Kingdom Hearts: Knights & Dragons Redux
A Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice & Fire/Kingdom Hearts/Marvel Comics/Witcher crossover
…
Chapter 1: Something Ends, Something Begins
Destiny Islands.
It was nearing the end of the day and Sora felt a deep sense of accomplishment. The raft that he and his best friends, Riku and Kairi had been working on for the past few weeks was finally completed. All the supplies had been gathered and tomorrow, they would finally set out and see the rest of the worlds. For years, it had been Sora's dream to see what was beyond Destiny Islands instead of just playing on the island, pretending to go on grand quests. Soon, they would be having a real adventure, not just pretending to have one, as they had always dreamed of since they were small.
Riku had already left the island to rest for the journey tomorrow. Kairi had wanted to stay and watch the sunset and Sora decided to keep her company until she was ready to return home. The two of them sat on the edge of the dock watching the sun slowly set. "You know," Kairi began to say, "Riku has changed," she said softly.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked and Kairi seemed to be at a loss for words. "Well…" she tried to say.
"You okay?" Sora asked looking at her in concern. Kairi then suddenly stood to her feet., "Sora, let's take the raft and go. Just the two of us!" she exclaimed.
"What?!" Sora spluttered in shock wondering what had come over Kairi while trying to hide a blush at the thought of being alone with her.
Kairi then started giggling. "Just kidding!" she said as she giggled.
"What's gotten into you?" Sora questioned her. "You're the one who's changed, Kairi," he said.
"Maybe…" Kairi whispered softly. "You know, I was afraid at first, but now I'm ready," she said her violet blue eyes filling with determination. "No matter where I go, or what I see, I know I can always come back here," she stated before she looked at Sora and asked, "Right?"
"Yeah, of course!" replied Sora with no hesitation in his voice. Kairi turned to look back at the sunset.
"Sora? Don't ever change," Kairi then said.
"Hmm?" Sora looked at Kairi oddly. Kairi then stood up from her spot. "I just can't wait, once we set sail," she said to herself. "It'll be great," she added with a smile.
"You want me to take you home?" Sora asked her shyly. Kairi giggled and replied, "Thank you, but I don't wanna leave my boat here all night, but thanks anyway," she said kindly. A few minutes later, Kairi returned to the main island and Sora not long after her.
Sora entered the house and called out, "Mom? I'm home!"
Sora's mother walked into view with a smile on her lips. "Hey, kiddo, how was your day?" she asked as she briefly rubbed the top of Sora's head with one hand.
"It was good, Mom," replied Sora.
"So, you and your friends are finally setting out to see the worlds tomorrow on your raft?" Sora's mother asked with a knowing smile.
Sora blanched. "How did you…?" he tried to ask. They had all promised not to tell their parents what they were going to do, telling them that they were going to spend the week on the play island. No doubt their parents would try to stop them from leaving if they knew the real reason.
Sora's mother gave a mysterious and knowing smile. "I'm your mother, I know everything," she said simply. When Sora tried to say something to explain himself, she cut him off. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try and stop you." Sora looked up at her in confusion. "Your father wanted to do the same thing at your age, but his uncle held him back until he was eighteen…"
Sora's mother knelt so that she was eye level with Sora. "You two are so much alike," she murmured softly, and she looked almost sad as she said it and Sora frowned.
"You keep telling me that and that he loves me, but if he did, then why did he leave?" he asked.
Sora's mother smile turned sadder, and she said, "Your father had his reasons… and, well… I can't tell you just yet."
"When are you gonna stop treating me like a kid?!" Sora whined.
An amused grin spread across his mother's lips as she replied, "If I did, I wouldn't let you go off on that raft now, would I?" She chuckled before sighing softly. "Sora, when I was younger, I made a lot of bad choices and did a lot of bad things… things that looking back, I wish I could change, things that I must live with for the rest of my life and have paid dearly for. The worlds may not be as safe as they once were, and your father had a feeling that something big was coming. He left to try and stop it, but I fear it may already be too late. All I can say to you is to be careful and may your heart be your guiding key," she said.
"What does that mean?" Sora asked. Sora's mother smiled fondly as she stood to her feet and ruffled his hair. "Just wash up and be ready. Dinner's ready in five," she said.
Sora headed up to his room and washed his hands before laying back on his bed to wait until dinner was ready. Soon, he and Kairi and Riku would be off to explore the outside worlds.
"I just can't wait, until we set sail. It'll be great." Kairi's voice echoed in Sora's mind then looking out the window, Sora saw a large dark storm brewing over the play island. "A storm? Oh no! The raft!" Sora gasped. Quickly opening his bedroom window, Sora climbed down and ran towards the dock to his boat just as his mother called, "Sora! Dinner's ready! Sora?"
Sora's mother looked out the window and saw her son already rowing across the ocean towards the play island where dark clouds rumbled and thundered overhead. Sighing sadly, she said, "Things are in motion… it was foolish to hope this day would never come," she whispered to herself before looking out at her son for what could be the last time. "Be safe, my son… and may the Force be with you."
…
Essos. The Disputed Lands.
