Battle of the ages
The first signs the Guardians got of something being well and truly wrong was when the lights in the hall began to flicker before going out completely, casting everything into a dusky gloom. And only then did they realize how dark it had gotten outside. Terra and Kairi stopped their test of their own accord, Terra hastily calling the Guardian back into himself. Everyone clustered together, uncertain of what was happening.
In eerie silence Aqua walked to the front of the group, eyes locked towards the stairs leading to the doors of the castle. Moments later she was joined by Mickey and Yen Sid. Then they waited, listening...
They heard the doors creaking open, and felt a sudden chill pour into the room.
Aqua looked over her shoulder. "Stay behind us, all of you. Armors up." She told the others.
There were a series of flashes behind her as everyone able called upon their armors. Aqua, Mickey and Yen Sid nodded at each other. Aqua and Mickey called their keyblades, all three of them raising their hands. A barrier of energy shimmered into existence, splitting the hall in half. Their defense laid, an anxious silence descended.
The two arrived in calm lockstep, climbing separate stairs into the hall. It was hard to see it in the dark, but they had the same kind of shadowy aura about them as there had been on Terra, blurring their features. This time everyone could sense a feel of malevolence emanating from them.
The moment she caught sight of them Aqua felt a wave of weakness wash over her, her knees trembling as the pain in her chest jumped to new heights. She nearly lost focus from maintaining the barrier, but with a defiant growl she steadied herself, pushing the pain to the back of her mind. Despite the chill in the hall, beads of sweat were gathering on her forehead. The display earned sidelong glances from Mickey and Yen Sid, but neither were in a position to do anything about it.
The Foretellers stopped in front of the barrier, examining the Guardians calmly. The Guardians glared back, hostile frowns on every face. Roxas and Xion in particular looked tense on recognizing Aced.
As she was properly the Master of this castle, it would have been Aqua's right to address the intruders first. But seeing how she was struggling, it was Yen Sid who decided to speak first: "What is the meaning of this? This is not your place, and you are not welcome here. Why have you come?"
Ignoring him, Aced peered past the Guardians, his eyes focusing on Kairi. Kairi for her part held firm before Aced, meeting his eyes. A chilling smile appeared on Aced's lips. "Ah. And there she is. Our Princess of Heart. So very bright still, even as all other light dims. Exactly what we need, without question."
He pointed a finger at Kairi. "We have come for her. Surrender her to us and we may be persuaded to leave the rest of you here alive."
There was a shocked silence from the Guardians. "Forget it! She's our friend. I don't know what you want her for but you can't have her. Now go away! Leave us alone!" Mickey said defiantly.
Aced gave a chuckle. "Too bad. But I can't say I expected any different. You have integrity, I give you that much. But do not think that this was a request. Her light is part of the solution we require and we will not be deterred. I gave you the opportunity to walk away, but if you refuse to we will simply take her by force."
Without further warning Aced and Gula summoned their weapons and attacked the barrier. The three masters grunted under the pressure of the assault, but the barrier held firm. The assault of the two Foretellers didn't abate either, hammering at the field of energy with physical strikes and magic. After a few seconds of watching Xion raised her keyblade, a light igniting at the tip as she joined the defense. She was followed by Roxas moments later, then by Kairi. In moments every Guardian in the hall had their weapons raised, yielding their strength to maintain the barrier.
Lauriam, Elrena, Lea and Isa got to the gates of Maleficent's home without issue, finding the gatehouse and the courtyard beyond it deserted. But dragon's roars and thunderclaps of explosion's still echoed in the castle, constant tremors rattling the stones around them.
Just as they were passing through the gatehouse Lauriam looked up as dust rained on his head. He gave a startled gasp and moved himself and Elrena out of the way seconds before a large clump of tiles landed just where they had been standing on, breaking apart as it landed.
"Oh, damn. This place is seriously falling apart. Okay, everybody watch that overhead. Let's no one get crushed while we're in here." Elrena said, then gave a nod of gratitude to Lauriam.
