Authors Notes:
So...It's been a minute. But the story is NOT dead, I promise. Long story short, I'm in college right now, and I have NO time to write. HOWEVER! I am NOT giving up on this story, especially since we're getting closer and closer to the end. Once I graduate, I plan to put in as much time as possible to complete this project. To those of you that are still hanging on and waiting, thank you so much! For anyone that's new to this crazy work! Welcome, and thanks for giving it a chance. On to the next one!
Chapter Thirty One: The Price
"Aqua must be getting close."
"What do you mean?" Max asked.
Oswald pointed to the black patches in the sky. "I've wandered the realm of darkness for fifty years and I never saw any place that had blue and red veins. I also never ran into a red eyed heartless, either. Imagine what Aqua can do with ten thousand years."
Kairi pointed. "Look!"
Black rain began to fall from the dark patches in the sky. Jack Jack began crying. Violet bounced him in her arms, but, like all babies, Jack Jack could sense that something was amiss. Without the words to express his fear, crying would have to do.
"There must be infestations all over the city," Kairi realized.
Oswald paced a hand on his chin. "The distortions, the imbalance, if we don't find a way to disconnect worlds and realms soon, then the heartless will run wild and they may as well destroy everything."
"So we don't have time to stand around." Kairi cracked her knuckles. "First one to destroy one hundred heartless wins."
"You're on!" Max smacked his fist into their palms.
Dash suddenly appeared in the middle of the team. "I want I compete too."
"Dash!" Violet shouted over Jack Jack's crying. "What about finding Mom and Dad? They might need our help."
Jack Jack wailed.
"Look over here, Jack Jack. Look at Violet."
The baby peered at her, only to quiet when Violet suddenly disappeared. Max and Oswald gasped, watching as Jack Jack floated in the air. Then, Violet reappeared, still holding her brother, saying "peekaboo!"
Despite Violet's best effort, Jack Jack was seconds away from crying again. Kairi summoned a few butterflies of light. Jack Jack's eyes widened. He watched the butterflies flutter around him, but his quivering frown never left his face.
"Wow. Where did you learn to do that?" Violet said.
"Trial by fire," Kairi replied. "Nothing like real danger to make you sink or swim."
Violet tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I wish I were that strong."
Kairi made a face. "What do you mean? You can make force fields and turn invisible. You are strong. And when push comes to shove, you'll be there for your brothers. I know it."
"How?"
"Because I was like you once."
Dash groaned. "Can we stop with the mushy stuff and get going?"
Max pointed down the street. "Looks like we don't have to go that far."
The black rain had become puddles on the asphalt. Claws rose out of the inky liquid. Red eyed heartless, so many that they blended together to resemble a black wave, flooded the streets. Dash gulped, stepping closer to Kairi's side.
"Don't worry," she put a hand on his head. "We'll take them all down. So you run and hit as fast as you can."
She had said the magic words. Dash's face lit up, his mouth twisting into a sneaky grin. Violet's expression was nervous, but her nod was determined. Even Jack Jack clapped happily. Max and Oswald didn't need pep talks. They charged into battle, swords and wand raised while Kairi gave the super-kids directions.
"Dash, I need distractions and punches," Kairi said. "Violet, make openings for the team. These things are hard to take down, so if you get hit, go to me or Oswald for healing."
Dash gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah baby! Let's go!"
With a roar, the kids charged into battle. Usually, Kairi could roast, electrocute, or slice through shadows like tissue paper. She quickly found out that red eyed shadows were ridiculously durable. It took anywhere between seven and ten hits before one shadow went down.
A blast of wind pushed the heatless back as Dash came running, bulldozing into the heartless around Kairi. He ran around in circles, creating a mini tornado. The heartless spun in the vortex until Violet captured them all in a force field.
"Max!"
The young knight ran toward Kairi, put his sneaker in her hands, and was launched into the air a moment later. When Max was directly over the force field, Kairi shouted at Violet.
"Drop the shield!"
Max came down like a razor storm, slicing through the mass of writing heartless. He rolled when he hit the ground, and the heartless burst into nothing behind him. Dash let out an impressed whoop.
As the team bashed, smashed, sliced and diced their way through one horde after another, their strength was quickly starting to run out. Even with Violet creating safe spots for Oswald and Kairi to heal wounds, the body could only take so much concentrated effort before one needed to stop and take a breath.
This was worse then fighting the endless stream of heartless with Zidane back in Twilight Town.
Hands on her knees, Kairi stumbled back as another sturdy shadow charged forward and smashed into her legs. With her shins screaming in pain, Kairi wobbled, barely managing to retaliate with a fire spell. The attack hit, point blank, right at the heartless' eyes. The flames didn't finish off the red eyed heartless, but it did allow Violet to protect Kairi with a forcefield, giving the girl enough cover to heal herself.
Through the shield, Jack Jack watched the firaga spell engulf the heartless. He burst into flames. Violet had to drop Jack Jack before he could burn her to a crisp. Her surprise turned off the force field as well. Kairi was about to grab Jack Jack when, suddenly, she stopped.
You know what?
Let the super baby wreak havoc. They needed all the help they could get.
Flaming Jack Jack tackled heartless, pummeling them with his fiery firsts. Dash was throwing heartless into the air by crashing his speedy body into them. Once airborne, Max or Kairi would jump to slice and dice. On the ground, Violet used her invisibility to grab and trap groups of heartless into force fields so that Oswald could swoop in and fry them with lightning.
The fight went on for what felt like hours. More black rain fell from the sky, more puddles burst from the ground, and soon, red eyed neoshadows, dark balls, and earth cores had joined the fight. Max, Kairi, Oswald, Jack Jack, Violet, and Dash all stood, back to back, inside one of Violet's force fields, watching the heartless claw, bite, and charge at them through the purple energy. Violet grunted, her hands shaking as she tried to keep the force field up.
The team prepared for a counterattack, spells were charged, swords and fists were raised, but, before the shield fell, the ground thundered below their feet. From downtown, a puffy, white substance, moved from between the towering buildings. An avalanche of fresh snow roared toward the group.
Kairi and Oswald reacted, casting reflect spells to help Violet's shield take less impact from the upcoming attack. Yet, when the snow came rushing toward the group, it curved, moving around them, hitting all the heartless instead. Hundreds of heartless were buried under a layer of thick snow. A moment later, a trail of ice moved through the sky. A man in a white and blue suit surfed on the ice trail.
