Chapter 45: no allies amongst darkness
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now time to deal with the supers of metroville! There's something I want to confess about the incredibles which is settled in this story. I never did like the film of the sequel. The one thing I did enjoy from it was the lego game. Believe me in 2004 it made me thinking hating animation because it was based on drama. But what do I care? Animation's just a genre not a tool for drama. No offense.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"What's the matter, kid? You look like you went through hell two times and back."
Riku had to admit, the man knew how to read his customers.
"I don't know," Riku sighed, forcing back the slop the bartender called a drink. "What would you call being locked up by Imperials, tortured by a dark lord and then, after making a daring escape, being smacked around by a freak in armour?" The bartender mulled it over a bit. He poured another drink and pushed it toward Riku.
"On the house." He walked off without another word.
Riku shrugged and sipped it down. He was lucky to have come across this desert world. The Imperial shuttle he was flying was in need of a little fuel, and this town was full of refueling stations to choose from. Nobody here seemed to care that he was in a ship belonging to the Empire. They took him, no questions asked, except regarding whether he had any munny. He did, after having sold a few useless items he had. This place was certainly unique. Every alien, human and whatever else was here looked a little on the rough side. He was sure any and all would mug him if they had the chance. Still, the bar he had stumbled upon sure made a mean drink.
"Yes, that's a good boy. Just drink all your problems away."
Riku scowled. He looked down into the liquid of his cup and saw the smirking smugly reflection of Xenahort's Heartless staring back at him. "But there probably isn't enough apple juice in all the worlds."
"If you don't have anything nice to say, keep your trap shut," Riku muttered. Xehanort's Heartless chuckled.
"Sorry. It's almost like I'm evil or something." Riku sniffed disdainfully. He didn't know Heartless had a sense of humour.
"Once I find Sora and Kairi you can be sure that I'll find a way to put you away again."
"And what makes you think they even want you back? I don't know if you've noticed but they haven't exactly been moving mountains to get to you. Did you ever stop to think that maybe they don't need you? Why would they? Face it, Riku, you're the odd man out. I doesn't surprise me. After all, they have each other."
"Your whispering in my ear isn't gonna work this time," Riku stated, attracting a few awkward stares from the other bar patrons, not exactly comfortable with a boy who talks to his drink. "I've learned from the past. You're not pulling the strings any more."
"Once was enough, right?" Xehanort's Heartless said smugly. Riku scowled fiercely. He downed the rest of the drink and stormed angrily out of the bar. On the way he passed a man in green armour that had seen better days, and a helmet with a single see-through visor. He also had a smashed jetpack on his back. The man sat down at the stool Riku had vacated.
"Water. Now," the man requested, more like ordered the bartender once he sat down at the bar. The bartender took note of his weary form and raised an eyebrow.
"What happened to you?" he asked. "You look like you just crawled out of a Sarlacc Pit."
He couldn't see behind the helmet, but the man was glaring at him.
Riku walked out of the bar and into twin sun soaked streets of the desert town, joining the hustle and bustle of the busy outdoors. The calls of merchant vendors rang through the air, in many languages, selling whatever foreign objects they had to offer. Riku ignored it all, a little ticked after the conversation he had just had in his head.
He still hadn't figured out why Xehanort's Heartless had resurfaced in his body again. He hadn't had to deal with that voice ever since the whole Castle Oblivion incident. He was startled when he heard him again one day while flying his ship, and even more startled when he saw his reflection in the cockpit window. The same tanned-skinned, white-haired nightmare that had possessed him and nearly made him destroy everything was back. Fortunately, he was no longer a threat, unable to take control of Riku's body while residing inside him. That didn't stop him from talking though. It was strange. It was only after fighting Charon that Xehanort's Heartless made its presence known again, like the Chaser had awoken him from his slumber. Was there a connection between the two villains? If so, then what?
He passed someone further down the street, and that someone gave him an odd feeling. He looked back at the person. It was a man in dark clothes, his right arm missing a sleeve, and several swords strapped to his back. He couldn't tell what he looked like since he wore a biker helmet on his head. Riku raised an eyebrow. There was something about that guy, he thought, as he stared at his retreating form. His brain said ignore him, but his instincts said to follow. Naturally, instincts won. Riku turned around and secretly began to follow.
It wasn't hard to keep track of him in the crowds, he stuck out like a sore thumb. It was trying to be discreet about it that was troublesome. He was able to hide well in the alien crowds and kept his distance to avoid detection. So far so good. He followed the man down the single straight road through the town, avoiding the passing hover cars and large alien beasts of burden in the streets. This place was abuzz with activity but the man didn't take heed of any of it. He just continued in a straight line, his face inscrutable under his helmet.
It wasn't long before Riku realized that the man was heading for the town's outskirts. Wherever he was going, it was out to the desert. Riku frowned. That made the man all the more suspicious. For a man to travel alone into the unknown meant he was definitely up to something.
"Has anyone ever told you you're paranoid?"
Riku growled as Xehanort's Heartless rang in his head. Following the man in secret would be a lot more difficult in the wide open desert. Riku was anything but a quitter, though.
He ended up trailing the man through a canyon path. Craggy rock walls rose on either side of Riku, his eyes darting between them nervously. He couldn't help feeling exposed here. Then again, the rocks did give him several places to hide. The man didn't seem to share his paranoia, strolling along the path at an even pace.
Something moved in the cliffs around them, and Riku realized they weren't the only ones there. Figures were moving among the high rocks like he was and, like him, they had eyes for the man with the large sword. Assumably, they were men, but he couldn't tell since their faces were wrapped in bandages, their eyes covered with goggles. They wore robes the same colour of the desert to blend in. All were armed with spears or clubs. Bandits, Riku guessed, or raiders. Which ever, from the way they were setting themselves up on both sides of the cliff, they were planning to ambush the mystery man.
Before Riku could shout out a warning, one of the raiders let out a war cry and jumped from his hiding place, club raised. The man didn't even stop walking or acknowledge the attack until the attacker was right on top of him.
WHAM
It happened so fast Riku wasn't even sure he saw it. The raider slammed into the rock wall and slumped down to the ground, out cold. The man's sword had been drawn with great swiftness, slapping the attacker with its flat end. He then seemed to break his blade down the center, so that he now held two swords in each hand, twirling them both as if beckoning the other raiders. If they were disheartened, they didn't show it; instead, they all rushed after him at once, dozens of them, barking in a strange and angry language.
