Chapter 88

Jiminy's Journal #2

The Realm of Darkness

Story

A photograph and a tale told by King Mickey informed us that Aqua was stuck in the Realm of Darkness. A friend that the king made years ago, Aqua vanished under mysterious circumstances, her fate unknown until the king found her during his trek through the Realm of Darkness as he sought to help seal the Door to Darkness, only for her to vanish from his sight yet again. Resolving to set out and rescue her, the gang donned black coats and entered the Realm of Darkness after Even determined her general area. The party journeyed through the hostile dimension, fighting through new and powerful legions of Heartless.

As King Mickey led the way to finding Aqua, we soon came across something that looked like Aqua, but this Aqua attacked and tried to kill us, to which the king was afraid to fight back. However, Sora and Kairi figured out that the opponent was a mirror duplicate created from the darkness and encouraged him to fight back. However, it overpowered the gang, and they were only saved when the real Aqua arrived and fought back against the fiend, destroying it in the process.

After catching up on the events that occurred during Aqua's absence, the party was set to head back to the Realm of Light with Naminé's powers to conjure dark portals, but we were ambushed by a number of Heartless, and Kairi was taken away by a giant Heartless, the Dark Hide. With Aqua's help, we tracked the beast back to its hideout and, after a harsh battle, the gang slew it. We were set to return, but Aqua insisted that we bring back someone she met at the Dark Margin. When we made our way to the beach, we found a cloaked figure who we recognized as Ansem the Wise, whom we thought to be dead. Unfortunately, we found that he had lost most of his memories. Nevertheless, he agreed to return to Radiant Garden with us. And so, we returned to the Realm of Light through a Corridor of Darkness. Seconds after Aqua took in the senses of the light realm, she fainted from exhaustion.

Characters

Aqua

A Keyblade Master who trained alongside Terra and Ventus, and a friend of King Mickey's. She played a pivotal role in a historic clash against Master Xehanort a dozen years ago. To save a friend, she cast herself into the Realm of Darkness. After a long time fighting for survival, where the darkness fought to drag her into despair. However, she remained strong, and she was finally rescued by my Sora, Mickey, and the gang.

Ansem the Wise

Former sage king of Radiant Garden and chief researcher of the nature of the heart, he was a friend of King Mickey. Xehanort led his pupils in betraying him and casting him to the Realm of Darkness. Taking up the name DiZ, Ansem became consumed with hatred and sought to use Sora, Riku, Naminé, and Roxas to get revenge on Organization XIII. He had a change of heart when he witnessed the sacrifice Riku had made to ensure that Sora woke up, and he sought to make things right by dismantling Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts with a digitizing device, apparently perishing when it malfunctioned and exploded. We found him alive in the Realm of Darkness, but it appears as though he has lost most of his memories.

Mirror Aqua

A twisted copy of Aqua that attacked us while we searched for the real Aqua. It seemed to focus its efforts on Mickey and claimed to be the real Aqua fallen to darkness. However, Sora and Kairi deduced that it was a mirrored replica and encouraged the rest of the party to fight back. Despite its dangerous tricks, it was defeated and slain by Aqua. It appears as though she had been plagued with more of these phantoms in the past, but this one appears to have been conjured by the Virgo Auracite.

Heartless

Fluttering

Bat-like Heartless that reside in the Realm of Darkness. They fly around and attack any who draw near with its spinning and diving attacks.

Water Core

Pureblood Heartless that command the element of Water, they attack with water-based attacks. When they envelop themselves in watery bubbles, any attempt to strike them will cause them to harmlessly teleport away. Vulnerable to Thunder magic, and to a lesser extent Fire as well, and they can be immobilized with Blizzard spells.

Flame Core

Pureblood Heartless that command the element of Fire, they throw balls of fire and launch themselves at their enemy in a flying rage while wrapped in a glowing flame. Vulnerable to Blizzard magic.

Earth Core

Hedgehog-like Heartless with sharp rocks growing out of their backs. While vulnerable in the front, attacks from behind will fail to do damage. They will attempt to throw their stony rears at their prey to harm and stun them.

Dark Hide

A massive predator that uses night vision to hunt in the dark. Its fast and powerful attacks along with its explosive energy blasts make it a force to be reckoned with. When its prey proves to be just as ferocious, it unleashes phantom copies of itself to overwhelm them. Quite curiously, it does not fade into smoke when slain, unlike other Heartless.

