KH: Sentinels of Chaos 79

Chapter 79: Assemble!

The Quinjet flew low over the rocky terrain of Latveria, passing over jagged cliffs and rugged valleys at the speed of sound. The wind pummeled the wings as it swept over them, the rain splattered like teardrops against the hull, and lightning flashed and thunder roared as the advanced aerial transport kept a steady course.

Natasha Romanov piloted the Quinjet gracefully, keeping the joystick steady and locking her eyes straight ahead. Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Hawkeye sat in seats along the left wall; Captain America, Roxas, Bruce Banner, and Xion sat in seats along the right. Between the aisles Thor, Axel, Iron Man, and Namine all stood in single file; Iron Man already had his flight stabilizers warmed up, Thor swung his hammer impatiently, Namine checked the armaments of her White Witch PCA, and Axel opened the flap on his Bag of Holding, allowing Pyranas to poke her head out.

Namine watched Natasha as she handled the Quinjet with exceptional skill, keeping their flight path steady even through the turbulence and the inclement weather. She was impressed with both her skill and by the power of the Quinjet; ordinarily, she would be the one flying, but it was clear that the Quinjet was Natasha's pride and joy, just like the Gummi Ship was hers. She realized that maybe they weren't so different after all...

"So, what do you think of her?" said Tony to Namine, turning the suit to face her. 

Namine blushed under her armor. "Um, well...she's pretty. Like, really pretty. I-I mean, her hair is nice, and her eyes are really-"

"Wasn't talking about Romanov," said Stark with a laugh, "I was talking about the ship. The Quinjet. Beautiful, isn't she?"

"Magnificent," said Namine, no longer embarrassed, "she's the most beautiful ship I've ever seen!"

"I feel as though I should be offended," said GRaNI through the armor.

"Um," said Namine, "that is, she's the most beautiful ground-based ship I've ever seen. That isn't you, GRaNI."

"Let me guess," said Stark, "sarcastic unshackled computerized voice linking up with your suit's finer controls?"

"Newly unshackled, yeah," said Namine, surprised at Tony's nonchalant reaction.

"Excellent. Say hello, JARVIS."

"Hello," came a synthesized male computerized voice with a British accent. "How may I be of service?"

Namine laughed. "Wow. If I didn't know my own origins, I'd almost think you and I were the same person!"

"I've been doing this a lot longer than you, kid," said Stark with an audible grin, "Who knows? Once this is over, you might wanna stop by Stark Industries at some point. We're always looking for interns; there's a whole lot you could learn from a summer job there."

"R-Really?!" asked Namine, nearly at a total loss for words.

"We'll see," said Roxas cautiously, "Let's focusing on surviving this job first. How close are we, Miss Romanov?"

"We're just about over the villa surrounding Doom's Castle," replied Natasha from the pilot's seat, "The Chitauri don't have a visual on us yet; the lovely Latverian weather's keeping us hidden for now."

"They're bound to notice us soon, though," said Iron Man, "The Chitauri are used to spotting things in storms; there's one in Latveria almost every day."

"Doesn't seem to be a very popular tourist attraction," remarked Axel.

"It really isn't," said Stark, then he looked down at Pyranas peeking out of the red bag around Axel's waist. "You sure that thing can fly in this kind of weather?"

Pyranas responded with her usual array of calls and squawks, telling Iron Man that no amount of rain can dampen the flames of a phoenix.

"Aye," said Thor, "and I shall turn this storm against all who dare oppose us!"

"Well, start turning it now," said Hawkeye, "cause we've got incoming!"

Sure enough, the sound of rain pelting the Quinjet was drowned out by the alien humming and whining of Chitauri Chariots in flight. The radar display next to Romanov displayed dozens of red dots closing in fast on the heroes' ship.

"They sent that many after us?" asked Stark, "I'm flattered. Open the drop door, we'll buy you enough time to make the drop and get the Quinjet out of here."

Natasha nodded, flicking an overhead switch as she piloted the ship expertly. The angled end of the Quinjet began sliding downwards like a ramp, opening up to a dark, cold, rainy battlefield. Even as the wind swept into the bay, all the heroes could hear the guttural roars and growling shouts of the eternally-bloodthirsty Chitauri.

Thor was the first one out, flinging the mighty Mjolnir headfirst and guiding the hammer - and himself - as he flew. Axel was hot on his heels, leaping out off the ramp as Pyranas hopped out of his Bag of Holding, stretching her fiery wings and binding herself to Axel even as he fell freely. Iron Man glided out smoothly on his flight stabilizers, before igniting the jets on his back and in his boots, sending him rocketing through the air faster than a fighter jet. And Namine ran and did a swan dive off the ramp, unfurling the Icarus Wing-Blade array as she activated her own jump jets, resembling a pure white angel taking flight.