"Yeah, that would be really bad." Lea agreed. "We're better off finding the Box before we all end up buried alive."
"At least it won't be hard to figure out where we need to go." Isa said, hurrying towards the noise of the battle, the others following him.
Though Isa was right in that the noise made the direction clear enough, actually getting there was another challenge altogether. Maleficent's home was a maze of corridors and staircases. And many of the passages had collapsed. After many instances of wrong turns and doubling back, climbing up and down stairs, they were on a stone bridge leading to what looked like a keep. Before them was a door they thought would lead to where they were heading. Before they could enter a large explosion to their right blew a hole in the wall. Out flew Maleficent in her dragon form, with Luxu following close behind, carried through the air by some invisible force. The four watched as the pair battled on, rising ever higher in the air.
"Woah. That is a lot of firepower being thrown around." Lea gasped. Then he turned his eyes back to the crumbling castle. "Like that wasn't obvious enough…"
"Did you see how she was moving? He's wearing her down it looks to me." Elrena remarked.
"Then she won't delay him for much longer. But we have a window of opportunity to snatch the box right now if we hurry." Lauriam said.
"Let's go!" He said to the others, who followed him through the door. Once past the entrance they hid themselves behind pillars and rubble in the hall, cautiously peering past their cover to get a better look at their surroundings. What they found was Pete and Hades standing where the breach had been made in the wall, staring up at where the fight was still ongoing. Their prize sat behind them, at the other end of the hall.
"Damn. That fat cat is still in our way. And what in the worlds is Hades doing here?" Lea whispered.
"Hatching some new scheme between them no doubt. Nothing new there. Doesn't change what we're here for, though." Isa said.
"How should we do this?" Elrena asked. "We can't get suckered into a fight. Much as I'd liked to blow off some steam, we don't have time. And I'd rather not cross blades with Luxu if we can avoid it."
Lauriam grasped his chin, thinking. "They're caught up spectating the fight though. Perhaps they wouldn't notice if…"
"Lea, Isa. Try to get to the box unnoticed. With a bit of luck we'll get away with it before they're any the wiser. Elrena and I will wait here and intervene if you're spotted." He suggested.
"You sure that's the best way to go about this?" Lea asked, sounding dubious.
"You have a better idea?" Elrena countered.
"We'll be right there if things go sideways. Trust us." Lauriam told them. "Just this once? Please?"
Lea considered for a few moments, then nodded reluctantly. "Okay. We'll do it your way. Sure hope you will actually be there if we need you."
As Lea and Isa began to creep towards the Box, keeping out of sight, Elrena and Lauriam nodded at each other, calling on their armors. Lauriam's was colored with a white chest piece, black and wine red on the arms and legs, with a pink plume streaming from the back of his helmet. Elrenas's was of the same turquoise color as her eyes, with gold lining the edges of the plates, curving horns where her hair antennae would have been.
Fully armored, they waited anxiously as their allies moved from cover to cover, ever closer to their prize, keeping to the edges of the hall. Still unnoticed by their opposition, it truly seemed like they might be able to snatch the box out from under them and sneak away before anyone was the wiser. But just as Lea and Isa reached their target Pete seemed to remember he had a job to do, turning to face the box.
"What the- hey! Just what do you think you're doing!? Hands off that!" He shouted, pointing at Lea and Isa, the noise he was making causing Hades to turn around as well.
"Uh-oh…" Lea said, he and Isa staring at their enemy like deer in headlights.
"Where did you Bozos even come from?" Pete demanded.
"Eh, doesn't matter." He decided just as quickly. "Because there is no way you're stealing what we done rightfully stole!"
"Oh, dammit!" Elrena cursed. "Okay, you, Pete! I'll take the other one!"
Before Lauriam had any chance whatsoever to respond Elrena was already charging forward in the form of a stream of electricity. Bewildered by her sudden action he decided to do as she had directed, moving to engage Pete.