The first one was knocked away with one sword as the helmeted man brought his other sword to destroy the spear of another. They came at him one by one, jabbing and swinging their weapons; they all ended up the same way, flat on their backs. This man was clearly a skilled fighter. He hit them with his sword and broke apart their spears and clubs as each one came close; none of them had been able to touch him yet. Riku took note that he wasn't actually trying to hurt the attackers. Each strike he made he did with the flat end of his swords to either knock them out or disarm them; there were no real injuries.
After a thorough thrashing, the raiders sounded the retreat. They all ran off for the surrounding cliffs, gathering up their unconscious and disappearing over the rocks to wherever they had come from. Soon the clearing was empty, save for a few broken weapons here and there. The man rejoined his swords, slung the completed version on his back and turned back down the path like nothing had happened.
Riku was glad he had followed. He knew there was something about that guy. He was about to continue following, when he heard something behind him. He turned around. One of the raiders had snuck up on him while he was distracted and, with a cry, thrust at him the spear with which he was armed.
CONK
A bikers helmet had suddenly nailed the Raider's covered head so hard that its goggles cracked as it fell backwards, out cold. Riku blinked. Slowly and carefully, he looked over the cover of his rock to meet fierce blue eyes staring back.
Now that the helmet was gone, Riku could see the man behind it. He was fairly young looking with blond hair sticking up in a strange mohawk-like fashion, blue eyes narrowing as he glared at Riku, who uncharacteristically gulped.
"I'm not with them if that's what you're thinking," Riku found himself saying. The blond man barely batted an eyelash.
"I figured that when you started following me from town." Riku bit his lip. He had known he was following the whole time?! "Who are you?" the man asked in a 'tell me now' kind of voice.
"Me? I'm, uh, Riku." The man's eyes raised slightly, then settled down to a frown. He started walking off again and simply left Riku there alone. Riku blinked. Was he that uninteresting?
"Uh, what's your name?" he asked catching up with him again.
"Cloud," the man answered, eyes not straying from his path. Riku raised an eyebrow. Didn't Sora mention that name to him when he was retelling his adventures?
"Where are you going?" Riku asked, trying to get something out of the guy. They had reached the end of the canyon when he asked, opening up to even more desert. Cloud stopped and pointed to the horizon.
"There." Smoke billowed in the distance, rising like an ominous signal. Riku looked from it, to Cloud. It was weird, but he felt like he was meant to meet this man.
"Mind if I tag alone?" he asked. Cloud regarded him, seeming to give him the once over.
"Do what you want." He started off again in the direction of the smoke and he didn't have to look back to know that Riku was right behind him.
"So are you-?"
"No, I am not using my sword to compensate for something."
"Had to be asked."
The smoke, as it turned out, was coming from a large armoured vehicle. It was bigger than a house, box shaped, with the front slanting upwards into the steering controls. The armour plating was rusty and old and the vehicle ran on four powerful treads. The reason it was smoking was because it was torn to shreds. Large gashes were carved into its hull, pulling out wires. Cloud said the locals called it a Sandcrawler. It was all looked very bad, but this wasn't the worst.
Riku had to avoid being sick. All around the transport were bodies. They were all no bigger than children, completely covered in dust-coloured hooded robes. None were moving. A lot of their lifeless bodies weren't even in one piece. From the lack of weapons, this did not look to have been a battle, but a massacre. Whatever had done this spared absolutely no one.
Riku swallowed the lump in his throat. He wasn't prepared for this. "What in the world happened here?" he whispered, more to himself than the stoic Cloud beside him. He kneeled down next to one of the bodies to examine it, making sure it was indeed dead. There was a violent cut across its chest, probably the cause of death. Riku deduced that a sword had done this. "Who or what did this? These people had no means to defend themselves." Cloud didn't answer him, but clenched his fist in hidden fury. Riku took one last look at the body, and when he did he saw something he didn't catch before. He picked it up and brought it before his face.
It was a black feather.
"What do you make of this?" Riku asked, holding the feather up for Cloud to see. Cloud didn't make any sign that he'd heard him. He was staring ahead, looking up, seemingly into the sky. "Cloud?" Again, no answer. "You in there?" Riku frowned when he got no answer again. Instead of pressing, he followed Cloud's gaze.
Suddenly it all became clear.
Long silver hair fell across the back of the man standing atop the giant transport vehicle, matching the cold stare he held with the blond warrior below, his incredibly long sword reflecting the hot sun which was nearly blotted out by the large black feathered wing protruding from his right shoulder.
"I was wondering what when you would finally arrive."
Sephiroth: the one-winged angel.
Riku's eyes widened in shock. Many people in the universe knew and feared Sephiroth, the Destroyer of Worlds. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence. When someone mentioned the word "evil" their thoughts immediately went to Sephiroth. What in all the worlds was he doing here?
Riku didn't know it, but the answer was standing beside him.
"Cloud," Sephiroth said in a deep, dark voice. "It's been awhile."
"Too long if you ask me," Cloud said back, glaring harder at the man. Sephiroth smirked.
"You weren't hiding from me, were you?"
"Never," was Cloud's immediate reply, actually glaring harder. Riku looked back and forth between the too, feeling the tension flowing.
"You guys...know each other?"
Sephiroth seemed to notice him finally. "Oh, yes, boy. You might say we're 'brothers'." Cloud face contorted with anger. "Who's he, Cloud? Have you taken someone under your wing? Or are you just babysitting?" Riku scowled at this. Way to the Dawn appeared in his hand as he glared at the silver-haired demon.
"No," Cloud said, holding his arm out to stop Riku. "He's mine." Riku looked at him like he was insane. He knew Cloud was strong but to take on Sephiroth? By himself?
"But-"
"Don't get in my way," Cloud hissed and Riku knew he shouldn't. Still unsure, he lowered his Keyblade.
Cloud reached back and grasped the hilt of his buster sword, slinging it out with a flick of his wrist, holding in both of his hands. Sephiroth gripped the long sword Masamune and whipped it out swiftly, slicing through the air and holding it to his side. The two of them didn't move at all, only glared at each other, creating such electricity that the hairs on the back of Riku's neck stood up. Riku slowly began to back away, sensing an imminent clash of the titans approaching. Then again, he had a feeling there wasn't anywhere on this entire world where he would be safe. The two warriors held their stares for a moment longer. Then, at once, they leapt. Cloud jumped upward. Sephiroth jumped downward, and they collided halfway.
The shockwave they created was immense. Sand was blown everywhere, dead bodies were tossed away, the Sandcrawler was pushed back a few feet, and Riku tumbled head over heels along the earth from the sheer power of their confrontation. Right in mid-air they started hammering away at each other, swords meeting in terrible collisions, powerful energies rolling off them, impacting on the surrounding landscape. Lightning arched every time they struck, so Riku ducked for cover behind a pile of rocks before any of it could hit him. Now in a safe enough spot, Riku observed this war that was taking place, gripping his Keyblade a little tighter.
