- Chapter 5 -

Showdown in Sublime City

Author's Note:

To answer my guest reviewer, yeah, Xehanort and his flunkies are pretty much wasting their time trying to find the Chamber of Waking, but hey, you gotta give 'em points for persistence.

I would like to thank stardust902, Dr. Otaku, and danoc for following.

Soundtrack for this chapter:

* Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep: Black Powder - www. youtube watch?v = qJN27CjHHjo

Sublime City, Sï'Lea's Mansion

The group of eleven drew their weapons as Ansem stood there, his arms folded across his chest and a superior smirk on his lips.

"Why are you here, Ansem?" Riku demanded, Way to the Dawn at the ready. Ansem looked over the entire group.

"I'm here to capture the apprentice of Sï'Lea," he said, turning his yellow-eyed stare on Nixe; Sï'Lea stood protectively in front of her. "We have been waiting twelve years to get her, after all."

Nixe gasped at that revelation and looked at Ansem, tears forming in her eyes. "No, it can't be," she said, the tears starting to roll down her cheeks. "It was you, wasn't it?! You're the one who killed my mother!"

The others looked from Nixe to Ansem and back again, while Ansem merely shrugged.

"No, not I," he said. "It was the Master himself."

Sï'Lea gasped, and then it all came together. The man's voice, twelve years prior, the Keyblade, Ansem's reveal...

"Argh! How could I have been so stupid?!" she yelled. The others looked at her.

"Sï'Lea, what are you talking about?" Hikari asked. Sï'Lea face-palmed.

"It was Master Xehanort!" she exclaimed. "He was the one who killed Nixe's mom twelve years ago!"

Everyone gasped at that, while Sora glared angrily at Ansem, his fists clenched so tight that they were almost cutting into his palms.

"Xehanort," he growled to himself. "I knew you were low, but I never thought you'd stoop that far." Ansem shrugged his shoulders again.

"It's all for a greater purpose, I assure you," he said calmly.

"'Greater purpose'?!" Mickey echoed. "You and your cohorts are trying to destroy the worlds!"

Ansem laughed. "So blinded by the light," he said. "Don't you see? Darkness is a beginning, not an end. At birth, all living things emerge from darkness into light, correct?"

"Bull!" Sï'Lea shouted. "We're not gonna listen to crackpot theories from a monster like you!"

Ansem laughed again. "A monster, you say?" he said. "Why don't I show you all a real monster?"

With that, he began to vanish into a cloud of darkness.

"Wait!" Hikari shouted, dashing forward and swinging the Twilight Blade. But by the time she got there, Ansem was gone. Hikari stamped her foot in frustration. "Blast it! He got away!"

"I'm more concerned with what he said about showing us a real monster," said Kairi.

As soon as she said that, they heard a loud primordial roar come from the city. Everyone snapped to attention.

"I think we're about to find out," Lea said. The group dashed out of the mansion and saw a massive, hulking brute of a Heartless flying through the sky above the city. Looking at the beast, Sora and Riku were instantly reminded of the Wargoyle Dream Eater they battled in the Sleeping Worlds.

The Bulleteer Heartless had a similar body structure to the Wargoyle, right down to the four-spiked, arm-mounted guns wrapped in chains, though the beast's guns were a dark blue while the chains were black. Its body was black-and-purple, similar to a Behemoth, and it had a pair of large black demonic wings with purple membranes. It had a long, powerful tail that was tipped with a scythe-like blade. Emblazoned on its waist was the Heartless emblem.

*Ansem reappeared in the sky, floating overhead, the smirk still present on his face as he looked down at the others.

"How do you like the Bulleteer?" he sneered. "A truly marvelous creature, is it not?"

"It's not!" Sora shot back. "Now get down here so we can kick your butt!"

"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy said in unison. Ansem chuckled.

"Oh, come now, Sora," he said. "Shouldn't you destroy the Heartless before chasing after me?"

"You cowardly snake!" Hikari yelled. Ansem ignored her.

"Well, if you do decide to fight me, I'll be waiting in the Seventh District. Farewell!"

With that, he vanished into a dark corridor, as the Bulleteer flew on the warpath to the First District.

"What are we gonna do?!" Sora demanded, turning to Riku and the others.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they pursued Ansem, then the Bulleteer would level Sublime City to the ground. If they focused on the Bulleteer, then Ansem would surely escape.

Sï'Lea snapped her fingers. "I got it!" she said. The others turned to her. "We'll split up into two teams. One team will go after this Ansem creep in the Seventh District, and the other team will take care of the Heartless."

"Good plan, Sï'Lea," said Riku. "Sora and I can take Ansem. We've fought him before."

"Hold it, kid," Sï'Lea said. "I'm going with you. The Seventh District is literally swarming with Heartless, and they're at their most powerful there. Mickey, you coming?"