Dash pumped his fist. "Yeah! Frozone!"
The iceman, or Frozone, flew over the snow, turning it from white powder, to blocks of ice. The heartless were frozen, like woolly mammoths.
Frozone landed in front of the group.
"You kids okay?"
"That was so cool! You turned all the heartless into popsicles!"
Frozone clicked his teeth and pointed approvingly at Dash, looking from one young face to another. He narrowed his eyes at Kairi, Max, and Oswald.
"You civvies? Or supers?"
Oswald, Kairi, and Max exchanged a look. "Supers, I guess."
Frozone put his hands on his hips. "I feel ya. It's hard being a hero in this day and age, what with supers being illegal and all." Frozone turned to Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. "You three need to go find someplace safe to hold up."
"NO WAY!" Violet and Dash roared.
"We've been kicking butt for hours!"
"Yeah," Violent snapped, "we can take care of ourselves."
Even Jack Jack crossed his arms and gave Frozone a petulant stare.
Frozen sighed. "Listen, your parents would fry me if something happened to you. And I've never seen monsters like this before."
Kairi stepped forward. "You've got experts on those monsters right here."
Max and Oswald winked.
"As for the kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack can't be stopped. So let's fight together."
Frozone opened his mouth to argue, but Kairi did not hear his next words. The block of ice behind him shivered. The red eyed neoshadow inside the ice began to move its arms and legs. Without thinking, Kairi and Max charged forward, stabbing their swords into the ice and the heartless within before the neoshadow could break free and ambush Frozone.
Crackling sounds filled the air as claws, antennae, and red eyes twitched within the ice.
Kairi looked at Violet. "Hope you've had enough rest, because it looks like we're going another round."
"Bring 'em on!" Max and Dash shouted.
The two of them gave each other a fist bump. If she weren't so focused on getting the jump on the heartless, Kairi might have marveled at the fact that, no matter how many worlds they went to, kindred spirits found each other.
The battle started again. Frozone flew around, using ice spears to stab heartless into oblivion. Max and Kairi alternated between one handed and two handed sword strikes, while Oswald and Violet tagged teamed once more. Dash held Jack Jack above his head and let the baby go crazy with his laser eyes. He ran around the battle field, using his baby brother as both a weapon and an excellent defense.
A neoshadow appeared on Dash's right and the boy yelped, quickly reacting by jumping up onto its head, and stomping his feet so fast that the heartless was smashed into the dirt. Jack Jack leapt off his brother's head. In midair, he turned into solid metal. Like an wrecking ball, he landed on the heartless, his new weight smashing the creature into nothing.
Suddenly, Frozone came down from above. He grabbed Jack Jack, who by this time had turned back into a regular baby.
"GET OFF THE STREET!"
Screeching vibrations reached Kairi's ears. Once she found the source of the noise, Kairi swallowed, and then charged back into the fight. The heartless scratched and bit her arms and legs, but Kairi grit her teeth past the pain, reaching Oswald, Max, and Violet. There wasn't enough time for fear to fully register in Max and Oswald's expressions, and Kairi's concentration was too broken by pain for her to chant a reflect spell. Only Violet's super instincts saved them.
A giant metal ball came rolling in their direction. Before it could smash them, it rolled off of Violet's last-second-shield. From inside the force field, the team breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the massive metal monstrosity squish the red eyed heartless like a rolling pin. The remaining heartless swarmed the sphere shaped robot. Kairi squinted at the strange behavior, before a shout made her turn around.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy came to a skidding stop next to her. All six friends spared one moment to stare at each other, at the mess all around them, and shout, "What's going on?"
Violet let out a squeal. "Mom!"
Kairi turned and watched, wide eyed, as a rubber woman walked over the heartless with her long, stilt like legs. From the air, the woman's arms stretched, punching away the heartless that had jumped toward her torso. Meanwhile, a big, muscly man charged through the heartless like a battering ram. They were moving toward the big, round, metal robot.
The robot rose up on its tube shaped legs. Dozens of heartless squirmed on its body, like maggots swarming rotting meat. The muscle man got closer and threw out his fists to punch the robot. A darkball opened its mouth, biting down on the man's fist. The heartless then threw him up into the air.
"Dad!"
Violet disappeared, but Kairi could see her invisible trail as she pushed aside heartless to run after the strongman. Sora and Kairi's teams had no time to chase. They busied themselves with the endless and frustrating task of thinning the heartless crowd. Even as they tried to move toward the giant robot, more heartless rose up from the dark puddles in the floors, the building walls, and even from the sky.
"We can't keep this up forever," Oswald panted, combining his magic with Donald to cast an aero spell around everyone.
"Can't we blow them away with a holy spell?" Sora said. "Like what Kairi did back in Disney Town?"
"I only did that because Belle and I combined powers," Kairi countered.
Oswald pointed in the distance. "It's coming back!"
Goofy tackled his son, throwing him to the ground before they could both be squashed by the rolling-heartless-covered-robot. It missed them by inches. Sora, Kairi, Oswald, and Donald, meanwhile, went flying as the heartless hit their aero spells. An arm came out of nowhere. It looped around Kairi's torso like a rope, bringing her back down to the ground safely. Sora landed next to her, blinking as another arm unwound itself from his torso.
"You two all right?"
Kairi watched the arms un-stretch, reattaching to the rubber woman she saw walking over the heartless earlier.
"Thanks, Elastigirl." Sora heaved, rubbing his chest. "Ow. That thing really packs a punch when it rolls."
Elastigirl pointed upward. "How do we stop that?"
Kairi glanced up at the sky. At the rate things were going, the heartless could tear this world, and everyone in it, apart. A holy spell really was their last chance, but she had no idea if it would close the black spots in the sky. Sora pulled Kairi aside, whispering in her ear.
"What if packing this world with even more light makes it disappear just like the Land of the Dead? What would happen to the other worlds it's attached to?"
Kairi swallowed hard. "What's the alternative? Let the heartless destroy everything and everyone?"
Sora looked around at all the destruction, the fighting, the black rain still falling from the sky. Kairi saw something in his terrified expression. For as long as she had known him, no matter what the circumstances, there had always been an inner hope shining in his eyes. The only time Kairi had ever seen Sora look so afraid was back when...Kairi pushed down the thought. She grabbed Sora's shoulders.
