61. The Other One

Pueblo de- crap, it's already starting! (Play "The Encounter" from Kingdom Hearts II!)

Boss fight: Carter Pewterschmidt

Kimaya rushed up to swing both Keyblades at the Corporate President, but Carter grabbed them in his hands and kicked Kimaya away. He leapt overhead, spun like a drill, and stomped down at her, only for Kimaya to dodge behind and strike him in the back. Carter about-faced and threw punches that Kim countered with her keys, until both opponents jumped away from each other. Carter bashed his knuckles together and sent an aerial shockwave that Kimaya blocked with the Keyblades, but didn't recover in time when Carter kicked over, threw a combo of punches, and flung Kimaya to his left.

Kimaya bounced back on her feet and shot double laser bullets from her blades, which Carter avoided by Air Jumping to her left, then flying at her. Kimaya jumped and ran to attack Carter with another combo, then leapt to knock him against the ground. Carter kicked Kimaya's chest and pushed her back, then when he charged to grab the child, Kimaya crossed her keys in an 'X' to block and push back. She slashed the keys and made him stumble back, then leapt, spun, and bashed both keys against his head to bat him away.

"Come on, Carter, I don't feel right beatin' an old man." Kimaya said coolly. "Why don't you just give up and git yo' ass outta this town?"

"Huuh…huuh…huuh…" Carter was rasping on the ground, his skin turning dry and pale. Kimaya was appalled, but Carter gave her a murderous look. A Wyvern Heartless swooped down to carry Carter across the valley. Kimaya hopped on her skateboard and engaged pursuit, going down a hill into a gorge within mounds of rubble. She grinded on a track and jumped a few minecarts, then skated on a ledge along the left side of a pit.

At the bottom of the slope, Kimaya jumped and grabbed an overhead rail in her crossed keys, swinging left or right to avoid dangling hooks as she ziplined across. She landed and resumed skateboarding on a new path, which took her across three parallel minecart tracks. Carter blasted parts of the track with a shotgun, forcing Kim to jump between them, but they eventually made it to a wide, circular area with round Lazarus rivers.

Carter dropped into a Lazarus pit in the center, and Kimaya stopped skating as she watched. The Corporate President emerged from the pit, showing light-green veins in his body and shining green eyes. Heartless appeared around the crater, and Kimaya sliced them while dodging Carter's energy blasts. "I guess not." She sighed.

With the others

Black Star roped Bill Dauterive's arm with his chain-sickle and propelled himself above the giant's body. "Tsubaki, Katana Form!" he commanded, transforming his weapon into a sword before stabbing the top of Bill's head. He descended and carved a long strip down the middle of Bill's back before landing on the ground. When Black Star faced up, the cut sewed itself back together as Bill grew larger. "I don't understand! How are you fixing yourself?!"

"You think a little pain is gonna make me whine and cry?" Bill looked down and asked him. "Well, I'm done letting pain get in my way. My power comes from pain. I make it part of me. I share it with others. And after I squash you, I wanna share it with Lenore." He raised his foot, and Black Star jumped back when he stomped down, denting a crater.

"I did an analysis of him." Tsubaki said. "The pain he feels from your attacks is an unstable chi that he bends to his will. He uses the Pain Chi to reform his body and increase in size and strength."

"So, pain is his ally, huh? But a man can only take so much from the godly Black Star." He noticed Kaleo still laying on the ground. "Hey, if you're not gonna help, then get outta the way!"

Kaleo sat up, nearly done catching his breath. "I'm so glad I didn't do a stage with Kimaya. …" He felt a shadow over him. "AAAAAH!" Bill's fist was coming down, but Leo dodged just in time. Kaleo ran behind the giant Heartless and faced up fearlessly. "I'm not gonna run away from you! Kimaya's busy fighting that jerk man, so I'm gonna do my part, too! I want her to finish her battle without any fear of-"

Bill snatched Kaleo in his hand and began to squeeze him. "GAAAAH I CHANGE MY MIND!" Kaleo cried from unbearable pain. "I DON'T WANNA HAVE CHARACTER GROWTH, I wanna be the funny guy that makes quirky remarks!"

Black Star sliced off Bill's arm with the katana, saving Leo. The arm grew back and Bill grew slightly taller. "If he grows any more, he can crush the whole village." Black Star said. "Kaleo, I think we're gonna have to use our brains on this one."

Kaleo stuttered at the very idea. "M-m-m-my b-b-b-b-brain?"

"I know. It hurts me, too. Thankfully, we have Tsubaki!" He grinned.

"Always glad to help, Master." The sword blushed.

Sandman and Maka bolted out of the village from the west end as Hank Hill shot twin lasers from the Sandmobile. "Better to fight him outside of town so no one gets hurt." Nolan panted.

"I agree." Maka whipped around and deflected the laser with her scythe, striking the bottom of the aircraft. "But you shouldn't get involved either, Human. We can handle this."

"I'll have you know that's my ride! I'm already involved!"

"Yeah, Maka, didn't Sector SOUL get help from those human operatives?" Soul asked.

"How about some clean-burning?" Hank opened the cockpit and threw two burning propane tanks down, only to be shot with ice and frozen.

"I like clean-freezing!" Yuki surfed in front and blasted an ice beam to freeze the Sandmobile. It fell to the ground, but Hank shook it until the ice broke. Yuki grabbed Nolan and sped away on an ice path as the vehicle chased them. "Isn't this just like that Teen Titans episode where Cyborg fell in love with his car?"

"Kind of." Nolan pulled out a remote. "I'm in love with the Eject feature." He pressed it.

"BWUUUH!" Hank was sprung into the air, and the darkened Sandmobile changed back to normal. Maka shot up to the airborne Hank and kicked him in the crotch, rocketing him against the ground. "Bwuh… Dang… A narrow bladder!"

Dale Gribble's Black Tornado was enclosing on Haruka and Ellen. The witch lit her hands purple and sprouted a magic cylinder to protect them. "Are you a poisonbender?" Ellen asked. Haruka nodded. "This Heartless is using Dark Poison. Elements infected with Dark Chi are hard for normal benders to control."

