The Dangers of Stupidity

Chapter XXII: Applejack's Hall, Part II

I pushed open the door. This hall was a lot smaller than the others for some reason.

"Dude, what's with the giant Pokeball on the floor?" I asked Benson in confusion.

"It looks kinda like a Pokemon Arena. All the coincidences, bro!"

Another phantom Sephiroth materialized in front of us.

"Sephiroth!" I called out, preparing my Blades of Exile to attack.

"I do not wish to harm you. Although, I cannot say the same for my friends..."

He rose his sword up into the air. A cloud of smoke flew from each of our bodies, coalescing into what appeared to be two Pokemon trainers with flat black skin and clothes.

"What the hell just happened?" I thought out loud.

"Sephiroth just challenged me." Benson pulled a Pokeball from his belt.

"Wait! You're good, but I don't think you can take on both of them yourself."

"Who's gonna help me, then?"

I know a little bit about Pokemon. I will."

"Alright." He took a box of Pokeballs and a chart from his bag and handed them to me.

"What's the chart for?"

"One side shows what Pokemon is in what ball, and the other shows what moves they can use."

I looked over the chart long enough to memorize it.

"Okay, Sephiroth, we accept your challenge!"

Both of the trainers threw their Pokeballs without saying a word, putting us up against a Pansage and a Houndoom. I retaliated with an Absol, and Benson with his Chandelure.

"Moodnuoh, Gnaf Erif!" The trainers didn't even speak English. It just sounded like a jumble of random noises. His Houndoom moved in and attacked with Fire Fang. My Absol dodged it with no instruction.

"Absol, counter with Ice Beam!" A blast of light blue energy knocked the demonic canine into the wall.

"Egasnap, Tellub Dees!" The Pansage jumped into the air and unleashed a powerful Bullet Seed on Benson's Chandelure, who returned the favor with Flamethrower.

"Absol, use Ice Fang!" My Absol charged forward and chomped down on the Houndoom's neck, obviously not intending to let go.

"Chandelure, Will-o-Wisp!"

We kept ordering our Pokemon, one move after the other, not even giving our opponents a chance to attack.

"Let's end this with style!" Benson told me. "Chandelure, use Flame Wheel!"

"Absol, propel Chandelure with Hyper Beam!"

Benson's Chandelure flew ahead with devastating speed, being energized by Absol's attack. The floating chandelier started bouncing between Pansage and Houndoom, hammering them with unprecedented power. The two opposing Pokemon slammed into the walls, clearly incapacitated. Both of the shadow trainers called their Pokemon back. We did the same.

"Let's wait to see what Pokemon they choose, then make our decisions." Benson instructed me.

The trainers released a Mega Lucario and a Torterra. I chose to use my Combusken and Benson decided on his Aegislash.

"Benson, are you sure that you can take on a Mega Pokemon by yourself?"

"Hell yeah, especially Fluffball over here!" He joked, pointing a thumb at his opponent derisively.

"Oiracul, Maeb Arua!" The first trainer's Lucario unleashed a savage Aura Beam, obliterating Benson's Aegislash with one blow.

"What. The. Fuck?"

"I got this, bro! Don't worry!"

"Arretrot, Fael Rozarrazo, neht Maebralos!" The Torterra tried to pull out all the stops with a combination of Razor Leaf and Solarbeam, but my Combusken easily avoided the onslaught and countered with Sky Uppercut, sending the walking island into the ceiling.

"I just figured something out!" I called to Benson.

"What?"

"These trainers are speaking backwards!"

"So?"

"I have an idea, but it's really risky."

"Arretrot, Fael Rozar!" My target righted itself and attempted to use Razor Leaf once more.

"Torterra, Razor Leaf!" I yelled at the super-turtle. Its wickedly sharp leaves whipped around in midair and struck it in the face, sending the beast sprawling.

"Oiracul, Maeb Arua!"

"Lucario, Aura Beam!" The Aura Pokemon's ball of energy exploded before leaving its paws.

The four of us recalled our Pokemon. The shadow trainers met us with a Raichu and a Metagross. Benson and I decided on a Klinklang and a Luxray.

"Electric vs. Electric and Steel vs. Steel?" I inquired. "Looks like we're both feelin' a little ballsy."

"If this is ballsy, then I've got my balls to the wall!"

"I did not need to know that."

"Whatever."

"Ssorgatem, Hcnup Roetem!" The Metagross lunged forward and attacked with Meteor Punch, which Benson's Klinklang just barely dodged and returned with Gyro Spin.

"Uhciar, Liat Nori!"

"Raichu, Iron Tail!" The orange mouse's tail flew in an upward curve, bashing its skull in with one hit. My Luxray ended the poor thing's suffering with a Quick Attack.

"Ssorgatem, Dnuop!" The Metagross charged forward and began to use Pound before Benson stopped it in its tracks.

"Metagross, Pound." Benson said calmly. A tremor erupted from the ground, sending the pile of green steel into oblivion.

