Re: Kingdom Hearts: Reborn from the Darkness (CHAPTER 3 PART 2 IS FINALLY UP!)
CHAPTER 3 (Part 2.5): A Revelation (Part 1)
"My Superior, please allow me to exp-"
"Call me Xehanort, please…"
Ienzo suddenly knew that he was in serious trouble. The fact that Xehanort did not even want to waste time with formalities indicated that he was in a terrible mood. On a beach of the Dark Meridian (where Aqua once resided) was where they held their meeting.
"I had convinced the Horned King to use Heartless and Nobodies to assault the world, but after a while he insisted on using his 'Cauldron Born.' The premise of our agreement was that I found the Black Cauldron for him while he summoned Heartless and Nobodies to wreak havoc on the worlds."
"And did he continue to use them while you were on his little fetch quest?" Xehanort inquired.
Ienzo was now surprised. Didn't Xehanort know the Horned King was dead? Perhaps he wanted to find out how many Heartless and Nobodies were destroyed before the villain's demise.
"Yes. As I was fetching Hen Wen, I gathered information from around the world that Heartless and Nobodies were being summoned by the Horned King and vanquished by the inhabitants. Sora interfered, however…"
The look on Xehanort's face went from a passive smile to an angry frown at the name. "And how did you handle that?"
Ienzo's face turned to a smile. "I had a plan to copy Hen Wen's magical energies and implant the copy into a device." He then held up the collar he kept, which caught Xehanort's attention. "This collar caused Sora's Keyblade to lock the Keyhole to the world, quite prematurely in fact," Ienzo continued.
"So Sora had left the world. While that would obviously be bad news for the other members, it allowed you to continue your operation almost uninterrupted. I'm pleased... except for the part where Kairi interfered…!" Xehanort's eyes squinted as they formed a glaring expression.
Ienzo's feelings were now of great fear and he was almost shaking. "(Relax, you have to control yourself. Just explain to him what the pig's powers were, and how he can use them…!)"
After calming himself again, he continued. "Xehanort," it always felt a bit weird for Ienzo to call him by name, "I am offering to personally see to it that our operations here continue as normal. Meanwhile, I might ask you to really consider what we now have working for our favor…"
He held up the collar again. "With this trinket containing Hen Wen's powers, I was able to create a vision that found the location of the Black Cauldron, something I had never known about before. If YOU were to use this, and I will certainly teach how, then you might be able to find information on our enemies that we can use against them!"
"… Ienzo, this is indeed why I placed you as one of my second-in-command." Xehanort made a purely-evil grin at hearing what the collar was fully capable of. "I will give you another chance. Continue what the Horned King started, and Ienzo…" his expression turned serious as he sensed a presence arriving, "I'm sure you remember hearing from me about Aqua. She is here, and will most likely get in your way. Regardless, I am not expecting failure... especially not from you!"
"If she interferes, I will deal with her myself!" Ienzo did not normally resort to fighting, but he had to do everything in his power to assure that the Council's business in Prydain did not come to a halt. Should it come to that, he was prepared for a showdown with the Keyblade master.
---
"Taran! Taran… where are you!?" Princess Eilonwy ran through Prydain Castle as it was burning. "Taran, are you alright? Answer me!"
"I'm right here Eilonwy… first the castle is besieged, and now it's burning. We must get out of here!" his voice came from behind.
"Wait a minute… I never told you that we were under attack… when I last saw, you were still in the guest quarters, slee-" As she turned around, a hand hit the side of her neck, knocking her out temporarily.
"Dear me, that was all too easy. Now with you and that stupid boy about to be locked up in the Horned King's dungeon together (And all the security flaws fixed…. don't know how that incompetent fool of a king could've gotten anything done without me...), I don't have to worry about you two being threats to our plans here. Not that you really seemed to be, anyway, but I'm not taking any risks this time. If Sora, Kairi, or Aqua find you here, they'll know exactly what happened, and I can't be having THAT occur…"
A swirl of dark energy had enveloped "Taran," then disappeared as Ienzo took off his disguise. Eilonwy was out cold, her mind subconsciously racing back to the moment this had all began…
-
It was like a true nightmare. Ienzo, the Council member she saw during Kairi's visit, had led an entire army of Heartless and Nobodies. She saw evil creatures of all sorts attacking the townspeople, with their hearts rising up into darkness and creating even more of the Heartless. From some of them, Nobodies had also appeared.