Hades saw the incoming lightning at the last second, calling up a wall of flame to protect himself. Elrena struck the flames and bounced off them. She then changed direction sailing over Hades and coming to a stop on the other side of him. As she touched down she spun around herself, lighting arcing from her in all directions, the cape on her shoulders flowing along.
Hades gave an impressed whistle. "Woah. Quite an entrance. All that spark and thunder… Does Zeus somehow have more kids that I didn't know about? Because that would really ruin my day."
Elrena chuckled. "I'm flattered of course, but I'm afraid not. I know my parents, and they were definitely mortal."
"Doesn't necessarily mean a thing, honey. Herc thought his parents were mortals for a good long while too." Hades commented.
"Well, okay, still… not as far as I know? Not unless Zeus also happens to be a world traveler too. Because I'm not a local either." She replied.
Hades scratched his chin. "Okay, that's… a fair point actually. Going to different world isn't really his thing in my experience. Though it's not like I could walk up to him and ask him. And I'm like 99% sure I would have heard if he and his wife had more kids. I have good enough sources. So the implication of you being related to him would have to mean… and that's not really his style either, annoyingly upstanding guy as he is."
"I suppose you're telling it true. You aren't a god. Just a super souped up mortal. And I suppose you having a keyblade is a decent explanation as to how that can be. No godly origins needed to use one of those." He contemplated.
"Good news I suppose. Because if you aren't a god… then there won't be any complications to consider when I destroy you. And while I'm not sure what I want to do with the Box, I'm sure not about to let you lot have it. I guess I'm fighting today after all!" Hades concluded, starting to turn noticeably red in coloration as he spoke.
"A fight you say? That sounds swell. I'm kind of having a rough day so I'd really appreciate getting to hit something. But we need to keep it brief though. We are kind of on a schedule here." Elrena said, grinning savagely behind her helmet.
"Oh, it shall be brief, worry not." Hades replied chuckling dangerously. "But after that I'm afraid it's going to be a rather long stay in the underworld for you. So, uh, I hope you've packed your bags, lady."
Elrena raised her keyblade, now wreathed in electricity. Hades sent a jet of flame towards her, which she dodged. Then they both charged, fire and electricity thrown wildly around the room as the two dueled each other.
While this was going on Lauriam was fighting with Pete, dodging his heavy swings, swiping at him with his keyblade. Lea and Isa were hovering close by, hesitating between joining the fight themselves and recovering their prize.
"Hey! Quit standing around! Get the Box you idiots!" Lauriam shouted angrily over his shoulder.
His sharp order was enough to break the two out of their indecision, both of them rushing to lift the box off the floor.
"Oh no you don't!" Pete shouted, trying to move to intercept, only to have his path blocked by Lauriam again, eliciting a frustrated growl from the cat.
"Hades, buddy, help me out here! They're getting away with the box!" Pete called for help.
Hades paused in his duel with Elrena, calling up desultory columns of flame from the floor to keep her at bay. Turning his attention to Lea and Isa, he considered for half a heartbeat. Then, rolling his eyes and muttering something about Pete's incompetence, he unleashed a massive jet of flame towards Lea and Isa. In that instant he failed to notice the stream of electricity chasing after the flames, weaving its way past the pillars of flame he had called earlier.
Seeing the attack coming, Lauriam tried to move in to help, only to be blocked off in turn by Pete redoubling his efforts against him. Lea and Isa dropped the Box and summoned their weapons, with Lea trying calling upon his armor. But they realized they were already too late to do anything before the flames would reach them.
Suddenly Elrena was there, in front of them. "Watch it!" She shouted, summoning a screen of electricity between them and the approaching fire. That same screen of lightning flung Pete away from Lauriam, accompanied by the stench of singed fur. The flames arrived an instant later, bouncing off the electricity shielding Elrena and her three comrades. Though the flames did not reach them they were all made to struggle as the air around them was heated to almost unbearable levels.
