Author's Notes
Hello, hello...It's been a while...sorry for the long hiatus, I won't bore you with the details. Long story short, not only did I have a crazy battle with some writer's block, but I also started college, so less time to write...heh! But I'm back and hopefully you all enjoy this chapter! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Thirty: City of Heroes
Miguel gave Sora, Donald, and Goofy a look when landed in Halloween Town.
"Do you change outfits in every world?"
Glancing down at his spooky clothes, Sora gave Miguel a lopsided grin. "Sometimes."
"I think it's quite fetching," said Jack.
Once on graveyard soil, Jack tapped his thigh. Zero's head popped up from behind a nearby tombstone. The ghost dog zoomed through the air. He licked Jack's cheekbones before he hovered down and gave Dante a ghostly sniff. The two dogs began chasing each other. Then, Zero suddenly flew off. Jack didn't seem bothered by the ghost dog's departure. He simply shrugged and turned to Miguel.
"Halloween Town is a scary place, but the people here aren't mean. If you like, I can take you to Sandy Claws instead."
Miguel frowned. "Sandy Claws?"
"He means Santa Claus," Donald explained, hopping off the gummi ship's lower hatch.
Miguel rolled his eyes. "No manches."
"It's true," said Sora. "I mean you just discovered that there are other worlds out there. Is believing in Santa really a stretch at this point?"
Miguel's jaw dropped. "You're serious?"
"Of course they are," Jack boomed. He swept his hand toward the forests that housed the door to Christmas Town. "Why, just beyond those trees is a world you can't even begin to imagine. The monsters are all missing, the nightmares can't be found. There really is no place like-"
"Jack!"
Led by Zero, Sally came running through the graveyard. Jack's face stretched into a wide grin. He reached out and grabbed rag doll's waist, lifting her up, and spinning her around. When he put her back on her feet, he held her tiny hands in his bony ones. Zero and Dante orbited the couple, barking.
"Sally! How I've missed you."
"Where have you been? Dr. Finkelstein and I have been worried sick."
Jack scratched his skull. "I'm sorry. One moment I was pacing the graveyards, the next, I found myself in yet another new world. It was fascinating!"
Sally bit her lip.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of taking over another holiday." Jack made a little twirl. "But I am so inspired! Wait until you see what I have planned for next Halloween! It's going to be magnifico! Why, if Miguel here stays long enough-OH! Sally, I've made a new friend."
Jack pushed Miguel forward. Sally shook the boy's hand, smiling at him before giving Jack a stern look.
"Jack, surely you didn't-"
Jack leaned toward her, whispering. "He lost his home, Sally. He needs a place to stay." He nodded to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "At least until our friends can find a way to send him back."
Sally sighed in relief. "I see. Well, Mr. Santa Claus knows a thing or two about children. We should take Miguel to Christmas Town."
Miguel whined. "But I want to see Halloween Town too."
"Come on, Sally. Miguel is our guest. Can't we show him around first?"
Sally bent down so that she was eye level with Miguel. "I don't see why not."
"Fantastic!" Jack lifted Miguel, putting the surprised boy on his shoulders. "We have lots to show you! Oh! And Sora, don't you dare leave just yet."
Sora hesitated, looking at Donald and Goofy.
"We really should get going."
Donald and Goofy grabbed Sora's arms and began pulling him toward Halloween Town.
"Now Sora, don't you think Miguel has been though a lot?" Donald asked.
"Yeah. Let's at least stay with him until he gets to Santa's place. Everything else can wait. Besides, you look like you could use a breather."
Sora sighed, letting his friends drag him into the town.
In the town square, the Mayor gave Miguel a bagful of candy as a welcoming gift. Miguel looked into the bag, but his excited expression melted off his face. It didn't take Sora long to figure out why. Miguel chucked the bag into the fountain. Sora watched the bag float, and saw ants, worms, and beetles floating out of it. The party carved pumpkins together. Miguel got a little too close to the guillotine in the town square. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jerked forward to try and pull him back, but Sally was quicker, and more clever. She gently grabbed Miguel's elbow and guided him toward Dr. Finkelstein's lab.
Instead of a hello, Dr. Finkelstein's first course of action was to measure Miguel's head. He muttered something about it not being big enough, and, before anyone could question him, Dr. Finkelstein showed off a strange metal contraption with mirrors. When he turned on the machine, light reflected off the mirrors, lighting up the entire room and blinding everyone in it.
"My greatest creation yet! I'd like to see those heartless handle this kind of light."
"That's great, Doctor," said Sally, "but maybe we can find a way to focus all that light rather then have it go out in every direction?"
Dr. Finkelstein rubbed his beak. "Such a function would be useful."
Miguel was in good spirits when they left Halloween Town. When they entered Christmas Town, Miguel raced down the hill toward Santa's workshop. Old St. Nick knew how to welcome children. Miguel was invited into the workshop with a warm smile, and a promise of some delicious gingerbread cookies.
"There's horchata too, if you like. And afterward, we can work on making some presents."
Everyone crowded around the fireplace in Santa's lounge.
"I'm sorry to impose, Mr. Claus," Sally began. "But I feel that Miguel would be safer here."
Santa watched Miguel sitting by the fire, eating cookies. Despite the boy's excitement, there was a somber look in his eyes as he watched the flames.
"Not to worry, dear. Children are always welcome here."
Jack cleared his throat. "Mr. Sandy Claws, do you think it would be all right if-"
"I'm afraid making presents is my job, Jack."
Jack blinked. "Oh, no, none of that. I don't plan to take over Christmas ever again."
Sora's jaw dropped. "You did what?"
"Long story," Jack waved his hand. "Actually, I wanted to ask if I could visit Miguel."
"Ho ho ho! Of course. You are welcome to see him any time, just as long as there are no more crazy stunts."
