Chaos Hearts
Chapter 12 - Darkness, Light and Chaos
World - Keyblade Graveyard
Note: Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters are (c) SEGA and
Sonic Team. You knew that, right?
GeneX and related fanchars are (c) 2BIT (TheGreatGator), the author.
Kingdom Hearts is (c) Disney & Square Enix. Related elements belong to their respective companies.
"Hold me.
Whatever lies beyond this morning,
Is a little later on.
Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all.
Nothing's like before!" - Simple and Clean; Utada
Thinking of you, wherever you are...
Lucky and Whisk tracked Miles and Scourge to Zootopia, where Scourge planned to use the heartless to attack prey and make predators into the scapegoat, creating chaos energy that he could collect into a vessel. Lucky and Whisk split up to search for them, and on the way, Lucky bore witness to prejudice and bullying, helping him to understand the pain that might drive Miles to side with Scourge.
Whisk was captured, leaving Lucky to face Scourge and Miles alone. Scourge forced Miles to fight him, but Lucky refused to fight his friend. He insisted, "My friends are my power!", and that includes Miles. Realizing that Lucky was his friend, while Scourge was a bully, Miles turned on him. Zeke and Zim also arrived to help, clearing their debt to Whisk for setting them free back on Moebius. Lucky's keyblade returned to him, and Scourge vowed revenge...on Lucky's world!
Now, let us journey to a new world...
The Galestrom once again landed in GeneX Prime after a quick nav input and launch of the warp gummi. They landed a few miles out from Central City, and rushed out of the ship hastily. "You're welcome for the ride, kupo!!" Winston sighed, hanging back with the ship as usual. "Where do you think Scourge will have gone?" Lucky asked. Miles took off his hood and looked around. "I don't know. I've really not spent all that much time in this world." he said. Whisk slowed down her run. "Well, there's no sign of him or the heartless yet. Let's stop and think." she suggested. They all stopped and held their heads thoughtfully. Zim then jumped suddenly. "Ahh! Zavok! I've been gone so long, and I should check in with Master Zavok! I wonder if he went with that crazy idea of changing the pronounciation of his name to Zav-ock after all?" he said before hastily scurrying away. "Ock? Is he an octopus now?" Lucky murmured. "Let's stay focused, Lucky. We don't need him." Miles murmured. Zeke grunted grouchily. "That little twerp. I knew he'd ditch me at the first sign of trouble..." he said. Whisk put her hand on her hip sassily. "If that were true, you guys would never have been a team at all!" she teased. Zeke rolled his eyes. "Like it or not, we're in this together. And I have insight on where Scourge might go!" he smirked, getting all three of them to look his way, "Well, well, look who's suddenly big and important! Give me a moment, I wanna savor this!" he chuckled. Miles frowned. "He's got nothing. He's just messing with us..." he murmured. "Yeah, like always." Lucky added. Zeke grit his teeth in frustration. "For your information, it's pretty obvious! Scourge will want the place with the highest concentration of darkness through which he can summon the most heartless! And what place played host to the Lost Ones for the longest time? What place is just always naturally dark? Where lots of evil apparently happened...and where we were born?" he said quickly. Lucky and Whisk looked surprised. "He'd go to Shadow Arcangel?" Lucky asked. "Bingo. That place is bursting with darkness. I've felt it..." Zeke said. "Waaaah!! Then we've gotta find that ship!! Discovereva!" Whisk shouted, casting the search spell Gemini taught her in order to find Miles before. A light took off from her wand in the direction Shadow Arcangel was located. "Hurry! Let's go!" she shouted. "My detector was easier... I miss it..." Miles sighed.
