63. Suspicions Confirmed
Mim had spared no effort enchanting the entire warship, top to bottom, to oust the Boogeyman. Sigils were drawn beneath every window. Herbs were sprinkled on many a floor. It all led up to the circle in the control room, which was composed of crushed rose quartz and amethyst chips.
"I hate, hate, HATE working with rose quartz," Mim huffed as she poured the last of it into place, completing the circle.
"Then why do you even have it?" Ravess asked.
Mim and Aghoul had asked all the others to gather in the control room. They had claimed it was to keep an eye on everyone during the spell's casting and prevent the Boogeyman from getting to any of them, but Ravess had a feeling it was all a move to get them to believe in the Boogeyman. She was still sure it was all some sort of prank, and they would watch an invisible "entity" inside the circle do some kind of parlor trick before Mim would zap it away and claim she had "defeated" it. The group had been summoned in somewhat of a hurry; Ravess still carried her violin and its bow.
"Because it does banish creatures of nightmares," Mim explained. "It's one of the few GOOD magics I can actually find a use for. Now to charge the crystals and prepare the circle."
"What are you going to charge them with?" Aghoul asked. "There's no starlight or moonlight out in the middle of interspace."
"Not to mention no sunlight," Xayide added.
"You think I would charge my spells with SUNLIGHT?" Mim gasped. "What sort of goody-goody do you take me for?"
"My apologies," Xayide replied. "Could you not simply energize them with your natural magic?"
"Didn't you hear a word I said?" Mim snapped. "Quartz crystals are GOOD magic! I'm evil to the core! I don't have a good spark in my system! If I tried to charge those crystals myself, they'd just get all soiled with the evil and not work anymore! Hmm. I suppose there is elemental charging…or…" Mim snapped her fingers. "Aha! That's it! We can use SOUND!"
Ravess knew where this was going when Mim turned to her. "Ravess, it's all on you," the latter declared. "Play the crystals something on your violin. That will get them charged and ready to cast."
"You've taken this Boogeyman fallacy far enough," Ravess growled. "I absolutely REFUSE to get involved musically. Or, for that matter, put any effort into your little stage show."
"Ravess," Xayide cautioned, "it is no fallacy. If you do not help us, we may all be doomed to eternal nightmares."
"You've never even SEEN the Boogeyman!" Ravess snapped.
"Ravess," Scarlet added, "I don't mean to sound pushy, but if you don't help cast that spell that has a good chance of getting rid of our nightmares, I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE HECK."
"Oh, so now YOU believe," Ravess remarked.
"I'm just ready to do anything to get rid of the nightmares at this point," Scarlet said somewhat raggedly. "I need to go back to sleep."
"Then go back to sleep," Ravess told her, "and if Mim and Aghoul have any decency, they won't plague you this time."
"For the last time, it wasn't us!" Aghoul insisted.
"Play violin!" Xerxes insisted. "Play violin!"
"It is a pity," Xayide sighed, realizing what tactic she had to change to, "that we won't be graced with a performance from you today. Perhaps you're right, and the Boogeyman isn't real after all. But the moment Mim mentioned it, I became curious to hear more of your prowess. The music you played for us to dance to was so beautiful, I wanted more. So much more."
"You're trying to flatter me into playing, aren't you?" Ravess said flatly.
"Boogeyman or no Boogeyman," Peter added, "she does have a point. I was rather looking forward to hearing more of your mellifluous music."
"Your violin skills are pretty rad," Herb said with a nod.
"Well…" Ravess had to admit this tactic was working. Even if it was all a charade on Mim's part, she was more than inclined to give the public a show and earn some praise. "All right. I'll play you a little something."
"Not just any old thing," Mim insisted. "You have to play something that makes you think of good dreams. Play the theme song of your BEST dream."
"My best dream?" Ravess repeated. She wondered just what that might be as she lifted the violin to her chin, positioning it perfectly and raising the bow. What did she want to dream of more than anything? What did she want, in general, more than anything?
Since her days as a Cyclonian, she had hoped for dominion over Atmos, even if she was not upon the throne to do so. Dominion was a good theme; she decided to keep it. The thought of taking prisoners from those who had given her trouble – and who had given the WHAM ARMY trouble, now that she was part of it – was enticing. What was absolutely delicious was the thought of chaining them all down in the auditorium on Terra Neon and making them listen to her play.
They would only occupy the back seats, of course. The front rows would be reserved for those Ravess knew would truly appreciate her fine art. Scarlet, Peter, Xayide, Wuya, Yzma. The entire WHAM ARMY filled the front row of the auditorium in her mind. Even Snipe got a seat; she had to admit, after dreaming of his demise, that his presence would be pleasing to her.
Vexen would also have to be there, she realized. Even if all he did was sit and watch the performance with a blank expression. She didn't think he would actively complain about it the way he did most things; no, she knew him better than that. She could prove herself worthy of his respect – perhaps more than his respect. She wanted him to hear her.
Standing before an auditorium packed full of friends and prisoners in her mind's eye, Ravess knew exactly what she would play for them. The bow lowered onto the strings, beginning a tune that started out slow, almost melancholy, but then sped into a frantic melody, sliding up and down scales that only a master could traverse with such proficiency.
It turned out Ravess' mental vision was somewhat accurate. Everyone in the room was listening raptly, entranced by the song she wove together. Mim had her eye on the crystals, however, noting the faint glow they took on as Ravess filled them with the sound of her best dreams.
"THAT'S IT!" Mim cried halfway through the piece, when the circle was charged.
But Ravess didn't let that stop her. She continued to play until the song reached its natural conclusion. Drawing out one last note, she lifted the bow sharply away from the strings.
Everyone else applauded, and Ravess' ego swelled. Playing the song had been a good idea after all.
"That oughta light a fire under Pitch's heels!" Mim cackled. "Now, let's see if he'll come out to play."
She raised her hands, letting magic surge from them throughout the labyrinthine halls of the entire warship, lighting up her sigils and tracing the lines she'd drawn in herbs. There was now nowhere left in the warship that a creature of nightmares could hide, save for the small space within the circle drawn in the control room. As soon as he found himself unable to inhabit any other part of the ship, Mim knew, he would appear.
Black sand leaked into the room from all corners, flowing into the circle and piling up into a humanoid shape. At least, Mim, Aghoul, and Xayide saw this. At first, no one else was able to make it out.
"I am looking at him," Xayide stated, eyes wide. "He is real after all."
Ravess sniffed, about to make a snide comment, when Scarlet suddenly flinched, clapping a hand over her mouth. When Xayide had confirmed that there was something in the circle, Scarlet's mind had opened to the possibility, showing her exactly what stood before her. Herb had full trust in Scarlet; once he knew she had seen something, he believed it was there. The sight caused him to stumble backward, falling over.
"We tried to tell you," Aghoul said casually.
One by one, belief spread; the more saw it, the more realized there was something to see. "HEY!" Snipe yelled at what, to Ravess, looked to be an empty circle. "YOU'RE the one who's been messin' around with us! You cut that out, or I'll pound your face in!"
Neo gritted her teeth, drawing her sword and giving the circle a meaningful look.