"I promise," Jack said, shaking Santa's hand.
Sora moved toward the fire, sitting down next to Miguel.
"How is it?"
Miguel blinked, first at Sora, then to the tray of cookies in his lap. "Good."
Dante rested his head on Miguel's thigh, leveling the boy with big, sad eyes. Miguel scratched Dante's head without looking down.
"I'm sorry," Sora said.
Miguel's lip quivered. "Are they really all gone? My world? My family? Everyone?"
Pain. It chewed on Sora's heart. He opened his mouth, but couldn't get his vocal chords to vibrate. He wanted to say that no one was truly gone. He wanted to say that everything will be okay. He wanted to smile. He wanted rewind time and stop himself from closing the keyhole in the Land of the Dead. But he couldn't lie. He couldn't-
"So, you've seen what too much light can do."
Sora turned, noticing Santa behind him.
Standing, Sora tried his best not to blink, not to let his burning eyes betray the rush of shame moving through his heart. "Why did light destroy the Land of the Dead?"
"Did it?"
Behind Santa, Donald and Goofy exchanged a look.
Miguel's face lit up. "It didn't?"
"But we saw the world vanish," Sora argued.
Santa shook his head. "We know that a world vanishes when the heartless and darkness destroy it, but can you truly say that Miguel's world is completely gone now that the light has swallowed it?"
"That's just it, Santa. We don't know for sure," Goofy said.
"Correct. "
"So you're saying that there is a way to bring Miguel's world back?" Sora asked.
"Something in my old bones tells me that you'll find the answer if you don't give up. The real reason that I came here was because I felt you needed me." Santa patted Sora's head. "Closing the keyhole was the right choice. What happened after was not something you could have foreseen, nor is it something you should blame yourself for."
"I know."
"Of course you do, but sometimes we need to hear such things from those that support us."
Sora nodded. Santa was right. Yet in his mind, he saw The Land of the Dead fade into nothing once more.
"Thanks for everything, Genie," Riku said.
Behind him, Garnet and Kairi stepped carefully onto Hollow Bastion's roads. Kairi nervously looked around the town, as though she were seeing it for the first time. Garnet, on the other hand, didn't turn away from Yuna. It seemed that the two young ladies reached some sort of agreement, because Riku could feel a spark of both dark sadness and light acceptance coming from both of them.
"Are you sure you don't want stay here with Garnet, Ms. Yuna?" Genie asked.
Yuna shook her head. "I like Riku's offer of going to the islands. Tropical settings feel more like home to me."
"All right." Genie turned to Riku and Kairi, giving them a bow. "Thanks for everything, little pals. And if there is a big showdown with Blueberry Lady, you better call me and Al. No one takes our princess!"
Riku flicked his hand, his thumb and forefinger pointed outward, like a gun. "You got it."
"We'll find Jasmine," Kairi promised.
Riku turned to Garnet. "Are you sure about staying in Hollow Bastion? Won't you miss Yuna?"
"Kairi made it seem nice here. Plus, I can offer some leadership advice. For now, I'd like to take a walk and clear my head."
Yuna reached forward and grasped Garnet's hands. "You were my sole companion in so many years of solitude. I can never fully express my thanks. We'll meet again."
"With new friends, I hope," Garnet added, giving Yuna a quick hug.
Long goodbyes weren't their style. Yuna and Garnet quickly parted. Genie waved before both he and Yuna vanished into a cloud of smoke. Once they were gone, Kairi pointed over Garnet's shoulder, to Merlin's house.
"I'll talk to Aerith about finding you a place to stay. Head back to that house after you've finished looking around."
Garnet bowed, thanked Riku and Kairi, and went on her way. After checking in with Aerith, Riku, Kairi, and Oswald went to meet up with Lunafreya in the main square. When Luna spotted Riku and Kairi, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I assume that two of you vanished for a good reason, and not because you were skipping lessons?"
"We had to help some friends out," Kairi stated.
Riku reached into his pocket and took out the leather bound journal that Noctis had given him. The moment Luna saw it, her powerful light glittered, and Riku had to force himself not to giggle. He couldn't, however, stop himself from smiling. Luna took the journal, read the bookmarked page, and quietly sobbed.
"Thank you, Riku. Knowing that Noctis is safe and will return to me lifts the terrible weight of dread from my heart."
"Y-yeah, sure, of course."
Kairi stepped forward. "That's not all that happened! We also found our hoo-"
Mickey and Max's voices echoed through the square, stopping Kairi from delivering the good news. They ran up to the group. The king wrapped his arms around Riku's legs, as though he couldn't believe Riku was real and needed physical proof.
"You're okay. Thank goodness."
"Where have you been?" Max growled at Kairi. "We came back from the castle only to find that you, Riku, and Oswald had gone missing. You have to stop doing this to me! I'm going to start getting grey hair!"
"Careful," Oswald tapped his foot on the ground, "I can already see a bit of silver by your ears."
Max slapped his hands onto his head.
Oswald snorted. "I'm kidding."
With an angry yowl that would make Donald proud, Max chased Oswald around the square.
"I'll show you grey hair!"
"You know, I'm standing right here," Riku grouched, suddenly feeling a little self conscious about his hair color.
There was a small whimper. If Riku hadn't been standing so close to Mickey, he wasn't so sure his sensitive ears would have picked up on it.
"Did something happen?" Riku asked, patting Mickey's head.
Max froze. The playfulness in Oswald's body peeled away when he noticed that the knight had stopped chasing him. The rabbit glanced at Mickey, his fur puffing up as he braced for news.
"I ran into Aqua in my world." Mickey let go of Riku. "Did she-"
"Attack us? Yeah. We have quite a bit to fill you in on."
