Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter Text
Author's Notes:
I love Kingdom Hearts and the entirety of the series, even though it can get silly at times. Yet, even now, I still wonder what the series would be like if they kept it simple and clean (get it?) and stayed with the original KH1's tone and story telling.
For the sake of this rewrite, I put in some rules:
1.) If a character did not appear in KH1, they will not be in this rewrite. This counts for only Kingdom Hearts original characters and not Final Fantasy or Disney Characters. This unfortunately means that I have to get rid of a lot of my favorite KH characters as well. There are only two exceptions for this rule.
2.) There are no in-between games in this rewrite. That means games like Chain Of Memories, Birth By Sleep and so on will not be included. The story will start at the end of Kingdom Hearts 1 and transition directly into Kingdom Hearts 2 and then into Kingdom Hearts 3. So spoilers for the end of KH1. You have been warned.
3.) There is no Xehanort, Xehanort's heartless, or Ansem the wise. The original Ansem, as he was known in KH1, the ruler of Hollow Bastion, is the only incarnation of the character in this story.
4.) To keep things simple, there are no nobodies, dream eaters, unversed, and so on. Only heartless.
I hope everyone enjoys my rewrite of the Kingdom Hearts series!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Kingdom Hearts Route B
Prologue: The Gateway
A new journey begins when one had just ended,
The old had left you feeling lost and disconnected.
The long road ahead leads to the light locked within.
Yet you flow along the endless world not knowing,
Of the great connections behind you gathering.
The world is made of light and darkness,
Beware the lack of balance that will be your undoing.
The road before them stretched on and on, as endless as the dreams that came to Sora deep in the night. Colorful glass beneath his feet, stars vanishing from the sky above his home, laughter from the girl he had left behind, promises to his best friend he wished to keep, all these thoughts faded from his head the moment he woke up each morning.
Days after day, on the same dirt road, in the same rolling, green hills, he chased after Pluto, the king's dog, with Donald and Goofy hot on his heels. And each day the sun set and they vowed to try and catch the dog tomorrow, and finally get their hands on the king's letter, but Pluto loved being chased and ran faster each day. So Sora, Donald and Goofy ran farther and farther into the unknown plains together.
One morning, Sora woke as soon as the sunlight hit his face. With a yawn, he decided to go back to laying on the grass and sleep, but the moment he looked up into the sky, Donald and Goofy's faces appeared above him.
Yelping, Sora jumped up to his feet.
"G'morning Sora," Goofy waved.
"About time you woke up," Donald added.
His scratchy voice and the smug way he looked made Sora a little peeved. With a grin, Sora put his hands behind his head and said, "It's not my fault your snoring kept me up all night."
Donald quacked, stomped his foot, and clenched his fists. "I do not snore!"
"Hey fellers," Goofy interrupted, "shouldn't we be going after Pluto?"
Sora snapped his fingers. "Oh! Of course. Which way did he go?"
"I think he's further down the road."
"Then let's go!"
Again they set after Pluto, and when they got close enough, Pluto scooped up a letter in his mouth and began running. Goofy got close, tried to body slam Pluto to hold him down, but Pluto slipped out from under him with ease. Sora ran around and tried to catch Pluto off guard by blocking his path, but Pluto evaded his arms by slipping away between Sora's legs.
Donald, ever the smallest and the slowest, tried to grab Pluto's stringy, black tail as the dog ran by, but only got a handful of air. His feathers ruffling up into tiny spikes, Donald jumped up and waved his arms.
"Waaaah! Come back here, you dumb mutt! Give me the king's letter!"
Donald had done it now. With his head ducked, Pluto gave the trio one frightened look and dashed down the road, no longer playing.
"Donald!" Sora and Goofy complained together.
But Donald was already giving chase, running as fast as his temper could allow. Down the winding, dirt road they went, until the night caught up to them and they had to stop for yet another day.
Exhausted from all the running, Sora leaned forward on his hands and knees while his companions collapsed on the grass behind them. Pluto, just a few yards ahead, sticking his behind up playfully with his tail still wagging, had evaded them yet again.
Donald rolled over onto his belly and groaned. "We'll never catch him. What if we never find out what's in King Mickey's letter?"
"We've gotta get him," Sora said, "that letter could tell us how to find Riku and the king, and how to get home."
Goofy, catching his breath, stood. "Gee, Sora, you sure don't give up easy."