"I'm a princess of heart and I can control my light, at least a little. I can stop it from swallowing the world. Just the heartless."
Sora's nervous expression wavered. "Are you sure?"
Kairi winked. "Don't you have any faith in me? Do you think I'd let a world disappear?"
Sora put his free hand over hers. "I always have faith in you." He broke out of her hold, a wide grin appearing on his face. "So how do we do this?"
Kairi gestured to all the heroes around her. "With a lot of help."
Kairi and Sora charged back into battle, stopping by Elastigirl. After ten minutes of brawling, they were able to push back the heartless long enough to talk to the rubber superhero.
"We need to retreat," Kairi said.
Nearby, Mr. Incredible slammed his fists straight through a neoshadow, creating a crater in the concrete. "We can't just stop fighting! People are in danger!"
"We'll get nowhere like this," Sora countered. "Kairi and I have a plan."
"What plan?" Violet appeared at Sora's side, making him jump back in surprise.
"BOB!" Elastigirl grunted as she lassoed and threw several heartless away with her long arm. "Maybe it's time we listen to the next generation of heroes?"
Mr. Incredible turned his head, distracted by the loud grinding of the giant, robot heartless. He hissed. Even though the metal shell was swarming with heartless, the robot was still rolling dangerously toward Max, Oswald, Dash, and Jack Jack. Goofy and Donald were too far away, wading through waves of heartless to try and get to their friends. Frozone was trying to slow the robot down with walls of ice, but the robot just kept rolling, smashing through the barriers.
Elastigirl threw out her arms. Her limbs stretched, looping around the giant sphere like a bunch or ropes. The heartless and the robot kept rolling, trying to break free from her grip. Her feet slipped over the concrete.
Mr. Incredible grabbed Elastigirl's torso, using his strength to pull her back. Sora grabbed Mr. Incredible, and Kairi grabbed Sora. It was a deadly game of tug of war, but the team managed to hold on, and slow down the giant wrecking ball long enough for Max, Oswald, Dash, and Jack Jack to fight their way through the heartless and get clear.
Elastigirl's arms released the heartless robot, and it went rolling, faster now that it had nothing to hold it back. It smashed into the base of a sky scrapper. Like a giant tree falling down, the sky scrapper exploded at the base, and the building tilted, angling down toward the street where all the heroes and heartless were fighting.
Before Kairi could even scream, a trail of ice came flying her way. Elastigirl dashed back into the fight, grabbing onto Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack. She then jumped onto the ice trail, right behind Frozone. Sora managed to regroup with Donald and Goofy, and the three of them where then thrown by Mr. Incredible onto the ice trail.
"Your turn, kid."
"Wait!"
Mr. Incredible lifted Kairi over his shoulders. She kicked her legs, pointing at Oswald and Max. They were still further up the street.
"My friends!"
"I got them. Just go!"
Kairi was thrown up into the air. She flailed or a few seconds before a pair of long arms grabbed her and pulled her up onto the ice trail. Sora steadied her, arms around her waist, but Kairi leaned forward, eyes glued to the scene below. Mr. Incredible bulldozed through the heartless, reaching Max and Oswald. There was a flash of light as a reflect spell appeared around Max and Oswald. Mr. Incredible smashed his fist into the glass, sending, Max and Ozzie rocketing through the air.
"Yes! Pinball! Good thinking, Ozzie!"
"You worry about your friends too much," Sora panted, finally pulling Kairi back against him."They'll be fine. They're strong."
Kairi looked down at the hands that were wrapped tightly around her waist. For a brief second, she closed her eyes and let relief wash over her, leaning her head back on Sora's shoulder. When had he gotten taller then her?
"You're one to talk," Kairi sighed.
"Heading down," Frozone warned.
The team landed on a roof somewhere.
"I'm going back for Bob and others," Frozone told Elastigirl. "Make sure to have your plan ready by the time I come back."
"Thanks, Lucius," Elastigirl said.
Frozone saluted before jumping off the building. Kairi's eyes trailed after him, until she noticed the city below. What would have once been a phenomenal view of the city and the distant oceans now resembled a war zone. The world burned and smoked around them, yet the air on the roof was strangely quiet, even as the distant bangs and screams reached their ears. Kairi covered her mouth, unable to hear all the destruction or the wind growing angrily in her hears. All she could see was the darkness falling from the sky, the broken buildings, and the black smoke rising from the streets below.
"Did Aqua do all this?" Donald wondered. "Or is it because the excess light?"
"But why here?" Goofy asked. "What makes this world so special? Is it close to the darkness? Like how Treasure Planet was?"
"It's Hollow Bastion all over again," Sora whispered.
His words broke Kairi out of her stupor. Turning, she faced everyone on the roof. "It doesn't matter what caused all this. We're going to blast all the darkness away. I'm going to need everyone's help to do it."
She quickly explained how a holy spell worked. Violet, Dash, and even Jack Jack, with his little smile, were immediately on board. Elastigirl however, raised a question.
"You need a lot of light for that? More then you've ever created?"
"Yes. With this many people, I should be able to create enough."
"What about the buildings?" Violet suggested.
Sora peered at all the skyscrapers surrounding them. "Of course. The windows. It's just like what I did with Merida and Queen Eleanor. We can use the glass to amplify Kairi's spell."
"What's this about a spell?"
Frozone returned to the roof, with Oswald, Max, and Mr. Incredible in tow. While Mr. Incredible reunited with his family, sharing a a short kiss with his wife and grabbing his kids in a tight hug, Kairi threw herself at Max and Oswald. Goofy joined the hug, squeezing his son.
Sora, meanwhile, explained their plan to Frozone.
"I get it. If it's reflections you need, I got that covered!"
Frozone aimed a series of cold energy beams into the ground. Several towers of ice rose up from the concrete below. Reflective disks decorated each tower, pointing in every direction.
"That should give you enough for one shot. I don't know how well the ice will hold under your power, but it will at least reflect to all the nearby windows. Stand in the center and give it all you've got."
Kairi nodded, gesturing for everyone to gather close. A hand slipped into hers and she looked to her side to see Sora give her a wink. Total faith. Kairi blushed. A pair of hands came down on her shoulders. Max. Oswald grabbed her other hand. Elastirl, Donald, Goofy, and the kids, all gathered close. Mr. Incredible and Frozone were about to join, when the building suddenly shook.
