One World After Another

Season 1, Episode 5 (pt. 1)

Season 1, Episode 5 (part 1): Nightmarish Delight - After finally finding the fourth guardian of light, Sora and company discover that something seems a bit off about her. Will she come to her senses, or will London perish?

    Sora, Sonic, and Crash looked around to find themselves in a cosmopolitan city of sorts. It was raining heavily, causing the trio to instantly become soaking wet.
    "What are you boys doing outside in this type  of weather?" an elderly woman could be heard asking. The trio looked over at her. "You're gonna get sick! Why don't you boys come in and I'll make you some tea."
    Sora, Sonic, and Crash stepped into the old woman's house, with the woman closing the door behind them. She began making them each a cup of piping hot tea. The woman even made herself a cup and sat in front of the trio to drink it.
    "So what brings you here?" the woman asked. "I've never seen you children before, and I know everyone in London."
    "You mean we finally made it?!" Sora happily exclaimed.
    "Just where are you three from?"
    "Um...far away."
    "Uh-huh..."
    A teenage girl with pale skin, bright blue eyes, and curly, black hair entered the room. She was wearing a black silk dress and black high heels to match.
    "Aunt Ritzy, who are these gentlemen?" she asked in a thick British accent.
    "That reminds me: they have yet to introduce themselves," said Ritzy. "What are your names, boys?" The trio introduced themselves. "I see. My name is Gat Ritzy, but everyone just refers to me as my last name. This here is Ashley, my niece. Her parents died in a tragic accident, so I decided to take care of her."
    "I'm...sorry about that," Sonic said.
    "Oh, it's okay," Ashley said. "I've long since gotten over it...but there is one thing I have yet to forget. Auntie, would you please leave the room? I need to discuss something with these three." Ritzy nodded and left the room. Ashley sat down in the chair in which her aunt had been sitting. The three boys finished their tea and set their cups down on the coffee table. "I overheard your little...conversation. Where exactly are you from?" Sora explained that he was from Destiny Islands, Sonic was from Angel Island, and Crash was from Wumpa Island. "I've...never heard of those places. Are they in America? I've never been there..."
    "Um...something like that," Sonic said.
    "I see. Can I tell you a little secret?" The guardians nodded. "It's about my aunt. You see—oh, how should I put this? She...has a special ability. You see, she can talk to the dead, as well as animals. People call her crazy, but I think the exact opposite. I have spoken to the dead once...but it wasn't pretty. There's another thing..." She looked directly at Sonic and Crash. "Seeing someone with your appearance would usually freak a human out, but that's not the case with us. We have heard of this sort of thing, but we aren't exactly used to it."
    "You mentioned you spoke to the dead once," Sonic said. "What exactly happened?"
    "A few years ago, something tragic happened to my best friend. She died a horrible death and, to this day, no one knows who killed her. I keep telling my aunt that it was that blasted psychiatrist, but she won't believe me. She despises the man and calls me crazy for accusing him! But no matter. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. After my best friend's death, I tried to persuade my mentor to bring her back to life. He wanted to refuse, but I eventually did persuade him. However, after the experiment was complete—well, let's just say everything went horribly wrong."
    "What happened?" Sora asked.
    "My friend did not come back to life, no. Instead, she became the living dead, if that makes sense. She became more deranged than she already was; you can thank her old psychiatrist for that. Anyway, she started killing off the population of London, but it was I who saved everyone in the end. So technically, I spoke to the living dead, not just the dead."
    "That must have broken your heart. I'm so sorry..."
    Ashley began to tear up, sniffling. "It's...o-okay. I thought that after my parents had died, things couldn't get any worse! But...here I am." She began to cry even more. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this!"
    "It's okay. We all go through a heartbreak once in a while."
    Sonic and Crash nodded in agreement. "Aren't we getting off track?" Sonic asked.
    "Huh?" Ashley questioned.
    "Oh, right!" Sora exclaimed. "Sorry, but we've got to go!" The three stood up.