Ravess was the only one who hadn't made some sort of reaction to the circle. Seeing everyone around her appear either frightened or angered, she finally conceded that something had to be prompting these reactions. Something was inside the circle: something visible, tangible. And she wanted to know what that something was.
The moment she let those thoughts enter her mind, she saw him.
He was tall, slender, his skin a pale gray. His dark hair was cut short, standing up in neat rows atop his head. He wore robes of ebony black, flowing over his frame gracefully.
"What a surprising turnout," Pitch Black remarked in a deliberate, refined tone. "Everyone's come to see whether or not the Boogeyman is real. I must say I'm flattered. I haven't been in a room with so many mortals who believe in me in hundreds of years."
"It's true," Ravess said in shock, eyes wide. "There really is a…Boogeyman…"
"I suppose I owe you my thanks for your belief," Pitch went on. "It wasn't easy for some of you to accept, after all."
"If you're so grateful to us," Aghoul growled, "why did you fill our heads with terrible nightmares?"
"Don't you usually target children?" Mim added haughtily.
Pitch smiled at that question: an utterly unnerving expression. "Why indeed?" he repeated. "When the challenge was first proposed to me, I very nearly turned it down. After all, adults are so much harder to frighten than children. Their fears are not so simple. They're abstract. Loss, doubt, hopelessness…but I was persuaded that if I could be creative, there were ways to bring those very feelings out of your deepest minds. And as I worked, it became easier and easier. It never stopped being enough of a challenge to bore me. But putting together the complex scenarios that would draw out your elusive fear…after this, I daresay I might even prefer to craft nightmares for adults. Were it more profitable in their belief in me, I might consider turning over to that sector entirely."
"So someone else put you up to this!" Mim realized. "I bet it was that Maleficent!"
Pitch gave the slightest laugh. "Maleficent. Not half as pitiable as your lot, but all the same…underwhelming. She, much like all of you, suffers delusions of grandeur. I've struck a partnership with someone who truly is grand. Someone who shares my affinity for fear. Someone who promised me a future where I am believed in and respected. All I had to do was prove myself by spreading fear among a gaggle of nuisances that goes by the name 'WHAM ARMY.'"
"Who was it?" Mim asked aggressively. "Out with it, out with it!"
"I see no reason to tell you," Pitch replied calmly. "I'm certain it will become clear in time. But there is a distinct fear that comes with the unknown. It's far more satisfying to me to let you worry about who is after you. To know the backs of your minds will always be wondering: what threat is slowly becoming as clear and present as Maleficent?" He chuckled. "Knowing what you will fear in my absence has made this little venture worth it."
"I don't see what you get out of this," Aghoul huffed. "We've enchanted the entire base so that you don't belong! You'll be forgotten the moment you leave!"
"Will I?" Pitch countered. "Perhaps I shall. I, Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, will be a foe you faced and triumphed over. But I've shown you things you can't forget." He turned to look Peter directly in the eye. "Ghosts that could come back to haunt you. After all, if so many others could come back from the dead, why not the one you never wanted to see again?"
He turned to fix his gaze upon Neo. "Or helplessness," he continued. "Knowing that as capable as you are, there may be one day you are rendered unable to even defend yourself from the slightest threats."
His eyes traveled to Scarlet and Herb. "Losing the one you love," he stated. "Is it so impossible, even in the company of a necromancer? Could there not one day be an extenuating factor that prevents your reunion?"
To Rémington and Grany. "The downside of devoting your life to protect your family is what becomes of your life the moment you learn you can't."
To Ravess. "You claim not to care, not to be haunted. But it's only a façade. You are no stronger than the rest of them."
To Snipe. "It should be obvious that your physical strength cannot overcome every obstacle. It's only a matter of time before you become bested and can't simply punch your way out."
To Xayide. "You know now that stories need to be told. You already suffer in that you haven't been given a past. What will become of you when people decide to stop telling your future?"
To Xerxes. "Reliance on fragile enchantments to keep yourself alive is such a gamble, isn't it?"
To Aghoul. "You've always known you could be lost to the worlds even after death. And now you've seen it for yourself."
And, finally, to Mim. "And what happens when good triumphs over evil, as it inevitably does? What happens when a noble, righteous heart claims the ground you stand on and removes all the suffering you strive for from the equation? What you saw was not merely a world that doesn't exist. It is a world you know COULD exist."
He settled on a more casual look over the entire crowd. "You won't forget what I've shown you. Even when the memory has faded, it will still be present. And as long as you remember the shape of your fears, I will know that you think about them." His smile grew wider. "That is what will keep me satisfied after I depart. After all, there truly is no sense in remaining here so long as this circle is the only place I can stand."
With that, his entire body dissolved into black sand, swirling and disappearing into thin air.
"Hmph!" Mim folded her arms. "A lot of poppycock! He can't get to us that easily!"
The others murmured their agreement. But deep down, many had doubts.
"Well, he's gone now," Mim continued. "And my spell will keep him gone for good!"
"We really should figure out who he's working with," Aghoul brought up. "Whoever it is has already annoyed me half to death. Which makes me dead and a half."
"Whoever it is, we'll pound 'em into the ground!" Snipe declared.
"We'll decorate them with bullet holes," Rémington agreed.
"We'll punch them all the way into the 1980s," Scarlet decided.
"They can't touch us!" Mim insisted. "We're the WHAM ARMY! Sure, we have delusions of grandeur, but that's only because they're going to come true! Whoever it is doesn't know what they've just messed with! And anyone who doesn't believe it can follow the Boogeyman right out the door!"
"If there's one thing I've learned from this," Ravess said in a quivering voice, "it's to believe in everything."
...
Garfield tightened his left gauntlet into place, donning the suit that made him Firefly. "Man, it sure is good to get back into this," he remarked.
He stood with Snatcher and Vexen outside the Cavern of Remembrance's exit, on the other side of the ice wall that none of them knew was currently being melted down ever so slowly by the prisoners inside. Snatcher had also cast aside his disguise, positioning his red top hat atop his head. "Not everyone is cut out for the gown," he said casually, "and I'm well aware of the discomforts that come with the preparations for donning one."
"Actually, the dress was pretty fun," Garfield admitted. "I'm startin' to see why you like it so much. The part I couldn't stand was the sword." He turned and fired two quick blasts at the rock walls ahead. "I missed my babies. Remind me never to try using a sword again."
"Firefly," the Huntsman said sternly, "now that you are properly outfitted, take a position overhead. Alert us when the creature comes."
"You got it, Skullface," Firefly responded, zipping up into the air.
"While we wait," Snatcher suggested, seeing his opportunity, "Mr. Huntsman, why not regale us with tales of your past victories?"
"I see no reason to do so," the Huntsman replied. "As a matter of fact, I see no reason to pollute our wait with conversation."
"I am inclined to agree," Vexen concurred.
Snatcher let them have only a moment of silence before saying, "I was only wondering about your track record. Certainly you are the most competent of the original WHAM ARMY founders to be able to accomplish as much as you did on your own. That is, if I am correct in my assumption about what you have done on your own."
"I don't care," the Huntsman replied.
"I'm not…wrong, am I?" Snatcher went on. "You have slain all of your archfoes in the past, have you not? You couldn't possibly fall into the same trap as Torchwick or myself and find yourself bested by a mere child."