One of the nearby ice towers burst into crystal dust. A long, tentacled claw rose up above the roof. The claw crashed onto Mr. Incredible's broad shoulders. With every ounce of his strength, sweat dripping off his wide chin, Mr. Incredible pushed the robot's claw back, away from his kids, away from Kairi. But the robot still pulled itself on the roof. It wasn't long before its body appeared, still swarming with heartless.
Mr. Incredible glanced at Frozone. "You with me?"
"To take down all the monsters and protect the A Team? Like you even have to ask."
"And what? I'm just going to stand here and wait while you guys take all the action? I don't think so." Elastigirl turned to Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack. "You kids have a bigger job to do. We're counting on you to give Kairi everything you've got."
Dash winked. "You got it, Mom."
"That's my boy."
Violet got closer to Kairi. "We can handle it here."
Mr. Incredible looked over his shoulder, giving Violet a smile. "I'm proud of you."
"This is sweet and all," Frozone said, "but we've got bigger fish to fry."
Saluting, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone jumped off the roof. Elastigirl's arms looped around the heartless, pulling it away from the building. Mr. Incredible jumped up and delivered a punch so powerful, that it pushed the heartless off the building, making it tumble down below.
With the robot out of the picture, Kairi took deep, steadying breaths. Squeezing Sora's hand, she focused on all the faith, trust, and hope flowing through everyone around her. Finding the light was easy now that Kairi knew her hook, and soon she could feel the holy spell welling up, the pressure building, ready to release.
Kairi screamed.
Pain exploded on her spine, so much that she barely felt her shoulder hitting the floor. On the floor, she looked up to see Violet standing above her, shielding the entire group from three red eyed neoshadows. The neoshadow's claws came down, the force breaking through Violet's field. The claws hit the keyblade's shaft. Sora glowed, the light from Kairi's failed holy spell still lingering on his skin. The energy flowed into his keyblade and he sliced through the three neoshadows before they could hurt any of his friends.
But it wasn't enough. In the time it took to react to the surprise attack, a darkball had come charging out of nowhere. It hit Sora hard, in his blind spot. The boy went flying, falling off the roof.
"Sora!" Donald and Goofy screamed.
"He'll have to take care of himself," Kairi wheezed from her place on the ground. "We need to stop the infestation before it spreads! We only have one chance."
Max threw his swords at the darkball that had hit Sora. While the blades skewered the heartless and pinned it to a nearby building, and Oswald pulled Kairi back up to her feet. Violet held up a shield with one hand, while holding onto Kairi's bicep with the other. She grunted as more heartless banged against her protective glass, but even as her eyes squeezed closed from the pain of concentration, Violet didn't let go of Kairi. Dash braced Kairi's leg, and Jack Jack turned into stone, somehow smart enough to get behind Kairi's calf to help prop her up.
The support was like an electric charge. Kairi reached in, searching for her hook. No more running. The energy built up inside her, gathered from her friends, from Sora's protective actions, from Mr. Incredible's, Frozone's, and Elastigirl's distant faith. The power grew, flowing outward from everyone. The light shined outward from Kairi, bouncing off the nearby ice towers, off the windows.
No.
It wasn't enough.
She didn't have enough holy light, not by herself.
Kairi felt the buzz and boundless excitement that came with every holy spell she had casted, she felt the darkness closing in around them, felt it falling from the sky, choking the atmosphere. There weren't just heartless nearby, she wasn't just fighting one, or several hundred, there were thousands, and the spots in the sky pushed back against her attack, dark energy pressing down on her like a wrecking ball, even as the light shined so bright that no one could see through it.
Max, Oswald, Dash, and Violet grunted, squeezing closer to Kairi, refusing to give up. The holy spell radiated out like a miniature sun, burning through the nearby heartless. But it never reached the sky. Jack Jack screamed and clapped, his childish joy unable to be contained by the light.
There had to be more.
There had to be enough light to close the darkness in the sky.
The closer you get to the darkness, the stronger your light must be to pierce through it.
Kairi was going to reach in and grab it.
Her chest burned hot as the light broke free, supported by her friends, her determination, and...the realization that there was no going back once she did this.
But there is a price.
Are you willing to pay it?
"Yes."
Max and Oswald heard her answer, but they could not see the furious look on her face. Nor did they prepare for the rush of powerful light that exploded outward from Kairi's body. It moved through them, gathering up their faith in her, spreading outward. The joy of the moment faded fast, as Kairi tumbled forward, out cold.
Down below, on the street, Frozone pushed Bob out of the way before the robot heartless could smash him to pieces. Elastigirl stretched her torso across the street, like a trip wire. The robot heartless fell. Before it could start the attack again, a butterfly of light appeared before its red laser eye. The heartless turned, looking toward the top of the building.
Light had been flashing, bouncing off the windows, obliterating heartless that had been getting too close to it, but now a bright dome was forming, spreading outward like the universe after the big bang. Butterflies fluttered out of the spell, guiding the light forward. Any heartless that tried to touch a butterfly was immediately obliterated into dust. The dome of light rose up, higher and higher, to the clouds, the sky, the dark openings beyond. Everything shined, so bright, so warm, that people, who had been cowering in the buildings, now came out to stare at the light, no longer afraid of the swarming heartless on the street, the very same heartless that burned into nothing.
Sora's stomach flipped as he fell through the air. Pushing through the nausea, he cast a wind spell before he smashed into the glass of a nearby building. The aero spell held until he collided with the ground. After digging into his pocket and chugging down his last remaining potion and ether, he felt his exhaustion and mental strain ease, just a little.
"Sora!"
Mickey and Riku skid to a stop right in front of him.
"You okay?"
Grinning, Sora said, "Now I know what a baseball feels like."
"What hit you?" Riku grimaced. "Was it her?"
Sora shook his head. "No. I haven't so much as seen a strand of blue hair. Been kind of distracted by all the black rain, red eyed heartless, and robots in the city."
"The heartless have made finding Aqua hard for us too," Mickey admitted. "Maybe she left-"
A butterfly of light fluttered around Mickey's ears. He paused to stare it before he quickly had to shield his eyes as the world around them lit up with white, warm light. Riku breathed, a sigh of rejuvenation, as the light reached him. But Sora held his breath. Soon, he was covered in a white, empty void, but he didn't feel the same peace that Mickey and Riku felt. Alone in the light, Sora's heart banged hard against his spine. He wanted to scream, wanted to force the light away, but just as he opened his mouth, the brightness faded, and Sora blinked.
