- "The story is not over."
- —Tagline
Kingdom Hearts II - An Empire of Dreams is the second major installment in the Kingdom Hearts Unlimited Fanfiction Saga. Like the previous installments, it feature Taran and his friends battling against the forces of evil, this time led by the Imperial Dominion of XIII.
This installment begins exactly one year after the events of "The Chain of Memories" and immediately after "A Year of Misery".
Story[]
In the wake of the cataclysmic duel between Wart, the Incorporeo of Taran and former Number XIII of the Dominion XIII, and Ellidyr, the former prince of Prydain now reduced to Saruman the White's minion, which left both fighters permanently damaged in some shape or another, Wart is left amnesiac with no memory of the year of his entire existence, and is placed within the care of the disgraced knight Ector, who is quick to mold the youth under his guidance into believing he has always been just a normal kid living in Sunset Horizons all his life, even as the last remaining unconnected memories of Taran's adventures pass through Wart's mind in the form of dreams. This has all been machinated by Saruman in order to let Wart live the last few remaining days of his own existence in relative contentment before Guinevere, revealed to be the Incorporeo of Eilonwy, is able to finish the memory restoration process and he must return to his original self regardless of his opinion.
However, the evil Emperor Zurg is unwilling to let his prized warrior slip away from his grasp so easily, and sends forth Boba Fett and a troop of his finest Assassin Troopers to infiltrate Sunset Horizons and kidnap Wart so that they may bring him back to the Dominion XIII's fold. Because of Morgause's death just beforehand, Boba has become desperate not to lose the last remaining friend he has, and takes whatever opportunity he can to try and persuade Wart to come with him willingly, even as Wart, thanks to Saruman's spell, has no recollection of him. As the Storm-Trooper terrorist attacks on the city become more frequent in their hunt for Wart, Guinevere becomes worried for the boy's safety and whether it is right for him to remain in the dark about his past. So, using her power over memories, she pulls some strings to allow for Wart to regain knowledge over how to use the Keyblade to defend himself from the advancing Storm-Troopers. As a result, Wart begins to once more question the truth behind his identity, turning against Sir Ector and Kay when they try to persuade him to ignore all the signs and return to their idea of normalcy.
Desperate to find out the truth, Wart follows the signs left for him by Guinevere to head over to the Abandoned Mansion on the outskirts of town, where she lifts the spell placed over his mind to allow him to remember who he is and what he must do to save Taran's life. At first, the now restored Wart is angry over being used his whole life by both Dominion XIII and Saruman, and intends to kill them all himself so that he can live his own life himself, but after the White Wizard personally steps in to humiliate the boy in the ensuing confrontation, Wart soon realizes that there really is no point to his resistance, that this was all meant to happen. Even when Boba tries one last time to rekindle his friendship with Wart by ambushing him in the basement, there is no point to fighting the inevitable, and so, based on the guidance of Guinevere and Saruman, Wart completes the ritual and merges his soul with Taran, allowing the Keybearer to finally awaken after so long.
Now reunited with his equally restored friends, Taran is surprised to find that in Jiminy Cricket's journal, he apparently embarked on a whole other journey last year that he has no memory of, and that there is a girl out there, Guinevere, who is responsible for saving him from whatever terrible event led him to sleep within the coffin in the first place. Wondering about Guinevere's existence and where they should go from there, the group (Taran, Donald Duck, Goofy, Fflewddur Fflam, Gurgi, and Doli) decides to begin their journey anew to find Guinevere in addition to Ellidyr and Mickey, and find their way back home no matter the cost. Arriving in Sunset Horizons' main downtown square, the heroes quickly cross paths with Mickey, and are quick to try and persuade him to come along with them, but he refuses, stating that he is on his own path separate from Taran's and that he can not risk letting himself be out in the open for long, not while he is being gunned after by the dark forces. After ordering them to board a train that will take them to the sanctuary of the ancient wizard Master Yen Sid, Mickey disappears, leaving Donald and Goofy both hurt and confused by what has become of their friend. In the train station, Sir Ector and Kay, accompanied by the Three Little Pigs, wish Taran a safe journey, which causes the lad to cry against his will due to the internalized Wart's grief over the life he lost, although he does not understand it at the time.