Roxas peered out the open ramp even as the Quinjet continued soaring away, watching Namine glide through the stormy skies. At first, he was a little worried about her, maybe even a little scared to leave her like that. But when he saw her decapitate an entire Chariot's worth of Chitauri in a single swipe of her Wing-Blade, Roxas knew that his love would be just fine.

Besides, she wasn't the only one kicking ass out there. Iron Man blasted at the Chariots that were on his tail, beams of light shooting from his palms and knocking the pilots off their craft. Thor swung his hammer as he flew at the foes, deflecting blue plasma beams and caving in Chitauri skulls indiscriminately. And Axel and Pyranas flew together in perfect fiery sync, resembling a winged flaming comet as they pooled their magic together to vaporize the Chitauri in Cosmic Flames of blue and red.

"Okay, we're coming up on the LZ," said Natasha, switching the Quinjet's engines to allow it to hover like a helicopter, "Barton, give them a line."

Hawkeye nodded, pulling an arrow out of his quiver. Notching it in his bow, he fired his arrow out the open ramp, aiming at the stonework in the wall close to the ground. As the arrow flew, a thin microfiber-woven steel cable followed, creating an improvised zip line for the heroes to reach the ground safely.

Captain America was the first one down, looping his shield around the cable and sliding down expertly. Sora and Riku were next, activating their Flowmotion to slide down the cable weightlessly and effortlessly. Roxas was the next to go down...or at least, he would have been if a bolt of blue plasma didn't hit where his helmet was a second ago. 

"They've got snipers!" shouted Roxas, spotting them quickly even in the darkness. They were on top of the castle wall, high above where Cap was touching down. Sora and Riku also saw them, using their Flowmotion to vanish briefly from sight like ninjas; when they reappeared, they were directly above the Chitauri on the walls, bringing their Keyblades down on top of them. Together they cut down three or four Chitauri snipers, before a massive charged blast of blue plasma rocketed towards them with explosive force. Sora and Riku activated their Flowmotion and curled into a ball, as a massive fiery explosion rocked the walls and sent them flying backwards. The Chitauri carrying the heavy weaponry snarled in pride, then turned his weapon towards the still-tethered Quinjet.

"We're sitting ducks!" cried Barton, keeping a tight hold on the grapple line, "At this rate, we'll be blasted to pieces!"

"Then go! Get out of here!" said Roxas to Natasha, "We'll jump out as you retreat; get to safety and then come and join us. Don't worry, we're Keyblade Masters - we fall from the sky all the time."

Natasha nodded, switching the Quinjet's engines back to the lateral direction as Barton released the cable. Roxas ran at full tilt down the ramp and dove off; Kairi and Xion soon followed him, calling on their elements. The Heavy Chitauri trooper fired off his now fully-charged plasma cannon at the fleeing Quinjet; Xion fortified her mind as she created a bowl-shaped telekinetic barrier in front of her, catching the ball of unstable explosive energy with a mere thought. Fighting the strain inside her mind, Xion found the strength to hurl the blast of blue plasma right where it came from. A very surprised Heavy Chitauri trooper's last moments were spent gaping at the young Keyblade Master, before he and all the others atop the wall were incinerated in a fiery azure explosion.

Roxas nodded towards Xion, who was now using her telekinesis to levitate gracefully down to the ground. He looked to Kairi, who had summoned a gust of Aeroga magic that slowed her descent. Turning his eyes back to the rapidly-approaching ground, Roxas dove down harder, increasing his already-pretty-big descent velocity even more as he aimed for a squad of unaware Chitauri. At the last possible moment before he splattered the ground, he activated his Reflega armor, coating himself in a shell of white interlocking hexagons that glowed around him. The impact of the landing - more than enough to instantly turn a human into a very gooey pancake - was absorbed by the Reflega armor...and detonated all around him with the same amount of force, sending all the Chitauri in a twenty-foot radius around him flying across the courtyard and splattering the walls with goop and bits of machinery.

Wasting no time, he drew a Lance from the back of his armor, as the Chitauri noticed the new challenger and rushed to meet him. Roxas swung the double-bladed pole-arm with speed, strength, and precision; bodies flew, heads rolled, and weapons fizzled and shattered as the Keyblade Master took on Chitauri after Chitauri without even breaking a sweat...or even summoning his Keyblades.

