Chapter 20

Sora had more dreams during his nap inside the closet. He got a little tired for a while and closed his eyes a few hours after Jessica threw him in.

"Well, goodbye Charlie. I love you." said Ann-Marie.

"I love you too." whispered Charlie Barkin back.

…..

"Alice, run!" cried Arthur.

"You run with her! I'll do what I can to help!" cried Christopher Robin.

"No! It's too dangerous!" cried Arthur.

…..

"My name's Tigger! T, I Double GR! That spells Tiger!"

….

"I'm thumping. That's why they call me Thumper!"

….

"To change my clothes, the black of night. To age my voice, an old hag's cackle. To whiten my hair, a scream of fright! A blast of wind, to fan my hate! A thunderbolt, to mix it well! Now, begin thy magic spell…" Queen Grimhilde, also known as the Evil Queen then drank the potion. And her transformation was ugly.

"My voice! My voice, hahaha! The perfect disguise!" cackled Grimhilde, in her old witch costume.

….

Sora woke up feeling rather disappointed. The dreams were somewhat repetitive and the same. Except for the one with Alice, Christopher Robin and Arthur. What was going on?

The door opened and Duchess put her paw on Sora's mouth. Sora didn't even see her walk in.

"You must leave this place and go back to the school Sora! Mickey is looking for you everywhere!" she whispered.

"You're an agent?" asked Sora.

"Yes. I'v been working undercover here in this place with some of the women. All except for that devil in the tutu. She is an agent of an entirely different evil organization. She knows nothing about this. We've been working uncomfortably for a while now with Him watching our every move." said Duchess.

"She doesn't work for Xehanort?" asked Sora.

"No. She is dangerous, but she does not work for the true villain that wish to harm so many innocent folk. You must go back to Mickey." said Duchess.

"Wait, I want to ask you something. Do you know Christopher Robin?" asked Sora.

"I do not know that name. Is he a friend of your's?" asked Duchess.

Sora shook his head. "Just asking. What about Kairi! She's here!" cried Sora.

"Kairi? Oh, you mean Scarlet! Yes, she's working here. In fact, I told her about you and she's waiting for you outside in the alley." said Duchess. She then lead Sora outside and Kairi was waiting for them.

"Sora! Thank goodness you're safe!" cried Kairi.

"Kairi! Why are you here?" asked Sora.

"I came here looking for you. I've been doing undercover work here too and Duchess told you where you were." said Kairi.

"You two should go to Mickey at Acme Acres. Please, I wouldn't want you two to get hurt." said Duchess.

"Thank you Duchess. Please tell Betty thank you for me, and all the girls. Even Him. She did say to pay her a visit in Townsville." Winked Kairi.

"Leave her to the Powerpuff Girls my dear. Go." said Duchess as she elegantly went back to the building.

"Kairi, please tell me what happened." said Sora.

"I should be asking you the same thing. What happened to you? You vanished and things were looking bad." said Kairi.

"I guess it's fair that I start. But not here. Duchess said we should go back to Acme Acres." said Sora.

"No. We need to go back to Oblivion." said Kairi.

"You heard what Duchess said." said Sora.

"Yes. But you need to know what happened to Vanitas after you vanished." said Kairi.

"YOU THERE!" boomed a voice. Sora and Kairi suddenly jumped and walking towards them in the shadows was an old lady. She looked very tired and deformed. She had a long green cloak, covering everything except her face.

"Would you two children help this old lady get out of Toon Town? I've been living in these streets for days since I was lost and I have a family to return home to at Twilight Town." pleaded the old lady.

"Yes! We'll help you." said Kairi, without a second thought.

"Are you sure?" asked Sora.

"She needs our help! And for what I've been hearing, Toon Town is not a safe place to be in at night!" said Kairi.

Sora nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. I know. But we don't have time." said Sora.

"I'm going to help her. And you have no choice but to come with me." said Kairi.

"Okay. I'll help too, but I'm still not sure." said Sora.

"What kind and generous children you both are. Especially you my dear. You are beautiful from within." said the old lady.

"Thank you. That's sweet." said Kairi. She held the old lady's hand and they walked out into the street at night.

"This place is awful. Full of vices and sin." shook the old lady's head.

"I know. It's not a safe place for anyone who is decent." said Kairi, looking at the suggestive neon signs in disgust.