Sora grinned. "What's one dog when we just took down Ansem?"
"Yeah," Donald jumped up, "we'll get him."
One moment he was energized, the next he slumped forward on the grass. Fast asleep.
"Hey, Sora," Goofy said, "maybe we aught ta get some shuteye."
Sora stared at Donald, listening to his quacking snores and let out a good natured snort.
"Yeah, we'll try again tomorrow."
Goofy flopped backward onto the grass, resting his hands behind his head and putting one knee on top of the other. Sora watched his two friends for a moment and then checked on Pluto. Several feet away, he was curled up into a little ball with the letter still close by.
"Even if we did catch him," Sora said, "would we even be able to read the letter under all that slobber?"
He leaned forward in the most exaggerated sigh, letting his fingers dangle just inches above the grass.
A dark cloud flashed over him. Standing straight, Sora reached into the light that was in his heart and made his keyblade appear in his hand. His weapon clutched tight, he turned in a circle. His eyes searched for anything that moved, looking for shadows on the ground where they shouldn't be, or dark puffs of smoke in the air. But there was nothing.
Sora relaxed and let his keyblade fade from his hand. "Just my imagination."
Yet, he couldn't help but feel as though something were coming his way. Whispers from the dark caressed his ears, but he didn't understand them, and somewhere across the worlds, on a beach where children's laughter could be heard, a girl felt an ominous breeze and an intense fear for two of her lost friends.
Deep in a dark world, where laughter and hope couldn't reach, where hungry creatures wait to scratch and bite and tear the hearts of anyone who dared to wander, a single orb of light was able to pass through. Searching for something, the light moved through a twisted, carnivorous forest of thorns and rocks, without realizing that it had passed someone. A dark hooded person blended into the shadows, watching the light pass. Slowly the hooded figure moved to follow the light, but stopped.
It was not the time. Another light was on its way, an easier target. The figure faded into the surrounding darkness, and for a moment, the orb of light shook, as though it sensed something was near, watching. Then, like a bird taking flight, the orb vanished.
Sora woke up from a nightmare. In the seconds between complete waking and half sleep, he could almost hear the voice of another boy. The moon shined bright above, and for a single, illogical moment, spurred on by the remnants of his dreams and his hopes, Sora turned around.
"Riku?"
No answer.
Sora hung his head. Of course there wouldn't be an answer and now he was too awake to go back to sleep. So he wondered for a moment. Pluto, thinking it was time to be chased again, rose up but kept his distance. Sora ignored him, walking to a part of the road that split four ways. He stood at the center of the X and looked up at the moon, wondering if his friends were looking too.
"Riku?" Sora tried again.
There was no one.
Or was there?
Cold fear tingled on the back of Sora's neck and he turned around. A hooded figure floated above the ground down one of the roads.
There was no voice, but somehow, Sora understood the being's words.
"Along the road ahead is something you desire."
Sora chased after the hooded figure, ready to call his keyblade if he must, but the moment he reached it, the figure faded into nothing. Again, he felt eyes on his back, and Sora turned. The figure was pointing down one of the four paths.
"But will you plunge into darkness to reach it?"
Sora chased after the floating black cloak, and once again it vanished. Without a word, or without looking back, he walked down the path the figure had guided him toward.
Somewhere far away, a girl rose up from the shore of a beach and walked toward a dark cave next to a waterfall. And somewhere deep within the dark, a boy drifted in and out of sleep.
Sora walked down the path, Donald and Goofy behind him, and Pluto following nervously a few steps away. Something appeared in the distance. The closer they got to it, the more the grass beneath their feet faded, turning into an eery white road that was neither glass, nor dirt, nor ice, nor stone. The sky became dimmer, no longer the brilliant blue with the moon as its pendant.
A this-way-that-way castle stood before them. Towers were built out of the back and came out of the sides of the building. Brown bricks with glowing, yellow windows stood high over Sora, Donald and Goofy.
Pluto whined, and refused to go anywhere near the castle. He turned tail and ran back down the road they had come from, vanishing into the grey, misty sky.
Donald and Goofy moved to go after him, but Sora moved toward the castle doors.
Something about the castle stirred his heart, filling it with hope. His friends were inside, he just knew it. He imagined them entering the castle, and could almost see them waiting for him within.
He pushed the towering doors open and entered. He had expected a dark and gloomy dungeon, but instead the interior was completely white, and nearly empty. He walked into a grand ballroom decorated with only two white, marble decorative pillars in the giant space. There were no windows, only one white door across the room, opposite of the entrance.