Flags fluttered in the wind followed by the sounds of cheers and the clattering cacophony of hooves hammering earth and splintering crashes of wood and metal. Aegon wheeled his horse, a charger black as sin, around as he took up another tourney lance offered to him. Hefting it in his arm, getting a feel for the weight of it, Aegon looked over at his opponent.
It had been a few weeks since Aegon and his teachers/family had joined up with the Golden Company. They had recently received word from spymaster Varys the Spider that war had now engulfed Westeros following the death of the Usurper Robert Baratheon and the trial and execution of Lord Eddard Stark at the command or rather the whim of the newly crowned Joffrey Baratheon. The Quiet Wolf's eldest son and heir Robb Stark had rallied and mustered his bannermen and levies and marched south from the North and had earned the epithet the Young Wolf after smashing a Lannister host led by the Kingslayer Ser Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard in the Riverlands and captured the Lion in chains. There were other claimants to the Iron Throne such as the Usurper's younger brothers, Stannis and Renly Baratheon.
Renly didn't last long despite him having many soldiers and support from the Stormlands and the Tyrells on his side, but he'd been killed all the same in his own tent. There had been many rumours of how Renly had been assassinated, the most common and popular belief was that his newly appointed Kingsguard, Lady Brienne of Tarth had killed him for rejecting her advances. With Renly dead, the Tyrells had retreated to Highgarden and the Stormlanders had merged with Stannis' host, making him by far the largest contender for the Iron Throne.
With the chaos that had been happening in Westeros, Varys had sent word to Aegon's mentor and father-figure, Lord Jon Connington, to join the Golden Company and have Aegon learn the life of a soldier. A couple of months and a few skirmishes later, Aegon had been learning what it meant to be a soldier. It was then Captain-General Myles 'Blackheart' Toyne had called for a squire's tourney, for a variety of reasons; one was to reveal Aegon to the Golden Company captains, the second being to give the squires in the Golden Company a chance to show off their skills and give them a chance to earn their spurs.
After being introduced to the Golden Company, Aegon had then taken part in the Tourney. He'd faced off against other squires, riding hard and sure, knocking a few off their horses. Some his lance broke off their shields earning him a point. His opponents had given as good as they got against him, and a few had come close to knocking him off his horse. But whether it was through luck or skill (Aegon liked to think it was skill), Aegon had prevailed and was now facing off the next squire, a pimply dark-skinned Dornish boy that rode a horse that was as foul tempered as him.
Aegon's charger snorted and pawed the ground with one iron shod hoof. It seemed like to charge before the herald could put his lips to his trumpet, and if he were being honest, Aegon could hardly blame his steed for its eagerness. He'd have liked to charge out and meet his foe head-on too, instead of waiting like this. After a moment that felt more like an hour rather than a minute, the herald blew his horn and Aegon hardly needed to kick his horse into a gallop for it did so the moment the horn was called. Setting his eyes firmly on his opponent, Aegon couched his lance, aiming for the chest. His opponent seemed to be aiming his lance at his head. As the lance neared Aegon's head, he twisted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blunted tip of the lance and lunged with his own lance. The Dornish boy gave a strangled cry and fell off his horse as Aegon's lance shattered into splinters against his chest, knocking him backwards through force and inertia.
The crowd of assembled knights, lords, ladies, merchant princes, magisters, and the like all cheered wildly as Aegon raised his now shattered lance in triumph while a maester and a team of stretcher bearers carried the dazed and winded squire off the field to be treated.
The next two squires made their passes at each other, giving Aegon a chance to rest his charger. Ser Rolly Duckfield helped Aegon off his horse and helped him pull of his helmet. "You're doing well, lad. I've taught you well it seems," the shaggy-haired knight said proudly as he offered Aegon a ladle of water.
"I like to think so, ser," Aegon replied with a smile, but then his smile faltered as he said, "My pardon, but for a moment whenever I'm riding against the other squires, it almost feels like they're letting me win."
"How do you mean, my prince?" Rolly asked.
"I don't really know how to describe it," Aegon replied. "It feels as though when I draw near them, their aim isn't quite as sure or they slow down as they ride closer to me," he said uncertainly.
"Perhaps you're seeing things," Rolly said easily. "But then again you were revealed to everyone as the lost son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen," he added. "So, mayhap the other squires don't intend to harm you too much and risk offending you or captains?" he offered.
"I'd rather they intend to, Ser," Aegon said sternly. "How else will I win the respect of the Golden Company captains if the other squires go easy on me?"
"As you say, my prince," Rolly said with a nod of his head. "Anyway, best get your helmet back on and get onto your horse. You're up against the last squire," he advised.
"Good," Aegon said with a nod of his head as he put his helm back on, fastening it before climbing back onto his charger. Flicking the reins, Aegon had his horse trot out and he picked up a tourney lance. He looked over at his opponent and spotted the three black castles on a field of orange on his shield. House Peake, Aegon thought vaguely, a house that had lost two of its castles in their many rebellions, and after the Dance of Dragons, the patriarch of House Peake, acting Hand of the King and Lord Regent at the time, had tried to have his daughter, mockingly nicknamed Lady Turnips, wed to the then King Aegon III the Dragon Bane but had failed spectacularly to do so denying them another victory. A wry smirk passed over Aegon's lips under his helm as he thought of denying a house of rebels another victory.