It was a massive group of Scholars who had arrived with Ienzo as they channeled their energy together into one massive spell. "Yes, my minions… unleash the power of your combined Merton spells! Raze this city to the ground, and rise from it a mass of Heartless and Nobodies as great as yourselves! Then more will come to end their misery, and those Reborn shall enter Kingdom Hearts! Our Superior's dream… and my dream… will finally be realized when the door is opened to all of us…! Hahahahaha!!"
He vanished into a Corridor of Darkness as the Scholars' combined Merton spell was nearing completion, and was wise to do so. When it had finished, disaster ensued: a heat wave so great had enveloped the entire city, that all the huts outside became nothing more than scorched piles of straw. The only reason the denizens who were inside the castle did not burn was because all the windows were ordered shut as the invasion began. However, the castle had set on fire, and all who remained were now in grave danger.
The many Scholars who cast the spell together had also been destroyed, along with all Heartless and Nobodies that were attacking at the time. But from the ashes of the town, more of the same Heartless had appeared, and they now laid siege to Prydain Castle. Nobodies had also arisen from many of the charred corpses of the town's citizens, while the rest had disappeared in dazzling light. One of the bodies that disappeared… had worn a crown that fell off before the corpse dissolved into light, red hot from the spell's effects.
"NOOOOOOO!!!" Eilonwy screamed as she saw the King of Prydain burn to a crisp before her very eyes from the view of a castle window.
Precious memories the princess had spent with her parents flew into her mind, and Eilonwy fell back against a wall. As tears filled her eyes, she soon realized that now was not the time for mourning; Eilonwy had to find her mother, and Taran.
As she ran to the throne room, a horrible sight came to her eyes; three Toxic Kettles were spraying their vapor attacks into the room. Eilonwy covered her mouth as she saw her subjects being poisoned, with many throwing up and dying as their bodies vanished into light. Eilonwy reached for her bag of Potions to try and save the survivors, but as she walked forward, the green mist was so dense that she had to stay back.
Through all of it, she saw the Queen, her face turning green as she lay on the floor. "MOTHER!!" Eilonwy screamed out.
"My daughter… it's too late for me… save yourself now..!"
As she said the words, a Dragoon Nobody had appeared in the sky. It took its javelin and swooped down at the Queen. Eilonwy threw her bauble towards it as hard as she possible could, landing a critical hit on the Nobody's head that caused it to begin dissipating, but she was too late; just before vanishing completely, it had thrust its weapon through Eilonwy's mother, who passed out as she vanished into a flash of light after her head spewed green ooze from her eyes, mouth, and ears.
Eilonwy fell to her knees with grief, and began freely inhaling the small amount of poison vapors around her position at the throne room entrance in a suicide attempt. As her own face began turning a pale green, she suddenly remembered; Taran was still in the castle, and she had to save him!
The princess felt like she was going to puke, so Eilonwy drank a Potion to heal herself from the poison's damage. She had to drink a few more in order to fully counteract the damage. Eilonwy immediately left the room to look for Taran as she was recovering from her brief inhalation, holding back her tears as several voices yelled out, some crying for Eilonwy to help them while others told the princess to save herself.
---
Aqua had arrived at Caer Dallben in the world of Prydain after departing from Radiant Garden. As she saw the hut, an old man was pacing around outside. A very worried look was on his face, and Aqua decided to find out more about the world's current situation from this individual.
"Excuse me, I'm not from around here, but is something wrong?" she asked.
"Well, earlier when I was with my assistant pigkeeper, I saw Princess Eilonwy take him to Prydain Castle. The Kingdom of Prydain is where you currently are." Dallben explained.
"I see… are you worried about your assistant then?"
"Well, him and the princess were doing fine, but I heard news just now that the City of Prydain… was razed to the ground by creatures that Taran, the assistant's name by the way, had told me were Heartless and Nobodies! I don't know what happened to them, and I was…" he paused, unsure as to whether to trust Aqua with the secret of his scrying bowl, "…planning to find out more."