Total silence.
Up above, the black rain had stopped, and the some of the dark patches in sky had shrunk. But many black patches remained.
"What was that? That light?" Mickey asked.
"Kairi," said Sora.
"Whatever she did, it was incredible." Riku paced. "I felt so much darkness before, pressing on me from every direction. It's gone now. It's like she wiped the word clean." Riku jerked. Turning south, his muscles tensed. "Well, almost."
Mickey's ear twitched. "You sense something?"
Riku nodded. "A concentrated mass of darkness. It has to be Aqua. Who else could have survived Kairi's holy spell?"
"Lead the way," Sora urged. "With the light pushing away the darkness," Sora swallowed a lump in his throat, "this may be our only chance to catch her."
"Aqua isn't the type to let her guard down," Mikey said. "Be careful."
Sora and Riku nodded.
Mickey took point, while Sora took middle, and Riku took the rear. Following Riku's directions, they eventually stopped at the stairs that led down into a subway station. Sora paused at the top of the stairs, looking down at the dark entrance to the tunnel. The smell of dust and rubble reached his nose. He looked up at the dark sky. In the spaces between the dark patches, the stars glittered for the first time since he had gotten to this world. Sora put a hand on his heart, sending a silent prayer of support to Kairi. She kept her promise, it was time he did his part. He turned to Mickey and Riku.
"Ready?"
Rather then answer, Riku and Mickey descended the steps. The underground was just as run down as the block above. A subway train was smoking on the other side of the train terminal. Sparks and fire crackled from inside the car. Luckily, it didn't look like there were any passengers inside. Riku stepped over broken rubble, coughing form the dust and smoke in the musty underground. He pointed deeper into the tunnel behind the collapsed train.
Sora's feet echoed down into the dark tube as he walked along the tracks. He did his best to keep his breathing steady and quiet, but he was sure Riku could hear his pounding heart. The tunnel was black as night. Illuminating their path could tip off Aqua, so Mickey and Sora stuck close to Riku, and let him lead the way.
Riku stopped.
Mickey lowered his stance.
Riku broke off into a run. The tunnel opened up, to a wider underground terminal. There was no train wreck in this one, but there was a black haired woman, slumped over and unconscious, under a pillar. Riku reached her first, casting a healing spell that eased the bruises on her arms and legs. The woman's eyes opened, and she glanced upward, blinking at Riku. Suddenly, she was on her feet, fists raised.
"I'm not here to fight," Riku said. "You were knocked out. I just wanted to help."
Sora and Mickey caught up, and the woman relaxed her posture.
"Keyblades?" She glanced from the King to Sora. "You're Kairi's friends?"
Sora nodded. "A woman that fights with her bare hands. Are you Tifa?"
"Yes." Tifa gasped, looking around. "Where's Cloud? "
"Sora." Riku voice was grave. "Look."
When Sora turned around, he felt as though a knife was twisting into his gut. Riku had a black feather in his hand. There was rumbling from deep within one of the nearby train tunnels. Tifa reached into her pocket, took out a potion, and chugged it down. She threw the empty bottle onto the ground, and ran toward the rumbling tunnel. Sora, Riku, and Mickey bolted after her.
"What's going on?" Sora panted.
"Cloud and Sephiroth are still fighting down here. We have to stop them."
"You don't think Cloud is strong enough to beat Sephiroth?"
"It's not his strength that worries me. Cloud is obsessed with fighting Sephiroth, so much that he doesn't even care about winning anymore. The longer they fight, the further Cloud will sink into his obsession. Then he'll never be free."
Riku halted when they reached a fork in the tunnel. He pointed to the tunnel in the right.
"More darkness this way. Must be Sephiroth."
"What about Aqua?" Mickey interjected.
"We can't fight her and Sephiroth at the same time."
"But Cloud and Tifa need our help," Sora argued.
Mickey looked conflicted. He looked down the tunnel and then back at the subway terminal they had entered from. Tifa didn't wait for him to choose. She took the right tunnel. After a few agonizing seconds, Mickey faced the boys.
"We should help our friends first."
They caught up to Tifa. She was trying to punch her way though a wall of concrete and debris. Dust shook from the ceiling as Tifa punched, making craters into the rubble. It wasn't enough. She might as well try digging through a mountain with a toothpick.
Riku put his hand on her shoulder. "If you keep hitting it, the tunnel will collapse on us."
"Cloud is on the other side! I can't just stay here!"
"I can sense that there is enough space for me to slip through using the darkness. I'll be right back."
Sora reached out and grabbed Riku's arm. "Wait-"
In the next second, he felt a squishy, squiggly feeling. Darkness tingled over every nerve fiber in his skin. The world around him flashed black for one moment. Then, Sora found himself standing on the other side of the collapsed wall with Riku.
"Sora? What the-did you just pass through the darkness with me? Are you stupid? Do you know what that could do to you?" Riku held Sora's face in his hands. "Can you still see?"
"Yes!" Sora smacked Riku's hands away from him face, and then doubled over, covering his mouth, moaning. "I think I'm going to be sick!" After dry heaving for a few seconds, tears welling up in his eyes, Sora stood and stared at Riku. "How do you do that? Moving through the darkness is so weird."
"You get used to it," Riku shrugged. He then turned to look further into the tunnel. "They're close." Riku's shoulders stiffened. "Man. They're really fighting."
Sora looked back at the wall.
"King Mickey? Tifa?" he called.
There was a muffled "yes."
Sora looked up to the ceiling, and gulped at all the precarious rocks and slabs stacked one on top of the other. "I don't think we can safely blast through this."
"Don't worry," said Riku, coming to stand at Sora's side. "From this side, I can tell that there's a hidden tunnel down the pathway to your right. The rubble blocking it isn't supporting the ceiling. The tunnel loops around for a bit, but it will get you here."
"Okay," Mickey said.
"Don't wait for us," Tifa called. "Help Cloud. We'll try to be there as soon as we can."
Riku hesitated. "Mickey?"
There was a pause. "Go. I trust ya, fellas."
Mikey's heart burned as he listened to the sound of Sora and Riku's footsteps fading away. Mikey kept his ears open, listening for danger, as he and Tifa entered the hidden tunnel Riku had indicated. When he entered a small side terminal, Mickey stopped, raising his hand to warn Tifa.
