Hello there everyone, and good evening to you! Let me introduce you to my latest story, titled “The Keyblade War Chapter III: Beauty Of Apocalypse!” For those of you who have been following the Keyblade War Saga since 2011, let me inform you that this is the final chapter in the Keyblade War trilogy, and as such, I’m going to finish this epic saga with a bang!  Also, for newcomers who have recently gotten into my stories or are perhaps taking a look at this here story I’m going to post, I want to let you know that the other two installments of the Keyblade War Saga are here on this site!  But, to save the trouble of having to look everywhere to find them, I’ll link them here for you!

 

The Keyblade War Chapter I

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/18439-the-keyblade-war-chapter-1/

 

The Keyblade War Chapter II: Chaotic Twilight

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/69214-the-keyblade-war-chapter-ii-chaotic-twilight/

 

Or, if you’d rather just dive into this story without reading the other two, then I’ll provide a small summary of what’s happened so far!

 

Synopsis

(Start Song Here)

  It has been a long road for the Keyblade Wielders, the guardians of the balance between light and darkness.  They have overcome many ordeals, and have suffered many losses and been witness to selfless sacrifices.  Everything that has transpired has led to this.  It all started when a mysterious new threat had emerged in the worlds, and the Keyblade Wielders were tasked with finding out what the threat was, since war seemed to be looming close.  What our heroes found were the Unborn, a strange new breed of enemies that, along with the Heartless, were wreaking havoc upon the worlds. The Keyblade Wielders got to the bottom of things, and after discovering the people responsible for the crisis in the worlds, our heroes spurred into action and attempted to stop the threat!

 

  Many difficult ordeals were placed upon the Keyblade Wielders, and they bore witness to new allies, betrayals, destruction and death!  After battling the Unborn and Dark Orion’s organization alongside these new friends, in addition to gaining the Nobodies and Unversed as allies as well, our heroes were able to fend back the forces of darkness, and so preventing further harm to the worlds.  But, the war was not over…no, it had just merely begun!

 

  Three years later, after a long period of peace, a new threat emerged to threaten the worlds anew.  To prevent anything bad from happening, our heroes split into groups of three and went about exploring different worlds, hoping to stop whatever threat was awaiting before it had a chance to plant its roots.  Dawn, who sensed something terrible was going to happen, and having wanted to meet Riku since the battle with Dark Orion, was able to escape the fortress she lived in, with the help of her friend Valgard.  Soon, after, she was finally able to meet Riku, and she tagged along with Kairi and Mickey on their journey.  Along the way, Sora, Donald and Goofy were captured by the enemy, while Trish, Ventus and Kyle were beset by Jexana, a woman hell bent on having Ventus as her own!  Meanwhile, Xion, Dexeres and Vanitas were hot on Sora, Donald and Goofy’s trail, hoping to find them as soon as possible!

 

  Through separate paths our heroes united, and then they bore witness to the one person behind everything: Xylek, the man who was a mere ‘underling’ for Dark Orion, had actually been the puppet master of this whole crusade the entire time!  After a grueling and tiring battle, our heroes were able to defeat Xylek once and for all, but the battle was not without its toll.  Roxas, Terra and Aqua ended up sacrificing their lives to ensure that the worlds would not perish, and Kyle entered a coma, no one knowing when he would awaken.  Trish and Ventus remained under Jexana’s care, and Riku had been fatally wounded, and the worlds were shaken asunder by Xylek’s madness.  But, if all these sacrifices had been able to stop his plans, then the hurt would have been easier to bear…but, it was not to be.

 

  Even though Xylek is no more, his plans have already been set in motion, and now, Keyblade Wielders from all corners of the universe, and other universes are now gathering to fight for their own reasons, coming together to usher a new Keyblade War!  Our heroes were not able to stop this from happening.  They were powerless to do anything about it.  Now, all they can do is cling to any sliver of hope they have, for the war that is to come shall be catastrophic, and it could mean the end of everything…the beginning of the end…

(End Song Here)

 

Prologue: The Death Of Hope

(Start Song Here)

  The sky was darkening.  Everyone in Disney Town, who were a safe distance away, were looking upwards, as small dots appeared in the sky, seeming to head towards their direction!  Queen Minnie instantly felt a shiver down her spine…she knew that this was an ill omen.  She looked towards Daisy, Chip and Dale, and the few other citizens who survived from the chaos that had decimated their homes, and she couldn’t help but feel despair.  She stood there, powerless, unable to do anything to comfort them.  She was too scared…she didn’t know what to do now.  She clasped her hands together as a tear rolled down her cheek, and through soft, whispered sobs, she started to pray.

 

  “Oh Mickey…wherever you are, please be safe!  I fear something terrible is about to happen!” she said to herself softly, and then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she glanced back, it was Daisy, who was standing by her side.

 

  “Minnie, we have to get our people to safety.  I’m pretty sure that whatever those things in the sky are can’t be anything good!” she urged as she glanced back at everyone.  The Queen sighed.

 

  “B-but what can we do, Daisy?  I’m scared…I-I don’t know what to tell everyone!  What should we tell them?” she asked in distress.  Daisy gave a compassionate and sad expression and she slightly tensed.

 

  “We’ll tell them that it’ll all be okay…we need to give our people hope!  As long as King Mickey and the others are alive, things will turn out okay!” Daisy answered, and Minnie smiled momentarily, but then her smile faded into a frown.

 

  “Daisy…I need you to get everyone to safety…” the Queen said, and Daisy raised her eyebrow.

 

  “Wait…what about you?” she asked, worrying at what the Queen’s answer would be.  Suddenly, Cid came running towards them, panting and sweating, as though he had been running for miles.  The Queen then turned around to face him.

 

  “Your Majesty, the airship is ready!  I finished all the modifications as fast as I could!  We’re ready to leave!” he said in between huffs, and the Queen nodded.

 

  “Good…now take everyone, and get as far away from here as you can!  Find somewhere safe for everyone!” the Queen commanded, and Cid nodded sadly.

 

  “Yes, your Majesty…now come on everyone, let’s go, follow me!” Cid urged as he ran towards the airship, and everyone else followed suit, until only Daisy remained.  Tears were forming in her eyes.

 

  “You’re not coming with us…are you?” she asked, and the Queen, walking towards her and holding her hands, nodded sadly.

 

  “No, I am not.  Daisy, you need to take care of everyone in my stead!  I’ll try to hold off whatever those things are!  I need to do this…for our people.” she said with ironclad determination.  Daisy huffed and tapped her foot.

 

  “N-No, I can’t accept this!  I won’t leave without you!” she said, pleading for the Queen to come.  But the Queen simply hugged her lifelong friend, trying to hold her tears, and then she pulled away, holding her hands.

 

  “My dearest friend Daisy, you don’t know how much I’ve cherished our friendship together for all these years!  We’ve been on so many adventures together, and we’ve been through good times and bad times!  Throughout the years, I’ve cherished all the moments we’ve been able to spend time together!  There’s nothing I value more than our friendship!  That’s why I’m asking you to please lead our people!  I know this will be hard road for you, but with time, you’ll be able to manage things without me…but please don’t try to stop me.  My heart is commanding me to do this, and I will not waver.  Please, as my lifelong friend, fulfill my request!” the Queen pleaded, trying persistently hard to hold back her tears.  Daisy remained silent for a few moments, and then she nodded slowly, also holding back her tears, and with a look of determination on her face.

 

  “I’ll do my best, Minnie…” was all she could manage to say, and with that, she turned away and ran towards the airship along with everyone else, and Minnie, who turned around to look at the direction of Disney Castle, shed tears anew.

 

  “Farewell…my dearest friend…” she whispered, and as soon as the airship had departed, Minnie closed her eyes and then prepared herself for what was to come.

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  At that same moment, in the sky, Jexana was looking down on Disney castle from her airship, and Ventus quietly stood beside her, lifeless and stoic.  She had quite the amused smirk on her face.  She knew that the worlds were now at their breaking point, and destroying what was left of King Mickey and Queen Minnie’s world would be the first step in bringing down opposition.  While contently viewing what lay below, Emmxett suddenly appeared from inside the airship, alongside two soldiers.  He walked towards Jexana and then stood by her side, gazing outwards to the ever expanding sky, and then gazing down at Disney Castle.  He noticed that everything looked barren and destroyed.  He then looked at Jexana.

 

  “It would seem that everyone has left this world.” he commented.  Jexana, whom turned around and then touched Ventus’s face, only kept smirking.

 

  “Yes, the pests went flying away…all except one!” she said as she pointed towards a hill that was a short distance away from the castle.  Emmxett squinted his eyes, and then he saw Queen Minnie, who was simply standing there.  He felt quite amused.

 

  “Huh, so the Queen decided to stay?  I wonder what good that’ll do?  She won’t be able to take out our airship fleet!  What does she aim to do?” he asked, and Jexana chuckled and then hugged Ventus and glanced back to where Minnie was.

 

  “The fool’s making a diversion.  She thinks that by staying behind, she’ll be able to buy enough time for her friends to escape.  An admirable effort, I must say, but it’s all in vain.  Even if they get far, we’ll still catch up to them.” she answered calmly.  Emmxett then crossed his arms.

 

  “So, shall I deploy the ground troops and scour this world for anything of value?” he asked, but Jexana shook her head.

 

  “No, there’s no need.  We’ll destroy this place with an air strike.  That little Queen won’t survive.” she answered with confidence.

 

  “Right.  Then we’ll proceed with the air strike!  Men, let’s move out!” Emmxett commanded.

 

  “Sir!” the soldiers shouted as they heeded Emmxett’s command, and with that, they headed back inside the airship.

 

  “You will die for nothing, little Queen!” Jexana burst out as she laughed joyfully.  Ventus slightly moved his arms to hold Jexana close.

 

  “Is there anything I can do…my love?” he asked slowly, but Jexana shook her head and made a satisfying smile.

 

  “No, my dearest, there’s no need for you to do anything.  All you have to do is stay by my side!” she answered as she happily kissed his lips, and then she looked down upon the ruins of Disney Castle, clearly enjoying herself.

---

 

  Down below, the Queen was already prepared for the inevitable. If she had to be sacrificed in order to ensure the survival of all her loved ones, she’d gladly give away her life.  But, that didn’t mean she was going to down without a fight!  As she closed her eyes, the Queen concentrated her energy, and seconds later, giant pillars of light surrounded her in the form of a pentagon, and then, when she opened her eyes, she sent forth one of the pillars, and when it was near the fleet of airships, she waved her hand, causing the pillar to burst in a fantastic explosion!  At first, she thought she hadn’t done any damage, but when she looked closely, she saw that three airships had fallen to their destruction!  She smiled and felt confident, and she looked up at the sky.  But, soon after, the lead airship came down until it reached the Queen, and from the airship’s deck, Jexana leapt down, landing gracefully on the ground, and then Ventus proceeded to follow suit.  The Queen opened her eyes in shock as she saw Ventus.  Why was he with the enemy?  That’s what she thought, but then she noticed his eyes were pale, and at that point, she assumed he was under a spell.  Jexana clapped her hands slowly and she looked in the direction where the three airships had fallen, and then she turned her attention to the Queen again.

 

  “I have to say, I’m quite impressed!  I didn’t imagine you would be able to take down ships of my fleet!” she remarked, and the Queen smirked, standing at the ready for her next attack.

 

  “Well, I’m glad to have made an impression on you!  Anything less would be an insult.” the Queen replied.  Jexana scoffed and then she summoned forth dark snakes from the ground, and the snakes weaved into her arms, and then one of the snake’s heads curled up in Jexana’s right hand, and she pointed it at the Queen.

 

  “You really have some nerve, trying to oppose me!  Some nerve, indeed!” Jexana growled, but the Queen ignored her comment as she continued to gaze at Ventus.  Jexana, catching up on what was going on, smirked and bore a mocking expression.

 

  “Ah, I bet you’re wondering what happened to your former friend, correct?  Well, to put a long story short, I liberated him from himself.  Now he belongs to me!” she said, her face beaming with pride.  The Queen simply laughed and crossed her arms.

 

  “That little trick of yours won’t last for long!  I know Ventus, and right now, I know that he’s struggling to be free of you!  He will break free!” the Queen proclaimed defiantly, and at that, Jexana snapped and wrapped the Queen up with her dark snakes, and then she slapped the Queen’s face.

 

  “How dare you!?” Jexana growled, but then she soon regained her composure and cleared her throat.

 

  “It doesn’t matter what you say…you are already doomed.” she said, and with a snap of her fingers, all the airships in the sky started raining down endless explosive barrels, and when they struck the ground, Disney Town and what was left of Disney Castle turned to ashes.  The Queen, who had been determined one moment, was now bursting in tears the next.  Jexana destroyed the remaining pillars of light the Queen had summoned, and then she laughed as she saw the Queen suffering.

 

  “You monster…” the Queen whispered, as she bowed her head, defeated, unable to move.  Jexana then knelt down to see eye to eye with the Queen, and then she rubbed her head.

 

  “Ah, and where is the Queen who was outright defying me just mere seconds ago?  Did she already cower away!?” Jexana mocked with utmost cruelty, and the Queen continued to cry.

 

  “How could you do this….how could you!?  You’ve destroyed the homes of countless people, and now they may never be able to return here!  How is it that you can do this without feeling the slightest bit of remorse!?” the Queen asked, demanding to know.

 

  “The simple reason for it all is that I simply can.  That’s all there is to it.  Worry not, little Queen.  You did admirably.  But even with your efforts, your home was still destroyed.  But don’t worry…you won’t have to live with this pain…not anymore.” Jexana whispered as she smirked.

---

 

  Meanwhile, in the Lanes Between, a solitary airship flies through.  It’s not as big as Jexana’s airships, but it’s not that small either.  Rather, the airship looks like it’s built to be extremely agile.  As the airship continues its calm and steady trek through the Lanes Between, a moogle comes out onto the deck, tired and wanting nothing more than to sit down and relax. The moogle has two pon pons, one colored blue, and the other colored red, and also has a heart shaped charm around its neck.  The moogle sighs and holds onto its charm, and it closes its eyes, ready to sleep.  But, soon after, a teenage boy comes out to the deck as well.  The boy is decked out in pirate attire, and he’s tanned skinned with short, black hair.  He has an eye patch over his left eye and a scar on his left cheek, and he has a hook for a left hand.  The boy looks at the moogle and stands firm.

 

  “Oi, who told you to take a nap?  We’ve got work to do!” he said to the moogle.  Distressed, said moogle flapped its wings weakly and whined.

 

  “Aw, but we’ve been at this for days now, kupo!  Can’t we take a short break?” the moogle pleaded, but the boy shook his head.

 

  “There are no breaks now…we can’t afford to take breaks.” the boy said grimly, and with no other words being uttered, the moogle quietly goes into position and continues to do what it was tasked to do.  Soon after, the boy followed suit.  Suddenly, a star went out.  The moogle gasped.

 

  “Oh no!  Is that what I think it is, kupo?” the moogle asked the boy in distress.  The boy looked intently in the direction where the star had gone out, and he sighed and then looked at the moogle and nooded.

 

  “Yes.  A world has fallen to darkness, never to return…” the boy said grimly.

(End Song Here)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The universe is now on the brink of bearing witness to the greatest Keyblade War that has ever taken place!  With King Mickey and Queen Minnie’s world completely destroyed, Jexana continues on her road of conquest!  And with Keyblade Wielders coming from all universes, what fate will befall the worlds?  Will our heroes be able to put a stop to this?  Everything is uncertain, but now, the journey towards the final battle shall begin in Chapter One: “A Road Long Traveled.”

 

Well then everyone, I hope that you all enjoyed this prologue!  Haha, I think it’s the most dramatic prologue I’ve made for any of my stories to date, and that’s saying something!  So then, I hope that all of you stick around, as I’ll be posting chapters regularly!  Let me know what you all think of the story, and well, until next time, stay tuned for the next chapter!  I hope you all enjoy my story!

 

Special thanks to KHLegendIII for the inclusion of the two new characters that appeared at the end of the Prologue! (Don’t spoil their names, KHLegendIII!)

Edited July 14, 201510 yr by The Transcendent Key

Yeah, for some reason I hear Raxon speaking with a Scottish accent, and the more I think about it the more I feel that that's the accent he would have. :smile:

Haha, I see! I myself, really don't know how Raxon's voice would sound. I'd have to read some of his quotes so I can find out how I think he'd sound like! :3So then everyone, I have an announcement! I know you are all eagerly looking forward to the next chapter, but right now, I'm going to have to ask that you please have a bit more patience! My lapop's fan isn't working, and well, I'm afraid of using my laptop right now out of fear that the lack of a functional fan will end up causing permanent damage to my laptop, so I'm online on my IPad now! So until I get my laptop's fan fixed, I won't be able to post another chapter! I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience, but I promise you that this story shall continue! All I ask is a little more patience, is all! Thank you for understanding! :)And also, my story has gained over 1300 views! Thank you all so much for your support!

Edited August 15, 201510 yr by The Transcendent Key

Hey there everyone, how’s it going!?  Yes, my laptop has finally been fixed, and plus, I’m back home from Chicago, which means that from here on out, I’ll be able to post chapter more frequently! My sincerest, most deepest apologies for such a long delay!  But, you all knew why I wasn’t able to update my story, but now that everything is in order, things are going to resume their natural course!  So then, after much waiting, here is the next chapter, finally!

 

Chapter Six: Into The Lost Empire

(Start Song Here)

  Kyle was in a very uncomfortable spot right now.  During his duel with Raxon, the power of the Dark Light had peered its head, but in an entirely new way that Kyle had never before experienced, and apparently, it was enough to unsettle Sky and Raxon, as they both headed below decks and left Kyle alone.  He looked up at the sky as he sat down on the deck, and he sighed.  He then looked at his hands and wondered again about what Raxon meant about the deity.  But right now, he didn’t have time for any questions, so instead, he refocused his mind on his main mission.  Just when Kyle was about to stand up, a portal opened out of nowhere, and a blinding light emanated from said portal, temporarily blinding Kyle.  When his vision recovered, he noticed that now the ship seemed to be inside a cavern, as nothing but a rocky ceiling loomed above him.  He thought this environment bizarre, and just then, he heard faint footsteps.  It was Sky and Raxon, who had come above decks.  Kyle approached them.

 

  “So…am I to guess we’ve arrived at a new world?” he asked, but Raxon ignored him and walked to the side of the ship.  Instead, Sky nodded his head.

 

  “It seems so, kupo…” the moogle answered cautiously, trying to avoid looking at Kyle.

 

  “Look…I know that what happened earlier was…unexpected, but you don’t have to alienate yourselves from me just because of that!  I’m not the bad guy!” Kyle protested, but Raxon just raised his hand, ordering Kyle to remain silent.

 

  “Wha—hey!  You don’t have to be such a jerk!” he exclaimed, and at that, Raxon clenched his fists, turned around, faced Kyle and held him by the collar of his shirt.

 

  “I said…shut up!” Raxon demanded, and at that, Kyle reluctantly complied.  Sky looked at the two with concern. All of a sudden, the ship stopped abruptly, and Kyle and Raxon fell down, while Sky, with his wings, remained aloft in the air.

 

  “Whoa, what happened!?” Kyle asked in surprise.  Raxon sighed and rolled his eyes.

 

  “And here I thought we could pass through here without being detected…” the pirate muttered under his breath, and in a moment’s notice, foes came from all sides and climbed into the ship.  They looked like tribesmen, and they wore huge masks apparently carved out of wood, with glowing, almost neon blue eyes, and they had sharp spears at the ready.  The three travelers now felt quite uncomfortable.  Sky then calmly floated by.

 

  “I’ll handle this, kupo!” the little moogle said to his two friends, and then, he went towards the tribesmen, slowly and cautiously.

 

  “What is he doing!?” Kyle whispered.

 

  “Just relax, it’ll be fine, mate…” Raxon answered softly, and the two saw how Sky started to speak an unknown language to the tribesmen.  As a few seconds passed, the tribesmen lowered their weapons and nodded at the moogles words, and then one of the tribesmen removed his mask, revealing a middle aged man who looked formidable yet kind.

 

  “I understand.  So you are friends of our king, then!” the man said, and the moogle nodded.

 

  “That’s right, we came by here a long time ago!  If you take us to him, he can confirm our identities, kupo!” Sky suggested, and at that, the man nodded.

 

  “Then that is what shall be done.  Obviously, for security reasons, we must escort you to the king’s throne, just to make sure you do not try anything funny.” the man explained.

 

  “Okay, kupo!” Sky replied, and with that, the tribesmen leapt down the ship and started walking down what seemed to be an ancient stone path, and they signaled the three travelers to follow them. Kyle stood up and looked at Sky with an impressed expression.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Wow, you handled that pretty well!” he said.

 

  “That’s the advantage of being a pirate…you get to go places, and you build up a reputation.” Raxon remarked.

 

  “I see.  So, you two have been here before?” Kyle asked.  Raxon and Sky both nodded in unison.

 

  “Aye.  Though only once.  We came to the marketplace to stock up on goods.  At first, the people of this world treated us with hostility, with us being outsiders and all, but then, after meeting with the king, it seems he found kindred spirits in us, and so he declared we could come by any time we wished.  It’s been a long time since then.” Raxon explained as he then trailed off.

 

  “Well, let’s just hope that the king recognizes you two!” Kyle said.

 

  And so, for a long while, everyone remained silent, and as they came upon a village, Kyle noticed how lively it was.  There were bustling marketplaces, children blissfully playing here and there, fishermen showing off their latest catches, and overall, it was quite an active village.  Kyle then looked towards Sky and Raxon, as they were looking straight ahead.  He wanted to start up a conversation, but he still felt that things were awkward between them, so he decided to stay quite.  After a few minutes, and a very big set of stairs, they arrived to the king’s throne.  After one of the tribesmen talked to one of the bodyguards, said bodyguard opened the gate, and everyone proceeded to go inside. But, as they went inside, they noticed there were already people here.  A big group, to be sure.  They obviously weren’t from here, since their clothes reflected those of modern people.  One of the guards signaled for Kyle, Sky and Raxon to stay put while the king dealt with the other guests.  Raxon mumbled to himself.

 

  “Is something wrong?” Kyle asked out of curiosity.

 

  “Something isn’t right…those people…I can sense darkness within them…” he said in a whisper. Sky shuddered and nodded.

 

  “I can sense it too, kupo!” the little moogle replied, and at that, Kyle looked at the group of people with great interest.

 

  He tried his best to overhear the conversation, but the only thing he could pick up was something about the king saying that what the people were looking for was not here.  Then, he could sense it!  That darkness that Raxon and Sky had felt, Kyle could feel now too.  But, the only problem is, that he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.  They all seemed suspicious.  If anything, the only one who looked the friendliest was a thin man with big, round glasses.  He had a bag on him.  Kyle assumed he was a sort of researcher.  An archeologist, most likely.  After a few minutes passed, the king dismissed these guests, and as they went out the gates, one of the tribesmen went towards the king and whispered something into his ear, probably about Raxon, Sky and Kyle.  In just a matter of seconds, the king signaled them to come forth.  And so, they did, and all three of them bowed down.

 

  “Your Majesty, it’s been too long, kupo!” Sky said.  The king waved his hand with a warm smile on his face.

 

  “Ah, my two friends.  It has been quite some time indeed since our last encounter.  How have things fared for you on your travels?” the king asked.

 

  “We’ve been wandering here and there, exploring new places, kupo!” the moogle replied, and at that, the king nodded.

 

  “Ah, I see.  And you seem as stout and headstrong as ever, young Raxon.” he said as he stood up and held himself with his cane and walked towards the pirate.  Raxon stood up and chuckled a bit.

 

  “Aye, there’s no fooling your eyes, eh, old man?” the pirate teased.

 

  “Indeed.” the king replied with a chuckle.  Then, he walked over to Kyle and stood in front of him for a while.

 

  “And who might this lad be?” the king asked.

 

  “I’m Kyle, Your Majesty!  It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m tagging along with Sky and Raxon.  I’m searching for my family and friends with them!” he said, and the king nodded and stroked his long beard.

 

  Kyle then noticed something about the king, and about all the people living in this underground city, as a matter of fact.  He noticed all of them had strange yet stylish blue tattoos that ran through their whole bodies, and all of them had white hair, even the children!  What wondrous and mysterious people these ones were, Kyle thought!  He then stood up, and the king went back to his throne and sat down.

 

  “So then, what brings you three here to my kingdom?  You wouldn’t be searching for the same thing that those others were, by any chance?” the king asked sternly.  Raxon stepped forward and shook his head.

 

  “No, Your Majesty, we aren’t after anything.  We were actually just planning on passing by unnoticed, since we’re in quite the hurry.  But, now that we’re here, it’s best we stock up on supplies!” the pirate explained, and the king nodded.

 

  “Of course!  You are welcome to our supplies, just as last time!  But be wary…I sense a terrible darkness afoot…and it may be from those strangers who were here just now…” the king said, almost in a whisper, and at that, Sky, Raxon and Kyle nodded in unison.

 

  “Don’t worry, we won’t be long, and we’ll be careful, kupo!” Sky said, and with that, the three were dismissed, and as soon as they exited the gates, they went towards the marketplace.

 

  Kyle remained silent during their trip to the marketplace, and he remained thinking about those people the king was attending to before them.  He didn’t know why, but he felt that he needed to talk with the thin man with big, round glasses.  He really didn’t know why he felt this urge, but it’s something that remained in his mind for a while.  He shrugged off his thoughts soon after, and then focused his mind on the various things that were available in the marketplace.  He saw Raxon and Sky picking different edible products, and they looked strange and unlike anything he had ever seen before.  But, to these people, this food seemed normal to them.  They’d probably find Sea Salt Ice Cream as strange!

 

  After Raxon and Sky purchased everything that was needed, they thanked the people, and then they headed towards the ship.  But, just as they were nearing the ship, they heard screams coming from a little farther off where the marketplace was.  Soon, there was smoke, and everyone was running in panic, and many tribesmen were preparing their weapons to face this sudden threat that had appeared!  Kyle immediately thought of the Unborn, or Heartless, or perhaps something worse!  On instinct, he quickly ran towards the source of the commotion, and Raxon and Sky quickly followed.  When they arrived at the source of commotion, they saw that it was a horde of fearsome Heartless, laying waste to everything around them!  Kyle quickly summoned his Keyblade and growled.

 

  “You never get tired of appearing anywhere, don’t you!?” Kyle shouted out, catching the Heartless’ attention.

 

  “You’re going to need help…” Raxon muttered as he summoned his Keyblade.

 

  “We’re in this together, kupo!” Sky said as he prepared to charge potent spells.  Kyle nodded and smiled, and then he looked around at the people surrounding them.

 

  “Everyone, stay back!  Only those that are able to fight can be here!  Get your children to safety! Tribesmen, we’ll be needing your help!” he shouted, and the women and children ran off, and the tribesmen came and stood side by side with the Keyblade Wielders.

 

  “What are these creatures!?” one of the tribesmen asked.

 

  “The only thing you need to be knowing about them creatures is that they’re bad news…so fight with all you’ve got!” Raxon answered, and with that, everyone nodded, and they prepared themselves for the imminent battle awaiting them.  All the while, Kyle couldn’t shake off the undeniable feeling that they were being watched.