"I am Aqua, a warrior who is supposed to vanquish these creatures in order to prevent them from doing such things."
"My name is Dallben. I am an enchanter. You said you were a warrior sent to deal with these monsters... so you and Sora are working toward the same goal?" Dallben asked.
"Wait, you've met Sora?" Aqua pondered the situation, then asked, "Have you also seen Kairi?"
"Sora, I've met. And I've heard of Kairi from Taran. If you truly are of the same order of warriors that they are, I would like to show you something then, seeing how I already trusted Sora with the knowledge of it. I was about to use my scrying bowl just now, and if you are to rescue Taran, then you must know exactly where he is."
"A… scrying bowl?" Aqua was curious, so she followed Dallben in to see it.
As the old man took Hen Wen (who had returned from the Fairfolk Village) and put her snout into the bowl, he incanted the magic words. "Hen Wen, from you I do beseech… Knowledge that lies beyond my reach… Troubled thoughts, weigh on your heart… Pray you now, those thoughts impart!"
As the pig went into a trance, the water swirled, and a vision of Taran and Eilonwy had appeared. They were both sitting in the same dungeon Taran was a prisoner of before, as a man with a book-like mask came up to the bars and smiled. Aqua noticed he was wearing the same outfit as the other Council members she saw.
"Oh no, they are in trouble again!" Dallben said as he sat on a nearby chair.
Aqua gasped. "A bowl that can reveal hidden secrets…?"
The Keyblade master had suddenly beamed with hope. Could she use this same object to find a way to save Terra and Ventus?! However, Aqua noticed that now was not the time, as she noticed Dallben moping.
"Hen Wen, come here!" he suddenly said, as the pig went to Dallben. "Aqua, I must ask of you for one thing… please, save my assistant, and our kingdom's princess!" Dallben requested.
"Dallben, I will do my best. That man who came up to their prison cell is a member of an evil group that I must stop. But also, I must ask a request…"
"Yes?" He was listening.
"I have never known that such an object as this existed. I have two friends of my own, who…" she didn't want to trouble Dallben with details, "… are in great danger, yet like you before now, I do not know where they are. Should I return with those two…" she fell on her knees, and bowed down with her arms outstretched as tears filled her eyes, "Will you please allow me to use your scrying bowl to gain knowledge of how I can save my friends…?!"
Aqua tried to hold back all her tears, but they fell down the Keyblade master's cheeks onto the floor of the hut as she lay stretched forward. "Please… I beg you…!"
She had wandered through the Realm of Darkness for around 11 years, and though her body didn't age, the loneliness felt like an eternity to her that she was still trying to remedy. Her friends' Keyblades and the charms Aqua made were the very last signs she saw of them, and the only one who kept the Keyblade master company was an emotionless Nobody she met near the very end of her imprisonment.
The only thing that kept her going was the hope that one day, she'd see Ventus and Terra again. Aqua had suffered more than anyone else she had known, except for maybe those two, and the Keyblade master wanted more than anything to end that suffering and be together with them.
Dallben considered the situation carefully, and noted Aqua's desperation and sorrow, pitying her because of it. "I do not usually allow people who I have just met to have access to something of as great importance to me as my scrying bowl, however… should you return, with Taran and Eilonwy safely by your side, I will allow you to use it for that very purpose you mentioned."
Aqua put her emotions back under control after a bit of struggling to do so, then she got up. "Then I swear to you, Dallben: I will return with Taran and Eilonwy, or die trying."
---
A mass of swirling dark energy was flying through the sky, and it suddenly stopped. As the clouds of darkness separated, Xehanort teleported down to where the crown was, and picked it up. The heat stinged his hand as he picked it up before cooling it off with a low-powered freezing spell.
"I see that he has already been busy." He looked around at the scorched houses, then felt a presence. "So plenty of Heartless and Nobodies were created then, Ienzo?"
A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind Xehanort, and from out of it stepped Ienzo. "And the ones before them were destroyed as well."
"My Keyblade already felt the sudden surge of Reborn going into Kingdom Hearts… you are doing quite well. Much more efficiently than how the Horned King went about this."