After arriving at Yen Sid's sanctuary of the Mysterious Tower, the heroes are quickly reunited with some of their old friends; Ariel, Aladdin, Jasmine, Mulan, Belle, Aurora, Hercules, Peter Pan, and Megara, who, due to the memory spell cast upon them by Guinevere, remained unaware of their old friendship with Taran for as long as he remained sleeping in the coffin until the time would come for them to be lured to Yen Sid's tower and be restored of their memories from the previous year. And it is good that they did, as their old archenemies, the Hellfire Organization, led by the ruthless Captain Pete, have also returned to seek their vengeance for their previous defeats, and intend to destroy the heroes in their weakened state. However, it is not long before Yen Sid himself steps in to aid the heroes in their time of need, restoring their sealed memories and powers, and allowing them to fight back against Pete and his minions, sending them packing for the time being at least. Once the dust settles and our heroes are allowed to be reunited with one another in relative peace, Yen Sid and his partner, the old Jedi Master Yoda, are quick to fill in what has happened for the past year while the heroes remained in stasis/amnesiac bliss. It seems that the Dominion XIII has become the new leading evil threat that intends to conquer the worlds, sending hordes of demonic Darkhearts and their militarized Storm-Trooper Incorporeo legions to threaten the lives of civilians for whatever purpose remains unknown. Therefore, it is up to Taran, Hercules, and the Mahou Shoujo to once more go about the worlds and seal their Keyholes to protect them from the dark forces in an attempt to stop Dominion XIII. To better prepare himself for the long journey ahead, the heroes are granted new clothing, weapons, and powers by the Three Good Fairies to stand against Dominion XIII's terrible might, even finding their old Gummi Ship to be able to travel through space once more. However, Zurg is fully aware of the heroes' restoration, and is quick to ensure Taran's journey will be well remembered by persuading the Hellfire Organization to side with them through the revival of their dark queen Maleficent.
And so, Taran continues his quest by venturing forth to many worlds, both old and new, sealing the Keyholes, learning of the Incorporeos' nature. and fighting the Darkhearts commanded by Maleficent, as well as facing the remaining members of Dominion XIII. As the story progresses, Taran is made aware of Wart's existence bit by bit, and of how the two lads have a lot in common despite their differing personas, which leads to Wart becoming an active presence in Taran's soul, fighting for control over the body and deciding how best to deal with the threat of the Dominion either by peaceful methods or by force. Taran also gains leads that Ellidyr may still be alive out there somewhere. Meanwhile, it is also revealed that Boba Fett, out of dissatisfaction and grief for the loss of both of his friends, has also left the Dominion's ranks, and, with Guinevere forcibly in tow, has made plans of his own to bring Wart back as a starting point by attempting to split Taran's heart once more in two, even going so far as to kidnap Eilonwy to use as a bargaining chip to force Taran to surrender. Eventually finding their way to the planet of Alderaan, the home of the former Imperial Senator Bail Organa, Eilonwy pleads with Boba not to go through with his plans as this is not what Wart or that other girl would have wanted for him to do. Alas, the rogue hunter is too far caught up in his desire to be reunited with his compatriots and get revenge on the Dominion that abandoned them all to listen to reason. In the ensuing struggle, the strength of Eilonwy's pure heart allows her to gain control over a Keyblade, and she uses it to ward off Boba's advances. Unfortunately, she is ultimately still a novice to prevent Zurg's second-in-command, Asajj Ventress, from taking advantage of the situation and kidnapping her herself to suit her master's dark plans.
Eventually, the struggle between good and evil reaches a boiling point as Zurg begins to tire of the Hellfire Organization's constant failures, and manipulates events that lead to Maleficent once more succumbing to the darkness and perishing in battle to Taran and Mickey at Toontown. Angered by the death of his favorite faerie, Hades, Lord of the Underworld, decides to strike back against the Dominion by unleashing an army of his strongest Darkhearts upon the recently rebuilt Enchanted Dominion and its primary kingdoms of Radiant Garden & Hollow Bastion, forcing Taran and his friends to do battle with the monsters to save the lives of the civilians. Along the way, they learn that the Horned King, the evil sorcerer they fought the previous year, had once been a high-ranking counselor of King Stefan, and a former partner of the former Jedi Knight Count Curunir Dooku, who is missing. They also learn that in Marwolearth's pursuit of power, he teamed up with both Zurg and another mysterious individual, Darth Vader, to betray the Royal Family and conquer Coruscant as the starting base of their operations, though they had separated to follow their own agendas and get ahead of one another to gain control over a Kingdom Hearts to rule the universe first. To put it simply, the Horned King, Emperor Zurg, and Darth Vader each carry within them a piece of Vader's original soul, having taken part in an ancient ritual to become the monsters they are today, and lead their respective forces to glory, Marwoleath with the Seekers and Emperor Zurg with his Dominion XIII!