They were incredible. Riku had never seen such an awesome display of power before. They were now at ground level, trading attacks with superb swordsmanship. They were masters of their weapons and were showing it well. Sephiroth swung his oversized katana with ease, and Cloud's massive sword was wielded like it weighed nothing at all. Again and again they pounded each other. They were unstoppable, unyielding, fueled by their intense hatred for the other. They were literally two halves of a single warrior, good against evil, where only one would emerge victorious.
Cloud swiped at Sephiroth through the mid-section and the one winged angel took to the sky to avoid it. Cloud leapt after him. Sephiroth raised his free hand, gathering dark power, and dozens of black energy spheres materialized around him. With an expressionless face, he sent them hurtling at Cloud. As Cloud soared toward the attack, he suddenly separated his sword into two different blades, gripping one in each hand. He batted the spheres away one after another with both swords, sending them to land harmlessly onto the ground below where they erupted in huge explosions. Riku's eyes bulged when they came close, running away just as his hiding place was blown apart. Cloud flew unheeded at Sephiroth with both blades at the ready, but Sephiroth avoided him and Cloud went past in the direction of the Sandcrawler. Cloud flipped and reattached his swords, planted both his feet on the Sandcrawler, and pushed off to clash with Sephiroth again, another deafening boom hitting Riku head on when they did.
Riku couldn't take much more of this. They were gonna tear this entire planet apart with their little spat. And he was the unfortunate one with a front row seat. No end to this was in sight, they could go on for hours and not even know it.
"And here I thought you weren't afraid of danger," Xehanort's Heartless chuckled in his head.
"I'm not afraid," Riku replied fiercely, wincing at another quaking attack. "I just don't want to die in a battle I'm not even supposed to be part of!"
"Then you might want to duck."
Riku's eyes widened. As fast as he could he did what the Heartless said and fell to the ground, just before a key-shaped weapon sailed over his head and blew apart the shield of rocks he had been hiding behind.
"Not bad," complimented the black armoured knight that now stood before him, pulling its thin Keyblade out of the rubble. "It seems that you get to keep your head. Aren't you a lucky boy?"
Riku officially declared this a bad day.
Not far off, Sephiroth and Cloud momentarily halted their fight when they both felt a huge surge of dark power arrive on the battlefield. Sephiroth regarded the Chaser skeptically, but Cloud was startled at its presence, eyes darting to Riku in alarm. After a brief pause, Sephiroth charged again, forcing Cloud back into battle.
Riku eyed the armour. Charon? No, this Chaser was different from the psycho he had tangoed with on Montressor Spaceport. For one thing this one was more slender and curved, and its voice was feminine. Therefore, this Chaser was a woman.
"Let me guess," Riku sneered. "Friend of Charon?"
"Comrades and nothing more," the Chaser answered angrily. "You can call me Brisen. And if I'm not mistaken, you're Riku. Or Freak-U as Charon so cleverly put it." Riku really hated Charon right now. "Seeing as you have met the idiot already you must know why I'm here."
"Not really," Riku growled, standing back up to face the Chaser at eye level, just a little taller than her. In the background Cloud and Sephiroth's loud conflict could be heard but he kept his focus solely on the enemy before him. "That didn't stop him from attacking me though. You seem slightly saner. Maybe you could tell me."
"Trust me." Brisen brought her Keyblade at the ready. "When this is over, you'll know." Riku frowned, already readying his own Keyblade. For a brief second there was silence, then as if a bell rung, they rushed each other and Keyblades collided.
Riku quickly realized how outmatched he was here. Brisen was every bit as fast, strong and skilled as he was, just like Charon. Every attack he attempted was either dodged or parried by the Chaser; he couldn't get in a single blow. And when she went on the offensive it was like trying to stop a freight train. Brisen forced him back while raining her Keyblade down upon him; they were now in the same fighting area as Cloud and Sephiroth. Neither party took much notice of the other, focused on their own opponents.
Riku and Brisen locked their Keyblades, Riku straining under Brisen's clearly superior strength. "Give it up, Riku," Brisen hissed in his sweating face. "I've defeated Keybladers that were twice the warriors you are." Riku growled and, with extreme effort, used one of his hands to form a Dark Aura. He slammed it into her armoured chest to break the lock and send her skidding backward.
"Bet none of them could do that!" he called back. He raised his arm and unleashed a barrage of dark fire upon the Chaser. If he couldn't face her hand to hand, he would take her down at a distance. He put that plan to rest when he saw her raise her Keyblade and a magical transparent bubble materialize around her. As soon as the reflega spell was cast, she charged in her protective barrier. Riku's Dark Auras bounced harmlessly off the shield and could do nothing when she finally reached him, the shield vanishing when she did. Riku managed to cast a glance at Cloud's battle before he clashed again. He would gladly change opponents if he could.
Thunderclaps sounded every time Cloud and Sephiroth's massive swords connected. The ferocity these two expressed made Riku and the Chaser look like well behaved individuals. Sephiroth finally hit Cloud hard enough to send him flying backwards, but with a stab to the ground Cloud slowed his flight and came to a stop. He dislodged his sword then swung to fire a blade beam at his foe, only for Sephiroth to cut through it harmlessly. Sparks flew when they connected swords again.
"It's not like you to be worried about someone, Cloud," Sephiroth taunted. He said this because the blond had been looking back and forth between himself and Riku ever since the armoured key-wielding warrior had arrived and attacked. He spared a glance himself, watching as Riku was nailed across the chin with a vicious right hook.
"Shut up!" Cloud snapped, slashing and stabbing at his rival. "You don't know anything about me!"
"Except I know you better than you know yourself." The two of them locked again, Cloud glaring at Sephiroth's slightly smiling face. "You've been after me for so long, haven't you? To destroy me, to kill me, because of all that I've done to your past. For all the lives I've ended, all the worlds I've destroyed, you've placed the blame on me. But you seem to forget one very important fact, Cloud." He increased the pressure of his blade and leaned in to whisper. "I am you." Cloud scowled fiercely. "I am the darkness in your heart incarnate. The hate you feel for me is the same hate you are no doubt feeling for yourself. You say you defy the darkness, Cloud, but I'm living proof that you belong in it. Your only fate is to accept it."
"That's not true!" Cloud seethed, trying to push back. Sephiroth's words seemed to sap away his very strength. "I'm not you!"
"You'd do anything to prove that, wouldn't you? It doesn't matter who gets in your way, you'll do anything to stop me. You might as well have resigned that boy to his death." Cloud looked to Riku again, watching as he was parried and kicked in the chest. The silver-haired youth wouldn't last much longer.