"Sora! You can't just barge inside," Donald complained as he entered the hall.
From the back of Sora's hood, a cricket jumped out, landing gracefully on the floor.
"He's right Sora, it's rude to just barge in," the cricket said.
"Gosh Jiminy," said Goofy, peeking his head around the door, "I thought we all came in here because we thought the King could be here."
"Exactly!" Sora pointed at Goofy. "I just had a feeling that Riku would be in here too."
"So did I, but," Donald tapped his foot, "none of you think it's weird that we all have that feeling?"
Goofy smiled. "A-hyuck, I think it means we're on the right path, don't you?"
Donald, Jiminy and Sora all stared at him.
"Well, maybe our hearts are telling us something's in this castle," Goofy clarified.
"Huh," Sora tapped his temple with his index finger, "that guy in the black cloak did say that something we desire is here."
But will you plunge into darkness to reach it?
Donald crossed his wings and raised an eyebrow. "How do you know we can trust him?"
"Do you have a better idea? Let's just explore. I'm sure we'll find something. And, anyway, if we run across that guy again, we can handle him."
As Sora and the others moved toward the door, Jiminy reached into his pocket. Removing a journal, Jiminy pulled out his pen and was about to open the journal to a blank page, to continue chronicling Sora, Donald and Goofy's travels but then...
"Sora! Oh, this is terrible!"
Sora turned, but did not get the chance to ask what was wrong. The door they had entered through, had vanished. A blank, white wall had replaced the exit. The black figure from the plains floated in front of it.
Sora, Donald and Goofy rushed to protect Jiminy, keyblade, staff and shield in hand, ready to fight.
This time, when the hooded figure spoke, its voice was clear and smooth. "Somewhere, in this castle, is a doorway that lies in between light and dark. And yes indeed, your friends are here."
"Riku and the King are here? Where are they," Sora demanded.
"On the other side of the door."
Dark smoke appeared under the hooded man, and he melted down into the floor. Sora, Donald and Goofy jerked, staring at the empty space where it had been, but then laughter made them all turn. The man in the hood stood in front of the white door leading deeper into the castle.
"Be warned. Darkness waits beyond. That is the way in Castle Oblivion. Will you still go?"
Sora's fingers tightened around his weapon's handle. "Who are you?"
A dark cloud obscured the hooded man, and he was gone, leaving behind only a flurry of rose petals where he had been standing.
Goofy went back toward the wall, knocking on it, trying to find a hidden switch that would let them go back outside, but when he didn't find anything, Donald attacked it with fire magic next. The wall did not break or crumble. Donald and Goofy exchanged a nervous look and then faced Sora. The three friends stood staring at the petals in front of the door, each too afraid to utter a word.
Finally, Jiminy spoke. "Trusting him doesn't seem like the best decision."
Sora's keyblade faded, but his sense of courage did not. "Even if Riku and the King might not be in there. We don't have any other clues, and it's not like we can go back the way we came."
"I know. But that man worries me."
Goofy puffed out his chest. "Don't worry fellers, I'm sure we can take on anything that comes our way as long as we stick together."
Donald crossed his arms. "Yeah, we can do it. Isn't that right, Jiminy?"
The little cricket smiled despite himself. "Of course! You are are strong as long you are together." A worried expression replaced his reassuring one. "Still. Be careful."
He jumped back up onto Sora's hood. With a nod to each other, the three friends went to the door at the end of the hall and opened it. White light emanated outward from behind the door, and the three friends ventured into the unknown.
Jiminy's Journal
Sora (First appeared in Kingdom Hearts, 2002): A cheerful boy that wields the keyblade. He's on a journey to find his friend Riku so that the two of them can go home together.
Donald (First appeared in the Wise Little Hen, 1934): Royal court Magician at Disney Castle. Donald's magic is as powerful as his temper.
Goofy (First appeared is Mickey's Revue, 1932): Head of the Guard at Disney Castle. Goofy is kind and loyal and always ready to protect others with his powerful shield.
Jiminy Cricket (First appeared in Pinocchio, 1940): Yours truly. I am accompanying Sora, Donald and Goofy to keep track of their adventures, and maybe remind them to listen to their conscience.
Unknown Hooded Man: A figure that guided Sora, Donald and Goofy to Castle Oblivion. He's dark and mysterious. What could he want?