Readying himself, Aegon waited for the sound of the horn and quickly enough, the trumpeting sound of the horn blew. With a sharp, swift kick, Aegon's steed charged into a gallop same as the Peake's did. Aegon and his opponent made numerous passes at each, breaking their lances off each other's shields. One pass, Aegon was nearly knocked off his horse, but he quickly caught himself and pulled himself upright and grabbed another lance and charged again. Again, his lance broke off his opponent's shield, but the same was for the Peake squire.
Soon after, Lord Jon called it a to halt and bade the two squires to present themselves and he asked for Blackheart to make the final judgement. Aegon tried not to let his tiredness show as the homely looking Myles Toyne stared at him and the Peake boy in a cold and calculating manner before speaking loudly for all who were present to hear.
"Both of these young men performed admirably. They've both shown great skill at lances and horsemanship," he said slowly before adding, "But from what I'd seen with my own eyes, it was Prince Aegon who couched his lance more skilfully throughout this tourney. Let it be known that the prince has won!"
The crowd cheered and clapped wildly. Aegon raised his helmet high and gave a beaming smile, elated that he'd won his first tourney. The Peake boy scowled and left the field, muttering curses under his breath.
"Prince Aegon. Approach, please," Lord Jon said, his face stern but his pale eyes were proud. Aegon dismounted his horse and stood before his mentor. "Kneel." Aegon did so as Lord Jon drew his sword resting against Aegon's shoulder and spoke, "Prince Aegon Targaryen, do you swear before the eyes of all the gods and all men here to defend those who cannot defend themselves, to protect all women and children, to obey your captains, to fight bravely when needed and do other such tasks, no matter how hard, humble or dangerous they may be?"
Aegon looked up at Lord Jon and nodded his head. "I do, my lord," he said bravely.
Lord Jon then tapped the flat of his sword on Aegon's right shoulder before moving it to his left saying the words. "In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to protect the young and innocent. In the name of the Maiden, I charge you to protect all women. In the name of the Smith, I charge you to be diligent. In the name of the Crone, I charge you to be wise and serve as a guiding for all those who come after you. Arise, Ser Aegon Targaryen!"
Aegon rose to his feet and if he had thought the cheering before was loud, this was colossal. "A knight, a knight!" one woman cried out. One man shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ser Aegon Targaryen! The Conqueror Reborn!"
Myles Toyne stepped down from his seat as servants rushed forward, carrying a chest of cedar wood and polished copper. Myles bowed his head as the chest was opened.
"Blackfyre!" Aegon breathed out as he gazed upon what lay within. The fabled sword of Aegon the Conqueror and used by many Targaryen Kings until it was given away. The sword of kings and pretenders. It was beautiful; the blade was all Valyrian steel, dark and smoky, almost black in colour with ripples like water all along from where metal had been folded a thousand times. A gleaming red faceted ruby was set in the pommel, beautifully and elegantly cut while the hilt was fashioned out of dragonglass and the quillons were wrought into roaring dragon heads of cold black iron.
'The sword that was lost has now returned to its rightful owners' Aegon thought to himself. He smiled bowing his head in thanks before taking up the sword and was given an ebon wood and leather sheath for it and tied to it to his belt.
Lord Jon then spoke to Aegon in a whisper. "Well done, my prince." Although the exiled Lord of Griffin's Roost face was stern, his pale blue eyes shone with pride and joy.
"Thank you, Lord Jon. I won't let you down," Aegon whispered to him before turning to the crowd and raised his gauntleted hand high and everyone cheered.
Soon, a call for refreshments was announced and Jon said to Aegon, "You'd best get out of that armour for the feast now, boy and into something more appropriate. I'll see you there." Aegon nodded at this and headed into the camp where his tent would be, intent of taking off his armour and changing into something more suitable for the feast as Lord Jon suggested. As he neared his tent, Aegon spied dark clouds growing on the horizon.
"A storm? That's unfortunate," he muttered to himself as he entered his tent where he began to take off his armour and set it aside in a neat pile.
…
New York, Manhattan. The Frick Collection.
It was night time in Manhattan as wealthy socialites, high powered businessmen and celebrities congregated one of the numerous art museums of New York. Security guards dressed in crisp black suits watched carefully and vigilantly for any signs of trouble or those who pad the potential to cause it.
Then approaching the glass front doors to the Frick Collection was a tall stunningly beautiful woman with silver-blonde hair done in a perfectly done coif and she wore an elegantly cut black dress that highlight and enhanced her already lush figure as she strode confidently and purposefully towards the entrace. Already, people's gaze were drawn to this mysterious and beautiful lady as she handed a doorman her invitation to the event and she was allowed inside with no-one attempting to stop her.
Warm air brushed against the bare skin that was exposed on the stranger's body. Nearing two waiters, she took an offer champagne glass and was poured a modest amount of the alcohol from a bottle. Taking a small sip of the bubbling liquid, the woman's smoky electric blue eyes gazed around at all the artworks on display as everyone mingled and conversed with each other.
This woman was no ordinary socialite, nor was she here to entertain herself with the shallow vacuous conversation that everyone else engaged in. She was a master thief of no small reputation.