After the war with Hades' Darkheart forces comes to a close, Zurg appears before the heroes, taunting Taran with the news of Eilonwy's safety in his hands and that Mickey knows the truth of where Ellidyr is. To make matters worse, Asajj appears by her master's side to reveal that Taran's Keyblade has been enchanted with a curse so that every time he slays a Darkheart, its heart is compelled to join with millions more of its kind to form a massive Moon of Lost Souls, which will serve as a gateway to the true Kingdom Hearts and allow for the Dominion's members to gain ultimate power as gods above mortal men and rule the universe as its masters. In celebration of their evil triumph, the two Incorporeo overlords manipulate the now livid Hades into reviving their fallen minions to once more bring the Dominion XIII to a full count, save for the traitors Boba Fett and Wart.
Horrified by his mistake and angry at letting himself be used by the Dominion's machinations, Taran vows to stop the Dominion's plans and rescue Eilonwy no matter the cost. After confronting and defeating some of the members that Zurg has fired for failure, the question now stands on how to get to the Dominion's headquarters in the Realm of Emptiness. The answer, it turns out, lies in the database of Saruman's research facility deep within the very same abandoned mansion on the outskirts of Sunset Horizons where the whole adventure began. Because he feared Dominion XIII intruding upon the town to kidnap Wart, the wizard had set up probes to spy on the members in their home base and keep a close watch on them to prepare for any secret invasion, a side effect of which ended up creating a portal deep in the mansion's basement that could transport an individual into the Dominion's personal passageway between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Emptiness. After discovering the password to access Saruman's computer system and enter the portal, our heroes are just about ready to make their final trip when they are confronted by Savage Opress and an army of Storm-Troopers, who are not about to let Taran and his friends pass through so easily. It is only thanks to the sacrifice of Boba Fett, having been separated from all of his assets, having failed to accomplish a single one of his plans, and now with nothing left to live for but to make up for all of his mistakes so that Wart can survive, that our heroes are able to make it to the Imperial home-world and settle the score with Emperor Zurg and his forces for good.
Once arriving in what was once the shining capitol of the universe, now a gloomy, ruined wreck of its former self, the heroes are confronted by another repentant soul eager to redeem himself: Saruman the White...otherwise known as Count Curunir Dooku. As it turns out, after the fallen Jedi had been banished to the Realm of Emptiness by the traitorous Vader and his minions, Dooku had been forced to call upon the powers of the Dark Side to escape his prison and begin plotting a long-term scheme for revenge against his former apprentices. He had only now been snapped back to his normal self by the intervention of Guinevere, whose powers over memory allowed him to realize how far he had fallen in his pursuit of vengeance and thus vow to make amends to all those he had wronged in return. He also reveals the connection between Taran and Wart, and all that he machinated to ensure the Keybearer would awaken and destroy Dominion XIII, only for Taran to go off and do his own thing, thereby scuttling all of Dooku's plans and leaving him with nothing but regret. With the old Jedi Wizard's help, the heroes are able to sneak inside the Emperor's palace, where Guinevere has already freed Eilonwy from her prison cell. After a thrilling confrontation with the arrogant mercenary Warp Darkmatter, the two youths are finally reunited with one another, where another horrid surprise awaits Taran, namely the transfigured state of Ellidyr as a monstrous lich. Taran weeps sadly at what has become of his former idol after all this time, while Ellidyr is in deep shame in return that the Keybearer had to see him like this, to which Prince Adam can't help but remark in the irony of the reversed situation between the two anti-heroes. Thankfully, it is Eilonwy who is able to help calm the two Keybearers in their distressed state, stating that no matter what has become of the two of them, they'll always be friends, and that is something that will never change, which allows for Taran to accept Ellidyr's monstrous form, and for Ellidyr to vow to set everything right by his friends' side.
Unfortunately, the heroes don't have long to get comfortable when Emperor Zurg, having fallen desperately in mad love with Princess Ariel, causes a distraction while he makes off with the mermaid princess so that he can marry her, thereby making her his queen to rule by his side after he uses the nearly completed Moon of Lost Souls to become a god over all creation. Taran, Ellidyr, Eilonwy, and Prince Eric thus galvanize the entire heroic army into action to rescue the princess, vanquish the emperor, and set free the souls of the dead before it is too late. However, little do they realize that the Wiseman, Zurg's supposed grand vizier, is plotting his own agenda for omnicidal destruction, and is able to use the Mindscape to convince the now despairing Wart to serve him by appealing to his jealousy and longing for an independent life, subtly splitting the two halves once more without anyone realizing what has been missing. All the while, the remaining members of Dominion XIII begin to wonder if they are in truth being manipulated by a higher evil power just as they had manipulated the heroes into helping them with their elaborate scheme.