"Do you know how we can beat him?"

"I should be able to do it myself. But I-"

A sonic wave hit Dale and knocked him up, his gas cloud fading. "No thanks are necessary, ladies!" Django said proudly. "But a kiss will do."

"Let me check on the townspeople first." Haruka stated. "Are you sure you don't need my help with him?"

"We'll be just fine." Ellen smiled politely.

When Haruka was about to enter a house, she looked to the east field, where Bill was trying to stomp Star and Kaleo. "They look like they could use some help."

"Who?" Caesar asked from the phone.

"Them." She aimed the phone to face the battle. "Feels like one of your giant kids would come in handy. In fact, how did Kaleo get small again?"

"He ate the Giant-Giant Fruit, of course."

"The what?"

"It's a Devil Fruit that allows one to grow giant, or return to normal size. He ate it when you all came to Punk Hazard."

"But I thought he got giant with the NHC10!"

"I thought that at first, but when I returned to Punk Hazard's ruins, the Giant Fruit was missing, too. I should've known, because why else would his clothes grow with him? I don't understand why he isn't using that power to kick that monster's ass."

"Maybe he doesn't know… I think we should tell him. Sigh, as soon as I check on these people." She entered the house.

Beat held onto Rhyme as Boomhauer blew an endless gust of wind. The siblings couldn't blow a Song Beam without inhaling the dark wind in the process. "What is with you and attacking empty space?!" Wiccan announced as she flew behind and bashed Boomhauer in the head with her staff. Boomhauer about-faced and shot a cyclone at Crystal, which pushed her skyward, looped, and smashed her to the ground. Beat and Rhyme's combined Song Beam struck him from behind.

"He may be wind, but we be sound!" Beat rapped. "We travel fast as wind, maybe faster!"

"At the end, we'll be the masters!" Rhyme sang.

"'ey yo yo yo!" Boomhauer recomposed and performed several graceful aerial movements. They felt the wind blowing forward, until a tidal wave of condensed, dusty air appeared and washed toward them. "RAIMU, LET'S MOVE!" Beat grabbed his sister and tried to outfly the wave, but he saw the standing Crystal Wickens get swept up. "Dammit, that lady! I wish she could hear us!"

"Beat, watch out!"

"GAAAH!" A whirlwind sprouted up and blew the siblings apart.

With Kimaya

After destroying the Heartless, Kimaya continued to dodge Carter's green energy blasts. Kimaya saw Lazarus being poured out of a pipe and into the river. "Is he concentrating it all to one place so he c'n use its power?" Kimaya thought aloud. "Or I don't understand this stuff. Maybe I'll just clog up these pipes." Kimaya channeled her poisonbending through her Keyblades and was able to shove the flow back into the pipe. The pipe puffed, Lazarus leaked, and also began to spurt out of the ground via an underground pipe.

Kimaya hopped on her board and skated along the path, grinding a rail to a platform with another pipe, which she proceeded to block up. Carter boiled with rage, and this seemed to cause a storm of toxic droplets to fly up and hit the path. Kimaya spun her Keyblades to block the droplets and direct them away from herself. While skating, she spun around and used her bending to swirl the Lazarus away from her path. She made it to the final pipe and clogged it up.

Carter shot up without warning—Kimaya swiftly swung her Keyblades, blocked his attacks, then dodged behind to strike him in the back. Carter reached behind, clutched Kimaya's hair through her hat, and hurled her across the Lazarus rivers. She landed on a relatively soft mount of dark sand, quickly getting up and dodging when Carter flew over. "Man, you look ugly!" Kimaya squinted her eyes when she viewed his glowing veins up close. "I don't think this stuff's doin' you any favors."

"And what do you know?!" Carter punched the ground, Kimaya dodged, and evaded the next ones as he talked. "You're a street rat! You were born a street rat, you'll die a street rat! And only your fleas-"

"Fleas will mourn me, dude, you startin' to sound really weird. Maybe we should stop fighting and find you a medic?"

"I DON'T NEED ONE! I'm Carter Pewterschmidt! I'm immortal! I'm powerful! YOU PEOPLE ARE VERMIN TO ME!" His body flashed green, thrusting his arms forward to blow Kimaya several yards away. Kimaya got up and saw Carter dash at her again, so she shot bullets from both Keyblades. Carter withstood the shots and jumped to do a spin-kick, but Kimaya ducked left and farted a Gas Bomb. Carter was stunned by the blow, allowing Kimaya to deal a triple combo with both Keyblades.

The others

After Beat landed between some houses, he flew up to search for his sister. "OW- AH!" Boomhauer pelted him with air puffs before surfing around the rapper and encasing him in a spiraling air bubble.

"Yo-man, I'mma-suffocate-you, gonna-gonna-be-all uek, uek, ueeehhk." Boomhauer made the gesture of choking.

"Dude, I'm a spirit. I don't suffocate!"

"Yeah-well-we'll-see, givin'-that-dang-old-darkness-man."

"Cough, cough…" The wind sphere was turning purple, and Beat found himself unable to breathe when the darkness began to swallow him.

"AHHH!" Crystal flew up behind the Heartless yet again and choked him with her staff. "I'm getting tired of you ignoring me! You think empty space is a better opponent than I am?"

"Whatchu-talkin'-about-I'm-tryin'-to-fight-these-dang-old-kids-with-the-hip-hop-and-snoopy-poopy, get-the-***-off!" Boomhauer talked quickly as he tried to shake her off.

The witch let go and flew in front of Boomhauer, landing on his board. "Well, I bet you didn't expect this!" She switched the dial on her staff, aimed the open end at Boomhauer, and shot a sudden burst of air that blew him a few miles over. "I sucked in the air from your tidal wave attack! Still don't think I'm a good match?"

The air sphere wore off on Beat, but he sunk to the ground. The Dark Chi was overwhelming him. "Nnn… Rhyme…"

When Sandman, Yuki, and Maka surrounded Hank Hill against a wall, the Heartless grabbed a shovel lodged in the rubble and imbued it with darkness. When he stabbed the shovel through the cliff, the huge chunks that he hurled at them were dark-imbued as well. Hank tore away at the cliff until he uncovered a pumpjack. Yuki was quick to shoot a powerful beam of ice that froze the pumpjack inside an iceberg, but Hank had thought ahead, appearing behind Yuki to swipe his ice pack. He used the upgraded pack to freeze the ground with dark ice, which was a bright purple and too slippery for even Nolan's wheelchair to stay balanced.