Radiant Garden

Story

We returned to Radiant Garden and shared what we had learned about the artifacts with the Restoration Committee. While in the Borough, Merlin taught the magic users how to cast the spell "Agua". After that, we all went up to the castle to deliver the flash drive containing Ansem's notes regarding Xehanort to the former Organization members. We learned that there had been no development on the Xehanort investigation, but Ienzo did show us a surprising secret hidden in a chamber that Xemnas had used for meditation. In there, we found a long-abandoned suit of armor as well as a Keyblade, both of which King Mickey identified as having belonged to his missing friend Aqua. As we attempted to examine Ansem's files, Yuffie arrived suddenly and showed us a letter, on which was taped a photograph of Aqua, which could only have been taken by King Mickey. Sora and Riku confronted the king with this and the king revealed that he had encountered Aqua in the Realm of Darkness, around the time he had found the Keyblade from that realm, but the two of them had become separated due to a Heartless attack moments before the king and Riku aided Sora, Donald and Goofy in closing the Door to Darkness.

Sora and Riku were quite upset with the king over the news, particularly bringing up how he never told them and that they could have gone to save her, though the king voiced some understandable concerns regarding the risks of such an undertaking. Nevertheless, Sora and Riku insisted on entering the Realm of Darkness and rescuing Aqua. The researchers offered to develop a means by which we might be able to locate Aqua's location in the Realm of Darkness so as to more efficiently find and rescue her. The following afternoon, we all gathered together and used a program to identify Aqua's general location, though the calculations were not entirely accurate. With this information, the party donned a set of black coats reminiscent of those worn by each member of Organization XIII, with myself nestled in the king's pocket, while Kairi called upon Naminé to open a Corridor of Darkness through which we transported ourselves into the Realm of Darkness.

The mission was a success, and we returned with not only Aqua, but Ansem the Wise in tow. I must say, I am surprised to see him still alive after his apparent death by the explosion of the Kingdom Hearts Encoder, let alone find him in the Realm of Darkness, but I suppose he did say that "anything could happen". Aqua fainted from exhaustion seconds after we arrived in the Radiant Garden streets, so we took her to Aerith's clinic so she could rest, then we went up to the castle to show the researchers that their former teacher was still alive, albeit amnesiac. Ansem elected to rejoin his former pupils in hopes of working alongside them so that he may have the chance to do some good after years of mistakes and failures. Afterward, Merlin conducted another magic lesson with Sora, Mickey, Riku, Kairi, and Donald as the students.

The following day, we visited Aqua in the clinic, and she recounted her experiences in the Realm of Darkness, though she eventually broke down in tears, unable to continue discussing it. Fortunately, we were all there to offer our comfort and support. However, we were forced to leave her so that we could respond to a Heartless attack in the group homes, where many civilians had been relocated after the Raid Armor destroyed their homes. The gang, along with the Restoration Committee, Axel Lea, Isa, Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo, vanquished the Heartless, only to be confronted by Maleficent, Pete, Dr. Facilier (the witch doctor from Beast's Castle), Yzma, and Zeromast. During the fight with the five of them, Sora found himself in a one-on-one duel with Zeromast. To our great shock, Zeromast was able to counter nearly every attack Sora threw and defeated him. He took a stone that Sora had found after our fight with Mirror Aqua, and made his way to leave. However, Aeleus attempted to strike him down with his axe sword, but Zeromast simply used the crystal at the tip of his spear to reduce the weapon to nothing.

Characters

Zeromast

An enigmatic man who boasts vast knowledge about all history and even claims to have watched Sora's every move on both of his adventures. He is the one who has gathered Maleficent and her cabal of evildoers into a hunt for artifacts with an end goal of altering reality, though he keeps his true intentions hidden from everyone else. Armed with a spear made of pure adamantite and tipped with a crystal that can disintegrate matter, he has proven himself a formidable combatant who managed to counter every attack Sora threw at him, making him especially dangerous.

Dr. Facilier

A voodoo practitioner with a keen showmanship, formidable magic and a living shadow, though he is one to scramble for escape when he knows that he is outmatched. Little is known about him or why he is allied with Maleficent and Zeromast.

Yzma

Formerly the treacherous advisor to Emperor Kuzco, she attempted to get revenge for him firing her and also take control of the kingdom by poisoning him, only to turn him into a llama with a badly-labeled potion. While trying to finish the job with the help of Heartless, she was inadvertently transformed into a cat. Even after being retrieved by Maleficent's council, she is still in the form of a grumpy cat.