Sora didn't say a word. Something about that old lady struck him something familiar. And what she told Kairi was also ringing a few bells in his mind. He KNEW this lady from one of his nightmares. But he had so many up to this point, he tried his best to remember where he had seen her.

They walked for a while and they arrived in a park. "We shall go through here. There's a short hiking trail to Twilight Town." said Kairi.

"How lovely." said the old lady.

"How long have you been in town if you don't mind me asking?" asked Sora.

"For a while now. You see, I came to Toon Town to do an errand. But I'm such an old lady, I keep forgetting things. And I got lost. With no phone and no map to guide me, I didn't know where to go. Plus the people who live in Toon Town didn't give me clear directions. Most of the people there spoke in riddles." said the old lady.

Sora found her answer agreeable, but there was something not right. Then something happened instantly. Sora, Kairi and the old lady were under siege. A couple of kids appeared out of nowhere, with small slingshots in their hands.

"This is a stick up! You will hand over your stuff immediately!" said a boy wearing a bear suit.

"Yeah!" said another boy, in a fox uniform.

All the children were wearing animal costumes for some reason, and there were only six of them. The old lady started to cackle with delight. "The lost children of Toon Town Park eh? I've heard of you scoundrels. You are naughty children that need a good lesson in being polite members of society." said the old lady.

Sora and Kair were surprised at the old lady's patience.

"We ain't members of society lady! We are members of the Hook!" said the boy in the bear suit.

"The hook?" asked Sora.

"The hook!" winked the fox boy.

Sora shook his head. "Captain Hook? You mean you work for that loser?" asked Sora.

"How dare you say the Hook's name in vain!" said the rabbit boy.

"Captain? What do you mean Captain?" asked Kairi.

"I see them in the dreams." admitted Sora. Kairi let out an ah and nodded in understanding.

"Hook? Who is this hook?" asked the old lady in suspense.

"We shall take you to him! He's the ringleader of our operation! To take over Toon Town!" said the one in the bear suit.

"Cubby, Slightly and whoever you guys are. Knock it off, or I'll tell Peter Pan." said Sora.

"Peter who now?" asked Cubby.

"We don't know any Peter." said Slightly.

"And who dare you know their names and not mine!" cried the rabbit boy.

The kids pulled out little daggers and threatened Sora and Kairi and the old lady.

"My, what a predicament we found ourselves into." said the old lady.

"What now?" asked Sora.

"We play along with them. Let's see how far this takes us." said Kairi.

The kids led them under a bridge and into a isolated place with vegetation growing on the walls and on the ground. There was large puddle there, from rainfall. Hook himself was sitting on a rocking chair, petting what appeared to be a black cat with an evil looking face.

"What is it Lucifer? Do we have visitors?" asked Hook.

Lucifer meowed and Hook stood up excitedly. "Welcome visitors! You are now under the protection of the Hook Clan! I am James Hook, mercenary extraordinaire!" said Hook.

"Y-you're not a pirate?" asked Sora confused and somewhat disappointed.

"Pirate? What pirate? There are no pirates here! The ocean is miles away!" said Hook.

"What do you want from us?" asked Kairi.

"I want… your services!" said Hook.

The old Lady stood in front of Kairi. "You nasty old man. She's just a child." said the old lady.

"Oh no dear lady. It is you who is nasty, for even thinking about that! Even a scoundrel like yours truly has morals! What I desire and long for is more mercenaries. An army if you will my dear. All this for the hostile takeover of Toon Town! The bane of my existence!" said Hook.

"Oh I see. Pity really. I could have offered myself in her place." said the old lady.

Sora and Kairi let out a laugh and so did the kids. Hook was not impressed.

"Seize that hag and lock her up! She's just another hobo from town!" said Hook.

"Don't you dare! She's harmless!" cried Kairi.

"Yeah! You should be more worried about the DIP that I heard so much about." said Sora.

"Dip?" asked Kairi.

"So you know about that terrible chemical! Yes, that is the main reason why I want to take over Toon Town. They stupidly legalized the production of DIP and now we are hanging by a thin thread because of that!" said Hook.

"This is going way too fast. What are you talking about Sora?" asked Kairi.

"I'll tell you later." replied Sora and he walked up.