Chapter 2: Chapter 1: The Enchanted Bayou
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 1: The Enchanted Bayou
"Ew!" Donald pulled his webbed foot up from the green mush he had stepped into. "What is this stuff?"
Sora looked around. The dark silhouette of trees and vines surrounded them. Fireflies glittered above puddles of green water and crickets chirped into the moist air. The ground beneath them was wet with moss, and ferns. Above, there was no white ceiling, but rather, a sky with an evening star so bright, it made the millions of others around it look like mere electric lights.
"Looks like a swamp," Sora said. "How is this inside a castle?"
He looked behind them. The white door of Castle Oblivion, completely clean and glowing an eerie white, stood out of the swamp water. It was as out of place as a vegetable in a candy shop and it reminded Sora of another door, on an island where it shouldn't have been, a door that had thrown him out of his home so long ago.
Goofy spoke, bringing Sora back to the present.
"Uh, it is just me, or is the swamp movin' toward us?"
He was right, the swamp was moving, but it wasn't the water. Logs were slowly inching toward the three of them. Something yellow caught Sora's eye and he squinted hard onto the glowing dots on top of the logs.
Eyes.
The logs jumped.
"Look out!"
Sora pushed Donald and Goofy out of the way. The poor duck fell into the water, face first, his feet and tail sticking up from below the murky surface. Goofy fell on his behind while the log, crocodile, threw itself at Sora. Yelping, and with no time to get out the way, Sora summoned his keyblade and flung it at the side of the crocodile's face. The crocodile went down, sinking into the water and out of sight, but the second crocodile was on its way, creeping closer to Donald's tail.
Donald finally righted himself, shaking his head as he came out of the water. "What's the big idea?"
"Donald, look out!"
Too late. The crocodile, as well as its partner, had circled Donald, already snapping white teeth. They lunged. Donald squealed and jumped up ten feet, and just in time too. The two crocodiles crashed into each other, leaving an opening for Goofy and Sora to charge and smack them each on the head with shield and keyblade.
"Sora!"
Goofy threw out his hand, and Sora took it. He spun in a circle, looping Sora around like a windmill, allowing Sora to smack the crocodiles a whole three times before the two oversized lizards had had enough. They slithered away just as Donald had come down.
He landed on his feet, splashing the swamp water and panting. "Thanks."
"That was magnificent," a voice cried.
Still alert, the three friends raised their weapons, looking around for the owner of the voice.
"Be quiet Naveen! They could be dangerous."
"They just drove off those two crocodiles. We could use their help."
"But-"
Goofy, ever the nicest one, was the first to lower his weapon. "Is someone there?"
"Uh," the second voice, a prettier voice, blathered, "n-no one's here, just us swamp frogs."
"Swamp frogs?" Sora repeated.
Something moved in the darkness, and before Sora could react, it was on the tip of his keyblade. A frog stood up on on two legs, his perfectly white teeth glinting as he stretched his lips into a debonair smile.
"Pleased to meet you, friends. I am Prince Naveen," the frog winked.
Donald yelped. "Talking frog!"
He slapped the frog away and it slammed flat against Goofy's shield. Flipping the shield so that it was right side up, Goody stared at the poor smushed frog.
"Of Maldonia," the frog groaned.
Something else jumped on Goofy's shield. A smaller, prettier frog pointed a very sharp stick at Donald.
"You'd best stop hurting my friend if you know what's good for you," she hissed at Donald.
The glare she gave him was so fierce, it would have made even the most misbehaved child go running and Donald, shaking, had to bow his head.
"I-I'm sorry."
Ignoring him, the frog bent to pick up her friend.
"Naveen, are you all right?"
Naveen shook his head and jumped back on his feet. "These guys are strong, no?"
"I suppose."
"Come now. We need help, yes? Besides, what can we do as frogs?"
Whatever he said must have convinced the smaller frog. She sighed and stood on her two feet as well. "My name's Tiana, this is Naveen."
"Pleased to meet ya. I'm Goofy."
Sora and Donald introduced themselves as well. Jiminy decided now was the time to hop out of Sora's hood. He landed on Goofy's shield and bowed to Naveen and Tiana.
"What brings you here then, Highness, Ms. Tiana?"
Naveen shrugged with a guilty grin on his face.
"Oh no, you don't," Tiana scolded him. "You're going to tell them everything."