Heartless

Wyvern

Giant Heartless that attack from the air. They are quite swift for their size and are hard to attack, especially while they are high in the air. Counterattacking when they come down would be most effective.

Magic

Agua

Shoots a jet of water from a focal point, usually serving as the tip of a Keyblade or wand. Spell caster must be disciplined to properly focus the water trail. Unless it is consciously manipulated, the water trail will follow a parabolic arc as if it were in projectile motion.

Slow

Decreases the rate of a target's movements and perception time.

Haste

Increases the rate of a target's movements and perception time.

Sleep

Inflicts a drowsiness upon any caught in the target radius, which will force them to fall into a standing slumber. Effects will wear off after a short time, and will be nullified if the affected person is caused to feel pain.

"Hold still. This might hurt a little," Leon said.

Sora groaned. "It already hurts a lot. Just get it over with," he retorted.

Leon shrugged and popped Sora's dislocated shoulder back into place. Sora could not help but yelp in pain.

After the fight at the group homes, the party had returned to the clinic, Riku and Leon supporting Sora all the way. Ienzo had sent a message to Even and Ansem, informing them of what had occurred, and the two scientists left the castle to visit the large group. When they had arrived, Aerith determined that Sora's shoulder had indeed been manually dislocated, and she set about treating his other injuries. Both she and Aqua had been quite shocked to hear what had happened.

"I should've been there," Aqua lamented.

Sora shook his head. "You wouldn't have changed anything. Besides, I'm actually glad you didn't have to see that," he replied, stewing in his humiliation.

Aerith handed him a Hi-Potion, which he drank. He felt a relaxing warmth spread through his body, and his cuts and bruises healed.

"How do you feel?" the doctor asked.

Sora nodded. "Physically, better. Thanks. My ego, less so," he answered. He scratched the back of his head.

Leon lowered his head, deep in thought. "If our new enemy is this strong, your mission just got a lot harder," he said.

Riku sighed. "Not like the fight was a cakewalk beforehand," he lamented. "The new guys aren't too bad on their own, but they and the new boss Heartless they bring along will definitely be a problem."

"Yes, Maleficent and that Zeromast character have gathered quite a fresh array of fiends in their diabolical mission," Even agreed. "What sort of threat do they now pose, from your understanding?"

"Well, aside from Maleficent and Pete, there's Loki, the trickster god," Sora began, counting on his fingers as he rattled off the list, "Hades, god of the Underworld, who we already knew about…"

"Yzma, a sort of alchemist with shape-changing potions, though now she's stuck in the form of a kitty cat," Kairi added, "and then a dark sorcerer named Mozenrath…"

"The evil voodoo guy, Dr. Facilier, and a magic-powered clown named Kefka," Donald continued.

"Don't forget Kuja," Riku interjected. "He was just too powerful, and we couldn't do a thing to him with our strongest attacks and best spells." He sighed, remembering the one-sided battle.

"Kuja? Interesting…" Even whispered curiously, a comment that no one noticed.

"According to the Gullwings' report, that means there are still four creeps that you haven't met," Yuffie surmised.

Mickey nodded. "That's right. They said that there were thirteen of them in total, including Maleficent, Pete and Zeromast," he agreed.

Sora crossed his arms and groaned. "Man, if we're gonna be going up against even more of them, we're going to need to get a lot stronger," he said.

"It's not just in power," Aeleus argued. "You need to learn new techniques. That man knew all of your attacks, and he was able to predict and counter whatever you tried."

"Except that kick. Phew, when you tossed in that roundhouse, he really looked surprised," Yuffie pointed out. "When'd you learn that?"

"My cousin taught it to me a few days before the king, Donald and Goofy picked us up in the Gummi Ship," Sora answered.

"Then I would suggest you expand your repertoire," Aeleus advised. "Learn new skills and spells so that you do not fall into the same traps as today."

Sora nodded. "Got it."

Mickey crossed his arms. "In the meantime, we should plan our next move," he said.

Dr. Facilier laid out the dark realm ores on a table, allowing Yzma and Doug to study them. "Don't either of you get any wool or fur mixed in," he reminded them.

"Yeah, yeah," Doug waved him off.

Maleficent had spent the past hour since returning from the town staring out the window directly facing the distant civilization. She heard footsteps as Zeromast made his way back downstairs after his visit to his study. She turned around and glared at him. "Why did you not allow us to simply destroy the fools right there?" she asked.