"I do not wish to speak of this," the Huntsman grunted.
"Well, now you're making me wonder," Snatcher continued. "Your refusal to answer is ever so telling, isn't it? Perhaps I've overestimated you. Perhaps in the past, you were a fool…or at least made one of."
"WHAT is the purpose of this conversation?" the Huntsman roared.
Snatcher looked him dead in the eye, smiling wickedly. "I merely wanted to know what sort of success you experienced before you began to put your trust in your fellow villain. Are you REALLY better off without the bonds you've forged?"
"I knew this discussion was coming," the Huntsman grumbled. "I don't know if you are saying this on behalf of Mozenrath, any of the others, or yourself, but I refuse to entertain this."
"Well, now I don't know quite what to think," Snatcher said teasingly. "Denial, yet again? Could it be that our Huntsman, who claims he needs no friends to support him, is a blunderer when on his own? If you can look me in the eye and say you were better off without us, I'd gladly drop the subject. It only occurred to me that you mightn't have taken the past into account when making such a crucial decision as severing bonds."
The Huntsman was in the process of selecting the perfect words with which to respond when Vexen took over, barking, "You're the fool if you believe such sentiment has any place here!"
"I'm only coming at this from a logical standpoint," Snatcher argued. "Have his successes increased or dwindled since forging the WHAM ARMY?"
"It isn't possible to factor emotion into a logical standpoint," Vexen retorted. "The two are entirely separate. There is no logic once emotion is involved. That is quite the reason I am content to live without a heart."
"Is that so?" Snatcher responded, changing his tactic. "Then I suppose bonds mean nothing to you. Friends, lovers…it's all little more than a convenient alliance. If that's your pleasure, then I'm not to be the one to stop you. Carry about your business how you see fit. Put away those wild and raging emotions you so clearly have when your heart is within you – "
"WHAT did you just accuse me of?" Vexen cried.
"Wild and raging emotions," Snatcher replied. "You must be a victim to emotion, mustn't you? After all, that is why you had your heart removed. You're simply incapable of acting upon pure logic so long as it's within your body. Couldn't do it on your own, you couldn't. So you've got to cheat."
"I am perfectly capable of separating logic from emotion, even with a heart!" Vexen argued. "It is removed for CONVENIENCE!"
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to prove that?" Snatcher asked. "Show me how you act when your heart is within your body. We'll see if it's the same. Perhaps we could even put a little wager on it."
"I refuse to take part in childish bets," Vexen huffed. "The answer is no."
"Too much of a coward to try, then," Snatcher identified. "You're afraid you'll succumb to your heart."
"That is NOT the case."
"Then prove it, Mr. Vexen."
"I NEED TO PROVE NOTHING TO YOU!"
Snatcher gave a small "hmph" before stating, "If I'm given any reason to believe you're a coward, that would affect our alliance quite seriously. I couldn't be caught inviting a coward on such excursions as this."
"How can I be a coward," Vexen posed, "if I feel no fear?"
"I can't explain it scientifically," Snatcher replied smugly, "but I know an act of cowardice when I see it. And I'm looking right at it at this very moment."
"Very well," Vexen said calmly. "Once our business here is finished and we return to base, I will replace my heart within my body and keep it there for several days. Make whatever observations you will. I predict, however, that you will find nothing has changed."
"I look forward to it," Snatcher said smugly. Then, directed back toward the Huntsman, "Much as I thought I'd never want to admit it, I never gained any ground until I put my fate in with our little organization."
"Obviously not," the Huntsman stated. "There is strength in numbers."
"I'm not talking about hired imbeciles," Snatcher growled. "I'd my fair share of those, and could have brought a lot more to my cause. You know well what was different. Which is why I ask you to look at your own past. You had subordinates to go 'round, did you not? You had an entire clan. Did they serve you half as well as comrades you could trust?"
Firefly touched down on the ground before the three at that very moment, announcing, "The blue alien's almost here. And he's got some kind of book with him."
"So they did act as I expected," Vexen remarked coldly.
The Huntsman had hoped Vexen's hypothesis would be wrong, that Stitch would come alone after all. He would have been quite easy prey then. But if Vexen's plan was solid, and the Huntsman didn't see how it wasn't, Stitch would still be destroyed along with the rest of the castle's inhabitants.
The quartet was waiting when Stitch trudged into view, a thin picture book held under one arm. "You have Lilo?" he asked.
"Your friend is safe and sound beyond this wall," Snatcher replied, gesturing to the thick ice.
Stitch nodded. "Show."
"Not just yet," Vexen told him. "Did you do as we asked and come alone?"
"Ih," Stitch confirmed. "Stitch alone. Stitch…ready. Just save Lilo. And Pleakley."
"And what is that you are carrying?" Vexen asked.
Stitch held up the book. "Last book to read…before," he said plainly.
"I don't think so," Vexen scoffed. "Tell Ienzo I'm not so stupid as to not recognize that little trick. He's sewn pages from one of his spellbooks into a children's volume, hasn't he? And how many of them did you bring? …As though I really have to ask. They're all here. So you might as well tell them to show themselves."
The Huntsman aimed his weapon not at Stitch, but directly at the book. "Do so before we eliminate them here and now."
Stitch quickly set the book on the ground and flipped open the front cover. "They know!" he said in a panic. "THEY KNOW!"
The book shimmered with an aura of bright white light. A host of sparkling lights burst from its pages, taking their place behind Stitch before forming into the shapes of those who had come to his aid. He was backed by a veritable army: Jumba, Ienzo, Lea, Aeleus, Aerith, Merlin, Leon, Cid, Jaune, Kairi, Nick, Madison, Vida, Xander, Chip, Ren, Cadance, Luna, Genie, Carpet, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
"YOU!" Donald cried. "I SHOULDA KNOWN, YOU DIRTY ROTTEN – " What came next was utterly unintelligible, probably crude, and actually mostly wordless yelling. As he hopped up and down, fists balled, Mickey and Goofy each put a hand on his shoulders to hold him back.
Kairi pushed her way to the front of the group, sword in hand. "Let them go," she demanded.
"How utterly predictable," Vexen sighed. "I hope that in the same vein, I do not have to tell you my answer."
Jaune made his way to Kairi's side. "Then we'll break down that wall," he insisted.
"You're quite welcome to try," Snatcher invited. "If you can get past us."
"Are you kidding?" Jaune replied. "There are only four of you! Wait." He stared hard at Snatcher's face. "Were you…"
"I do believe that was the man posing as Nikolai Pike," Merlin confirmed.
"Red hat," Jaune muttered. "Sora told us about the guy with the red hat. What was his name?"
"I don't remember," Kairi admitted. "It was something kind of silly."
"It was something that didn't sound like a real name," Jaune added.
"ARCHIBALD SNATCHER," Snatcher growled, ready to stop them from insulting him further.
The crowd gave a chorus of murmurs along the lines of "Oh, that was it!"
"And on that topic…" Firefly lifted his helmet to give the others a good look at his face. "There's no 'Bridgit Pike,' either. But you can remember the name 'Firefly.'"
"Stop giving them information," the Huntsman grunted.
"You've certainly collected a lot of it from us!" Merlin huffed. "But it stops here!"