Riku remembered his fight with Charon well. That man had a lot of fun toying with Riku and making him suffer. But Brisen was not wasting any time. She cut right to the chase, no time wasted, trying to dispatch Riku as fast as possible. She wasn't far off from doing it. Riku's entire body was aching after a short bout. His arms were turning into jelly after blocking so many powerful blows, and the few punches and kicks she got in had taken a heavy toll. Right now she was hammering away at the Dark Shield Riku had raised, each strike draining his strength little by little. It was all he could do to avoid being struck.
"If all you can do is hide behind tricks, I might as well end this now!" Brisen declared. Her right gauntlet suddenly began crackling with electricity. She clenched her thundaga powered fist, reared back, and punched through Riku's shield like it was paper, bringing it to land squarely in Riku's stomach. Riku gasped, every bit of his breath forced out of him, followed by many painful volts coursing through his entire body. Seconds later he was sent tumbling back several feet before coming to a painful stop.
Riku clenched his teeth to relieve the great pain he was feeling. He was flat on his back and could barely move a muscle, completely worn out, utterly defeated. His Keyblade lay beside him and he reached out to try and get it, until a shadow loomed over him. Brisen looked down at him and even though he was beat, Riku glared at her defiantly.
"Now that that's over with," Brisen said tonelessly, driving her Keyblade into the ground. "We can get down to the task at hand." The next thing she did was kneel down beside him and Riku couldn't even try to stop her. She raised her right arm, flexed her fingers, and drove her hand into Riku's chest.
Riku drew a sharp intake of breath. The pain was unbelievable. He struggled to look down and the armour reaching through him. No blood was drawn from his chest. Her arm simply phased through his body, and he could feel her hand and fingers searching inside him. Riku refused to cry out, instead shut his eyes tight and ground his teeth. What was she doing to him?
"Don't worry," Brisen whispered, almost soothingly. "It will all be over soon." Her hand finally clasped around something within him and the pain increased tenfold, yet Riku still refused to scream. Whatever she had, it was affecting his entire body. Slowly and painfully, Brisen began to withdraw her arm, taking whatever she had with her.
"AHAHAHAHA! YES!" Riku heard in his head. Xehanort's Heartless was laughing. "Yes! Free! I'll be free! DO IT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Finally it became too much, and Riku let loose a bloodcurdling scream.
That's when Cloud had had enough.
He broke the sword lock he had with Sephiroth then swung a blade beam at point blank to send the one-winged angel flying away, then turned round to make a dash for the Chaser. He went as fast as he could and jumped high, bringing his sword down to Brisen. Brisen saw him coming at the last second, released herself from Riku and brought both her hands up to clamp around Cloud's blade. She struggled to stop it and she did, just as it scraped against the top of her helmet. Riku collapsed as soon as the Chaser's hand was removed, gasping and breathing heavily, feeling the worse for wear, with angry shouting in his head.
Brisen threw the buster sword back, pushing Cloud back a few steps, then summoned her Keyblade from a few feet away, pouncing on Cloud before he even had a chance to retaliate. With a strong thrust she knocked Cloud's massive blade out of his hands, then roundhouse kicked him in the chest. Cloud went down, unarmed and unprotected.
"You're getting involved with dangerous matters," Brisen hissed as she advanced. "I will not allow anyone to interfere with our master's return." Riku was still out of it so he couldn't help Cloud as Brisen approached to end his life, raising her Keyblade for that very deed. Help came from a very unexpected source.
Brisen suddenly found a very long sword being held at her throat.
"If anyone is going to end Cloud's life, it's going to be me." Sephiroth held Masamune at level with the Chaser's neck, scowling slightly at the female in armour. Brisen slowly lowered her weapon, matching gazes with the one-winged angel.
"Who do you think you are?" Brisen growled.
"You haven't heard of me?" Sephiroth asked smugly. "I'm quite famous actually. But that isn't the matter right now."
"You don't have to do this. I can feel what you really are. The darkness courses through you. We're one in the same. We should be allies. There is room for one such as you in our plans."
"Tell someone who cares," Sephiroth replied gruffly. Brisen scowled beneath her helmet. Discreetly, she made a small gesture with her free hand. Behind Sephiroth, three silver fins rose out of the sand and slowly made their way towards him. "I had planned to deal with you after I'd dispatched Cloud. But it seems I'll have to alter my plans a little."
Brisen stared at the blade at her neck. "That's a nice sword. You're not compensating for something are you?" The sword was pressed closer to her throat.
"Like I haven't heard that one before," Sephiroth sighed.
"You have no idea who you're dealing with," Brisen growled menacingly.
"Likewise." The sand exploded behind Sephiroth and, to his surprise, three Assassin Nobodies jumped out at him, razor sharp spines lining their arms. Sephiroth rounded with his sword and cut through all of them with a single swing. Unfortunately, with a blade no longer at her throat, Brisen attacked, slamming her Keyblade into Sephiroth's sword with monstrous force. Sephiroth actually had to take two steps back. She jumped again for them to go toe to toe.
This was a battle for the ages. Evil versus evil, darkness against darkness, two of the most powerful beings in the universe, duking it out. Sephiroth, the Destroyer of Worlds and Brisen the Chaser. Their sword movements were blurs, faster than anything that could be thought of. While they gave and took sword strikes, Brisen made a daring stab, but Sephiroth caught her face in his open palm, then slammed her down into the hard ground. Still gripping her head, Sephiroth tossed the Chaser high into the air and jumped up to follow. Brisen recovered in mid-air and was able to block the sword that would have carved her in half, meeting Sephiroth in a game of sky high swordplay.
Sephiroth broke away all of the sudden and flapped his black wing to soar above Brisen and hover, silhouetted under the twin suns. The silver haired monster smirked and raised his arms above him. His actions became clear, as many objects started raining from the heavens. Meteors. Great balls of rock and fire plummeted planetward at Sephiroth's command, all aimed towards Brisen, who steeled herself. When they were close enough, she jumped on top of the rocks one after the other, pushing off of one and landing on the next, making her way toward their summoner. The other meteors she cut right through, blasted them with thundaga spells or batted them away so they landed harmlessly in the surrounding deserts. Cloud swiftly deflected each rock that reached him and Riku with two buster swords down below, Riku still slightly out of it, unable to offer any assistance.