Nearby, Xion hovered over a firing squad, who were all aiming their carbine scepters at her. As they pulled the trigger, she used telekinesis to jerk the barrels of the weapons back and up, blowing out the brains of their operators as they fired. She dropped from the air and pulled the plasma weapons towards her, lining them up with her arm and holding them in place with telekinesis. When more Chitauri rushed at her, she telekinetically pulled the triggers of the weapons, blowing away each challenger with three simultaneous blasts of blue plasma. When the weapons eventually lost their charge, she slammed the weapons together with her mind, shattering them into thousands of pieces and then flinging the pieces into the soft, unarmored parts of the Chitauri. During all of this, she too never even summoned her Keyblade; instead, her arms glowed like supernovas with silvery light, as she unleashed her full might upon those who dared defile their one safe haven.

Kairi kept her Aeroga gust active as she soared over the crowds of Chitauri, deftly dodging the blue plasma blasts as they fired wildly at her. When she eventually did touch down, she sent the winds around her out like a sonic boom, bowling over the closely-grouped alien warriors and knocking them to their feet. Twirling the silvery metal handles around her fingers like batons, Kairi drew both of her Ethereal Blades and swung them wildly, briefly becoming a blinding iridescent pink blur as she felled any Chitauri foolish enough to be in her way. Her choice of weapons granted her both the speed and grace to move like a dancer across the battlefield, taking out her dance partners one by one.

Riku's Shadow Prosthetic was an amorphous blob of dark matter, as the Keyblade Master continually pumped his artificial limb with more and more of his Dark energy. A bladed fist flew five yards away from him in an instant, impaling and skewering seven Chitauri in a single line. A cluster of jutting spikes from his wrist plunged through the chests of five more, pinning them against the wall as they kicked in mid-air vainly. A crowbar-like hand hooked onto the arm cannon of a Chitauri Head Commander, pulling and firing the weapon against the operator's will before slamming him into the ground with enough force to break both the weapon and its operator. A long sinewy tentacle swung across the field, knocking fifteen Chitauri to the ground with broken bodies, armor, and faces. His Way to Dawn Keyblade was barely even stained with the sticky black fluid the alien warriors released when they died; the Shadow Prosthetic was the one racking up most of the body count.

Sora and Captain America fought side-by-side and back to back, taking down the Chitauri as fast as they could come. Captain America slammed his shield into the face of a Footsoldier; Sora finished him off with a leaping Keyblade slash. A blast of Blizzaga magic from Sora's Keyblade froze seven Chitauri in their tracks; Cap shattered them all with a throw of his shield, bouncing between the embrittled warriors like a pinball on speed. Captain America took down a towering Chitauri Head Commander with a flurry of punches; Sora brought down another with a series of Keyblade strikes. When Cap retrieved his shield, Sora unleashed a concentrated beam of Thundaga energy from the tip of his Keyblade; the First Avenger caught the beam on his shield and angled it so that the beam cut down an entire squadron of Chitauri in a sweeping arc of electricity. The two leaders of the greatest teams of heroes fought as though they were one invincible soldier - the Chitauri never stood a chance against their combined might and resolve.

Eventually, the Chitauri Head Commanders shouted out orders to fall back and retreat, and soon the Chitauri started pulling back and flooding into the castle walls. At the same time, a mighty bellowing roar came from the south, as Bruce Banner - now the massive, green-skinned, nigh-unstoppable Incredible Hulk - leapt over the courtyard walls with Black Widow and Hawkeye on his shoulders. Given the shouts of terror and the panic in the Chitauri's eyes as they fled, it was hardly a coincidence that they chose to retreat as soon as the Hulk appeared onto the battlefield.

"Looks like they still remember you, big guy," said Hawkeye jokingly as he and Black Widow leapt off Hulk's shoulders. The big green giant snarled in disappointment; it was obvious he was looking forward to smashing some Chitauri.

"As well they should," said Rogers, as Iron Man, Axel, Thor, and Namine touched down around them. "They tried to take over this world once. We were the only ones that stopped that...and I'm pretty sure that Hulk still racked up more kills than any of us."

"I still protest otherwise," said Thor, letting Mjolnir fall by his side again, "I sent at least as many Chitauri to Helheim, if not more."

Hulk responded by punching Thor in the shoulder, sending him flying across the courtyard.

"Okay, nice work down there," said Iron Man, "Now let's get moving on step two. Getting inside that massive castle and disabling the anti-aircraft systems."