After several long moments the attack finally ended, Elrena falling to one knee as the electricity died off around her.
"Elrena, you…" Lea breathed in astonishment. She had saved them…
"Stop gawking… and get the box!" She snarled between exhausted gasps for breath.
"You heard her! Let's move, Lea." Isa said, moving to the box, while Lauriam went to help Elrena get back up.
"Oh, I've just about had enough of you lot!" Pete said, clambering to his feet. He dug something out of his pocket, tossing it towards Lauriam and Elrena. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw a sizeable cast iron bomb sailing through the air, its cord already sizzling. But then Lea's keyblade came spinning through the air, knocking the bomb away.
The bomb went off an instant later, the loud boom causing the entire hall to shake. The roof over their head, already damaged and cracked from earlier fighting, could take no more, collapsing in a mighty rumble of falling stone. Pete was forced to flee to cover, while Hades turned himself into a puff of black smoke, disappearing from sight.
Lauriam, Elrena and Lea instinctively crouched, shielding their heads as large chunks of the roof fell toward them, about to crush them. But right before the stones landed on them they suddenly stopped, each piece held up by a swirl of blue energy. Surprised they looked around to find the cause of their salvation. They found Isa holding his claymore up with both hands, a blue glow all about him. With a cry of exertion he motioned with his weapon, sending the rubble away from them to crash down on other parts of the hall.
"That… was some quick thinking. Thanks." Lauriam congratulated. "To both of you." He added to Lea.
"Yeah. Sure. You did good too…" Lea said, somewhat bewildered by the latter fact. Somehow he had not expected the two of them to jump to their aid so readily. And especially not Elrena putting herself on the line like that.
Too exhausted to respond, Isa merely nodded.
Lauriam looked around for new dangers. He saw the bulky form of Pete lying on his back some distance away, apparently unconscious. Of Hades he saw no sign. And fortunately no sign of Luxu or Maleficent either, which probably meant they were still busy with each other.
He opened a portal. "Now's our best chance. Let's move."
Lea and Isa picked up the Box again and proceeded through the portal first. Lauriam and Elrena lingered behind for a while to guard the rear, then hurried after them, the portal closing behind them.
Luxu doged in the air just out of the way of Maleficent's jaws snapping shut. He had to doge again immediately to avoid a cone of green flame. This was followed by a swing at the dragon's head, leaving a glowing green line just below her eye. With a growl Maleficent drew back, circling around in a wide arc, leaving Luxu with a moment to breathe.
It was at that moment that from the corner of his eye he saw flashes and explosions coming from the hole in the wall he and Maleficent had made during their battle. With some concern he realized someone was fighting there also. The Box might be in at risk of a second theft even as he was busy tangling with this evil fairy. In than same instant he decided he had had enough of this foolishness. He already knew he was going to win this, but now he had no time to take the slow and safer route. This needed to end, right now!
He reached deep within his heart, reaching for deep reservoirs of anger and resentment, his quiet loathing of the unkind destiny thrust upon him and his fellow Foretellers, a fate he had to abide. He wrestled aside the dread intelligence there with him as it tried to latch onto those feelings to breach his defenses. Ensuring the darkness in use was only his to control, he channeled that power into an attack.
Maleficent was coming back around, her maw opening as she prepared to breathe more fire at Luxu. At the same time Luxu had his keyblade raised over his head, dark energy gathering near its tip. It was Luxu who moved first, pointing his keyblade at Maleficent, a dart of black energy launched from it. It struck the dragon in the chest, knocking her out of the sky, sending her hurtling towards the hole they had made earlier. Gliding through the air, Luxu gave chase.
Dazed, face covered in black soot, Pete slowly picked himself up from the floor, rubbing his head where a brick had hit him only moment's earlier. The hall had grown quiet. Dust was still hanging in the air, while rubble of different sizes was strewn all over the floor. He seemed to be alone for the moment, Hades nowhere to be seen. Then, with some alarm he noted he was indeed alone: The four intruding Keyblade wielders were also gone! And more importantly the box had disappeared with them.