---

(Start Song Here)

  Meanwhile, at the Mysterious Tower, everyone had rested up, and now they were all gathered at the top of the tower, pondering their next move.  Yen Sid, who would usually sit, was standing near the windows, and he gazed outside in deep thought.  Everyone felt restless, but they had to keep a calm mind if they were to come up with any plan at all.  Yen Sid suddenly turned around, and all the others immediately perked their heads up, ready to hear whatever words he had to say.  Flora, Fauna and Merryweather were by his side, also eager to listen to what the great sorcerer had to say.  After taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

 

  “My dearest friends…it is with great trouble and with difficult times that we meet here.  Unfortunately, the current circumstances make this meeting more grim than anything else, so let us discuss our course of action!  The Keyblade War has practically begun, and we are severely in the dark at what is happening in the other worlds!  All I can inform you is that a great fleet of darkness has been travelling world to world, submitting the population and destroying everything…this fleet of darkness has a great many warriors, those who wield Keyblades, and others who wield weapons we have yet to see!  Alas, even with this information, we still do not know what other outside forces are at work.  This is very troubling indeed…” the sorcerer said, and everyone remained silent for a moment.

 

  “Gosh…it’s really that bad, huh?” Mickey asked as he trailed off.

 

  “If we are to learn anything more about what’s going on in the other worlds, I think that my father and his counsel could be able to help!  After all, he said that whenever we needed help, he and his comrades would agree to help without the slightest bit of hesitation!” Dawn suggested.

 

  “Ah, I agree with you on that, Dawn, which is why Kosaku and I have been keeping in constant communication.  It is thanks to him and his counsel that I was able to tell you about the fleet of darkness that is currently a great threat!” Yen Sid replied, and at that, Dawn smiled and thought to herself about how good it was to have her father being so supportive and helpful in these dark times.

 

  “I’ve sent my Nobodies to different worlds to serve as scouts, and if they find any useful information, they’ll quickly report to me.  Vanitas has done the same with his Unversed.” Dexeres explained.  Vanitas nodded while crossing his arms and leaning his back against the wall.

 

  “We gotta know exactly with how much we’re dealing with, so sending out Nobodies and Unversed is the best way to go about this right now.  In the meantime, all of us will go to different worlds and try our best to prevent anything catastrophic from happening, and hopefully, we can be able to get all these Keyblade Wielders from all the corners of the universe into one place!  My first bet for trying to place them all in one spot is in the Keyblade Graveyard, for obvious reasons.  But even then, that stupid place probably wouldn’t be able to contain the amount of Keyblade Wielders coming…we’re really in a tight fix here…” he said as he closed his eyes and went deep in thought.

 

  “And there’s also the matter of Sora, Donald, Goofy and Xion, who became separated from us…we don’t know where they are right now, so we need to find them as soon as we can!” Kairi added in.  All the others nodded in agreement.

 

  “Well, seeing as how we’ll be travelling to other worlds, I suggest we all do this together, with no splitting up!  Things are much more dangerous now, so we’re better off sticking together!  We’ll probably turn out a lot better that way!” Gilgamesh remarked.

 

  “That’s right.  Strength lies in unity, and as long as we remain united, there’s nothing we can’t do!” Riku said.  His wounds still hurt him deeply, but he had the sheer willpower to keep on going.

 

  “Then it’s settled, fellas!  We’ll all travel the worlds together, and hopefully, we’ll be able to put a stop to all this insanity as soon as possible!” Mickey said.  He then turned to Yen Sid.

 

  “Master Yen Sid, have you received any word from Minnie?” the little mouse asked, and at that, the old sorcerer’s face turned grim.  Mickey immediately grew concerned.

 

  “My dear friend Mickey…I am afraid something has befallen your home world of Disney Castle…” he said grimly, and everyone gasped in surprise and shock.  Mickey stuttered a bit before regaining himself.

 

  “W-what do you mean by that!?” Mickey asked.

 

  “I have tried to contact Queen Minnie for quite some time now…but for some reason, my continuous attempts to reach her fail me every time.  I advise that before you go look anywhere else, you visit your home world first…” Yen Sid said, with eyes closed and head bowed.

 

  “N-nothing could’ve happened…Minnie, Daisy and the others are safe, I just know it!  Nothing bad could’ve happened to them…right?” Mickey asked uncertainly.  Vanitas walked to him and put his hand on his shoulder.

 

  “We can see it in your face, Mickey…you’re dead worried.  We’ll come with you and check up on your world and see how things are.” he said.

 

  “Vanitas is right.  You’ve always been there for us, Mickey, and now, we’re here for you!  Let’s go to Disney Castle!” Kairi said.

 

  “I agree as well!” Gilgamesh proclaimed, and everyone nodded in agreement.

 

  “Gosh fellas…I…I don’t know what to say.” Mickey said as he could feel tears forming in his eyes.  Dawn smiled and nodded at him.

 

  “It’s alright, Mickey.  Now come on, let’s go!” she said, and with that, everyone bowed in farewell to Yen Sid.

 

  “Thank you for everything, Master Yen Sid.” Everyone said, and the old sorcerer nodded.

 

  “Best of luck and blessings to you, and please, look after each other.” he said, and the others nodded.

 

  “Take this before you go!  A gift from the three of us!” Fauna said, as she, Flora and Merryweather cast a spell that materialized something strange that the Keyblade Wielders hadn’t seen before.

 

  “During your travels, I’m sure our spell will come in handy!” Merryweather said.

 

  “Right!  Thank you, for everything!” Mickey said, and with that, everyone left the Mysterious Tower, and towards Disney Castle.

(End Song Here)

---

(Start Song Here)

  At that same moment, Kyle, Raxon, Sky and the tribesmen began their battle against the Heartless!  Kyle made it his goal to wipe them out as quickly as possible before they’d get away with more destruction!  Raxon effortlessly dealt with another horde of Heartless, and Sky took to the skies, casting potent spells at any and all Heartless.  The tribesmen, in turn, gave it everything they had, and attacked with their ferocious might, plunging their spears into the Heartless, defeating each one with great force!  So far, the battle was going well, until suddenly, more Heartless came, and this time, in greater numbers!  And they were also bigger!  They looked large and reptile-like, and they crawled all over the place, making them difficult to take down.  Raxon was getting irritated.

 

  “Grr, damn reptiles…I’ve always hated their wretched kind…” Raxon muttered to himself as he kept slaying dozens of Heartless.  Sky swooped down and then stood back to back with him.

 

  “These Heartless sure are strong, they aren’t your average type, kupo!” the little moogle said as he prepared to cast another potent spell.

 

  “That may be so, but I’ll keep on taking them out like I always do.  With my trusty Keyblade and my sharp hook!” Raxon remarked, and with that, he leapt up, and then ran up a stone wall, then propelling himself from said wall and ricocheting through the entire battlefield, taking out numerous Heartless as he went!

 

  As the battle continued, many of the tribesmen were struck down, while the others would come to their aid and carry them back to the village.  Kyle, Raxon and Sky would serve as cover for the tribesmen, and they held off the enemy admirably.  Kyle remained focused on the battle, and he made sure that no Heartless would get past him.  He then glanced over his shoulder at Raxon and Sky.

 

  “Guys, we have to make sure that we don’t let the Heartless get into the village, or else, it’s going to be chaos in there!” he shouted.

 

  “Right, we’ll hold them off as best as we can, kupo!” Sky replied, and then he flew up and remained high in the sky above the two Keyblade Wielders, casting Aeroga spells and creating whirlpools of water for the Heartless to drown in.  Raxon and Kyle stood side by side, both of them being an impenetrable wall the enemy couldn’t hope to break through!

 

  “So, I’m guessing you’ve fought Heartless before, eh?” Raxon asked.

 

  “Yeah, I have.  And they’ve always been really bothersome pests!” Kyle answered, and at that, Raxon chuckled and nodded.

 

  “That, we can agree on!” the pirate said, and with that, he used his hook to hack away at a Heartless who had attempted to gnaw out his shoulder, and then he used his Keyblade to direct one of Sky’s spells towards the reptilian looking Heartless, making them dissipate instantly!  So far, the battle was going in their favor, and if they wanted to keep it that way, they’d have to keep working together! A few seconds passed, and then more tribesmen came to assist the Keyblade Wielders.  They fought with all their might, showing their prowess in combat!

 

  “Take that, Heartless scum!” Raxon shouted as he made a dozen Heartless dissipate by performing an area clearing attack with both his hook and Keyblade!

 

  “I’ve got them!” Sky proclaimed, as he cast a Magnega spell, causing the Heartless to be unwillingly pulled towards the Keyblade Wielders.

 

  “That’s the way to do it!” Kyle shouted, as he charged his Keyblade’s power and then performed the powerful Zantetsuken attack, wiping them all out in one fell swoop!  And with that, the battle seemed to be over, but…

 

  “Another one approaches!” one of the tribesmen shouted, and he pointed downhill, where an enormous Heartless was coming.  This one seemed to be more powerful than the others before.  Raxon groaned and gritted his teeth.

 

  “Damn…those things won’t give up…” he mumbled to himself, but Kyle stood firm and unflinching.  But he did sense that this Heartless would probably make short work of the tribesmen, so he glanced back at them and raised his Keyblade.

 

  “Everyone, head for the village…this Heartless is beyond any of you!  Raxon, Sky and I will stay and deal with it!  In the meantime, keep everyone safe!” he said.

 

  “It shall be done!” one of the tribesmen said, and with that, he and the rest of his tribe went to the village, and only Raxon, Sky and Kyle remained.

 

  “Playing the hero, eh?” Raxon asked.

 

  “I’m doing what I know is right.  This Heartless we’re about to fight…it’s got something unnatural about it…something too sinister.” Kyle said.

 

  “Is that a fact?” the pirate asked.

 

  “What do you mean?” Kyle asked, but Raxon simply cracked his neck and knuckles and chuckled softly.

 

  “Watch and learn, rookie.  This is how you deal with a big pest!” the pirate said, and with that, he instantly went running towards the immense Heartless.  Kyle opened his eyes in shock.

 

  “What are you, crazy!?” Kyle asked as he was about to follow him, but Sky stopped him and shook his head.

 

  “Leave him be.  He knows what he’s doing, just watch, kupo!” the little moogle urged Kyle.

 

  And so, Kyle did nothing more than watch Raxon head downhill, and as he saw him doing just that, he noticed that the pirate suddenly vanished.  This caught Kyle by surprise, and now he wondered where Raxon had gone off to.  Suddenly, the immense Heartless tumbled to the side and crashed on the side of a stone wall.  Apparently, a tiny explosion was responsible for this.  No doubt one of Raxon’s bombs!  Suddenly, the pirate reappeared, and he was climbing up the Heartless’ tail, stabbing his Keyblade on it so that he could leave his foe pinned in place.  Then, as he ran up his foe’s body, he prepared to attack.

 

  The Heartless tried to trash Raxon away, but the pirate was clever, as he held on to his foe with his razor sharp claw, causing the Heartless to shriek in pain!  After it stopped moving, Raxon continued climbing to the top until he got on top of its head, and then, he struck out his arm, and his Keyblade dematerialized from the Heartless’ tail and rematerialized in his hand, and as soon as he gripped his Keyblade tight, he delivered a fatal slash, causing his foe’s head to be cut clean off!  But even with its head cut off, the Heartless still remained a threat, as its body involuntarily thrashed about, causing quite a ruckus.  Raxon was smirking the entire time!

 

  “Time for you to go to sleep!” he shouted, as he threw three of his bombs high into the air, and then, in a sudden flash of light, his Keyblade transformed into a rifle, and then he quickly planted his feet on the ground, and once he took aim, he fired three, deadly precise shots, which made the bombs explode and sent out heat seeking fragments of gun powder into the Heartless’ skin, causing it to explode on contact.  And just like that, the menacing Heartless was no more!  Kyle was practically stunned, and Sky clapped his hands approvingly.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Another victory for us, kupo!” the little moogle triumphantly declared, and Raxon nodded.

 

  “It was all quite easy, really.” he said, a cocky smirk forming on his face.  He was enjoying Kyle’s reaction.  A few seconds after, and all the villagers came out and cheered for their three heroes.

 

  “Thank you all so much for your help, now the monsters won’t be a danger to us!” one of the villagers said.  But Sky shook his head and flew in front of the villagers.

 

  “The Heartless may be gone for now, but they’ll come back!  They’re always lurking everywhere, so you have to keep your guard up at all times, and set more guards to patrol the outskirts of the village, and put more guards in the marketplaces and other areas as well! That way, you can all handle the Heartless when we aren’t around!” the little moogle explained, and all the villagers murmured in agreement.

 

  “I’ll inform the king at once!” one of the villagers said, and with that, she left towards the king.

 

  After Kyle got over his shock at seeing Raxon handle such a big Heartless so effortlessly, he noticed that in the big crowd of people, the thin man with the big, round glasses was among them, and he seemed to be looking at Kyle with a smile of excitement on his face.  Kyle had been meaning to talk to this man, so he figured that now was as good a time as any, and so, he headed over to him, walking through the crowd of villagers, and when he reached him, he stopped and noticed he was the only one from the group of people he had seen in the king’s throne room who was here at the moment.  Before Kyle could say anything, the man spoke first.

 

  “I just have to say, you are one amazing person!  I saw how you handled those creatures outside so easily, and I have to say, that is some amazing fighting skills you have!” the man said with sincere excitement.  Kyle smiled and nodded.

 

  “Thanks!  I’ve been practicing my fighting skills for years, so I’m glad they’ve come in handy! My name’s Kyle, nice to meet you!” he said.

 

  “Hi there Kyle, my name’s Milo Thatch!” he said as he outstretched his hand for Kyle to shake it, and so they shook hands.

 

  “So hey, judging from the way you look, you aren’t from around here, huh?” Kyle asked casually. Milo nodded.

 

  “You’re right!  I’m not from around here!  You see, I came here along with a crew of explorers on an expedition to find Atlantis, a lost civilization!  Many people thought it was just a myth, but now, we’re finally here! I can’t wait to prove to everyone back home about Atlantis’s existence!” he explained excitedly, and at that, Kyle smiled.

 

  “Wow, so finding this city was really that important to you, huh?” he asked.  Milo then seemed to trail off for a moment, as if remembering something from his childhood, but then, he quickly snapped back to reality and nodded.

 

  “Yeah…it’s been my grandfather Thadeus Thatch’s greatest dream…he never lived to fulfill his dream, though.  If only he could see this place now…he’d be so happy.” Milo said, his eyes watering up.

 

  “Wow…I’m sure your grandpa would be real proud of you, that’s for sure!” Kyle said.

 

  Milo nodded and smiled, and then, Raxon and Sky came along, and all of them went to the marketplace, and met up with the other people from the expedition, and they took in the sights and interacted with the villagers.  Kyle found Atlantis to be a wonderful, amazing place, but even through his sense of amazement, he still couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was being watched.  He momentarily glanced over his shoulder, but saw no one, except for the villagers, of course.  He then walked to the others and stayed close to them.  Whoever was watching now, Kyle didn’t feel at all comfortable. And from the looks of it, Raxon and Sky noticed it too, for they would often glance over at Kyle, as if they were silently communicating with each other.

 

  “We’re being watched…”

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Even though the Heartless were defeated, something or someone is still watching Kyle, Raxon and Sky’s every move, and Mickey fears for what fate has befallen his beloved Minnie and their home world of Disney Castle!  What will happen next?  Be prepared for Chapter Seven: “The Heart Of Atlantis.”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you all enjoyed it!  I’m so happy that I was finally able to update this story!  I am truly sorry for such a long delay, but I promise you that chapters will be coming along more often, God willing!  So anyways, thank you all very much for your patience and support, as always, and please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  Until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

That is interesting.

That was awesome! Hey! Copycat! I just used that world in My Kingdom Hearts Story! Well, I find it as a nice complement that I gave you an idea. I'm flattered.

That is interesting.

Thanks!

 

That was awesome! Hey! Copycat! I just used that world in My Kingdom Hearts Story! Well, I find it as a nice complement that I gave you an idea. I'm flattered.

Haha, thanks!  And actually, I had wanted to put Atlantis ever since The Keyblade War Chapter II, but I thought it better to put that world in Chapter III!  Lol, I was the one surprised that you used Atlantis.  Haha, you beat me to the punch!

 

Edit: And actually, after close inspection, I realize that I had already alluded for Atlantis to appear in my story at the end of Chapter Five, which I posted on August 6th, and by that time, Atlantis still hadn't appeared in your story. I just felt like I should clear that up. So yeah, technically, I used Atlantis first.

Edited August 30, 201510 yr by The Transcendent Key

Good evening everybody, I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, here’s the next chapter of the story!  I hope you all find it to your enjoyment!

 

Chapter Seven: The Heart Of Atlantis

 

  And so, with the villagers grateful to Kyle, Raxon and Sky for saving their lives from the Heartless, they insisted that the three warriors stay for a few days.  And that’s precisely what they did. But Raxon made it a point to not stay for too long, only until they rested up enough of their strength.  During the next few days that they stayed, Kyle took his time and explored Atlantis, and he felt amazed by all the amazing things he saw!  The rich, cultural history of the Atlanteans was evident in the way they lived their lives, and the way they operated as a community! Kyle was impressed by the vast expanse of the city when viewed from above.  Giant stone guardians stood watch all around the edge of the city, almost as if they were a line of defense against enemies.  Kyle wondered just how much history this amazing city held.  While staying in Atlantis, Kyle and Milo Thatch became good friends, and eventually, Milo introduced Kyle to a local native, Kida. Together, they kept exploring the vast city of Atlantis.

 

  “Wow…I never imagined a place like this existed!” Kyle remarked.

 

  “Yeah, I know what you mean!  Many archaeologists theorized on why Atlantis disappeared from the surface world, since the city was once above sea at a time.  Kida told me everything! She was there when the city plunged into the sea!” he explained.

 

  “Wow, really!?” Kyle asked in wonder.  Kida nodded.

 

  “What Milo is saying is right, young Kyle.  I was there when this city plunged into the depths…and ever since then, our people have slowly started to fade away…my father refuses to do anything about this…but I am determined to save our people!  There has to be a way…” she said, her fist clenched to her chest.

 

  “I know how you feel…I have people I want to save too…” Kyle said as he thought of Trish and Ventus.  There was a sudden silence for a moment, and at that, Milo decided to break the ice.

 

  “Anyways guys, I’m starved!  Come on, let’s go eat!” he said, and with that, they all headed towards the village to grab a bite to eat.

 

  Meanwhile, at the outskirts of the city, Raxon stood, deep in thought.  Sky was right beside him, and the two of them didn’t say anything to each other for a while.  They had been monitoring Kyle very closely, and they wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to be a threat for their mission.  So far, things were going smoothly.  But, Sky still had his doubts, and he felt very uneasy about all this, especially considering Kyle had the power of the Dark Light.  But he felt bad as well, for he didn’t want to brand Kyle as an enemy, since he seemed so friendly and approachable!  Raxon, on the other hand, wasn’t too keen on befriending Kyle.  Rather, if he could keep as much distance from him as possible, the better he’d feel.  Sky sighed and looked at his friend.

 

  “So, what are we going to do now, kupo?” the little moogle asked.

 

  “Nothing.  For now, we keep quiet…” Raxon replied, almost in a whisper.

 

  “Why are you talking so softly, kupo?”  Sky asked, lowering his voice as well.  Raxon discretely turned around to look at his friend, and he crossed his arms.

 

  “We’re being watched…and I think Kyle knows it too…” he whispered.

 

  “But who’s watching us…?” Sky wondered.  At that, Raxon shrugged, and then he signaled to his friend that he was going to change the topic.

 

  “Anyways, Sky, we be having a great and difficult journey ahead of us…there’s no telling what’s gonna come our way!  We just have to keep our trail steady, and we’ll be just fine!” the pirate said, and the little moogle nodded.

 

  “That’s right, kupo!” Sky replied cheerfully.

 

  After a few minutes, they headed towards the village, and on the way, they met up with Kyle, Milo and Kida, and they all went to eat together. The day was rather calm, overall, yet Kyle, Raxon and Sky  were very cautious, and they felt as if someone was peeking at them from their shoulders. They felt restless.  Milo and Kida didn’t seem to notice.  After they finished eating, they went exploring again, and Raxon would stop on occasion to gaze at the giant stone walls and the details of writing that was on the walls.  Sky flew in loops and enjoyed himself, spreading his wings and feeling relaxed. After a few more minutes passed, they came to a river, and then Kida turned to Milo.

 

  “There is something that I must show you…something I need your help in understanding!” she said, and Milo nodded.

 

  “Of course, anything to help!” he said, and with that, Kida took off her long skirt and revealed a swimsuit underneath.  Milo couldn’t help but stutter and blush, and Kyle and Sky turned around, feeling embarrassed.  Raxon simply scoffed and chuckled to himself, and then he looked at Kyle and Sky with a smirk on his face.

 

  “What’s the matter?  Ain’t you ever seen a woman before?” he taunted.

 

  “Why you…” Kyle started, but then Kida came and interrupted their conversation.

 

  “I need you three to stay out here.  Make sure no creatures come to this place!  Can I count on you?” she asked.  The three nodded.

 

  “Of course, we’ll do the job, kupo!” Sky replied.

 

  “Thank you very much.” Kida said as she bowed appreciatively, and then she went with Milo into the river, and they swam deep below it.

 

  “So, what do you think they’re going into the river for?” Kyle asked, feeling curious.  Sky shrugged, but Raxon seemed to have a clue as to what all this was about.

 

  “I think I may have an idea…” he began.

 

  “Tell us!” Kyle and Sky burst out in unison.  Raxon looked at them irritatingly and rolled his eyes.

 

  “Okay, okay!  Well, you see…Kida’s people have existed for quite some time…and as you may already know, they weren’t born underwater.  Their city used to be in the surface, but a cataclysmic event brought the city down to the depths of the sea.  The people here have learned to thrive and live peacefully, and they’ve amassed combat and technology beyond any civilization coming before.  But, every civilization comes to an end, eh?  Kida’s people are slowly dying.  Just take a look at the crystals they were around their necks!  Those crystals seem to be linked to them somehow…and it seems that the energy in said crystals is starting to run out, so Kida’s looking for a way to prevent this from happening.  Now the question remains, what will she find down in the river?” Raxon asked after he finished explaining everything.  Kyle and Sky remained silent, and then, all of a sudden, they heard a twig snap.

 

  “W-what was that, kupo!?” Sky whispered.  Kyle then saw torches.

 

  “Quick, hide!” he said, and so, they hid behind a giant boulder, and when the torches came closer, they realized that it was the people who Milo was with.  They came with torches…and they came with soldiers wielding guns!  Something was definitely wrong!

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKyfF3h1sVY

  Then, that’s when Kyle felt it.  The darkness that the king of Atlantis had spoken of before.  At first, he had been unable to trace where the darkness was emanating from exactly, but now, he was able to focus, and he was able to make out the people who bore this darkness.  It was two people.  A muscular, tall man with a sinister looking face and gray hair, and a blonde woman, with a beauty mark on her cheek.  Those two had a sinister darkness in them.  Kyle felt compelled to spur into action, but Raxon stopped him short.  Before Kyle could complain, Raxon covered his mouth and shook his head.

 

  “We wait…” he mouthed out. And so, they waited.  The group of people along with the soldiers were now in place, and it seems that they were waiting for Milo and Kida to get out of the river!

 

  “This is bad, kupo…” Sky whispered.

 

  A few more minutes passed, and still nothing!  Kyle then felt his heartbeat increase, and for a moment, he felt as if the whole world had frozen in place.  He couldn’t explain why he was feeling this way, but all he knew is that he felt terrified…and he could’ve sworn that he felt a drop of sweat roll down from his brow!  Then, he heard a soft, hissing noise.  He felt alarmed and looked everywhere, and he tried calling out to Raxon and Sky, but they looked like they were frozen in time!  When he tried to call out to them again, the hissing became slightly louder.  Kyle got angry, and then he clenched his fists, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

 

  “It’s you again…isn’t it?” Kyle asked.  The hissing soon turned into soft chuckles, and then a dark mist materialized before him.

 

  “Ah, so you can hear me after all!  That’s good!  Now I know I can get your attention anytime I want!” the mist said.

 

  “Who are you!?” Kyle demanded.  The mist laughed again and slightly moved.

 

  “Who am I?  Well, I’m you, of course!” the mist said, and at that, Kyle tilted his head.

 

  “You’re…me?” he asked, uncertain of his own question.

 

  “But of course!  I am the power of the Dark Light!  Well, at least, I’m your manifestation of this great power!  I had been sleeping for quite some time now, but now I’ve finally awakened, and now I’m feeling quite refreshed, if I do say so myself!” the mist said as it chuckled.

 

  “W-what?  Sleeping?  You mean that you’ve been sleeping inside of me all this time!?” Kyle asked in shock.  The mist swirled around him and loomed above him.

 

  “Indeed, that is the case!  I am the untapped potential of your power.  And since power consumes energy, I am bound to choose a host to feed off of, if you catch my drift…” the mist snickered without the slightest care in the world.

 

  “Wait…you mean to say that you’re feeding off of my life force!?  That you’ve been doing so ever since my powers manifested!?” Kyle asked, with continued shock.

 

  “How right you are!  Anyhow, I think we should save up our chat for some other time now…it seems  you have other things to worry about…” the mist replied, and before Kyle could answer, he felt someone grab him by the throat, and when he finally snapped out of it, he realized that the group of explorers, along with the soldiers, had found him, Raxon and Sky!  They were now in restraints and at gunpoint.  Any sudden moves would prove fatal!  Raxon gritted his teeth as he glared at Kyle.

(End Song Here)

 

  “This is bad…” Kyle thought to himself, and then, the tall, muscular man with grey hair came towards the three of them and knelt so that he could see face to face with them.  He smirked and had a satisfied look in his eyes.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Hey there kids, the name’s Roark.  I take it your friends of Milo and that girl, aren’t you?  If that’s the case…then I’m sure you won’t mind telling us what they went down into the river for.  It couldn’t have been just a date, eh?” he asked with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

 

  “We don’t know what they went down there for!  We only saw them when they went into the river, but we weren’t able to catch up to them, kupo!” Sky explained, trying his best to remain calm, hoping that Roark would buy that story.  Roark looked at the moogle intently and then he stood up and put his hands behind his back.  He then walked towards the shore of the river and chuckled to himself.

 

  “Ah, it doesn’t matter, anyhow.  Sure, they went into the river, but eventually, they’ll need to come up to catch some air.  When the time comes, we’ll be ready for them.  In the meantime, we’ll keep you three here, so that you don’t get any funny ideas!” Roark said casually, as if this was routine for him. Raxon then chuckled and shook his head.

 

  “Ah, I get it now.  You’re a good for nothing mercenary, eh?” the pirate barked out, and while everyone else remained silent, Roark simply laughed.

 

  “That’s the word for it, my young friend.  I’m surprised you could tell so fast! You’re a smart kid!” he said sarcastically.  He then turned around and focused his attention on the river.  Things were getting bad, and Kyle, Raxon and Sky had no way to escape to warn Milo and Kida of the danger waiting for them!

(End Song Here)

---

 

  At that same moment, Mickey, Riku, Kairi and the others, who had left the Mysterious Tower, were now on their way to Disney Castle via a portal that Gilgamesh had opened.  They tried their best to cheer Mickey up, but no matter how hard they tried, the little mouse wouldn’t feel better.  This was the first time they had seen him so grim! In their minds and in their hearts, they were hoping nothing bad had happened to Queen Minnie or any of the other inhabitants of Disney Castle and town.