"I'll take a team and go through the East Wall," said Cap.

"Got it," said Sora, "I'll take the West Wall then."

"And Hulk, Thor and I will keep breaking down the walls," said Roxas, "punching a path straight to Doom's throne room."

"Assuming that Hulk and Thor don't spend the whole time punching each other," said Hawkeye. Hulk snarled and looked down at Barton, a huge mischievous grin on his face as Thor stumbled back over to the group.

Sora picked up Mjolnir - which was still lying on the ground with its handle sticking straight up - and tossed it back to Thor, who caught it in complete surprise. 

"You guys get started on smashing stuff, then," he said as he activated his Flowmotion, "I'll go and make sure the West Entrance is clear." 

And so Sora took off in a streak of light, leaving the Avengers flabbergasted and completely puzzled.

"...is he even aware of what he just did?" asked Cap.

"What?" asked Riku, "He just picked up Thor's hammer and gave it back to him."

"Yeah, that no one else besides Thor can lift," said Stark.

"When my father banished me from Asgard," explained a very surprised Thor, "he put an enchantment on my weapon, and cast it away from me. The enchantment made it so that only those the hammer deemed worthy could lift it, let alone wield it."

"And your leader just picked it up and lobbed it at Thor like a softball," said Hawkeye. "Didn't even bat an eye, either."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Out of curiosity, what does being 'worthy' mean? Like, what does it take?"

"A strong and unwavering spirit," said Thor proudly, "A heart pure and true, one whose drive and determination know no bounds. A willingness and desire to protect others, even if it means laying their own life on the line. A clear sense of right and wrong, and the strength to ensure that right always wins."

"Huh," said Axel, "that sounds familiar."

Kairi giggled. "Yep. That's basically Sora in a nutshell."

"Think we should tell him?" asked Black Widow.

"I don't think he cares about that right now," said Xion, "I think all he cares about is getting to Doom and stopping him. And I think we should do the same right now."

Cap nodded. "Right. Okay, so here's what we'll do. I'll send Widow and Hawkeye over Sora's way - they have the technical knowledge to disarm the defenses. Two of you Keyblade Masters go that way too - everyone else, come with me and we'll take down the east one. Stark, you'll take point and disarm the defenses, while the rest of us cover you. Sound good?"

The other Keyblade Masters and Avengers nodded, before running off. Roxas, Hulk, and Thor ran straight ahead at the stone brick wall ahead of them, bringing the combined might of three titans down on the stone.

Needless to say, the stone walls didn't hold up very well.
***
Captain America, Riku, Iron Man, Axel, and Namine hurried down the narrow winding corridors along the East Wall, weapons primed and ready to fight enemies at a moment's notice.

Except...there weren't any. The corridors that trailed through the age-old castle were completely vacant. No ambushes, no traps, no Chitauri soldiers lying in wait. There was nothing there to stop them from progressing.

Riku followed closely behind Cap, Keyblade drawn and Shadow Prosthetic molded into a sharp claw. The silence and complete lack of enemies only served to heighten his suspicions and make him tenser and more alert; it was having a similar effect on the other Avengers and Keyblade Masters.

"Okay, the controls for the AA defenses are right here," said Iron Man, "JARVIS, do your thing."

"Very good, sir," said the British DI as Stark placed his armored hands on the holographic keyboard. 

"West team," said Cap over the comms, "What's your status?"

"We found the controls," came a very static-sounding Black Widow, "I'm disarming the defenses now. Should take two minutes, tops."

"Same," shot back Stark, "need a minute or two here."

Cap nodded. "Roger. Okay, I'll stay with Stark. Hawkeye, stay with Widow. Everyone else, scout ahead. The doors to Doom's Throne Room should be just up ahead; go check and make sure it's safe."

Riku nodded, readying his Keyblade as he walked quietly down the shadowy corridor. Namine and Axel were close behind him, pressing their backs against the wall. 

>Whoa,< came Sora's voice in Riku's head. It nearly made him yelp in surprise, but he held it in.

>What?< replied Riku, >Did you find something?<

>Yeah,< said Sora, >I found the door that leads to the Throne. Only...<

>Only what?< asked Axel impatiently. 

>...it has three Keyholes on it. They're all connected, with lines and grooves. I don't see a handle or anything like that anywhere. Weird, right?<

>Ordinarily, Sora, yes,< said Riku, >I'd say that's very weird. But not this time.<

>Why's that?< asked Sora.

At this point, Riku had a visual on the door to the Throne Room.