Ienzo smiled. "I try. And what of yourself, my Superior? Are you now headed to the backwater hut that was revealed in the Horned King's scrying bowl?"
"Yes. I have learned much about what Aqua is currently trying to do, among other things..." Xehanort thought about the vision he saw…
-
"So this bowl of water, when used with this collar, will show me things I did not know about before? How?" Xehanort was puzzled.
"You must be thinking about what you wish to find out, then say these incantations: 'Hen Wen, from you I do beseech… Knowledge that lies beyond my reach… Troubled thoughts, weigh on your heart… Pray you now, those thoughts impart.' Just like that."
"… This had better work."
Xehanort's first inquiry was what Aqua had come to Prydain for. He wanted a way to somehow find a weakness in the enemy he worried about most.
For all Xehanort knew, Kairi was barely a threat, having only stopped the Horned King. He worried about her ally Mickey more, thinking that it was the King of Disney Castle's assistance that led to victory over the Horned King.
Another thing that bothered Xehanort was that something felt… missing from him. He was a complete being, as he remembered his emblem Heartless releasing its heart in a blinding flash of light, for otherwise he wouldn't be here.
And then it hit him… his former student, Terra! He couldn't feel his presence at all! He only thought Terra had finally bended to his will, but in fact the young man's heart had somehow left him! Now the question was… where could he be?!
Xehanort grasped the collar, and placed it in the water as he took his Keyblade out to stir it. "Hen Wen, from you I do beseech… Knowledge that lies beyond my reach… Troubled thoughts, weigh on your heart… Pray you now, those thoughts impart!!"
There was a hint of desperation mixed with anger in his voice. If he had no way of telling what Aqua was going to do next, and didn't know where Terra was or whether he still existed at all, then they were possible threats to him!
As Xehanort finished the incantation, the water began swirling. In the vision, Caer Dallben came into view, and after that Aqua was shown begging Dallben to use the scrying bowl. "So she's willing to throw herself at the mercy of a person she just met to find a way of saving her friends. Well then… just for fun, let's see where they are now!"
Ienzo was more than pleased to see that this was all working. His charm now proved to be one of the most invaluable assets to the Council of XXV, and Xehanort was using it to find out specifically how to deal with its current threats.
The water changed color as Xehanort swirled again with his Keyblade, and a vision was seen of a young Sora on Destiny Islands. A small globe of light came up to him, and Sora began talking to it.
-
"Can you hear my voice?" the boy said.
"Yes. When I was traveling alone through the darkness, I heard a voice…"
It was Ventus's heart that was speaking to Sora, as his voice came from the sphere of light that floated towards him. "And when I went toward it, I found a familiar place, full of light." The heart went into Sora's hands as it finished the sentence.
"Mmh-hm!" Sora was paying careful attention to what Ventus's heart was saying.
"Our hearts were connected to complete each other, and my heart was reborn at the same time yours was first born."
"Oh…" The young Sora now remembered what happened.
"But… it's time for me to fall asleep again."
"Are you sad?" Sora asked.
"Can I become part of your heart again?"
"If that makes your sadness go away…"
"Thank you."
Young Sora brought his hands to his chest as Ventus's heart became connected to his.
-
"This explains almost everything about Sora… why he was able to obtain the Keyblade, and why Roxas looked like that young man, Ventus. His heart was connected to a Keyblade wielder already, from a very young age..." Xehanort mumbled.
"Sir?" Ienzo asked.
"Haha… Hahahahaha… If Sora now has Ventus's heart, the only way Aqua will even have a chance of bringing him back… is to take it from Sora herself!! But that, unfortunately, won't be enough..." Xehanort said.
"… But, we can turn them… against each other?! Why, my Superior…"
"Didn't I say to call me Xehanort?" His voice wasn't angry, but instead he spoke those words in a cheerful manner. He didn't want formalities to ruin the moment.
"Xehanort… I have a wonderful idea. Aqua will surely find out about Ventus's heart through her own scrying, but… why not tamper with that bowl? Implant a vision that will make Sora look like her enemy!" Ienzo suggested.
