game. Also, bet you were also shocked to see the Guardians of the Galaxy too and they're teaming up with Scrooge McDuck to see if they can find Riku and Kairi on the other worlds.
Oh, and Wanda knows Peter Parker is Spider-Man. He kind of had to if they were going to work together. With a little romance later on. Maybe they have a duet. And no one panic, at the end Wanda will start getting into Dinsey.
Now to the preview of the first Disney World. After arriving, they find out about a special prize in a challenge for heroes. Believing it to be the first big crack in reality, they sign up for it, and face monster after monster to become champion. But will it be enough to go the distance when another expert in darkness joins the scene and could one or two heroes in training be enough to help them? Stay tuned! ope you enjoyed the chapter, be sure to leave a review. Also, if you haven't already be sure to follow and fav. as well. See ya real soon!