Her name? Felicia Hardy AKA the Black Cat.
Glancing out of the corner of her, Felicia smiled generously as she recognised a familiar face among the crowd who was now approaching her.
"Odessa! Darling!" the platinum haired cooed in delight as a woman who was equally stunning to look at, but contrasting as well with dark hair with one side of her scalp shaved closely to leave it bald and her skin tone was of a pigment that made it hard to determine her ethnicity and she wore an elegantly cut scarlet dress. "Imagine seeing you here!" Felicia then said as she gave a little air kiss to the cheek of the other woman.
"Hardy," Odessa Drake greeted, her tone polite but steely as she then said, "So… nice to see you."
"A happy accident, I'm sure," Felicia said her smile still present on her lips, but her eyes were narrowed.
Odessa smiled thinly in response and replied, "You know who I am. There is nothing I do 'accidentally.'" She said the last word almost mockingly as she sipped from her martini glass.
The reason for this apparent tension between Felicia and Odessa was that the latter was the head of the New York Thieves Guild and it was not that long ago that the Thieves Guild had made their comeback by stealing the equipment of all the heroes in New York City, namely the Avengers' gear and equipment. It would've been a big haul and netted Odessa and her Guild a lot of money and won them a lot of respect and gravitas from the criminal community.
Or it would've if Felicia herself hadn't put a stop to it. Felicia knew that taking the equipment that the Avengers needed to do good and protect people was a very dangerous thing to do, so she had done the right thing in stopping Odessa and her lackeys. More importantly, it was a thrill for her to tweak the noses of those who thought themselves superior to everyone else.
"I have terms, Felicia," Odessa then said as she glared balefully over the rim of her martini glass at the woman opposite her. "You will make this right with the Guild. First—"
"Odessa, darling, let me stop you right there," Felicia cut her off with a raised hand. "You can train a dog to heel," she said slowly before flexing her fingers and springing out from the tips were long claws. "But a cat… a cat doesn't listen to anyone," she stated as she used a claw to spike the olive in her rival's glass and fish it out to eat.
Odessa stared flatly at this power play before saying, "A cat becomes more tractable when starved, Felicia." Turning on her heel, the head of the New York Thieves guild stalked away like a lioness, saying over her shoulder, "I would make that olive last if I were you. It is the last profit of our… trade for this night." She then disappeared into the crowd of socialites and celebrated citizens.
Felicia smirked to herself before meandering off herself to admire some of the artwork. Her gaze fell upon a large portrait of a young girl in a period dress. Humming to herself in thought, Black Cat was roused from her reverie by a man dressed in the same black suit as the security guards.
"Ms Hardy, I think it was time you were leaving," the man's tone was crisp and brusque, indicating a no nonsense attitude and a tightly wound personality.
"Ah, but the evening's just begun," Felicia said with a tinkling laugh.
"I think you'll find that for you, it's just ended," the head of security replied sternly.
"A tragedy. I love art," Felicia said in mock sadness. "I'd take this all home with me, if I could," she added.
"I'll bet," the security chief said sarcastically as he and his associate escorted Felicia out. "I know your rep. Respect, but you'll have to be satisfied going home empty handed this time," he told her.
As they left the building to stand out on the street, Felicia looked at the man and said, "At the risk of running my gimmick into the ground, Mister…?"
"Ocampo. Sonny Ocampo."
"Ocampo, right. The thing about the cat you see," Felicia began as a car pulled up on the curb in front of them. "She never leaves empty-handed," she whispered sensuously to Sonny as she climbed into the car and the car drove. She watched out of the back window as the head of security spoke to someone on his ear piece. She grinned like a Cheshire cat as the man realised that something had been stolen without him realising it.
Looking at the two men in the car with her, both dressed as waiters, Felicia asked them, "No problems, boys?"
The driver, a large muscular man with short wavy blonde hair, grinned at her and replied, "Clockwork, Boss."
The man in the passenger seat, a dark skinned man with a horseshoe ring of curly black hair said, "Child's play. Almost insulting."
These two men were Felicia's crew, Dr. Boris Korpse and Bruno Grainger. Boris was a self-taught genius and self-titled doctor who could crack almost any safe and hack almost any computer system. The ones he couldn't, he blew up with explosives. When in prison, his performance of Richard III almost started a prison riot. Bruno was an ex-army helicopter pilot and ex-Bagram heavyweight champion who could drive anything with wheels, fly anything with wings or blades and he would throw hands with the Hulk if Felicia asked him to. Bruno had a problem with authority until he came to work for Felicia.
And tonight was a job for them all. While Felicia herself would draw the attention of security, Boris and Bruno disguised as waiters would steal an item a mystery client had hired them to do so. A painting done by a Late-Renaissance artist, a profitable prize to be sure, but nothing truly noteworthy, but the money for the job made up for it.
Bruno spun the wheel of the car as the vehicle sped through the darkened streets of Manhattan before entering Central Park. It seemed like it was smooth sailing from here on to the hideout.
Or at least it would be if not for a heavy thump on the roof of the car and the sunroof was torn open and Felicia and her crew looked up to see a man dressed in scarlet ninja robes.