Maka flew skyward and lunged down at Hank, who dodged her swings and shot a Dark Ice blast to freeze her feet and her scythe against the ground. Nolan shot his grappling hook to catch the ice pack, but Hank reacted by grabbing the hook. He yanked Nolan over, successfully swiping his utility belt before kicking the hero away. Hank put the belt on himself, igniting it with darkness as a swarm of dark boomerangs appeared in the air. "Heh heh heh. Wow, there's more on this belt than Mega-Lo Mart's entire store."

Black Star used his chain-sickles to rope his way up Bill's body, but the giant unleashed a "BUUURP" that pushed the spirit back to the ground. He and Kaleo were mostly running around the dimwitted Heartless in search of a weak point. They didn't want to risk enlarging him any more. "KALEO!" They saw Haruka run over with her phone raised. "Kaleo, weren't you still a giant before? How did you get small again?"

"Django's magic guitar did it." Leo panted for breath. Black Star cut Bill's leg and distracted him so they could talk.

"Leo, when we went to Punk Hazard and you got separated from us, did you eat a strange fruit? Namely one that tastes bad?"

"I eat bad things all the time, I'mma need more detail." Kaleo stuck his pinky in his ear.

"If I'm correct, you should be able to shift to your giant size at will!" Caesar yelled. "Just stretch your arms and say 'I'm a big boy now!'"

"Is that really how it works?" Haru asked.

"Beats me. I just wanna see it in action!"

"Then I will!" Kaleo faced up at Bill and stretched his arms, determination on his features. "I'm a BIG boy now! I'm a big boy now!" He shut his eyes and tried to force himself to grow. "I'm a big boy… NOOOOW!" Haruka was knocked back when Kaleo blew up like a balloon. He was half of Bill's height.

"Ouch… At least it worked." Haru grunted.

"AW, MAN!" Black Star whined. "Why is everyone turning big but ME?! I'm a god! I deserve a more godly size!"

"Great job, Leo! Are you feeling okay?"

"Nuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaahhhh." Drool dripped out of Kaleo's hanging mouth. He wobbled in an unbalanced fashion, like his brain forgot to grow, too.

"Whoopsie!" said Caesar giddily. "The Devil Fruit has a couple flaws: while stretching one's own dimensions makes you stronger and heavier, it has a nasty effect on the brain. The bigger you are, the stupider you are! You also move incredibly slow. After all, a nimble and intelligent giant is a ticking time bomb."

Bill swung his foot and kicked Leo in the jaw, sending him crashing against a cliff. The giant charged to crush Leo's skull, but Black Star flew up and sliced Bill's eyes with the katana. With the giant stunned, Star changed his sword to a shuriken and chopped a circle around Bill's Heartless Emblem. There was a blue beating heart inside it. "That must be the weak spot!" He tossed the shuriken at the heart, but a purple force field blocked it. The chest hole repaired itself as Bill grew.

"Sorry, buddy! But 'long as one meter of mah belly is intact, this heart is staying nice and' cozy." Bill slapped his hand at Black Star, only to have it sliced off.

The spirit looked down when the giant Kaleo shrunk back to normal size, as a result of his lightheadedness. "I didn't think I would ever say this…" Kaleo said to himself with a dizzy grin, "but I think I got an idea…"

Dale Gribble shrouded the village area in black gas, making it impossible for Django and Ellen to see. The witch decided to fly out of the gas and project a barrier around herself, and when she saw red lasers from Django's guitar shoot out of an area, she sent a magic chain down to retrieve him. They were safely out of the gas for a second before Dale had it fly up into their undead throats. The two mages choked on the gas before dropping on the ground. "Doe'n't matter to me if you're alive or dead." Dale said, blowing a smoke. "The Black Gas snuffs out everything."

"KUEH, kueh!" Django hacked. "Any plans?"

"Just this." Ellen grabbed the skull mask on her head and pulled it over her face. Her eyes shone red, her bare legs became skeletal, as did her left hand and part of her head. Ellen flashed green and blew the surrounding gas away, then aimed her hands up to shoot a magic beam at Dale.

"YIKES!" Django gaped. "You're a skeleton, too?!"

"It's Hollowfication. I'll tell you about it later." Ellen stretched her arms up as they morphed into magic and pulled Dale down. He coughed smoke from his cigarette to burn the hands off, but Django ran up and slashed him in the face with his claws. Ellen shot dark magic at Dale's right leg, but the exterminator withstood it and rocketed upward, swallowing the area in a gas tornado.

"Uh-oh." Haruka said as she viewed the tornado from outside. Several village houses were caught in the fog. "Sigh… Here goes." Determined to help them, she dove inside, and already began coughing.

Kimaya

Two Wyvern swooped in to carry Carter away again, so Kimaya pursued on her skateboard. She swerved left and right to avoid Lazarus puddles on her path, then slid up ramped walls to avoid pits. Carter blasted green energy balls at the ground ahead of Kim, resulting in sandy shockwaves that she could use to propel over the pits. Kimaya stopped before a tall machine with a Lazarus tanker that Carter was dropped into. From below, it seemed like the tank was boiling and giving him more power, while also sending large droplets out to hit her. Kimaya decided to climb up and stop him.

She crossed a walkway on the left of the machine, using bending to stuff gas leaks back in their pipes. The path turned right, leading to a small fenced area where a Lazarus spout was risen at level with a higher path. Kimaya saw an Ice Cannon Heartless and used it to freeze the spout, then she pushed a box over to use as a boost to get on the frozen pillar, and reach the walkway. Kimaya swung bars on the side of the structure to cross a gap in the walkway, and they would bring her to two close Wall Jump walls. She raced across another walkway where Lazarus burst out of the sides, then made it atop the tank where Carter was bathing.