"I dare you to even try to make a move against Stitch!" Chip barked. "There are way too many of us for you to get to him!"
"Tempting," Vexen stated. "It would be tempting, indeed."
"We are not fools," the Huntsman added. "We would not take on such a losing challenge."
"Then give us back our friends!" Kairi yelled.
"I believe that matter is about to resolve itself at any moment," Snatcher announced.
He, Firefly, the Huntsman, and Vexen stepped aside, exposing the ice wall. They could hear a thud from the other side.
"Maybe they weren't as smart as you thought," Firefly suggested. "I'll just go ahead and blast 'em – "
The ice suddenly shattered, Nora coming through swinging in the rain of glimmering shards. As she ran toward her rescue party, Sadira, Moana, Yuffie, Pleakley, and Lilo followed her.
"STITCH!" Lilo cried.
"LILO!" Stitch responded; the two met and fell into an embrace.
Pleakley zipped directly toward Jumba, who caught him in a hug of his own. "It was awful!" Pleakley moaned. "That room is full of deadly data simulations! We didn't think we would ever get back to you!"
"Is going to be all right," Jumba told him. "We now have villains right where we want them." He looked up at Vexen, having recognized his voice from the scroll. "So you are former evil genius of castle, yes?"
"What does it matter to you?" Vexen replied.
"Is just that whole plan does not seem very genius-like," Jumba observed. "Gave us quite easy way to victory. Either you are truly very stupid or there is other game here."
"THE TIMER!" Pleakley suddenly realized, backing up in fear.
"There's a timer in there," Sadira clarified. "We have to get out of here. The whole place is going to blow up – "
"Blow up?" Vexen repeated. "Nothing so predictable. And I can assure you that running away will not save you. Do you wish to know what that timer will REALLY do?"
"I don't think we should stick around to find out!" Mickey suggested.
"Something's not right," Leon stated. "I want to at least hear the explanation for this."
"Why don't we start with what you already know?" Vexen prompted. "Ienzo has apparently kept no secrets. Tell us about the Cavern of Remembrance."
"It was a research facility used by Xemnas," Aerith began. "He collected data on every one of his subordinates and stored it here in the Cavern."
"He was able to use that data to make simulations," Leon continued. "That way, he could not only keep track of everything his Organization could do in battle, but also try and predict their next moves based on patterns."
"He wanted to see if he could figure out who would betray him before they actually did," Lea volunteered. "I'm proof that it didn't work as well as he thought it would."
"Only Ansem's six apprentices were allowed near the place," Cid continued. "If you could even call 'em that anymore."
"I didn't even know about it until Ienzo told me," Lea admitted.
"But since Xemnas was defeated at the World That Never Was," Ienzo concluded, "and the first Organization XIII dissolved, he found no use for the Cavern and stopped coming back."
"I still think it's creepy that he was visiting it right under our noses," Yuffie added with a shiver.
"You really have kept no secrets," Vexen commented. "Unfortunately for you, I have. You see, Xemnas – and every iteration of Xehanort, really – never stopped seeing you as a mere child. You may have believed Xemnas was the only one who had every access code to the Cavern's functions. But in reality, he gave me administrative permissions."
The timer had almost completely run down.
"I used my credentials to modify the simulations within the Cavern when we placed the hostages," Vexen went on. "Has it really not sunk in yet what is about to happen to you and all of Radiant Garden? Is it really so impossible for you to put it together?"
He was met with blank looks.
"The simulations," Vexen clarified, "despite being made of binary data, are tangible and able to affect the physical world. As they are indeed made of data, they can be copied and multiplied. I only made one change to their code. A difficult one, but still, a mere one change. That change is what will make all the difference."
The timer struck zero.
"They can now leave the Cavern," Vexen stated smugly.
They poured from the exit Nora had just cleared: black leather coat upon black leather coat. At first, their hoods were up, making them look uniform and only distinguishable by height and build. But as they summoned their weapons, the hoods came down, revealing a host of frighteningly familiar faces.
Vexen – the real one – cast a Corridor of Darkness, hastening through; the Huntsman, Snatcher, and Firefly followed him. They had agreed beforehand to leave once the data Organization was unleashed, as the projections would not distinguish between friend or foe and would turn to slaughter them as well.
Ienzo gasped as he found himself looking into the eyes of what could have been his reflection. The data Zexion surrounded himself in a green aura, focusing it through a circle marked with the Organization XIII emblem. Ienzo was bowled over by the beam that emitted from it. Knowing he had to pull himself together, despite his horror, he scrambled to his feet, clutching his own spellbook and casting a spell that engulfed the data Zexion. "They're only data!" he cried. "Stop them by ANY MEANS!"
Aeleus nodded just before clashing clubs with a data Lexaeus. Again and again, the two weapons slammed, sending out vibrations across the whole battlefield.
A data Marluxia threatened to swing his scythe high over Aerith; she countered by spinning her staff in a circle, conjuring a disc-shaped spell that blocked Marluxia's blade from coming down from above. She pushed the spell outward to him, shoving him back.
Three immense sharpened cards spun toward Cid at the behest of a data Luxord; he parried them with his spear. As he plunged the spear toward the data Luxord, his target disappeared, five cards springing up in his wake. Trusting his eyes, Cid stabbed through the card he believed the data Luxord had transformed into. The cards curled up and folded away, leaving behind a trail of numbers in the air.
Leon found his blade locked against the shaft of the claymore of a data Saïx. He ducked low beneath the weapon, letting it swing over him as he dealt a slash to data Saïx's lower half. This caused the data Saïx to stumble and fall; Leon gathered a ball of Firaga in his free hand, but was stymied when the claymore's flat knocked him down as well.
Another data Zexion had engaged Merlin, trying to surround the wizard in tornadoes of violently ripping wind. "Oh, no you don't!" Merlin snapped, using his wand to call up a cluster of zipping and crackling fireworks that forced data Zexion to duck, cower, and run away.
Nick was surrounded by a ring of flames; he looked up to see a data Axel grinning at him and striding through the fire, chakrams spinning in his hands. Nick raised his sword and charged the data Axel with a wild yell. The chakrams were flung toward him; he batted each aside.
Madison cut through bubble after bubble sent at her by a data Demyx. Calling what little magic she could muster without her wand, she dropped the sword to catch one of the bubbles, hurling it right back at the data Demyx. It struck him in the head rather comically while exploding into droplets.
Vida was trying her hardest to parry the six lances of a data Xaldin, but the abundance of his weapons was overwhelming her. She felt awash with relief when he called them back to himself; that relief quickly dissipated when she saw the lances forming into the shape of a giant serpent that the data Xaldin perched upon the head of. A great beam of magic shot from the mouth of the lances; Vida was struck and thrown back, her skin burning.
Not a moment later, Xander sailed over her, having been launched into the air by the club of a data Lexaeus.
Chip fired his crossbow upon a data Larxene at the same time that she sent a knife sailing toward him with a thundery crack. His ammunition hit its mark, and the data Larxene dissolved into code. But her knife also met its mark; Chip stumbled, bleeding from where the blade had pierced between ribs.