 

  “It’ll be okay Mickey, you’ll see.” Riku reassured, but Mickey didn’t turn around.  He remained at the front of the group, deep in thought.

 

  “Minnie…Pluto, everyone…please be okay!” the little mouse thought to himself.  Dawn had her arms crossed and she sighed, and she closed her eyes.

 

  “Something doesn’t feel right…I have a bad feeling that when we get through this portal, we won’t be seeing anything good…” she thought to herself, and she bit her lip.  She wanted to believe everything was okay, but a constant feeling in her heart told her that something was very wrong.  Suddenly, a bright light suddenly started emanating in the distance.  Gilgamesh pointed towards it and walked in front of everyone.

 

  “There, friends!  That is where the portal opens anew!” he declared, and after a few more seconds, the portal opened, and when they got out of it…they were taken aback in shock and horror with what they saw next…

 

(Start Song Here)

  “N-no…this can’t be…this just can’t be!” Mickey shouted in despair, as he quickly realized that his kingdom…his home world, had been destroyed!

 

  Everywhere the Keyblade Wielders looked, all they saw were burning fields of grass, devastated landscapes, and destroyed homes.  To their right, they saw Disney Castle, laying in ruins, and all the neighboring homes that belonged to the cheerful residents of this world were no more.  It was a horrible nightmare.  And there was no one in sight! Mickey started to cry uncontrollably, frustrated and heartbroken by it all. This was the first time everyone had seen the little mouse steep so low in despair.  But could he be blamed?  No, for he had all the reasons in the world to mourn.  It only became worse when Mickey found Minnie’s crown in between a pile of debris.  He held the crown in his hands, and he remained silent, eyes closed, and crying.  Kairi clenched her fists in anger.

 

  “Why…?  Why did this have to happen!?  This world…it’s…” she started to say, but couldn’t finish, as she began to cry as well.

 

  “This is a cruel thing…what’s happened here is unforgivable…” Dawn said as she held Kairi close and hugged her, trying to hold back her tears.  She had to be strong for everyone…she just had to!

 

  “We’ll scout ahead and see what we can find…I’m truly sorry, Mickey…” Vanitas said in a grim tone, as he dared not look at the little mouse.  He wanted to cry, but he too, held back his tears. Mickey simply nodded, and with that, Vanitas and Dexeres scouted ahead.  Riku, who had such a strong bond with Mickey, felt his heart ache as if he had lost his own home world.  He went towards him and knelt by his side and hugged him.

 

  “I know it’s hard, Mickey…I know you’re hurting…this...this isn’t something that any of us are prepared to face.  When destruction comes along, it takes away everything we hold dear…and even though we feel pain in our hearts…we have to remain strong.  Even if we are breaking apart at the seams, we have to push on.  We have to make sure that no other worlds suffer the same fate as this one did.  We have to do this…for Minnie, Pluto, and everyone…we’re with you, my old friend.  And you know we’ll always be by your side.  You can count on that.” Riku said as he put his hand on Mickey’s shoulder, then proceeding to hugging him again.  Mickey hugged back and sniffled a bit, and he stood up, albeit weakly, and he looked at Riku.

 

  “Thank you, Riku…” was all he could say.  Riku knew that the little mouse didn’t have to say any more.  He simply smiled, and they headed towards the other Keyblade Wielders.

 

  “This is just horrible…” Dawn said, still not believing everything she was seeing.  Suddenly, Vanitas and Dexeres quickly came running back, and they looked quite alert!  Dawn regained her composure and went towards them.

 

  “What’s wrong?  What did you find?” she asked, as Dexeres and Vanitas caught their breath.

 

  “Hide…quickly!” Dexeres said in between breathes.

 

  “What?” Riku asked, confused.  Vanitas rolled his eyes and shook his head.

 

  “What you heard, doofus, hide!” he stated, and with that, everyone scattered about, hiding behind a few piles of debris and some boulders.  In a few seconds, many, many footsteps could be heard.  After a few more seconds, armored soldiers who looked considerably strong passed through, marching upon the ruined landscape. Their armor was magnificent and well made, shining with the rays of the sun. They held up a banner that had strange symbols on it that none of the Keyblade Wielders could make out, but the most distinguishing feature of the banner was a symbol that looked like a helmet adorned with majestic, stylized wings.  Dawn peeked her head out a slight bit, and she saw that this was an enormous army!  Could they have been the ones responsible for destroying Mickey’s home?  Suddenly, one of the soldiers stopped, and the others did as well.

 

  “Who are they…?” Kairi whispered to the others, but none of them answered.  Gilgamesh then gasped softly, for he seemed to recognize who those soldiers were.

 

  “Those are the Knights Of Yggdrassil!” Gilgamesh said in a hushed tone.  Riku raised his eyebrow.

 

  “Knights Of Yggdrassil?  I assume you’ve crossed paths with the before?” he asked.  Gilgamesh nodded.

 

  “Oh yes!  On my many travels across different worlds and dimensions, I came upon these knights one time!  They are a fiercely proud people, and they are honorable in the art of war!  They are also very vicious, and when assembled in an army, they are quite deadly!” Gilgamesh explained.  Riku looked at the knights and then to Gilgamesh again.

 

  “So we don’t fight them?” he asked.  Gilgamesh shook his head.

 

  “Not unless you want your head on a pike!” the swordsman proclaimed.  Dawn then signaled them to remain silent, for she was trying to hear what the knights were saying.  Since they were a little far off, she couldn’t make out too much about what they were talking about, but she did hear the following…

 

  “So then, it seems that this world has already been dealt with…and there are no warriors in sight to do battle with…this is quite infuriating…” one of the knights said.

 

  “Then we simply head to other worlds, and find an army worth fighting!” another remarked.

 

  “Let us not forget, we must also find the Forger!” yet another one spoke.  At that, Dawn felt curious.  She had heard something about the Forger once before, when she awoke in Wonderland. It seemed that this Forger was important.  She then kept paying close attention to what the knights were saying.

 

  “That is right, we must find the Forger, before the others do!” a knight said.  Then, one of the knights, who looked to be their leader, looked at the sky and then turned to face the others.

 

  “My brothers and sisters, we must keep marching forward!  We will find the Forger in due time, but for now, we march!  Untold glory and victory awaits us!” the leader said, and judging from the voice, the leader was a female.  The rest of the knights cheered, and then they continued to march forward.

 

  “The Forger…” Dawn whispered to herself.

(End Song Here)

---

 

  Back in Atlantis, Roark and the others were still at the river’s shore, waiting for Milo and Kida to come out. Raxon kept cursing under his breath, furious with the current predicament that he, Sky and Kyle were in.  Sky was panicking, while Kyle remained silent.  He was thinking about the conversation that he had with “himself” and he found the prospect of another person sleeping inside him, feeding off his life force, terrifying.  He hoped he could be able to get to the bottom of this some other time, but for now, he was very worried about Milo and Kida.  A few minutes passed, and they came out of the river.  They were shocked in surprise to see who was waiting for them.  Roark smirked and approached him.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “So, kid, had a nice swim?” he asked mockingly, and Milo immediately frowned and clenched his fists as he came out of the water.

 

  “I’m such an idiot…I should have known all along what you were really up to!  You were never coming here to explore Atlantis, you came here to exploit it!  It’s resources!” Milo accused, and Roark sarcastically raised his arms.

 

  “Guilty as charged!  Ha, well kid, you really should’ve seen the bigger picture.  We’ve collected lots of historical valuables over the years, and when we were sent here, we knew there was something in this place that would give us a goldmine of cash!” he said.

 

  “I can’t believe you’d do something like this…I just…” Milo started to say.

 

  “You just what?  You thought this expedition was for historical knowledge?  No, kiddo, you just happened to join us mercenaries on a bounty hunt.  The world flows around money kid, and right now, we’ll hit the jackpot!” Roark explained, and Kyle was shocked by everything he was hearing.  Raxon and Sky, on the other hand, weren’t surprised.

 

  “But this is something bigger than all of us, Roark!  You are messing with an entire civilization’s lives!  The Heart Of Atlantis is the life source of this entire place!  If you take that away from them, they’ll all die!  Do you really want to have the deaths of women and children on your conscience!?” Milo burst out in rage.  Roark simply smirked.

 

  “That’s how the world works, kid…” Roark said with a smirk.  Milo raised his fists and gritted his teeth.

 

  “I swear, Roark…” he began to say, but Roark immediately raised his hand.

 

  “Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you…unless you want your pretty girlfriend to get hurt.” Roark threatened as he pointed at Kida, who was being restrained by two soldiers, being held by gunpoint.

 

  “So…either you help us find this Heart Of Atlantis…or your pretty girlfriend dies…” he said, with ever the satisfying smirk forming on his lips.  Milo, seeing that he wasn’t able to do anything, nodded grimly.

 

  “I’ll do it…” he whispered, and Roark put his hand on Milo’s shoulder and laughed.

 

  “Ah, now there’s a smart kid.” he remarked. Then he turned his gaze towards Kyle, Raxon and Sky.  He gave them a good, long look, and then he smirked.

 

  “As for you three…you’ll be coming with us…and if you try anything funny, well, I don’t think I have to say any more, do I?” he asked, and the three remained silent.  Kyle was furious at this man.  Using fear and power to get what he wants…that was unforgivable!  But, Milo and Kida’s lives were at stake, so the three had no choice but to oblige and do nothing.

 

  “All right then, let’s all be moving along now…I’m going to pay the king a visit…” Roark motioned, and so they left the river. Raxon knew that Roark was probably going to harm the king, but he wasn’t able to do anything about it, because if he tried, Milo and Kida would get hurt. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he wasn’t able to do anything to help!  During the entire time on their way to the village, all of them remained silent.  The only ones talking were Milo and Roark, as Milo was trying to make Roark understand what The Heart Of Atlantis really was, and that tampering with it wasn’t advised.  Roark wouldn’t hear any of it, and dismissed Milo’s warnings as mere superstition.  Kyle glanced over at Raxon, who seemed to be deep in thought, for his head was bowed down, and he had his eyes closed.  Sky was uncomfortable, and as he looked at the soldiers wielding their guns, he shivered a bit in fear.

 

  “If only there was something I could do…” Kyle thought to himself, feeling his heart tighten up.

 

  When they arrived to the village, the soldiers aimed their guns at the villagers, who were all terrified and remained in their places.  Some of the tribesmen tried to confront the soldiers, but the soldiers shot a few bullets in the air, causing them to think twice before trying anything funny. Kyle, Raxon and Sky could only watch in horror, and Milo was furious, while Kida was crying.  This was wrong!

 

  Roark and the others didn’t waste any time on showing themselves through the gate, and once they took care of the bodyguards, they all stood in front of the king, and the others were searching throughout the entire throne room, checking to see if the king was hiding the location of the Heart Of Atlantis.  More bodyguards arrived, but the king simply raised his hand and signaled them to stop, which they reluctantly did.  The king stood up slowly, and Roark yanked Kida towards him and held his gun to her head.

 

  “Think carefully before you speak, old man.  I have your daughter here…now, tell me what I want to know!  Where is the Heart Of Atlantis!?” he demanded, and the king, who simply sighed, shook his head.

 

  “What you are searching for is not here…it has been lost to the ages…you seek a fairy tale.” the king replied, but Roark quickly shook his head.

 

  “Oh, don’t give me that, I know that you’re hiding it somewhere!  You just don’t want anyone to get their hands on it, don’t you, old timer?” he asked menacingly.  The king stood unflinching, and he remained firm.

 

  “As I said, what you seek is not here…now go while I am still in my good graces…” the king replied, and at that, Roark flung Kida towards the soldiers and then he stood in front of the king.  He crossed his arms and shook his head as he let out a chuckle.

 

  “Okay, here’s how this is going to work…you’re going to tell me where that thing is…or you won’t like what happens if I don’t get my answer.  So give me an answer in one…two…three…” and as he finished counting to three, he flung a painful punch to the king, and the king, in turn, fell to the ground and gasped for breath.  Raxon couldn’t take this, and he was squirming as the soldiers were securing him. He was watching an old friend get beaten up, and he didn’t like it one bit!  Milo and Kida were shocked, and Kyle and Sky were speechless!

 

  “Father!” Kida shouted, as she squirmed away from the soldiers and made her way towards him, but as she was reaching him, she was grabbed again by the soldiers and held tightly.  The king, in agonizing pain, still refused to answer Roark, and at that, he sighed and then sat down on the king’s throne.  One of the mercenaries, a tall man with dark skin, headed towards the king and checked on him.  He seemed to be a doctor.  He glared at Roark and shook his head.

 

  “Roark, this isn’t what we signed up for!” the man said, but Roark waved his hand dismissively.

 

  “Ah, he’ll be fine…anyways, I think this calls for a new approach.” he said, as he pulled out his gun and cocked it, and at that, the other mercenaries opened their eyes wide.  Apparently, they didn’t expect this to be part of their job.  Two soldiers came and held the king by his arms and pinned him in place.

 

  “Now, you’re going to tell me what I want to know in the count of ten, or you’ll be paying a visit to kingdom come…” Roark said casually, and at that, the king’s eyes opened wide, and then he bowed his head.  He still wouldn’t say anything.  Roark didn’t care.

 

  “This is not right!” Kyle said as he cursed under his breath.

 

  “One…two…nine…t-“ Roark counted, when he realized something.  That’s when he smirked and glanced at Milo.

 

  “Of course…that’s it!” he said, as he stood up and pushed the king aside.

(End Song Here)

---------------------------------------

 

What was it that Roark discovered?  Does he now know where the Heart Of Atlantis lies?  And how will Mickey cope with the overwhelming loss he has suffered?  And just who or what is this Forger that Dawn has heard from again?  Will Kyle, Raxon and Sky be able to help Milo and Kida fend off the soldiers and stop Roark from taking away the Atlanteans life source?  Stay tuned for Chapter Eight: “To Do The Right Thing.”

 

Okay everyone, that was the chapter!  I hope that you all found it to your enjoyment!  I hope you’ve all liked my story so far, and I hope you’ve found it as exciting as the other two installments of the Keyblade War Saga!  I’ve certainly loved writing every chapter, and more chapters shall come along in due time!  As always, thank you very much for your continued patience and support, and as always, please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  Well then, until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

This was a great chapter.

Amazing two chapters! I can't wait to see what happens next!

 

I LOVE Atlantis the Lost Empire and it HAS to be in KH3! Poor Mickey!

Edited September 1, 201510 yr by Keyblade101

Reading when the gang ended up in Disney Town and what they saw and how they reacted pierced my heart. I actually got goosebumps and got choked up. It seems Roark found the way to the Heart of Atlantis.

This was a great chapter.

Thank you, I'm glad you thought so!

 

Amazing two chapters! I can't wait to see what happens next!

 

I LOVE Atlantis the Lost Empire and it HAS to be in KH3! Poor Mickey!

Haha, thanks, I'm glad that you liked it!  Oh ho, and trust me, a lot of epicness is in store, just you wait!

 

And yes, like you, I too, love Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and I agree with you with wanting the film to appear as a world in KH3!  That would be awesome!  And yes, poor Mickey indeed.

 

Reading when the gang ended up in Disney Town and what they saw and how they reacted pierced my heart. I actually got goosebumps and got choked up. It seems Roark found the way to the Heart of Atlantis.

Yeah, I really wanted to make that moment heart wrenching, and I wanted the Keyblade Wielders to see that even Mickey, whom would always be a positive anchor to the group, could also feel ultimate despair.  And well, I think that the destruction of everything he held dear was a pretty good way to go!

 

As for Roark, it seems he has found the way to the Heart of Atlantis indeed!

Good evening everyone, I hope that you’re all doing okay!  So then, here is the next chapter of my story, I hope you all enjoy!  I promise you that many exciting things are about to happen, so be prepared for the bumpy ride, because it’s going to be good!  And I’m also confident you’ll all love the worlds that’ll appear in this story!  Haha, anyways though, without any further ado, here’s the next chapter!

 

Chapter Eight: To Do The Right Thing

 

  “So…you were hiding the darn thing right under our noses all this time!” Roark chuckled as he headed towards the center of the throne room, in which a symbol adorned the floor.  He took a close book at Milo’s book, which had the same symbol, and then he took a step on the symbol, and immediately, a platform hissed its edges, and revealed a hidden chamber!  He then turned to the others and crossed his arms.

 

  “Well, aren’t I the clever one?” he boasted, but everyone else remained silent.  He then looked at Milo and Kida, and he then glanced over his shoulder at the blonde woman, and she nodded and held Milo at gunpoint, and the soldiers handed over Kida to Roark.

 

  “Alright Helga, these two will come with us, and I think those three should come along as well…just to make sure they don’t try anything funny…” Roark said to the blonde woman, and she nodded and notioned for Kyle, Raxon and Sky to come along as well.  The three stood by Milo and Kida, and remained silent.  Helga looked at them with a menacing glare.  She pointed her gun at them and took off the safety.

 

  “One wrong move, and you’re dead…” she said.  With her threat, no other words were needed to understand the situation.  The hostages complied without a fuss.

 

  And so, as all of them stood on the platform, it slowly hovered down, and for a moment, there was nothing but pitch black darkness.  Kida seemed to be muttering something to herself, but no one seemed to have taken notice.  Kyle felt that something big was going to happen, and he glanced over at Raxon and Sky, who remained quite.  A few minutes later, the platform finally landed on the ground, and they found themselves in what seemed to be a giant, shallow underground lake.  But, then they noticed a light blue glow emanating a few feet away from them.  When everyone walked a ways, they then noticed what the blue light was.  They looked upwards to the ceiling of the underground cave, and that’s where it was…The Heart Of Atlantis!  Roark smirked of delight, for he knew he had hit the jackpot.  Helga remained ever vigilant, making sure none of the hostages tried anything funny.  Roark then turned to Milo and crossed his arms.

 

  “So, how does this work now?” he asked, and Milo flailed his arms up in anger.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “What do I know?  This is something as ancient as time itself, we can’t just expect to understand it in just mere seconds!” he expressed, but Roark rolled his eyes.  Then, suddenly, Kida’s crystal necklace started to float, and she seemed to be in some kind of trance!  The others hadn’t taken notice, but her eyes had turned completely pale blue, as blue as the light of the crystal she bore.  She then started walking towards the Heart Of Atlantis, and then she was approaching a deeper portion of the river, and Milo instinctively went after her, but Roark held him by the arm.

 

  “Easy, loverboy.” he smirked, and to their surprise, Kida walked on wáter!  Kyle, Raxon and Sky couldn’t believe what they were seeing!  Then, Kida slowly ascended towards the heart, almost as if it was merging with her!  Huge stones surrounded the heart, and spun intensely, making it hard to see what was happening up there!  Sky felt a sudden shiver down his spine.

 

  “What’s happening, kupo?” the little moogle asked quietly.

 

  “Heck if I know…” Raxon said, just as clueless.

 

  “How are we going to get out of here…?” Kyle thought to himself as he watched the scene unfolding before his eyes.  He was feeling restless now, and all he was thinking of was summoning his Keyblade to get himself and his friends out of here, but he restrained himself, as to not put anyone in danger.  Then, the giant stones suddenly stopped spinning, and Kida started to float downwards, but this time, she looked different!  Her body was completely covered in a pale blue light, and then, after softly landing on the river, she started to walk towards the group, the giant stones falling beside her.  The water that splashed all over didn’t even touch her, almost as if she was being protected by some kind of invisible forcefield!  Milo gulped, and Roark was impressed by what he saw.  Helga felt a bit intimidated, and the others were silent.  Suddenly, Kida said something in a language that no one could understand, and then Roark turned to Milo.

 

  “So, what did she say?” he asked.  Milo shrugged and shook his head.

 

  “I don’t know…I couldn’t make out what she was saying…” he said, but Kyle could tell that Milo was lying. 

(End Song Here)

 

  Kida slowly walked away towards the platform, and everyone followed her, and they all made their way back to the surface, where the others were waiting.  Upon arriving to the surface, they placed Kida in a steel box, and then was put on a truck.  Milo was infuriated and sad, and the villagers had concerned, worried faces upon them.  Milo walked up to Roark, in the hopes he could be able to try to make him understand the danger of the situation that was currently happening!

 

  “Roark, please, if you take Kida away, the Heart Of Atlantis goes with her, and every one of these people will die!” Milo pleaded, and Roark stopped for a moment, and then he sighed, chuckling and shaking his head.

 

  “You really don’t get it, do you, kid?  This is the state of the world, how it works!  You’re too soft, just like your grandfather was…” he said, and with that, he delivered and unexpected punch to a shocked Milo, who fell down hard on the floor, and out of the bag he was carrying, a photo of himself as a child sitting on his grandfather’s lap slid on the floor.  Roark stepped on the photo and gave a heartless smirk, and then, he notioned for the soldiers to ge tonto the trucks and prepare to leave.

 

  “Come on everyone, let’s go!” he said, and Milo cursed under his breath.

 

  “So this is what it comes to, huh?  It all just goes down to the money…” he said.  As he picked up the photo, he noticed that the frame holding it had broken.  He held the photo closely to him and had a pained expression on his face.  One of the mercenaries gave an exasperated sigh, and then came out of one of the trucks and helped Milo up.  She was petite, with short, black hair, big brown eyes, and well defined lips.  She crossed her arms and stood by Milo’s side.  Then, a thin, mustachioed man came out of another truck as well, and then an elderly looking lady sporting a cigarette came out, and blew out a puff of smoke.  Then, a well rounded, mole looking man and a funny looking elderly man came out as well, and they all stood by Milo and the villagers, and at that, Roark gave out a sarcastic huff.

 

  “Hah, so what’s this?  A sudden change of heart?  Give me a break!  But, well, the more money for me, the better…” he said as he waved his hand dismissively and left in his truck, along with the other trucks, and as they crossed the bridge, they made sure that they wouldn’t be followed, so the brigde was blown to ashes!  Kyle, Raxon and Sky looked at everything unfold before them, and they were all very mad.

 

  “We can’t let Roark get away with this!  He’s going to carelessly throw away the lives of all the Atlanteans, and that’s not fair!” Kyle said with anger, and then he stormed off into the villaje, and Raxon and Sky followed.

 

  Kyle had gone to a corner of the village that outlookd a small cliff, and he sat down, feeling defeated, and he felt horrible that he wasn’t able to do anything to make the situation better.  Raxon and Sky watched him from a distance, and for a moment, they felt sympathetic toward him, and as they glanced at each other, they knew that the right thing to do was to go talk to him.  And so, they slowly approahced Kyle, and when they were close enough, Raxon sat down near him, and he sighed and looked at the river below.

 

  “This isn’t your fault, Kyle…none of us could’ve been able to do anything without risking harm to Milo, Kida and everyone else here…so don’t bear the blame for what happened to Kida, you hear?” Raxon said, trying to sound comforting and calm, but his voice actually came off as a bit dry and sort of rude.  But, Kyle seemed to understand, so Raxon didn’t say anything else.  Sky then floated down gently and sat in front of Kyle and held his hands.

 

  “Raxon’s right, you can’t bring yourself down like this!  The important thing right now is that we can do all that we can now to help, kupo!” the little moogle said reassuringly, and Kyle chuckled softly and looked down at his hands.

 

  “Guys…we saw the darkness that Roark had…he was showing it to everyone…he’s the type of man that will stop at nothing to get what he wants…he’ll stop at nothing, even if it means tearing the world apart!  People like him make me sick…people like him always get away with  injustice…it’s more than I can bear!” Kyle said as he punched the ground infuriatingly.  Raxon and Sky momentarily glanced at each other, and then Raxon crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

 

  “Aye, those type of people are always looking to take what little good there is in this world and turn it rotten for their own desires…I can understand your feelings, Kyle…but anger won’t do anything in this situation.  If anything, we need to remain calm and think of a plan to get both Kida and the Heart Of Atlantis back!” the pirate said, and Sky nodded and flapped his wings.

 

  “That’s right…we have to gather Milo and the others and go to Roark before he gets away with this, kupo!” the little moogle said, and they all nodded in agreement.  Suddenly, a tribesman came and looked exhausted, and then he took a momento to catch his breath.  Before Raxon could ask what was going on, the soldier opened his eyes wide open.

 

  “It’s the King…he’s dying!” the tribesman said, and at that, Raxon’s eyes opened wide, and Sky gasped, and Kyle gritted his teeth.

 

  “Then there’s no time to lose…we have to go to him!” Raxon said, and with that, they followed the tribesman through the vilage and up to the king’s throne room as fast as they could.

 

  “Don’t you die on me, old man…” Raxon thought to himself as he ran ahead of everyone else.  His heart pounded with each step he took!

 

(Start Song Here)

  After just a few mintues, they arrived to the king’s throne room, and there were the bodyguards, with heads bowed, standing beside the king, and Milo knelt by his side, while another of the mercenaries, a black man who looked to be a doctor, stood a short distance away with a grim expression.  The old man looked frail and weak, and Raxon knew that that the king was indeed dying. He and Sky rushed to the king’s side, and Milo moved over tol et them speak to him.

 

  “Ah, my two old friends…” the king said as he smiled weakly and started to cough.

 

  “Old man…that bastard Roark hit you hard…damn it…” Raxon muttered as he tried to hold back his feelings.  Sky was crying as he patted the king’s head.

 

  “D-don’t die!  You’ve been a good king to your people, you don’t deserve to die, kupo!” the little moogle said, and the king gently patted his head, smiling and breathing gently.

 

  “It is alright, my old friends…” he said, but Raxon shook his head.

 

  “No, it’s not alright!  Your people are going to die, and your daughter was taken away by Roark!  It’s far from alright!” he said with fury.  The king only stretched his hand out, and Raxon immediately  held it.

 

  “This is far from the end of my people…they will not die without a fight…as long as there is hope, there will always be a way…never forget that, lad.” the king spoke, with his wise and caring tone.  Raxon held back his tears, and he held the king’s hand tight.

 

  “I swear to you, on my life, that I won’t let your people die!” he said, and with that, he let go of the king’s hand, and he backed away a bit, clenching his fists as he bowed his head.  Sky flew by his side and bowed his head as well.  The king then turned to Milo.

 

  “Milo, my boy…please…I beg of you, save Atlantis, save my daughter!  All we have ever wanted, was to live in peace, to be able to rebuild the civilization we had lost…and now, this all falls to you…I beg of you, all of you…defend Atlantis to your dying breath…” he said.  Milo, with watery eyes, nodded.  And so, after gasping for breath one last time, the king gave Milo his crystal, and then he had stopped breathing.  The king...was dead.  Kyle was grim, and seeing Raxon and Sky the way they were only made him feel ever more sorrowful.  He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

 

  “This isn’t how this is going to end!  Not by a long shot!” he thought to himself, and then he looked to the direction of the bridge that had been reduced to ashes.  He could sense Roark’s darkness.  It was faint, but he could feel it, which mean that he hadn’t left yet.

 

  “We have to get to him, before it’s too late!” he thought to himself.

(End Song Here)

---

 

  Meanwhile, in what was left of Disney Castle and town, Dawn, Riku and the others grieved for the losses of all their dear friends they had lost.  Mickey, in particular, was the most grief stricken one of the group, for he had lost everything.  Everything that he had, now gone from his life forever.  He still held on tightly to Minnie’s crown, and he stared at the ground for a long time, his fists clenched.  Everyone else let him be.  He had all the right in the world to be feeling the way he was feeling now. Could anyone really blame him?  And so, everyone sat down, and put some space between them and Mickey, so that they could give him the space he needed to mourn.  Dawn was right beside Riku, and they both glanced sadly at each other and held each other’s hands.