Brisen leapt off the final meteor and tackled Sephiroth, both of them falling from flight and straight-lining many feet down to the surface. Upside down and falling fast they still managed to cross blades with impressive skill, keeping the same free falling pace with each other. Then their one on one suddenly had another contender. Cloud had jumped to intercept the both of them, bringing both his swords for a horizontal chop, but Brisen and Sephiroth cooperated long enough for them to bring both their weapons to block each one. Now all three of them were descending and fighting at the same time, until, nearest to the ground, they broke apart and flipped landing perfectly to the earth.
Cloud, Sephiroth and Brisen stood across from each other in a triangle, with buster swords, Masamune and Keyblade poised at the ready in their respective fighting stances. Not one of them made a move, but for their eyes shifting back and forth between them. Riku watched off to the side, watching this clash of the titans unfold before his very eyes. The tension was so thick he thought he would smother in it if something didn't happen soon.
He blinked.
The sound of blades colliding was heard in that instant. Keyblade met buster sword which was parried by Masamune that was reversed by Keyblade; it was chaos. Never had Riku seen such a mastery of sword play. Sephiroth defended against Cloud and Brisen, then retaliated by knocking Brisen's weapon away and going after Cloud. Cloud switched between foes, striking against both. The turning point came when Sephiroth went against the Chaser blow for blow and Cloud came up behind her. Brisen ducked just as Cloud swung, leaving his sword to connect with Sephiroth's so hard he catapulted the one-winged angel away from them. Sephiroth soared, out of control, until he crashed through the Sandcrawler transport and disappeared within it.
Now it was down to Cloud and Brisen. Cloud was tired and getting worse: having to go against both Sephiroth and a Chaser in one day had really done a number on him. Brisen seemed like she could go on forever, but that didn't stop Cloud from putting up a fight. He kept up a barrage with both swords, barely letting Brisen breath, then Cloud scissored his blades and Brisen did a limbo-like bend to avoid it. But while the two of them went at it, the ten story high transport started shaking.
The lumbering Sandcrawler somehow began to rise of the ground, inch by inch, earning the attention of the two feuding combatants. The transport rose off its six treads and Sephiroth stood underneath it, easily lifting the monstrous vehicle over his head, his face pressed into a slight scowl. Without so much as grunt he threw the massive load with all his might and sent it hurtling wide and far. It's large shadow passed over the landscape as it was thrust toward Brisen and Cloud. They had nowhere to run, and it crashed down on them. The resounding shockwave was enormous. Sand flew everywhere on its impact, overtaking Riku and Sephiroth at once, vision momentarily gone. Once the sand settled down only Sephiroth stood, but he kept his eyes fixed on the ruined vehicle.
A firaga spell blasted outward from the hull and Brisen shot out of the newly melted hole, more angry than she had ever been before. She blasted off downward at top speed and Sephiroth took flight toward her. When they finally connected, they halted in mid-air, pressing swords roughly against each other with all the strength they could gather. Their dark powers struggled for dominance, but neither could get a foot up on the other. Cloud was just beginning to make his way out of the crashed transport to lay eyes on what was occurring. A dark aura enveloped both Brisen and Sephiroth as they poured more and more power into the lock, growing blacker and much more dangerous. They reached their limit, resulting in an epic implosion.
The light and force it produced was seen and felt by every settlement for miles. Riku was sure the very world shook at the incredible force those two set off. He covered his eyes from the intense light and power pouring off the freak occurrence lest he be permanently blinded. It seemed forever before it finally subsided and Riku felt he could safely open his eyes. Brisen and Sephiroth were gone. There was nothing around but sand and rocks.
"What the...?"
"They're gone." Cloud calmly strode up to him, both swords slack in his hands. "Something happened when their powers met. They lost control, and unintentionally tore open a portal. They could be anywhere now." Riku heard Cloud mutter 'dammit' under his breath when he realized Sephiroth was no longer in the area.
"Tough break."
Cloud shrugged. "I'll get another shot." He pulled out a cell phone and flipped it open. "Pick up," he ordered the person on the line and Riku distinctly heard gibberish on the other end before Cloud flipped the phone closed. "You okay?" Riku placed a hand on his chest, remembering the awful pain Brisen had inflicted.
"Yeah..."
"What was she doing to you?"
"I don't know," Riku replied honestly. "She was after something. Something that was in me. I think she was trying to get...my heart."
"Your heart?" Cloud repeated.
"Yeah. It was unbearable. Like my very soul was being ripped out of my body. I tell ya, I never want to go through that again." Cloud frowned, brows furrowing in thought. "Something wrong?"
"No," Cloud answered, though he was still frowning. A faint sound was heard. Cloud and Riku looked to the horizon where a cloud of sand was speedily approaching. The roar was growing louder and Riku could see that the cloud of sand was coming from a sleek black motorcycle tearing up the desert on its way for them. From where Riku was, it looked like no one was driving it.
The cycle revved loudly as it drew closer and came to a screeching halt before both of them, purposely blowing sand in Riku's face. Once the sand was out of his eyes Riku could observe the metal steed and who was driving it. He couldn't see before because the rider was so small.
The small blue creature in black sunglasses gripping the handlebars grinned at the flabbergasted Riku. "Me know what you thinking. I that sexy." Riku could only gawk in confusion. Cloud meanwhile, stepped up to the vehicle and activated some control that made two compartments open on either side of it, then proceeded to break his buster sword down into seven different blades and stored them away into the two compartments.
"Listen," Cloud said as he worked. "Whatever she was after, you can be sure she'll be back. She won't be the only one either. I happen to know there's two more of them, each one terribly strong. If you ever run into one, run. You can't beat them on your own no matter how hard you try." He looked straight into Riku's eyes. "This advice will keep you alive, possibly all of us alive." Once all his swords were secure, Cloud walked to the blue creature and held out his hand. Grumbling, it handed over the shades revealing its black, beady eyes, then hopped off the driver's seat so Cloud could take his rightful place.
"And one more thing," Cloud said when he mounted. "Don't summon your Keyblade unless it's an emergency. That's how they find you."
Riku narrowed his eyes. "How do you know all this?" Cloud flashed the faintest hint of a smile before placing the shades over his eyes.
"My little green friend told me." The engine roared and the tires screeched, turning tail riding away. Cloud the lone wolf sped into the horizon with speed and style, the blue alien clinging to his back and laughing until they were far enough away so that Riku couldn't hear them anymore.
Riku stood alone in the desert now in the patch of land that hosted the titanic clash of heroes and villains, left only with his thoughts. Idly, he touched his chest again. And he thought he heard the sound of laughter in his head, evil laughter. It was time to get off this world, he thought. That's when he came to a realization.
"You could have at least given me a ride back!"
KHKHKHKH
"What's this? What's this? There's metal everywhere! What's this? Excitement's in the air! What's this? I can't believe my eyes, I must be dreaming. Wake up, Jack, this isn't fair! What's this?"