A data Xemnas conjured a host of black and white thorny vines to curl toward Ren; he leapt over the trajectory of one clump, ducking past another. He used an opening to take several shots at the data Xemnas; he was able to hobble one of the data Xemnas's legs, but at the cost of suddenly being bound up in a tangle of vines and franctically using Stormflower to cut through them as quickly as he could.
Cadance was locked in a duel with another data Larxene, flinging spheres of Light from her horn and watching the data Larxene dance around them. The data Larxene crossed her arms, then flung them apart, sending a wave of lightning toward Cadance; Cadance shot upward into the air, continuing her onslaught from above.
After using a deflection shield to block the blow from a data Saïx, Luna saw Cadance take to the air and followed her example, raining bolts of lightning down upon the data Saïx. As the electricity from the sky struck the Claymore, it ran down and jolted him thoroughly until he was no more than code.
A data Xigbar took up his arrowguns; before he could fire, Carpet zoomed round and round him, dizzying him up. When he stopped spinning, he faced Genie, who held two cork-pop guns up while donning a cowboy hat and bandanna. When Genie prompted to "Reach for the sky!", the data Xigbar trained both of his arrowguns on Genie and let him have it. Genie first fired both guns, sending the massive and heavy corks to collide with the data Xigbar and knock him down, then quickly switched to a knight's armor and put up a sizeable shield that reflected all of the data Xigbar's ammunition right back at him.
Stitch had retrieved a pair of blasters and was using them to fire upon another data Demyx with a loud "YEEEEEHAW!". The data Demyx called up a host of watery forms, but Stitch disposed of them quickly.
A data Vexen sneered at Yuffie. "I've been wanting to do this since you knocked us out," Yuffie declared as she sent her large star spinning through the air. It curved around behind the data Vexen, struck him in the back, and reduced him to code.
Moana threw a punch at a data Luxord; it connected with his jaw. Before Moana could celebrate, something happened that she couldn't quite describe. She had become a cube – a die, to be exact – and hopped around on the ground, trying to roll her way back toward Luxord. "UM, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" she cried in confusion.
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy went back-to-back-to-back as a data Xemnas, a data Marluxia, and a data Xigbar encircled them. "If it isn't the three guys who've given us the MOST trouble!" he declared.
"When did that guy with the scythe ever do anything?" Goofy asked.
"You wouldn't remember," Mickey informed him. "It's a long story. Just get him!"
"I GOT HIM!" Donald charged, staff swinging. The data Marluxia was hit with an onslaught of fire followed by spears of ice. "THAT'LL TEACH YOU NO-GOOD – " Once again, Donald's speech gave way to nonsensical syllables and unheard insults.
"You're that Braig fella!" Goofy declared as he stared down the data Xigbar. "After what I heard, I really don't like ya!"
The data Xigbar, unfazed by Goofy's comment, opened fire. Goofy blocked the ammunition with his shield before spinning like a tornado at the data Xigbar.
Mickey leapt over the swing of both of the data Xemnas' Ethereal Blades, using his Keyblade to send Pearl after Pearl of Light at the data Xemnas' head. The data Xemnas fell to his knees from the attack, but as Mickey tried to close in for the finishing blow, he was stopped by square deflection shields.
Lea's opponent still had his hood up. Even so, when Lea saw the two Keyblades emerge from the short data projection's hands, he was struck with terror. "Roxas!" he yelled at the projection.
The data Roxas came spinning at him with both blades.
Lea blocked the crossed blades with his own Keyblade, locking metal against metal. "It's me!" he urged. "Don't DO this, Roxas!"
The data Roxas did not relent.
Kairi was fighting a data Axel of her own, leaping from side to side to avoid the spin of his chakrams. Noticing Lea and the data Roxas up ahead, she called out, "Lea! He isn't real! You can't – "
The data Axel flung a chakram directly at Kairi. She only just had enough time to block it with her sword, sending it flying back at the data Axel, who caught it expertly in one hand and spun it.
Kairi took a chance and ran toward Lea. "LEA!" she cried. "I'LL FIGHT HIM!"
Lea glanced over his shoulder to see Kairi approaching. In that moment, the data Roxas got in one good slice across Lea's chest. Lea instinctively kicked outward, his foot landing in the data Roxas' stomach and sending him scooting back. "Trade you!" he told Kairi as he turned around to face the data Axel behind her. Now this was something he could torch. Dismissing the Keyblade and holding his wounded side in one hand, he snapped his fingers with the other.
The data Axel went up in flames, reverting to a cluster of numbers before disappearing.
Meanwhile, Kairi traded blows with the data Roxas, letting his blades hammer against her sword.
A third data Larxene caused lightning to rain down upon the field. Many scattered out of her way, but one person was struck directly. Seeing an easy target, she aimed at the same person again and again; her target didn't move an inch. She walked in closer for the kill, fanning her knives out in both hands.
Nora, who had taken enough lightning from the data Larxene to be positively giddy, swung Magnhild around to slam into the data Larxene's chest. The data Larxene dissipated into code in one shot. Nora pumped her fist with a "YES!", failing to notice the data Xaldin taking aim with his lances behind her.
The data Xaldin was run through with a blade from behind. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING HER AGAIN," Jaune seethed as the data Xaldin collapsed into code around his sword.
Another data Roxas cropped up near Sadira; she forged the sand from her purse into a blade that whipped past him again and again, tearing at his cloak. He launched a Keyblade at her; she used the rest of the sand to slow it down while ducking and crawling under its reach. "Anybody know how to GET RID OF THEM?" she cried as she scuttled away from the data Roxas. She got to her feet in time to run at full speed from his chase.
Pleakley and Lilo cowered behind Jumba, who acted as a brick wall to cover them, firing both arrowguns upon a data Vexen at maximum speed only to have his ammunition blocked by the data Vexen's sizeable shield. "Sand witch is right!" Jumba insisted. "We must find way to shut down data program permanently or simulations will keep multiplying and overrun entire city!"
Ienzo, having finished off his opponent, had ended up next to Jumba. "I don't know how to shut it down!" he protested, flinging beams at three more data Zexions.
"Is connected to castle system, no?" Jumba suggested.
"I don't see why it wouldn't be," Aerith said from Jumba's other side. "Xemnas used that computer as his base."
"Then we make tactical retreat and stop program from there!" Jumba decided. "Pleakley! Little girl! You will come with me!"
"I'm not leaving Stitch again!" Lilo insisted.
"STITCH!" Aerith and Ienzo cried as one.
Stitch, having collapsed the data Demyx, scuttled over to where he saw Lilo beckoning.
"We're gonna try and stop them from the castle!" Lilo told him. "We have to go together so we don't get split up again!"
"Ready!" Jumba signaled. "NOW!"
He dropped one arrowgun, using the other to fire back at the data Vexen while he scooped Lilo into the other arm. He then took off running for the castle at full speed; Ienzo, Aerith, Stitch, and Pleakley followed in a hurry.
Seeing their targets making a break for it, several of the data Organization members gave chase.
The six practically broke down the door to the computer room; thankfully, they hadn't done so literally, and could turn to lock it against the onslaught of data Organization members while they surrounded the computer. Jumba took his seat once more. "Must be shutdown sequence somewhere in computer's recesses!" he insisted.
"I wouldn't know how to find it," Ienzo mourned. "Of all of us, I should know how to stop it, but I don't!"