 

  “It breaks my heart to see him like this…the poor thing is decimated.” she said as she gave out a sigh, and Riku nodded, looking at Mickey and then looking at Dawn.

 

  “This isn’t easy for him…it isn’t for any of us, but out of all of us, Mickey’s the one who’s feeling this the most.  He probably won’t ever be the same again…but we’ll be there for him, to let him know that he’s not alone.” he said as he held Dawn’s had tightly.  Vanitas cleared his throat and then stood up.  He looked away from the group and crossed his arms.

 

  “Look, I hate to change the topic, I really do…but we’ve got a problema on our hands. Those warriors that came by here-“ he started to say.

 

  “The Knights Of Yggdrassil!” Gilgamesh specified.

 

  “Right, those guys.” he continued. “I think those may be one of the many armies that are coming across from all corners of the universe to fight in the Keyblade War. If so, then it’s one incredible army, and I hate to think that there may be dozens, if not hundreds of more armies like those Yggrassil Knights…”

 

  “Meaning that we’re way in over our heads…we’re dangerously in the dark here, and if we don’t find a way to know how many armies we’re up against, we could be at a severe disadvantage…” Dexeres said, finishing Vanitas’ sentence.  The others looked worried, and they all sighed.

 

  “We’ll just have to keep pressing forward, going through different worlds and hope that none of them have ended up like this place…” Kairi said, trying very hard to hold back her tears.

 

  “The young lass is right!  What’s more, we have yet to find our four missing friends, which makes our situation quite the ugly one!” Gilgamesh added, crossing his arms and bowing his head.

 

  “This whole situation is hopeless…there’s just way too much at stake, and we don’t even know what our odds are in this situation…we’re hopelessly lost…” Riku said.

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toqkey7MdY0

  “That’s not true!” everyone heard a voice say.  When they all glanced back, they saw that it was Mickey, who had quite the determined look on his face.  He walked down to where the others were, and he put his hand to his chest and closed his eyes.  Then, he clenched his fist and looked at everyone.

 

  “Our situation may be hopeless…and gosh, we may even stand a fair chance of losing this war and seeing the end of all worlds…but that doesn’t mean that we have to surrender to the darkness of hopelessness!  Now, more than ever and more than anything, we have to stand strong and never lose sight of our mission!  The day each of us was chosen as a Keyblade Wielder, we knew that we’d be thrust into a life of constant danger…a life of difficult choices and hard paths to take.  And it’s all of these obstacles that we’ve overcome  that have made our chosen paths have that much more meaning!  Each time we’ve bounced back from the jaws of death, we’ve come back stronger than ever before, and our resolve to protect all worlds has increased ever more!” Mickey said, and he stopped for a moment, and everyone, in turn, looked at him with admiration and respect.  He then looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.

 

  “Even though there may be days that are darker than any we’ve ever seen…we have to keep moving forward…we can’t let despair and tragedy get the best of us!  Minnie…she wouldn’t have wanted me to suffer…instead, she would have wanted me to carry on my mission and keep doing my part in defending the worlds!  And that’s exactly what I’ll do!  For Minnie, for Pluto, for Chip, Dale, Daisy, and every single one of the friends we’ve lost during this horrible time!  If anything else, we have to leave the worlds safe, so that future generations can be able to thrive and prosper!  That’s what we have to do…even if it’s at the cost of our lives…” Mickey said, and as he finished speaking, everyone gathered around him, and they all nodded in agreement, their faces filled with new resolve and confidence.

 

  “We’re with you until the end, Mickey.  Always have been, always will be.” Riku said as he put his hand on his shoulder.  Dawn smiled and knelt down and hugged the little mouse.

 

  “We’ll see our goal through, no matter what.  We’ll take this journey together!” she said.  Gilgamesh nodded and gave out a hearty laugh.

 

  “Ho ho, what the lass says is most correct, little mouse!  If ever there was a time to be more united, it is here and now!  I shall give you all the strength I can muster!” the swordsman remarked. Kairi kissed Mickey’s forehead and smiled, tears forming in her eyes.

 

  “After everything we’ve been through…after all the struggles we’ve endured…we’ll make it out of this…I know we will!” she said.  Dexeres bowed in respect and had a fiery look of determination in his eyes.

 

  “I’ll stand by all of you, and together, we’ll see that all of Xylek’s wrongs will be righted.  We won’t let the worlds die for his mistakes!” he said.  Vanitas, who remained facing his back to the group, sniffled a bit, and then he cleared his throat and looked up at the sky and laugh.

 

  “Morons…this is a suicide mission.  But, then again, I’ve always loved ridicolously hopeless odds, so I say bring it on! We’ll ride out this storm before it even begins!” he said with a cocky smile as he turned around and looked at everyone.  Mickey smiled and then he glanced back one more time at his former home.

 

  “For everyone we love…we’ll do this, and we’ll see it through to the end!” he said, and with that, he and the others assembled together many rocks, and then Mickey placed Minnie’s crown at the top of the pile of rocks, and then, Gilgamesh opened a portal, and one by one, the Keyblade Wielders went through it.  Mickey was the last one remaining.  He glanced back one more time, to the life he had before.  He closed his eyes and clenched his fist to his chest.

 

  “We’ll do our best…or die trying…” the little mouse said, and with that, he stepped through the portal.

(End Song Here)

---

 

  Back in Atlantis, a burial had been made for the king, and the villagers and tribesmen grimly marched forward, bidding farewell to their great ruler.  Raxon and Sky stood near the burial site, and both of them were silent.  Sky was perched on Raxon’s shoulder, while the pirate bowed his head, looking at the ground, his fists clenched.  Kyle stood by their side, and he remained silent as well.  Then, Milo and the others came, and one of the tribesmen uttered a prayer in the Atlantean tongue, and all the other Atlanteans followed suit, and even Milo, who understood their language, joined in on the prayer.  Kyle and the others, who didn’t know their language, simply bowed their heads in respect.  During all that time, Kyle still sensed Roark’s darkness.  Apparently, he had come upon some obstacle, and was unable to leave.  This meant that there was still a chance of saving Kida!  And so, after a few more minutes, the villagers and tribesmen went about, trying to organize everything as best as they could, but the fact that the light of their crystals were fading wasn’t making things easier for them.  Kyle, Raxon and Sky went towards Milo and the others, who were all gathered near a small campfire.  They sat down, and everyone had a grim face.

 

  “Well, this all seems like a real tight situation…there’s no easy way to go around about this. We’re just gonna have to make to with the time we have, and make the most of it!  We have to stop Roark before he finds a way to leave.” the tall, dark skinned man from before said.  Raxon agreed.

 

  “Aye, I agree, Mister, uh…” he said.  He realized he didn’t know the man’s name.  The man smiled.

 

  “Joshua Sweet’s my name.  And these here are Vinny, Audrey, Wilhelmina, Jebidiah and Mole.  And that there’s Milo, but you already know him.” he said, introducing the rest of the group.  Raxon nodded.

 

  “Right, Joshua.  So then, how are we going to cross over to the other side of the broken bridge?” the pirate asked, and that’s when Kyle’s fingers snapped.

 

  “I got it!  But, the only problem is, what I’m thinking of is something only you and I can do, Raxon. The others would be left behind.” he said, indicating that they should use their Keyblade Gliders. Raxon, who quickly caught on about the idea, nodded and thought about this for a moment.

 

  “That is a problem, mate.  We can’t leave them behind…but how’re we gonna get everyone across?” he asked.  Suddenly, Milo realized something and then he stood up.

 

  “Guys, follow me, I have an idea!  And I’m going to need a few tribesmen to come with us!” he said, and the tribesmen nearest who heard what Milo said followed him without question.

 

  Kyle, Raxon and Sky quickly followed, and after going down a few sets of stairs, they arrived in what seemed to be an uninhabited part of Atlantis, where the surrounding area seemed like a swamp. Milo stood near what seemed to be a giant stone fish.  Everyone remained puzzled, and they waited for Milo to speak.  Then, using the crystal the king had given him before dying, he put said crystal in what seemed to be a small compartment, and in mere seconds, the giant stone fish sprung to life, and it made a sort of whirring sound!  Everyone was awe struck and impressed, and Milo knew that he had everyone’s attention.

 

  “Alright guys, we’re going to use these vehicles to go to where Roark is and finish this once and for all!” he declared.

 

  “But how do we actívate these vehicles?” one of the tribesmen asked.  Milo went towards him and pointed to his crystal.

 

  “Your crystals!  They’re the source of power that activates these vehicles!  You turn the crystal as if it were a key, and place the palm of your hand on the control pad, and you’ll be set!  Here, I’ll show to everyone how this works!” Milo explained, and then he proceeded to show everyone how it was done, and then, after everyone grabbed a basic understanding of how to use the vehicles, they each mounted one, and Kyle and Raxon, who were given crystals by a tribesman, mounted themselves onto two vehicles as well.  Sky, who didn’t need a vehicle, would use his wings to fly!  Milo then looked at everyone, and he took a deep breath.

 

  “This is it, everyone!  This is where we do the right thing!  We’re going to do right by these people, and we’re going to bring back the Heart Of Atlantis and save Kida, and we’ll do all in our power to save Atlantis, or die trying!  So let’s do this!” Milo said triumphantly, and everyone cheered, and the tribesmen gave out a battle cry, and with that, they all left towards Roark.  Below, the Atlantean villagers looked upward with hope that everything would be okay now.  Kyle, Raxon and Sky would make sure to give it their all to this as well, for they were just as determined as everyone else!

 

  “That bastard Roark’s gonna pay for killing the king!” Raxon growled.

 

  “He’s going to regret crossing us, kupo!” Sky said as he flew by everyone.

 

  “We’ll do this…for the king, for Kida, for Milo, and for everybody!” Kyle said with undying determination!

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n1Xcd97Qtk

  And so, they all went across the bridge, and then they noticed that where Roark had headed was actually a cavern of a dormant volcano!  The reason they hadn’t been able to leave was because the very top of the cavern, which was where the lava would normally flow out of, was sealed shut.  They were attempting to open said seal, and they were planning to get out of there by inflating a hot air ballon, so they could float right out!  When they entered the cavern, the soldiers below were already prepared for them, and they started firing their guns, and they had aircraft of their own, as they sent out fighter planes to deal with the opposition!

 

  “Watch out for enemy fire!” Vinny said as he darted around the cavern, dodging the bullets of the fighter planes.

 

  “There, I see him!” Raxon said as he pointed towards Roark and Helga, who were mounting the hot air ballon and securing Kida.

 

  “We have to stop them now, kupo!” Sky urged, and Kyle and Raxon agreed, and so they swooped down towards Roark, but fighter planes got in their way, and they were forced to split up.

 

  “There’s too damn many of them!” Raxon shouted, dodging bullets constantly.

 

  “We can’t give up!  Not now, kupo!” Sky shouted back, casting protetive spells on everyone.

 

  The battle was raging furiously, and explosions were dotting the cavern everywhere!  Many tribesmen fell in battle, which made their brethren retaliate with fury and force! Milo’s friends did their best to help out in the battle, as they dodged the fighter planes and gunned a few of them down with the energy lasers emanating from the vehicles they were riding!  Kyle, Raxon and Sky remained near Roark, flying in circles around the hot air balloon they were riding, while also keeping a distance.  Helga tried to shoot them down, but they kept dodging her shots!  Raxon transformed his Keyblade into a rifle, and he took aim directly at Roark, but before he could fire, Helga shot him in the arm, causing him to flinch in pain and almost fall off from his vehicle!  Kyle and Sky instantly came to his aid.

 

  “Raxon, are you okay, kupo!?” the little moogle asked with a concerned face.  The pirate shook his head and pushed both Sky and Kyle away from him with a grunt.

 

  “I’m fine!  Don’t stop just to tend to me!  We’ve got bigger things to worry about!” the pirate said, and when they looked up, they saw Roark taking aim, and they quickly got out of the way, to avoid getting shot!

 

  “Guys, hold on and fight back as much as you can!” Milo shouted from the far side of the cave. Everyone nodded, and they held their ground, taking down as many fighter planes as they could!  But soon, they were becoming overrun!

 

  “Game’s over, boys!” Roark shouted, as he sent a pack of dynamite plummeting straight below them, and when the pack of dynamite was close to them, he shot it, causing it to explode, sending Kyle and Raxon plummeting down to the ground!  Sky was able to dodge the explosion, and he quickly swooped down and cast Float on his two friends, so that they could be able tol and safely on the ground.  When they landed, they noticed that their vehicles had exploded, and now they were grounded, with soldiers surrounding them at all sides!  Sky prepared to cast powerful spells, as Kyle and Raxon summoned their Keyblades, ready to fight!

 

  “This isn’t going to be an easy battle to win…” Kyle muttered, and Raxon scoffed.

 

  “We’ll fight till our last breath, that’s the way we go about this!” the pirate said with fierce determination.

 

  “We won’t let it end here, kupo!” Sky reassured.  And then, just when the soldiers were about to fire their weapons at them, a giant, elongated dark arm came out from under the Earth and swatted the soldiers to the cavern walls as if they were nothing more than rag dolls!  The other soldiers tried to fire at the dark arm, but it was too late, for they had been dealt with instantly!  In just three short seconds, the ground gave way to a massively huge creature that looked to be a cross between a chameleon and a snake!  Kyle gripped his Keyblade tightly and glared at the creature.  He instantly recognized what it was!

 

  “Unborn!” he shouted out.  A few tribesmen tried to help the Keyblade Wielders, but as they swooped down to shoot at the Unborn creature, it swung its tail in a wide arc, causing the tribesmen to go down with their vehicles.  Sky cast Zero Graviza at the Unborn and then prepared his next attack.

 

  “We have to take this thing down before it finishes everyone off, kupo!” the little moogle urged, as he cured Raxon’s arm as best as he could.  Kyle and Raxon nodded.

 

  “We have to do this as quickly as we can!  Let’s go!” Kyle shouted as he ran towards the Unborn, leaping upward and then swooping down to deliver a fatal slash that hurt the Unborn momentarily, but then it bounced back and tried striking Kyle, but he dodged in time and tried attacking it again.

 

  “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Raxon said, as he moved his arm, as it now felt better thanks to Sky’s healing!  He ran along the walls of the cavern and landed on a secure looking spot, and there, he transformed his Keyblade into a rifle anew, and then he took precise aim at the Unborn, then shot it three times, managing to hit it in one eye, the side of its jaw, and part of its neck!  The Unborn roared in fury, and it pounded the ground, causing huge stalagmites to fall from the top of the cavern!  Kyle capitalized on this by leaping towards the falling stalagmites, redirecting them towards the Unborn as if they were giant spheres!  Sky enhanced the stalagmites with Blizzaga magic, causing the Unborn to freeze in place.  Unfortunately, it didn’t freeze fast enough, as it quickly thawed out, and then its eyes turned red, and it roared with ever more intense fury!

 

  “This thing keeps getting more power the more we hurt it!  How are we going to finish it off, kupo!?” Sky asked in distress.  Kyle tried to think of something while redirecting the last falling stalagmite at the Unborn.  He then landed on the ground, and Raxon propelled himself from his sniping spot, transforming his Keyblade back to its regular form, and then he struck the Unborn’s jaw, slashing it until its whole jaw fell right off!

 

  “Got the nasty thing!” Raxon bellowed with laughter.  He then landed on the ground beside Kyle, and they stood ready for their foe’s next attacks!

 

  Above them, the battle was becoming even more intense, as more figher planes and Atlantean vehicles were being gunned down! One of the stray energy beams from said Atlantean vehicles struck at one of the hot air balloon’s supports, and it slowly started to float down.  Helga irritatingly started to unload the heavy cargo on the hot air balloon.

 

  “We’re losing altitude Roark, we’re going to have to travel lighter!” she remarked, and Roark nodded.

 

  “I couldn’t agree more!” he said, and with that, he flung Helga off the hot air ballon, but she was barely hanging on to a pipe!  Her shocked face clearly showed her surprise!

 

  “What the hell, Roark!? I thought we were in this together!” she said, but Roark simply shrugged.

 

  “Well, Helga my dear, there’s been a change of plans!  It’s nothing personal!” he said with a smirk, as he broke the pipe Helga was holding onto, causing her to plummet down to the ground.

 

  “Roark!!!” she screamed out as she fell.  Roark really couldn’t care less!

 

  “Ah, I’ve had enough of this! Once I get this to the surface world, I’m going to get a really nice profit from it all!  Heh, I can always tell the press that all my crew died during the trip!” he said to himself as he chuckled.  Little did he know what was about to happen.

 

  Little did he know…

(End Song Here)

------------------------------------------------------------

 

With renewed resolve, Mickey and the rest of the Keyblade Wielders head off to other worlds, in the hopes that their actions will be enough to stop The Keyblade War from bringing more destruction!  And now, the battle for Atlantis is at an all time high, with both sides giving it their all!  Will Kyle, Raxon and Sky be able to defeat the giant Unborn creature?  And can Roark be stopped?  Find out in Chapter Nine: “At World’s End.”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter!  I hope you all enjoyed it!  And my deepest apologies for taking a while to post this chapter!  I’ve been hard at work trying to make the chapters longer, so please forgive me if that results in slight delays!  Anyways, thank you again for your patience and support, and as always, please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  Well then, until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

This was a great chapter.

Amazing! That was really cool! I know exactly what happens! I was kind f hoping Roark would fight Raxon or fight Kyle in his Dark Light form. That would have been cool.

To KHLegendIII, thanks, I'm glad that you liked the chapter!

 

To KingdomHearts3, haha, thanks, I'm glad you liked it!  Just wait till you see what else is in store!

 

So then everyone, how’s it going!? So then, here’s another chapter for you all to read, and I hope you all enjoy it! As you can notice by the name of this chapter, you’ll all be seeing a familiar world peek its head again!  I certainly hope you’ll all enjoy what happens!  So then, without further ado, read on, my loyal followers!

 

Chapter Nine: At World’s End

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Ugh…huh?  Where…am I?”

 

  “Well well, it seems as though you’ve finally woken up!” Jexana said with a smirk, sitting down on a chair and staring at the woman who had just woken up.  The woman instantly tried to sit up, but she felt as if her body was made of stone, for she couldn’t move!

 

  “What have you done to me!?  And what have you done to Ven!?” she demanded furiously, as she noticed she was on a bed, and Jexana simply giggled.

 

  “Oh, you worry too much, Trish!  My darling little Ventus is doing just fine under my care! Why, I think he’s better than he ever was before!  And you have me to thank for that!” Jexana replied as she crossed her arms.  Trish glared at her and tried to move, but it was no use.

 

  “Go to hell!” she shouted out, and at that, Jexana burst out laughing.  She really seemed to be enjoying this!

 

  “Oh ho, well, aren’t you being aggressive?  You should really consider just who you’re talking to!  Because one more insult like that…” she started to say, and then she summoned a sharp, dark dagger and pointed it at Trish’s throat. Jexana made her point quite clear.

 

  “Well, I don’t think I have to explain myself, do I?” she asked, and Trish remained silent.  She then unsummoned her dark dagger and shook her head.

 

  “Oh, you definitely are a piece of work!  You rest and think just how much of use you can be to me, you hear me?” she proclaimed, and then she opened the door and closed it shut under lock and key.  She then looked at one of the guards waiting outside, and she looked at him.

 

  “Keep watch, and let me know if she acts up.” she relayed her orders, and the soldier nodded and stood by the door dutifully.  Then, she went above decks for some fresh air.  She noticed that Emmxett was standing quietly, looking at the stars.  She then walked towards him and stood by his side.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Thinking of something?” she asked.  Emmxett looked at her momentarily before looking back at the stars.

 

  “I’m just gazing at the stars, appreciating the peaceful scenery.  It’s not every day that we see nights such as this. It really does make you feel like a small part of a much bigger universe, wouldn’t you agree?  Breathing in this air, looking at all the worlds that lie before us and everywhere else, one can’t help but feel helplessly small.  It’s a wonder how the universe works, wouldn’t you say?  Anyways, enough of this.  I received a report from one of our scouts.  It seems that two more armies of Keyblade Wielders had sided with us, and they are on their way to us as we speak.  It seems that they are very enthusiastic on the idea of siding with us, a fact I find very advantageous.  We already have a massive fleet, and now we add two armies of Keyblade Wielders, and it all adds up to our forces becoming that much stronger.  It’s good news, if I do say so myself.” he said, as he alternated glances to Jexana and then to the stars again.  She nodded and gave a satisfied smile.

 

  “That is good news indeed.  Thank you for the report.” she said.  Emmxett then cleared his throat and seemed a bit uncomfortable.  Jexana immediately noticed this and then crossed her arms.

 

  “Is there something else you wish to say?” she asked, and then he scratched his head before answering.  He looked to the left, and then Jexana glanced back, and noticed that he was looking at Ventus, who was staring at the endless horizon of the Lanes Between, silent and still. She then glanced back at Emmxett.

 

  “What about him?” she asked.

 

  “It seems to me that we’re on borrowed time with him…he may be under your spell now, but what if he breaks free?  If he’s able to break out of his trance, he’ll pose a serious problem, and when he finds out that Trish is here, well, I don’t think I have to be much clearer than that…” he said cautiously.  Jexana shook her head and smirked.

 

  “Nonsense, my paranoid friend.  Ventus is not able to break from my spell, and I’ve made sure of that numerous times.  He’s mine now, and will always be.” she said with utmost confidence.  Emmxett shook his head and gave out a sigh.

 

  “Just to be fair, I’m going to give you a fair warning.  All may be fine and well for now...but if Ventus finds a way to break free of your spell…if he finds a way to do so and becomes a threat to us…I won’t hesitate to kill him on the spot.  If that’s what happens, just know that I’m not to blame.” he declared.  For a moment, Jexana looked at him grimly, and she clenched her fists, as if she was going to say something, but she decided not to press on the argument, and she nodded.

 

  “Fair enough…but he won’t break free….of that much I promise you.” she said, and with that, she headed towards the soldiers.  Emmxett gave out a smirk and chuckled to himself.

 

  “Keep telling yourself that…” he thought to himself.

 

  Ever since Jexana had brought Ventus into the fold, Emmxett had been uneasy.  Sure, he was under her spell and all, but there was just something about the whole situation that made Emmxett extremely uncomfortable.  Maybe he was being paranoid, but at the same time, he was just being cautious.  He held his Kuzuri closely to him, and he looked at the stars anew.  He closed his eyes for a brief moment and enjoyed the soft, cold breeze that blew past, and when he opened his eyes, he smiled and sniffed the air, almost as if he was tracking someone, or something.  He then summoned his Kuzuri and swung it in wide arcs, and then stabbed it on the wooden floor, placing his palms on the hilt and chuckling softly.

 

  “This is going to be very interesting indeed…very, very interesting.  We’ll see what comes out of all this in the end.  That’ll be worth every single moment of this…yes it will…” he said aloud to himself, as he continued gazing at the stars.

---

 

  Meanwhile, Dawn, Riku, Mickey and the rest of the Keyblade Wielders saw the portal open to the other side, at which point they came out of the portal, and once they got out, they noticed that they seemed to have gotten into a ship!  Well, at least that’s what they felt it was like, since they were being swayed back and forth gently.  Suddenly, all of them felt instantly cold, and when they breathed out, they could see the very air they were breathing!  Everyone except Gilgamesh was feeling the cold.  He was just looking around, wondering where they had arrived to!

 

  “W-which world did we end up on?  I-it’s freezing!” Vanitas said as he stuttered, his arms shaking from the low temperatures.  Dexeres took a few steps and then walked upstairs, and then he noticed something, and then looked down to the others.

 

  “Guys, I think we’re in a pirate ship!” he deduced, for the smell of rum was in the air, mixed with the cold.  Dawn and the others followed Dexeres, who kept going up the stairs, going from the bottom of the ship to the deck above.  He then noticed a few people huddled up ahead, looking at something. He looked back at his friends and notioned them to be quiet.  He summoned his Keyblade and gripped it tightly at the ready.  Mickey then recognized one of the people on the other side of the ship.

 

  “Guys, wait a minute, I think one of those people over there is Mr. Gibbs!” the little mouse whispered, and at that, Riku approached him.

 

  “Wait, you mean Gibbs, friend of Jack Sparrow?” he asked.  Mickey nodded.

 

  “That’s the one!” he answered. 

 

  “Well, if you two know him, then that’s good, isn’t it?” Kairi asked, and the two nodded in confirmation.

 

  “Well, then that settles that.  Let’s go talk to them.” Dawn said, and so, they went towards Gibbs and the others.  When Gibbs turned around, he instantly recognized Riku and Mickey.

 

  “Ah, if it isn’t you two!  I haven’t seen you two since the last time you came around! How has everything been faring for ye?” he asked, covering himself up as he shivered from the cold.

 

  “We’ve been through…quite a lot lately, but we’ve been able to manage.  How about you?  Have all of you been able to recover from Jack’s death…?  The last time we saw you, the Kraken swallowed up the Black Pearl, am I right?” Riku said.  Gibbs nodded grimly.

 

  “There’s no denying the fact…Jack sunk down with the Pearl, and we’ve all been grieving mighty much ever since…it hasn’t been easy, let me tell you.  Jack offered to stay behind to fend off the Kraken while the rest of us made our escape…and well, here we are today.  If it hadn’t been for Jack’s sacrifice…we would’ve been goners…” he explained, a grim expression forming on his face.

 

  “I see…I’m sorry to hear that!” Mickey said, feeling sympathy for Gibbs.

 

  “There be no need to feel sorry, little one.  For we be going to the locker to fetch Jack back!” another pirate said.  This pirate looked quite sinister, and he was clad in black, and had a big hat with a  long, black feather.  His beard was scruffy, and he seemed to be the only person who wasn’t being affected by the cold.

 

  “And who might you be?” Dawn asked.  The pirate simply chuckled to himself and then bowed mockingly.

 

  “Ah yes, apologies M’lady.  The name’s Hector Barbossa, the rightful captain to the Black Pearl!” he introduced himself.  The Keyblade Wielders gave each other momentary glances, for they sensed that Barbossa was more of a rogue than a friend.  Well, with appearances like his, you’d think he was a villain!

 

  “So wait, you mentioned your going to the locker?  What is that place?” Riku asked.  Barbossa was quick to answer.

 

  “That be the place where all souls be laid to rest.” was his answer.  Simple and clean, and to the point.

 

  “So wait, are you saying that this locker is the afterlife?” Kairi asked, a bit concerned with all this talk about souls being laid to rest.

 

  “That could be a term for it, yes.” Barbossa replied casually.

 

  “But, if this locker you’re speaking of is the afterlife, isn’t it inaccessible?  After all, when people die, you can’t bring them back to life, am I right?  So how are you going to bring back a person who’s already died?  It’s impossible!” Kairi said, for she didn’t seem to believe in what Barbossa was saying.

 

  “Ha ha ha, I can tell you aren’t from these waters, lass.  True, Davy Jones’s locker is where the dead gather and can no longer return, but…given the right circumstances…one can be able to arrive to the locker, and even possibly bring back those we had thought to be lost.” Barbossa explained.

 

  “I see…” was all Kairi could say, as she didn’t know what else to discuss regarding the topic.  Barbossa then shook his head and frowned.