Kimaya used her skateboard to grind across the edge of the tank, circling it in a counterclockwise fashion while she held her Keyblades over the tank. She used her poisonbending to make the Lazarus swirl around, jumping and ducking Carter's energy attacks. Eventually, Kimaya was able to make the structure wobble from all the stirring. When her psychic grip was strong enough, Kimaya jumped off the machine, swung her blades left, and caused the machine to topple over entirely.

Unsurprisingly, Carter popped out of the spilled Lazarus and zipped at Kimaya for swift punches and kicks. He moved faster, giving Kimaya less time to react and take a few hits. Carter's skin shone a faint red, contrasted by his lime-green veins. "Dude, just look at yo' self in a mirror. Do you really wanna look this way?"

"And what the hell would you do if you had cancer?! Just lay there and DIE?!"

"Hey, nobody wants to die, but if I had to look like that, I might have second thoughts." she replied as she quickly dodged his attacks, trying to find an opening.

"Well I'm NOT gonna die! I'm the one and only heir to Pewterschmidt Industries! I'll rule the company forever! I'll have everything and you'll have NOTHING!"

"At least before you sounded like a smart villain. Now you sound like some loon in a crazy house."

"Sponges get them Jews from my undergarments and I'll BLOW YOUR PENCIL UP!"

"And now you ain't talking in real sentences. 'Guess we won't be exchanging witty banter. Halright, let's hurry this up." Kimaya ducked another punch and stabbed her blades up at Carter, seizing the chance to deal a fast combo before jumping, doing a vertical spin, and batting him upward. Carter recovered in the air and stomped down at Kimaya before kicking her away. He flexed his muscles as Kimaya felt an invisible force around him. Carter did a vertical spin-kick and sliced a dent across the ground with his green energy. Kimaya dodged further attacks like this as she made her way to Carter—he zipped up with both hands raised before he hammered them at the ground, bursting a shockwave around his area. Kimaya was able to dodge behind and shoot twin lasers from her Keyblades to hurt him.

And the others

Ellen charged a dark magic spell and shot it at Dale, who dodged before throwing a spire of black gas up to hit her. "Cough!" Ellen choked. "I don't wanna stay in this form too long… I might get infected with darkness, too."

"Haruka!" Django used sonic waves to blow the gas away and find Haruka kneeling on the ground. "Haru, you alright?" He ran up to her.

"I think so…" Haruka showed her arms, which had faint black lines. "I'm trying to adapt to the gas with my antibodies, but it… cough!"

"I can help!" Ellen flew down, her Hollow powers turned off as she projected a barrier from Dale's gas. "Django, distract him!" The skeleton nodded and shot a soundwave at Dale, then summoned a skeleton totem pole to lift him up so he could claw at the Heartless.

Ellen pulled out a syringe of reddish-pink potion and injected it in Haruka. "HUUUU!" She almost felt like exploding from the sensation it gave her.

"Don't panic! It's a potion I made to vaccinate mortals from dark infections. I never tried it on a Heartless before, so I don't know if it would work on him…"

"Wait… I think this can work." Haruka smiled weakly, still commanding her antibodies. "Can you lure him down here while I get ready?"

"Er… Okay." Confused, Ellen flew up and punched an energy fist at Dale, then Django sprouted another skeleton totem to grab and pull him down. Ellen lunged at and kicked Dale across the jaw, but he shot her away with gas. Django jumped, ripped down his mantis coat, and threw the man backward. "HYUH!" Haruka jumped behind and stuck her fingers into Dale's neck.

"UAAAAAHH!" Dale swung her off and clasped his neck when his skin began to turn a reddish-pink. "Oh God, what's happening?! Is this the government's Anti-rebellion Serum?!"

"No, it's MY serum!" Haruka declared with pride. "I used my antibodies to mix Ellen's medicine with the particles from your gas to create an antidote!"

"No, this can't be!" Dale fell to his knees and gasped. "My precious fumes, used against me! I can't die without having… one last smoke!" He fished around in his pocket, got a lighter, and lit his cigarette for one final smoke. "HUUUU, oh God, it tastes like burning cherry! You were right, Octavio! You were RIIIIIGHT!" Dale's body faded into dark mist, his blue heart floating up and disappearing.

"Cough!" Haruka fell over. "But making an antidote with my body… Not my safest move! I need a minute… keh. Kids, don't do this at home."

"Beat!" Rhyme was able to find her brother in an alley. "Phew, I thought I lost you! Beat, what's wrong?"

"Cough, he kind of got me!" Beat choked as his body turned more dark. "I think I sucked in his Dark Wind with mah… ghost lungs or somethin'."

"AH! OW!" They looked up and saw Wiccan be pelted with air puffs from Boomhauer, then the surfer flew up and bashed her to the ground with one more puff. He spotted Beat and Rhyme and spun a cyclone to blow the siblings apart again. "Man-three—three-on-one-isn't-fair-man, gonna-get-it-done; take-take-him-out-first." He blew a ceaseless gust of wind at Beat, preventing him from standing.

"BITO!" Rhyme jumped in the gust and was pressed against her brother.

"A'ight-man-I-don't-mind-two-two-birds-with-one-dark-wind-attack-man." Boomhauer smiled.

"Rhyme, get the fuck outta here!" Beat grabbed his sister and struggled to throw her off. "Just 'cause I gotta choke on his breath don't mean you do!"

"But if you die, I might become a Hollow again, and I don't want to!" Rhyme cried. "You died trying to protect me, Big Brother… I'll die for you, too."

"Nnn… Raimu…"

"Is there something wrong with your head?" Crystal remarked as she sucked the gust into her staff. "Instead of wasting your strength on imaginary ghosts, you should focus on me!" The witch rocketed up and started whacking his head like a golfball stuck on a tee. "A woman does not like it when you IGNORE her! ESPECIALLY during a fight!" She flew above and shot him to the ground with a bit of the condensed air. Crystal landed on him and stuck her staff in his mouth. "Perhaps I need to inflate your brain a tad!"

"MMMM!" She shot the full force of the gust inside Boomhauer, puffed him like a balloon, and POPPED him, his heart flying out. "But that'll just inflate your ego. WHOO!" Wiccan twirled her staff and made a pose. "I beat him ALL by myself!"