"… Ienzo, that is a brilliant plan. I will head for this… Caer Dallben, was it? I will head there immediately, and on my way, I will think of a vision to place in the bowl of both Ventus… and my former apprentice, Terra." Xehanort explained.
"Which reminds me… I still must know where HE is!" He stirred the bowl with his Keyblade again, but the water stopped. "… What is this?!"
"You have to say the incantation again after a while, sir." Ienzo explained.
Slightly annoyed, Xehanort said the magic words again, and another vision appeared as the water swirled.
-
"So you have awakened at last, Princess. The Keyhold is now complete. You have served your purpose, but now it's over."
Four individuals were standing outside of Hollow Bastion's Keyhole. Kairi stood with Donald and Goofy, while Xehanort's Heartless now approached them.
"Don't make another move!" Donald yelled.
"Do ya think we can stop him all by ourselves?" Goofy asked
"I don't know…" said Donald.
As the Heartless stepped forward, suddenly he stopped and began twitching. "Impossible…"
A glowing image of Riku had appeared in front of him. "No, you won't use me for this!"
"Riku!" Kairi yelled.
"You've got to run, the Heartless are coming!"
-
The vision jumped forward to a further point. Riku sat alone in a dark void, when he suddenly heard a voice call out to him.
"Where… am I?"
It was the voice of a young man, being more deep than Riku's. The silver-haired young man walked up to him. "Are you trapped here too?"
"I don't know… I can't remember anything. About who I was, what my name is… not a thing."
He was taller than Riku, and had a black body-shirt that showed off his muscles, with two red straps that bore an "X" shape. His shoulder had a large piece of gold and black armor, and his pants were baggy, light-brown, and rippled around the legs. If the two legs had been connected, it would have almost looked like a skirt.
"It's... it's you!" Riku had remembered the same man who visited Destiny Islands when he and Sora were just children. The man who stood before him had encouraged Riku to protect what he cared about, and made a promise to teach him more about how to do so. However, when he never came back, and Riku never got a Keyblade until recently, he began to think it was all make-believe, just like Santa Claus.
Xehanort's Heartless was coming back into Riku's heart, and it wouldn't be long before the two of them would have to fight. Riku had betrayed Xehanort's Heartless when he protected Kairi, but it was something he had to do. "Come with me. I'll see if we can both get out of here."
However, Riku could only watch as the man walked toward him. As he came in contact, he disappeared into Riku, and the young man felt something within his own heart. Did Riku now harbor another heart within him, just as Sora had harbored Kairi?
"You held me back, right when I was about to deal with that Princess! I will cast you into the Realm of Darkness for this!"
-
Xehanort then watched as another vision had appeared, and after a while he suddenly jumped backward in shock, pulling his Keyblade out of the water.
"It… it can't be…?! …" Xehanort looked at the entire vision again to make sure, and it was the same. "Noooooo!!!" A look of horror was now on his face.
"…Sir?" Ienzo asked in a frightened voice.
"My Heartless… when it released Riku's heart, apparently it released his heart as well!! Is what the vision revealed… really true?! I must find out for sure, with my own eyes! But first… I will work out our current plan."
"But sir, I don't understand… if your Heartless had that man's heart within him, how come he released it if he knew about Riku having it in his possession? And how come you still look like you did before, if you no longer had his heart?" Ienzo asked.
"Because Heartless do not retain their memories. It most likely had no idea that the heart was inside him. And Xemnas, my Nobody, still retained my memories, and this body."
Xehanort was still trying to calm down after the horrifying revelation. "Thus, why I still look like how I did, just before falling to the darkness. Despite the fact that his heart left my Heartless, it still retained its form. So when my heart and body were reunited, nothing had changed my former shape."
A smile had suddenly come across his face. "But since I no longer have him within me, there is now nothing to hold me back in this body!! Hahaha… I guess there is a silver lining after all."
---
As Kairi was traveling to Radiant Garden, Naminé took out her sketchbook. She began writing about their visit to Prydain, while still remembering that in Radiant Garden, she'd have to show Kairi what happened to her heart as a result of Naminé using Kairi's former powers as a Princess of Heart to enable her to wield the darkness.