"Uh… oh no." He mumbled as he realized he had totally botched his job of watching over the box. Maleficent would be SO furious with him. A feeling of panic starting to set in, he tried to decide whether to try to explain to her what had happened or to just flee to avoid her wrath.
Of course that was the moment when Maleficent came tumbling through the hole in the wall, landing so hard Pete was momentarily worried that the floor might be the next thing to cave in. The dragon tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground as her legs gave away.
Luxu arrived next, touching down gracefully. He spared only a single glance on Maleficent, completely ignoring Pete. Instead his eye searched the room, looking for something.
"Dammit… where is it? Has it already been…?" He muttered.
"You!" He shouted, finally acknowledging Pete, striding towards him. Pete retreated several steps, but Luxu rapidly crossed the distance between them. Pete then froze on the spot, going pale as he felt a keyblade under his chin.
"Where is the box? What happened here?" Luxu demanded.
"Er, well, you see, after you went to fight outside some other Keybearers broke in here. They stole the Box, the scoundrels." Pete explained hurriedly.
"Hades and me, we tried to stop 'em but-" He glanced at the room. "-didn't go too well, that."
Luxu's one eye narrowed. "Other keyblade wielders!? What on Earth are you talking about?"
"Uh, D-different ones from you lot who had the Box in the first place! Sora's buddies I think, troublemakers that they are. Two of 'em at least. Tall, lanky guy with bright red hair, and the other had blue hair and a big X-shaped scar on his face. Er, why… they weren't with you? Kinda thought they were…"
Luxu paused before answering. "No, they aren't with us. Though, I suppose, after a fashion… let's just say we've all got our roles to play. Even you lot."
"Never you mind that. That is no business of yours." He said before Pete had a chance to ask what he meant.
"And Hades? Where is he?" He asked having only now noted his absence.
"I-I think he ran off after, well, the roof." Pete said.
"Really? Well, good riddance in that case. I had my fun dancing around with Maleficent, but if the Box isn't here anymore I don't have time or the patience to deal with him as well." Luxu commented.
"You'd better not be lying to me though. Because if you are…" He then warned.
"I'm not! It's the honest truth! I swear it!" Pete protested in slight panic.
Luxu laughed. "Honest? I'm not totally certain you know what that means. But I am convinced that you're sufficiently terrified not to try messing with me. So congratulations, I guess you get to live a bit longer."
"You utter, utter fool! After all that effort, we were nearly there!" The two heard from another part of the room. Maleficent had returned to her normal form, leaning heavily on her staff as she clambered over a pile of rubble, before falling to one knee. "We had what we needed to take over the worlds. But now… you've cost us everything! All our work, for nothing. All because you couldn't do one simple job!"
"Excuse me for a moment…" Luxu said, finally removing his keyblade from Pete's throat.
"What are you-?" Pete tried to ask as Luxu turned to walk towards Maleficent.
"STAY PUT AND SHUT UP AND I WON'T FLATTEN YOU LIKE PIZZA DOUGH!" Luxu roared in warning.
Quivering head to toe, Pete stood ramrod straight and gave a salute. "Y-y-yes sir!"
As Luxu was approaching Maleficent her raven, which had been watching from the widow, charged at him, cawing angrily. But Luxu merely waved his hand lazily, and the bird froze mid-air, encased inside a clear sphere, which then fell to the ground with a loud bang.
Now standing before the Dark Fairy, Luxu knelt down so his eyes were on level with hers.
"So… now it's over. The Box is out of your hands, and your little scheme in ruins. Yet again." He told her.
"And you believe it better use of your time to taunt me about it rather than chase after the box?" She countered.
Luxu shrugged. "If it's gone where your sidekick said it went, then it's out of my hands. I'll just need to make sure he wasn't lying to me. Beyond that… today I was mostly interested in making sure you didn't get to keep it."