"Felicia Hardy! Surrender your spoils to the Guild!" the ninja spat out as he reached inside the car only to receive a punch to the jaw from Black Cat.
"Get lost!" In the backseat of the car, Felicia was already stripping off her evening gown for something more suitable. Boris looked over the passenger seat and asked, "How are they on us already?!"
"Hey, eyes front, perv!"
Keeping one hand on the wheel and with his other hand, Bruno tossed the unconscious ninja off to the roof of the car. "Boss! Boss, you got a plan?" he asked.
Now dressed in her Black Cat regalia, Felicia climbed up to stand on the roof of the car and replied, "I got a plan, Bruno." Standing defiantly on the roof, her platinum white hair whipping about in the rushing air, Black Cat stated, "We keep what we stole! We carve 'em up! And we don't take orders from anyone!" Flexing her hands into fists, she yelled out to the pursuing Thieves Guild Ninjas, "So, come on then!"
As Felicia and her crew faced off against the ninjas, thunder rumbled overhead as dark clouds spread across the night sky.
…
Pont Vanis. Kovir.
Drizzling rain pattered gently down on the many rooves of Kovir as the citizens made their way through the winding streets of Pont Vanis. One individual walked slowly through the water sodden streets, carefully and calmly avoiding the local denizens. She was a reasonably tall young woman with a slender hourglass figure and deep fiery red hair in twin low hanging buns that were hidden beneath the large hood she wore to keep the rain off her head. A pair of bright green eyes were looking ahead, focussing on her destination.
This young woman was named Triss Merigold of Maribor, a powerful sorceress who formerly belonged to the Lodge of Sorceresses, a secret political and magical cabal of the world's most powerful sorceresses who had been involved in more than their share of cutthroat political backstabbing and the like. So much so, that it had led the mass killings and witch hunts in the Northern Kingdoms led by Radovid the Stern, King of Redania.
But much of that was in the past now due to individuals who had brought about an end to the insane Radovid, not to mention the business with the Wild Hunt.
Initially, Triss had set up shop in Novigrad but was quickly forced into hiding due to Church of Eternal Fire declaring all mages to be witches and traitors and with help from Radovid, they had started exterminating anyone who so much as had a whiff of magic or learning about them. Triss found herself the head of an underground movement looking to free all the mages of Novigrad and with some help from Novigrad's underworld bosses and the assistance of the Witcher Geralt of Rivia, Triss had spirited away the mages of Novigrad to Kovir where they were given sanctuary by King Tancred.
Geralt…
Geralt was a… complicated subject for Triss to put it lightly. For years she had been in love with the Witcher, unhappily so, she would admit. When Geralt had been found outside Kaer Morhen with no memory of his past, Triss, ashamedly, taken advantage of the man's amnesia, and partly due to the belief that Geralt's other half as well as Triss's best friend and fellow sorceress, Yennefer of Vengerberg, was presumed dead, to pursue a relationship with him.
But as time went on, Geralt's memory came back to him and Yennefer was revealed to be alive and subsequently, the pair had gotten back together and were now more in love than ever. Of course, Geralt had forgiven Triss for deceiving and taking advantage of his amnesiac state and he too had believed Yennefer to be dead for a time.
But still, it was a bitter sting to Triss's heart that Geralt and Yennefer had now gotten their happily ever after. Last Triss had heard, Geralt had been given a vineyard of all things as part of a reward for a lucrative monster contract in Toussaint.
But in all respects, Triss didn't have it too bad either herself; she no longer had to hide her magical abilities, was in service to a sympathetic king who had given the mages shelter and the whole mess with the war and the Wild Hunt was now over.
Still, Triss did often think about of her life with Geralt before. To tell the complete truth, she was lonely. The house she had been given in Pont Vanis was a tad empty of human company, despite some of the servants who tended the estate and as lousy as she felt about the matter, Triss felt herself pining for company.
Sighing to herself, Triss made her way through the streets as she neared a brightly lit tavern. She had decided to get out of the house and spend and evening at a tavern, hoping the mood and presence of people would cheer her up. At the very least, she could get blind drunk and stumble back home with someone.
Entering the tavern, Triss felt the warm air brush over her as she lowered her hood and took in the sights of the tavern patrons, eating, drinking, singing or other such activities one would partake in a tavern. A troupe of troubadours were in stage playing a lively and merry tune and some space in the middle of the floor was cleared away for patrons to dance.
Sitting herself in a small but cosy booth, Triss gave her order to a serving girl who came back moments later with a bottle of fine Est-Est and a glass. Murmuring her thanks, Triss poured herself a glass and sipped slowly; giving a small hum of appreciation of the fine tasting wine, Triss settled back in her seat to observe the crowd. She spotted some young couples dancing together or enjoying private intimate moments with each other; her heart panged at the sight.
Sighing heavily, Triss took another sip of her wine, hoping that the alcohol would kick in and she could forget her own heartache for a while. A rumble of thunder cracked through the ambience and Triss sighed to herself, feeling her mood grow glummer and more melancholic. She took a gulp of her wine, hoping she could get drunk as quickly as possible before stumbling home.