    "Hey, tell your aunt thanks for the tea," Sonic said. Then he and the others left the house. "Now where could that guardian be...?"
    "She may be the spirit Mew was speaking of earlier. I know that Mew is against us, but I also know that what she said is true. You see, the writer of the prophecy scrolls, Lizarian, warned me about the guardian of London. Apparently, she has become psychotic, so it is up to us to bring her to her senses."
The trio looked around the city, soon entering a large graveyard. Three children, two boys—with one of them being a teenager—and a teenage girl, could be seen just past the entrance, and they instantly eyed the guardians.
All three of the children had rather pale skin. The teenage boy had brown hair and blue eyes and wore blue jeans and a plaid shirt, while the younger boy had red hair, freckles, and green eyes and wore blue shorts and a red T-shirt. The girl had brown, curly hair and brown eyes and wore a red dress, along with red high heels.
    "Who in oblivion are you?" the teenage boy asked.
    "The name's Sora," said Sora.
    "And I'm Sonic," Sonic added. "This is Crash. He...doesn't speak—"
    "Whoa, a talking porcupine!" the younger of the two boys said in amazement.
    "I'm a hedgehog..."
    The older boy sighed. "Anyway, the name's Brandon," he said. "This is Timothy and Bella."
    "Everyone just calls me Timmy," said the younger boy.
    "We weren't expecting anyone to come here, especially at this late hour," Bella said.
    "And we're busy," Brandon added in a stern voice, "so you may leave now."
    "We are looking for someone," Sora said, "and we thought the best place to look was here."
    "Don't you think that's a little strange, people like you searching a graveyard at night? Maybe there's something you're not telling us..."
    "W-We don't know what you're talking about," Sonic gulped.
    "Yeah right," Timmy scoffed. "What are you REALLY doing here?"
    "We must ask you the same thing," Sora said, crossing his arms.
    "We're searching for someone as well," said Brandon, "but who that is is none of your concern. So if you'll excuse us, we are going to continue our search." The trio went further into the graveyard, but Sora and company did not bother with following them.
    Before the three guardians could continue their own search, a bright light flashed right before their very eyes. They closed their eyes and when they opened them again, they found themselves standing in front of an old mansion, one of which appeared to be abandoned.
    "Well, well, well," an eerie voice echoed. "I've never seen people the likes of you before. Tell me, where did you come from and why are you here?"
    "Show yourself first," Sonic commanded. "Then maybe we will explain."
    The source of the voice appeared before the trio. It revealed itself to be a teenage girl with semi-pale skin, semi-wavy brown hair that just barely went past her shoulders, and freckles. She wore blue jeans, black boots, a gray T-shirt, and glasses.
    Her appearance was rather...strange. Her flesh appeared to be missing on her left arm, making it appear as a skeleton arm. Her left eye was completely white, with several red lines in it; her right pupil was yellow. She had an x-shaped scar on her left cheek. Blood stains covered her shirt. A slit could also be seen on her neck and her left arm looked as though it had been sewed on.
    "Who...who are you?" Sonic asked. He was a bit frightened by the girl's appearance.
    "Excuse me, are you asking for my name?" the girl asked rhetorically. Her accent appeared to be much thicker than Ashley's. "HA! I'm not answering that, boys. Who I am is really none of your business. Now answer me this: do you wish to stay alive longer?"
    "Yes, of course," Sora replied. "What kind of question is that?"
    The girl grinned widely. "Wrong answer."
    "Wha—"
    The girl pointed at Sora and company before turning her expression into a scowl. She put her arm down as Lil' Terrors appeared around her.
    "These again?!" Sora exclaimed.
    "Attack!" the girl commanded. The creatures were easily, quickly defeated. The girl began to do a slow clap. "Great job, great job. You did well—for mortals, that is. But can you handle...this?"
The girl snapped her fingers, transforming into a black shadow-like monstrosity of sorts. Her eyes were now completely yellow and she grinned widely again. She laughed hysterically, her voice now demonic.