"GUYS!"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy came rushing up the steps to the square. Sora barreled straight into Riku. He slammed his hands on Riku's shoulders, and violently shook the taller boy.
"Riku! We were dead!"
"What?"
"There-was-so-much-light-in-the-Land-of-the-Dead-that-people-were-fighting-over-it-and-we-couldn't-fight-any-heartless-because-none-of-us-know-how-to-sing-or-play instruments-and-after-I-sealed-the-keyhole-there-was-an-explosion-"
The rest of Sora's words were muffled by a gloved hand to the face as Riku pushed him back.
"Sora, spaces. Please. I need spaces between words."
"THE LIGHT ATE A WORLD!" Donald and Goofy shouted, finishing Sora's breathless, super fast commentary.
Riku's hand dropped from Sora's face.
Their big news delivered, Sora, Donald, and Goofy took a moment to heave, finally realizing that screaming right after a mad sprint wasn't the best idea for their lungs. Over the sound of their gasping, Max and Kairi leaned toward each other.
"Please tell me you all heard the same thing," Max said.
"People were fighting over the light?" Kairi whispered.
"I'm more worried about the the fact that it was light and not darkness that made a world disappear," Oswald muttered.
Mickey cleared his throat. "Let's head to Merlin's house." Mickey waved at Lunafreya. "Will you join us?"
"Yes. This revelation about the light intrigues me."
The journey back to Merlin's home was a quiet, but not without Kairi asking Sora how on earth he could be dead and still standing before her. When Sora told them they had gone to a world were everyone was dead, Kairi wheezed as she were being squeezed like a squeaky toy.
"Still scared of ghosts?" Max joked. "I thought you were over that."
"I just don't like creepy things!"
"But you jumped right into the realm of darkness," Oswald stated.
"That's different!"
"How is it any different?" Max and Oswald said at the same time.
"Don't worry," Sora put a reassuring hand on Kairi's shoulder. "I'll protect you from the undead."
Kairi practically tingled with happiness, grabbing Sora's arm. "You will?"
"Always." He covered her hand with his.
Oswald, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Max all stepped away, giving them space. Once a chorus of goodnatured giggles erupted from the audience, Sora and Kairi split apart, awkwardly clearing their throats. Near the back of the line, Riku stopped walking. He listened to his friends' footsteps as they moved further and further away. He tried not to feel the cold shivers slithering over his ribs.
"I understand now."
Riku turned toward Luna. "Understand what?"
"The darkness that was pushing down the light inside you." Luna reached out and put a hand on Riku's cheek. "I'm going tell you something you may not believe, but you will one day."
"What is it?"
"Your deepest fear, the one you are not ready to face, it is not true."
As Luna walked on, Riku wondered if she had the ability to read minds. It wasn't the first time someone had noticed. Eiko had once told him that he was being stupid. Maybe he was. But the shivers didn't go away. They never really did.
Oswald reached up and held Kairi's hand, as though he could sense the sudden rush of fear that had flashed through her heart. After hearing Sora's story, as well as Mickey and Riku's experiences with Aqua, Kairi was finding it hard to stay calm. The chaos was getting worse, and Kairi feared that if something weren't done soon, the damage would be irreversible. Or worse, more people would fight over the light, and darkness would swallow everything once more. The world around her blurred, her brain barely making sense of the muffled voices all around her.
"This isn't good," said Leon.
"I've never heard of light consuming a world before," Luna said. "Ancient oracle legends speak of a time when light was abundant, and everything was in a state of never ending peace. This contradicts everything I have learned."
Oswald looked up at the sky. "If Marluxia had succeeded in destroying the realm of darkness way back when, would the light have ruined everything in its place?"
"Santa told me," Sora began, "that there may be a way to save the Land of the Dead. He didn't tell me how, though, just to keep journeying."
"Journeying is fine, but time is not on our side anymore," Riku said. "What if the Land of the Dead isn't the first world to disappear? Jasmine's world was so full of light that the sun had not set in days. What if Agrabah is next?"
Luna clutched her staff to her chest. "Noctis is there."
Kairi shook her head, breaking out of her brain fog. "Do you think Aqua took Jasmine because Agrabah may vanish too?"
Leon rubbed the scar on his forehead while Mickey tapped his temple, as though searching through his memories for something, anything, that could help explain the mess they were in. It was Oswald that finally broke the nervous silence.
"There's only one person that has all the answers."
The entire party stared at him. "Who?"
"Aqua."
"Maybe it's time we go after her." Sora looked at Mickey, silently asking for permission.
"You realize she's not going to talk without a fight," Riku said. "Plus we don't know where she is."
Leon stepped into Merlin's house, and came back with the wizard himself. The old man walked to the center of the group and cleared his throat.
"It sounds to me," he began, "that you all require a location spell."
"You can find her?"
"Without question, Majesty. And since I have you all here, there's something you should know."
Merlin took out his wand and tapped the air twice. The book that Kairi had found in Belle's library appeared before him. It floated ominously in front of Merlin, flipping through the pages on its own. Merlin twirled his wand, and the book turned around so that everyone could see the pages. There was a painting of two keyblade wielders. Between them was an explosion of blinding, blue and white light.
"I've learned the these anomalies, the chaos, the rules being out of order, can only be stopped by two keyblade masters. But I'm sure you've already deduced that."
Sora and King Mickey nodded.
"What strikes me as odd, however, is that this book has different names for the keyblade wielders." Merlin pointed his wand to the keyblade wielder on the right page. The keyblade resembled Sora's. "One weilder is known as a master of light and connection." Merlin pointed to the wielder whose keyblade looked like Mickey's. "The other is known as a master of balance. The book states that only the two of them together can stop something called 'the calamity of a preemptive cycle.'"
"Preemptive cycle?" Sora repeated.
"More questions," Riku groaned. "What even is 'a master of balance?'"