It was a bit of a trip and required Whisk and Zeke flying Lucky and Miles aboard, but they soon arrived at Shadow Arcangel. Vortex and Zipp met them at the entrance, but Whisk pushed past them. "No time for your awkward crush on me, Vortex!" Whisk scoffed as Lucky nervously shrugged. They headed straight for Bucky's laboratory, where a female squirrel was wrapped in a towel. "Ah, hello everyone. Say hello to Experiment 19. Her name is Emily..." Bucky said, turning to look at his visitors. "Uh, yo there, Emily." Lucky murmured. Bucky nodded. "She is my third...maybe fourth time bringing life back from death. I did this to try and secure the rest of the Chaos Relics... Zipp's spy work informs me that Conan the raccoon's efforts have all been to restore her to life." he said. "...Conan? Who... is that?" Emily murmured. Whisk frowned. "Memory problems? I've been there..." she sighed. "So, there's been no sign of Scourge here..." Miles concluded. Bucky turned to Emily. "I'll get you some clothes and try to fill in some of those memory gaps in a moment. This may be extremely important and can't wait..." he said, turning back and looking Zeke square in the face. "Uhhh... Hey, dad!" the dragon waved awkwardly. "Don't 'Dad' me! What is this heinous contraption you and that Zeti set up in the engine room last time you were here? Why are there creatures in suspended animation down there?!" he growled, fingers sparking. The others glanced at Zeke nervously, and Crash the rhino suddenly burst into the lab. "Boss! Lucky and Whisk and Zeke are here!! ...Oh." he said awkwardly, "...Hey, nineteen. Happy birthday." he murmured. Vortex and Zipp could be heard chuckling behind him. "Grow up, you two! You sent me in there on purpose!" he grunted. "Is it weird that I miss those goons?" Lucky asked. "A little bit." Miles shrugged. Zeke cleared his throat. "Well, I think I'll be going now..." he murmured, only to find Whisk blocking his path. "I used to have memory problems, Zeke. Answer Bucky's question!" she said sternly. "Uhhhh what question was that?" he asked with a wide, nervous grin. Bucky grabbed him by the wing and started to drag him away. "You're coming with me. Lucky, why don't your friends join me. Vortex, Zipp, since you have an abundance of time, keep an eye on Emily here. Crash, take the helm from Spiny. We've kept him cooped up in there too much..." he said to everyone. Lucky shrugged and followed, unsure what they'd find.
It was as Bucky said. There was some sort of unsettling device in the engine room, and hooked up to it were four stasis pods. Within were beings from other worlds. There was a playing card soldier who was clearly from Wonderland. There was a female cow, Claribelle, who hailed from Disney Town. Flounder from Atlantica was floating in a water-filled pod, and lastly, Stitch was encased in a pod, too. Miles looked over the setup and quickly came to a realization. "These people are all from the worlds behind those doors... This machine must have been involved in creating those doors. This... this is a time machine!" he gasped. "Well, Merlin said that someone who exists in the target location had to be involved in creating the doors..." Whisk murmured. Lucky looked at Flounder and Stitch trapped in those pods and growled. "How could you do this, Zeke?!" he shouted, glaring at him. Zeke crossed his arms and looked away. "Garland gave us everything. He was the one who wanted it built here. Actually, he even came here and did most of the technical stuff..." he said. "You let an offworlder onto my ship?!" Bucky snapped, making Miles slightly uncomfortable for a moment, but then he thought of something. "Garland's been to this world, and has access to a time machine... Guys, what if he can access this world's past?" he suggested. Lucky and Whisk looked at him nervously. "Well, heck, if he can access his past at all, doesn't that give him an advantage?" Lucky murmured. "He might already know everything that happens..." Whisk gasped. The five of them then heard clapping at the entrance to the room. "Bravo, kids. You've figured it out. Congratulations, I didn't think you'd be smart enough, but it seems Garland really does know the future..." Scourge stepped into the room with a smirk on his face, "Y'see, he intercepted me before I could get here. Told me things. Ah, but where are my manners. I've got friends to introduce! You've got your stooges, Miles... Say hello to mine!" he grinned as two dark figures stepped out of the shadows. They resembled both Whisk and Zeke, but blacker, darker forms. Whisk gasped. "My dark form! We were flying in the Galestrom, and Lospecter appeared out of nowhere and separated her from me somehow!" she gasped. Zeke blinked. "Somethin' like that happened to me, too. I thought I was hallucinatin'." he grunted. "No you ain't, brother... My name is Xezek!" the black dragon sneered. "And you can call me...Raven!" Dark Whisk winked.