Sora had to resist laughing as he watched newest Keyblader Jack Skellington sing and dance around the bridge of the Shera. He jumped on seats, tapdanced on control panels, even spun Quistis along with him. While all of this was taking place, it was apparent that po and a few others found Jack's presence unsettling, namely Denzel, Marlene, Ron, and Kim. Kids apparently didn't find the Pumpkin King as appealing as Sora first had.
"What's this? What's this? There's something very wrong. What's this? Nobody's singing songs! What's this? The walls are lined with lights and beakers flashing, I've never been so happy, have I possibly gone daffy!? What is this?"
"You sure know how to pick em'," Leon commented to Sora when he entered the lounge. Quistis staggered like a drunk over to him, dizzy after Jack had spun her.
"This is where my adventure begins!" Jack Skellington gushed. "Flying from world to world in the quest for justice! It's so exciting! Although I can't account for the taste of style around here. A cobweb were, a jack-o-lantern there; it'd look just like home! Where do you keep your jack-o-lanterns?"
"Sorry, fresh out," Beast said sarcastically.
"Oh nuts. Well, I guess I'll just have to make do!" Jack pulled his head off his shoulders. "Heads up!" Then tossed it across the room into Ron's hands. "Can you light a candle inside me, please?" Ron's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell over passed out with Jack's head still in his hands.
Leon cleared his throat. "So Jack..."
"Yes?" Jack Sparrow asked, taking a break from his rum chugging.
"Not you, the other Jack," Quistis said.
"Well how am I supposed to tell the difference?" Jack Sparrow exasperated.
"We can call you Jack S?" Sora offered.
"But they're both Jack S's," Kairi pointed out.
"How bout Jack #1 and #2?" sonic asked.
"I call #1!" Jack Sparrow declared.
"Anyway," Leon growled. "Jack Skellington. What do you have to offer the team besides your Keyblade?" Jack's head, sitting on Ron's unconscious chest, looked deep in thought, then broke into a grin.
"I can juggle!" His body pulled out several colourful balls and began tossing them up and down in a happy little act. Marlene and Denzel got over their fear of the Pumpkin King to 'ooooooohhh' and 'awwwwwww' and his headless display. Leon slapped his forehead, something that was becoming routine when he dealt with the new shipmates.
"The reason I came down here was to tell you we're approaching a new world," he explained.
"Already!" Jack's head exclaimed. His body picked him back up and jimmied him back into place. "Oh boy! My first world! I wonder if they've heard of Halloween there! Only one way to find out!"
KHKHKHKH
After their routine beam down to the planet, the eight Keybladers took in the scenery of a very green and luscious jungle. Tall tropical trees and plants surrounded them on all sides, creating a hot and humid atmosphere.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Jack Skellington laughed, jumping away from the group and dancing around. "Look at these trees! They're so big! They're so bright! They're so not dead! There's nothing like this in Halloween Town! I have arrived!"
"Is he gonna do this every time we come to a new world?" sonic asked irritably, watching Jack swing from a vine while going 'wheeeeeeee!'
"He's just excited," Sora explained, grinning when Jack picked a handful of flowers and inhaled their scent. "It's his first new world after all."
"Well, you didn't see any of us prancing around on our first world," Jack Sparrow sighed.
"That's cause my first world was yours," Beast grumbled, earning a glare from the pirate.
"Whoooaaa!" Jack Skellington suddenly tripped and fell, disappearing from their sight. The others were startled at first but were relieved when Jack stood up again. "I'm okay! But look what I found!" Curious, everyone approached. Jack was standing in a hole, not a deep one. It was more like an imprint in the earth, and it was in the shape of an X.
"Hey, X marks the spot!" po exclaimed, bending to examine it. "Think there's treasure here, Captain?"
"If there was, my mustache would be curling," Jack Sparrow said matter-of-factly, pointing at his uncurling mustache.
"I don't think this is a marking," Mulan pointed out thoughtfully.
"Then what is it?" Sora asked. Mulan scratched her head.
"A footprint?"
No sooner had she figured it out when a monster came crashing through the trees. All the Keybladers rounded at the walking bowling ball that confronted them. It was some kind of robot, three stories tall and in a spherical shape, walking on five tall metal appendages with claws that matched the X-shaped footprint. On the top of its round body was a glowing yellow visor that looked down at them soullessly. What stood out most was the large emblem of the Heartless on its armour. The Keybladers didn't move an inch and neither did the robot Heartless.
"Nobody...move," Sora whispered as carefully as he could.
"HELLO THERE!" Jack Skellington said, completely ignoring Sora's warning and waving at the behemoth cheerfully. "My you're a big fellow! Pleased to meet you!" Two of its five claws shot for them before they could stifle the Skellington. They all jumped out of the way just as the claws destroyed the ground they stood on. "Well that wasn't very welcoming at all!"
"Scatter!" Sora shouted. The Keybladers split up, positioning themselves so they surrounded the robot on all sides. Its visor rotated, scanning each of them in turn and clicking two of its claws when it was ready.
The hot-headed sonic was the first to charge, jumping at it and swinging his Keyblade, only for the Heartless to knock him any with one of its claws and sending him flying into a tree. Fireballs blasted from Mulan's Keyblade but they bounced off its armour harmlessly. A claw arched for her as well but Kairi appeared in front to keep the claw at bay. Both of the female Keybearers beat at the arm and forced it away.
"Alley oop!" Sora gave po the foot up he needed to sail straight for the robot Heartless' head, until another of its five arms slapped him away. It didn't expect the dragon warrior to be engulfed in smoke and turn into a log. It did however swivel its visor to find the dragon warrior crawling up its back to reach its head. When po did get to its head it suddenly tucked it into its round body, as did its five arms, transforming itself into a large black ball. It started rolling at a pretty fast rate and po, still on top of it, had to run backwards to keep from getting crushed. The earth was torn apart as the Heartless rampaged around the forest in the form of a giant bowling ball. The Keybladers dodged any way they could when it tried to roll them down and squash em', all the while po defying death on top of it.
Beast dug his paws into the ground as the Heartless rolled its way for him, readying his Rumbling Rose in a traditional baseball stance. It picked up speed, he reared back, and with a roar collided his Keyblade and the robot with incredible power, stopping it in its tracks and sending po catapulting forward into a patch of bushes. The impact was so hard that the vibration rung in Beast's head and he stumbled, shaking and holding his skull. Unfortunately, the sphere changed back into its five-armed form. Despite Beast's efforts, the robot Heartless only had a dent in its plating. The metal monster tuned its eye to Jack Sparrow, who gulped and pointed to Jack Skellington standing beside him, then ran like a coward to leave the other Jack alone.