Mickey summoned his keyblade, staring intently at the golden blade and teeth. Had Kairi been paying attention, she would have noticed how Oswald was staring, intently, at the king.
Mickey shook his head, and released his keyblade. He turned to Merlin and spoke in his most authoritative voice.
"Find Aqua for us. It's time we get some answers."
"Certainly. Just a moment."
Merlin cleared his throat and tapped his wand as though he were about to conduct an orchestra. The book vanished. A tingly wind spread though the small square in front of Merlin's house. A tiny star fluttered down in front of Merlin. The party leaned forward, holding their breath. The star burst, the wind died down. Floating in front of Merlin was a navigation gummi, and a letter.
Merlin adjusted his spectacles, squinting at the letter. "Interesting."
He gave the gummi piece to Sora. The letter however, remained untouched.
"It's seems it's for you, dear."
"Me?" Kairi plucked the letter from the air. She ripped into it, read, and then turned to Sora. "We have a lead."
"From who?"
"A while back, I asked Tifa and Cloud to let me know if they run into anything strange. They're in another connected world, connected to the oceans. There are a lot of problems there, and" Kairi's expression hardened, "reports of a blue haired woman that's wanted for suspicious activity."
Kairi showed everyone the second page of the letter. It was a wanted poster, with Aqua's profile sketched onto it.
"So we know where to go," Goofy began, "but shouldn't we tell Master Yen Sid what's going on?"
"The master would want us to make our own decisions," Oswald said.
"I agree," said Mickey.
Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood. "There's no reason we can't inform the master. Just give me a piece of that magic paper. I'll write up a summary, and send it him."
"Oh," Sora chuckled. "I forgot about that."
He reached into his pocket. Once the Jiminy had a tiny, torn, piece of paper, he hid back into Sora's hood. Then, Mickey directed everyone to the gummi ship. As the team walked off, Mickey stayed behind to thank Merlin and Leon. The king then bowed Luna, finishing his goodbyes. He turned to walk after his friends, but paused when he noticed Oswald waiting for him.
"Something wrong?"
Oswald crossed his arms, his eyes darting from Mickey, to the nearest wall, and back. "I don't mean to be rude, Your Majesty."
"You would not have stuck around to talk to me one on one if it wasn't important, right?"
Oswald's hands fell to hang limply at his sides. "Right. I'll be blunt. You're not a master of balance. And I don't think you'll ever be one."
Mickey nodded. "So you figured it out too."
Oswald swallowed. "But there is someone that has the potential."
"I know. It's why Aqua fears him."
"But?"
"He's not ready."
"He's not ready, or you're not ready?"
Mickey looked up at the sky. "In my heart, I know that you're right. I can't wander the stars forever. I just worry that we'll put too much on him, too soon."
"We may not have a choice, Your Majesty." Oswald finally looked at Mickey, offering a smile. "Now I know how the master and Ortensia felt. Always worrying about me. Kairi can be so reckless."
"So can Riku, and Sora, and everyone else. It's hard being responsible." Mickey returned Oswald's smile. "I promise to think about it, but only on one condition."
"Which is?"
"Stop calling me 'Your Majesty.'" Micky wring his hands. "We share a master. Mickey is fine."
Oswald leaned forward and thumped Mickey on the shoulder, earning him a chuckle from the King.
"Deal."
The city stretched for miles. Long, lean, glittery sky scrappers and power lines as far as the eye could see. Sora stood on the edge of the roof, looking down at the fire escape and the street below. The cooing of pigeons and the distant grinding of subway rails reached his ears.
"And I thought finding Master Yen Sid was hard." Sora sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Kairi wore a sneaky smile. "This will be a cakewalk."
"Totally," Max agreed.
Donald groaned. "Have you guys seen the size of this place?"
Oswald grinned. "Have you ever experienced the immeasurable size of the realm of darkness? If we can find each other in that, we can Aqua in all this."
Donald lifted a finger, opened his beak, and froze. His eyes darted around as his brain tried to come up with a retort. When he couldn't come with anything, Oswald held up his palms, and Max and Kairi gave him a high five. Donald's face reddened. Sora and Goofy tried to come to their friend's aid, but even they couldn't come up with a witty reply. Surprisingly, it was Riku that saved Donald the humiliation.
"Don't get overconfident. The realm of darkness doesn't have civilians or buildings to worry about. Finding Aqua is complicated by the fact that we can't let her hurt anyone."
"Yeah." Donald pointed to Riku. "What he said. Hey! Listen to me!"
Sora, Kairi, Max, Oswald, and even Goofy were huddled together, excitedly talking imaginary strategy.
"I'm so pumped!" Sora flexed. "All of us on this mission, working together? We got this!"
"Ahyuck! Yeah. Nothing can beat our teamwork."
Mickey raised a hand to get everyone's attention. "That's true, but-"
The team cheered and made poses, describing in ridiculous detail all the methods they would use to take Aqua down and make her talk. Mickey smiled at their merriment but sobered when he noticed Riku standing on his own. Moving closer to ledge where the boy stood, Mickey said, "Something on your mind?"
"I don't know. Something is just...off." "Darkness?"
"No." Riku turned his head back toward Sora and the others. "I know Sora is always looking on the bright side, but doesn't he seem a little too chipper to you?"
The team had finished talking "strategy." Competition had taken over, and they were making bets on who would find Aqua first.
Riku turned to face the city. "I have to keep them safe. For as long as I can."
Worry tingled in Mickey's heart. "As long as you can?"
Riku jerked, holding his stomach as though he were about to puke. "Heartless are coming."