Beat and Rhyme floated behind her with irritated stares. They picked boogers out of their noses and wiped them on her robe. "Hee hee hee hee!" The spirits giggled before flying up.

Black Star stabbed his sword in Bill's foot, resulting in a grunt from the giant. The spirit kid jumped up Bill's body and continuously pierced him in places, so Bill wouldn't have the readiness to retaliate when Star stabbed the top of his head and pulled it back. Kaleo climbed out from under Bill's armpit and jumped down his gaping throat. Black Star released and watched as Bill grew bigger. "I really hope this works." Star said quietly.

"You know, in spite of all this pain I'm feeling, it's probly nothin' compared to those poor villagers." Bill turned to face Niebla. "They're so sick, I bet they wouldn't even feel me crushing them to the ground. Well, I guess I'll put them outta their misery." The giant began to stomp to the village. At his size, he would get there in 30 seconds.

"Come on, Leo! Hurry up!"

Before Bill could reach the first house, he felt something press against the inside of his chest. "Urk! Oh, man! I'm having a heart attack! D'oh, why can't I find that blasted heart under all this fat? Why am I so fat?! Hick—D'OOOH!" Kaleo expanded to a size even larger than Bill. His massive heart was forced out, and the giant was unable to reform with Leo occupying his original space.

"Tsubaki: SHADOW STAR!" Black Star's weapon transformed into a small black sword. "God's Divine Judgment Will Bring You Justice!" He flew at the heart and stabbed it through the center. The shell around the heart was destroyed as it disappeared.

"NOOOOO!" Bill's head was still falling from the air. His body parts dispersed into darkness. "Lenore…" He whimpered as his head faded, too.

Maka was hurriedly swinging her scythe to fight off the swarm of dark boomerangs. The dark Grapple-Cam had a pair of teeth and was swinging itself around Yuki as it kept trying to bite him in various areas. "Eh HEH HEH heh heh!" Hank electrified the ground around him with the Shock Gun; he never had a wider smile. "Hwow, these gizmos are really fun! I feel like putting on a cape and beating up burglars! Heh, a cape! Wait'll Bobby sees this! Eh HEH heh! LOOK OUT, streets of Arlen! Propane Man's fighting crime with clean-burning-"

Nolan pressed his remote and caused the utility belt to electrify, shocking Hank until he fell on his back. The dark gadgets fainted. Nolan rolled over and picked Hank up by the shirt. "You need to ask before you play with someone's toys." He jabbed Hank in the eyes.

"BWUH! You gave me narrow retinas!" Nolan punched him in the nose. "UHH! Narrow nostrils!" Smashed both cheeks together. "Bwwff! Uh nrrow mth!" Hank said with puckered lips. Sandman punched him in the chest. "Auck! A narrow-"

"Okay, this stopped being funny." Maka said as she casually stabbed Hank in the back. "I just wanna go home and take a spirit-bath."

"Make sure to use spirit-soap and a spirit-sponge, and wash your spirit-hair." Nolan said, earning a laugh from Yuki.

"NOT FUNNY!" Hank's body faded and the heart vanished.

Now Kimaya

Carter hopped in a car Heartless called a Hot Rod, driving across another dirt road while Kimaya chased on her skateboard. The Hot Rod simply dropped bombs that Kimaya had to evade, and she saw they were returning to the Lazarus Plant. They rolled down into a dark tunnel going under the factory, and the only light within the depths was a humongous pool of Lazarus. Kimaya didn't see where Carter went (though it was obvious), so she skated down the path and stopped on the only safe foothold by the edge of the pool.

"AAAHH!!" Carter shot out of the pool like a bullet and slammed Kim against the wall. The elder's skin had the reddish-pink tone of a painful sunburn, and his green veins were bulging. "So, you like that Django boy? Then you can JOIN him!" He punched a beam that broke a gaping crack in the wall, Kimaya dodging by a beat. "You can die in the same place that he died! I'm getting SICK of the Leaders nagging me about the Seven Lights!"

Kimaya stumbled over when she dodged on Carter's left. As she grabbed her dropped Oathkeeper, she glanced down at her stomach and had a wild impulse. She ran back up the winding skateboard path, dodging all of Carter's blasts that made the path crumble. "Why would you give a damn about anybody else when you can have everything? I'm the president of a multi-million corporation! I'm the only person worth saving! And the second this godforsaken town finally dies, no one will ever remember or CARE about-"

"I am getting SICK of yo' FACE!" Kimaya pierced both Keyblades into her stomach, unlocking her Poison Fury. She dove headfirst into the Lazarus, much to Carter's utter shock. Faster than a bullet, Kimaya shot out and banged him against the wall. Her body shone with the Lazarus's bright green light, using her Keyblades to bend a stream of Lazarus and press him on the wall. "You like Lazarus?! Well, have a GALLON! Or a DRUM! OR A FERRY!!"

"Gluck gluck gluck, cough, gouk!" Kimaya continuously shoved Lazarus down his throat. When she stopped, Carter fell dizzy. Kimaya spun at whipping speed and pulled a spire of Lazarus up to surround herself. She was still energized with the Lazarus mixed with Fury Mode, and before she would let it go to waste, she flew all around the factory and destroyed every last machine that had a thing to do with Lazarus. Her Keyblades allowed her to control the powerful toxic, shooting beams that destroyed every container and pipe.

Finally, Kimaya drilled back down to the basement, bent all of the Lazarus around her Keyblades, and sent a devastating beam down to the center of the pool. But Carter Pewterschmidt blocked it with a beam of his own, and now it was a matter of which force was stronger. Carter fought through Kimaya's beam and grabbed her crossed Keyblades, pushing with the full power of the Lazarus he absorbed for 30 years.

"I am Carter Pewterschmidt… a Corporate President! If you destroy me, you will regret it! Cipher Pol 10 will come… Cipher Pol 10 will kill every last one of you brats! The Seven Lights will regret the day they EVER stood against the-"

"BUUURP!" Kimaya's Gas Bomb faltered Carter, and one final burst of power was enough to blow him into the Lazarus Pit. "Like Ah give a shit." The energy beam burrowed through the ground, and for the next few minutes, Kimaya watched as- "WAIT, are we forgetting something?"