>Because our door's got three Keyholes too.<

>We'll need to pull Roxas from the Demo Team,< said Xion, >You guys only have two Keyblade Wielders, right?<

>Yeah,< said Riku, >I'll open a portal and get him over here. Then once the Helicarrier arrives, we'll unlock the doors together.<

Even as he did so, and as the white-and-black armored Keyblade Master joined him in the dusty old hallway, Riku's mind raced furiously. It was obvious that Doom was anticipating the Keyblade Masters, and had rigged the doors so that only they could open them - just like they were the only ones who could open the doors to the Creation Cores, to retrieve the Elemental Crystals inside for Doom to steal from them.

Riku felt like he was walking into a trap. He hated that feeling, hated the way it gnawed away inside of him and made him feel powerless. Worse, there were no other options; they had come this far, there was no way they could just come up with a new plan. 

Still, Riku had a feeling that Doom wanted the Keyblade Masters in his Throne Room privately.

And as soon as Stark and Widow disarmed the AA defenses, that suspicion was confirmed.

Armored, armed Chitauri elites began dropping from the ceiling, previously hidden by unknown technology. They hit the ground and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with enormous glass shields. They formed a wall of shields in the middle of the corridor facing both ways, separating Iron Man and Captain America from the other Keyblade Masters, and vice versa.

>Riku!< shouted Xion.

>Let me guess,< said Riku, >A bunch of Chitauri elites just dropped down and formed a shield wall?<

>It happened over there, too?!< came her reply.

Riku was about to answer, when suddenly a drawling, metallic-laden voice echoed over the loudspeakers.

"Keyblade Masters, do not be alarmed, and do not attempt to aid the Avengers. Proceed as you planned. I wish to speak with you before the violence inevitably begins."

The Keyblade Masters looked to Captain America and Iron Man, who were letting down their defenses.

"Do what he says," said the First Avenger, "The ball's in his court now."

So after using their Keyblades to unlock the doors, Roxas, Riku, and Axel pushed open the wooden swinging doors, stepping into the Latverian Throne Room.

And what a massive room it was.

Easily as large as an ocean liner, the Latverian Throne Room was a marvel of medieval architecture. Stone stairways were carved into the ground itself, forming three gently-sloping flights of stairs and landings draped in the finest green rug. Massive emerald banners hung along the North Wall, bearing the crest of the Doom family line. Portraits and paintings lined the east and west walls, from all periods of history and encompassing nearly all styles of art. Chandeliers hung from the arched ceiling above, illuminating the entire room with pale green light from emerald candles that burned with green flames.

And there, sitting atop an elevated patch of stonework, on a throne carved from the finest materials, a chalice resting in his metal hands...was Victor Von Doom.

Pyranas the Phoenix cawed at the top of her lungs. She took off out of Axel's Bag of Holding, and flew full-speed at Doom. She recognized him from the assault on the Gummi Ship, and was more than eager to tear his eyes out of his mask.

She extended her talons as she swooped, ready to rake them across Doom's face...

And promptly burst into flames as soon as she got within five feet of the Latverian Throne. Her disintegrating body landed somewhere near Doom's feet, scattering into black ashes as what remained of the phoenix hit the ground. Again.

Doom chuckled maliciously. "Curious creature you have there, Keyblade Masters. Ordinarily, phoenixes are considered to be gentle, patient, and cautious. Yours seems to be the exact opposite."

"Maybe you're just really bad with animals," remarked Axel, "Seriously. They say that babies, dogs, and phoenixes are the best judge of character...and given how she just tried to kamikaze you, I'd say you are one seriously rotten son-of-a-bitch."

"Indeed," said Doom in a drawling, vaguely-European voice, "Cynthia Von Doom was not known for her goodness. She was known for her ruthlessness, her cunning, and her ambition."

"Looks like the apple didn't have too far to fall," said Sora as he, Kairi, and Xion entered in through the other side.

"There was only one way it could fall," agreed Doom, "But I did not allow you into my home to bore you with my family history."

"You 'allowed' us in?" asked Roxas, "Huh, that's funny. Apparently your Chitauri didn't get the memo in that regard."

"The only reason they attacked you was because you chose to arrive alongside their greatest enemy," said Doom callously, "If you had showed up on your own, I'm sure they would have been quite hospitable towards you."

Namine furrowed her brow. "Somehow I'm sure they don't even know the meaning of the word."

"Regardless, had you allowed AIM to deliver you to the Latverian Embassy," said Doom, "your arrival could have been much more...civil. How many Chitauri have you killed, children? How many of them have died by your hand?"