"Fools!" she laughed. "You can't possibly defeat a Nightmare! I am invincible!"
"A Nightmare?" Sonic questioned.
"There's no time for that," Sora said. "Let's take care of this fiend!"
Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the girl, who pretended to be scared. Then she laughed again and began flying in circles in the air, trying to confuse the mortals. She made herself disappearing, landing on top of Crash and pushing him to the ground when she reappeared. She held a dagger above his chest, ready to strike.
Sonic quickly used a spin attack to knock the dagger out of hands, causing her to gasp in shock. She made the dagger appear in her hands with magic, and then she floated into the air again.
The girl disappeared once more, using this ability to her advantage by grabbing the Keyblade out of Sora's hands. When she reappeared, however, she was dismayed to see that the weapon had appeared back in the Keyblade wielder's hands.
"Did you think it would be that easy?" Sora scoffed. "Only those who are chosen to wield a Keyblade can hold it."
"A...Keyblade?" the girl asked. She shook her head. "No matter. Even with that weapon, you are weak against me."
"And what makes you so sure?"
"Darkness—it will always prevail. I'll make sure you see that..."
"Subject!" a familiar voice called. Brandon, Bella, and Timmy showed up. "There you are!"
Sonic looked at the girl in confusion. "Subject?" he asked. "Is that really your name?"
"No, it most certainly is not!" the girl yelled. She glared at Brandon, Bella, and Timmy. "What are you nitwits doing here?"
"Is that really how you should speak to your band members?" Timmy asked, crossing his arms.
"You're...part of a band?" Sonic asked. "Hey, I am too! My band's known as—"
"Yeah, we don't care."
"Timmy, be nice!" Bella scolded. "They may be mortals, but—oops."
"Okay, what is going on here?" Sonic asked.
"That doesn't matter!" the girl Brandon referred to as Subject shouted. "What matters is...I shall take away your puny little lives." She looked at her band members. "You three, I want you to find that book! You know which one I'm talking about." The three nodded and left. The girl looked at the mortals once more. "Now...TIME TO DIE!!!"
She floated back to the ground, summoning her dagger once more. She stayed in her demonic form, however. She teleported in front of Crash, lifting him into the air and then dropping him. Before Crash could hit the ground, Sonic ran forward to catch him in time.
"I will not let some stupid fox defeat me!" the girl yelled.
"He's a bandicoot!" Sonic corrected.
"What in oblivion is a bandicoot? You know what? It doesn't matter. You mortals shall perish for trespassing on MY property!"
"YOUR property?" Sora asked. He seemed a bit agitated.
"That cemetery is mine! I'm the one controlling the dead, you see...for I myself am dead as well."
I knew she was that spirit, Sora thought.
Without saying another word, the demonic girl tried to grab Sonic by his throat, but his speed got the better of her. She decided to target Sora instead, but she had not expected the powers of the Keyblade. Once she was distracted from such, Crash used a spinning attack on her, knocking her to the ground. She reverted back to the form she was in before.
"Fine, I give up!" the girl surrendered as she stood back up, dusting her pants off. "Who in the world are you people?!"
"I'm Sora," said Sora. "This is Sonic, and that is Crash." He pointed to his friends as he said their names.
"Brandon called you...Subject," said Sonic, perplexed. "Why?"
The girl sighed. "When I was alive...my code name in the asylum was Subject 21. I was the twenty first child Doctor Bumby experimented on; he was my psychiatrist. I've never told anyone this, but...Bumby was the one who sent someone to kill me!" The three guardians gasped upon hearing this. "And now you know. Anyway, I would prefer it if you'd call me by my code name. I'd rather not say my real name; that can be saved for later. Having said that, I shall take my leave." The girl turned around to depart.
"Wait!" Sora called, causing Subject 21 to turn back around. "We are searching for someone—someone important."
"Like I care..."
"Just hear us out. We're searching for the guardian of, um, London. Do you know where we might find her?"
Subject 21 smiled. "You're staring right at her."

To be continued...