Mickey covered his ears. The sound of shattering glass exploded in the air. A long, metal, tube burst out of side of the building straight across from the roof he and his friends stood on. The tube curved, like the leg of squid. Three metal claws grabbed onto the building. A moment later, the machine's body came crashing through the window glass. A giant cannonball with four, tentacle like arms, climbed up the side of the building. Darkness oozed from between the joints where the machine's arms connected to its spherical body.
The machine smashed through the windows, sweeping out the civilians from inside and throwing them out into the city. The team rushed toward the edge of the building, about the jump after the civilians, but a pair long, red, stretchy arms appeared out of nowhere from the street below. The arms looped around the three civilians and brought them safely down to the ground. Yet one civilian was still falling. This time, a muscular man in a red, black, and yellow suit came flying out of nowhere and caught the civilian in midair.
"What was that?" Sora shouted. "That was so cool!"
"Machine at twelve o' clock!" Max screamed.
The four legged cannonball machine threw its body toward the roof. The team scattered. While they avoided being squashed, they couldn't keep themselves from falling. The machine's mass broke through the roof, making everyone tumble into floors or streets below.
Sora fell hard onto someone's kitchen table, coughing, both from dust and from the water that had sprayed onto his face from the broken pipe above. As he lay on the table, waiting for his back and arm to stop burning, mechanical arms came bursting out of the nearby wall. Goody popped up in front of Sora. The machine's claws bounced off Goofy's shield. The arm curved upward, crashing into the roof. A healing spell fluttered over Sora's chest, and Donald was at his side a second later to pull him off the table.
The trio had to move, because the floor beneath their feet was already cracking. Casting an aero spell, Sora, Donald, and Goofy leapt out a nearby broken window, crash landing in the city street below. From there, they watched the giant cannonball machine burst out the building. Cars screeched to a halt, people began running away from the robot as fast as possible.
Goofy and Sora lunged, avoiding the machine's arm before it smashed into the concrete. While the arm was still stuck in the ground, Sora charged and slammed his keyblade against the metal with all his might. His entire body vibrated like a tuning fork, his keyblade bouncing off whatever reinforced alloy the machine was made of. Donald, meanwhile, quickly realized that metal could take a lot more magical damage then flesh. His spells simply bounced off the machine's round body. Thinking that metal conducts electricity, Donald fired a lightning spell. The magical lightning surged up the metal arms, and though the cannon-ball shaped body, and into the machine's saucer shaped head.
The machine paused for a second, before it flung its arms out violently in every direction. The trio scattered before they could be crushed. Concrete slabs flew up into the air. Sora looked up, just in time to see the machine's arm swing toward him.
Something red flashed before his eyes. A big, blond man in a red costume dashed in front of Sora, and grabbed the robotic arm before it could hit the boy. The man grunted, pulling the arm and twisting it like a pretzel. A second later, a red haired woman, wearing a matching red costume, appeared on the scene. Her arms elongated like rubber bands. They grabbed the robot's saucer head. The woman slingshotted herself up onto to the robot, and slipped inside, under its saucer head.
The big, blond man turned around and yelled at Sora.
"Get to safety!"
But Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to argue when the machine suddenly powered down, its limbs collapsing into the street. A spike-ball heartless, covered in red eyes, phased through the machine's round body. Sora knew that heartless. His mind flashed back to Treasure Planet and the fight he'd had with Captain Flint's corpse. Raising his keyblade, Sora took a deep breath. Donald and Goofy lined up behind him, putting their hands on Sora's shoulder blades. Light coated Sora's keyblade, energy flowed into him from his friends.
He charged, slicing right through the possessor heartless with one all out attack. Stopping, Sora whirled around to shout to his friends.
"Did you see that? We have to get inside it and destroy the heartless controlling it."
Donald and Goofy gave him a thumbs up, but then their faces shifted into concern. Sora was lifted off his feet, and carried like a baby in the big, burly man's arms.
"Incoming!" He boomed.
The rubber woman stretched and landed at the big man's side. She reached out and grabbed Donald and Goofy with her long arms. She threw Donald and Goofy toward the big man. The trio wailed as they were carried away from the pounding footsteps of something behind them. Sora peeked over the big man's shoulder and gulped as yet another cannon ball robot charged down the street after them.
"Get the civvies someplace safe!" The rubber woman ordered. "I'll distract it!"
"Not alone you won't," the big man argued.
"Put us down!" Sora wriggled. "We can fight!"
"Let the heroes handle this, kid." The big man rounded a corner and put Sora, Donald, and Goofy down in an alley. "Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl can take care those robots. You three, get someplace safe!"
Sora watched Mr. Incredible run back out into the street.
"Did we just get rescued?"
"So this is what it feels like." Donald closed his eyes, looking pleased. "Why don't we let them deal with the trouble for once and take a break?"
"We can't do that," Goofy said. "Heartless are tricky."
A series of grunts reached Sora's ears. He peeked around the corner and saw the possessor heartless come out of yet another cannonball machine. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl were already working together to take down a third robot, all while ignoring the spike ball heartless hovering over the street. The heartless phased into a nearby car, and suddenly the car's headlights lit up.
"Oh no you don't!"
Sora charged into the street, jumped up over the car, and brought down the full might of his keyblade on the vehicle. The car's hood collapsed inward, and the possessor heartless popped out, flying toward the alley where Donald zapped it, and Goofy squashed it with his shield. The red eyed heartless was resilient, and it took one more powerful hit from Sora's keyblade to finally destroy it.
There was a whistle.
Sora turned, spotting Mr. Incredible stride up to him. Behind him, Elastigirl stretched her long leg, stepping down from the top of the machine the duo had just destroyed. Mr. Incredible reached out, and grabbed the keyblade's teeth, lifting it to his eyes.
"What kind of super weapon is this?"
"A keyblade."
The black mask around Mr. Incredible's eyes furrowed along with his brow. "Are you a new super, kid?"
"Uhhh."