"Tell us what," Sora asked.
"Brave yourselves my giant friends," Naveen said, "we are not frogs, we're humans."
Donald fell over in full blown laughter, Goofy tilted his head, while Sora had to raise his fist in front of his mouth to hide his chuckle. Yet, Naveen and Tiana waited patiently.
"Wait," Sora sobered, "you're serious? What happened to you?"
"This fool," Tiana pointed to Naveen, "got us cursed. And one thing led to another and we got stuck in this bayou."
"This is a dangerous place," Naveen said, "and we are two small, helpless frogs. We could use some protection."
"I don't see any harm in helping them Sora," Jiminy said.
"Yup. Never hurts to help out a friend." Sora pointed to his shoulder. "Hop on."
"Thanks."
With Naveen and Tiana on his shoulder, and Jiminy tucked back safe in Sora's hood, the three friends ventured deeper into the swamp as Naveen and Tiana told their story.
Under a perfect, blue starry night, a beautiful, young girl walked out under a balcony. The moonlight cast a glow on her lovely, brown skin and sparkling, blue dress, yet the young lady's eyes were full of sadness. She looked down at a picture in her hands, a poster for a restaurant that read, "Tiana's place."
"I was almost there," Tiana sobbed, and then looked up at the brightest evening star in the sky. She looked back into the lavish, pink room she had come out of, checking to see if there was anyone there. Realizing she was alone, she looked up to the brightest star in the sky, held the paper to her chest and wished.
"Please, please, please."
When she opened her eyes, there was a frog sitting on the balcony. Tiana groaned. "Very funny." She stared at the frog. "So what now? I suppose you want a kiss?"
The frog grinned. "Kissing would be nice, yes?"
Tiana screamed and skittered backward into the pink room.
"I'm sorry!" The frog jumped up on the table near the balcony. "I didn't mean to frighten you! Please, let me introduce myself. I am Prince Naveen, of Maldonia."
"Prince?" The girl looked outside, at the star hanging bright in the sky. "But I didn't wish for a prince." She raised a book high in her hands. "Who or what are you?"
Seeing the book, the frog covered his head. "Don't squish me!" Then his eyes flashed and he pointed to the book. "Wait, I know that story!"
Turning the book over, Tiana read the title. "The Frog Prince?"
She gave Naveen the book and he flipped to a page of a princess kissing a frog. He turned the page again and, on the next page, the frog had turned back into a human.
"Yes, that's the answer! You must kiss me."
"Excuse me?"
"To change me back. Come now. Not only do all ladies enjoy the kiss, but I also come from a fabulously wealthy family. Surely there's some reward you want, yes?"
Tiana looked at the picture in her hand, her dream of opening her own restaurant had been crushed, all the money she had gathered had not been enough, but now, she had another chance. If only it wasn't so...nauseating.
"Just one kiss?"
"Just one," Naveen winked.
Tiana cringed. "I can do this, it's just a little kiss." She took a deep breath and puckered Naveen right on the lips, and then found herself on the floor in a heap of blue fabric. She looked up to see Naveen, still a frog, looking down at her from the table above with his eyes wide.
How did he get way up there? She turned around and saw herself in a hand mirror. She was a frog.
"And that's the story," Tiana sighed, "this never would have happened if you," she glared at Naveen, "weren't messing with the shadow man in the first place."
"If you had been a real princess, we would have turned back into humans by now."
Donald tilted his head. "Princess?"
"The only way to change the two of us back is if Naveen gets kissed by a princess."
"So, you're not really a princess, Tiana?"
"No, I was dressed for a costume party. That's why Naveen thought I was a princess."
"That's some curse," Sora said. "I'm sure we'll find a princess to change you back. I mean, we do know a few."
Donald shushed him. "Order, Sora."
"Right," Sora said guilty. "Just stick with us. We'll figure something out."
Tiana gave him the cutest frog smile. "Thank you."
Sora rewarded her with a toothy grin.
They walked on without noticing the pair of glowing, yellow eyes that trailed closely behind, hidden inches below the murky surface. With every step they took, the sound of their feet splashing water over the lily pads became louder and louder as the world around them stilled. The crickets' chirps quieted down, the fireflies retreated from the air, the wind did not soothe their skin. Sora felt goosebumps on his arms.
Jiminy spoke next to Sora's ear. "The crickets here seem mighty nervous."
And that was the only warning they got.