Harper House

"Here's the Spirit Ball, Harvey!" Sonya gave her son the ball.

"Thanks, Mom!" Harvey through the Pokéball and caught Mesprit. The ball wiggled and beeped on the floor before confirming capture. The Spirit Ball flashed its pink and silver colors, and a 'II' appeared on the forehead. Harvey picked it up. "Yaaaaay!"

It doesn't feel climactic, but Harvey caught a Firstborn! Just 4 left!

"Phew, okay." sighed Kimaya. She watched every last ounce of Lazarus swirl into the depths like a toilet. She set foot on the ground to let her Fury wear off. (End song.)

Kimaya panted and felt no energy left to even walk. The cave was so much darker; only a few droplets of Lazarus gave light, and echoed upon dropping. A small blue light floated out of the pit. Kimaya stared at the blue heart before it disappeared into darkness. "So, he was one of them, too… or something." She gasped.

Outside

Everyone else gathered outside the factory entrance as Kimaya limped out, using her Keyblades as walking sticks. "Kimaya!" Kami and The Gang yelled as she and Django helped her stand.

"Cough!" She spat some droplets out. "Damn… Lazarus tastes like old man spit."

"You fell in the Lazarus Pit?!" Django yelled.

"Not so much that, more like… Tried to control it with Fury Mode and got carried away."

"Where did you learn to do Fury Mode?" Kami asked.

"Dad taught me about it. He said I needed to get better at bending, but since Keyblades can open anything, I thought I'd… KUEH!"

"We need to get her to a hospital!" Haruka yelled. "I'm calling Moonbase!"

"Kimaya, just… hang in there!" Django was the last one to speak before Kimaya fainted.

Moonbase

She awoke to a soft, peaceful tune. A hospital light hung right above her. Kimaya was wrapped like a mummy, but her signature three front strands of hair stuck out of the bandages. Django was on her right, playing the tune in question. He opened his eyes a tad to stare at her coolly. Kimaya returned the smile. "I'll take the fanfare now."

"…Okay." He smiled.

Now? Okay. NOW Kimaya awakened as the Sixth Light! Just ONE more! No, Mom, I'm writing stories. I know, I'll do that in a minute. No, I haven't seen—CRAP, wrong place!!

"You sure know how to make a show, young lady." Kami entered the room with The Gang and the (invisible to her) Sector SCYTHE.

"After you beat Carter, the rest of the Heartless just disappeared." Maka said with a grateful smile.

"I think they were intimidated by my godly godliness." Black Star smirked.

"If only." Ellen giggled, earning a glare from him.

"Hey, Kimaya!" Kaleo grinned. "I grew so big that I forgot how to speak! But a talking football shot me with a ray gun and made me little again!"

"Sounds nice, Leo. Sigh…" Kimaya lay back down. "I'm beat."

"Uuaaaah." Django lay beside her. "Me, too."

"No you ain't, you a dead kid. You ain't evuh get tired."

"Oh, shut up. My bones feel rickety."

"I wanna be Beat, too!" Kaleo lay with them.

"Well, you can't!" Beat rapped. "'Cause I'M Beat!"

The Gang and Sector SCYTHE laughed for a second. Kami gave a small chuckle and sat on a chair. When they calmed down, Kimaya frowned and brought up the question: "So Ah guess Beat and Rhyme have ta leave now?"

The two siblings frowned and looked away. "I thought we would have to eventually." Rhyme said. "But I'm still gonna miss you guys."

"Well… we could bring it up with the Supreme Leader." Ellen smiled. "If he was okay with it, and if they didn't tell anyone else, he might let you visit them…"

"Uuuuugh." Django rolled on his side. "Why are Beat and Rhyme getting the sympathy treatment? I'm the one with the sad backstory, my town is sick and dying!"

"No offense," Rhyme smiled, "but for Spirit KND, sad backstories are as everyday as messy clothes."

Kimaya put a hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up, Django. At least your town won't go cuckoo like Carter."

"Good point… All I wanted was payback at Carter. Whether he gave them the Lazarus or not, in the end it wouldn't have mattered. I'm starting to think it's Niebla's fate to be sick. I guess I'm just the lucky one. But what can you do about it?"

"I can understand the pain your town must be in." Ellen said. "It would be a shame to leave things as they are, without trying to help them."

"I think Haru was trying to do something." Django said. "Maybe we'll go back after Kimaya's better."

"What I can't quite understand is why the Heartless suddenly decided to show up here." Maka noted. "In the past, the only times the Heartless decide to show up… are when the Negatar was around."

"Where do the Heartless come from, anyway?" Black Star asked.

"I'm not sure… but maybe we can find a clue in the Lazarus Plant. We'll check it out after Kimaya's better. Let's give her some space for now." The spirits left.

The Gang kids were silent, lain on Kim's bed. "Kids, get off of that. You might catch her disease." Kami told them.

"Relax, it was only a little Lazarus." Kimaya said.

"Sigh…"

"So Mom, how come you ain't seeing those spirit kids? Didn't you kill K. Rool?"

"I didn't really care about that. Maybe that's why."

Django whistled. "You're cold, Mrs. Heartly."

"He came back to life, anyway."

"Sure he did. …Hey, Kim. Wanna hear about the Twenty Keys Quest?"

"Is that important?"

"I think so…"

Pueblo de Niebla; two days later

It was sunnier in the afternoon, and the sky clear with the factory shut down. Townspeople were out of their homes for fresh air, but they were still too ill to do anything. Kimaya was healthy enough to walk around, but she still had bandages. She stared at the key ring with the six strange keys dangling in her hand. "Twenty Keys, huh." she said to herself, sitting on a rock. "Seven Lights, Thirteen Darks. You know anything about this, Mom?"

"Not a clue." Kami said, lain on her front on the ground. Her head was propped on her hands and her legs rocking to and fro in the air.

"…I'm still mad at you for not telling I'm a Sleeper."

"I said I was sorryyyy." Kami droned.