"How many have died by theirs?" shot back Kairi, unfazed, "How many lives have been cut short because the Chitauri got bored and decided that desolation and murder would be the best way to pass the time?"

Doom's grip on his chalice tightened somewhat. "Typical ignorant children. So sensitive to the suffering and the plights of others and themselves, unable to see beyond the workers lifting magnificent wonders on their shoulders. I must say, I expected more from such renowned heroes as the 'Keyblade Masters'...perhaps I grossly overestimated you."

"Yeah, you should ask the Sentinels how that worked out for them," said Riku, "It's obvious you worked with them, given how you had the designs to their Creation Cores and everything."

Doom paused. "You...you are already aware that I was the one who contacted you? The one who helped you retrieve the Demi, Ruinga, and Ultima Crystals?"

"Oh, sorry," said Axel in an unapologetic tone, "did we just nullify half of your 'evil overlord' monologue? Wherein you meticulously explain to us your every move, as if we - and the readers - are too stupid to put the pieces together without your exposition dump?"

Beneath his mask, what remained of Doom's eyebrow twitched furiously.

"The point is, Keyblade Masters," said Doctor Doom, anger steadily rising in his voice, "is that I am not your enemy. I do not have to be your enemy...and you most certainly do not want me as your enemy. Remember, under my guidance and instruction, you were successfully able to rob the Sentinels of Chaos blind - navigating their deepest defenses, facing the most terrifying threats within, and returning to tell the tale. Just imagine what else you could achieve with my help. Imagine how much more useful I would be to you as a friend than I would as a foe. Turn back now, set aside this petty feud, and together we can build a universe greater and more connected than this one could ever be!"

"It's too late to try and play the friend card, Victor," said Sora, his laid-back voice vanishing. "You used us like we were just a throwaway set of keys. You raided our ship, trespassed on our home turf, and stole what we had rightfully claimed. You put my friends, my ship, and my life in danger, all in order to satisfy your ego and selfish ambition. And now, after everything you've done, after you pulled every trick in the book to get what you wanted out of us, you try and extend a poison-laced olive branch? That's low, even for a bastard like you."

Sora drew his Keyblade, pointing the tip of his Atma Weapon directly towards Doctor Doom. He stood in the center of the Throne Room, showing no signs of backing down. Kairi and Xion rushed to his side, Riku, Roxas, and Namine joined the other. (Axel, after fumbling a little bit, ended up on the other side next to Xion.)

One by one, the Keyblade Masters drew their weapons and pointed them at Doom. Roxas summoned his Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades, holding them at his sides. Kairi drew her Destiny's Union Keyblade, holding it in her right hand. Xion summoned her Kingdom Key Keyblade, gripping it tightly in her left hand. Riku readied the Way to Dawn Keyblade in one hand, twisting his Shadow Prosthetic into a bladed appendage outside his armor. And Axel readied his Bond of Flame Keyblade, slinging it across his shoulders even as Pyranas rekindled herself and flew onto his shoulder.

"And before you start droning on about your family history or whatever," said Sora firmly, "let me just say this: We. Don't. Care. It really does not matter one damn bit what you say right now, because we won't listen. You can try to sweet-talk us for hours, and we still won't be convinced. Why? Because you're not fooling anyone. Contrary to what you might have seen, I am not an idiot, and I am not a fool. The only one you'd be fooling is yourself, because we know better. Like it or not, you are our enemy, Doom - you worked with the Sentinels of Chaos, you robbed us and manipulated us, and now you're going to pay for what you've done. And if you really think that sitting in that throne and speaking empty words and promises will change our minds...then you really are the delusional fool here, Victor."

That, above all else, was the final straw for Doctor Doom. He pressed a button on his throne, disabling the Annihilation field he had set up around himself.

"I am no fool," said Doom in a menacing tone of voice, rising up from his throne. He crushed the chalice in his steel hands, anger swelling in his veins. "And I am not deluded. You have no idea what kind of power you Keyblade Masters have decided to oppose!"

Green lightning flashed from his fingertips as he stood still, gathering energy from unseen capacitors. 

"I have fought off armies of lesser men and conquered entire nations! I have enslaved the most savage aliens in the known universe and conditioned them to do my will! I have defeated super humans, demigods, even gods themselves!! I fear nothing! I am unstoppable!"

Doctor Doom cast aside the front of his green cloak, revealing a strange device welded into his chest.

The Keyblade Masters all gasped at what they saw.

"I! AM! YOUR DOOM!"