Aqua stood across from them, leaning against the subway car that had stopped in the terminal.
"Hello, Little King."
Mickey glanced over his shoulder at Tifa. He then tilted his head toward a small tunnel at their side.
"Hurry. Go on ahead."
"What about-"
"I can handle her. Your friend needs you. And I need you to help Sora and Riku."
Tifa came forward, but she didn't take the tunnel. Instead, she faced Aqua and raised her fists.
Aqua clapped.
"How selfless."
She moved away from the subway car, coming to stand in the middle of the terminal. "You'd rather spend your time here with me? While your friend sinks further and further into the darkness?"
Tifa stood her ground. "Cloud is strong."
"Why even stop them?" Aqua's voice echoed. "After all, the outcome doesn't matter. This world, the sky, the realms. Soon, none of it will matter."
Mickey glared. "What does that mean?"
"That's right," Aqua tapped her jaw. "You came here for answers, didn't you? Well, oh 'master of the keyblade,' how about a game?"
Mickey shuddered, his breath coming out in misty puffs. Frost crept up the pillars and along the tile on the walls of the subway terminal.
"If you can stop me from taking your keyblade away from you," Aqua sang, "then maybe I will give you a hint."
Several ice crystals fell from the ceiling. Tifa backflipped, dodging the first ice crystal, smashing through the next with her fists. Mikey sliced through the third. The crystal dust floated around him, and he searched for Aqua through the blue smoke.
Something lit up under his feet.
"Jump!"
Tifa leapt to the side as several magic mines went off, burning the floor where they had been standing seconds before. Mickey landed next to a pillar, and only had a second to cast a reflect spell as lightning rained down around him.
Mikey waited for the lightning to pass, but another spell quickly lit up just as the first was dying down. One of the flashes was stronger then the others, and Mikey looked up.
His gut twisted in horror.
Aqua, clad in a aura of powerful light, came down on him like missile. Her hands smashed into his reflect spell, shattering it. Mickey raised his keyblade to defend. Rather then attack, Aqua simply wrapped her hands around the keyblade's shaft, and flipped, throwing Mickey across the room.
The King flew, but managed to regain his balance. He summoned his keyblade back, and was relieved to see the light of his weapon shine in his hands once more. Across from him, Tifa was weaving through the alternating fire and ice spells that Aqua was throwing her way. The young woman got close to Aqua and threw several powerful punches and kicks her way. Aqua easily cartwheeled away from the attacks.
She laughed as she moved.
"Well, well. Looks like there's a winner. It seems your friend sank into the darkness after all."
Tifa froze. "What?"
A ball of fire hit Tifa in the stomach, throwing her back. She hit a pillar. Aqua didn't get a chance to follow up her attack, because Mikey came charging into battle, getting between the two women. Even as Mickey chased Aqua, bombarding her with expert keyblade swings and magic, none of his hits landed, and Aqua did not bother striking him with a single magic spell.
There was a moment where she stopped. Mikey's keyblade struck her shoulder. She grit her teeth, but her hand enclosed around the keyblade's teeth. Darkness spread out from between her fingers. Mickey released his keyblade, letting it fade away before it could be coated in darkness. Summoning a light orb, he aimed it at Aqua's chest.
She dodged, giving Mickey enough time to put distance between them. He ran to Tifa. She was back up on her feet, eyes scanning for Aqua. The terminal was empty. For the moment. Mickey's could hear footsteps in the distance.
"Good job, Little King. You're heart is stronger then mine. For now."
"We have to go after her," Tifa said.
"No." Mickey smiled. "You need to go after Cloud. I'll take care of Aqua."
"It's clearly a trap."
"I know. But I can't let her get too close to Riku, the same way you can't let Sephiroth darken Cloud's heart."
Mickey froze. Tifa wrapped her arms around his little frame.
"Be careful, Majesty."
She pressed a potion into his hand, and then ran down the tunnel. Alone, Mikey opened his ears. In the distance, he could hear Aqua's cruel laughter. He followed it.
Riku and Sora dashed into the tunnel. Clangs, grunts, screams, and dark laughter echoed through the darkness and whispered into his ears. Sora gripped his keyblade, ready for anything. The tunnel was only lit by a few flashing lights, so if Riku told him to duck or dodge, Sora was going to follow his commands to the letter.
Slowly, the tunnel expanded, opening to an underground cavern of mangled train rails. Broken concrete slabs decorated the walls and wires stuck out from the ceiling. The only light came from the flickering, broken lamps on the floor and walls. That, and the sparks flying when a pair of powerful swords clashed. Each time one blade met another, Sora saw the combatants' faces appear behind an angry, golden glow. Sephiroth's calm yet terrifying eyes, clashed with Cloud's harsh, fury filled scowl.
Sora was about to charge into battle, but Riku grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. In the next second, there was a roar that echoed through Sora's very bones, as Cloud flew at Sephiroth. He delivered a blow so powerful that the underground shook with the force of a meteorite crashing into a planet. The tunnels began to collapse, and Sora's face burned as concrete dust shot into his nose and mouth. After a moment of coughing, Sora tilted his head back, looking up. He could see the buildings and the sky through the hole in the ceiling. Cloud and Sephiroth's fight had moved upward. Climbing up onto the street, Sora and Riku ran toward the fight. Sephiroth's calm words reached their ears.
"Such ruthlessness."
Though he were fighting with terrifying speed, his words were smooth and even. He hovered over Cloud, pressing his sword down against Cloud's thick blade. Cloud was able to fend off the attack, but his expression hardened at Sephiroth's next words.
"How can you call yourself a hero, walk in the light, when you sink so low? Face it, you're just as dark as I am."
"That's not true!"
With a mighty push, Cloud shoved Sephiroth back. He was about to follow up with another strike, but he was easily blocked.
"I won't ever be free, until you disappear for good."
"If only it were that easy," Sephiroth laughed. He overpowered Cloud and swung his blade, forcing Cloud to flip and roll backwards to keep his torso from being sliced.
"This is our fate." Sephiroth strolled toward Cloud. "If I am your darkness as you claim, then you are my light. Two opposing forces, destined to fight in this nightmarish cycle. For all eternity."
A pair of voices shouted. "That's not true!"