"I need a better heartfelt speech."

"Sigh. Humility hurts."

"How long are we going to stay in this place?" Wiccan asked. "Eventually, the Government will be aware of our actions here."

"Until Haruka feels like leaving." Sandman shrugged.

"Thank God the Sandmobile has Sand-Sleeping Bags." Yuki noted.

"May I have EVERYBODY'S attention!" Haruka announced from the top of the coal truck (still crashed on the fountain). "After a careful analysis of the samples extracted from my patients, my uncle has come up with a conclusion." She held up her cellphone, turning the volume up so all could hear—and Django cast a translation spell.

"GOOD AFTERNOON, Sick People Country!" Caesar's maniacal voice spoke. "After I finished studying the bacteria sample, I now know the reason behind your illness. It is something I read about, but had never seen for myself. It even took some looking up on Mexico's history to finally learn the truth. Pueblo de Niebla is a village of poisonbenders!"

"Poisonbenders?" The others were murmuring confusion, but the citizens were too tired to do the same.

"Two hundred years ago, numerous Mexican families were banished from their hometowns for having one or more smelly poisonbenders. It was a cold era where we could not be the free bees we are now. Those people pleaded to the gods for a place they can call home. So the God of Poisons, Hexxus appeared and brought them to a land rich with Poison Chi! Houses were built, a whole village where the benders could be their delightful smelly selves!"

"So how did they all get sick?" Django yelled.

"Well, as you now know, the reason for this abundant chi was the Lazarus. The impure, tainted Lazarus created fumes that were too much for the benders to handle – it messed with their minds, you know. A couple generations later, the people forgot their poisonbending. They developed a disease known as Chi Disuse. It happens when a bender goes far too long without using their chi, while living in an area heavy with that chi. For poisonbenders, it is most likely to happen. The samples I studied were, in actuality, a tainted Poison Chi as a result of Disuse."

"Then the reason I was the only healthy child…" Django spoke, "is because I'm not a poisonbender?"

"Did your family come from this town originally?" Nolan asked.

"No. My grandma was a dark witch, and she brought my dad here from Miracle City to protect him from persecution. They thought he might have magic, too. He married a woman from this village and had me. But when I turned three, Mom got really sick and she died. When Dad went out to the desert to hunt, he never came back. That night, when I was in bed… Grandma appeared as a skeleton. She told me what she was and said that I inherited her magic."

"But if your mother hailed from this village, then you should have inherited a little of her familial traits. The fact you were perfectly healthy is outstanding, even for a mage."

"So what do these people have to do to get better?" Yuki asked. "Use their repressed poisonbending?"

"That would be the first step." Haru figured. "But I think we also need to get them out of this dump. Pueblo de Niebla's too toxic for any person to live on. We need to get everyone treated and find them new homes. Just like we did for all of Caesar's victims!"

"Exactly! HEY, wait a sec!"

"I already told Cheren and everyone else everything that's happened here. We'll also be able to get Project Daycare out of the way, too."

Django balled his hands and faced down. "What's wrong, DJ? Ain'tchu glad yo' town's getting help?" Kim asked.

"I…I want to be. But it's too hard to believe. I gave up hope this town could be saved… I wanted to use you to achieve my selfish desire to destroy Carter. I kept my feelings and ambitions a secret… How could it all be resolved so easily?"

Kimaya knuckled his skull. "Quit actin' so dead and ask for things more."

"…Hn hn hn." Django grinned and chuckled.

"If all of you are finished," Maka's voice called, "someone else is here to speak!"

The heroes made their way north of the town square. Sector SCYTHE was standing with three other figures. Team Sandman instantly recognized the Nightmare King, Darkrai II, and Jack Skellington. They were accompanied by their new employee, Anna of Arendelle.

"Cough! Blech!" Anna choked. "Earth's air is worse than Glacia's blizzard!"

"I kind of like it." Jack smiled, his bone lungs immune to the fumes.

Darkrai floated up to Kimaya Heartly. He reached down by her belt and took the key ring, studying the six attached keys. "Kimaya… What did the stone cube call you?"

Kimaya questioned how he knew about that, but maybe Sector SCYTHE told him. "Um… 'The Keeper of the Keys'?"

"Darkrai, what's going on?" asked Nolan.

The king gave the keys back to Kim. "These spirits came to Nightmare Land through the NME Transporter inside Carter's factory. Mr. Pewterschmidt is a customer of my products, but I was surprised to hear what creatures showed up in his control. I have a story to tell you all. The Heartless come from Nightmare Land."

"You mean they're Nightmares?" Haruka asked.

"Not quite. I believe the date was 1500 years ago."

That long ago

It was a time when my father was having creator's block in Nightmare production. They pictured the Holy Nightmare, towering and terrifying, clutching his head as he panicked from lack of ideas. It was really funny. Definitely.

Then one night, a man was reported strolling through the city. A human man. And he came to the factory. He wore a brown robe with a hood. He approached my father with his head bowed. He introduced himself as…

The man pulled off his hood. He was brown-skinned, baldheaded, had a grey goatee, and scary yellow eyes. "I am Xehanort."

He raised his hand and materialized what we now know as a Keyblade. It was the same Keyblade Negatar Gnaa would one day use: the blade that unlocks hearts and minds. Xehanort used it on my father, and his creativity lit like a dark sun.

Darkrai I scratched his chin as he scribbled formulas on a holographic screen. Xehanort shook 'no' and wrote his own formulas with the Keyblade. Darkrai smiled deviously. He was an ingenious man, like he had been doing this his whole life. He brought with him a potion called 'Heart.' Xehanort held up a vial of pink, brimming liquid with tiny hearts. According to him, it was emotions in condensed form. My father beamed at his intellect.

When Darkrai II flew by, he noticed the key ring attached to Xehanort's coat. It had twelve keys on it.

Across the factory treadmills came Soldier Heartless, Icy Cubes, Nocturnes, Search Ghosts, and Large Bodies which hilariously smashed the pile of Heartless at the end. A whole new line of Nightmares called "Heartless" were made. They were made using the Heart and Evil Crystals we collected. Father honored Xehanort and gave him the Nobel Fear Prize. We had never seen a one like him… but then one day:

The Heartless revolted! Xehanort commanded them to attack the Nightmares! It was a disaster! During the invasion, a ship landed in the Town Square. Xehanort went up to greet its driver. It was none other than the Negatar Navi!