Jack Skellington dodged, ducked and pranced to keep away from the robot's hammering claws like he was practicing for a Salsa, his own Keyblade conducting his movements. Another claw slammed down and Jack jumped and ran up the length of the arm to reach the head, but another arm snatched him up before he got there. Jack was brought before its yellow visor, and it seemed to glare at him. The Pumpkin King could only grin sheepishly.
The sound of a slicing sword drew the Heartless's attention away to a large tree falling toward it after sonic cut clean through the trunk. It tossed Jack away and batted the timbering tree down. Suddenly, something tugged on one of its claws and it saw that Beast kept his strong arms locked around it, holding it in place. It was about to crush him with its other arm but found it couldn't move that one either; together, he and po were gripping it. As it raised a third arm sonic suddenly thrust his Keyblade through it to pin it to the earth. Its fourth claw was restrained by Kairi and Mulan and its last claw held by both Jacks. All its arms were trapped and spread out by the Keybladers, immobilizing the beast through teamwork and a lot of effort. While others kept it down, Sora charged straight on and leapt for its head, twirling his Keyblade before he sliced through the neck. The robot Heartless' head flew off and landed a few feet away, the yellow visor's light dimming until it was offline. The other Keybladers released the arms and its headless body collapsed lifelessly with a loud crash.
Jack Skellington walked up to the head and nudged it lightly with his foot. "Wow," he breathed, having just experienced his first battle as a Keyblader. "Can we do that again?"
"NO!" Jack pouted slightly.
"What is this thing?" Mulan said aloud, pressing a hand against the smooth, cold surface of the body.
"That is no ordinary Heartless," Kairi stated as everyone crowded around it.
"It's a machine," sonic pointed out. "But it definitely has the Heartless stench to it."
"Somebody built it maybe?" po offered with his hands behind his back.
"Who?" Sora asked absentmindedly.
There was a small gasp behind them. "Oh my!" A beautiful young woman with sparkling green eyes and long white hair emerged from behind a tree, dressed in a professional blue business skirt. She looked startled, more startled than the Keybladers since she had appeared out of nowhere, and was looking at the robot.
"You stopped it," she whispered in shock. "You actually stopped it." She ran up to them and before they knew it she was shaking hands with each of them in turn and thanking them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank yooouu!" Jack Sparrow pulled her close to him when she took his hand.
"Thank you," he whispered huskily. The woman smiled weakly and politely removed herself from his grasp. Suddenly trucks and jeeps broke through the jungle trees so abruptly that the Keybladers thought they were being attacked again. The vehicles passed them however, and went straight for the Heartless robot, screeching to a halt before it. Men in sleek black and purple uniforms piled out of them and rushed towards it, all the while barking orders at each other. One of them gathered up the head.
"I take it that you know what that thing is?" Sora asked the woman as he watched the men check the machine over.
"Of course," the woman responded. "We built it."
"You built it?" Beast asked angrily. "That monster could have killed us!"
"I know. And that is why I am so grateful you were able to stop it." Incessant flapping filled the air and minautre helicopters suddenly flew overhead. They lowered steel cables as they hovered above, and the men on the ground attached those cables to the robot. "Perhaps I should explain this elsewhere. Follow me." The woman strode over to a pickup truck and jumped in the back of it, motioning for the Keybladers t do the same. They jumped in the back as well, and with a word from the woman to the driver, drove off into the jungle.
"I'll start with an introduction," the woman said. "My name is Mirage. I am an administrator of the facility on this island."
"We're on an island?" Sora asked before he could stop himself. Mirage looked at him oddly. "I mean, of course we're on an island! Why wouldn't we be? Hehe..." Mirage didn't seem to notice his unease.
"This island is top secret to the rest of the world, as are our facilities. Here we create advanced and innovative technologies in hopes that we can create a better existence for mankind."
"What does this have to do with that thing?" sonic asked.
"The Omnidroid 9000 was a top secret prototype battle robot, and our greatest project to date. We created it with an artificial intelligence unit, enabling it to solve any problem it was confronted with. Unfortunately, it grew smart enough to wonder why it had to take orders."
"Ouch," Jack Sparrow winced. "People thinking for themselves always turns out bad."
"We lost control over it," Mirage continued. "It broke free of the complex and went on a rampage through the jungle. We made many attempts to stop it, all of which ended badly. We truly did create the ultimate fighting machine."
"Until we kicked its butt, you mean!" po grinned.
"I suppose you're right. Somehow you were all able to defeat it. And without wholly damaging it. You understand it represents a significant investment."
"And what about that symbol on its chest?" Sora asked suspiciously, referring to the Heartless emblem. Mirage raised an eyebrow.
"So you know about the Heartless?" The Keybladers all nodded. "We had hoped to keep this strictly confidential, but it seems it couldn't hurt to tell you. Not long ago, we discovered a creature lurking around the island. A small black bug-like being. We'd heard the rumours about these creatures and knew it to be called a Heartless. We'd also heard what they're capable of, and knew it would be a valuable aid to our endeavors. We captured the Heartless and initiated it into the Omnidroid project. Using our technologies, we merged the Heartless with the Omnidroid, creating the perfect fuel for it to run on. The emblem you're referring to appeared on its own shortly after the process was complete. We created a perfect blend of both Heartless and machine, the result of which you fought."
"Why would you do that?" Beast said, exasperated.
"The Heartless are dangerous!" Kairi exclaimed. "You shouldn't try to make one more powerful than it already is!"
"They destroyed my world," Mulan said sadly.
"They tried to ruin Halloween!" Jack Skellington announced, earning him a few angry stares. "It doesn't compare, but I'm just saying."
"You can all relax," Mirage assured. "The Omnidroid project was scraped the moment it broke free of our control. We finally realized that building a giant destructive machine that ran on darkness wouldn't do the world much good. The Omnidroid 9000 will be terminated accordingly."
"Well, that's good," Mulan sighed. She watched as they drove through the jungle, trees going by just as quick. "Where are we going anyway?"
"We are heading back to the central complex on the island. I feel I should extend my thanks to all of you properly." The jungle ended at that moment and they were driving towards a large white and sleek metal building. It was as large as it was futuristic. It was composed of several dome-like structures bunched together one on top of the other to make one large complex. Monorails ran along tracks connecting the buildings, transporting personnel wherever they needed to go with efficiency.
"Nice place you got here," Sora complimented.
"When making advanced technologies, it helps to look the part," Mirage said smiling.
"So what part are you trying to look?" Jack slurred lustfully. "You can't be that beautiful without a reason." Mulan, sitting beside him, stomped painfully on his boot and the pirate yelped.