"Eb siht dluoc woh?" Both of the trainers shouted in unison as their bodies transformed into wisps of smoke. The two streams poured into Benson's chest. He floated into the air, an immense black and silver demon appearing behind him. A small symbol of a black and red heart was formed into a pendant that now held together his simple cream white undershirt and navy blue jacket, with a completely bald head. His eyes were now deep orange, but they glowed with an unnerving purple light.

He looks just like...

"Ansem."

Who was that?

"Me, Sora."

I thought the voice in my head was Cloud!

"All of us share the part of your mind that Cloud controlled."

What do you mean, 'all of us'? And how are you controlling part of my mind?

"The people you saw in your dream. Me, Cloud, Kirito, Link, Eren, and Samus. They can all hear what you think. Luckily, they can't hear what I tell you. Between you and me, Eren and Samus are total downers. Kirito's all right most of the time, and Link never says anything other than "Hyaa!", so nobody ever knows what he's thinking. The only exception is the times when Midna comes and speaks for him."

I thought Midna locked herself in the Twilight Realm.

"The Twilight Realm and the Dreamplane are intersecting universes, silly."

Hey Midna, can you, like, put Sora back on?

"Fine. You're such a bore!"

Just put him on and I'll talk to you later.

"As I was saying, it looks like he's been possessed by something. Some kind of evil spirit."

He looks kinda like Ansem.

"I noticed that. Maybe the thing that took control of him has some relation to Ansem?"

That wouldn't make sense. Heartless can't have relatives, even though Ansem is some kind of fusion of an Emblem and a Pureblood Heartless. There's only one person who could truly explain this. The person who was there when the very first Heartless was created, or at least the only one that we could speak to.

"I don't follow your logic."

Nevermind. Is there anything you can tell me that'll help me take this asshole down and get him out of my friend?

"Yeah. Make sure that you don't let the bolts from his Guardian hit you. They'll make all of your attacks backfire and harm yourself instead of him."

Thanks, Sora.

"No problem. Now, get out there and save your friend!"

"Lemme in there! Ah need t' get in there 'n help y'all!" I could hear Applejack shouting at me through a field of magic similar to the one from Fluttershy's hall. I drew my blades and began slashing at the wall with every last bit of my strength. Nothing. I tossed out one of the Pokeballs Benson had given me.

"Absol, use Hyper Beam!" The wall began to crack.

"Absol, return!" I chose a different Pokemon this time around.

"Skarmory, use Brave Bird!" The wall was on the verge of shattering, but the Benson/Ansem fusion was closing in on me.

"Luxray, Volt Tackle!" The last attack broke through. Bensem lunged forward and clutched his hand around my neck, holding me up in the air.

"L-L-Let m-me... go!" My vision was turning spotty. I could no longer breathe, and I finally began losing control of my body. I was slowly dying while Bensem just smirked at me.

"I thought you were stronger than that, hero." His voice wasn't even Ansem's, but it held no trace of my friend. It still sounded familiar, though.

"L-Let... go!" I fired a bolt at his arm and caught him off guard. He dropped me, falling onto his back. I kneeled over Bensem, holding his arms to the ground.

"Dammit, man! Snap out of this! I know you're still in there, Benson! This is your body, not his! Don't be like Terra! Take control of it for once! Don't let him take you over! I CAN'T LOSE MY FRIEND YET!" I was practically crying now, trying to wake some dormant shred of Benson inside of this aberration.

"... Arrick?" His right eye flashed, turning to the dark brown that I was familiar with.

"Benson! Ansem, or whatever this thing is, he's trying to take over your body! Don't let it happen! Fight it! Do whatever it takes!"

"Right!" His eyes changed back to Ansem's cold, unforgiving gaze. He flung me into the sky with a blast of dark energy. A long cloud of black mist appeared in his hands, transforming into what looked like a deviously jagged grey key. The weapon simply radiated with darkness.

He hasn't been possessed by Ansem...

"Then who is it?"

Sora, a long time ago, do you remember a guy with beige and black clothes coming to the Destiny Islands and performing a ceremony on Riku?

"Yeah. Why?"

His name was Terra. He and his two friends, Ventus and Aqua, fought against a man who they called Master Xehanort to keep him from controlling Kingdom Hearts with the X-Blade, which was kind of like the basis for the Keyblade. It was the only way to truly control Kingdom Hearts. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness was Xehanort's Heartless, and Xemnas was his Nobody, but that was a different Xehanort. This is the original Master Xehanort. He had taken over Terra's body to use as his own, but he was defeated eventually. Benson has been possessed by Master Xehanort's essence. Nothing we can do will help him. He's on his own.

"What's goin' on here?" Applejack asked me.

"Benson's been possessed by someone extremely powerful who could quite easily destroy his body at a moment's notice, but he needs one, so he can't do it just yet. As long as Benson doesn't give in to the darkness, he'll be fine."

"Then why are ya just standin' there? Help 'im! He's yer friend!"

"I can't. There is nothing we can do to help him now. None of us have it..."

"Have what?"