"Navi from Ocarina of Time is a NEGATAR?!" Kaleo screamed.

It's just "Ivan" spelled backwards! …But that is funny. Anyway, it turned out Xehanort was in league with Lord Navi. And Navi's Dark Chi was used to create more Heartless; before we knew it, Heartless appeared in nearly every populace setting. The Reapers and spirits were sent to control the situation. We didn't produce that many Heartless in Nightmare Land, so we assumed they were making more elsewhere.

Eventually, the Grim Reaper, Jorgen von Strangle, and Fairy Princess Mavis were called to fight him. I still remember how he fought. He was very powerful! He also kept using Healing spells, and THAT'S always fun. The fight lasted for AGES…

"Who's gonna win? Who's gonna win? ?" Kaleo cheered.

We won.

"Awwwww."

But it wasn't easy. And even as Xehanort lay defeated, he spoke his last words proudly.

"I am Xehanort. I am the Keeper of the Keys! You can never imprison me. No lock can hold me!"

So we used all manner of Lock Spells, magic locks, and injected him with a toxin that makes his body still. Then we placed him in the lowest floor of Underworld Prison.

Currently

"There were still so many things we didn't know about Xehanort." Darkrai continued. "But over the next generations, more Heartless appeared under control of the Negatars. Mortals also began to gain Keyblades and used them to fight the Heartless. I was so confused that I decided to seek the knowledge of the Chronicler. Grim accompanied me. The Chronicler coined the Dimensional Fusion as the cause."

Darkrai faced down at Kimaya. "Disregarding all those details, I think I understand. It seems that you, Kimaya, are a chosen one of the Seven Lights. You are the Keeper of the Keys. I believe Xehanort has the same duty as you do. He is the Keeper for the Thirteen Darknesses."

"Really?!" Haruka exclaimed.

"Yes. And it seems the two of you will give those other keys to the respective chosen ones. I do not understand the entire prophecy myself, so it may not do to ask me. But I think we can be sure that Xehanort will return. Just be on your guard…"

Kimaya looked away, not sure what to think. Anna also looked a bit downtrodden; the mention of the prophecy and the Poneglyphs was a sensitive topic, given what happened. "Anyway, we will happily take the people of this town to Nightmare Land and have them treated." Darkrai said. "Do not misjudge. Our medical care is very excellent, and Anna has shown to have great doctoring skills."

"Jar Jar gets a loooot of booboos." Anna grinned sheepishly.

"I could help treat them." Haruka said.

"That's very kind of you, but you children must have more important things on your plate." Darkrai said. "You can trust them in our care."

"Heh…" Django grinned. "One skeleton to another?"

"You bet!" Jack perked. "We'll go back home and bring a few ships to take them back with us!"

The three returned to the factory. "We need to go, too." Maka said, standing with her spirit operatives. "Thanks for all your help."

"Catch ya later, Kim and Lo!" Beat rapped.

"Catch ya on the flipsiiiide!" Rhyme sang.

"It was great seeing you, Haruka!" Ellen waved. "Tell Cheren I said 'hi'!"

"Haha, okay! Wait, how do you know Cheren?"

"I don't personally, but he's my sister's descendant!"

"Your sister's-?"

"Time to go!" Maka yelped when a ray of light shone on them from Heaven. "Byyyye!" The spirits warped.

Django returned to the east field and climbed the hill to Luviro's house. It was as old as he had last seen it, and its only inhabitant was long dead. "Sigh… I promised that I would be with you when you died. I guess… I forgot that, too. Sigh…"

A pair of boots stomped up the rugged path. Django felt their owner stand beside him without looking up. "Well, you aren't something I see every day."

Django looked up. He was a teen boy with sunglasses, a brown vest, and a lollipop in his mouth. "Neither are you. What're you doing here?"

"Here to see Luviro." Augustus walked toward the house with his crew of four babies.

Django was confused. "How do you know Luviro?"

"I met him a few months ago." The captain entered the old house.

Django gaped, pondering the teen's words. "Luviro's… alive? …" Feeling too curious, he joined the crew in the house.

Mariejoa; God's Castle

"YOUR MAJESTIES!" An agent in a black tux dashed through the shiny marble halls. "Honorable World Leaders!" He entered the open throne room and bowed before the six Leaders. "CP10 returned from Mexico! President Carter Pewterschmidt was killed, and the Sixth Light found the Poneglyph he was protecting!"

"Ooo, Carter lost." Daphne plucked a rose. "How unoriginal."

"Poor Carrrterrrrr, poor Carrrrterrrrr." Jennifer Bush swayed to and fro. "Rrrrr, rrrrr, rrrrrr."

"Time is running out!" King Andrew thundered. "Is the Poneglyph in Enies Lobby still in place?"

"Y-Yes! Eldwin reported that it was still secure!"

"See to it that it stays secure! For hundreds of years, the World Government has searched for the Poneglyphs, to hide them from the chosen ones! The Poneglyph in Enies Lobby will no doubt go to the Seventh Light. The Octogan showed us her identity. CP10 is ordered to protect it from her at all costs. The one named Madeline Murphy must not come to Enies Lobby!"

"Yes, My Lord!" The agent ran.

"Our time is running short." Lucas Stonebuddy spoke with hands over his mouth. "Hugo Strange is nearly complete with his end. There is still one crucial key to create the Inferius: the God Fruit."

"There is no worry." His Majesty said. "It will be delivered to our hands soon enough." The Octogan showed a furious King Zing and his swarm of Zingers, and Team Rupert bringing a giant pot of honey to Lenari.

Lazarus Plant

Babs Pewterschmidt stared at the ruins of her husband's factory. She shook her head in a reproving fashion. "Little children can be such demons. I hope you people are worth the money we're paying." She turned to face them. "Do whatever you can to avenge Carter."

The seven masked figures in black coats said nothing. The gentle breeze blew their coats.