Aquatic Kingdom Hearts: the Rising of Atlantis

Chapter 14: The Sapphire City; the Mandarin Awakens pt.3

Back Outside

Everyone was waiting as they unpacked the trucks for the restoration equipment. But Helga, on the other hand, was ordering everyone to unload some of the weaponry in order to ensure that if the two weren’t successful, they’d be at the ready. It wasn’t that they had faith in the kids; they just wanted to be ready, in case the worst should come to that. Frey was looking at the gate from on one of the trucks, sitting down as he looked beyond the gate and at the temple from where his two friends went in to.

In the meantime, Lilo was looking all around for Stitch. For some odd reason the little fellow was nowhere to be found at this time. She looked around; calling out, “Stitch? Here, boy,” but still the little blue wonder would not answer, “Come on, Stitch. Come out.”

Wally looked at her in confusion, in noticing that Stitch was missing as well. He stopped what he was doing, which was looking at a few flowers nearby, and just stood up, looking around. “StiIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!” But still no reply as he looked around, calling out, “StiiiiIIITCH!”

Lilo stopped as she turned towards Stitch and asked, “Could ya give me a boost?”

Wally looked at her in confusion, and just shrugged, “OOOOOOOOkAY,” then he bent down as he scooped her up in his hands, and placed her on his shoulders as they once again as they tried to seek out Stitch once more. The two looked onward, nearly disappearing from sight as everyone was still working on.

Suddenly, a barrage of gun fire was heard, surprising the caravan team. Before they could grab their weapons, Huns sprung out from every corner, surrounding the area. They were all backed in together, as the Huns secured the area, allowing the four bad guys, the Hooded One, Olette, Seifer, and even Brutus, to make their appearance.

Olette just smirked as she stopped in front of the whole Atlantean crew, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” and then smirked at Kida and Frey, “We are… the reinforcements of this little excavation.”

Back Inside the Temple

Eric was still standing at the statue from where he was, never budging from the spot at all. He and Ariel were still completely oblivious to what was going on outside. And as he still looked at the statue of the first Seablade Bearer, Sora, eye-to-eye, he didn’t see what was coming until it was too late. Up on the roof of the temple, where a few open windows were let out, the sun’s light moved up on to his face. When the light hit the statue’s eyes, they suddenly began to glow back to life… connecting to Eric suddenly, causing him to black out.

When Eric rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out why he suddenly blacked he saw he was somewhere else. It was still the sanctuary, but it looked all cloudy and angelic-like; kind of like what LA looked as heaven in the movie, Constantine. He looked around, trying to gain some sense as to what was going on, “Where the heck am I?”

“Don’t know, kiddo,” Dax said right beside him, “But wherever it is… it’s in the Spirit Realm.”

Eric looked surprised by that as he looked to Dax on his shoulder, “How do you know where we are?”

Dax turned to him and raised an eyebrow as he pointed to himself sarcastically, “Hello? Spirit guardian, remember?”

“I see you haven’t changed at all, Dax,” an unfamiliar voice popped up suddenly as the two looked behind them just to hear it again as Eric turned around, shocked and amazed, “It’s also good to see you, Eric. What kept you?”

It was then that the two stood face-to-face… with the First Seablade Bearer, Sora.

Back Outside the City

Everyone is kneeling down in front of the Hooded Man, as well as Seifer and Olette as they stood in front of them. The Huns had all their weapons pointed to the prisoners as Brutus made preparations to allow them all entry. Olette was pacing her steps in front of them as she stopped in front of Ping, and interrogated, “So… from what we retrieved off your communications with the Emperor… you were given direct orders to ensure that the temple would not be disturbed… just guarded,” she then knelt down as she and ‘Ping’ were at the same eye-level, and asked, “So why did you let Ariel and Eric in there?”

Ping, or Mulan, looked to Olette, defiantly, and answered truthfully, “Because the Jade Dragons, the descendents of the army that helped the First Seablade Bearer defeat the Mandarin, made it their sworn duty to ensure the Seablade Bearer, in every generation, would be ready to face his/her destiny. And to this day, it is still our duty.”