"You see the weapon in his hand? It's called a Keyblade. The only way that we could help him is if one of us was able to wield the Keyblade. Then, the wielder could unlock his heart and free Xehanort's essence from his body. But Bensanort's Keyblade is not a true Keyblade. It is created from pure darkness, with not even a shred of the Keyblade's innate light within it."

"Can ya say that in Equish, please?"

"We can't do anything because neither one of us can wield the Keyblade. But, maybe... Applejack, I need you to distract him for just a few moments. I have a plan, but it's really dangerous and only based off of a hunch. When I say, go for it, but don't try to attack him. Got it?"

"Eeyup."

"Alright." I crouched down and tried to contact Sora again.

Sora? You there?

"What do you need?"

When you said that you controlled part of my mind, does that part of me hold a fragment of your souls or something?

"Yes. A small shred of our hearts is part of your mind."

So, if I were to concentrate really hard, I could possibly awaken that part of you and wield the Keyblade, or at least be able to touch his?

"You can try. But I'm not sure."

Good enough for me!

I focused on remembering nothing but scenes from Kingdom Hearts of Sora and his friends using the Keyblade. Nothing happened. Finally, one last scene flashed into my mind. One that I always had a strong reaction to.

Why don't you quit?

"Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."

Get real! Look which one of us is winning!

"So it's true. You really are his Nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all."

What are you talking about? I am me! NOBODY ELSE!

Riku, please! You have to stop him!

How many times do I have to beat you?

"All right. You've left me with no other choice. I have to release the power in my heart. The dark power I've been holding back. Even if... it changes me forever."

"I have accepted it."

My eyes flew open, my heart filling with anger at the monster that had stolen my friend from me. A white light flashed in my right hand, revealing a long silver and gold key.

"It worked... it worked!"

"All right! So that was what made you tick? Riku fighting Roxas?"

Just the raw emotion shown in that scene makes me angry, but this time it had a stronger effect since I had a true reason to be angry. Thanks, Sora. Tell Riku and Roxas I said thanks to them.

"AJ, now!" The orange mare began running around Bensanort's legs, sending him into confusion as to where he was supposed to attack. I took this opening to rush towards him, attacking with my Keyblade. He tried to stab at me, but I grabbed his Keyblade by its shaft, lifted it over his head while spinning behind him and brought it straight down, breaking his arm and letting me steal his Keyblade. Bensanort fell to his knees as I spun back around him. I slammed my knee into his chin, then jumped into the air and flung the two Keyblades into the ground beside him, creating two beams of light and dark energy that orbited around each other, shocking Bensanort into oblivion. While he landed on his back, I kneeled over his chest with his Keyblade held in both of my hands.

"This is it." I said darkly. "I'm going to save you. This is gonna hurt both of us!"

I plunged the dark Keyblade into Bensanort's heart. The two wisps of black smoke exploded from his body, draining Xehanort's features from Benson's own.

"...Arrick?" Benson asked wearily, his eyes slowly opening and revealing those of my best friend.

"I did it! I saved you!"

"What? Why are you sitting on my chest?"

"I'll explain later. We've got some work to finish in here." I stood up and turned around, seeing that Xehanort had temporarily reformed into his own body. His Keyblade flew from my hand and back into his.

"Since when do you have a Keyblade?"

"Technically, I don't. It's not a real Keyblade. Once again, I'll explain later. Right now, we have something to kill." I summoned my own Keyblade once more.

"Touch me, and she spends the rest of her life in the Dark Margin. She'll at least have someone to enjoy it with..." Xehanort let out a maniacal laugh at the end of his sentence, holding Applejack against his chest with a cloud of dark smoke.

"Let her go!" I snarled, preparing an attack.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He pressed his Keyblade to her throat, just enough to draw blood.

"Get back!" I shouted, throwing my Keyblade with extreme power. In mid-flight, I willed for the weapon to disappear, greatly confusing Xehanort.

"Watch your head!" I joked, my Keyblade reappearing behind Xehanort in a blinding flash of light and slamming him to the ground.

"I think you just created a new ability. What are you going to call it?"

I was thinking something along the lines of "Illusion Raid" or "Flash Raid". Maybe "Trick Raid".

"I like "Flash Raid". It really rolls off the tongue, you know?"

"You alright, AJ?" I asked, letting her run back to us.

"Yeah. Ah'm fine. But he ain't gonna be in a second!"

"You're damn straight." I dismissed my Keyblade and pressed my hand to Xehanort's shoulder, pouring an unimaginable amount of electricity into it. The Keyblade Master slumped to the ground, completely unconscious. I took this time to give him my parting gift.

"Seeya on the other side, dickwad." I vaulted over Xehanort's shoulders, grasped his neck from behind, and slammed him into the ground headfirst.

The orb of light and the two apple-shaped gems materialized in front of Xehanort's bruised and battered body.

"You... haven't seen the last of me..." Xehanort croaked, dissipating into black mist. I lunged forward and caught the mist inside a jar.

"What are you doing?" Benson asked me.

"Oh, nothing..." I lied, holding the jar behind me and letting out what was likely to be the loudest fart Equestria had ever heard.

"Talk about a Fart In A Jar." I remarked, slipping the jar into my backpack.