 

  “Truth be told, I’d leave Jack to his fate and not bring him back in the slightest…but, since the song has already been sung…the time has come for all the Pirate Lords to gather…and just our luck, Jack is one of them, I being another one.” he said.

 

  “Wait, Jack Sparrow is a Pirate Lord?  I never took him for a lord of anything, to be honest.” Riku said, and all the others on the ship agreed.

 

  “Well, it’s just as people sometimes say: ‘Looks can be deceiving.” a voice said.  When Riku and the others turned around, they saw the same man who had been in the Black Pearl the last time.

 

  “Ah, I remember you!  You’re…Will Turner, right?” Mickey guessed.  The pirate nodded.

 

  “That’s right.  I remember you, and your silver haired friend as well.  You were with us the day that the Black Pearl sunk with Jack…it is good to see that you are doing well.” he said with a bow, and they nodded.  Will then looked at Barbossa.

 

  “Are we close?” he asked.  Barbossa gave a sinister smirk and nodded slowly.

 

  “Aye, we be very close!” he answered. He then went towards the other members of the crew, while Will crossed his arms, for his mind seemed to be distant.  Riku noticed this and then put his hand on his shoulder.

 

  “Will, are you okay?” he asked.  The young man nodded and sighed.

 

  “Yes, I’m alright…I’m just…concerned…” he answered, and with that, he left the Keyblade Wielders and went inside the ship.  They all looked at each other and remained silent for a bit.  Then, Kairi stepped forward.

 

  “Well guys, from the looks of things, I think it’s best if we stay here.  This gives us the chance to be on a lookout for any unexpected enemies.  We need to be ready for anything!” she said.  The others nodded.

 

  “I agree with you, lass!  And also, I am very curious as to what this locker of this supposed Davy Jones looks like!” Gilgamesh said, stating his standing on things.  Vanitas, however, was distant from the group, and seemed oddly quiet.

 

  “Vanitas…is everything okay?” Dexeres asked, wondering what Vanitas was thinking.  Vanitas, noticing that everyone was looking at him, snapped out of himself and cleared his throat.

 

  “Sorry about that…but my mind was somewhere else…” he said.

 

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Dawn asked, feeling concern for Vanitas.  He shook his head and shrugged.

 

  “Ah, it’s nothing.  No need to be worrying yourselves over me, now.” he stated with a chuckle. And with that, everyone got settled on the ship, as their journey to Davy Jones’s locker kept on.

 

(Start Song Here)

  All the while, everyone had used this peaceful time on the ship to think deeply to themselves.  They were all silent and pondering about what the future might hold.  Dexeres wondered what fate had in store for himself and his friends, and he sighed as he looked up at the cloudy sky.  He closed his eyes for a moment and remembered all the adventures he had been through with his friends, and a smile came across his face, and then he opened his eyes and chuckled softly to himself.  He was lucky that he had friends he could care for like family.  He felt very blessed for it.

 

  Vanitas, who was again distant from the group, stood near the ropes holding the ship’s sails.  He gazed at the enormous glaciers that dotted the horizon, and he noticed how dark the icy cold water was. With every breath he took, he could see his own breath swirling in tiny puffs that looked like smoke. He had a grim expression on his face.  He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, for he seemed to have remembered something he didn’t want to remember…or rather, something that he could have been able to handle, but wasn’t able to.  He remembered the battle against Jexana, and how he wasn’t able to free Ventus from her trance!  And the fact that both he and Trish were captured, and that he hadn’t been able to free them, made Vanitas very angry.  He closed his eyes, shook his head, and took a deep breath, and then he sighed.

 

  “I failed you…but you two better be alive…don’t you dare die…” he whispered to himself, as he continued to gaze at the glacier dotted landscape.

 

  Kairi was spacing out now and then.  Her thoughts were focused on Sora, Donald, Goofy and Xion, and she was worried sick about them!  She was especially worried about Sora!  Every time she thought of him, her heart ached, but then she constantly reassured herself that everything would be okay.  She needed to keep a positive mindset, she just had to!  She looked at the others, and then she sighed and summoned her Keyblade, and she looked at it for a long time.

 

  “What kind of life is this…?” she asked to herself, and she shook her head and struggled to answer her own question.

(End Song Here)

 

  Riku, Dawn, Gilgamesh and Mickey were close together, and they were discussing what they should do, in the event that another group like the Knights Of Yggdrasil were to come their way.

 

  “We have to consider the fact that not all the armies that’ll come our way will be enemies.  We have to also keep in mind that there may be those armies that would be willing to be our allies!  If we could find such armies, and convince them to help us to put a stop to the Keyblade War, then we’d have a huge advantage!  But, at the same time, we need to be extra cautious.  We’ve lost so many loved ones, and right now we’re on edge as is, and the last thing we need is another fatal casualty…” Dawn said, weary and worried.  Riku put his hand on her shoulder.

 

  “It’ll be okay, Dawn.  And at least we have aid of your father’s counsel, so if anything ends up too extreme, we know we can count on them for help.” he reassured her.

 

  “Master Riku is correct, young lass!  We need to keep heart, no matter what!” Gilgamesh proclaimed, and Mickey nodded.

 

  “Well fellas, I think the best thing we can do right now is rest ourselves and save our strength. With everything that’s happening in all the other worlds, we need to be as strong as ever for whatever threats come our way!” Mickey remarked, and the others nodded in agreement.

 

  As the hours passed, day turned to night, and now, the ship had moved from a glacier dotted landscape, to a flawless, seemingly endless sea, with no island, glacier, or anything else on sight.  The only thing that could be seen were the stars, and when looking at the water, the reflection of the stars made it seems as if they were floating in space.  It seemed almost dream-like!  Everyone on the ship was quite, and their surroundings also had an eerie silence.  Perhaps it was a bit too quiet!  Everyone, except for Barbossa, were asleep below decks.  Riku, who was the only one awake, came above decks and went to Barbossa.  Both of them remained in silence for a long time.  Riku then glanced over at Barbossa and crossed his arms.

 

  “Do you really think he’ll be on the other side?” he asked.

 

  “Let us pray it to be so, lad…let us pray it to be so…” Barbossa said in a grim tone.  Suddenly, a noise, at first faint, started to get louder.

 

  “What’s that noise…?” Riku asked.

 

  Barbossa’s grim expression had suddenly changed into one of defiance and confidence.

 

---

(Start Song Here)

  Back in Atlantis, the battle was raging intensely, as the entire cavern was lit with explosions and aircraft zooming above and about!  Kyle, Raxon and Sky were giving it their all to defeat the Unborn creature, who still refused to fall down!  It was incredibly strong, and it had taken out a fair share of both Atlanteans and Roark’s men in equal measure!  Roark was higher up the cavern, about halfway towards the exit!  Kyle panted as he was feeling tired, but he shook off his tiredness and made sure to remain in focus on the battle!  He momentarily glanced upwards and noticed Roark still floating higher up!  He then performed a quick Ars Arcanum attack at the Unborn and drove it to the ground.

 

  “Guys, Roark’s escaping!” he shouted.

 

  “We can’t be at too many places at once, Kyle, we can’t deal with him right now!” Raxon said as he dodged the Unborn’s attacks.

 

  “Raxon, the best thing you can do now is go to Roark and stop him!  Kyle and I will stay here to fend off this pest, kupo!” Sky suggested, and Raxon looked at him, and then at Kyle before saying anything.

 

  “Are the two of you sure?” he asked.  They both nodded in unison.

 

  “Alright then…I’m going to take out that bastard once and for all!” he said, as he propelled himself from the ground, then proceeding to land on one of the fighter planes, taking out the pilot, and then taking control of the figher plane himself.  He went full throttle and was going straight towards Roark!  From the corner of his eye, he could also see Milo closing in on him!

 

  “Well, isn’t he the brave one?” he thought to himself.

 

  Mere seconds before Raxon reached Roark, Milo jumped off from his vehicle, which hit another one of the hot air balloon supports, causing Roark to float further down!  He landed near a furious Roark, who was now hell bent on taking out Milo!  Luckily, Raxon arrived in time and came to lend a helping hand!

 

  “I’m sure you could use the help!” the pirate said, and Milo nodded greatfully. 

 

  “Yeah, I could use the help indeed!” he replied, and all of a sudden, Roark came in between them, with a big axe in his hand, and he swung it forth violently, Milo and Raxon just barely dodging his attack!

 

  “You just had to get in the way, Milo!  Well, if I’m going down, you’ll be going down with me!” Roark said through gritted teeth, as his eyes had a menacing feel to them!  Raxon then heard the Unborn creature below roar louder than before, and he noticed that the Unborn creature was synched with Roark!  It was feeding off of Roark’s greed!  He then knew what had to be done.

 

  “This is for the old man!” the pirate said, as he summoned his Keyblade and attacked Roark, but the latter had quick reflexes, and so blocked Raxon’s attack, pushing him to the left side of the hot air balloon!  He then regained his attention to Milo.

 

  “You know Mr. Thatch, it takes a lot to get under my skin, so congratulations, you’ve done it! You’ve won the grand kupie doll!” Roark said, a psychotic look plastered on his face!  Milo looked in horror, as he tried to think of a way to take out Roark.  Raxon again attempted to attack Roark, but he blocked his attack again, and then proceeded to kick him in the gut.  Raxon wouldn’t give up though, as he and Roark continuously fought!  The duel between the two was intense, but it wasn’t long until Roark punched Raxon right in the jaw, knocking him unconscious, and sending him falling down towards the battle below!

 

  “Oh no!” Milo yelled, and in a split second, he turned around and saw Roark coming at him again.  But this time, Milo crouched and dodged him, but even so, Roark managed to pull his leg, and they both fell right on top of the container where Kida was!

 

  Down below, the battle was raging ever more intensely, as Kyle and Sky were being cornered by the Unborn creature.  No matter what they did, they just couldn’t be able to bring it down!  Sky tried providing cover for Kyle by casting Mine Square, but their foe was immune to the spell!  Kyle then tried to perform a Reversal and then attack with Stun Edge, but he was stopped short in his tracks before even attempting the attack!  They were both bruised and tired, and they didn’t know if they could keep going!  Sky then looked upward and gasped!

 

  “Oh no, it’s Sky!  He’s unconscious, kupo!” the little moogle yelped out.  Kyle saw what was happening, and he felt his heart race.

 

  “Go get him Sky, I’ll take care of the Unborn!” he shouted.  Sky nodded and flew quickly towards Raxon, who kept plummeting down!  Kyle then tried to distract the Unborn, but didn’t get any results!

 

  “Come on, come on…I need to finish you off!” he shouted out, but the Unborn still ignored him, preparing to attack Sky and Raxon in midair! 

 

  “No!” Kyle shouted out, as everything seemed to slow down!  Suddenly, he blacked out!

 

  “Heh, looks like you could use my help!”

 

  And just like that, Kyle transformed into his Feral Form, but now, he seemed even more intimidating and powerful than ever before!  He seemed even more bestial, and his eyes flared an even brighter yellow!  His teeth were razor sharp, and his hair was now so long that it reached the ground! His Keyblade transformed into an even more powerful form, and its power was so great, that the ground below him shook slightly, with tiny rocks slowly floating upwards!  Sky immediately noticed Kyle’s transformation, just as he caught Raxon, and he gasped!  He now felt shivers go down his spine!

 

  “H-he’s transformed again, kupo…!” the little moogle thought to himself, as he saw the fearsome eyes that Feral Kyle had!

 

  “Come over here, you brute!” Feral Kyle shouted out to the Unborn, and this time, the large foe turned its attention to him!  Feral Kyle smirked.

 

  “About time you paid attention!” he spoke.

 

  All of a sudden, he disappeared.  Sky landed a short distance away from where Fearl Kyle had been, and he tried to see if he could spot him on the battlefield!

 

  “W-where is he, kupo?” the little moogle muttered to himself, as he glanced over at Raxon, who was still unconscious.

 

  Suddenly, the Unborn creature roared in pain, and it tilted to the side and crashed against the cavern wall!  Sky gasped, and when he narrowed his eyes and took a closer look, he noticed Feral Kyle relentlessly bashing the Unborn’s head with his Keyblade and claws, practically marauding it!  He then leapt up quickly and swooped down, piercing through the Unborn’s stomach, and then proceeding to perform lighting fast Reversals, and then adding the finishing touch, he used the power of the Dark Light to imbue his Keyblade with even greater power!  Shortly afterwards, he performed a devastating Meteor Smash attack that crushed the Unborn, pulverizing it into oblivion!  Just like that, Feral Kyle had defeated the menacing foe!  He then walked towards a panicked Sky and an unconscious Raxon.  The little moogle prepared to cast a spell.

 

  “S-stay back!  I’m warning you, kupo!” the little moogle said, barely holding back a scream! Feral Kyle smirked and got close, literally eye to eye with the little moogle.

 

  “Afraid of me, aren’t you?  Well, you should be…boo!” he said, and with that, Kyle reverted back to his normal self, and fell unconscious!  Sky, while then feeling relief, also groaned at his current predicament.

 

  “Oh, c-come on, now the two of you are unconscious!  You two are reckless, kupo!” the little moogle said, as he created protective orbs around them, and then used his magic to levitate them and take them to a safe place!

(End Song Here)

---

 

  At that same moment, Barbossa had woken everyone in the ship, and now the crew was in an uproar, bracing themselves for what was to come!  Riku and the rest of the Keyblade Wielders were already prepared, and were ready for whatever was coming now!  The rest of the crew was panicking, while Will Turner fastened himself.  Barbossa was simply laughing, for he seemed to be the only one who was enjoying the moment!

 

  “Well lads, this is where we fall down into the locker!  There may be no returning, and this may be the only time we’ll ever set upon this path…and these may be the final words you ever hear…” he said with a sinister grin, and then he braced himself, as the ship started to sail faster!  Riku had already seen what lied beyond.  A waterfall that lead to…nowhere.  Whether this was the way to the locker or not, it seemed like suicide!  But, if this was the way to rescue Jack, then there was no other option!

 

  “Everyone ready!?” Riku asked out loud.

 

  “You bet we are!” Dawn answered, with absolutely no fear resounding in her voice.

 

  “As ready as we’ll ever be!” Vanitas confirmed.

 

  “Ready!” Dexeres replied.

 

  “Yes, I am prepared!” Gilgamesh proclaimed, while Kairi and Mickey simply nodded, for they seemed a bit nervous.

 

  “Everybody hold on!!!” Will Turner yelled, and everyone braced themselves for what was to come.

 

  In the next few seconds, there was only a deafening sound of crashing water, and the sound of the ship creaking down, as it slowly fell down the bottomless waterfall!  No one was able to make sense of the moment, since they all blacked out instantly!  Just as suddenly as they had fallen down the waterfall, each and every one of them was now unconscious!

 

 

  Dawn tried to open her eyes, but she found that she couldn’t.  She felt as if she was floating, and she struggled again to open her eyes, but with no results.  She tried to call out to her friends, but when her mouth opened, no sound came out of it.  She desperately tried to move, but even that failed to do anything!  She felt alone, and very, very cold.  She didn’t like this feeling one bit!  She felt a cold shiver down her spine, and she had goosebumps!   Suddenly, she thought she heard a fain sound.  She tried opening her eyes, and this time, she was able to!  But what lay before her was nothing but pitch black nothingness.  Everything around her was dark, and no one was in sight.  She felt scared for a moment, but then regained her composure.  Then, she heard the sound again.  It sounded like a voice!

 

  “R-Riku?  Is that you?” she asked, trying to acertain the identity of the voice.  No response.

 

  “Who’s there!?” she asked again, this time louder and clearer.  Still no response.  She sighed and remained quiet for a while, but then, she suddenly felt as if someone was behind her, but when she turned around, no one was there.

 

  “Come and find me…” a voice suddenly said.  It sounded like the voice of a female!

 

  “Huh?  Who’s that?  Who are you?” Dawn asked, hoping to get an aswer this time.

 

  “Find me…” the voice said again.

 

  “I don’t even know who you are!” Dawn shouted out, and just like that, she suddenly felt like she was drowning!  Then, she quickly closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them, she found herself swirling in an ocean wave towards a shore!  She landed right on the sand!

 

  She coughed out water, and she rubbed her eyes and shook her head.  What had just happened?  She stood up and felt the sun burning on her skin, and then she saw an endless horizon of white sand.  There were small traces of wood and small objects, but this wasteland was practically a land of sand!  She looked around and wondered where she was.  Then, she instantly thought of the other, and she gasped, wondering where they were!  She quickly ran along the shore of the seemingly endless ocean, and she searched all around, but so far, she had found no one.

 

  “Riku!  Mickey!  Gilgamesh!  Anybody?” she called out.

 

  “What the heck happened?” she asked to herself.  The last thing she remembered was falling off a bottomless waterfall on a ship with the others.  Then she remembered the conversation with Barbossa, Gibbs and Will.

 

  “Davy Jones’s locker…” she whispered to herself.  Suddenly, she heard a shout from far away. When she tried to pinpoint the source, she noticed that it was Kairi!

 

  “Hey!!!” Kairi shouted, and Dawn, relieved, ran towards her.

 

  After reaching Kairi, they both embraced each other and smiled of relief.

 

  “I’m so glad that you’re okay!” Kairi said, and Dawn nodded and smiled.

 

  “And I’m glad to see that you’re doing okay too!  But…where are the others?” Dawn asked.  Kairi seemed uncertain.

 

  “I…really don’t know.  But, since we were all together on the ship, I’m sure all of us made it here…” she stated.  Dawn shrugged and looked at the surroundings, and then she pointed towards a big sand dune.

 

  “Let’s head over there!  With luck, we may find our friends!” Dawn suggested, and Kairi nodded.

 

  “Right!” she replied, and so, they both went towards the sand dune.

 

  At that same moment, Vanitas and Dexeres had already been scouring the far side of the shore, and they hadn’t found anyone.  Vanitas was starting to get annoyed, while Dexeres was admiring the beautiful scenery.

 

  “Damn it, some trip this was…” Vanitas cursed under his breath.

 

  “Look at that ocean…it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dexeres asked, ignoring Vanitas’ comment.  Vanitas rolled his eyes and shook his head.

 

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever, let’s just go and find our friends already!” he proclaimed, and so Dexeres followed.

 

  Everything was quite in this barren wasteland, except, of course, for the ocean waves, which were the only source of noise in this entire place!  As Vanitas and Dexeres kept walking, Dexeres could feel the smoothness of the sand under his feet, and he closed his eyes and smiled.  Even though they were in this precarious situation, he seemed really relaxed, almost soothed!  Vanitas, on the other hand, was kicking the sand in annoyance.  It looked like he really didn’t like the desert scenery so much.  He kept mumbling to himself and trying to get the sand off of his damp clothes.  After walking a bit more, they saw Mickey and Gilgamesh in the distance, along with Barbossa and his crew!

 

  “There they are.” Dexeres said.

 

  “Finally!” Vanitas puffed out, still very much annoyed.

-----------------

 

And so, it seems that the company has reached Davy Jones’s Locker!  Will they find Jack Sparrow here, or was their journey in vain?  And what will be the fate of Atlantis?  And just what else will happen?  Keep a lookout for Chapter Ten: “The Song Has Been Sung!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you enjoyed it!  As usual, I apologize for the delay in posting the chapter.  I’ve been quite busy as of late, plus, with the hype surrounding Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, I’ve been going nuts on the forums!  Can you blame me?   Haha, but yeah, I hope you all liked this chapter, and as always, I appreciate your patience and support!  Please be sure to post your comments on what you thought of tonight’s chapter, and until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

Lord of all Kingdom Hearts...

Awesome chapter! I really hope Ventus breaks from his spell Jexana gave him. However, I am curious, if Emmxett is worried about him, could Ventus have already broken free of his spell and is faking it now just to wait for the right moment to strike?? Hmmm...

Awesome, Awesome, AWESOME CHAPTERS!!!! So much has happened. I hope Ven breaks free from the spell soon; no matter how many times I watch it in the movie the King of Atlantis's death is always so sad!!! I'd like to know who that voice speaking to Dawn was.

 

Once again, awesome chapters!!!

To KHLegendIII, lol, your comment is priceless!

 

To KingdomHearts3, well, Emmxett simply worries because Ventus was with the Keyblade Wielders before, so, having an enemy as an ally, even if under a trance, still unsettles him quite a bit.  Has Ventus broken free, or has he not?  I'll leave it to your imagination!

 

To Keyblade101, haha, thanks, I'm glad you've liked the chapters!  There's plenty more to come, so fasten your seat belt, cuz you're in for more awesomeness!

 

Hey there everyone, how’s it going!?  So then, I apologize for taking so long to post another chapter!  The thing is, that this past week, I was afflicted with the Chikungunya virus, and said virus made my joints hurt like hell, so I really didn’t feel like writing at the time.  But, now that I’m better, thanks to God, here I have posted the latest chapter of the story!  And so, I hope you all enjoy!

 

Chapter Ten: The Song Has Been Sung

 

  After treading upwards to the sand dune they had aimed for, Dawn and Kairi finally reached the top of said dune, and when they looked downhill, they noticed Riku and the others along with Barbossa and his crew as well!  They quickly ran down towards them, and they were relieved that all of them had made it and that no one had gotten hurt!  Well…almost everybody.  It turned out that there were some crew members who had fallen off of the ship while falling down the abysmal waterfall. While it was unfortunate, at least most of the crew had survived.  But now, they remained silent for a moment, while Barbossa simply looked around.  Gibbs stepped forward, as if to speak what everyone was thinking.

 

  “Barbossa, are ye be sure that this is the locker?” he asked.  Barbossa turned around slowly to face Gibbs and nodded, and then glanced at Riku and the others.

 

  “Aye…this be the locker. I remember this place from when Jack and his friends Mr. Turner, Sora, Donald and Goofy had sent me down here when the curse of the Aztec gold had been lifted…” he said, and at that, everyone’s eyes widened.

 

  “Wait, you mean, Sora had fought you before?” Riku asked as he summoned his Keyblade.  Barbossa gave out a mighty hearty laugh, and he grabbed his sides, for he seemed to be enjoying Riku’s question.

 

  “Aye, lad.  But ye be not worrying about me figihting ya.  If it weren’t apparent to ye yet, then it should be apparent to ye now…the song has been sung, and now, every pirate that once had been foe must stand together and face Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company…” he explained.  Riku could tell that Barbossa wasn’t telling any lies, so he unsummoned his Keyblade, but still thought to himself that it was best to keep a watchful eye on Barbossa.

 

  “So, where to now?” Will Turner asked.  Barbossa simply shook his head.

 

  “We’re already in the locker, and since we all know that Jack ain’t be going anywhere else, this is where we’ll find him…but how we’ll find him, is the question.  The locker is a vast place…so it’s best we start searching!” he answered, and with that, everyone departed the shore and started to look around for any signs of Jack.  The Keyblade Wielders remained closely together.  Dawn walked closely beside Riku and held his hand.  They both smiled.

 

  “How are you feeling?” Dawn asked, looking at Riku’s wounds.  He simply nodded.

 

  “I’m doing much better now, thankfully.  My wounds almost don’t hurt anymore.  I still struggle a bit, but at least I’m not dead weight.” he said with a smile.  Dawn kissed his shoulder and shook her head.

 

  “Even if you were still badly hurt, you know you wouldn’t be dead weight.” she replied.

 

  “Heh, thanks for that, Dawn.” Riku said with a smile, and with that, they kissed each other lovingly.  Afterwards, to their left, they noticed someone walking, a woman with her head bowed.  She looked like one of Barbossa’s crew.  She seemed as if she was lamenting something…

 

  “Wait…haven’t I seen her before?” Riku asked aloud.  Mickey, who had caught up to them, noticed the woman as well, and then he nodded.

 

  “Oh, I remember who that lady is!  Riku, remember when we came to Jack Sparrow when the Black Pearl was under attack?” the little mouse asked.  Riku nodded.

 

  “Yeah, I remember.” he replied.

 

  “Well, that lady is Elizabeth Swann, if I’m not mistaken.  She was with Will and the others!” Mickey said.  At that, Riku nodded.

 

  “Hmm, I see.  Should we talk to her?” he asked.  Mickey thought twice before answering.

 

  “Well, I don’t think right now would be the best time for talking…she seems to be sorting some things out on her own!” the little mouse answered.  And so, they decided to leave her alone.

 

  Kairi was looking all around her, taking in the massive locale that was Davy Jones’s locker.  She found it a very dwarfing prospect that Jack Sparrow was in a wasteland such as this.  She walked with Gilgamesh, Dexeres and Vanitas, who were all silent and looking everywhere for signs of Jack.  As they continued walking, they made their way further up the shore, up some rising and descending sand dunes, and when they stopped to scan their surroundings, all they could see was an endless horizon of nothing but sand!  You could fit an infinite amount of worlds in this place!  Kairi felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the landscape, and then she looked back toward the shore, where Barbossa and the others were spreading out in their search.

 

  “You know…this reminds me a lot of the Keyblade Graveyard.” Vanitas remarked all of a sudden. Gilgamesh looked at him curiously.

 

  “The Keyblade Graveyard?” he asked.  Vanitas nodded.

 

  “Mmm-hmm.  Back when I was with Xehanort, we fought Terra, Ventus and Aqua in that world…nothing but a barren wasteland, filled to the brim with Keyblades of fallen warriors…a pretty sad place if you ask me.  This place kind of reminds me of the Keyblade Graveyard…the only difference is  that here, it’s much emptier.” he explained.  Gilgamesh felt intrigued by this Keyblade Graveyard that Vanitas had mentioned, and, much like a child on Christmas, he pressed on for more information.

 

  “Ah, Keyblades, you say…not just one, but hundreds, thousands, possibly millions!?” the swordsman asked with a gleam in his eyes.  Vanitas rolled his eyes and chuckled.

 

  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you got a thing for collecting weapons.  Heh, well yeah, if you went there to the Keyblade Graveyard, you’d practically take a ridiculously long amount of time to collect all the Keyblades stabbed into the ground there.” he explained, and Gilgamesh’s eyes only widened more.

 

  “Oh joyous heavens, can it truly be!?  A haven of weapons, all for me to collect!?  This seems to be too good to be true!  Vanitas, old friend, please tell me you are joking!” Gilgamesh burst out with great excitement.  Vanitas simply nodded.

 

  “No joke, my friend.  It’s a real place.” he answered.  At that, Gilgamesh practically jumped of joy!

 

  “Ah, yes!  Then it is settled!  Once this whole conflict has subsided, I shall go to this Keyblade Graveyard and collect as many Keyblades as possible!” Gilgamesh proclaimed with a hearty laugh. Vanitas rolled his eyes and laughed, and then they all stopped when Dexeres raised his hand.  Kairi walked towards him and looked where he was looking.

 

  “What is it?” she asked.  Dexeres shook his head.

 

  “I hear something…” he said, trying to pinpoint a sudden noise he had heard.  Suddenly, one of the sand dunes on the far right seemed to have burst, as a giant ship came out on top of it, as if it was sailing on sea!

 

  “What’s that!?” Kairi asked in surprise.

 

  “I think we found Jack Sparrow!” Dexeres remarked, and so, they all ran towards the shore, where the ship was heading!