Was the world order still a thing for a connected world? Goofy saved Sora the trouble of coming up with an answer.
"What's a super?"
"Someone with superpowers," said Elastigirl. "Like you three. That was impressive."
"Too bad superheroes are illegal, otherwise you three would be top notch." Mr. Incredible shrugged.
Sora finally got over his stupor. "WHAT? Illegal? What kind of dumb decision is that? You guys were so cool!" He moved around Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. "You're super strong and she can stretch like silly putty. Why would anyone want to stop you from protecting people?"
"Property damage," Elastigirl said.
Sora cringed, remembering all the messes he'd made on his adventure. "Oh, yeah, I can see that. But it's still stupid. If you hadn't swooped in, my friends and I would have been toast."
Mr. Incredible put an arm around Elastigirl, pulling her to his side.
"What can I say? Hero work is what we do."
Elastigirl crossed her arms, giving Mr. Incredible a coy look. "Is that what you were doing? I though you were running around while I was picking up the slack."
Mr. Incredible tilted his head, smirking down at the shorter superhero. "I was simply giving you an opening to make your move."
Elastigirl poked his side. "How chivalrous. But, please, don't hold back on my account."
Mr. Incredible leaned down so that he could look into her eyes. "As if you couldn't destroy those robots by yourself."
She batted her eyelashes. "True, but I wouldn't mind some of that incredible strength to make my job a little easier."
"Well, all you had to do was ask."
"I thought you worked alone?"
"I thought you said I needed to be more flexible?"
Goofy and Donald chuckled. The spell was broken. Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible suddenly remembered that they had an audience. Sora, whose grin was so wide it practically engulfed his whole face, waved his hand.
"Don't mind us. Please, continue your conversation."
He had expected that being called out would make Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl splutter and blush. Instead, they simply shared one more loving look before the romantic air vanished from their faces and posture. When they put their hands on their hips, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, had the sudden urge to hush up and listen to what they had to say.
"We've been having giant robot attacks all over the city. Illegal or not, we can't just let them put civilians in danger." Mr. Incredible held out a hand to Sora. "And the sooner we get this mess sorted out, the sooner we can get back to our kids. So what do you say? Give us a hand?"
"And get to be a superhero?" Sora clasped Mr. Incredible's black glove. "Count me in!"
Sora jerked as Donald and Goofy pulled him back. The trio got into a quick huddle and Sora grinned sheepishly. He knew exactly what was coming.
"Oops."
"Oops?" Donald growled. "Sora, what about Aqua?"
"And finding our friends."
"Our friends can take care of themselves. As for Aqua, I don't see why we can't look for her and help Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl at the same time."
Donald rolled his eyes. "There he goes again."
"Come on, Donald. Don't you like helping people?"
"Sure, sure." He gave Sora a serious look. "Jiminy, you there?"
The cricked peeked out of Sora's hood.
"If we do run into Aqua, I want you to send a message to the King and Kairi. I don't want to take any chances."
Jiminy nodded. He waited until Sora gave him another piece of magic paper before ducking back into the boy's hood. The meeting done, the trio turned back to the superheroes.
"Okay, where to?"
"Before that." Elastigirl grabbed Sora's hand. "Put these on."
The sound of breaking glass made them twitch. Down the street, a series of bricks were thrown out of a glass window. Several men, wearing black outfits and carrying big, round sacks full of what was most likely stolen goods, came running out a jewelry shop.
"All right! No better time to get some loot then when the city is in danger!"
Sora buzzed with excitement. "Criminals! Let's get them!"
"Hold on a second!"
Sora ignored Mr. Incredible. He charged down the street, keyblade raised, a smile on his face so wide, it would make the cheshire cat proud. The first criminal didn't see what was coming. By the time the man had turned around, Sora had tripped him with his keyblade. The man fell with a thud, all the jewelry in his bag falling out into the street. Standing over him, Sora pointed his keyblade at the man's chest.
"Freeze thieves! Or else you're going to have to deal with the keyblade master."
The three other thieves stopped, blinking.
"Who is this kid? Some wannabe super?"
The other two criminals dropped their loot. "GET HIM!"
Sora easily ducked and sidestepped two of the punches. This was so easy. Donald, Goofy, Elastigirl, and Mr. Incredible were steps away, but Sora knew he had this in the bag. By the time they would reach him, he would-
Bang.
Something clocked Sora in the back of the scull. He hit the asphalt, hard. Static rang in his head. He turned over, his eyes barely making out the fuzzy image of a baseball bat. A man in a black outfit was standing over him. Vaguely, as Sora watched the bat being lifted back up, he realized that there must have been one more criminal still in the shop.
A shield blocked the bat from cracking Sora's head a second time. Hands looped under Sora's armpits, pulling him back into a strong chest. The next moment, a healing spell got rid of the throbbing in his head. Sora blinked up at Mr. Incredible, and then down at Donald below him, before turning his attention back to the fight.
Goofy and Elastigirl made quick work of the criminals. Elastigirl looped her arms around two of the bad guys' waists. She jerked her arms, making the men smack into each other, knocking them out. Goofy meanwhile, charged at the criminals that had realized they were way in over their heads. Within seconds, all five bad guys were tied up in the middle of the street, their loot thrown back into the jewelry shop.
Sirens were heard in the distance. A second later, the red and blue flash of police cars could be seen down the street.
"Time to high tail it out of here," Mr. Incredible boomed.
Sora bounced in Mr. Incredible's arms. The team ran, stopping in an alleyway a few blocks off. Once there, Mr. Incredible put Sora down and leveled the boy with a disappointed look that would make Donald proud. Sora looked down at his shoes.
Mr. Incredible took a breath, his features softening. "I may be a big muscle guy, but even I know not to charge into a situation without thinking about it first."