Her pen went to work, journaling the previous events:
The Beginning (Destiny Islands and Mysterious Tower):
Page 1:
Kairi had returned from The World That Never Was, happily enjoying her time with Sora and Riku. One fateful day, however, Sora mentioned that he was going on another journey to rescue "those who were tormented."
As Sora took off in the Gummi Ship, Kairi's emotions over the one she cared about so deeply went out of control, and she jumped onto the nose of Sora's Gummi Ship, hoping to come with him for fear that if she didn't, Kairi would never see him again. Sora had to shake off Kairi over the ocean to keep her from coming with, because he didn't want her getting hurt.
Riku decided to cheer up Kairi by telling about his journey and Sora's, but as he mentioned Princesses of Heart and his own darkness, Kairi became more interested in both of those. Hoping that if she were to gain dark powers, Kairi would be able to help and meet Sora on his journey, we had both decided that we would extract darkness from Riku, and that I would work alongside Xehanort's Heartless to modify Kairi's heart. With all three of our powers, the plan worked..
Page 2:
It was at this point that Xehanort's Heartless turned on us, as expected, and tried to take control of Kairi's heart. However, both of us subdued him using Kairi's new abilities, and she had gained her Anti Mode while learning Dark Firaga and a new spell known as Drain. After defeating him, she learned the Quick Run ability, which would allow her to dodge attacks outside of Anti Mode.
Finally, we woke up in Yen Sid's Tower. After meeting him, we were briefed on Xehanort and the Council of XXV. We were given a type of power called Dimension Link that was new to us, then he sent us on our very own journey, with Riku and Mickey as allies.
Radiant Garden:
Page 1:
We had arrived in Kairi's homeworld, and Mickey pulled us aside to explain how Yen Sid didn't inform Radiant Garden that their Princess had accepted the darkness. Kairi was forced by Mickey to only fight with his D-Link and her Keyblade while there, something we both weren't happy about. Meanwhile, I restored her memories of her homeworld, so that Kairi would remember everything and notice how much it had changed.
After meeting with the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, Kairi was informed that her grandmother was dying and wanted to see her. In a sad reunion, her grandmother requested that she recite the story she told Kairi when she was young. Kairi's Anti Form had emerged without her Keyblade, and she was forced to lie to her grandmother, saying that Xehanort forced darkness into her heart.
Kairi's grandmother died, vanishing into light after she did. A great amount of emotional pain filled Kairi's heart, as she mourned the death of the only relative she knew was still alive, and felt guilty for having to lie to her. Several voices had called from outside, and we ran out to confront Even, Emyd, and Dolur of the Council of XXV. Several of the worlds out there were made known to us, and we planned to visit them along with any others out there to put a stop to their plans.
Page 2:
Before they left, several Heartless and Nobodies were summoned. Kairi had to hold back from using dark powers while at Radiant Garden, so she relied on Mickey's D-Link, her Keyblade attacks that were thankfully enhanced by it, the Quick Run ability, and her allies to defeat them.
After dealing with the creatures, Kairi gained knowledge of the Slide Turn ability, which would be used in the next world we visited to counterattack where effective. She then felt Sora's presence using her scent ability that she picked up from Riku's darkness, and Kairi wanted to see him. Mickey, however, stated that it would be best if we immediately went to the next world. It was at this point that Kairi broke down, hating the fact that she had to lie to not only her own subjects, but her own beloved grandmother about her darkness. Kairi had become emotionally hysteric to the point where she was about to run off and see Sora herself to have him comfort her.
Riku stopped Kairi from going after Sora when the latter needed to be at Hollow Bastion by comforting her. He explained the amount of grief he felt throughout his own journey, and said that no matter what, he would be there with Kairi to feel her grief as well. After explaining that they were bound to meet up with Sora again, Kairi decided to help Sora on his journey by continuing her own. Kairi would ultimately help Sora by going where he didn't or couldn't go, and stopping evil where he had missed it. Through their individual journeys, they were helping each other.
Page 3:
One of Kairi's goals for her journey was to end as much of the prejudice as possible that the Realm of Light had towards those of benevolent intent that used dark powers, such as Riku. This was so she could be herself and not have to hide anything, especially from those she cared about deeply. Kairi determined to do this by using her dark powers to help others as much as she possibly could, and having Mickey and Riku around to convince those who doubted her that she was on their side.