Lucky's trinity looked at Scourge's trinity and prepared their weapons. "So, Lospecter's on your side, too?" Whisk asked. Scourge shrugged. "Who, the ghost? Said he liked Garland's moxie or somethin..." he murmured. That sounded like Lospecter. It seemed Raven and Xezek would be all the Lost Ones would send. Scourge gripped his Soul Eater as he stepped closer to Lucky's group, sizing them up. "But yeah, Garland's been time traveling. Over and over, he's cast his body into the past and watched events unfold. He's kept himself in a time loop, enabling himself to learn every detail of your journey. It's how he knew where I'd be, how he knew about Raven and Xezek... And he knows how you'll lose!" Scourge smirked. Bucky looked a tad bewildered by all this. "Wait, the dark forms are separate now? And this Garland fellow's got a time loop going? Why do I feel I'm walking in on two different stories that I've been failing to pay attention to..." Zeke shrugged. "That's okay, I want someone to explain this newspaper..." he said, holding up a headline that read "President Gunner attacks Troblusk City." Everyone really had quite a bit of catching up to do, but now wasn't the time for it. As Whisk clutched her wand, Raven extended her black wings, which emanated dark energy. "Try it, doll. I'm your strong side...the one strong enough to hold all your memories. Oh, yeah... I have all the answers, Whisk. Like that memory that triggered in Halloweentown... I know the meaning of it." she smirked. Xezek stomped towards Miles. He looked like a heartless, his body was so blackened. "If it isn't the twerp who locked my weak half in a cage. That's a cage within a cage for me. And Zeke's so soft, he's lettin' you get away with it. Why, when we're a dragon...we can break you in two!" he snarled, holding dark energy in his claws. "Sure you can. That's why Zeke's been using the heartless all this time instead of fighting himself!" Miles scoffed. Lucky wouldn't be distracted by them. "Wait, what are you doing here, Scourge? You didn't come just to explain about this machine..." he murmured. Scourge nodded. "That's right. I came to tear it apart. Garland's done with it...and he can't have you punks going to the past and using his own trick against him!" he smirked. "Yeah, 'cuz it's not like there aren't half a dozen other methods of time travel in this world..." Zeke said, rolling his eyes. "But they'll only work in THIS world. I gather this machine was designed for otherworldly time travel..." Bucky explained. "Sharp as a tack..." Scourge smirked, "Now, trashing time!"
The two trios leapt into action, a fight breaking out! "We can't let Scourge wreck the stasis pods or the engines!" Lucky shouted. That was the primary concern, ahead of the time travel component. Bucky stepped back to block anyone from the engines, shooting off lightning if ANYONE got too close. "This ship is not crashing today!" he growled. "Blizara!!" Whisk cast, trying to freeze Raven in place! Her evil twin flapped her wings and sent out a wave of dark power, shattering the ice before it could touch her! Miles tossed his shield at Xezek, which he caught. "Idiot! A shield is not a weapon!!" he snarled, spouting purple flames from his maw at the fox, who scrambled out of the way! "It is if you do this...!" Miles said, pressing a switch on the shield's handle which caused it to electrify itself, stunning the black dragon into dropping it! Lucky and Scourge were exchanging blows, keyblade against Soul Eater, but Scourge smirked. He was toying with him. "Looks like your friends are busy...and Zeke's too much of a coward to do anything. You're done!" he laughed, speeding away from Lucky as he stumbled forward with nothing for his keyblade to strike. "Meee-yow!! What!?" he gasped, looking back to see Scourge zoom past the time machine, sparks flying from it before it crumbled into a broken heap! The stasis pods then turned off, and the occupants banged against the glass to get out, with Stitch being the only one to break free! He shouted something in an alien language, clearly angry and a tad confused. Then, he looked around, his ears standing up. "Sora!!" he shouted, scurrying out of the engine room quickly. "Stitch, wait!!" Whisk shouted, only to be knocked down by a swift kick to the belly from Raven! "Have a seat, girl!" Raven smirked. Zeke gulped. "Sorry, guys... I was kinda on their side on this one. Probably best the time machine is toast..." he murmured. Scourge and his new sidekicks stood at the exit in triumph. "Oh, kitten, Garland had one more thing for me to tell ya. Your presence is requested by the creepy old knight. He wants you to meet him at the fated place..." Scourge said, holding out his claws in a menacing manner, "...the Keyblade Graveyard... Oh yeah, the place where keyblade masters fought and perished long ago during the great struggle for Kingdom Hearts... I knew about that when I owned that keyblade. I look forward to you giving us a dramatic reenactment! Ha ha ha ha!!" he laughed, escaping into a corridor of darkness with Raven and Xezek!