"We need to stay calm," Aerith insisted. "If we panic, we'll never figure it out."
There was a loud slam against the door. The data projections had arrived. Pleakley screamed before crying, "CAN'T STAY CALM! DEFINITELY CAN'T STAY CALM!"
"Must think like evil genius," Jumba muttered. "If I were to hide shutdown sequence for doomsday program, would put it in last place anyone would look. Would disguise it as innocent program. Maybe not even program. Maybe is…"
He maneuvered the cursor to the trash icon, clicking it. Immediately, a password prompt filled the screen.
"That…" Ienzo realized in shock, "…explains why we couldn't throw anything in the trash bin…"
"Is six-part password!" Jumba announced. "Book boy! What would villain use as password to guard shutdown sequence?"
The banging on the door became louder. "HURRY!" Pleakley cried.
"I know this!" Ienzo cried. "Enter these words! First is 'Xehanort'! X-E-H-"
Jumba's fingers flew over the keys as Ienzo spelled out the names of the six apprentices. Pleakley watched raptly, fingers squeezing Jumba's shoulder from behind.
The door bent inward. Stitch stood protectively in front of Lilo, holding out his blasters. "Must protect," he insisted.
"Stitch…" Lilo hugged him tightly from behind.
Aerith gave her staff a spin, standing next to Stitch, ready to become the first line of defense.
"…N-Z-O!" Ienzo finished spelling.
Jumba entered the last word. The computer prompted him: "Shut down Cavern of Remembrance simulation?"
The door burst; a data Xigbar flew into the room, both arrowguns cocked.
Jumba clicked "Yes."
The data Xigbar, and all of the accompanying black-cloaked figures behind him, dissolved into numbers.
Down on the battlefield, the Organization members that had been pouring from the Cavern all melted away into code. The Radiant Garden contingent let out a collective sigh of relief before moving back toward the castle to tend to their wounds. In a puff of smoke, Moana was returned from die form to a human body. "I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" she complained.
Up in the computer room, Aerith, Ienzo, Jumba, Pleakley, Lilo, and Stitch all waited tensely to see if any other foes would arrive before relaxing at the knowledge that they had stopped the onslaught. "You did it!" Aerith congratulated.
"We did it," Ienzo said in mild disbelief.
"We're…" Pleakley had let go of Jumba and was now swaying, unable to keep his balance after such panic and stress. "We're not going to die – "
Then he passed out cold on the floor.
...
Sora led the charge toward the Hyrule Castle gates. "Look!" he cried. "The barrier is down!"
"That makes things easier," Riku commented.
"You think our turning the world back to Light did it?" Ruby wondered out loud.
"Does that make sense?" Katara added. "Were they connected?"
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Stork groaned.
"Because you have a bad feeling about everything," Midna reminded him. "Not everything is doom and gloom, you know."
Sora, Riku, Ruby, Katara, Stork, Midna, Zelda, Link, Jasmine, Aladdin, and Papyrus didn't slow until they reached the gates. As Zelda, Link, and Midna moved forth to open the doors, they were surprised to see someone else pry them open from the other side.
As soon as Zelda beheld who it was, she gave a cry that sounded at first to be one of panic, but was truly of relief.
"Zelda?" Hans said, an expression upon his face that read shock and joy at the same time.
"Hans!" Zelda cried in return.
He rushed forth to sweep her into an embrace, and their lips locked in a deep kiss.
"Awwww!" Ruby and Sora cried.
Riku, Stork, Papyrus, Aladdin, and Link regarded the scene with curiosity. They still had lingering doubts; Stork's suspicion had spread among them. "So you're Prince Hans, huh?" Aladdin commented.
Hans's lips left Zelda's and he backed off just far enough to be able to address Aladdin. "I am," he confirmed with a smile. "Zelda must have told you about me."
"I'm so glad you're safe!" Zelda gushed.
"Believe me, I'm even more glad YOU'RE okay," Hans told her, clasping her hands tightly in his own. "After the Twilight covered the land, I thought you were done for."
"How did you end up holding your own in the Twilight, anyway?" Aladdin asked.
"And weren't you captured by some terrible villain right before that?" Stork added.
"It's a long story," Hans sighed. "I'll be able to talk about it more once things have calmed down. For now, I'll give you the short version: I was rescued by people with powers you can't imagine, and the Twilight knocked out all the people who captured me."
"So those would be the friends the Light spirits told us about," Riku said gingerly.
"The Light spirits!" Hans repeated. "I knew you would be able to save them!"
"We saw all you did for us," Zelda stated. "We owe you our thanks for clearing out the guardians who stood with the spirits in their time of Darkness, and for holding down Ordona for us to rescue."
"Hey, I had the easy part," Hans replied. "You're the real heroes here."
"It really worked out for us that you somehow knew what we were doing," Riku stated, arms folded.
"What else would you all have done?" Hans said with a shrug. "You're the heroes of Hyrule. Well, at least I know Link and Zelda are. I don't know the rest of you yet, but we'll fix that. I want to meet all of you after we're done here."
"WEREN'T YOU SUFFERING SOME SORT OF FATAL INJURY?" Papyrus recalled.
"Listen," Hans said sternly, "I would LOVE to give you all the details, but we are NOT safe right now. Ganondorf is on his way here, and he has friends. Some kind of…octopus woman, and a woman in red who, and I know this is weird, I swear was wearing glass shoes."
"Ursula!" Sora cried.
"Cinder," Ruby growled.
"I got away from them for now," Hans said, trying to sound hurried, "but they'll be coming back. I've figured out a way to stop them, but it's…complicated. I need a lot of magical power. Darkness or Twilight would be best."
"Would a Fused Shadow work?" Midna asked with a smirk. "Because I think I know a woman."
"A Fused Shadow?" Hans repeated. "Like the legend? If you have that, that would be PERFECT! I have everything set up in the throne room. I'd just need you to come with me up there so we can activate it. …The woman you're talking about is you, right?"
"You bet it is," Midna said with a wink. "So what do you need my magic for?"
"Like I said, it's complicated," Hans insisted. "It'll make more sense when you see it. While Midna and I go up to do that, I need a favor from the rest of you. When Ganondorf comes, he'll be entering through the front gates. I need all of you to stand together to stop him. At least buy us enough time to finish upstairs."
"We can sure do that!" Sora said with an emphatic nod.
"Wait," Riku brought up. "Ganondorf took over this castle when he invaded. Why did he leave? And did he bring down the barrier, or was that your doing?"
"Look, I REALLY don't have time to explain!" Hans groaned. "We need to get going NOW, or else this isn't going to work! Are you going to protect the gate or not?"
"We will," Zelda promised. "I trust you to do what is best for us all."
"And I trust you to protect your people," Hans replied. "When this is over, we'll be able to say our wedding vows for real. I promise. Now we really have to GO." He grabbed Midna's hand and tugged, indicating that she should follow him. He raced into the castle; Midna followed.
"I do NOT trust this!" Stork cried. "I'm going after them."
"Do you not trust ME?" Zelda accused.
"I trust you," Stork told her. "I just don't think you should be trusting him."
"I'm going too," Aladdin said, "but maybe we should wait a bit. Not let on that we're following."