Mickey nodded, and then turned to Kairi and the others. "Welp, while we're doing that, the rest of you take care of that Heartless." Donald, Goofy, and Max saluted respectfully.

"You got it, Your Majesty!" they said in unison.

Sï'Lea turned to Nixe and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Nixe, I want you to go with the others to take care of that Heartless. From what I've heard, this Ansem is powerful."

"But Master-" Nixe began, but Sï'Lea raised a hand to silence her.

"But nothing," she said. "You heard what he said. He wants to capture you. Now go with the others. That's an order."

Nixe hesitated, then nodded. With that, Sï'Lea pulled her apprentice into a hug and gave her a soft maternal kiss on the forehead.

"Ugh, Mom!" Nixe groaned in embarrassment. Sï'Lea pulled back and looked right into Nixe's eyes.

"Stay safe, Nixe," she said, before turning to Sierra and Sakura. "You two stay here and keep guarding the mansion in case that Bulleteer comes this way."

Sierra and Sakura nodded. "You got it, boss!" said Sierra.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Sï'Lea took off towards the First District, leaving Kairi, Lea, Donald, Goofy, Max, Hikari, and Nixe to handle the Heartless.

Sublime City, Seventh District

Sora, Sï'Lea, Mickey, and Riku stood before the entrance to the Seventh District. The smell of darkness hit Riku's nose, thick and acrid.

"Okay, this is it," said Sï'Lea. "This place is a Heartless nest. Be ready." The quartet summoned their Keyblades.

"I see you're still wielding Bright Crest after all these years," Mickey said to Sï'Lea.

Sï'Lea shrugged. "It's served me well over the years. I can't complain." She looked at Mickey's Keyblade. "And I see you've traded in Star Seeker for something new."

Mickey nodded. "This is the Kingdom Key D," he said. "I found it in the Realm of Darkness. It's what I used to help seal the Door to Darkness two years ago."

Sï'Lea just nodded back, and the foursome made their way through the Seventh District until they reached the center of a ruined intersection.

"Something's wrong," Sï'Lea said, raising an eyebrow. "The Heartless are supposed to be abundant here, but we haven't seen any since we arrived."

"It's gotta have something to do with Ansem," Riku said.

"Always on the ball, aren't you, Riku?"

Ansem's voice echoed through the area as he materialized from the shadows. He had a smirk on his face as he looked at the quartet.

"So, you did choose to pursue me instead of my pet," he said. Sora brandished his Keyblade.

"Our friends are taking care of that Heartless," he said. "But you, Ansem- you're all ours."

Ansem spared Sora the briefest of glances before looking at Riku. "Let me ask you something, Riku," he said. "What do you think your friends would say if I told them the part you played in some worlds' destruction two years ago."

Sora glared at Ansem. "Shut it, Ansem!" he yelled. "Riku was being used by Maleficent!"

"In any event, that's not going to work, Ansem," said Riku. "I've put the past behind me."

Sï'Lea turned to Mickey. "Okay, these kids definitely have a history with this guy, huh?" she asked. Mickey just nodded.

"But do you think she did?" Ansem asked. "Do you think she'd forgive you for what happened to her?"

Riku took a step backwards, and Sora looked at him curiously, as did Sï'Lea. Mickey, however, looked on sympathetically, realizing just who Ansem was referring to.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know who I'm talking about," the Seeker of Darkness continued. "You met her in Traverse Town, remember? She saved your life countless times, and how do you repay her? By letting her die."

"SHUT UP!" Riku yelled, stepping forward. "I know what I did was wrong. I know I let a lot of people down. But I do know that West didn't die in vain!"

Riku sprang forward and aimed an overhead chop at Ansem, who nonchalantly dodged and kicked him in the stomach, sending him skidding back. Sï'Lea promptly cast off her robe, revealing that she was still wearing the same clothes that she did twelve years ago, albeit retailored to her size.

"Come to me, guardian!" Ansem yelled, and right on cue, a dark entity manifested behind him. It had an ink-black, muscular, humanoid form with a partially bandaged head that hosted relatively human features. It had yellow eyes gleaming above a mouth filled with sharp teeth, as well as two long antennae spouting from the top of its head. A hole appeared in-between more bandages on the torso in the shape of a heart. It lastly had very large hands, its torso coming to a tail-like point that faded away into Ansem's body.

The guardian lashed out with its fists, forcing the four Keyblade wielders on the defensive as it bombarded them with a flurry of darkness-infused punches. Sï'Lea raised her left arm just in time to summon a perfectly round metal shield made of the same materials as her boots and gauntlet, four silver Mark of Mastery emblems along the edges and a single golden star in the center that resembled Bright Crest's key chain. The guardian's fist collided with the shield, making a loud gonging sound as the monstrous shadow was knocked back.