The world shivered and clouds of darkness popped in the air, dark creatures jumping out of the blackness. The creatures ticked as they moved, as though made from clockwork, black shadows with yellow eyes, claws, and jagged antennae. One look at the monsters surrounding them and the three friends sprang into action.
The creatures pounced, claws reaching out, ready to dog pile the three friends. Sora jumped to the side and slashed the first wave of attackers, making them explode. A wave of lightning destroyed the next round as Donald threw thunder spells left and right, while one thump of Goofy's heavy shield was enough to smash a few shadows into dark dust.
But they kept coming, and their sheer numbers overwhelmed the trio, until Sora was knocked down into the muck and barely had time to bring up his keyblade to protect himself from another shadow. With Goofy busy shielding himself from a barrage of claws and Donald out of magic and just trying to fight the monsters off with his staff, Sora sank deeper into the swamp as the creatures converged on him.
Naveen jumped up onto Sora's chest and tried to fight the creatures back by helping Sora push them back with his keyblade, but it wasn't enough. Sora's shoulders sank below the green water's surface. One more inch and he wouldn't be able to breathe. Tiana joined Naveen but her strength was no match against the swarm of monsters that had now succeeded in pushing Sora's face completely under water.
Frantic, Tiana looked around. Her eyes caught on a thick tree branch that was weighed down by a fallen log. Without looking back, she ran to the log and waved at Naveen. She caught his attention and with a nod of his head, he stuck out his long tongue and it stuck onto the log. Tiana grabbed the tip of the branch and then gave the signal to Naveen. He pulled his tongue back, the log fell off the branch, and Tiana waited for Naveen to get out of the way before she angled the thick branch just right and let go.
The branch whipped across the swamp and smacked back the swarm of dark creatures hovering over Sora, giving him enough space for him to rise up out of the muck with the loudest breath ever. Sora whipped off the mud from his chin and then charged at the swarm of monsters. He smashed one, threw a fire spell at another, rolled out of the way of an incoming attack and then crushed another enemy.
Naveen cheered from a nearby rock as Sora, Donald and Goofy regrouped, until he noticed the pair of yellow eyes creeping closer to him from under the murky water. With a scream, he jumped as high as his frog legs would allow, just out of reach from the sharp teeth that snapped mere inches below his feet.
He tried to grab a tree branch on his way back down, but his slippery, froggy fingers slid off the surface and he was plummeting down into eager mouths. Something wrapped around his wrist and Naveen jerked in the air. Tiana held onto his hand from the branch above, but her fingers were also too slippery and Naveen felt himself slowly sliding downward.
The crocodiles below snapped excitedly, licking their teeth. A flash of blue light and the crocodiles were frozen solid. Sora and Donald charged toward them, keyblade and staff ready with fire and ice spells. The crocodiles shook off the frost from their bodies, but one look at their attackers and they slithered away, disappearing into the swamp waters once again.
Naveen and Tiana slipped, and they screamed for two seconds before they landed safely in Sora's hands.
"Gotcha!"
"Ugh," Tiana stood, "why am I so green and slimy?"
"It's not slime. It's mucous," Naveen huffed. Then he smiled. "Thanks for catching me, mon cher." He kissed the back of Tiana's hand.
She pulled her hand away. "Oh no, that tomfoolery may work on some other gal, but not me."
"Then why are you smiling," Sora grinned evilly.
Donald snickered.
"I-I was not!"
Naveen chuckled.
"You stop that!"
Sensing an argument, Sora said, "You guys really saved us back there. I owe you."
"That was some good thinkin' Tiana," Donald added.
Her cheeks turned pink, but then she quickly shook her head and pointed to where the attack had happened. "What were those things?"
Goofy had taken care of the last of them and had rejoined the group.
"Heartless," Sora answered. "They're bad news."
"Wait." Naveed pressed his fist into his palm. "Of course! I've seen those creatures before!"
"Really? Where?"
"When I met with the shadow man. He said he had friends on the other side and then dark shadows appeared, changing me into," Naveen pointed to himself, "well, this."
Donald crossed his arms, his feather's ruffling. "The shadow man has connections to the heartless?"
Putting Naveen and Tiana down on a nearby branch, Sora gestured for Donald and Goofy to come closer. Once the three friends were huddled up, he whispered.
"So, there's still trouble brewing, and the worlds aren't at peace after all?"
"We can't do anything about it until we find a way out of this swamp," Donald said.