"I'm counting to ten," Stork announced. "One…"
"You'll need a guide through the castle," Link brought up. "I'm going with you."
"You do not trust Hans either!" Zelda said indignantly.
"It's not that I don't want to," Link told her, "but things aren't lining up…and it's Midna on the line. I can't risk her."
"COUNT ME IN TOO!" Papyrus announced.
"This is all pretty shady," Riku agreed. "I'm in."
"Well, okay," Sora told Riku. "The rest of us will stay here and guard the gate. I think Hans was telling the truth, and I want to be here to slow down the bad guys before they can get up there."
Ruby, Jasmine, and Katara nodded in agreement. Zelda simply gave Riku a glare of anger.
"Nine…ten," Stork declared.
Link was the first to charge into the castle; Riku, Papyrus, Aladdin, and Stork followed him closely.
Down halls, up stairs, and around corners Link led the suspicious group; finally, he came to the doors that would normally lead to the outdoor balcony that neighbored the throne room. He tugged the handles to find them locked. "Why would these be locked?" he wondered out loud.
"If Hans didn't want us to see the bad thing he was doing!" Stork insisted.
"Hang on," Riku said as he called his weapon to hand – then flinched when he was reminded that he held a mere sword. "I guess unlocking the door isn't going to be very easy without the Keyblade, is it?" He backed up a few paces, then surged forward in a quick attack, slamming against the door; it had no effect.
"We need another way up," Aladdin mused.
"The stairway to the throne room is outdoors," Link explained, "and the room itself has open walls. I could take us outside by a different route, and from there…" He drew his clawshot. "I might be able to claw my way up. If there's a good hold."
"That," Aladdin said, "or we could just take some stairs."
"TOO BAD WE CAN'T JUST MAGICALLY MAKE A STAIRWAY FROM OUR LOCATION TO THE THRONE ROOM," Papyrus sighed.
It took a solid thirty seconds of everyone staring at him in silence for him to realize: "OH. RIGHT. I CAN DO THAT!"
After the doors had shut, locked by some magic Wuya and Mozenrath had lent, behind Hans, he practically dragged Midna up the stairs and into the throne room. "Right this way," he said, "and we'll have everything all worked out."
When Midna arrived in the room, she took a look around at Mozenrath, Wuya, Yzma, Roman, Irmaplotz, Zevon, and Demyx. "So these are your new friends," she remarked. "You run with a crowd with a good sense of style."
"Thank you," Yzma replied smugly.
"What do you need me to do?" Midna asked.
"Hand over the Fused Shadow," Mozenrath stated.
Midna's eyebrow raised. "I didn't know you'd need to TAKE it from me."
"Please, Midna," Hans insisted. "It's the only way."
"No one wields the Fused Shadow but me," Midna insisted. "I worked hard for it, and it's mine. What do you even need it for, anyway? You said I'd understand once I got up here, but…"
Zevon gave a laugh. "If you haven't figurated it out," he cackled, "then you're a mooron!"
"Wait." Midna took a step backward, snapping her wrist back out of Hans' grip. "You're not trying to stop Ganondorf at all!"
"That's not entirely accurate," Mozenrath informed her. "Actually, we already have stopped him."
"Did you HAVE to tell her that?" Hans groaned. "I could have strung her along a bit longer, you know."
"She was on the verge of figuring it out," Wuya said. "I could see it in her eyes."
"You just want the Fused Shadow all to yourselves!" Midna cried in realization. "Stork was right! You ARE all evil!"
"Stork," Roman repeated. "Do I know that name? Why don't I like that name?"
"Well, if it's the Fused Shadow you want," Midna insisted, "then I'll give its power to you, all right!"
She shuddered, losing form and expanding. Extra limbs sprouted; her head was encased in its hard helmet.
"Like we planned!" Wuya snapped; Hans, Zevon, Yzma, and Roman scurried up the pile of debris in the back of the room while Mozenrath, Wuya, Irmaplotz, and Demyx took up the front.
Midna pounded the floor, trying to smash each of the four mages; they dodged her expertly (except for Mozenrath, who had to be yanked out of her path by the back of his cape by Wuya). She raised one spidery limb, forging a spear of pure energy in its grip and training its point on Hans. She let it fly, intending to come back to smashing the mages once it had hit its mark.
Mozenrath, Wuya, and Irmaplotz sent out a combined tractor beam of magic that surrounded the spear, slowing it in midair and painstakingly turning it around. All the while, Demyx strummed away, causing entire walls of water to rise before Midna and block her blows.
Mozenrath could feel himself growing ever more tired as he struggled to contain the weapon conjured of the Fused Shadow's energy. He wondered what toll this was taking on his body as far as the gauntlet went, and though he wasn't about to say such a thing as "Thank you" to Wuya and Irmaplotz, he was quite glad he had them backing him up. Working in concert, all three turned the spear back to face Midna, then let it fly.
Midna realized what was happening far too late. The spear slammed directly into her.
When she hit the ground, she was once more in the form of a Twili, regularly sized and clutching at a wound in her stomach. An ash-dark horned helmet that appeared to be made of metal clattered and rolled away from her.
"THE FUSED SHADOW!" Wuya cried.
Midna attempted to crawl close enough to the shadow to grab onto it; her hand was but an inch away from its edge when Mozenrath's magic lifted it up and carried it directly to him. He smirked as he tucked it beneath his left arm. "Not so tough now, are we, princess?" he mocked.
"You…" Midna panted. "Disgusting…"
"Is that the worst name you can call me?" Mozenrath taunted. "You are about to die, after all. You can let your language get a little more colorful."
That was when Stork, Papyrus, Link, Aladdin, and Riku barged into the room. "I KNEW IT!" Stork cried, pointing at the group. "HE WAS WORKING FOR…Ganon…dorf?" He blinked. "That is not Ganondorf."
"No," Aladdin said in utter shock, his eyes fixed upon the ringleader. "He was working for MOZENRATH."
"Hello, Aladdin," Mozenrath greeted smugly. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'd say I missed you, but we both know that would be a lie. What I did miss was having the chance to destroy you. And look where we are."
"You haven't managed to destroy me once yet," Aladdin reminded him. "I've beat you all those other times! I can beat you this time, too!"
"Last time," Wuya brought up, "he didn't have friends."
"You might have friends," Riku said as he stepped forth, "but Aladdin has better ones."
Link, in the meantime, had rushed to the ailing Midna. "We need to get you out of here," he insisted.
"Don't worry about me," Midna panted. "I'll be fine. It sounds like your friend Aladdin is the one in real trouble."
Mozenrath tapped the Fused Shadow, sending it to a space pocket for storage before drawing back his right hand and letting a hot electric blue beam of energy fly directly at Aladdin's head. Aladdin sidestepped it easily, making a run at Mozenrath. Wuya stepped between the two, but Mozenrath shoved her aside roughly, insisting, "HE'S MINE!"
Wuya shrugged, setting her sights on Riku. She snapped her fingers, and orbs of lime-green fire rained down on him from above.
"Like I haven't dealt with this before," Riku said with a smile, dodging each falling fireball. When he heard the strumming of a musical chord, he knew to be vigilant; fifty water forms sprang up around him. He launched into a Dark Splicer, surging into each one in succession in the blink of an eye.