Meanwhile, Zim had found Zavok back at Lost Hex. He could barely get through his report before Zavok glared at him and grabbed his head in his massive palm. "Enough! All this talk of other worlds, beings of shadows, keyblades... Not only have you wasted my time here and now, but you've wasted the last two years of your pathetic waste of a life! My only consolation is that I haven't had to put up with you for two years!" he shouted, winding up to throw him off Lost Hex. "Wa-wait, my lord!! So... is it Zavok or Zav-ock??" he asked. The huge Zeti let out an irritated growl. "It has always been Zav-ock!! My name is not the word havok with a Z! That would be silly! Kind of like YOU!!" he roared, hurling Zim back down to earth! "It's silly either way and Zav-ock is pretentious soundiiiiiiing!!" Zim yelled as he soared away from his home. Zavok dusted his hands and pouted. "I am NOT pretentious! I am mighty, and serious, and... and...... totally not thinking of crawling back to Eggman!" he said, eyes darting back and forth.
With Flounder in a fishbowl, Lucky, Whisk, Miles and Zeke brought the people from the stasis pods to the Galestrom. They had to be returned home. It wasn't easy catching up with Stitch and getting him to come along, considering they first met him in the future. "Should we even go to the Keyblade Graveyard? It's a trap, Lucky..." Miles pointed out. Zeke shook his head. "No, trap implies you don't know danger is lurking. This is more of a showdown." he said. "I'm not going to a sh-showdown, am I?" Flounder asked nervously. "No, you're going home. You can get everyone home, right, Winston?" Lucky asked as they were all crammed aboard the ship. Stitch hopped into the driver's seat and chuckled mischieviously. "Hey! Don't mess with anything, kupo! I thought you said he was being trained as a model citizen?" Winston sighed, "Well, I can try to get them home... I don't know about Stitch..." he murmured. "Don't ignore my question..." Miles sighed. Whisk sighed, too. "We can't just ignore Garland. If we try to, he might let Scourge loose on our worlds after all. The only reason Scourge didn't attack the whole world was because Garland stopped him." she stated. Lucky nodded. "Besides, this is what my journey's been about...stopping him. And he never found his source of chaos or light. We've still got the advantage here!" he smiled. "I wouldn't count on that..." Miles murmured. "Alright! Buckle up!" Winston said as he wrested the controls from Stitch, "First stop, the Keyblade Graveyard!" he announced as the Galestrom started to take off! "...Hey!! Wait for me!! Wait for Zim!!" Zim shouted from outside, but he was too late. The ship took off without him. "YOU CANNOT DITCH ZIM!!" he shouted in frustration.
The Keyblade Graveyard was a desolate place far off from any other world. Lucky, Whisk and Miles had uneasy looks on their faces as they took their first steps on the soil where keyblade masters once fought terrible battles. Their keys stood plunged in the ground, lifeless, like tombstones marking where they fell. Zeke hummed softly behind them as the Galestrom took off to return Stitch and the others to where they belonged. "No turning back... You up for this, kid? 'Cuz if you're not, your key will be stuck in the ground same as all these others..." the dragon said. Lucky gulped, but kept moving. "We've come too far to get cold feet!" he said. Miles nodded. "Keep your guards up, though. Scourge could be watching us right now..." he said. Whisk looked around nervously. "Raven, too..." she murmured. However, Garland and his allies weren't exactly hiding. After a brief walk, they came to a bit of a crossroads formed among the buried keys, and within that crossroad stood the black knight, Garland, with Scourge, Raven and Xezek standing around him. Garland was looking over a machine he'd built. The dark heart from Halloweentown was inserted in a slot at the top, and seven glowing lights encircled it. "...Th-the Chaos Emeralds!?" Lucky gasped, "...How!?" he babbled. Garland turned and glared at them. "You know how... I have lived the past few years again and again, an endless cycle. Through this time loop, I perfected my plan, and determined how to defeat the ones who would stop me. The Chaos Emeralds...the perfect source of Chaos power...I collected them over the course of my many cycles through time. They won't be missed." he said. Zeke scratched his head. "Why have Zim and me look for a source of chaos if you had this worked out?" he asked. Garland let out a chuckle. "Never hurts to have a spare... But in truth, the reason I used you fools was two-fold. First, you supplied the dark heart..." he stated, motioning to it, "But second, and more important, you provide the power of light I need... by training that keyblade user and his friends." he said, pointing straight to Lucky. "Huh?! Wait, didn't you try to warn me against opposing you?!" Lucky babbled. "Silly boy. I knew you would pursue me anyway. I counted on it! The light you provide will mingle with this darkness and chaos... and with hearts you've freed from the heartless, collected by this machine, I will use the power to create my masterpiece... CHAOS HEARTS!!" Garland roared.