Sephiroth turned. Holding his sword backhand, he blocked Riku's soul eater before it could hit him from his blind spot. His eyes then darted to his free side, and he quickly curved his blade to throw Riku off. Sora's keyblade came down on Sephiroth's sword, but the boy was quickly thrown back when Sephiroth raised his arm and summoned several pillars of fire and light around himself.
Sora fell back, yelping as his jacket caught fire. Unable to douse the flames, he threw the short sleeved jacked off and let it fall to the concrete, where it burned. Now in nothing but his blue undershirt, Sora charged back into battle. He hissed at the sight in front of him. Riku was fast, slipping in and out of the darkness to avoid getting hit, but unable to find time to land a blow. He might have had a chance, if Cloud hadn't charged at him from the side, and rammed his shoulder into Riku's ribs.
"Stay out of this. This fight is mine."
And so the stalemate began again, with Cloud and Sephiroth clashing endlessly. Sora threw his keyblade, momentarily giving Cloud an opening when Sephiroth turned to smack the keyblade away. With his buster sword glowing, Cloud cut three deadly slices in the air, nearly carving out Sephiroth's chest. The silver haired warrior didn't even counter. Though the hits landed on his arms and chest, he simply balanced his sword before him, holding the hilt against his cheek. Sora took this as an opening, and flashed forward to strike.
Riku collided with him, pushing him out of the way. As Sora fell back, he looked over Riku's shoulder, and saw Sephiroth charge forward, his sword barely moving, but deadly, silver arcs forming around his body. He moved so quickly that he seemed to phase through Cloud, disappearing just before he reached his opponent, and then reappearing behind him. Cloud looked as though he were fighting the air, sparks flying off his sword as he blocked and parried invisible attacks. While he was distracted, Sephiroth jumped, holding his sword downward as he descended, as though he were about to stab Cloud in the back.
Sora wasn't sure what he was thinking in that moment. One moment he was standing next to Riku, the next he was in front of Sephiroth. He spiraled upward, the teeth of the keyblade knocking Sephiroth's sword off of its trajectory. The moment he reached the height of his jump, Sora began spiraling in the opposite direction. Sephiroth turned to face him. Though he knew Sephiroth would recover and block his strike, there was one thing Sora was counting on.
"Right on time, Riku."
Sora's attack didn't hit, but one from below did. From the distance, an arc of light flew through the air, slicing into Sephiroth's leg. It slowed the swordsman down, enough for Cloud to charge right into Sephiroth, and slam his heavy blade into the man's stomach. Struck like a baseball, Sephiroth went flying. He crashed into the nearby building, smoke, glass, and dust obscuring his body.
Sora landed next to Cloud and was about to congratulate him for the hit, but then he noticed a dark spark move along Cloud's buster blade. The spark flashed, and moved. Sora watched it disappear, in the direction of the building Sephiroth had smashed into. Riku regrouped with them, and soon Sephiroth's laughter echoed in the street.
"Well, well. You've changed, boy. No longer so tumultuous inside." Sephiroth landed on the street, his eyes glowing. "But you're not fully at peace are you? I can still sense some darkness, some uncertainty, that deep down, you know you are alone...or you will be."
"Shut up," Riku growled.
"And you," Sephiroth glanced at Sora. "No longer the scrambling child I fought in the arena so long ago."
Sora held out his hand and bent his fingers, making a "come here" gesture. "Want to see all the new tricks I've learned?"
Sephiroth's expression hardened, his eyes traveling back to Riku. "I prefer you when you're using the darkness."
"Why? So you can feed off it? No thanks. Maybe you should go on a diet."
Sora snickered. "Nice."
"Enough!"
Cloud charged forward. Energy coated the buster blade, and when his weapon once again met Sephiroth's the resounding clap of metal sent shockwaves through the air, throwing both Sora and Riku back. They crashed through the glass of a small, nearby store. Sora's back popped and screamed as he bounced off a cash register and collapsed behind the counter. His head buzzing, Sora looked up to see Cloud and Sephiroth fighting in the street.
He saw flashes of silver and gold, as well as an erie, dark purple. That last hit must have scrambled his brains, because he was sure that the purple energy was coming from Cloud, and disappearing into Sephiroth. With shaking hands, he reached into his pocket. He felt something wet. He gasped. All of his potions and ethers had been smashed when his hip hit the register.
Something warm trickled down Sora's head. His headache eased and he looked up to see Riku standing over him, a healing spell flowing from his soul eater.
"Save your energy," Sora hissed, standing as all of his pain faded away. "You should see how terrible you look!"
"You are way worse then I am," Riku grunted, stumbling forward.
Sora caught his friend. He lowered Riku down till the two of them were sitting. There was a blue bruise on Riku's jaw. His hair was tussled and his clothes looked as though they had gone through a paper shredder. His outer, yellow vest was in tatters, and his jeans had tipped off on one knee. He pushed Sora back.
"Get back to the fight."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine after a few minutes. You have to stop Cloud. The longer he fights, the stronger Sephiroth will get."
"Why?"
"No time to explain." Riku dug into his pocket and pulled out an ether. He put it in the palm of Sora's hand. "Go. I'll be there soon."
"You better be."
Sora picked up his keyblade, and ran out of the building. Now that his head was clear, he saw the flow of Sephiroth and Cloud's attacks. Sephiroth's deadly, silver strikes, and Cloud's powerful, brute-force parries, thrusts, and...the darkness fluttering around his blade. Sora ran, watching the blades dance, looking for an opening to attack, and realizing, slowly, that Cloud's weapon was slowing down.
Or was it that Sephiroth's blade dance was getting faster? Sora skid to a stop. There was a fire escape on the building to his right. The upper floor of the buildings were ripped open, and a metal beam stuck out over the street below. If he could time it just right-Sora shook his head. No time to think. He jumped up and grabbed the ladder of the fire escape. Rushing up to the broken top floor, Sora found the metal beam. Balancing, he moved over the fight below. Time to give Sephiroth a taste of his own medicine.
Leaping into the air, Sora threw his keyblade behind him and shouted. "FIRAGA!"
The blast from the spell sent him down fast, and Sora barely had a second to begin his deadly spin as he went down. Sephiroth was directly underneath. He looked up, spotting the boy the was buzz-sawing in his direction. Sephiroth's sword caught the keyblade, stopping Sora's rotation.
"I was hoping you'd do that." Sora grinned. "Ragnarok!"