Irmaplotz threw magic of her own toward Aladdin only to find it blocked by a shield forged of bones. Then, before she could react, bones spelling out the words "GET LOST!" smacked into her, tipping her over backward.
Roman, in the meantime, focused the crosshairs of the Cudgel on Papyrus' head, hoping to shatter his skull. In his intense concentration, he missed the fact that Stork had been making his way up the debris pile, and by the time Roman fired, Stork had gotten behind him, seizing him and pulling him back so that his ammo blasted straight up into the sky.
Yzma leapt down from the pile, heel kicking out right at Link, who was surging into the fray. She landed on Link's back, but he spun so quickly that she was thrown off, slamming right into Wuya and bowling her over.
"Well," Yzma remarked as she rolled over, realizing she was outright straddling Wuya, "this is awkward."
"Only as awkward as you want it to be," Wuya teased with a smirk. The smirk immediately faded; "but we can talk about it after we've crushed our enemies."
Link's sword cut right through the last of Demyx's water forms before Riku could get to it. "I'll take it from here!" he assured Riku; Riku gave a nod and departed for another part of the battlefield.
Link cast a glance over his shoulder to see Midna crawling out the door to safety. She would be fine, he knew. He turned back to face front and saw Wuya zooming at him with a pair of swords in hand; his blade clanged against both of hers, and they set to dueling.
Aladdin launched himself at Mozenrath, tackling him. Mozenrath flailed, unsure how to proceed after a direct assault. "What's the point of having friends back you up if you're just gonna push 'em out of the way?" Aladdin taunted, trying to think of how he could restrain Mozenrath from this position.
"That's none of your BUSINESS!" Mozenrath growled as he pressed his right palm onto Aladdin's bare chest, leaving a solid burn mark.
Aladdin rolled over, kicking Mozenrath off of him. As Mozenrath reeled, ending up on his feet, he felt another blow to his back, this one coming with a punch of heat; he turned to see that Riku had set his cape on fire with Dark Firaga. Mozenrath realized he had Aladdin squaring up from in front of him and Riku prepared to assault from behind. Not an ideal position, but he could work with it.
At least he thought he could until Sora, Ruby, Jasmine, Katara, and Zelda came in from the throne room entrance. Midna was propped up against Zelda's side, one arm draped over her shoulder. All but Midna and Zelda cried, in surprise, "MOZENRATH!"
"NO!" Mozenrath roared. "NO, NO, NO!"
"Aw, man," Demyx groaned, "not the girl who can mess with my water!"
"So you finally wised up," Riku told Sora with a smile and a toss of his head.
"We realized we all trusted you a lot more than Hans," Sora explained with a shrug. "It got really suspicious when I had to unlock the door."
"It was you?" Ruby said in awe, looking to Mozenrath. "But what about Ganondorf? What about CINDER?"
Mozenrath was far too angry to answer. It was Roman who chipped in, "You just missed 'em, Red! Who even KNOWS where they are now?"
Zelda's eyes fixed upon Hans. Hans only needed to look at her for a brief moment to know that Midna had told her everything. "I swear I can explain," he said nervously.
Even with Midna leaning on her, Zelda was able to summon and draw her bow of light.
"No," Hans said as he backed up, hands up and palms outward. "Zelda, think about what you're doing – "
She let the arrow fly.
Hans closed his eyes, bracing for impact. Instead of striking him in the heart, as he'd expected, the arrow pierced the shirt fabric above his shoulder, carrying him all the way back to what remained of the rear wall and pinning him there.
"I loved you," Zelda said loudly enough to carry across the room.
"In retrospect," Hans said back, "that was really, REALLY stupid on your part."
Sora braced his Keyblade, ready to charge. "We're gonna take you down for what you did to Midna!"
Mozenrath's burning-hot mind suddenly snapped like a trap around an idea. He retrieved the Fused Shadow, placing it over his head.
"NO!" Wuya cried. "DON'T!"
Mozenrath felt himself growing into the spidery creature Midna had transformed into. However, his weariness became all the more evident the more energy he spent on that form. He became about half the size Midna had attained before his strength simply gave out, having been tested by Ganondorf and by Midna herself. As a human, he collapsed back onto the floor, laying on his side and trying desperately not to fall asleep. The Fused Shadow rolled across the stones.
Wuya's foot planted down hard on it before anyone else could make a grab for it. She scooped it up, dismissing it to her own space pocket with a tap. Then she stretched out her hands to either side; the cracks between the stones of the floor and the rubble in the back of the room glowed bright emerald.
Rock creatures sprang up all over the throne room, forged from the pieces that made up the room itself and taking away enough from the floor to leave a convenient escape route. Yzma, Roman, Zevon, and Irmaplotz hopped right down to the level below while Sora and his band of heroes were distracted fighting the stone creatures. Demyx took a moment to wrench the light arrow out of the wall, freeing Hans, before they plunged after. Wuya hoisted Mozenrath up to prop him on her shoulder in much the same way Midna was propped on Zelda's, then dragged him down with her.
Above, the sounds of blades clashing, bullets firing, water sloshing, arrows whistling, and fists colliding with the stone carried on. "We have to get back to base," Wuya declared. "We have what we wanted."
"No…" Mozenrath said weakly. "Not…without…Aladdin…revenge…"
"You're not even making coherent sentences!" Yzma hissed. "We're taking you home and putting you straight to bed!"
"Nnnnnno…" Mozenrath grunted. "Has to be…other…way…" He blinked hard, nearly passing out but forcing himself to stay awake. "Ship. They have to have…a ship. Sabotage…the ship."
Wuya sighed. "Fine. I'll indulge you this ONCE. If this gets you killed, that will be your problem."
A Corridor took them outside the Castle Town limits. It only took a short amount of searching for the WHAM ARMY to find the ship the heroes had come in on. They boarded eagerly, looking for the ideal method of sabotage.
Wuya conjured up a screwdriver, handing it to Yzma so she could pop a panel off the engine. "All yours," Yzma told Mozenrath.
Mozenrath summoned up just enough energy to send one blast at the engine. When it collided, the engine shuddered, then fell to pieces.
"Put that panel back on!" Wuya ordered. "They can't know!"
"Ooooooh, I wish we could see the looks on their faces when they find out," Demyx giggled.
"This actually isn't a bad plan," Wuya remarked. "Best-case scenario for them, they can't get off the ground and end up stuck in a world with primitive technology from which they can contact no one from Radiant Garden. Worst-case? They crash and die somewhere in interspace. Now, if you're satisfied, you are going home to BED."
"Not my mom," Mozenrath muttered.
Wuya cast one more Corridor, ushering everyone through. She and Mozenrath were the last to leave.
Up atop the castle, the band of heroes had finished clearing the stone creatures out of the gutted throne room and noticed the absence of their quarries. "They're gone!" Sora cried.
"No kidding," Midna commented.
Link rushed back to Midna, laying a hand on her upper arm. "We have to get you taken care of," he insisted.
Zelda nodded. "We'll take her to be healed right away."
As the group turned to leave the throne room, Jasmine fell in step next to Zelda. "I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.
"Don't be," Zelda told her. "I will be strong. I will move on."
But as she said so, the tears flowed freely from her eyes, fueled by her broken heart.