 

(Start Song Here)

  As they headed down, they saw the ship continue to slide down the giant sand dune, and when it reached the shore, a lone man, perched up on one of the masts, climbed down to meet with everyone.  This was most certainly the Jack Sparrow everyone had come here to look for!  Kairi had never seen Jack, but Sora, Donald and Goofy had told her about him, so she kind of had an idea of how he looked.  He was an outlandish looking fellow, with a bandanna that covered part of his head, dreadlocked long hair, a twirled moustache and messy beard, and a set of clothes that matched his unique personality, which made him unique among any pirate.  That’s what she imagined him to be.  And when he got closer, her image of him was pretty much confirmed.  Jack remained standing in front of everyone for a long while, with a stupefied face.  He didn’t know if he was hallucinating, or what the heck was happening, but he sure couldn’t believe that there were other people besides him in the locker. Elizabeth stepped forward and stared at Jack.

(End Song Here)

 

  “Jack, it’s real.  It’s us!” she said.  Jack instantly glared at Elizabeth the moment he saw her, and he gritted his teeth and bit his lower lip.  He seemed disgusted by her!

 

  “Well…this is rather odd…” was all Jack could say before turning around to make way for his ship!  Will Turner went towards him, trying to stop him.

 

  “Jack, everything’s turned into chaos!  Cutler Beckett is claiming control over the seas!” he said.

 

  “And he have the Dutchman and Davy Jones under his control!” Barbossa added.

 

  “And now, all pirate lords are gathering for a Brethren Court!  The song has been sung!” Elizabeth concluded.  Jack waved his arms dismissively at the three, putting some distance between them, and then he thinks on the words he has just heard.

 

  “Bugger…one goes down to the locker, and the whole world goes upside down!” he thought out loud.  Elizabeth nodded and tugged at his arm.

 

  “That’s why we need you, Jack!” she pleaded.  At that, Jack gave off a smirk and then pulled away from Elizabeth and went towards the sure.

 

  “Well, the way I see it, I have a ship, and all of you are lacking one, so if I’m to be mistaken, it seems you lot are the ones in need of rescuing, but I don’t feel as much as rescuing anyone myself, really!” he proclaimed.  Elizabeth opened her mouth.

 

  “But we came to save you!” she stated.  Jack chuckled.

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuDSyNQVuJg

  “Ah, did you now?  Well, that’s a touching thought, to be sure.  But alas, quite a few of you tried to kill me once, and one of you succeeded.” he said as he stared at Elizabeth, and at that, everyone looked straight at her, Will, most of all.  Vanitas made sure no one noticed as he chuckled to himself.

 

  “Oh boy, this is going to be a drama show…” he whispered to himself. Then he and everyone else heard Jack give out a satisfying aha!

 

  “Ah, she hasn’t told you?  Well, I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk about now.” he stated, directing this comment towards Will, who looked quite grim and irritated.  He then turned his attention to Barbossa.

 

  “Ah, Hector…so, the Brethren Court, then?” he asked reluctantly.  Barbossa nodded.

 

  “Aye.  The Brethren Court it be!” he answered.

(End Song Here)

 

  And with that, Jack reluctantly agreed, and in his own way, he appreciated everyone for rescuing him!  Then, they all proceeded to go to the Black Pearl, and so their journey back to the world of the living began.  The Keyblade Wielders made sure to stay out of everyone’s way, and they pondered their next move.  They were also quite worried that they hadn’t found Sora, Donald, Goofy or Xion yet!  The fact that there was no sign of them at all was quite unsettling!  Kairi looked onwards towards the sea, with a concerned look on her face.  She closed her eyes and prayed silently, hoping that Sora and the others were doing okay.  And so, for the next couple of hours, everything was quite.  The expansive, seemingly endless ocean that laid before them didn’t have the slightest trace of life.  Only empty waves and shallow light from the sun filled this void ocean, and everyone felt quite restless.  Dexeres sighed as he looked towards the sun.  Then, he could have sworn he saw a flash of light!

 

  “Huh?  What was…that?” he asked to himself.  He looked around, and it seemed that no one else noticed the light that he saw!  He went to the other side of the ship, trying to get to the bottom of this!

 

  “What was that blinding light…?  It felt so…familiar…” he whispered to himself.  After standing there for quite some time, he then deduced that his eyes were playing tricks on him, and so he went back towards the others.  But he still couldn’t shake the undeniable feeling that the light he claimed to have seen felt strangely familiar!

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Back in Atlantis, the battle was taking a turn for the worse!  Both Roark’s men and the Atlanteans were suffering heavy casualties, and every corner of the cavern was being brought down! The Unborn that had been tearing through the battlefield was destroyed by Kyle, but now he and Raxon both lay unconscious!  Sky was the only one of the trio left standing, and he had made a magical barrier to protect himself and his two unconscious friends from harm!  He cast spells to destroy more fighter planes, while constantly glancing over his shoulder at Kyle and Raxon!  He was beginning to worry that they wouldn’t wake up!

 

  And up above, Roark, who had gotten an axe in hand, was swooping it relentlessly at poor Milo, who was using unnaturally impossible reflexes to dodge for his life!  The more he dodged, the angrier Roark became, and then, in one swoop, Roark hit the glass window that the container had, and from there, Milo quickly improvised and yanked out a piece of glass and held it in his hand like a small knife! Roark apparently hadn’t noticed, and he grabbed Milo by the throat and prepared to hack his head off with his axe!

 

  “Time to say good night, Thatch!” Roark bellowed out triumphantly, when all of a sudden, Milo slashed his arm with the glass!  But instead of blood, his skin was turning into…crystal!?  Milo had no time to guess what was happening, for he quickly made it his goal to put some distance between him and Roark as much as possible!  When he managed to take a quick peek below, he noticed that Roark had completely turned into a dark, blueish crystal!  Milo sighed of relief.

 

  “Oh, thank heaven!” he puffed out, when suddenly, Roark started climbing out!  It turns out that the crystal had stuck to him like a symbiote, and now, he was climbing towards Milo, with a vengeance! But just as he was about to get him, Milo was able to pull himself down, pushing Roark towards the hot air balloon’s fans, and he instantly shattered into a million pieces!  Milo then immediately held on to the container that held Kida, and the both plummeted down to the ground!  Luckily, both the container and Milo were able to survive the explosion!  Suddenly, the ground started to crack, and a bright orange color seethed through the cracks, and that’s when Mole, who was just nearby, started to panic.

 

  “The volcano…she awakes!!!!” he yelled.  Audrey and the others came, and they were panicking as well.

 

  “Come on Milo, we have to go!” she said, and Milo nodded.

 

  “Alright, will do!” he said as he hooked up the chain to one of the Atlantean vehicles, and they started to take off, and that’s when Milo noticed Sky, Kyle and Raxon!

 

  “Guys, come on, let’s go!” he shouted towards them.  Sky immediately heard and noticed that Roark had been taken out, and then, with his magical powers, he levitated Kyle and Raxon and made sure they were in his sight at all times!  And so, with them in tow, he started to fly, and all of them made their escape from the volcano!  It was quite the bumpy ride, with quite a few close calls, but luckily, they were able to make it out of the cavern, right in the nick of time!  They all made it right outside the palace gates, but the volcano was still going to erupt, and if it did, it would destroy Atlantis!

 

  “The volcano is about to release a magnitude of force!” Mole yelled.

 

  “Mole says the rock’s gonna blow!” Joshua shouted.

 

  “What do we do now!?” Audrey asked in panic.  Milo took a spear from one of the Atlantean soldiers and hacked away at the container where Kida was, and after a few good strikes, he was able to open the container, and Kida was freed!  She was still in her crystal state, so no one knew what could happen!

 

  “T-the volcano, kupo!” Sky shouted out, and everyone worriedly looked over at the volcano’s direction, as lava was seeping from its cracks like water leaks!

 

  When they looked back at Kida, they noticed she was slowly floating upwards, and as she did, the giant stones that had surrounded her when she transformed into her crystal state now joined her.  With each stone that rose, they started to spin around slowly.  Then, they slowly spun faster, and faster, and faster, until finally, a beam shot out of the stones and into the ground, where the water started to ripple violently!  What was happening!?

 

  “What in the name of kupo…?” the little moogle whispered to himself, as he saw the events take place.

 

  A few seconds passed, and soon, a giant stone guardian rose up from the water!  It was groggy for a bit, but then got some solid footing, and then stood fully up!  The stone guardian was perhaps a few hundred feet tall, and it was heading towards the edge of Atlantis!  Soon after, about five more stone guardians arose, and they all went to a different point of Atlantis, all of them ending up on all the corners of the city!  With a clap of their hands in unison, a giant forcefield slowly started to form, and, almost as if on cue, the volcano erupted, and the massive ocean of lava was threatening to swarm over Atlantis!  Luckily, the force field was able to be completed just in time, and for quite a few minutes, Atlanits bore witness to the lava passing right above them!  The stone guardians remained unflinching and stoic, and the forcefield did not break!

 

  “A-amazing, kupo!” Sky said in awe, as his jaw dropped.  He couldn’t believe he was witnessing something so surreal!  Then he noticed that the lava solidified and became coal!  After a few seconds, thanks to the stone guardians, they broke through the coal, and it broke off from the forcefield and fell down, Atlantis having been saved by what could have been quite a disaster!

(End Song Here)

 

  “We did it…we did it!” Milo said in surprise, and everyone cheered! Suddenly, a beam of light shone down near Milo, and when looked up, he saw Kida descending towards him slowly, and she was back to normal!  When she finally landed in his arms, she woke up, and she stared at Milo, almost in disbelief.

 

  “It’s okay Kida, you’re safe now!” he said with reassurance.  Kida nodded gratefully and then opened her hand, and saw the bracelet she had lost when her mother was used as a host for the Heart Of Atlantis!  She teared up, and she and Milo embraced.  It was a resolution to the conflict that had been at hand!  Sky felt relieved that Atlantis had been saved!  But, Kyle and Raxon still remained unconscious! Now he was getting really worried.

 

  “Oh no, you two won’t wake up!  This isn’t good…no, this isn’t good at all, kupo!” the little moogle panicked.

 

  And all the while, Kyle could feel his heart pulsing with unholy darkness…

---

 

  At that same moment, the Keyblade Wielders and Barbossa’s crew had come upon a problem! They were using a strange map that had different riddles, and right now, they were trying to deduce what one specific riddle was saying.  “Up is down.”  They had to find out what the middle meant quickly, or else they’d be doomed to wander the endless seas of Davy Jones’s locker forever!  And so, time was of the essence, and everyone on the ship was keeping busy with maintenance, while the Keyblade Wielders made sure to help out the crew members with whatever they needed!  Jack and Barbossa both stared at the map, and both of them were very determined to find out what the riddle meant!

 

  “Aye, this is a brain racker…” Barbossa remarked with a huff, feeling irritated.  Jack simply twiddled his fingers and seemed to be playing around with the map.

 

  “Well, as with all brain rackers, we have to do our best to take a crack on this one, eh?” Jack mentioned, and Barbossa nodded.

 

  “Easier said than done, Jack.  This riddle is impossible!” Barbossa growled, as he mumbled to himself and looked towards the sea.

 

  Below decks, Elizabeth and Will were talking.

 

  “Why didn’t you tell me?  Why didn’t you tell me that you had doomed Jack to the Kraken?” he asked with yearning eyes.  Elizabeth couldn’t look at him.

 

  “And all this time…I thought-“ he started to say.

 

  “You…thought that I loved him…?” she asked.  Will remained silent.  She tried to leave, but Will held her by the arm.

 

  “If you’re going off making decisions on your own…how can I trust you?” he asked, sounding brokenhearted.  She looked away and yanked herself away from him.

 

  “You can’t…” she whispered, and with that, she went above decks, and Will remained grim, hurt by her words.  He was about to go above decks, when suddenly, he felt a cold chill down his spine.

 

  “This feeling…I’m being watched…” he thought to himself.

 

(Start Song Here)

 

  “I imagine you must be going through a tough time…”

 

  “What?  Show yourself!” Will demaneded as he drew his sword.  He saw someone who was dressed in a black coat.  That someone remained in the shadows.

 

  “It must hurt, knowing that the one you love is keeping secrets from you like that…I’m sure that must feel like a knife to the heart, am I right?  Well, I, for one, would pay back the favor!  The next time a dire situation comes, you be sure to make the tough decision without her knowing, and she’ll know how it feels…that is what you want, isn’t it?  To make her feel the boiling hurt that you felt when you saw her kiss Jack Sparrow?  Yes, I can smell your doubt and uncertainty and anger from way over here…heh heh heh…you are sad, pathetic wretch.  In the end, you will be torn apart from your lover, and nothing you can do can change that destiny…mark my words.” the mysterious person in the black coat said in a cold, mocking voice, taunting Will.  He clenched his fists and had enough!

 

  “Silence!” Will demanded, and for a short moment, there was silence.  Then, the cloaked person simply laughed.

 

  “Ah, you are a sad wretch.  Let the hurtful truth be your undoing…” the cloaked person said, and with that, just as soon as the individual appeared, he or she vanished.  Will remained deep in thought with the words that the mysterious person had said to him.

(End Song Here)

 

  Above decks, everyone was still at a loss as to what to do.  Barbossa had given up on deciphering the riddle of the map, while Jack seemed hell bent on resolving it!  And he was even talking to himself, it seemed!  Gilgamesh saw Jack talking to himself, and he could only wonder what he was saying.  Ever since Gilgamesh laid eyes on Jack, he knew that he had stumbled upon a worthy sparring opponent!  He could feel it in his gut!  But, given the current situation, Gilgamesh decided to leave his urges to battle to rest.  Instead, he just remained there, watching Jack and wondering what he was saying. Dexeres was on the far side of the ship, still wondering what it was that he had seen, the mysterious light he could have sworn that he saw!  Gibbs stood by his side, and seeing as he was wanting to start a conversation, he decided to be the one to start.

 

  “So, what may ye be thinking about?” Gibbs asked with utmost curiosity.  Dexeres was startled for a bit, for apparently, he had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t noticed Gibbs standing there!

 

  “Oh, my apologies, Gibbs, I was just…thinking about something strange I saw…or I think I saw.” he muttered, almost in a whisper.  Gibbs simply kept silent, urging Dexeres to keep talking.

 

  “Well, whatever it was, I could have sworn that it was some sort of blinding light…but before I could take a good look, it was gone…” he explained, and at that, Gibbs eyes lit up!

 

  “Ah, ye must be referring to the Green Flash!” the pirate mentioned with a tone of wonder.  Dexeres tilted his head and seemed really interested.

 

  “Green Flash?” he asked.

 

  “Aye, it be an extremely rare occurrence that happens either at sunrise or sunset!  If you keep a weather eye on the horizon, you’ll see a green streak of light shoot up into the sky!  Tis a beautiful light indeed, and some sailors have said that said green flash announces the return of a person who was once thought dead!  Well, that’s what the stories say, anyway.” Gibbs explained, feeling rather prideful with his explanation.  And apparently, his explanation caused Dexeres to think deeply upon said Green Flash. It’s as though something within him had sparked, like if a part of him had been unveiled!  He looked at Gibbs and then looked at the horizon.  The sun was starting to set, and everything was calm.

 

  “Someone return from the dead?  Why does this suddenly have me so…intrigued?  Is it because of the family I had lost before…all of this?” he asked to himself.  He then shook his head and turned his attention to Gibbs again.

 

  “So, I’m guessing you’ve seen this Green Flash in your lifetime?” he asked.  Gibbs nodded.

 

  “Aye, only once or twice in my life.  It be an extremely rare occurrence!” he answered.

 

  Dexeres felt intrigued by this Green Flash, but before he could think anything more, Jack started to shout randomly all of a sudden, running from one side of the ship to the other!  If no one had ever seen this before, people would think Jack is a lunatic!  Well, he was sort of a lunatic anyway.  Everyone looked at Jack with a puzzled look in their faces.  The Keyblade Wielders found Jack’s behavior strange yet amusing, and so they just continued watching him do what he was doing.  Suddenly, Jack stopped then pointed at everyone, urging them to come over to where he was, for apparently, he had seen something!  Everyone rushed to Jack’s side, and they looked over to the sea, but there was nothing there!  Nothing they couldn’t notice of, that is.

 

  “What’s that over there!?” Jack asked.  Kairi shrugged.

 

  “Where?” she asked.

 

  “There!” Jack answered, but he seemed like he was talking to himself.  He then ran to the other side of the ship, and not soon after that everyone had followed him, he went yet again towards the previous side of the ship he’d been on!  Everyone was starting to get annoyed by this, but when Barbossa went over to the map and saw that Jack had solved the riddle, he smirked and huffed.

 

  “Aye…Jack’s come up with the solution!  Rock the ship, ya fleabags!” Barbossa commanded, and so, everyone joined in on this strange event, as they all ran to one side of the ship to the other!  At first, nothing happened, but after a few repeated attempts, the ship indeed started to rock side by side, and with each time they rocked back and forth, the ship would rock side by side ever more, until eventually, it was starting to tip sideways!

 

  “Everybody, hold on!” Will shouted, as he hung onto a mast, and everyone else held onto the first thing they saw!  The ship was now turning upside down!

 

  “Now up…is down!” Jack proclaimed, as all of them were plunged underwater, the whole entire ship having turned upside down!  A few crew members weren’t able to hold on, and the others were only able to watch helplessly as said crew members drowned and were lost to the locker…forever!

 

  And so, the sun had set!  And for just a split second, Dexeres was able to catch sight of the Green Flash Gibbs had spoken to him about!  It was a beautiful, yet brief sight, and it was something that Dexeres found mystifying and wondrous!  Soon, everyone noticed that the water started to rise up from below them!  It started out slowly, but then gradually increased to the point that they were all propelled upwards, and in just a few seconds, the Black Pearl rose up from the sea, and now, everyone was above the water, alive and breathing!  They all looked at each other, unsure if they had made it back into the land of the living.

 

  “How will we know if we made it…?” Elizabeth asked, and then Gibbs pointed towards the horizon.

 

  “Look!  The sunrise!  We’re back!” he said with joy in his heart!  Everyone was relieved, and they felt all the happier that they had been able to come back from the locker!  Jack, in particular, was quite enjoying his new lease on life!  He breathed in the air of the world of the living, and he felt quite good. Soon, everyone gathered round, and they all looked at each other, and Jack scratched his head.

 

  “Right then, down to business!” he said, as he drew his pistols on Barbossa and Will! Soon, Elizabeth, Will and Gibbs also drew their pistols, and everyone was pointing at each other! They all looked at each other quite seriously!  The Keyblade Wielders were about to intervene, when Mickey shook his head and silently urged them not to.

 

  “It seems we be all a bit confused by what exact business we are to be a part of…” Gibbs remarked.  Barbossa shook his head.

 

  “Oh no, our business be more than clear, Mr. Gibbs.  Jack here is coming with us to the Brethren Court, and he is going to be a part of the gathering, whether he likes it or not!” he explained.

 

  “And what if I say that I don’t want to go, and I don’t intend to go?” Jack taunted.  At that, Barbossa pointed another one of his pistols at Jack, whereas Jack did the same.

 

  “This ain’t be a matter of wanting or not wanting.  There’s no choice in the matter, because the song has been sung! If we don’t gather with the other Pirate Lords, Beckett and the East India Trading Company will take down every last pirate, and there won’t be anyone else left…except you.” Barbossa answered, but Jack simply smiled and gave off a chuckle.

 

  “Heh, meaning that I’d be Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate?  I actually quite like the sound of that…” he said, and at that, Elizabeth gasped and pointed both her pistols at Jack, while Jack pointed a pistol towards her, and Will pointed a pistol towards him.

 

  “Jack, this isn’t a laughing matter, this is life or death!  Being the last of your kind won’t be a good thing, I can reassure you that!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

 

  “Which means you’ll be coming, Jack.” Barbossa said.  Jack shook his head.

 

  “Oh, I’ll be going as I please, and I’ll go anywhere I want…but you definitely won’t catch me in the locker again…I can assure you that.” Jack said, and when he shot his pistol, nothing came out!  Everyone looked confused and they tried shooting as well, when Gibbs came to a sudden realization.

 

  “Our gunpowder’s wet.” he said, and at that, everyone rolled their eyes and they went into different directions of the ship.  The Keyblade Wielders just stood there, quite taken aback by what they had just witnessed.  Then again, these were pirates, but still, it was all such a strange spectacle!

 

  “Well…that was something.” Vanitas muttered.  Gilgamesh agreed joyfully.

 

  “Ah yes, that was truly something indeed!  Pirates have always intrigued me, and their ways are so strange yet so wonderful!  Haha, we’ll have a joyful trek with these fellows indeed!” the swordsman replied with glee.  Vanitas rolled his eyes.  Everyone relaxed, for now they were back to the world of the living, and for now, they decided they’d stick with Jack, Barbossa and the rest of the crew.  Dexeres remained silent as he looked at the sun in the horizon.  His thoughts again came back to the Green Flash. He bowed his head and clenched his fists.

 

  “The dead returning to life…?” he asked to himself, uncertain.

----------------------------------------

 

And so, the Keyblade Wielders, along with Jack, Barbossa and the rest of the crew, have escaped the locker of Davy Jones, and now they are back to the world of the living!  What will happen to them now? And now that Atlantis has been saved, what’ll be next for Sky, Kyle and Raxon?  And on that subject, have Kyle and Raxon awoken from their unconsciousness?  Find out in Chapter Eleven: “Marching Ever Forward.”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you all found it to your absolute enjoyment! I’ve been having a lot of fun writing this story, and well, I’m sure you’ll all keep liking what I post, because trust me, there’s gonna be a lot of intense stuff happening!  Haha, anyways, as always, thank you very much for your patience and support, and as always, please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter!  Well then, until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

Oh man...

Wow. So much going on. If only Kyle and Raxon would wake up! Not good Kyle's heart is pulsing with darkness. Dark-light? I say he is in a similar situation Ventus once was in. Namely, Kyle has pure light and pure darkness within him and we all know what that means.

 

No no no. Gilgamesh, you do not understand. The Keyblade Graveyard is not a place to just look around nor is it right to take the keyblades that lie there. You do not understand just what this world contains nor what it is like and not even do you understand the void feeling everyone who enters feels. The Keyblade Graveyard is a place where the Keyblade War raged. Millions to tens of millions have perished in such a terrifying war. It is not to be taken lightly.

To KHLegendIII, I know, right!?

 

To KingdomHearts3, yes, as you can see, Raxon and Sky have great distrust of Kyle, at which point you'll find out more as the story rolls along!  And lol, you can't blame Gilgamesh for wanting to see all the Keyblades the Keyblade Graveyard houses!  He's a collector of weapons to the very end!

 

Good evening everybody, I hope that you’re all doing okay, and I hope you’ve all had a joyous evening!  Wow, we've already reached October!  This year has gone by so fast, hasn't it?  It's amazing how time flies by! X_X  So then, I bring for all of you another chapter to my story!  I hope you all enjoy it!  And so, without further ado, read on, my loyal followers!

 

Chapter Eleven: Marching Ever Forward

 

(Start Song Here)

  The sky was overcast, and there was a strong wind blowing.  It seemed as though it might rain hard today.  The sea was calm, but showed signs of bringing on a storm soon.  Seeing the horizon with composure, Lord Becket admires the scenery.  His soldiers are busy at work keeping his ship ready to go at a moment’s notice, and soon, he felt someone walk up behind him.  He glanced momentarily back, saw that it was a soldier, gave a short smile and nodded, and then proceeded to watch the horizon again.  He clasped his hands behind his back and looked up thoughtfully, and then, almost as if he was a teacher giving a lesson, he turned around to face the soldier and then put his hand on his shoulder.

 

  “Tell me, soldier…what does the future hold in your eyes?” he asked calmly.  The soldier, looking quite a bit baffled, looked quite confused.  He didn’t know how to answer, so the only thing he could do was shrug.

 

  “Um…sir?” he asked shyly.  Beckett smiled and nodded.

 

  “Ah, my apologies.  I’m sure that you probably don’t know what I’m talking about.  In that case, I’ll tell you what I see in the future.  In my eyes…I see us claiming what is left to discover of the New World, and then we put an end to the Old World.  The pirates that have sailed these waters surely know that their time is upon them.  They’ll either have to adapt to the New World, or perish…for that is the way of things.  The East India Trading Company’s goal is to ensure progress and growth for all mankind, and for that, we need to discover every trace of the world that’s yet to be discovered!  All the edges of the map are finally starting to be filled in…and now all that’s left is to find the missing links.  What I see in the future…is a profitable investment…” Beckett explained with grace and pride.  The soldier looked at him, his eyes shining with inspiration.  He nodded in agreement with Beckett and smiled.

 

  “That’s mighty right, sir!  The future, in this case will be quite bright!” the soldier replied, and at that, Beckett smiled anew.

 

  “Indeed, indeed.  So then, what is the status report?” he asked.  The soldier then stood firm and cleared his throat.

 

  “Right!  We’ve arrested all the pirates near this area, and they are all being dealt their due sentences!  But, the strangest thing of all is that…well, even though they are practically marching to their deaths…they still keep singing that song…they haven’t stopped, and with each number of deaths, they seem to sing louder and louder!” the soldier explained.  Beckett didn’t seem at all surprised by this.

 

  “Ah yes.  These pirates are still clinging on to the hope that they can be able to withhold progress and live their lifestyles forever.  But, as they are soon to realize, they are in for a severe reality check.  Good job with the report, soldier.  Keep me informed at all times!” Beckett expressed, and the soldier gave out a salute and nodded.

 

  “Yes, sir!” he proclaimed, and then he left to resume his work.  Soon after, Beckett resumed looking at the sea.  Then, he felt someone watching him.  He simply smiled.

 

  “You do know that you don’t have to hide from me, do you now?” Beckett asked aloud.  There was a momentarily silence, but shortly after, someone with a black coat appeared, with arms crossed.

 

  “Well, color me impressed.  You have quite the acute senses there.” the black coat remarked.  Beckett shook his head.

 

  “Merely just my instincts.” he mused.  He then kept silent, urging the black coat to keep talking.

 

  “I’ve reported everything about your work to my Superior so far.  She’s most impressed, and she said that she’s ready to help you at a moment’s notice.” the black coat said.

 

  “Ah, wonderful.  I do thank your Superior for her support.” Beckett said as he continued to look onward to the sea.

 

  “But remember, in exchange for the Superior’s assistance, you’re going to have to hold your part of the bargain as well.  When all of this is over, she’ll be expecting payment for her services, so you had better…cooperate.” the black coat mentioned, almost as if it was a threat.  Beckett remained unflinching, and then he turned around to look at the black coat and he simply smiled and sat down, preparing himself a cup of tea, just as the breeze was picking up.  He offered the black coat a seat.

 

  “Would you like some tea?” he asked.  The black coat remained silent, with arms crossed.  Beckett simply smirked.

 

  “Worry not, cloaked one.  I am fully aware of my implications here.  After all, I am a businessman, so I understand how this all works.  In due time, your Superior shall get her payment, and she’ll be paid handsomely, I’d like to add.” he explained, not feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable with the black coat’s presence.  If anything, he felt quite pleased that he was having this conversation.  The black coat simply nodded.

 

  “I’ll be holding you to that, Lord Beckett…” the black coat hissed before vanishing without a trace.