…
Sora arrived on the play island and floating above the island was a large dark sphere. "What is that?" Sora asked himself as he looked up at the giant dark floating orb. Sora then turned to see two boats he recognised. "Riku's boat? And Kairi's!" he exclaimed
Then lifting themselves up from the sand were creatures made of darkness, each with beady golden eyes. Sora's eyes widened in recognition; he'd had a dream of these creatures a few days back. Pulling out his wooden sword, Sora attacked the first one nearest to him; the wooden toy weapon simply passed through the creature harmlessly. Sensing he could not fight these creatures without a proper weapon, Sora opted to run past them and see if could find Riku or Kairi.
Running past the shadow creatures, Sora saw Riku standing on the small island where they would sit and watch the sunset. Running past the creatures and across the bridge, Sora shouted, "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!" Sora shouted at Riku who didn't seem too bothered by what was happening.
"The door… has been opened," Riku said quietly.
This only confused Sora. "What?!"
"The door has been opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside worlds!" Riku exclaimed in manic excitement.
"What are you talking about?! We gotta find Kairi!" Sora yelled.
"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku said confidently. "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back, but this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" he declared.
Riku then stretched his hand out to Sora just as tendrils of darkness began to wrap around him. Sora struggle to reach his friend's hand to pull out of the darkness, but no matter what he did, he could not reach him. Then everything went black. Suddenly a bright light filled the darkness banishing it and Sora opened his eyes to see in his right, a strange sword shaped like a key and in the corridors of his mind, Sora heard a word.
Keyblade… Keyblade…
…
Some servants had drawn Aegon a bath, something which he was grateful for. He had worked up quite a bit of sweat and dust in the tourney, so a hot bath was certainly a welcome sight. After spending almost an hour in the large wooden tub, scrubbing his skin with the brush until it was pink and raw, Aegon climbed out of the bath, dried himself off before dressing himself.
Dressing himself in black trousers, a lambswool shirt and leather jerkin and a pair of fine but plain black leather riding boots, Aegon looked at himself in the looking glass. His reflection stared back at him with a small smile present on its lips.
"I'm a knight," Aegon murmured to himself before giving a chuckle. "Still can't believe it," he added before he looked at his sword, Blackfyre, propped up against the table. His grin widening, Aegon tied the sword onto his belt and looked at himself once again in the looking glass.
"Did the Conqueror ever feel this way?" Aegon asked himself. And then there came a rumble of thunder and wind began to blow. The tent flaps began to flap and ripple as wind blew into the tent.
"A storm? At this hour?" Aegon asked himself with a sigh of frustration as he prepared to exit his tent. Then he saw a curious creature standing before him in his tent. It seemed the height of a dwarf but was black as ink save for its two beady golden-yellow eyes. The creature's antennae twitch as it looked up at Aegon.
"Gods, what sort of creature are you?" Aegon asked as he knelt to examine the thing before when it suddenly tried to swipe at his face with sharp black claws. Aegon moved back in time, and he stumbled to stand up straight and drew Blackfyre from its sheath. Then alarmingly, more of the same creatures rose from the ground, all staring at Aegon with beady yellow eyes.
"I don't know what any of you are, but you are trespassing in my private quarters," Aegon said. "Leave now and I won't have to kill any of you!" he warned. In response the creatures all surged towards him and Aegon swung his sword in an arc to meet them.
…
Felicia returned to the hideout, a warehouse under a string of dummy accounts that Felicia knew would lead those who looked on a wild goose chase. She had voluntarily left Boris and Bruno to draw off the Thieves Guild Ninjas, and there was an incident as the head of security from the Frick Collection had also pursued them intent on retrieving the painting Felicia's crew had lifted from the museum.
It had been a merry chase, but Felicia had soon lost her pursuers and made it back to the hideout, intent on celebrating a job well done.
"Boys!" the master thief called out as she strolled into the open floor area where some couches and furniture lay scattered about, a bottle of champagne in her gloved hand. She looked around and saw the car they had driven was parked but neither Boris or Bruno were in the vicinity.
"Doc! Bruno? You guys here? Where are you?" Felicia called out. Worry was beginning to gnaw at her gut as she thought that Odessa had found the hideout and had taken her crew hostage. Putting the champagne bottle on a nearby workbench, Felicia cautiously looked around, half thinking that Odessa was going to step out from the shadows to gloat at her ro make some demand about being paid her dues.
"Okay, think. Where could've they gone?" Felicia asked herself as her eyes flickered about searching for any sign of her guys. Then her hearing picked up the sound of skittering claws against the cement tiled ground. Following the sound, Felicia soon found what was making the noise and she had to stop and look at the thing dumbfounded.
It was a small thing, about the size of a child with flesh the colour of black ink, beady golden eyes and twitching antennae on its round spherical head.
"What on earth are you supposed to be?" Black Cat asked as she knelt down to examine the stranger creature. "You know where my guys, little guy?" she questioned the bizarre creature that appeared to regard her for a moment before swiping at her with black claws.
"Whoa!" Felicia cart wheeled back and looked at the suddenly hostile beast, the claws of her gloves extending out. "So, not the friendly sort, are we?" she asked mockingly and as if in answer, more inky black creatures rose up out from the floor until a good number of them surrounded Felicia.