"Hook, listen, I'm on a mission of my own, along with Kairi and yes, even the old lady. We're tired and hungry. Let us rest and we'll talk in the morning about what to do." said Sora.

Hook scratched his chin with his hooked hand, which was decorated with small diamonds.

"Very well. I shall provide a room for all of you. We don't have separate rooms, so you three have to share one." said Hook.

"That was easy." said Sora to Kairi.

"Wait a second. There's a catch! What's the catch?" asked Kairi.

Hook winked and drank his beer with glee. "I will need him. The boy. You will help me carry a few boxes in the morning that have small bombs and weapons for our hostile Toon Town takeover. You shall help me with my men there." said Hook.

"Sounds good." Sora nodded.

"Are you serious?" asked Kairi.

"For now. But let's be honest here. Hook is the least of our problems. We've got more people to worry about." said Sora.

"Yes, and we have to act fast! You have no idea how bad things got when you left. All in the span of just two days!" said Kairi.

"Tell me when we get to the room." said Sora.

"I can see you need privacy with the lady. You and she look about the same age. That's good. I'll have the old lady sleep in the garden, out with my pet crocodiles." said Hook with a toothy grin.

"What's this now? Crocodiles? You're insane." said the old lady.

"Come now, they won't hurt you. You will simply sleep in a bed, just outside their caged pool." said Hook.

That night, Sora and Kairi were in the rather small and dimly lit room.

"First the closet, now this. Well, at least there's a bed." said Sora.

"Yeah, and only one of us can use it. I feel bad for the old lady. If we should have just fought or something. They were only kids!" said Kairi.

"Kairi, tell me what happened." said Sora.

Kairi straightened herself.

"We got an announcement that there was an attack in the school. We all hid under chairs in rooms and we locked our dorms. Clarabelle was still with us. After a few hours have passed, Denzel and Marlene were anxious. They knew something was not right. We all decided to leave your dorm and Roxas took Namine to Rafiki's. Everyone is there. But yesterday night, Xehanort had two visitors. A one winged man with silver hair and an old clergy. They looked so evil. And I was filled in by Namine and the kids that they were allies of Xehanort. They are to stay at Oblivion and they are searching for you, Namine and anyone who knows you. Luckily, no one got hurt. Riku vanished and we don't know where he went. But Vanitas… something happened to him. I heard that he acts like a zombie." said Kairi.

"I think I know why. I'll tell you what happened…." Sora then briefly told Kairi what happened in the nursery.

"Goofy did all that?! When did he become so awesome!" exclaimed Kairi.

"Yeah. He's awesome. But do you think having Braig killed in front of him caused Vanitas to be different. From what you described, it sounds like he lost his heart or something." said Sora.

"Yes. He has no emotions." said Kairi.

"When I see him, I'll ask him what's wrong. I'll help him out. Well, now I'm up to speed. The question is, how do we escape Hook?" asked Sora.

"Yes. Hook." said Kairi.

"You know, apart from Xehanort and the ever growing problems at Oblivion, there are things happening all around us that are very concerning." Sora told Kairi about his new visions.

"You've been having dreams of our world?" asked Kairi.

"Yeah. Do you think it all connects to Xehanort somehow?" asked Sora.

"Possibly. Everything you've been dreaming has something to do with evil. Xehanort is in them, but is there more we need to know?" asked Kairi.

"Xehanort. Sephiroth. The old clergy you mentioned. Maleficent. We don't know much about her. Then there's Him from Betty's. And now more bad people, like Hook here. They are bad, but they have a different agendas. Is there something that we are missing?" asked Sora.

"It sounds like it. Evil is everywhere. But the center of it all is Xehanort." said Kairi.

"Yeah, but Xehanort has Sephiroth on his side. And Sephiroth is more powerful and much more destructive that old Xehanort. Plus, he's like an angel. So why is a celestial being working for a human?" asked Sora.

"Did Namine answer that?" asked Kairi.

"No. She told me so much, but I feel like there is so little information. Like everything we have been discovering up to this point has been random." said Sora.

"Are you saying that we are back to where we all started?" asked Kairi nervously.

Sora didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to accept that fact. But Kairi was right. Sora was right the moment Namine told him everything.

They were back to where they started. More questions. And Sora was getting tired of it.

"Why am I having these dreams?" asked Sora aloud.