"It seemed an inopportune moment to give them such an ignoble end," Zeromast replied.

"What sort of end would you claim that boy deserves?" Maleficent shot back.

Zeromast shook his head. "Oh, Maleficent. Your heart seems clouded by thoughts of revenge.

Maleficent scoffed. "After the defeat and insults he dealt to me in the past, are you saying that I should not want vengeance?" she asked. She raised her voice with that question and spread her arms to address the whole room and try to get the others on her side.

Dr. Facilier shrugged. "I'm more of the getting power and cash type," he said.

"I don't really see anything wrong with payback," Mozenrath argued. Xerxes nodded in agreement.

"My relations with others will mean nothing when I am their god of death and destruction," the Horned King boasted.

Kefka cackled. "Yeah, going after one guy isn't worth it," he said. "It's better to listen to the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison!"

Pete shivered at the lich and clown's claims. "Eh, I'm not really that focused on revenge," he admitted.

"I have a higher priority in taking the respect that I so deserve," Loki clarified.

"For my part, I would really like some payback against Zeus and that Herc the Jerk," Hades said.

Diablo cawed.

Cruella exhaled a puff of smoke. "I suppose some retribution might not be too bad," she conceded. She looked down at her fur coat and stroked it with one hand, smiling. "But there are certainly more important things in life for a woman like me."

Pete looked at Doug curiously, expecting him to be shocked to be working with someone so obsessed with skinning animals and wearing their furs, given the culture from which he hails, but the sheep barely reacted.

Doug looked up, seeming disinterested in the topic of conversation. "I don't really care. Just so long as I get paid," he said in a blasé tone.

"Nobody knew me," Zeromast admitted, providing his input on the question. "And I am not one of those people who grow so attached to a certain character in a book or movie that I react poorly when another character quote-unquote 'mistreats' them."

"I think we can all tell how I feel about vengeance," Yzma said, gritting her teeth as she thought about Emperor Kuzco.

"I'll worry about righting any wrongs against me when I reclaim what is rightfully mine," Hämsterviel argued.

Kuja shrugged. "I haven't given the passion of hatred too much concern," he admitted. "Though I doubt resolving it swiftly would make for compelling drama."

Zeromast turned back to Maleficent. "Besides, wouldn't you prefer the victory to be your own?" he asked.

Maleficent shrugged, unable to argue with that point. "I suppose it can wait until a more proper moment," she conceded. "Besides, with all of our combined strength, it will be a matter of time before he fails to escape."

"And speaking of a matter of time," Zeromast interrupted, "as Pete confirmed for us, they are growing closer to seeking the artifacts out for themselves. They determined the nature of the clock hand while he was in the process of stealing it."

Pete scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah. They nearly got me on my way out," he said.

"Jeez Louise, I don't remember them catching on this quickly in the last two years," Hades complained.

"It is precisely because of their experiences being so far behind in understanding the matter until it was nearly too late that they want to get as far ahead as they can," Zeromast explained. "After letting the Heartless abscond with the Princesses and not understanding what Xehanort's Heartless had intended until it was already too late to do anything that would prevent the opening of the Door to Darkness, and being stuck only able to aid the Organization's plans, only able to reach the Nobodies' stronghold shortly before their plan would have come to fruition, they have no intention of allowing our efforts to escalate to a potential victory."

Kuja sighed. "To think they have grown so tired of the play that they would desire to avert the third act?" he whined melodramatically.

Dr. Facilier shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine with the first two acts," he argued. "And I can't see anything wrong with them not wanting to see Kefka's dreams become a reality."

"Which is why we must gather the artifacts before they can interfere too greatly," Zeromast reminded everyone. "We have far too many to gather before we can achieve what we want."

He began to walk out, but stopped when Maleficent addressed him. "Which reminds me, Zeromast: the boy did raise an excellent point. What is it that you want?" she asked.

"Hmph," the scholar grunted in remark. He turned around to face her. "What is it that you want?" he asked in turn.

Maleficent was taken aback by the turnaround. However, she regained her composure. "To plunge all the worlds into darkness and rule over it all," she answered haughtily.

Zeromast nodded lightly. "Then, that is all you should concern yourself with," he said. "Do not bog your efforts down with the wishes of others. That has never suited you. You should only wish to take your own ambition." With that, as he left Maleficent and most of the other villains flabbergasted, he exited the meeting room. Each member of the council could only ask themselves what this seemingly-omniscient researcher and occult collector wanted out of the plot.