Suddenly, as Olette stood up, the Hooded Man walked towards Ping as he clapped his hands together. This mocking scene only went further in as the Hooded Man shot out, “Oh, what a moving and heartfelt performance,” he then stopped as he stood in front of them all as he crossed his arms, “Well, I’m pretty sure your emperor will understand when he realizes you failed to make sure the Mandarin stays sleeping.” He then looked over to Helga as he nodded, “And Sinclair, I’ve gotta admit, you got everyone here in record time. A lot better than when I used to lead this team of reprobates.”

Helga then raised an eyebrow as the voice started to ring in her head as she whispered, “I know that voice,” and then asked, “Rourke?”

Stunned by that, the team and teens looked to the Hooded Man as he pulled back the hood… to reveal himself to be the half-crystallized Rourke indeed. He then chuckled, “Though as always, everybody... you were just one step behind in all this.”

Vinny, who had been quiet most of the time, decided to ask, “So… what’s with de new makeover? Last time I remembered, Frey and Kida over ‘dere had your legs cut out from under you. You know?”

“Ah, yes, the second couple,” Rourke smirked as he walked over to the two, “Haven’t exactly forgotten all about me, did ya? Well I certainly didn’t forget what happened. After my legs were cut off and I was smoldering in that lava for some time I was forced to salvage some parts of those Atlantean robots,” he then lifted up his robbed skirt.

This caused the males to actually shout out, “AGH!/ No!/ Please!/ Sacre Bleu!” however, they just saw a pair of hind legs belonging to an Atlantean Crab Warrior bot attached to Rourke’s torso, and the men sighed, “Oh, phew!/ That’s a relief/ Oui!”

Rourke then crazily gave a half-smirk to the two as he snorted out, “Thanks to you and the others, I was able to learn to use my new sparkling personality’s powers to the full extent. Not only do I not need a gun anymore, but now I’m a living Atlantean remote. I can control any Atlantean technology with just one jolt….” And then with his right hand, he shot right at the Dragon on the Gate, obliterating its head into a smoky boulder. Then it tumbled off the body, crashing to the ground, causing the Huns around the gate to scatter, but then seeing the City’s guardian dead, they ran into the city to ransack the whole place.

Then Rourke grabbed Frey by the neck collar, lifting him off the ground. Kida nearly gasped at this as she demanded, “Do not hurt him!” Rourke just grinned at her, earning a fearful scowl on her face, both scowling at Rourke, and a feared look for Frey at the same time.

Then Rourke growled as he glared daggers as he viciously asked, “So, kids… how do you feel… knowing you’ve created a monster, eh? I guess now you wish you would’ve chopped off my head to make sure I stayed dead.”

“Not really, Rourke,” Frey wheezed, trying to breathe through the grip that Rourke had him in, “I really prefer you the way you are now.”

“Either way, you are too late, Rourke!” Kida shouted, getting the villains’ attention, “Eric and Ariel have already entered the Temple of the City.”

Olette stepped up, smirking, “No matter,” and then brought a small satchel of water as she held it up, with a scheming smirk on her face, “All we need to do is enter the temple anyway.”

Lilo, who was with Wally on shi shoulder, hiding behind the now decapitated dragon, looked to Wally and asked, “What are we gonna do? How are we gonna make it out of this?”

Wally whimpered at this as well as he looked to Lilo, and spoke through his radio (Sokka’s voice), “How're we going to make it out of this?”

Back in the Temple

Eric was still in his trance, standing right in front of Sora. Their conversation, wherever the two of them were, was just starting. Sora smirked but then turned serious as he stated, “Sorry if I don’t have the time to explain any of this, but it’s urgent you know about this.”

“You mean about the Mandarin?” Eric asked.

Sora nodded, “Yes, it does,” he then sighed as he looked to Eric and told him the story, “Nine thousand years ago, Mandarin Nuada used the Spear of Destiny, as well as the Sapphire Army and his Generals to begin a war that near shattered the world. This was proven when he tried to conquer Sparta, though failed against King Leonidas.”