"Geez, selfish much? You're not the only one suffering from this Sora. Everyone else is. Riku, Namine, Roxas, Mickey and friends. Everything is somehow connected." said Kairi.

"Connections. That word rings so many bells." said Sora.

"For now, let's focus on what we know already and what we need to do now. Like saving this lady from Hook's… hook and get ourselves to Oblivion. We need to help everyone else escape that horrible school. Oblivion isn't safe. It never was." said Kairi.

"Connections." Sora was saying.

"Are you even listening Sora? You're brothers are still back there. And if we do get everyone we know and love away from the school… oh… everyone is in danger." said Kairi, shaking her head.

"Yes….. Kairi…. Are you feeling sleepy…" Sora was saying.

"Sora? Sora, what's wrong?!" cried Kairi.

Sora closed his eyes and fell asleep. He was floating in the darkest of abysses. This was a dream. Or was it?

"I've been having weird thoughts lately. Like is any of this for real or not?"

Sora opened his eyes. And he was standing on a huge platform. A very big platform made of glass. There was a picture of himself there, and his loved ones.

So much to do, so little time…..

…

Ventus emerged from his hiding place. He looked sideways to make sure the hallway was empty. There was nobody around for miles at night. He slowly walked, making no noise.

He eventually arrived at Aqua's study. "Where have you been?" she whispered.

"Frollo came last night. And things are looking bleaker for all of us." said Ventus.

"You should have touched base with me sooner. Have you heard from Terra?" asked Aqua.

"No. I've been hiding in these walls for too long. I don't know if Terra is recovering or not." said Ventus.

"You haven't found it yet have you?" asked Aqua.

"This school is massive. How do you expect me to find it? It will take me more days! Plus, I know I sound crazy, but I know the rooms change! They do it on purpose, almost as if the school were alive." said Ventus.

"You should go back and hide. It's not safe here." said Aqua.

Venuts nodded and left the room. "May your heart be your guiding key." whispered Ventus.

Aqua nodded. "I know."

Ventus left and ran into the hallway. He needed to make noise. He was tired of waiting.

Then he ran into him. Vanitas. He was down the hallway, holding a sword. It looked like Sephiroth's Masamune, but shorter. And perhaps, just as sharp.

"I've been waiting for you, Ventus. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a brother. Now, I am the master." said Vanitas.

"You lost your heart, and still, you quote famous movie lines. Are you sure you're a hollow person with no heart?" asked Ventus.

"From all your wondering, still you end in purgatory. Such a shame Ventus." said Vanitas.

Ventus pulled out a small laser from his pocket and a green glowing blade emerged.

"A gift from the forces of light. A blade I discovered in the grave of a noble warrior with green pointy ears." said Ventus.

"You shouldn't brag about stealing tombs. This makes you even more heartless than I am." said Vanitas, with no emotion to his voice whatsoever.

"It's true. You are Heartless. And since you are Heartless, you must die." said Ventus.

"I am Heartless. And I am an evil incarnate." said Vanitas.

"So what are you now, Vanitas? Are you a legion?" asked Ventus.

"You have come this far brother. Still you understand nothing. As the old saying of the dark goes; every light must fade. Every heart return to darkness." Vanitas said.

He then charged against Ventus and the fight began. The only source of light was Ventus's lightsaber. The lightsaber of the one called Yoda, who died many centuries ago. And green was a color that suited Ventus well. They fought like master swordsmen in the hallway, clashing with their swords.

However, despite having a supposed unbreakable lightsaber, it deflected against the small masamune from Vanitas. Ventus had a feeling this was going to happen. The metal in the masamune was legendary, for it was said that even light can't break it. As they fought, Ventus taunted.

"When I pin you to the ground, and finish you off, I will take Sora and Roxas away from here! They don't need to fight our battles. And you will rot in this horrible place!" said Ventus.

"This isn't't like you brother. You don't make threats like these. You only hate me for one reason. A reason that will make many people squirm with embarrassment. Imagine how your allies in the so-called resistance will react when they learn that the great Ventus was fighting evil Vanitas…..over a girl." said Vanitas.

Ventus screamed. "I LOVED Xion! You knew I loved her, and you took her from me!" cried Ventus.