"I'll give you boys credit, very few could get past my security without me knowing, but this is my hideout and you've worn out your welcome!" Felicia said to them. "So, come on then!" she dared them as they leapt towards her.
…
Triss was trudging home, feeling morose as the alcohol and the ambience of the tavern hadn't improved her mood at all. Slightly tipsy, the sorceress stumbled home where she opened the door and found the house empty of the servants.
Triss's first thought was that perhaps the servants themselves had gone home to their families as it was rather late in the evening. Yawning slightly to herself, Triss prepared to head upstairs to her room to collapse into the large goose feather bed and surrender herself to sleep.
Just as she prepared to walk up the stairs, the sound of glass shattering alerted the sorceress. Wondering if this was a break-in by some thief or perhaps rats scurrying around, Triss headed in the direction of the noise.
More sounds of things being broken had the sorceress hurrying faster and she entered the kitchen where she found a curious looking beast, wandering about. Triss's first thought when she saw the bizarre looking creature was that it was some kind of new monster, maybe some exotic breed of nekker or perhaps a godling of some kind. Its flesh was black as ink and its eyes were twin beads of gold on a featureless face and its antennae twitched as it scuttled about, knocking things over as it did so.
"What on earth are you supposed to be?" Triss asked as looked at the strange creature with blatant interest.
The creature turned to look at her, regarding her for a moment, before leaping into the air in an attempt to land on the sorceress swinging sharp inky talons at her. Casting a quick spell, Triss knocked the creature back and frowned, her prior tipsiness fading as she readied herself to fight this strange beast.
"You're obviously not that friendly, but if you're at all sentient, I'd leave now if I were you!" she warned. Then more strange inky black creatures rose from the floor. Conjuring a fireball in her hand, Triss said, "Seems you've brought some friends. Well, the more the merrier!" She then flung balls of fire at the beasts as they scuttled towards her, their talons outstretched.
…
Sora used his new weapon to strike down the shadow creatures, finding that they went down much more easily than they did with his wooden sword. Sora destroyed as many of them as he could, but for every one of the creatures he struck down, three more took its place.
Sora then saw a strange door to the passage to the secret place. Feeling that might be where Kairi could be, Sora dashed for the door, opening it and sprinting down the passage where he found Kairi standing in front of the strange door with now doorknob. "Kairi!" Sora called in worry.
Kairi turned and looked at Sora with sleepy eyes. "Sora…" she managed to say. Then the door with no handle burst opened and a great gust of wind came out and pushed Kairi towards Sora. Sora tried to catch Kairi as she flew towards him, but she disappeared upon contact which shocked him. The wind intensified and Sora eventually lost his footing, and he was blown back down the passage outside.
…
Aegon panted for breath as he fought his way out of his tent. There were some tears in his clothes, but he was otherwise unharmed. He looked around and saw only chaos. Dozens, nay, hundreds of the same creatures he had fought swarmed everywhere and he looked above to see a large swirling vortex of darkness with a glowing red mass in the centre.
Suddenly realising that his teachers were still out there, Aegon shouted desperately. "Jon!? Rolly!? Haldon?! Lemore?! Where are you?!"
Then a loud thump exploded behind Aegon, and he looked to see a gargantuan shadow monster. It was vaguely humanoid with a massive heart-shaped hole in its chest. It looked down at Aegon with glowing yellow eyes.
"So, you're the leader of these things, are you?" Aegon asked and the monster didn't reply as it simply swung a giant clawed hand at Aegon clumsily. Aegon ducked under the swing and said, "Well, killing you will make quite the start of my legend! I can already hear the ballads being written!" With a roar, Aegon charged towards the monster as it stretched forth a hand towards him.
…
The windows of the warehouse burst outward as Felicia broke through the glass and landed like a feline and bounced up to her feet and looked around. To her utter surprise, all of New York was a wreck and even the entire isle of Manhattan was floating in the air.
"Holy shit! Where are the Avengers when you need them!?" Felicia said in dismay. This was way above her paygrade, she had thought that Odessa had gotten involved in wacked out dark magic and sent those shadow creatures after her as petty revenge for ruining her plans. But even Odessa wouldn't be so petty as to destroy all of New York just to get simple revenge, would she?
No, Felicia shook her head, even if Odessa would stoop to this level, there had to be someone pulling the strings including Odessa's. But who would have the brass balls and the nerve to do this? Maybe Doctor Doom? That tin plated bastard would do something like this to assert his agenda of supremacy over all mankind.
This train of thought was interrupted by the sound and tremor of something heavy and enormous landing behind Black Cat. Turning around, Felicia grit her teeth as she gazed upon and enormous shadow monster that could almost rival Galactus in size with a massive heart-shaped in its abdomen.
"So, you're the one behind all this? Or at least doing what you're told, huh?" Felicia asked flippantly. The monster gazed at her uncaringly, its flashing gold eyes glaring at the thief impassively. "Well, if you're not feeling talkative, how about I give you a bloody nose, then?" Felicia said as she palmed her fist in one hand and the beast stretched forth a massive taloned hand and Felicia charged towards the monster intent on carrying out her threat.