 

  “You won’t be disappointed.  After all, this is all part of a good investment…we’ll both get what we want, and we’ll both be quite satisfied with our results.  Ah yes…the dawn of the East India Trading Company is coming…and all pirates who refuse to bow to progress will be trampled on and given their just desserts.  It’s only fitting that it be this way.  Hmph, very fitting indeed.” he said to himself as he sipped his cup of tea, enjoying the taste.  The breeze suddenly picked up, and it started to rain ever slightly.  It seemed that it would rain earlier than he had thought.  But in all honesty, the rain didn’t bother him.  He simply kept gazing at the sea while sipping his cup of tea, his ambition and determination clearly imprinted in his fiercely determined eyes.  He knew, without a doubt, that he was going to succeed, and he was going to have everything that he wanted, including ownership of all the seas.

 

  “Your time has come…pirates.” he said to himself.

 

  Shortly after, he went into his ship to tend to some matters.

(End Song Here)

--- 

  In the meantime, the Keyblade Wielders, along with Jack, Barbossa and the rest of the crew, set out on their journey to the Brethren Court.  On the way, the pirates made a stop to Tortuga to get some supplies for the journey, and ammunition for their guns.  While this was happening, the Keyblade Wielders decided it was best to stay on deck.  They said that they’d keep watch on the ship.  And so, for the next few hours, this is what they did.  During this time, they were able to rest up their strength, and thanks to that, all of them felt ready for whatever would come at them!  Mickey headed towards his friends as soon as he had finished patrolling the ship, and then he sat down with them, as they were all in deep conversation, from the looks of it.

 

  “Well, fellas, it seems that things here are quite dire…the fact that the pirates are so restless means that nothing but bad things are gonna happen!  With that in mind, if we get ambushed by any of our new unknown enemies, we’ll be done for!” the little mouse stated with distress.  Everyone nodded grimly.  Dawn looked at everyone and sighed.

 

  “I received a message from my father last night.  He says that quite a few groups are marching from different directions, but he can’t pinpoint their exact locations.  He’s doing his best to get us information, along with his counsel!” she said.

 

  “And we couldn’t ask for any more than that.  Your father’s been of great help to us, Dawn, you should know that!” Riku proclaimed, and Dawn smiled.

 

  “But even with our outside source, we’re still in the dark with all this.  And unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find Sora, Donald, Goofy and Xion yet.  We haven’t even felt their presence, and that makes me feel uneasy…” Vanitas mentioned as he leaned his back against the wooden wall.  His arms were crossed and he seemed to be deep in thought.

 

  “We’ll find them…I know we will!  They have to be alive, we can’t give up hope yet!  We have to keep searching for our friends, no matter what!  They’d do the same for us!” Kairi said with determination, her heart pounding.  Everyone nodded.

 

  “Don’t worry Kairi, we aren’t going to give up on our friends.  After all we’ve been through, of course we won’t give up on them!  But we also have to keep in mind that we’re facing the threat of all these unknown people coming to war.  And there’s something I’ve been feeling for a long time…a disturbance.” Dexeres said.  At that, everyone looked at him with utmost curiosity.  The silence that followed indicated that they wanted to hear what Dexeres had to say.

 

  “Over the past couple of days, I’ve felt that our actions have been heavily monitored…as if we’re being viewed on a screen at this same moment…and it’s something that makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.  I feel that whatever we plan, the enemy will be two steps ahead of us, heck, even ten steps!  I don’t know why I’ve been feeling this way…maybe I’m just being paranoid, but I just thought that this was something that you should all know.” he stated with a sigh.  Everyone thought of Dexeres’ words, and for a while, no one said anything.  Then, Gilgamesh stood up in alarm all of a sudden, and he pointed towards the horizon.

 

  “I think that Dexeres had more than just a feeling, friends!  Look, over there!  A ship’s heading toward us!” he shouted.  Everyone stood up, and they indeed saw a ship, but it was strange in design! It was seeping darkness from all over, and dozens, if not two dozens of Heartless could be seen running around the ship!

 

  “We have to prepare for battle!” Kairi remarked, and so, all the Keyblade Wielders got into positions, ready to defend the Black Pearl!

 

  “Look, up ahead!” Mickey shouted as he pointed towards the sky.  Something strange was forming within the clouds!  Suddenly, a portal of darkness opened in front of them, and out of the portal, a black coated individual appeared, and seconds afterward, revealed itself to be a woman!  She had long, silver hair, with slight streaks of black that were barely noticeable.  Her eyes were silver and her skin was tan and smooth looking!  She had a delicate yet firm body, and she was short.  The minute she had unveiled herself, Dexeres’ eyes opened in disbelief.  His Keyblade dropped to the ground, and everyone looked at him alarmingly!

 

  “Dexeres, what’s wrong!?” Kairi shouted.  Dexeres’ eyes opened only wider, as he took a few steps back.  The look on his face seemed like he had just seen a ghost!

 

(Start Song Here)

  “I-it can’t be…” he whispered, as he fell to his knees, paralyzed by his own shock!  The silver haird woman looked at him for a long time before directing her gaze towards the other Keyblade Wielders.  They all prepared for battle.  She raised her hand.

 

  “I’ve come to make a deal.” she said in a cryptic tone.  Everyone looked confused.

 

  “Is that so?  Then why the ship filled with Heartless?” Riku challenged.

 

  “Simply a precaution…” the woman answered.

 

  “What kind of a deal are we talking about here…?” Vanitas asked, not taking his eyes off the woman for even one second!

 

  “You are all fighting a pointless fight.  Granted, right now, you are at your weakest point, and the war to come will only end up destroying you all.  My Superior wishes for your surrender.  Should you agree to surrender, there are two options you have at your disposal.  You either join us and fight for us in the Keyblade War, or resist and die like dogs…these are the only choices you have.  If you don’t surrender, I will strike you down, here and now, without hesitation.  You have all fought and struggled long enough…stop fighting a battle that you won’t win…stop resisting the Superior and come to your senses…fight alongside us, or die.  The choice…is yours.” the woman declared.  It was clear that she wasn’t bluffing, and her piercing gaze was only that much more proof that she would act on her words. Everyone remained silent for quite some time.  The woman then looked at Kairi.

 

  “Don’t you want to see Sora…?” she asked.  At that, Kairi’s eyes opened wide.

 

  “What!?  What have you done with him!?  And what have you done to Donald, Goofy and Xion!?” she shouted as she was about to charge at the woman, but Gilgamesh and Mickey restrained her.

 

  “No, Kairi, stop, this is a trap!” Mickey pleaded.

 

  “It’s best that you listen to Mickey, young lass…we are in quite the predicament here…” Gilgamesh stated.  Kairi gritted her teeth in frustration, feeling helpless! 

(End Song Here)

---

 

  Meanwhile, in Atlantis, after everything had settled down, peace returned to the kingdom, and the chaos that had threatened to end the Atlanteans had been purged!  There was a great celebration held, and there was also a mourning for the late king.  Kida lit up the king’s stone, for it to be a part of the stones that guard the Heart Of Atlantis!  Milo, who had decided to stay in Atlantis, was by Kida’s side.  Now, with the Heart Of Atlantis restored to its rightful place, the Atlanteans’ survival was assured! Sky was relieved that things had turned out okay, and he only wished that the late king could have been able to witness it all.  Sky had been waiting for Kyle and Raxon to awaken from their unconsciousness, but they didn’t budge! 

 

  “Oh…this is bad…they still haven’t waken up, kupo!” the little moogle thought to himself, and just then, Milo and Kida came towards him.

 

  “Ah, hello there, little friend!  Your friends have not awakened yet?” Kida asked with a kind expression on her face.  Sky blushed a little and shook his head. 

 

  “N-no ma’am, they’re still unconscious…I’m starting to worry about them!” the little moogle replied.

 

  “Don’t worry, little guy, I’m sure they’ll wake up soon!” Milo said reassuringly, and then Kida went to Kyle and Raxon, who were being housed in a nearby tent, where one of the Atlanteans was nursing them, making sure they’d be okay!  Milo and Sky followed, and the little moogle had hopefully eyes!  He hoped Kida would be able to wake them up!  She looked at them and closed her eyes.

 

  “They do not have any fatal wounds on them, correct?” she asked to the Atlantean who was nursing them.

 

  “No, they are quite physically healthy, but the battle must have taken quite a toll on them, since they had to use up all their energy!” he explained.

 

  “Hmm, I see.” was all that Kida said.  She looked at Kyle and Raxon intently for a long while, and then, she noticed the crystals they had around their necks, and that’s when an idea came to her!  Almost as if on silent instinct, the Atlantean came and assisted Kida, as they both held the crystals the two boys had!  They closed their eyes and they started to chant a sort of strange incantation!  Milo looked on in amazement, while Sky was sweating like crazy!  Once the incantation was finished, Kida took over the reins, and the Atlantean stood back and then proceeded to leave the tent.  Kida then recited another incantation, and slowly, the crystals started to glow brighter, until they started to slowly dissipate!  The energies of the crystals were now entering the bodies of Kyle and Raxon!  Sky panicked momentarily, but Milo indicated that it was all going to be okay.  After a few more minutes, the crystals disappeared entirely, and the energy they had completely went into Kyle and Raxon!  After a momentary silence, the two boys finally awakened!  Sky sobbed with utmost happiness, as he flew towards Raxon and hugged him tightly.

 

  “Oh, you’re okay, Raxon, you’re okay, kupo!” the little moogle said as he snuggled up to Raxon, who at first was a bit confused but then smiled and hugged Sky back.  Kyle looked at them both and smiled.

 

  “Wow…we were knocked out pretty good, huh?” he stated, but Sky went silent, and he hid behind Raxon, showing that he was very afraid!  The pirate noticed Sky’s frightened behavior, and then he assumed what had happened.

 

  “You turned again…didn’t you?” he asked grimly.  Kyle was about to say something, but he decided to remain silently.  The look on his face showed that his feelings were deeply hurt.  But he knew that the Dark Light within him was acting very wrong…and it was causing great distrust between him and them.  Milo and Kida looked on, and then they looked at each other uneasily.  Kida then walked towards Kyle and held him by the shoulders.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “Do not lose heart, young one.  I know that right now you are having a very strong internal struggle, but you need to keep yourself strong!  While I was casting my incantation, I could notice there was a strong darkness inside you…a creature who was watching and remaining silent.  I could feel it looking at me…I understand that you are having quite the distress because of this?” she asked.  Kyle went numb.  She was able to see the being that lay inside him!  He felt mortified, and he dared not look at Raxon and Sky.  He only nodded to what Kida said.

 

  “I see…well, all I can say is that you cannot lose heart!  You must fight until you’ve claimed victory over yourself!” she stated.  Milo nodded.

 

  “Kida’s right, Kyle.  You have to stick to it and make sure that you don’t let yourself be overcome by anguish and uncertainty!  You have to remain strong, and you have to keep growing!  Experience new things, overcome ordeals, and you’ll become that much more stronger!” he said, and Kyle could only smile a bit and nod.  He looked at the both of them and smiled again.

 

  “Thanks, guys…” he said.  Raxon then stood up, and Sky followed after.

 

  “Now that we know Atlantis is safe…we have to get going.” he said towards Kida, and she nooded.

 

  “Very well.  Your ship has been under great care, and we all made sure to fill your ship with supplies, so you will be with no lack of food!” she explained.  Raxon and Sky bowed gratefully.

 

  “Thank you very much…Kyle, let’s go.” he said without looking at him.  Kyle nodded grimly and followed them.

 

  And so, after a few minutes of preparing, Kyle, Raxon and Sky were ready to depart.  Kyle and Sky had already gone onboard, but Raxon was still outside.  He looked at Kida with great sadness.

 

  “About the king…I’m sorry…” he said, almost in a whisper.  Kida hugged him and shook her head and smiled sadly.

 

  “There is no need to apologize.  My father died as he lived, with love to all his people.  I know that he cherished you and your friend greatly.  But please do not distress.” she stated with a soothing voice.  Raxon nodded, and then he turned around and went to climb up to his ship, and as he glanced back, he saw Kida and Milo waving goodbye.

 

  “Farewell…” he whispered.  And with that, he climbed onto his ship, and so he, Kyle and Sky left Atlantis!  Now, unkown worlds awaited!

(End Song Here)

---

 

(Start Song Here)

  Back at the Black Pearl, things were not going well!  The Keyblade Wielders now faced quite the difficult decision!  The silver haired woman who had appeared so abruptly now stood there, with a great number of Heartless at the ready in case the Keyblade Wielders tried anything funny!  Dexeres was whispering to himself, his head bowed down, looking at the floor, his body looking defeated.  The others couldn’t understand why he was acting like this!  The woman glared at them and crossed her arms slowly.  She was waiting for their decision!  Mickey eyed Dawn nervously, and he gulped a bit.  He knew they were being cornered, so his top priority was ensuring everyone’s safety!  With that, he decided to do something reckless.  He darted towards the silver haired woman almost instantly, and everyone was just then noticing that he was heading towards her!

 

  “Mickey, don’t!” Riku yelled, but it was too late, for the silver haired woman simply snapped her fingers, and when she did, Mickey was instantly electrocuted and suffocated by darkness, and then he was slammed to the ground, right under her feet!  Everyone’s jaws dropped at what they just witnessed!

 

  “No!!!” Kairi yelled as she was the next in line to try to attack.  Before she could, she was assaulted by sharp ice crystals, and then she was slammed against one of the ship’s pillars!  Everyone was now on the brink of panic!

 

  “My patience is wearing thin…” the silver haired woman commented in a heartless tone.  The Keyblade Wielders were speechless!

 

  “Damn it, what’ll we do now…?” Riku thought to himself.  Everyone was in a very sticky situation, and getting out of it would prove difficult!  Then, just suddenly, a shot rang out and almost hit the silver haired woman, who opened her eyes in surprise!  When everyone looked back, they noticed it was Gibbs who had fired the shot, and Barbossa, Jack and the rest of the crew were coming behind him!

 

  “The Pearl’s under attack!  Protect her at all costs!” Barbossa shouted out, and all the pirates gave out a battle cry!  Noticing their opportunity, the Keyblade Wielders instantly took action, and they retrieved Mickey and Kairi and were able to pull them away from the silver haired woman’s line of sight!

 

  “I don’t know who you are, lass, but I won’t let you take me ship!  Begone with you!” Jack sneered.  The silver haired woman gritted her teeth and then shook her head, closed her eyes and sighed.

 

  “So, your decision has been made.  Very well, then.” she muttered.  With a snap of her fingers, the Heartless that were in the ship behind her started to siege the Black Pearl!  Everyone prepared for battle, and Dexeres, who was still shaken, still managed to stand up!  He stared at the silver haired woman and then went walking towards her, while everyone else was battling the Heartless around him! Once the silver haired woman noticed him, instead of attacking, or vanishing, she simply stayed put, her face emotionless!  When Dexeres was just a few inches away from her, he stopped, and he felt a huge lump in his throat!  Before he could say anything, the silver haired woman spoke for him.

 

  “So, you’re a Nobody now…interesting.” was all she said.  Dexeres shook his head, and then looked down.

 

  “That’s right…and I’m not supposed to feel anything…and yet, I can feel like a human being does…everything I’ve been through, has made me go through many different emotions.  The struggles I’ve endured with my friends, the obstacles we’ve overcome…it’s all had an effect on me.  And yet, I can’t seem to figure out why…” he said as he clenched his fists.  When he slowly lifted his head to look at the silver haired woman, she was gone!  Then, she suddenly appeared behind him, held him close and whispered into his ear.

 

  “You fool…a Nobody does end up having a heart, just so you know…” she said, and at that, Dexeres felt his whole world stop short.  Was she speaking the truth?  When he turned around to face her, she disappeared yet again, and then reappeared in front of him, right where she was when they started to speak to each other!

 

  “Why…?  Why are you fighting against us…?  Why didn’t you let me know that you were alive!?” Dexeres shouted, his face apparent with sorrow.  The silver haired woman apparently felt something when he said those words, for her face bore a saddened expression.  She simply turned around, glanced back at him, and then opened a portal of darkness.  She whispered something out to him, but he couldn’t make out what she had said!  Before he could try to follow her, she was already gone!

 

  “This just…can’t be!” he thought to himself.  He was then shaken back to reality by Jack, who was behind him, his back against his!  He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Jack.

(End Song Here)

 

  “I don’t meant to interrupt your train of thought, lad, but I do reckon we could use some swordplay on your part!” he said.  Dexeres regained himself and nodded, summoned his Keyblade, and prepared for battle.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “On it!” he said, and with that, he instantly took out dozens of the Heartless!  The other Keyblade Wielders saw him, and they had never seen him fight with such fury before!  They were relieved that he had at least snapped out of himself!

 

  Jack and Dexeres remained close by, helping each other take out the relentless Heartless, and they made quite a good team!  They both alternated between thrusts, swings and arcs, and then Jack tossed a firebomb in the air, which Dexeres ignited with even more fire, and then batted it down towards another batch of Heartless, destroying them instantly!  But, even so, more Heartless appeared! It seemed that the silver haired woman had brought much more Heartless than they could have expected!  A few seconds later, the Heartless that were on the other ship started to fire their cannons!  Now the Pearl was a dodging field, for the Keyblade Wielders and the pirates were dodging almost constantly while keeping an eye on the Heartless!  A few pirates were killed, unfortunately, so now their numbers were starting to grow thin!  Will Turner then went towards one of the cannons of the Pearl, and then ignited it and fired it at the enemy ship!

 

  “I need help with the cannons!” he shouted.  At that, Vanitas and Gilgamesh quickly came to Will’s aid, and they manned two cannons and started firing away at the enemy ship!  The battle was not getting even more intense!  Riku and Dawn were on the other side of the ship, protecting Mickey and Kairi, who were greatly weakened!  They couldn’t even stand up to fight!  Even Dawn’s repeated attempts at curing them seemed ineffective!

 

  “Hang on guys!” she said as she glanced back at them.

 

  “We’ll hold them all off!” Riku said as he and Dawn glanced at each other momentarily, and then, they continued to protect Mickey and Kairi, giving it their all to the battle!  Riku’s wounds started to act up again, but he resisted the pain so that he could be able to fight!  He wasn’t going to let his friends face all this danger!

 

  “Ah ha ha, come at me, maggots!  Let’s see what you be made of!” Barbossa said in a challenging, defying tone, as the Heartless started to pounce towards him!  He took them out with ease, with only one or two giving him a bit of trouble!

 

  “I remember when you and I were on the same side…ha, but that was in the past!  I tend to be a man that looks to the future!” Barbossa stated as he gave out a maniacal laugh and shot a few dozen Heartless with joyfull glee!

 

  “There’s too many of them!  We’re going to be outnumbered in no time!” Gibbs shouted as he took out a few Heartless on his own.

 

  “Not on my watch!” Barbossa growled, as he gave out a battle cry and took out many Heartless with one fell swoop of his blade!

 

  The Heartless were now growing ever more aggressive, and if the Keyblade Wielders and the pirates didn’t pick up the pace, they’d be overrun!  Vanitas, Gilgamesh and Will Turner were relentlessly assaulting the enemy ship, bombarding it with cannon fire!  Seconds after, Elizabeth came and manned another cannon, adding more firepower to the battle!  The enemy ship fired back in equal measure, causing a few holes to tear open on the Black Pearl!  Jack was distraught by this, for he loved the Pearl dearly, and any damage she suffered was like stabbing his heart and then crushing it!

 

  “Make them stop blowing holes in my ship!” he shouted, but then he had to turn his attention back to the Heartless, for they didn’t let him have a moment to catch his breath!

 

  “We have to drive them back, otherwise, we’re going to sink!” Vanitas shouted out.  Gilgamesh then lifted his head, almost as if an idea had come to his head!

 

  “Keep firing friends, I have an idea!” he boasted out loud, and the others nodded and continued firing the cannons at the enemy ship!  He then proceeded to jump high up into the air, landing on the enemy ship, and then he sprouted six more arms, and all of them held Excaliburs!

 

  “Gilgamesh Morphing Time!!!” the swordsman happily shouted, and the Heartless immediately turned their attention towards him!  They tried to overwhelm him, but he was too quick!  His slashes with Excalibur looked like lightning bolts, and he was darting around the enemy ship like a ricocheting bullet!  He used his Torndado attack, sending many Heartless flying, and then he used his Missile attack to tear open a hole in the ship!  He fired two more missiles and then used his Rocket Punch attack to bring down the masts!  And down they came, with a  thunderous crunch!  He then turned the ship’s cannons against it, and fired the cannonballs right into the ship, causing many more holes to tear open! His job done, he clapped his hands and then jumped back to the Pearl!

 

  “Easy as taming a chocobo!” the swordsman boasted proudly.

(End Song Here)

 

  In just a matter of seconds, the enemy ship sank, and now, the only Heartless that remained were the ones in the Pearl!  But, seeing that they were now at a disadvantage, they quickly disappeared, preferring to live to fight for another day!  The battle over, everyone started to cheer, for they had achieved victory!  Barbossa nodded, satisfied with the battle’s result, and then he turned to everyone else.

 

  “Well, now that this has been dealt with, we now head to the Brethren Court!” he shouted out, and everyone nodded in agreement, and after recovering their strength, they went back to work.  The Keyblade Wielders were relieved that the battle was over, but now they faced the threat of this silver haired woman that had come after them!  Dexeres, who was standing at the far side of the Pearl, looked on to the horizon, gazing at the sea, as if waiting for something to come out.  He clenched his fists and then placed his hand on his chest.  He remembered the words she had spoken to him.

 

  “Do I…really have a heart?” he asked to himself.  Vanitas noticed Dexeres was out of it, so he approached him and then looked at the horizon.

 

  “Well…we almost got a beating, huh?  Good thing Gilgamesh destroyed the enemy ship, otherwise, we’d have our hands full right now.” he stated.  Dexeres glanced at him momentarily and simply nodded.

 

  “Yeah…” was all he could say.  Vanitas knew that Dexeres was hurting.  He could tell just by looking at his pained face.

 

  “Look, from what I can tell, you know that woman.  What relation she had or still has with you, I’m not going to question it.  Because right now, I know you aren’t ready to talk about this yet, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to explain yourself to our friends.  They’re going to want to know why you were so shaken up…so please, try and regain yourself a bit.” he said, doing his best to be there for his friend.  Dexeres gave out a loud sigh and his shoulder seemed to loosen.  He then turned around to face Vanitas.

 

  “Thanks…now come on, let’s go to the others.” he said as he placed his hand on Vanitas’ shoulder.

 

  “Right behind you.” Vanitas replied, as they both went to the others.

 

---

 

  At that same moment, the silver haired woman appeared at Jexana’s airship, and then she went to Emmxett, who was on deck.  She looked at him and nodded in greeting.

 

  “Where is Master Jexana?” she asked.  Emmxett nodded his head to the front.

 

  “In her quarters.  I trust the mission was a success?” he asked.  She nodded.

 

  “Yes, I certainly believe so.” she answered.

 

  “Ah, then I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear the good news.” he remarked.  The silver haired woman bowed and then turned around and went to Jexana’s quarters.  Emmxett smirked.

 

  “Ah, Kuzuri…we’ll taste blood very soon.” he said as he summoned his sword and admired its beauty.

------------------------------------------

 

And so, with the threat of the Heartless taken care of, the Keyblade Wielders and the pirates head towards the Brethren Court!  What will happen along the way?  Who’s to say?  And what new world will Kyle, Raxon and Sky end up in?  And will Raxon and Sky keep treating Kyle coldly?  Stay tuned for Chapter Twelve: “An Incredible Meeting!”

 

Well everyone, that’s it for this chapter!  I hope that you all found it to your enjoyment!  Oh God, and on another topic, I’m so frackin excited for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Unchained X and Kingdom Hearts III!  I can’t wait to see what news we’ll get concerning those games!  I can’t wait to read Nomura’s interview on the 8th of this month, and I certainly can’t wait for November 3rd!  Gah, so much hype!!! X_X  Anyways, as always, please be sure to comment on what you thought of tonight’s chapter, and thank you all very much for your patience and support, and until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

Wow...

Tell me, did you find the actor who played Becket and asked him to relay the personality and took notes? If you asked me, I think you either took notes or stole the script from Jerry Bruckheimer.

 

Oh! I absolutely love how you used the HD 2.5 Remix music especially using Organization 13's theme! I love it!

 

Who is that woman? What relation does she have with Dexeres? What is the back story? Where are Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Xion?! Will we ever see Roxas, Terra, and Aqua again? I miss them terribly.

To KHLegendIII, lol, yeah, amazing, huh?

 

To KingdomHearts3, haha, you flatter me, man!  Lol, I simply thought of words that would fit with Beckett, since his character is known to be evil, but yet gentlemanly. I just sorta capitalized on that!  Haha, thanks for the compliment, man!  And yes, I love using the 2.5 tracks, cuz they sound divine!  And as for your questions, all of them shall be answered with time!

 

Good evening, everyone, I hope that you’ve all been doing okay!  So then, here is another chapter of my story, which I hope you’ll all enjoy!  And I’m getting a pretty good feeling you’ll all like the world that’ll appear in this chapter!  Yes, I think you’ll like it very much indeed!  Anyways, though, without further ado, here’s the latest chapter!

 

Chapter Twelve: An Incredible Meeting

 

  After a two day voyage, the Keyblade Wielders and the crew of the Black Pearl were far into the sea.  They hadn’t come across any obstacles, and thankfully, no enemies had appeared before them either.  They were all calm, but they kept their guards up in any case.  They made sure they were ready for battle the moment things got tough!  During these two days, the Keyblade Wielders had been helping the crew out while resting up their strength.  Dexers, however, was quite out of it.  He had a heavy feeling that was burdening him, and he put his hand to his chest.  He still couldn’t believe what the silver haired woman had told him about him having a heart.  But weren’t Nobodies supposed to be devoid of a heart?  But then, he shook his head.  It all made sense! He wouldn’t be feeling the things he did if he didn’t have a heart, so the woman’s words had to prove true!  But he still found it unbelieavable.  The others had noticed his distant behavior, but they had decided to let him be.

 

  Mickey and Kairi were now fully recovered, although their bodies felt a bit sore!  They walked towards Jack and Barbossa, who were standing side by side at the helm, steering the Pearl on its course! Jack mumbled to himself annoyingly, as Barbossa happily steered the ship.  Kairi looked at the two of them and then she put her arms behind her back.

 

  “So, where is this Brethren Court going to be held?” she asked, feeling curious.  Barbossa glanced over his shoulder before answering, and he gave a proud smirk.

 

  “That, lass, be the place we pirates know as Shipwreck Cove!  It be a fortified fortress made up of many pirate ships!  It has never been sieged, and it never will be!  That is where all Brethren Courts have taken place since time immemorial!” he explained.  Kairi couldn’t help but feel wonder at the mention of this Shipwreck Cove, and the fact that it’s been around for that long!

 

  “Do you think the other Pirate Lords will show up?” Mickey asked.  Jack nodded.

 

  “Aye, I’ve no doubt they will.  According to what Hector here has been telling me, we pirates are in a bit of a sticky situation, and even though we’re all traitorous maggots, there are times that even we unite in times of crisis, if you catch my drift.” he said, although his face indicated that he’d rather be going anywhere else than Shipwreck Cove.

 

  “I see.  Well, if there’s anything you need, you be sure to let us know, okay?” Kairi said.  Jack and Barbossa both nodded in unison.

 

  “We’ll be keeping that in mind, lass.” Jack replied. 