A series of rainbow colored bullets burst out of the keyblade, bombarding Sephiroth before he could step back and dodge. He fell back, trying to avoid Sora's attacks, but was unable to dodge all the colorful torpedoes of light, especially when Cloud came up behind Sephiroth and slashed at his back. Just as Sephiroth jumped up to recover, a burst of black energy appeared behind him. Riku leapt out of the darkness.
For a second, darkness coated the soul eater, but then it peeled away to reveal light. A blinding flash briefly obscured Sephiroth. Sora and Cloud took their chance. While Cloud sliced though the white light, Sora reached in and grabbed Riku's arm. The two boys windmilled. Riku used the momentum to spin Sora. He slashed at Sephiroth, landing a hit with light, before turning, throwing Riku out before him. Another slice of light hit Sephiroth.
For the first time since the fight started, a grunt of pain escaped Sephiroth's lips. Black feathers burst in the air, as Sephiroth's wing burst from his back. He swung his sword, forcing Sora, Riku, and Cloud back. Everyone landed back on the street, and while Sora and Riku had to pause to catch their breaths, Cloud hadn't stopped. He leapt up into the air, his body sparking with electricity. He flew through the air, chasing and slashing at Sephiroth with sword swings so powerful that they cracked the nearby windows every time they hit Sephiroth's blade.
Sephiroth laughed as he parried and counterattacked.
"And so it goes. On and on. How your rage fuels me."
"Not this time!"
"So you believe you can be freed from your darkness? Perhaps I should remind you why you keep coming back."
With a powerful thrust of his sword, Sephiroth threw Cloud back. The young swordsman landed in the street below, but before he could fly back up to continue pummeling Sephiroth, he noticed how the one winged man had turned to face Sora and Riku. The two boys were running toward Cloud, trying to regroup. Above them, there an erie, purple glow of darkness.
Sephiroth's voice lowered to a deadly rumble as the darkness in his hand expanded and sparked. "Sin's harvest."
"NO!"
Cloud leapt toward Sora and Riku, pushing them backward. A dark charge fell on his back. He opened his mouth, but his scream was silent as what felt like acid moved through his veins. He fell to his knees. Sora and Riku surrounded him, but through the pain and confusion, Cloud pushed away the two boys' concerns. He leaned on his sword, pushing himself up to his feet.
A voice echoed from above. "Come to me, Cloud. Where the darkness in strongest in the universe. Come alone, so we can complete our destiny."
Sephiroth was fading away.
"WAIT!"
Cloud was back on his feet, but this time, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. He was about to buck his captor off, when a familiar voice reached his ears.
"Cloud, stop." Tifa pressed her face into his back. "Don't chase the nightmare anymore. You won't be able to wake up if you do."
Cloud thrashed. "Let me go. He's getting away."
"Please stop! What happened to Zach was not your fault. Going after Sephiroth will not bring him back."
"And what? We let that monster run free forever?"
Cloud broke out of Tifa's hold. As she tried to regain her balance, Cloud charged forward, disappearing into the town. Tifa moved to chase, but then stopped when she noticed Sora and Riku on the floor. Helping the boys stand, she asked, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. We took a good beating, but Cloud protected us that last second," Sora said.
"He did? Then there's still hope for him."
"Not to be a downer," Riku began, "but Sephiroth may be right."
"Riku!"
"Relax," Riku waved Sora off. "Let me explain. Remember how I said that Sephiroth doesn't use his own darkness?"
Sora nodded.
"Well, it's because he feeds off of the darkness in Cloud's heart. As long as Cloud chases him, their fight will never really end."
"He's not chasing Sephiroth," Tifa said. "He's chasing his own grief. And I can't let him continue."
"Right. We'll back you up," Sora said.
Tifa reached out and ruffled Sora's hair. "Sorry keyblade master, but you have something more important to do. Let me take care of Cloud. If Sephiroth feeds off his darkness, then maybe I can help by giving Cloud some of my light." She stepped back. "I'm going back to the Highwind."
Riku waved at Tifa, catching her attention. "Sephiroth said that he'll meet Cloud 'where the darkness is strongest in the universe.' Looks like you're headed to the realm of darkness. It's dangerous there."
Tifa gave him a confident smile. "I can fend for myself. By the way, you should head back to the tunnels. The King is still down there."
Riku twitched. "Is he all right?"
"I have faith in him. Don't you?"
Riku bolted back toward the hole they had come out of earlier. Sora spared a moment to wish Tifa luck before he followed.
"MICKEY!"
Riku sensed the king slowly climbing out of the subway tunnels. He skit to a stop, fell to his knees, and grabbed Mickey's cheeks.
"Are you okay?"
Mickey squirmed, trying to break free, but as Riku patted him down for injuries, he couldn't help but let a few giggles escape from his mouth, from the tickling sensation.
Though Riku couldn't see, his sea green eyes lingered on Mickey's face. The king stilled.
"You ran into her?"
"Who?"
Sora skid to a stop behind Riku.
"Aqua," Riku answered.
Sora stiffened. "What happened?"
Mickey sighed, rubbing his forehead. "She just toyed with me. She kept saying that nothing will matter soon. I lost her in the tunnels after Tifa and I separated."
Sora let out a grumbly sigh. "This was a disaster."
"Yeah," Mickey agreed. "We're back to square one."
Riku huffed. "Excuse me?"
He squeezed Mickey's cheeks again. "Where's that optimism, huh? And you," he pointed to Sora.
"Me?"
"Disaster? We worked together to save the city, and stopped Sephiroth and Cloud from fighting until both of them lost. We saved Tifa on top of that. What's with you? So we had a setback. So what? We got all the distractions out of the way. That's still progress."
Sora stood there, silently facing Riku without moving. He could sense the dim light in Sora shining brighter, ever so slightly.
"You're right." Sora put on his hips. "We can't give up. Thanks Riku."
Mickey giggled. "Yeah. We needed that. Lets regroup with our friends and try another strategy. We'll get answers from Aqua. Whether she likes it or not."
Riku was quiet as he followed Sora and Mickey. The king's light was still shining, but Sora felt as though he were boiling on the inside. Light and darkness were clashing inside him, and Riku resolved to keep a closer eye on his friend.
Jiminy's Journal:
Frozone (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): A superhero that as cool as ice. He is a close family friend of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, and is every bit as heroic. He also acts as an uncle to the superkids, and it seems as though, Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack look up to him a lot.