"Fool. We are beyond love. I know nothing of love. I can't feel love. I cannot know the pleasure of love nor the pleasure of the flesh. Xion cannot love me, for I cannot love her. Xion is irrelevant. My objection is to destroy you and aid Lord Xehanort to rule the cosmos." said Vanitas.

Ventus rose up. "Then I'll save her too. And I'll get her away from you!" declared Ventus.

Vanitas didn't seem to care. There was no emotion inside him. He charged against Ventus and they continued to fight. They fought all the way outside into the building's boiler room. Vanitas was much stronger than Ventus and he had to simply dodge his attacks. But Vanitas was faster.

As they continued fighting, Xehanort himself watches it all unfold from the rooftop of Oblivion. He smiles and opens his arms.

His eyes then turned red, and large bat like wings spread from his back. Sephiroth was flying nearby, singing a haunting melody. And Frollo was watching from below, singing words out.

"Hellfire. Darkfire. Now children, it's your turn. Choose life, or pyre. Be a part of this world or BURN!" Sang out Frollo.

Ventus stopped where he was and looked up at the sky. The moon… it turned into a heart. And then, something appeared. Behind Xehanort. It was not Sephiroth, for he flew down to meet Frollo and both men took a knee and bowed their heads low. Xehanort's mouth began to foam red and he smiled like a deranged lunatic. Behind him was a creature of incredible size. A creature with horns. The men who were bowing down were then met with a woman, also sporting horns.

"So, the powers of hell have finally been unleashed," said Maleficent.

"Quiet witch. He's here." said Frollo.

Maleficent bowed her head low as well, for she too was a servant of this evil.

Xehanort turned around and his body began to convulse. The dark creature then gave him an embrace. And it spoke.

"This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it. It grows and consumes it. Such as its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, Darkness is the heart's true essence."

Suddenly, creatures of the night appeared. Demons and ghosts started to dance fiercely as the creature opened its wings. Ventus stood still. He was completely scared. He's been scared before, but not like this. What he just saw was evil. Evil! Ventus wanted to run. However, he felt something sting him. And it went through him. He looked at his chest to see a tip of a sword get off of his chest.

"You were distracted. Never turn your back on the enemy." said Vanitas.

Ventus ignited his lightsaber and swung it around. Vanitas avoided the attack and kicked Ventus on the wound. Ventus fell and Vanitas was face to face with him.

"No… don't do this…." whispered Ventus.

Vanitas was about to hurt Ven. He was about to swing his masamune and slice his head off. But he stopped. He didn't do it. He couldn't do it. Something was pulling him back. Something was making him not to swing his sword. With that, Ventus quickly rolled away and ran. He ran so far away from Vanitas, who stood still. After a while, he came to his senses. Heartless senses that is. He looked up at the sky and the large creature was gone, and so were his demons. Xehanort was floating in the air, with his arms out wide. And then he fell. He fell and there was a sudden crunch. Vanitas looked down to see Frollo and Sephiroth walk towards Xehanort, where he fell.

"Is he dead?" asked Frollo.

Sephiroth shook his head. "What do you think Maleficent?" he asked.

"Let's ask him once he rises." said Maleficent.

Xehanort himself stood up and stretched his arms out as if he took a long nap.

"The power… it felt so… wonderful!" declared Xehanort.

"With your power, the Heartless will be under your command." said Frollo.

"And the dimension is within our grasp." said Sephiroth.

"When will you unleash destruction?" asked Maleficent.

"I need to grow the Heartless to incredible numbers. And thanks to the powers bestowed upon me by Chernabog, it will take a few days for them to multiply." said Xehanort.

"For once, I'm actually excited about all this. I wonder how our enemies will react?" said Sephiroth.

"Don't mention that. Light always finds a way to bring us down. But we have the advantage." said Maleficent.

"We will bring war to the land and Chernabog will grant us all eternal life in his dark realm." said Frollo.

"And the puppet?" asked Maleficent, pointing a finger at Vanitas, who was standing there motionless.

"He's our pawn. A tool. We will dispose of him once we complete our goal." said Xehanort.

The villains cackled with glee as the heart shaped moon turned red for a brief few seconds.

Sitting on a tree, observing all that happened far away, the Cheshire Cat was watching everything with a frown. These days, he hardly smiled. What he saw spooked him. He never imagined he would see such a terrible evil thing go on in a school.

"I must tell Mickey…." he said to himself. And he vanished.