Prydain:
Page 1:
Kairi had arrived at a cottage hidden in the forest. After venting her last bit of grief over lying about the dark powers she had, Kairi wanted to practice her Keyblade techniques. After coming up with two fighting stances, I told her that the combat version of her Anti Form was usable when the darkness flowed from her hands, and I had named it Anti Mode. When she finished practicing attacks on tree branches, a creature named Gurgi had appeared to steal an apple from Riku, then several Heartless attacked.
Ienzo appeared, then berated Riku and Kairi over their darkness, stating like he did before as Zexion to Riku that Sora would never accept them. Both of them disregarded his lies, based on the fact that Sora already accepted Riku when he had the form of Xehanort's Heartless. Ienzo, expressing disappointment, summoned several new types of Nobodies called Scholars. They could copy abilities, and later it was discovered that they could use a powerful spell that made the air heat up to alarming degrees.
After dealing with the creatures, Gurgi told us that his friend was being held prisoner in the Horned King's lair. We went in and found a princess named Eilonwy (For whom it turns out she wasn't a Princess of Heart) along with a pigkeeper named Taran (Who fit Gurgi's description of his friend) and a minstrel named Fflewddur. Together, they all escaped from the lair as the Horned King pursued them with multitudes of Heartless and Nobodies. Barriers were put up that Kairi and her allies had to fight off, but they made it out when Kairi used Riku's D-Link to instantly summon enough energy to create a Corridor of Darkness.
Page 2:
Taran and Eilonwy then had an argument, and he apologized afterward. We all met Gurgi again, and got caught in a whirlpool that took us to the Fairfolk Village, where fairies took up residence. King Eidilleg greeted us, and showed Hen Wen to Taran because the pig had ended up there. He then explained that the Horned King was still at large, and Kairi swore to put a stop to him, as part of her plan to defeat evil where Sora wasn't able to.
King Eidilleg mentioned that the Horned King still needed the Black Cauldron, so Kairi and Taran decided to destroy it. Doli led us to Morva, but as we entered a house to search for the cauldron, Ienzo appeared. As Kairi, Riku, and Mickey ran out to confront him, the Council member stated that he found the cauldron, and that it was already with the Horned King. Ienzo then summoned Heartless and Nobodies to capture everyone still in the cottage, all of whom Kairi had left inside to keep searching for the cauldron.
We went to the Horned King's lair and found out that he was creating his Cauldron Born armies. Gurgi had followed us in, and jumped into the Black Cauldron to stop them. The Horned King and Ienzo both appeared to confront us, and the latter had empowered the Black Cauldron, then left. Dark energy had mixed with the Black Cauldron's power, and it went into the Horned King.
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A fierce battle ensued, with Kairi defeating Heartless and Nobodies to bring down the Horned King's barrier of swirling mist. At one point, he tried to use his new powers to force her into the cauldron, but Kairi's rage caused her darkness to flow out. She used it to counter the Horned King's dark energies. The result brought down his barrier for a brief moment, and we took the opportunity to attack.
After a while, the Horned King's dark energy had left him, and all that was left was the cauldron's magic. In a gruesome manner, the Horned King was sucked into the Black Cauldron, and Kairi brought out Anti Mode to regain her energy. She created an emergency Corridor of Darkness as the lair crumbled, and we made it safely on the beach.
Several witches appeared, who were the cauldron's owners. Even though Ienzo appeared to try and get them to continue the Council's plans by offering the Black Cauldron, they rejected because Kairi offered a cheaper price for it. Mickey knocked Ienzo away, who was unprepared for the attack, and he had to retreat after Xehanort's voice called him back. Gurgi came back to life, and Kairi gained a D-Link from him. She created a Corridor of Darkness that would take her along the path Sora opened to the next world, and Kairi gained Dreadful Horns, a Keyblade that increased the power of Dark-based attacks.
Just as Naminé finished writing, she turned around and waved at someone...
I may have even let slip a bit too much this time, but because at this point I'm posting a part of the story in two different posts that is what I like to call "dripping with plot-juice," I feel it's a safe risk for me to take this once.
Spoiler