…
The front door and window to Triss's home exploded outwards as the owner of said house cast a massive fireball that devastated the shadow creatures that had invaded her home. Sighing to herself, wondering how she was going to explain to King Tancred about the damages, Triss found such thoughts dashed to pieces as she now bore witness to the utter devastation that was happening to Pont Vanis.
"Sweet Lebioda! What the hell is going on?!" the redheaded sorceress exclaimed in shock, confusion and dismay as she that many of the building were now complete wrecks as a hurricane howled loudly into the night sky. It also seemed that there was some great vortex as debris was being sucked up into the air and Triss looked up to see a massive orb of dark energy and a burning red centre in the middle absorbing the debris being sucked up into it.
Having been trained to detect magic, Triss felt her head pound as she felt the raw near uncontainable mystical energies assail her. Triss quickly thought that if she could contain whatever this was, she could find some way to remove it and stop this utter chaos. But that train of thought was interrupted as the sorceress felt the looming presence of something behind her.
Turing around, Triss felt her heart almost stop as she saw what she could only liken to a giant of some kind. It was the same colour as the shadow creatures that had attacked her earlier. Perhaps it was the leader or the mother of them, Triss thought to herself.
Quickly deciding to put an end to the leader of these new monsters, Triss readied a fireball in her hand and shouted, "I don't know what you are, but you are trespassing in the Kingdom of Kovir! Leave now or suffer my wrath!"
Triss only received a massive clawed hand reaching down towards her as she cast her spell at the creature.
…
When Sora came to, he saw that he was standing on what remained of Destiny Island and his eyes widened in horror. "Whoa!" he gasped then standing in the middle was the giant shadow creature from his dreams. Charging at the monster with his new Keyblade, Sora ran towards the creature just as it slammed one hand down into the ground and springing up from the creature's fist was more shadow creatures. Sora quickly eliminated them before running up the larger one's arm and he began to slash at the thing's head several times.
Jumping off knowing he did enough damage to it, Sora saw the monster being sucked up into the dark sphere above the island. Realising he was going to be sucked in too, Sora latched onto a tree branch, holding on like grim death, but to his dismay, Sora was sucked up into the dark sphere and he gave a scream of fear and despair as he was sucked into darkness. As the darkness claimed him, Sora heard a voice in his head "Sora, these are your first steps."
…
Aegon slashed at the shadow monster for all he was worth. The beast thrust its hand into the ground. Taking this as an opportunity, Aegon leapt onto the monster's arm and climbed onto its shoulder where upon he thrust the Valyrian blade of his sword deep into its neck. Streams of black vapor poured out and Aegon leapt off the creature's shoulder and stood back as the creature was sucked up into the vortex above.
Bu then Aegon felt himself being sucked up into the air too. Thinking quickly, Aegon stabbed the blade of Blackfyre into the ground and held on. The sword kept Aegon anchored to the ground, but he could the vacuum of the vortex increase tenfold. His body being sucked up into the air legs first, Aegon gritted his teeth and held on for dear life. Then as if to spite him, his sword came free of its anchoring, and he screamed in dismay as he was consumed by the darkness as he watched his world be destroyed.
…
Felicia gave a feral yell as she slashed, punched and kicked the monster's head. Pulling out some C4 explosive from her belt. The thief slapped the explosive onto the beast's face as it made to swipe her off. Smoothly leaping off and landing lithely on the ground, Black Cat pressed a small button hidden in the fur collar of her outfit.
A millisecond passed before the C4 stuck to the monster's face combusted and the monster was seemingly defeated and was sucked upwards into the darkness.
Smiling to herself, Felicia looked around and to her confusion the destruction went on. "Why didn't that work?" she asked before she felt herself being vacuumed up into the air. Thinking quickly, Felicia fired her grapnel line into the ground and just in time as her body was lifted up into the air.
The grapnel line went taut as it strained and groaned dangerously. "Don't you dare!" Felicia growled at the carbon fibre cord, but as if to spite her, the line snapped and the thief screamed in dismay as she was sucked into the darkness that was consuming New York.
…
Triss gave a scream of exertion as she used her telekinesis to summon debris to smash into the shadow monster leader. The beast fell to its knees seemingly beaten and summoning the last vestiges of her power, Triss hurled a final fireball at the creature. The explosion nearly knocked the sorceress of her feet as the beast was sent up into the air and was caught in the vacuum and absorbed into the darkness.
Feeling blood trickle down from her nose and over lips, Triss panted as she realised she had used quite a bit of the Power to do that. She felt weak as a kitten as she looked around to see that the chaos had not abated.
"I don't understand, why didn't that work?" Triss mumbled to herself weakly and she found herself wishing Geralt, Yen and Ciri were here to help out. Heck, even Lambert and Keira would've been welcome to help if they were in the area.
Triss then felt herself being lifted into the air by the rising hurricane and she was still too weak to anchor herself to anything solid.
"So, this is it? This is how I die?" Triss thought to herself bitterly as she was lifted up into the dark skies. "I had a good run at least. I wish Geralt, Yen and Ciri were here to see me go…" was her last thought as she sucked up into the darkness.
Below on the ground, undisturbed by all that was happening, a tall figure in brown robes, his face shrouded in darkness whispered.
"This world has been connected…"
TO BE CONTINUED…