Ansem smirked at Sï'Lea, impressed. "Yen Sid has indeed taught you well," he said.

"Oh, glad you approve," Sï'Lea deadpanned as she dismissed her shield.

Mickey conjured a ball of light in his free hand and tossed it at Ansem, hitting him in the face. Ansem snarled and snapped his fingers, and the guardian took Mickey by surprise, grabbing him in its hands and squeezing him.

"Mickey!" Sï'Lea and Riku yelled at the same time. Riku clenched his fist, which coated itself with dark fire, and then extended his arm, palm forward, sending a Dark Firaga spell Ansem's way. The spell hit Ansem in the chest, and just as it did so, Sï'Lea dashed forward and struck Ansem in the midsection with the flat of her Keyblade. Ansem was sent flying back, and the guardian let go of Mickey.

Ansem let out an angry growl, but before he could do anything, Sora jumped in front of him and shouted, "Give me strength!" As he did so, Sora swung his Keyblade upwards, bashing Ansem in the jaw and sending him reeling back before levitating and pointing his Keyblade right at him. "It's over!" Sora declared as he fired a salvo of energy bullets at Ansem, all of them hitting their mark as Sora landed back on the ground (1).

Weakened, Ansem fell to one knee, breathing heavily as the guardian dissipated. Even so, Ansem still had an arrogant smirk on his face as he looked Riku in the eye.

"You really think you can win?" he laughed. "You couldn't save her, so what makes you think you can save them?"

Before any of them could react, a corridor of darkness opened right beneath Ansem, and he vanished into it. After a moment, Sora turned to Riku, confused.

"Riku, who was he talking about?" he asked. Before Riku could say anything, another primordial roar reached their ears (2).

"Now's not the time for that," Riku said.

Sora nodded. With Ansem having been chased out of Sublime City, they could all focus on the Bulleteer.

Sublime City, First District

While Sora, Sï'Lea, Riku, and Mickey were preoccupied with Ansem, Kairi and the others were focusing on the Bulleteer. The beast let out another shattering roar as it swooped over their heads, projecting large fireballs from its gun-arms.

Hikari closed her eyes in concentration, the mixed light-and-dark glow on the Twilight Blade intensifying, before she snapped her eyes wide open and fired a barrage of both light and dark bolts of energy from the blade, hitting the Bulleteer in one wing and sending it crashing down to earth (3).

Kairi and Nixe promptly seized their chance and dashed in, leaping into the air and slashing downwards with their Keyblades, slicing cleanly through the Heartless' wings. The beast let out a pained howl as its wings fell off and faded away into darkness.

Goofy jumped in and started spinning like a tornado, his shield extended as he hit the Bulleteer in the face repeatedly. As he did so, Donald raised his staff to the sky, and a barrage of lighting bolts rained down on the creature.

The Bulleteer fired another barrage of fireballs at the group, but they were easily avoided. Lea jumped in and coated his Keyblade in fire, much like he had with his chakrams, and threw the blade at the Bulleteer, hitting it right between the eyes. Max took the opportunity and rode in with his skateboard, jumping upwards and grinding the wheels across the Heartless' face.

Kairi dashed in, Keyblade raised, and her Keyblade started to glow with light and lengthen. Using the Bladecharge technique, she jumped high in the air and sliced cleanly through the Bulleteer's body vertically.

That was all it took. The Bulleteer let out one last roar of agony before collapsing to the ground and fading away, a heart already being released and floating away.*

As it did so, the others turned to see Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Sï'Lea dashing towards them, Keyblades at the ready, before realizing that it was all clear and dismissing their weapons.

"Well," said Sï'Lea, breaking the silence. "I've seen all I needed to see."

"What do you mean, Master?" Nixe asked, turning to her.

"I mean that Sora and his buddies here can count the two of us in," Sï'Lea said. "With Xehanort and his goons running loose like this, they need all the help they can get."

Author's Note:

(1): Sora's Limit Break: Ragnarok

(2): Think like the T-rex's roar from Jurassic Park.

(3): A combination of Aqua's Lightbloom Shotlock and Terra's Dark Volley Shotlock.

The Bulleteer Heartless was based off of the Wargoyle from Kingdom Hearts 3D; its name was taken from the Wargoyle's original Japanese name, Bullet Gargoyle.

Well, Sï'Lea and Nixe have decided to help Sora and co. Good for them, eh?

The character West, mentioned by Ansem, is the property of PrismRain13, used with her permission. More will be revealed on her next chapter... or, if you wanna know now, you can just check out PrismRain13's stories Reconnected, Another Side, Another Story, and Radiant Days, Hollow Nights.

Please R&R. Until next chapter...