This internal look into their lot in life comes to a head as Zurg begins holding his wedding atop the tallest tower of the Planet Z Imperial Palace, hoping to finally become Emperor legally with his marriage to Ariel. However, the wedding is interrupted by a combination of the treacherous underlings' scheme for power coming to a head and the heroes storming the chapel to rescue the princess. In the confusion, Count Dooku uses a device of his own creation, the Kingdom Hearts Encoder, to slowly absorb the entirety of the Moon of Lost Souls' contents into his Pandora Box so that he can thwart the Dominion's plans from underneath their noses. Unfortunately, due to the unpredictable nature of heart-souls and the logical result of trying to cram over billions of souls into a single, tiny container, the Encoder begins to malfunction and break apart. Realizing that he may never have another opportunity to redeem himself, Dooku takes this moment to scold Zurg and Vader for their treacherous actions, for what they've done to the worlds, and how their plans are ultimately destined to fall, before blowing up the machine, killing him and destroying the Moon in the process, while the heroes are barely able to escape the castle before it collapses.
The resulting energy released from the destroyed Encoder is revealed to have destroyed the Symbiote bonded with Ellidyr's body, returning him to his now aged normal body, though our heroes don't have long to celebrate or grieve when they realize Taran is now only just half of a person again, and that the Dominion's surviving members have escaped. Of course, the answer to that question is soon revealed all too readily when the Wiseman makes his move by brainwashing the villains to obey only him as their dark master, with the corrupted Wart now serving by his side as his dark knight. The evil lich thus takes command over Zurg's plan to reforge the Moon of Lost Souls and ascend to godhood, sending his minions to the deepest core of the Realm of Emptiness to begin seeding crystals of pure dark energy which he intends to use to lure and control all the lost hearts of the universe and ultimately destroy reality itself so that he can rebuild it in his own twisted dark image.
Now our heroes have a real fight on their hands, as they vow to save the worlds, convince Wart to stop his rampage, and defeat the Wiseman, who is revealed to be the Doom Phantom and the true other half of the Horned King's soul. They are also joined by a small contingent of the Hellfire Organization's loyalists, who also wish to stop the Doom Phantom so that they can have an opportunity to rule the universe another day and rescue their brainwashed compatriots. Thus begins the final battle, as the heroes do battle with Warp Darkmatter, Darth Maul, Savage Opress, Asajj Ventress, General Grievous, NOS-4-A2, Jafar, Hades, and Captain Hook, before climaxing with a long-awaited duel between Taran and Wart over the fate of their combined self's future. Taran is able to defeat Wart and convince him to lay down his weapon by telling him that he may lived a horrible life, but that does not mean he has to be just as vile a person, and that he has the choice to be who he wants to be, for the sake of his friends long gone. Thus, the two halves of a single Keybearer are finally reunited and in harmony, just in time for Guinevere to do the same with Eilonwy. However, there is still the lingering problem of Zurg and the Doom Phantom, who have merged into a singular God of Nothingness by absorbing the remnants of the Moon into their being. The heroes thus unite under Taran, Ellidyr, and Eilonwy's leadership to defeat him. Confused on how to return back to the Realm of the Living before the whole castle goes down, Guinevere uses the last of her power to open a portal back to Prydain through which most of the heroes are able to pass through. Taran takes this opportunity to finally thank Guinevere for all that she did to help him in the previous year, his memories of his time in Castle Oblivion returning as a result and finally completing his restoration into a unified being. However, before the last remaining heroes, namely Taran, Ellidyr, Eilonwy, Ariel, Eric, Hercules, Mulan, Aladdin, Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, and Melody, can pass through the portal, it suddenly closes, revealing that the God of Nothingness is still alive and thirsty for revenge. The heroes thus have to finally put an end to the dark lord and close the gateway to the Realm of Void so that the threat of the Dominion can finally be put to rest.
However, as the Gateway closes, Taran and Ellidyr are separated from the others, finding themselves in the Realm of Darkness' Beachside Margin, where they fear this is their fate for all of their efforts to save the universe, taking the opportunity to finally put to rest all of their long-held grievances and regrets. Thankfully, Eilonwy's love for Taran allows her to transport her letter across dimensions so that he can receive it and his desire for reuniting with his friends powering a Doorway made of light born from his own pure heart, allowing all the heroes to be safely transported to Prydain, where there is much celebration and joy for their quest finally ending after so much time. And in the midst of all the partying, Taran finally returns his good luck charm to Eilonwy, and seals his promise...with a kiss.
And they all lived happily ever after...