"Now that it's done I have just enough patience left to give you one last chance to spare your worthless hide: Stay out of our way. No more messing around with us Foretellers, or the Guardians. And you're better off forgetting about the box."
"Insolent bug. You think me defeated? I will not be denied by the likes of you! I shall reclaim the Box soon enough! I will bend its contents to my will, and then you shall pay! Then you shall all pay."
With a deliberate motion Luxu placed the sharp edge of his keyblade to her neck. "Not if you know what's good for you. You and your partners in crime had your uses at one time. You had your roles to play, and you've done your part. Those contributions are the reason I won't destroy you here and now. But your job is done now, little minion, as so is your value to this enterprise. No more reason to put up with your nonsense if you insist on being a complication."
"What!? You think me a mere minion!? How dare-!?" Maleficent protested, outraged.
"That's exactly what you have been! All along! That's the part of this you don't seem to get. You were a useful tool for Xehanort, for Darkness, and for the Master. You've helped put destiny right where it needs to be, for which I thank you. But that is all done. What is happening now is way bigger than you, and far beyond your little ploys. If you involve yourself again, then either the Guardians will destroy you, or me and my buddies will do so for them. And this is the only warning you're going to get. The next time I have to fight you, I'll go in for the kill." He told her.
He stood up. "Oh, and one more thing. You may think you know Darkness. You don't. But I do. The Darkness, the real Darkness, doesn't want to rule anything. They plan to erase reality altogether, and that includes you, your minions and all your co-villains. No matter what you might think, they aren't your allies, and they aren't your buddies. They too will just use you until you aren't of any further value to you, and then they'll destroy you as well. And if they get their way there'll be nothing left for you to rule over. I doubt you'd particularly approve of that outcome. So keep that in mind if you are ever tempted to team up with them to accomplish your aim."
With his final words of caution delivered, Luxu made his exit, disappearing into a Dark Corridor. Her raven was released from its prison, flapping on the floor for a moment before finding its footing and flying back to the safety of the windows. Pete, deciding he was better off not braving Maleficent's wrath for now, fled the hall. After some time of her stewing alone, trying to gather enough strength to stand, Hades returned through another Dark Corridor.
"Well, that was certainly a bracing little rockfall. So, have missed anything important in the meantime?" He asked nonchalantly.
He then took a moment to examine the scene in the room. "Ah, quite a bit it seems. Looks like you didn't manage too well against your Keybearer then? And the Box got taken while I was away, too?"
He shrugged, walking around the hall eyes wandering around the scenes of destruction. "Too bad. Might have been interesting to see if the contents were worth all the fuss you were making about it. But I guess that needs to be marked down as yet another loss. You know, at this point it's starting to get tiny bit repetitive, don't you think? Eh, at least it wasn't MY plant that got wrecked like Thebes this time around."
"Ever get the feeling we're a little outgunned by these loons with giant keys for weapons? I mean I wouldn't usually think a mere mortal picking a fight with me would be much of a problem. But with those weapons? They can actually be something of a menace."
Maleficent's response was to give Hades a glare so poisonous even the Lord of the Dead was given pause.
"Um, well, I guess I ought to be going. It was nice catching up. Been a while since we had a chance to have a good talk like that. And, uh, do let me know if you manage to get the Box back or if you hear anything back from the others you wished to enlist." He said.
"And, might I give a small suggestion? You might want to renovate a little here. Honestly I got the impression this place was crumbling somewhat even before this commotion. Now it definitely is. So a new coat of paint or something really wouldn't hurt in my opinion." He added, then departed through a Dark Corridor again, leaving Maleficent to her thoughts.
"So I am just a pawn is someone else's plan, am I? How dare he! I will show him! I'll prove to them that I was the threat they should have worried all along! That Keybearer will beg me to forgive him for his insults. I'll-" She muttered bitterly before being overcome by a bout of violent coughs from the dust in the room.