A barrier of darkness encircled the area, cutting through the stuck keys somewhat. Xezek quickly flew over to Zeke, tackling him into the barrier! "Ooof!! Hey, man, I'm you!!" Zeke grunted. "No, you're my old cage! I'm looking forward to this!! GRAAAAH!!" Xezek roared! Zeke kicked the black dragon off and flew up, quickly pursued. Meanwhile, Raven flew at Miles, casting dark beams down into his shield, which he struggled to hold up! "Hey! I wanna take Scourge! Back off!" he grunted. "Sorry, I'm not as ready to forgive you as my weaker half is!" Raven smirked, flying down and kicking his shield, only to feel a jolt through her body! "Fine, I'll go through you first!" Miles grunted. This left Lucky and Whisk to take on Garland and Scourge...or just Scourge. The hedgehog was fast enough to occupy both of them. He'd parry a blow from Lucky's key and swiftly dash away from Whisk's magic attacks, then easily block another strike from Lucky! "Gyaaa!! This is literally like fighting Sonic! Whisk, can't you use time magic?" he asked. "What if I miss!? And hit you!? Who do you think I am, Gemini!?" she stammered. Scourge smirked and performed a homing attack with his Soul Eater spinning with him, knocking both Lucky and Whisk down and leaving them scratched up! "Heh... Pathetic. Listen, dweebs. I don't care about Garland or Chaos Hearts. I'm here to destroy you losers... And I'll wipe you out with power that you can't even begin to contain! Let's call this your test for the Mark of Mastery!!" he sneered. Then, his body was enveloped in darkness, and erupting from that darkness was a writing mass of crazed shadow heartless, acting as a unit and forming a mighty Demon Tower! Lucky and Whisk backed up as they got to their feet, staring in shock at the nightmarish whirlwind of pure darkness before them! "What even IS this!?" Lucky gasped. "Ha ha ha ha ha!! It's leftovers from Xehenort's Keyblade War! It's all over now, but this little beauty is still here to end you!" Scourge cackled. Miles looked with wide eyes for a moment as Raven stood, savoring his reaction. "You're toast, you know. Shoulda realized... Darkness can achieve far greater power than light ever can..." she taunted. Garland just stood by his machine, watching intently. "Everything goes as it always is fated to unfold. Now... use your light... complete Chaos Hearts for me..." he sneered. Lucky clutched his keyblade and looked to Whisk. "C'mon... Don't give up!!" he cried.