Eric nearly went bug-eyed as he asked, “Leonidas? You mean the King Leonidas? The leader of the 300 Spartans?”

“That’s what I said,” Sora stated as he continued, “He and his army harnessed the Spear’s incredible power and dealt a deadly force strike against the Eastern World.”

“So… they nearly destroyed the world?”, Eric asked, feeling slightly worried about this.

Sora nodded, “Yes. Nuada and his army were stronger than you could ever imagine. Strong enough to send the world to sunder at this.”

“But the Spear’s shattered in three pieces, and the Mandarin’s dead and buried,” Eric protested to this, “What does anything else have to do with this?”

“Listen carefully,” Sora stated as he looked dead serious now, “Even though Kairi, my love, was able to imprison Nuada, he didn’t fully die. He, like his generals, has been merely sleeping, until he can be fully awakened by something that is called the First Water. And to ensure he can find his Spear, he instilled the coordinates in a living map… something he calls 626.”

Eric thought about that for a moment, and then remembered back at home. They had watched that crystal document that Wally had discovered, and then went surprised by this, “Stitch… he’s the map.”

“That mutated koala Spawn of Satan’s the map?” Dax asked, not believing in this.

Sora nodded to that, “That he is. If Nuada’s awakened and recovers his spear and army, he’ll use its power to finish what he started once and for all. If he succeeds, even the Seablade Bearer won't be able to restore balance to the world. Eric, you must defeat the Mandarin before he awakens the Sapphire Army.”

Eric groaned at this, “Can this get any worse?”

“It can,” Sora stated, almost as if all the happiness suddenly died out all around them, “When Nuada first created his army, he used it to nearly wipe out all of Asia. If he’s awakened… he’ll use its immense power to end Not only Asia or Africa… but the rest of the world… permanently. If awakened, the Sapphire Army will rain fire over the lands. A fire that will destroy everything in sight. And out of the ashes, he’ll attempt to recreate Atlantis. An Atlantis in which all the world will be his, and he will be the emperor of a dead world.”

Eric’s strength was nearly leaving his knees as they almost buckled. Dax held on to Eric’s head in an assuring gesture to ensure he didn’t fall down either. Eric shook his head as he looked down, “I… I can’t believe this.”

Dax gulped as this as the little otter paled as well, “I knew back then when me and Sora fought against this lunatic was just another bad guy to fight… but this plan… this guy… this is just pure evil.”

“What am I gonna do if I can’t beat him?” Eric finally looked up to his ancestor.

“I know you’re scared, Eric,” Sora stated as he walked up to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder for reassurance, “And I know that you’re not ready to save the world like this,” and then looked serious to Eric then, “But if you don’t prevent the Mandarin’s awakening, or if you don’t defeat the Mandarin before the Sapphire Army awakens… there wont be a world to save anymore.”

“But I don’t even know how I’m gonna beat them,” Eric stated.

Sora nodded at that as he stated, “Mastering both Atlantican and Atlantean weaponry into a Master State takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you’ll have to do it in days.”

“But what if I can’t master this Master State?” Eric asked aloud, not sure of what the Master State was, “I mean, what if I fail?”

“I know you can do it, Eric,” Sora stated as he smirked confidently to him, “You’ve done it before. We must go our separate ways…..for now.”

“But I won’t be able to come back to the temple or the city,” Eric protested, “What if I have more questions? How am I gonna talk to you?”

“I’m a part of you,” Sora stated rather calmly, “When you need to talk to me again, you’ll find a way.” Suddenly, he lit up with a feared surprise on his face as he turned to his right. His eyes widened with shock, as he turned to Sora, “You have to move quickly; a great danger awaits you at the temple.”

Next Chapter: The Sapphire City; the Mandarin Awakens pt.4

Sorry this chapter came up short, but I wanted to add a profile or two for this story. So here it comes.