 

  And so, as Kairi and Mickey went elsewhere on the ship, Dawn and Riku were below decks.  In the past two days, Riku had been in very gruesome pain, and even though he had tried his best to ignore said pain, he hadn’t been able to anymore, and thus, he was being treated by Dawn.  Every time she tried to apply a potion, Riku winced in pain.  And it didn’t help that Curaga spells weren’t helping either! Dawn touched Riku’s face and smiled shyly.

 

(Start Song Here)

  “You’re too reckless, Riku!  You have to remember that you aren’t at your full strength!” she said in a scolding tone.  Riku chuckled softly.

 

  “What’s so funny!?” she asked as she pouted.  Riku shook his head.

 

  “Haha, nothing really.  I just find it adorable when you try to scold me.” he said as he chuckled again.  At that, Dawn blushed hard and then gently punched Riku’s shoulder.

 

  “W-well, I’m not supposed to be adorable, I’m supposed to be intimidating!” she exclaimed.  At that, Riku couldn’t help but burst out in laughter!

 

  “Ha, well, if you want to be intimidating, you’ll have to do a lot better than that!” he remarked, and at that, Dawn crossed her arms and pouted again, making Riku laugh even more.  Soon after, Dawn couldn’t help but laugh as well.  After a few moments, they both fell silent, and then Riku looked out one of the ship’s windows.  He gave out a soft sigh.  Dawn noticed it and held his hand.

 

  “Everything okay?” she asked with a warm smile.  Riku looked into her eyes and then looked out the window again.

 

  “I’m thinking about what that silver haired woman said.  Could it be true that she has Sora, Donald, Goofy and Xion?  A part of me wants to think so, but another part of me tells me that this is all just a trap.  And the way Dexeres just froze…it made me think that, well, maybe this woman was someone he knew.  At least, that’s what I think.  Because if you noticed, the moment he saw her, he completely lost it!  But the woman herself didn’t seem to pay him any attention.  It all seems…strange to me.  And the thing is that Dexeres won’t talk about what happened…” he explained.  Dawn nodded thoughtfully.

 

  “Well, I don’t know what to think, Riku.  It’s probably as you said.  She was probably just using her words to lure us into a trap…but at the same time, I couldn’t help but hope that maybe she was telling the truth.  I just…really don’t know.  And about Dexeres, I did notice his behavior.  His eyes looked sad and sorrowful.  I just hope he snaps out of it, because I hate seeing him like that!” she replied.  They both looked at each other and sighed.

 

  “Anyways, Dawn, I think it’s best that after we’ve helped Jack, Barbossa and the others, that we leave as fast as we can.  We have to check on the other worlds and make sure nothing’s happened to them, and we have to see if we can find more groups of warriors like those Knights of Yggdrassil.  I’d hate to think if there’s way more of those…we’d be way over our heads if it turned out to be the case. And we have to find out more about that silver haired woman, and this “Superior” she was talking about.  Judging from that, it seems as though this “Superior” may be the person we have to follow.  If this “Superior” is currently continuing Xylek’s work, then we have to stop him or her no matter the cost!” Riku stated, and as he finished his last sentence, he winced in pain once more.  Dawn settled him down and tried to apply a Potion again, and this time, the Potion worked!  She kissed his lips softly and lovingly, and he kissed back, and as she pulled away, she gave a short nod.

 

  “You’re right.  We’ll discuss this with the others later.  But for now, you have to rest up, you reckless knucklehead!” she said with a giggle.  Riku rolled his eyes and gave a mock salute.

 

  “Yes ma’am!” he replied as they both laughed.

 

  Above decks, Will Turner was gazing out towards the sea, his mind adrift in thought.  Elizabeth hadn’t talked to him since Jack was rescued, and he felt that there was tension brewing now.  This whole situation he was going through with her was a nightmare for him.  He didn’t know if he could trust her! He clenched his fists as he felt anger brew in his heart, but at the same time, he felt sad.  He felt defeated.  Then, he drew the knife his father had given him from his pocket, and he looked at it for a long while, and he remembered the promise of freedom he had made to his father.  And he intended to keep said promise!  But how could he do this now?  With the world going on the brink of chaos, how could he reach his father again?  As he remained inside his thoughts, Vanitas suddenly walked up to him and caught him by surprise.

 

  “Oh…it’s just you…” Will said, almost in a whisper.  Vanitas chuckled.

 

  “Ouch, that comment hurts!  Were you expecting someone else?” he asked sarcastically.  When he saw that Will remained silent, Vanitas made a serious face, and then he stood by Will and looked at the ocean.

 

  “The ocean’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?  To think that it’s so expansive and grand…it’s truly quite something, don’t you think?” he contemplated to Will.  The young man nodded in agreement.

 

  “Aye.  The sea is a beautiful thing indeed…but treacherous at times…” he said as his face remained grim.

 

  “Well, true as that may be, the sea is what it is.  There’s nothing you can do to change it, but, you can always find your way around it, you know what I’m saying?  Look, I saw what went down when we all rescued Jack, and well, I may not know you and your girlfriend much, but I know that you two are going through something rough right now.  Distrust can be a very bad thing, so the best thing you can do right now is find it in your heart to forgive her for her lies and patch things up.  Granted, she should apologize to you as well, because after all, resolution of conflict is a thing that is done mutually.  But, if you stand around here, moping and thinking about what’s already been done, you’re just wasting precios time!  And, just between you and me, time isn’t a luxury we may be having anymore…just so you know.” Vanitas remarked, making sure he let his words sink in on Will.  For a moment, Will seemed to have been brought back to life, and he even almost looked relieved.  He looked at Vanitas and bowed appreciatively.

 

  “Thank you…I truly appreciate your words.  I think that’s what I needed to hear.  Indeed, things between Elizabeth and myself haven’t been…pleasant, but it’s just like you said.  We both have to end this conflict mutually.  Again, I thank you very much for your words.  I just hope I can be able to get a chance to be alone with Elizabeth and talk about the matter.” Will said with hopeful eyes.  Vanitas nodded.

 

  “Go for it.  It’ll all work out in the end, I’m sure of it!” he said.

(End Song Here)

 

  Will nodded, and with that, he went to search for Elizabeth.  Vanitas remained where he was, looking at the sea, and gave out a deep sigh.  He was feeling tense, and there was something in his heart telling him that there was something amiss.  That something bad was going to happen fairly soon.  He felt himself on edge, but he didn’t want to alarm anyone.  Still, he kept a watchful eye all around him.

 

  A few hours later, the Black Pearl finally arrived at its destination!  At first, all that could be seen was just a giant mountain, with no signs of entry anywhere!  The Keyblade Wielders were wondering how they were going to get into Shipwreck Cove if there wasn’t even an entrance!  They thought of using their Keyblade Gliders, but, since the pirates knew this place, they knew that they’d find the entrance in no time.  So instead, they decided to wait for Jack and Barbossa to find said entrance.  Everyone looked at the mountain, and Gibbs gave out a suspenseful sigh, and then he put his hands on his waist, and then he pointed towards the mountain.

 

  “That, lads, be Shipwreck Cove!  We’ve finally arrived!” he said.

 

  “And to think that I owe everyone in there money…” Jack mumbled.  The others lookd at him and rolled their eyes.

 

  A few crew members went off the ship first, to make sure that the entrance was clear, and to make sure no one from the outside was watching.  There were no enemy ships around and about, so they gave out the signal.  Soon after, the Black Pearl headed into a secret entrance that had been concealed by vines and tree roots!  As the ship headed through the secret entrance, everything went dark for a moment, since the cave stretched out for a bit.  The Keyblade Wielders felt a sense of awe and wonder as they went through this secret entrance.  Barbossa was smirking in the dark, while Jack was twiddling his thumbs and mumbling to himself.  Will was in one side of the ship, while Elizabeth was on the other side.  After a few more minutes, the Black Pearl finally went through the secret entrance, and now everyone was seeing Shipwreck Cove!

 

  It was truly a sight to behold!  Like its namesake, Shipwreck Cove was literally a fortress made entirely by wrecked ships!  The way it was constructed was truly something to look at!  Even all the architects of the world would remain baffled if they ever saw this!  The Keyblade Wielders gasped in awe and wonderment, taking in the sights and feeling dwarfed by the sheer size of this enormous pirate fortress!  As they got closer to the docks, they noticed numerous other pirate ships that hailed from other parts of the world!  The banner on each ship were different and unique, and brightly or grimly colored!  It was truly something to see!

 

  And so, after finally reaching the dock, everyone got off of the ship, and they made their way through to the entrance, where many other pirates were walking around and about.  There were merchants selling food, weapons, ammunition, maps, and all sorts of other trinkets!  The Keyblade Wielders wanted to explore more, but since they know that the situation of the pirates was urgent, they decided it was best to keep going forward.  As they ascended a set of stairs, they reached what seemed to be a conference room.  A very, very strangely constructed conference room!  There were other pirates there, who seemed to be of important stature.  No doubt that these were probably the other Pirate Lords!  Kairi looked at them all and felt curious, as she saw that the pirates each had different clothing styles, and they all seemed arrogant and proud.  She walked a bit faster to remain close to her friends, for she felt a bit intimidated by her surroundings.  The Pirate Lords stood up as soon as they saw Barbossa and Jack.  They all gave a nod of greeting, and Barbossa nodded back.

 

  “Brothers…we all be gathered here now, yes?” Barbossa asked.

 

  Everyone nodded.  Now, the meeting of the Brethren Court would begin in earnest!

---

 

                Meanwhile, Kyle, Raxon and Sky were heading towards a new world!  Ever since they had departed from Atlantis, Raxon and Sky had been treating Kyle coldly, downright ignoring him!  This, in turn, made Kyle feel very upset and sad.  Just why was it that they treated him this way?  Was the deity he housed in him that much of a source of hate that it would alienate his new allies from him?  He sighed as he looked at the stars.  He felt frustrated about this whole situation, and more so because of the fact that the deity inside him took joy in his misery!  And so, just as Kyle was lost in thought, he heard some footsteps come up from behind him, and when he turned around, he noticed that it was Raxon, with a grim face.  He walked towards Kyle and looked at him and then crossed his arms and looked to the horizon.  Raxon sighed.

 

  “Don’t be angry at Sky…” the pirate said.  At that, Kyl e tilted his head in confusion.

 

  “Huh?  Why would I be mad at him…?” Kyle replied, trying to sound as cheerful as humanly possible.  Raxon sat on top of a barrel nearby, and he closed his eyes, deep in thought.

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7riVArX7gY

  “You see…the thing about that little moogle is that I found him…when he was just a kid…his homeworld was destroyed.  He told me that he watched in horror as his parents were killed right before his eyes, by someone who wielded an unholy power…a deity that held the power of the Dark Light.  He watched everything and everyone important in his life burn and crumble away before him…he was left alone and scared.” the pirate said.  Kyle remained speechless, not believing what he was hearing!  Raxon continued on.

 

  “One day, while traveling the worlds, I came upon the ruins of his homeworld.  I tell you mate, he was one scared little guy!  After battling a group of Heartless, I was about to lose my life to one Heartless I hadn’t noticed.  And it was right then and there, that Sky came and saved me.  He was panicked, his eyes were wide open…he hadn’t slept for days, apparently.  He was weary, and he looked like he had been through hell.  Something in my heart told me that I should take him under my wing that day. And with that feeling, I decided to take him with me.  I told him that I owed him my life, but he simply shook his head, and he said, and I quote: “Any enemy of those things is a friend of mine.  And that’s good enough for me, kupo!”  But still, I insisted that I wanted to repay the favor, and that’s when he told me, and again, I quote: “Well, if you really feel that way, then how about we be friends, kupo?” I simply laughed and shook my head.  The little guy could have asked me for any other favor, but he simply asked that I be his friend.  What a wish, eh?” Raxon chuckled softly, for a moment, his face now seeming relaxed and bearing no ill will towards Kyle.  Kyle, in turn, felt touched by this story.

 

  “I…I didn’t know…” was all that Kyle could manage to say.  Raxon looked up at the sky and remained silent for a bit.  Then, he stood up.

 

  “In short, mate, what I’m trying to say here is that Sky means everything to me.  He’s my family…the only one I’ve ever had.  And if you dare hurt him in any way…I will not hesitate to kill you…” the pirate said, his eyes flaring up with fiery rage.  They both stared at each other, and it seemed that just by staring at each other, they immediately came to an understanding.

 

  “I won’t hurt him…I wouldn’t hurt him, Raxon…” Kyle replied.

 

  “Good.” Raxon said.  With that, he started to walk away.  That’s when Kyle felt tempted to ask a question.

 

  “Um…how is it that Sky knew that the thing that destroyed his homeworld had the power of the Dark Light?” he asked.  At that, Raxon stopped, and after a few seconds, he glanced over his shoulder at Kyle.

 

  “When he saw you transform…he told me that it was like reliving those hellish events of his life all over again.  And he ‘s been having nightmares…which is why he’s scared of you.” Raxon answered bluntly and coldly, and then he went belowdecks.  Kyle immediately felt horrible.  Even though this was no fault of his own, he still felt terrified that his power was one that caused painful memories to resurface for Sky.  At that point, Kyle felt rage boiling up inside him, and then he punched one of the masts as hard as he could, and he started to cry!

 

  “Damn it….damn it….damn it!” he shouted as he kept punching the mast over and over, his knuckles getting bruised with each punch!  But now he understood why Sky feared him so much!

(End Song Here)

 

  After a while, the sky started to turn bright!  Kyle, who had fallen asleep beside the mast, woke up all of a sudden, and then he noticed that a whole new world had been presented before them!  It looked to be a giant city!  Kyle looked down at the city and opened his eyes wide!  Everything looked so beautiful from high up in the sky!  Just then, he noticed a cloud of smoke emanating from the city!  He quickly went towards Raxon, who was at the helm, and pointed down below.

 

  “There’s smoke coming from that city!  Someone might be in trouble!” Kyle exclaimed.  Without a second thought, Raxon quickly steered the ship down towards said city.  Sky, who had come up from below decks, was wondering what was going on!

 

  In a matter of seconds, they arrived at the city, and they saw citizens screaming in panic and running all over the streets!  A giant digging machine was tearing its way through the streets, leaving nothing but rubble and broken road behind it!  At the top of the machine, a small, mole looking man was laughing maniacally, clearly enjoying the destruction!  Kyle jumped off the ship, and just as he was about to intercept the mole man, he felt a sudden gust of wind pass through him!  He then narrowed his eyes, and as he directed his gaze towards the digging machine, he noticed that there was a young boy, dressed in red and black, who was punching the mole man with lighting fast speed!  The mole man was irritated, and he tried to hit the boy, but the boy simply backed off and ran in blindingly fast speed around the digging machine over and over.  Kyle could even hear the boy chuckling with glee!

 

  “What the…?” Kyle began to ask.  Just then, he felt something behind him.

 

  “Watch out, kid!” a man shouted from behind.  Kyle immediately jumped out of the way, and then he saw a man who wore a white and light blue costume!  He was emanating ice…from his hands!  He was skating along the ice like a pro, and he made huge ice crystals sprout from under the ground, and one of the ice crystals pierced the digging machine, now rendering it useless!  The mole man fell off and was now in a whole fit of rage!  Kyle was amazed by what he was seeing!

 

  “Incoming!!!” yet another man said.  When Kyle looked back, he noticed that a tall man, with the same red and black costume as the boy, took a gigantic chunk of debris and threw it towards the mole man!  Kyle saw the debris heading for him!

 

  “Holy cow!” Kyle said as he started to run in panic!

---

 

  Back at Shipwreck Cove, the Pirate Lords were in a heated debate concerning which course of action they should take against Lord Beckett!  The discussion had been going strong for quite a long while now, and the Keyblade Wielders felt like they were drowning in a sea of insults and death threats! Jack, of course, tried his best to not be a part of the discussion at all, as he was standing by the Keyblade Wielders absentmindedly!  Barbossa quickly banged the table with his hand to get everyone’s attention, and then everyone fell silent.  Barbossa looked at each and every one of the pirates seated before him, and now he knew from their stares that they were paying attention!

 

  “Everyone, I think that there is but one course of action that we should take!  We must free the goddess Calypso, and unleash her wrath upon Beckett and his ilk!” Barbosssa suggested.  After a few seconds of silence, the Pirate Lords went into an uproar once again!

 

  “Are you mad?  The first Brethren Court sealed her off because she was controlling all the seas! If she were to be released now, she’d no doubt want her revenge against us!” Jocard, one of the Pirate Lords said.  He was dark skinned and looked like quite the capable warrior.  Mistress Ching, another of the Pirate Lords, nodded her head slowly, her arms crossed.  Her face was painted white with small red dots on her cheeks.

 

  “Jocard is correct!  To release Calypso is to bring disaster!  We must keep her sealed!” she said. Barbossa grunted, annoyed that the Pirate Lords were refusing his proposal.  Jack then raised his hand like a small child.  Everyone rolled their eyes.

 

  “Now, if I may have as much as a moment to interject here…I’d say we’re in quite the predicament!  Releasing Calypso is risky business, of course…but there is one other action we could take…” he said, letting his words hang in the air.  The others remained silent, waiting for him to finish whatever he had to say!

 

  “We could go to war against Beckett and his men!  Take the fight to them!” Jack boldly stated!  In just a matter of seconds, the rest of the Pirate Lords burst into an uproar, exclaiming their protest against Jack’s reckless idea!  Elizabeth Swann, who was hidden from sight behind Will and a few other pirates, stepped alongside Barbossa.  She stuck her head out and looked at Jack.

 

  “Jack’s right!  We need to take the fight to Beckett!  He may be strong, but our willpower can be stronger!  We can show Beckett a reason to fear us!” she said with defiance in her heart!  Will looked at her admirably, and the others fell silent for a moment.  Mistress Ching burst out in laughter to break the silence, and she shook her head.

 

  “Naïve child, do you not realize what you are proposing?  An act of war can only be declared by a Pirate King, or so the book of the Pirate Code states, but we have never had one such king!” she explained.  One of the pirates, a representative of one of the Pirate Lords, stood up in objection.

 

  “This is madness, just madness! To blazes with the code, who gives a—“ he suddenly stopped, for his sentence never finished!  Everyone then realized that a bullet had hit right through his heart!  The surprised pirate fell dead on the floor, and then everyone looked towards the source of the gunshot.  There, up the stairs, they saw a very interesting looking pirate, with a long hat and very ragged clothes.  He blew the smoke coming from his pistol, and he looked at everyone below.

 

  “The code is the law…” he said.  Jack immediately opened his eyes wide and hid among the crowd of pirates, as the older looking pirate slowly descended the stairs, with quite a big book in his hands!  No doubt this book was the Pirates Code book that Mistress Ching had just mentioned!  Everyone remained silent as the older pirate came down, and when he reached the table, he laid down the book, which was quite long and broad!  Riku looked at the pirate curiously, and then he went towards Gibbs and stuck close to him.

 

  “That man…who is he?” he asked.  Gibbs noticed Riku by his side and then he leaned close to whisper to him.

 

  “That, my lad, be Captain Teague!  Keeper of the Pirate Code!  He’s Jack’s father!” Gibbs answered, and at that, Riku opened his eyes wide and looked at Teague, impressed.

 

  “Huh.  Well he seems like he’s lived quite a few years worth of adventures, huh?” he asked.  Gibbs nodded with a  proud smile on his face.

 

  “Aye…he’s a legend amongst all us pirates!  And rightfully so!  He’s lived many long years, and survived many daring battles!  He is quite the amazing pirate indeed!” Gibbs said, as he looked on at Teague with admiration.

 

  And so, they remained silent, as Teague was muttering out the words he was reading quietly, searching for the part that Mistress Ching had mentioned.  After a while, he found the piece he was looking for, and then he nodded and took a chair and sat down.  He picked up a guitar that was leaning against the wall and he held it on his lap.  He nodded at the others.

 

  “The code’s correct.  But, in order for there to be a Pirate King, there must be a vote.” he explained, short and to the point!  At that, all the Pirate Lords began to exclaim, and each of them mentioned their names, voting for themselves.  Obviously, they weren’t going to vote for anyone other than themselves!  Elizabeth rolled her eyes and bit her lip.

 

  “What’s the point of this?” she asked to Barbossa.  The pirate looked at her for a moment before answering.

 

  “Well, even though we gather to discuss matters regarding to our doings, when it comes to voting, we pirates aren’t known for being very good in that matter…as you can see, everyone is voting only for themselves.” he answered.  Elizabeth sighed and still decided to put her name in for good measure.  Barbossa mentioned his name as well.  All the while, Teague had been playing his guitar.  There was a moment of suspenseful silence, when suddenly, Jack, with quite the wide smirk on his face, looked straight at Elizabeth!

 

  “Elizabeth Swann!” he said, loud and firm!  At that, all the other Pirate Lords looked at him with jaws dropped!  Even Elizabeth hadn’t expected this to happen!  The Pirate Lords started to exclaim in frustration, making their protests quite known!  Barbossa then banged his hand on the table, demanding everyone’s silence!  Jack then raised his hand again.

 

  “Well, isn’t this settled?  We are going by our code, are we not?” he asked, and at that, everyone went silent.  The other Pirate Lords settled down, and then all eyes were laid onto Elizabeth, who couldn’t help but blush!

 

  “Very well…Elizabeth Swann, King of the Brethren Court!  What is your command?” Mistress Ching asked.  After a looming silence, Elizabeth nodded her head.

 

  “We’re going to war!” she said, with no hesitation!  At that, the other Pirate Lords had no choice but to heed her words, and they all came to the unanimous decision that they would all indeed go to war against Beckett and the East India Trading Company!

 

  “Then it’s decided!” Barbossa declared, although he remained discouraged that his plan of unleashing Calypso was foiled.  And so, the Pirate Lords started to leave the room, and the Keyblade Wielders followed suit.  Now, only Jack remained with his father Teague.  Jack seemed like a child, making awkward gestures and avoiding looking at his father in the eye!

 

  “Jackie boy, I see you’re doing well!” his father said as he strummed the strings of his guitar.  Jack nodded and chuckled a bit.

 

  “Ah yes.  Actually had quite the scuffle with death recently!  A really…close experience!  Anyways, how’s Mum doing?” Jack asked.  His father simply picked up a severed head that had been shrunken, and Jack immediately made a noticeably disturbed expression!

 

  “Uh, she’s great!” he said, though he really didn’t think so!

 

  And so, the Keyblade Wielders went towards the docks where the Black Pearl was, and they all remained close together.  The gathering they had witnessed in the Brethren Court was quite the interesting one!  They all understood how pirates worked now.  Now they knew that even they had a code of conduct they had to follow!  And now Elizabeth Swann was the King of the Brethren Court!  Truly an amazing thing!  Dexeres clenched his fists, for he felt like he needed to tell everyone about the silver haired woman.  But at the same time, he just felt that he couldn’t bring himself to do so!  He felt frustrated and distressed, and he just let out a sigh and loosened his fists.  Vanitas had noticed Dexeres’ behavior, but he decided to remain silent.  Kairi stepped forward and looked at everyone.

 

  “Everyone, before we head off towards another world, we need to help the pirates win this war they’re about to fight!  Or, at the very least, let’s help them as best as we can!” she stated.  The others nodded.

 

  “That’s right.  We have to take care of this situation, so that way we have one less problem to worry about!  Let’s just hope there won’t be any more unexpected things coming our way!” Riku added in.  Dawn then stepped forward and looked at everyone.

 

  “And remember everyone, we need to stay focused, and we need to stay together!  We’ve already lost Sora, Donald, Goofy and Xion, and we’ve yet to find them…so we can’t lose more of us.  We have to keep ourselves together and close so that we can be able to find them sooner!  Please maintain focus!” she said, and when she said those final words, she momentarily glanced at Dexeres, who had an uncertain look on his face.  She knew that the silver haired woman was someone important to him, of that much she was sure, but she didn’t want to pressure him into telling everyone if her thoughts proved true.

 

  “Well then, we should all board the Pearl!” Gilgamesh said, and with that, everyone did.

 

(Start Song Here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7riVArX7gY

  As soon as they went inside the ship, they all headed below decks to rest up.  All except for Dexeres, who decided that he’d remain above decks, to wait until the Pearl’s crew arrived.  But really, he used this as an excuse to be alone.  He needed to think to himself.  He felt stressed, and as he stretched his arms and looked up at the sky, he sighed.  Suddenly, he felt something behind him!  When he turned around, he saw that it was the silver haired woman, who had appeared from a portal of darkness!  He was about to say something when the silver haired woman raised her hand, urging him to remain silent. He did so, but he clenched his fists, at the ready to summon his Keyblade!  She walked towards him, and she remained staring at him.  Her face was emotionless, and she seemed as though she was examining him!  Dexeres felt a lump in his throat, and his eyes started to water.

 

  “Why…?” was all that he could ask.

 

  Nothing but silence.

 

  “Why….?” he asked again.  When no answer was given yet again, he immediately held the silver haired woman close, and he cupped her face in his hands.  He could feel her warmth, but her face in and of itself seemed cold and cruel.  Tears rolled down his face, and he just couldn’t take it anymore.

 

  “Just why…!?” he exclaimed, trying to make sense of things.  The silver haired woman slowly removed his hands from her face, and then she stepped back.

 

  “Who are you working for…?” he asked.  No answer was given.

 

  “Tell me…” he said as he summoned his Keyblade.  But even though he was ready to battle, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it!  His body felt heavy, and a drop of sweat was rolling down his brow!

 

  The silver haired woman simply stepped back a bit more, opened the portal she had come through, and then vanished, just as quickly as she had appeared!  Dexeres was left dumbstruck.  She had been in his presence.  She had left again!  He felt enraged, but at the same time, he felt relieved.  He looked down at his feet and he felt discouraged.  Like Dawn had mentioned, he had to remain focused!  He needed to be there to lend a hand to his friends when they needed it!  He needed to be there to see this situation through to the end!  He couldn’t give in to his emotions now!  He just couldn’t!

 

  “Is this truly what is destined…?” he asked to himself, feeling the lump on his throat tighten.

 

  Soon after the encounter with the silver haired woman, the crew of the Black Pearl had returned, and they brought supplies, ammunition, and everything they needed for the upcoming battle against Beckett and the East India Trading Company!  Dexeres went below decks, and he layed down and closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep.

 

  Vanitas, on the other hand, was wide awake.  He couldn’t bring himself to sleep!  He was looking at the ceiling, and he outstretched his hand before him, and clenched it into a fist.  He thought of Jexana again, and felt infuriated.  He wanted to make her pay for having taken Ven and Trish!  He wanted to make her pay for making him feel so useless!  He wanted to atone for his failure of not being able to save Ven when he had the chance!

 

  “I’m coming for you…you witch!” he whispered, anger and hate in his tone.

(End Song Here)

------------------------------------

 

And now, with the decision of war at hand, the pirates now prepare for what could be their greatest battle yet!  Will they be able to come out of this war alive?  And when will Dexeres reveal to his friends the secret of the silver haired woman?  And who are these incredible people that Kyle, Raxon and Sky have come upon?  Find out in Chapter Thirteen: “A Family Of Supers!”

 

Well everyone, that was the chapter, I hope that you all enjoyed it!  Whoo, boy, has it been hot these past few days!  Haha, writing the chapter, I realize that the weather over here in Puerto Rico is ridiculously hot, even though it’s always supposed to be breezy over here this time of year! Gah, I can’t wait for the Christmastime winds to blow!  Anyways though, thank you so much for your patience and support, and please be sure to comment on your thoughts of tonight’s chapter!  Until next time, stay tuned for the next one!

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