The Demon Tower swirled towards them like a tornado. Whisk gulped. "Maybe now is the time for time magic..." she murmured. "Don't bother." Garland said to her, "You are too weak to hold multiple enemies..." She knew he was probably right. They really weren't prepared for this. She backed up and shot some fira and blizara spells at the tower of shadows, but it did little good. Lucky charged at the tower, figuring his keyblade should do something; He'd trounced countless shadows by now, after all. However, Scourge rushed out of the darkness and clashed with his keyblade before kicking him in the gut, making him stumble backward! Zeke and Miles were hurled to the ground by Xezek and Raven around this time, too, and as the dark forces started to surround Lucky and Whisk, the cat clutched his keyblade tighter. "Hang on, everyone!! I'll s-save you!!" he stammered, a flicker of fear in his eyes. Who would save him? He lunged his keyblade at Scourge, but the hedgehog leapt clean over him and bounced off his back with a spin attack, sending Lucky careening towards the Demon Tower! Whisk gasped and pointed her wand at Scourge. "Stopra!!" she cried, freezing him still for the moment and giving Lucky some breathing room. Unfortunately, that was all she could do in the moment as Xezek and Raven grabbed her arms! "Hold still, dearie...you don't wanna miss this part..." Raven smirked. "L-lucky!!" Whisk cried as the black cat slashed his keyblade into the Demon Tower, only to feel it tug at the key, pulling him closer... It was trying to suck him into the vortex of darkness! "MEEE-YOWWW!! It... it's no good! These shadows are souped up beyond all reason! It...it's hopeless!!" he gasped, tears welling in his eyes as he looked back and saw his friends, Zeke and Miles knocked out, Whisk held back, Scourge starting to move again. "Wh-whisk..." he grunted, letting go of the keyblade and jumping back as it was pulled into the Demon Tower! He held out his hand and summoned his keyblade back. "I have...to save...Whisk..." he huffed, clearly tired. The top of the Demon Tower wound up, about to swing at Lucky! Whisk's eyes widened. "NOOOOO!!" she wailed, and teleported out of her enemies' clutches, standing between Lucky and the Demon Tower! "Wha- Whisk?!" he gasped. She pointed her wand and cried out a spell. "HOLY!!!" A powerful light was cast from her wand, repelling the Demon Tower, making it recoil. Light also emanated from her heart, and Garland held up a heart-shaped vessel, not unlike what Scourge was going to use in Zootopia. "Finally... True love... Just the light I need for Chaos Hearts!!" he declared, using the vessel to draw out the light emanating from Whisk's heart! She gasped and clutched her heart, falling back into Lucky's arms! "Whisk!!" he gasped. Making matters worse, Scourge emerged in front of them, and the Demon Tower rose up again, too...
"You have held on remarkably, my boy... Now, stay strong a moment longer!" Lucky's ears perked up as he heard a familiar voice. "...M-master... Yen Sid!?" he gasped. A tremendous power erupted just outside the barrier. With a wave of his hands, Yen Sid cast a stronger spell that shattered the barrier! Scourge looked around in disbelief. "Who could possibly...?" he babbled. "Gosh, I've been waitin' a long time to repay ya, Lucky! Hang on!" Lucky didn't recognize this voice, and looked around. A blue keyblade with starry patterns on it came spinning down from the sky and crashed into Scourge, its owner landing in front of him and catching it! It was the King! He hopped up and did a midair kick, knocking Scourge into the Demon Tower and causing the tower to collapse into a rain of shadow heartless! The King then held up his keyblade. "Heal!!" he shouted, which caused Zeke and Miles to stir. "Ehhh? Hey, it's that steamboat mouse..." Zeke babbled. Xezek and Raven were about to make a move, but Gator teleported over to them and swiftly stomped on Xezek's tail! "Yooooww!! That's fighting dirty!" he growled before Gator started whacking him with his own keyblade! "Stinky heartless!! Shoo!! Shoo!!" he shouted. Travis soon joined them, pointing a javelin at Raven. "Don't underestimate me... I will not hesitate to harm a woman..." he warned. Raven backed up and glanced at Garland to see what his play would be. He inserted the vessel filled with light into a final slot on his machine, and then used dark power to levitate it. "You're too late, King! I have all that I need now... The only thing left I require is time... And a trip to my own world will grant me that..." A rather large corridor of darkness opened up, which Garland sent his machine through quickly. "Chaos Hearts will be complete there, and all worlds will plunge into glorious chaos! I will then rule over it all, my endless cycle through time at last over! This outcome was fated, foregone...inevitable! Farewell!!" he said, laughing as he escaped through the corridor! Scourge, Raven and Xezek were quick to follow as the scattered shadows covered their escape, the King, Lucky and the others forced to fight them off. "Whew... That was close... I was not ready..." Lucky sighed once the heartless were gone, "Thanks for the save, Master Yen Sid... And, you, your magesty!" he said, bowing. The mouse rubbed his head bashfully. "Aw, cut it out. You can call me Mickey!" he said, extending his hand. Lucky smiled and shook the royal mouse's hand. "Heh, okay! Nice to meet ya properly, Mickey!" he smiled. There wouldn't be too much time to relax, though. With Chaos Hearts on the verge of completion, something had to be done about Garland, fast!
To be concluded...