"Do ya think the shadow man and the guy in the black coat we saw, are the same person?" Goofy asked.
"If there are heartless in this world, we would need to find and seal the keyhole before they do some real damage," Jiminy said.
"You're right," Sora agreed.
The meeting was over. Sora picked up Naveen and Tiana, smirking when he noticed Naveen winking at Tiana and her giggling behind her hand in turn.
"My friend," Naveen said when he jumped on Sora's head. "You have the most unusual hair."
"Uh, thanks?"
"No, it is I that should be thanking you."
In the bayou, where the marsh water got deeper and the shadows of the trees were so thick they resembled hulking giants, a decrepit river boat lay half sunken in the muck. It was there that the crocodiles had returned to. They walked over the molded, creaking wood, slithering into a room that was slanted sideways. A worn out ottoman sat in the corner of the room. A woman's shoe sat on the ottoman, the heel bouncing back and forth.
"Brutus, Nero," a singsong voice called.
If anyone had heard the nauseatingly forced sweetness in that voice, they would have had their hairs stand on end, but the two crocodiles wagged their tails, teeth peeling back in a grin. They ran toward the bobbing foot.
A woman peeled away from the shadows. Sharp, wide, green eyes hidden under layers of thick, purple eyeshadow, her skin looked as though it were stretched too tight over her narrow face, and with long, thin, red lips peeled back to show a set of rather large front teeth, she could make any child cry. Yet, the crocodiles must have found her wolfish grin endearing because they got just close enough for her to hug them.
"My darling pets," the woman sang. Then she grabbed their jaws hard and squeezed. "How dare you come back here, empty handed!"
Though her arms were long and skeletal, the woman slammed the two crocodiles hard onto the creaky floor.
"I ask you two to do one simple thing! Now look at what you've reduced me to." She leaned dramatically over her couch. "How am I ever to get my diamond now, having to rely on these two idiots?"
Someone laughed. The woman rose up from her chair, grabbing a rifle that had been leaning against her couch and pointing it in the air.
"Who's there?"
"Now is that any way to treat a friend," said a deep, husky voice.
Though the interior of the room was dim, a shadow moved across the floor. It slithered to the wall where a single candle shown flickering, weak, brown light against the old wood of the room. The shadow straightened, revealing the thin silhouette of a tall man with a cane and top hat.
"I'm here to help you get what you want." The shadow stretched out its hand, and the shape of a giant gem appeared in its palm.
The woman rose to her feet. "My diamond?"
The shadow chuckled. "Yes. Follow my advice, and you'll have what you want before midnight."
The woman tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Get on with it?"
"Just follow the lead from my friends on the other side."
Dreams were a strange thing. Each time Sora opened his eyes, he felt as though he were forgetting something very important. Warnings and whispers from somewhere, a voice, familiar and yet mysterious all the same always spoke to him when his eyes were closed, but whenever he woke up, catching those memories was as difficult as holding onto air. Yet, there was one thing that Sora remembered when he woke up after a brief doze in the swamp: a voice he knew.
"Giving up already? Come on, Sora."
Sora opened his eyes to see Naveen and Tiana staring at him. He blinked and then swatted the two of them off his forehead.
"Ah! Don't do that!"
Tiana landed gracefully on his shoe, while Naveen flopped to the ground.
"You can really fall asleep in the strangest of places," Tiana tsked.
"You said it," Donald said.
Sora gave him an annoyed look, but it was totally wasted. Donald wasn't looking at his direction. Rather, he was throwing fireballs out over the grey lilly pads in the distance.
Something pat him on the head and a moment later, Jiminy, yawning, landed on the ground in front of Sora.
"Gosh. It's so dark here, that even I can't help falling asleep every so often. We should be more careful and set up a watch, just in case danger comes by."
Sora stood. "You're right, there's no time to rest when there's heartless around. Besides, we still have to keep an eye out for Riku and the king."
"What will you do when you find your friends?" Tiana asked.
"Go back home."
"And we need to go back to our castle with the king," Donald added.
"Still," Sora sighed, "I wish we had a clue as to where to find them."
"Don't worry, Sora. We just have to trust in our hearts and I know we will find em," Goofy said.
And with that, the three friends were back to exploring the bayou. The deep murky waters spawned countless heartless as the three friends twisted and turned each corner in search of the keyhole, Riku, and the King. They searched until their stomach's gave the loudest, deepest growl ever.