Their ride entered the building through a large sliding door and stopped inside a garage. All of them piled out as Mirage did and followed her into the inner workings of the complex. She lead them through stainless white halls, occasionally passing a hover trolley driving by as they went deeper and deeper inside. The place seemed even bigger inside, and very advanced in the technology field. Sliding doors, conveyer floors, clear glass elevators, this place had it all. It was no wonder that the Omnidroid came from a place like this.
"Where are you taking us?" po asked finally.
"Somewhere where we can properly thank you for your efforts," was all that Mirage said before they went through another door. They had entered a superbly furnished room with red oak walls and comfortable looking furniture. There was a leather reclining chair, a leather couch, a plasma TV in the wall, and various other instruments.
"This room will provide you with all the comforts you may need," Mirage explained, gesturing at the many objects around the room. "Whatever you need will be delivered to you."
"Yeah? How?" Beast asked skeptically. Mirage gestured to a regular looking reclining chair.
"Take a seat." Beast eyed it warily, but shrugged and went to sit down anyway. He planted his rump down in the chair that surprisingly fit him and instantly two robot arms sprang out of it, one holding a comb, the other a pair of scissors. The two set to work on the former prince, taming his unruly hair with amazing barber hands, combing his fur and snipping out of the matted parts.
"Wow, that's...really nice...," Beast sighed blissfully as the arms did their work, his normal grumpy face one of utter serenity.
po approached what looked like a Slurpie machine in the wall, only instead of cups, this thing provided glass bowls. po took a bowl with curiosity and held it under the nozzle; he then pushed the button for the machine to dispense whatever it had to offer. His face broke out into a radiant grin when he saw what it did. "Holy cow, this thing serves ramen! For free! This is the thing dreams are made of!" He gobbled down his bowl with haste and was already filling it up again in seconds.
As sonic looked around he accidentally bumped into something. He looked, and found it was a chili dog serving machine. For free. Same one as po's but different. sonic's senses all tingled as he stared at it. "Must...resist...temptation!" He dove at it and stuff all the chili dogs into his mouth. "I'm not even ashamed!"
Jack Skellington walked to a door on the left-hand side of the room and slid it open curiously. He broke into a bright grin. "Oh boy! Costumes!" The closet he found was lined with many Halloween costumes. From clowns to devils to cowboys, it was every Halloween lover's dream! "I have struck material gold! Is every world gonna be as great as this?"
Mulan decided to take a seat on a nearby couch and, like Beast's sitting arrangement, two robotic arms sprang out. They gripped her shoulders and started to massage her. Mulan instantly felt all traces of stress leave her system as they did their work. She honestly felt like she was floating on a cloud. "I've got to get me one of these," Mulan sighed happily.
"Well I'm glad you all found your pleasures," Jack Sparrow said strolling through the room. "But I doubt there's anything in here that could satisfy my many needs." He came up to door on the other side of the room and pressed the control panel for it to slide open. His eyes widened to what was on the other side. Many female giggles floated out of the room. Jack stood there stock-still for a few seconds in complete silence, then slapped himself lucid. "Jack came, he saw, he got his wish!" Another swig of rum and he leapt into the room with the door sliding behind him.
"I trust that everything will be alright here?" Mirage asked Sora and Kairi, the only ones who weren't bathed in happiness.
"Yeah, looks like it," Kairi answered.
"Then I shall take my leave. You may stay here as long as you wish. If there is anything you require, make sure you let me know." Mirage flashed them one last smile before she turned and left the room and the Keybladers. Once she was gone, Sora and Kairi turned to address their friends. "Guys, don't you think we should be going now?"
"Why in the world would we want to do that?" Beast asked offhandedly, the robot arms now picking dirt out of his hair.
"I don't know. A little thing called saving the universe?" Sora replied sarcastically.
"Oh relax, Sora," sonic chided, still stuffing himself with chilli dogs. "It's not like the universe is gonna end if we take a day off."
"It very well might!"
"Come on, guys, we can't stay here," Kairi went on.
"Why not?" po asked, momentarily stopping his gorge fest. "We beat the big bad guy right off the bat! It normally takes hours for us to do that! We got time to kill!" He placed his head under the ramen machine's nozzle to allow the ramen to pour straight into his mouth.
"I may be new to the group," Jack Skellington stated, trying on an eyepatch with a cowboy hat. "But even I recognize a good thing when I see it."
The door Jack Sparrow had gone through slid open and the pirate captain poked his head out, his face planted with lipstick kisses. "The way I see it," he slurred. "Is that we do so much heroing that we never get a chance drop anchor. I believe the universe owes us a little R&R. It's only fair."
"For once, I agree with you," Mulan sighed, completely lost as the robot arms massaged her shoulders and feet.
"Thank you, love. You know, there's plenty of room for you in here."
"Not a chance." Jack shrugged and zipped back into his harem.
"If these people are gracious enough to offer us thanks," Beast went on. "Far be it from me to stop them. After all the treatment I've received this is a nice change of pace."
"In summary," Jack Skellington drawled. "There's nothing wrong with a little rest."
Kairi sighed in defeat. "Well, I don't know. What do you think, Sora? Sora?"
"Whoa! Is that Guitar Hero!?" Sora exclaimed, bounding across the room to one of the two electronic guitars hooked up to the big TV.
"Oh! I call two player!" Jack Skellington announced, grabbing the second guitar. Kairi sighed in defeat. When it came to Sora and video games there was no stopping him. And as she looked at the rest of them she knew they weren't going anywhere either. This place seemed to have everything everyone enjoyed down to the tee.
Weird, Kairi thought. It was almost like they were expecting them.
Meanwhile, in another part of the complex, Mirage proceeded hastily through the white halls, her high heels clacking with her footfalls. Her face was neutral, hiding her true emotions as she headed towards her destination, which was through a pair of sliding doors she went past. The inside was dark since no lights were turned on but she knew he was there. She could see his fiery red hair for miles.
"Well?" the man in the shadows asked.
"All according to plan," Mirage answered, still expressionless. "They have no idea what's really going on. They are currently in the room we prepared for them."
"Fine and dandy," the voice with red hair chuckled. "Make sure they don't leave. Until I'm finished, they don't set foot outside this facility."
"Of course."
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me." Mirage nodded and turned around to leave the man alone in the room. Once the doors closed behind her, high powered lights switched on to chase the dark away and fully brighten the room, revealing the remains of the Omnidroid laying motionless in the room's center. The red-haired man in the jumpsuit with the large white S grinned evilly and flexed his fingers.
"I've got a lot of work to do!"
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews, adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!