"But-"
Elastigirl put up a hand. "Excuses? I don't think so. You need to hear this. Never underestimate criminals. Overconfidence is the first mistake every new super makes. Got it?"
Sora put his arms at his sides. "Yes, Mom-I mean ma'am!"
Donald and Goofy didn't even try to hide their snickering.
A brief flash of amusement flickered across Elastigirl's eyes. Then she turned around and pointed to the street. "All right. Time to hunt down some robots."
As she walked out of the alleyway, Mr. Incredible marched behind her saying, "Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?"
"Yes, but once more couldn't hurt."
Sora couldn't help the wide grin on his face, and the secret hope that he would have a similar relationship one day, preferably with a certain redhead of his own.
Kairi crashed into a tree. Wrapping her arms and legs around the branch, Kairi panted, mentally cursing the stupid robot that had flung her out of the building. What she wouldn't give to put her cheek on the bark and just close her eyes for two seconds. Unfortunately, on the street below, Kairi spotted a baby.
A baby that was crawling straight toward yet another cannonball machine.
Landing on the street, Kairi reached the baby, picked him up, and then had to make a mad dash across the street. The robot had spotted her, and it was slamming its tentacles down, trying to squash Kairi like a fly. The baby squealed happily, pointing at the giant robot, all while Kairi tried her best not to fall as the ground shuddered beneath her feet. The robot's massive tentacles made the entire block shake. Tucking the baby under her arm, Kairi threw a fire spell over her shoulder.
The baby screamed in delight. The next second, Kairi let him go. Normally, Kairi would have felt totally ashamed that she had just dropped a child, but, there two problems with that. One, Kairi had only dropped the baby because her arm had suddenly felt like it was on fire. And two, when she looked down, she discovered that the baby actually was on fire!
"Waterga!"
The spell doused the flames. The baby kicked his legs, unharmed and laughing at Kairi's horrified expression. He then got on his feet, lifting his hands. Before Kairi could grab him, a metal claw smacked into her back, sending her flying across the square. Reeling from the pain in her back, Kairi waited for the pain of hitting the floor. But it never came.
Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see that she was floating. Or rather, the baby in her arms was floating, and keeping her up by proxy. Her world upside down, Kairi watched the giant robot still advance on them. The baby clapped his hands, and suddenly, red lasers burst from out of his eyes. The hot beams of light moved over the robot's joint, the heat separating its arm from the rest of its body.
The robot turned, and Kairi saw something in the hole where its arm had just been. Something purple, with glowing, red eyes. Kairi rotated in the air. She landed back on her feet, no longer floating. The baby suddenly weighed ten tons, and Kairi dropped him once more. This time, he was made of solid metal. And the robot had recovered, stomping back toward them.
Sparing a moment to heal herself, Kairi waved to catch the baby's attention.
"Good baby. Stay."
The baby clapped his hands, cooing.
"No baby is going to get squashed on my watch!"
Summoning her sword, Kairi felt a surge of light moving through her heart. White butterflies fluttered around her. Several of them went to float around the baby, protecting his metal body and dazzling him with light. Kairi charged the robot, feeling her sword heat up in her hand, as the light coated the blade.
The robot lifted its remaining arm, trying to squish her again. Kairi didn't bother dodging. The arm smashed into her reflect spell. While the spell was broken, Kairi climbed up onto the robot arm. She ran to where the arm was connected to the robot's body. Swinging her blade, she watched as the light sliced straight through the robot's joint, tearing off its arm.
Down two arms. the robot was unbalanced. The front half of its spherical body smashed into the ground. Kairi ran around behind the robot, and use the light to cut off the rest of its limbs. Once it was no more then a sphere, Kairi was about to charge into the open hole where its limbs had been. But the sphere moved.
It rolled down the street like a massive bowling ball, throwing Kairi off. It was heading straight for the baby. Kairi dashed forward, but then something red flashed down the street. The baby was gone seconds before the robot could squash him.
Suddenly, a boy in a red suit appeared at Kairi's side. The baby was in the boy's hands.
"Hey! I'm Dash!" The boy shook Kairi's hands roughly. He then shoved the baby in her hands as he ran around her, speaking so fast and asking so many questions that both Kairi's eyes and ears hurt. "What kind of super are you? That was so cool when you sliced off the robot's arms with that white light. Sweet! How did you do that? What's your power?"
Suddenly, boy crashed into a wall of purple force, which had sprung out of nowhere.
Kairi was about to ask Dash if he was okay, but the boy rubbed his nose and growled.
"Violet! What was that for?"
A tall, skinny girl appeared out of thin air. Kairi took a step back, yelping at the girl's sudden appearance. Her eye color matched her name.
"We don't have time to answer all your questions," Violet scolded Dash. "It's coming back."
The robot had smashed into a building on the far side of the street. The collision had made it stop, and it was now rolling back toward Kairi and the others. Violet jumped in front of the group and raised her hands. A purple sphere of energy surrounded Kairi and the kids. The robot's spherical body smashed into the purple force, and, like a bowling pin being hit by the ball, Kairi and the kids went flying.
Despite its metal exterior, the robot bounced like a basketball. It rose up into the air, on a collision course with Kairi and the others. The baby in Dash's hands screamed in delight. Dash yelped, releasing the baby. Kairi watched, wide eyed as the baby grew ten times as big. Now huge and chubby, the baby fell, face first, onto the round robot. The baby's weight slammed the robot back down into the street.
They were safe from the robot but not the street lamp they were hurtling toward. Kairi's reflect spell stopped her from breaking her neck. On the ground, she looked up, searching for Violet and Dash. The two kids bounced back down on the ground, protected by Violet's purple energy sphere.
The two girls moved toward each other, shouting at the same time.
"You can use reflect spells?"
"You can make force fields too?"