Name: Olettah; Olette

Age: 16

Hair: Raven Black with a White Streak

Eyes: Violet

Likes: Gothic clothing, creating new ways to use her Bloodbending, manipulating others, Seifer (secretly when she starts to learn more about him)

Dislikes: Humans, the scars under her right eye, being betrayed, being alone

Family: Birth Family; Unknown, adopted Parents; King and Queen of the Northern Atlantican Kingdom

Background: Olette is the adopted daughter, and princess, of the Northern Atlantican Royal Family. Even when she was a young child, Olette demonstrated her natural talents in waterbending early in life. Her sharp wit and the skill she displayed towards Water Bending gained her much attention and acclaim, and her father showed her obvious favoritism.

However, that all changed when her kingdom was destoryed by greedy humans. They were all captured and detained in a butcher plant, shaped like a prison, so that later they would be consumed by them. the humans believed that by eating their flesh, they would become immortal, and Olette was often picked out slowly, leaving three crescent moon-shaped scars under her right eye, which she hides.

For three years she created and practiced in making a new art out of Waterbending, in order to ensure her escape… the Art of Bloodbending. With it, she escaped and somehow met up with Ursula, becoming her spy in the dark, doing all the jobs that require not to get noticed.

Now she has a much more important job: Find the Darkblade Master, and retrieve the Spear of Longinus and the Sapphire Army.

However, this mission will cause her dark exterior to deteriorate, as she regains things that she lost when her kingdom was destroyed: Friends, trust with others, and perhaps… love.

Personality: Olette is a complex young woman. Orphaned as an infant, she was adopted and rasied by the royal mermaid family of the Northern Altantican City, learning their ways and groiwng up, without the knowledge of who she was, only having the pendant around her neck as the only evidence of her birth family. Ever since she and her people were kidnapped by fisherman humans and held prisoner for consumption, she was raised by the humans who scarred her to be a cruel, ruthless young lady and to manipulate people by controlling them through fear.

Talented and cruel due to her cruel torture by the humans, Olette revels in both her Waterbending skills and her position as a spy for Ursula. She delights in her Bloodbending over the humans, torturing them as she was tortured too. Olette is highly intelligent and somewhat scheming at every second. Perhaps most telling is her demonstrated willingness to manipulate and deceive both friend and foe alike to achieve her objectives.

Ironically, for all her refinement and self-confidence, Olette does retain some insecurities. Although she is shown as a good strategist and capable of predicting what her enemies will do, she has a disadvantage in ordinary social situations. In particular, she does not know how to act around teenage boys, whom she tends to intimidate. She later admits her jealousy over how much attention Ariel receives from Eric, seeing as how she doesn’t know how to act truly around a boy.

It later becomes apparent that her bullying and abusive treatment of people, even "friends" such as Seifer and Brutus, stems not only from her cruel nature but a deep-rooted fear and inability to trust others.

This shaped Olette's fears that she couldn't count on love or affection from anyone, no matter how close they seemed. Unable to trust others, she instead tries to dominate them through fear - a paranoia that nearly drives her insane following the betrayal of Seifer at the battle of Shangri-La. Most of Olette's strain though, is from her birth parents, whom she felt deserted her. Possibly the only person to whom she feels accountable, Azula is anxious to please Ursula, so that she won't think of her as a failure. Olette won't settle for the slightest infraction in anything, and always plans 5 steps ahead to avoid anything that could mess up her perfect image with the Sea Witch.

Skills/Powers: Olette is a very difficult person to defeat in a one-on-one battle. Her excellent Waterbending abilities, hand-to-hand combat skills, quickness, and intelligence makes her a formidable foe for just about anyone.

Olette is proficient in the difficult technique of using Bloodbending, a darkened form of Waterbending.

Concept: Olette was created from the concept of a somewhat dark mermaid. Her physical concept as well as half of her mind, came from Azula from Avatar. While the psychotic side comes from The Dark Knight’s version of the Joker. In truth, she was supposed to be Urusla's daughter, but that changed later on... as she is someone else's daughter.