Kairi blinked. "Force fields? No. I use magic."
"Magic?" Dash blew a raspberry. "That's your superpower?" Dash gasped. "Oh no! Jack Jack! I saw him get inside the robot!"
Kairi smacked her hands on her face, groaning, pulling down the skin on her cheeks. "Right. The baby. Right. Jack Jack." Kairi pointed at Violet and Dash. "Okay, you two. Listen to Kairi. We need to get inside that robot."
"How do we do that while it is rolling?" Dash asked.
The ground thundered, and Kairi whirled around to see the robot stampeding down the street toward them. She snapped her fingers at Dash.
"Think you can outrun that thing?"
"With my eyes closed"
"Good. Keep it busy."
Dash grinned, cracking his knuckles. He was off like a bullet, leaving nothing but a red trail behind him as he ran circles, literally, around the robot. While Dash taunted and kept the robot turning in circles, Kairi facedViolet.
"Can you get Jack Jack?"
"If I can sneak inside it, yeah. What are you going to do?"
"Most likely something crazy."
"Need some help with that?" A pair of voices called from above.
Oswald and Max jumped down from a nearby fire escape. Kairi nearly cried.
"Perfect timing. Max, pin ball me and Violet. Ozzie, give her a hand, and follow my lead."
"You got it." Max raised his swords, getting into position.
Oswald moved next to Violet and casted an reflect spell around them. He gave Violet a grin. "You might want to brace yourself."
"Three!" Max screamed.
Kairi felt the powerful force of Max's swords colliding with her reflect spell. She rocketed across the street. Seconds before she smashed into the robot's round body, Kairi casted another reflect spell. The impact made the machine pause its rolling. Its red eye and saucer like head rotated, searching for its target. Kairi's feet appeared in its view for a second, before its vision turned into static. Sticking her sword under the opening of the machine's saucer head, Kairi pushed the blade upward, slightly breaking the saucer off the rest of the machine's body.
"Ozzie! Violet! Go!"
Oswald pulled Violet into the machine's core. Kairi could hear his angry shouts, and Violet's yelps as the two trashed the inside of the machine. Then, she heard Jack Jack giggle happily.
The machine stopped moving. Kairi looked down at the round body she stood on, waiting for something to happen. Instead, she spotted a purple ball of spikes phasing through the robot and zooming down the street.
"Max! Get the heartless!"
Dash reached the heartless first, looking into the creature's red eyes. "Whoa. What is this weird thing?"
He reared his arm back, about to punch it. The heartless opened its mouth and snapped at Dash, making him jump back. But it was just enough time for Max to run up behind the heartless, and slice it into pieces. It took close to ten powerful hits before the heartless finally popped into nothing.
Dash's eyes widened. "Cool!"
Kairi sighed in relief.
She peered into the broken machine. "You guys okay?"
Violet's voice echoed from within the robot. "Super duper, Kairi."
"Get back," Oswald warned. "I'm going to blast the top."
Once everyone was back on the street, with Jack Jack happily cooing in Violet's arms, Kairi took a moment to finally sit down and take a breather. Her chest ached from hitting the tree earlier. Now that the adrenaline of protecting Jack Jack had worn off, Kairi looked at the three kids and then to Max and Oswald.
"Please tell me you know where our friends are."
Oswald shrugged. "Nope. It was lucky that the three of us found each other."
Max's head slumped. "So much for finding Aqua together."
Kairi covered her eyes. Now would be a really bad time for Aqua to show up, especially with two kids and a baby to watch out for. Powers or no powers, it didn't seem like Violet and Dash had a lot of experience taking down giant robots. Heck, she herself didn't have that much experience taking down giant robots.
"Can someone please tell me what's been going on in this town?"
Violet stepped forward. "Besides the robot invasion? Lots of weird stuff."
"Yeah, like-"
Dash's words were interrupted by Jack Jack's curious cooing. Violet, reacting on impulse, summoned a sphere of purple energy to protect the group. But there was no enemy to fight. Instead, it was like someone had turned off the light switch for the sun. One second, it was a bright, warm day, the next, it was as dark as midnight. It took a few seconds for the confused crickets to start chirping, for the city lights to come on, and for Kairi's eyes to adjust to the darkness. She looked up at the night sky, and hissed.
"Guys, do you see that?"
Max and Oswald looked up. Kairi could almost hear the two of them gulp. There were dark spots above the city. Kairi saw a wave red eyes squirming in the darkness. Red and purple veins slithered out of the patches, pulsing in the air like mutated roots.
"-like that." Dash said, pointing up, finally completing his sentence.
Jiminy's Journal
Mr. Incredible (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Super-strength is the game for Mr. Incredible. As a superhero, he is noble, and will always put the safety of others before his own, even if it means breaking the law to do superhero work. He and Elastigirl make a powerful, and loving, team, almost as though they're more then just crime fighting partners.
Elastigirl (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Because her power is the ability to stretch her body into any shape, Elastigirl has a bit more finesse when it comes to superhero work. She is a creative fighter, as well as a strict but fair mother-like figure. Elastigirl refuses to stay behind and be left out of the fight. She will do whatever it takes to civilians and those closest to her.
Dashiel Robert Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Unlike his sister, Dash absolutely loves the hero life. He's competitive, hyperactive, and excitable, the perfect personality to go with his speedy superpower.
Violet Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): A young girl with the ability to create powerful force fields and turn invisible. Violet is a little shy and unsure of herself, but she's also smart and has good instincts, even though she's new to the whole superhero business.
Jack Jack Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): The youngest of the incredible children. Jack Jack is a polymorph: a super with many powers. He can make himself heavy, set himself on fire, float, shoot lasers out of his eyes and who knows what other kind of crazy powers he might have. Though young, Jack Jack has the same zest for superhero work as his father and brother.