Donald and Goofy hung their heads, while Sora couldn't help grinning through a deep blush.
Tiana laughed. "When was the last time you ate?"
Donald groaned and fell flat to the floor. "I can't remember."
Tiana landed on the bayou floor and began looking around. Within minutes, she had found a pumpkin, a mushroom, and some herbs. "How about some swamp gumbo?"
Naveen leaned back against the roots of a tree trunk. "Sounds delicious, I'll start with a pre-dinner cocktail and something to nibble on while I wait."
"No, no, no." Tiana picked up a sharp rock. She walked over to Naveen, pulled him up and put the rock in his hands. "Royal Highness, you are going to mince these mushrooms."
"Sorry, do what?"
"Mince the mushrooms. Go on. And the three of you," Tiana pointed to Sora, Donald and Goofy, "are going to go out there and find me some okra, some parsley, and some spicy peppers. Bring those, and I promise you'll have the most delicious pumpkin gumbo you've ever tasted."
That was all the motivation Donald needed. He blurred back on his feet and ran ahead into the forest. Sora and Goofy bade farewell to Tiana and chased after Donald to begin the search.
"I've never actually done something like this before," Naveen said to Tiana as the three friends left. Slowly, he cut the mushroom into slices. "Back in the castle, everything was done for me."
"Oh, poor baby," Tiana said as she started a fire under the pumpkin.
"I admit it was a charmed life until my parents cut me off and then I realized," he looked at the mushroom sadly, "I don't know how to do anything."
Tiana giggled, picking up the chopped mushrooms from the rock Naveen had been cutting them on. "Well, you're pretty good at mincing. Keep at it and I just might hire you for my restaurant."
Naveen's face brightened. "Really?"
"Nope."
"Oh, that's not funny, that was hitting deep beneath the frog belt."
He continued to cut the next set of mushrooms with a smile on his face, while Tiana happily hollowed out the pumpkin.
It took some looking and a few more encounters with some heartless, but eventually, Sora, Donald and Goofy, each with an ingredient in hand were on their way back to Naveen and Tiana. Goofy was already licking his muzzle, and Donald looked down at the parsley in his hands dreamily, ready to bite it.
Sora poked Donald's temple.
"Oh no you don't. We have to get these ingredients to Tiana."
"Oh just one bite wouldn't hurt."
Before Sora could say no, a shrill cry shook the tree branches around them.
"HELP!"
Putting away their ingredients, the three friends followed the voice and came upon a pile of heartless. Underneath their black shadowy claws and feet was a woman and she was kicking and screaming.
Donald and Goofy charged, ramming the heartless off the woman and into the air. Sora followed up, jumping and slashing each heartless on his way down. Landing on his feet, he helped the woman up and told her to take cover while he joined Donald and Goofy in defeating the remaining heartless.
A few moments later, they stood in an empty clearing and the woman approached the three of them.
Fixing her feather boa and smoothing out her strange, red hair, the woman clapped her hands together. "Oh thank you, dears! I don't know what I would have done without you."
She leaned so close to Sora, that he couldn't help taking several steps back.
"Why are here, ma'am?"
"Ah, Medusa, Madame Medusa. I'm here looking for my deer, sweet girl! She's lost somewhere in this swamp and I came to look for her but then those creatures attacked me."
"Little girl? Why would she be out in this swamp?"
"You see, when I was a young woman, I lost a diamond in this swamp. It was my greatest treasure until my little girl came into my life. When she found out about the diamond and how much I loved it, my dear sweet thing came to this swamp to find it." Medusa put her hand on her forehead. "Oh, she came because she cares for me, but I can't imagine what would happen to her with all those creatures around! I just want her to be safe."
"Do you have any idea where she could be?"
"Yes! The underwater caves where I lost my diamond! I'm sure she's headed there. Oh what will I do if the tide comes in and washes her away!"
"We'll go look for her."
Medusa's eyes became wide. "You will? Oh thank you so much!"
"Wait, Sora," Goofy interrupted. "We can't just leave Naveen and Tiana behind. They need our help too."
"Then we'll go get them first and then we can help Madame Medusa."
"Can't you just hurry up to the caves?" Madame Medusa snapped, growling. Then her face wrinkled more as she smiled. "I am just so worried about my girl! Here."
She shoved a map into Sora's hands.
Opening it, Sora saw a picture of the bayou. The area where the swamp connected with the sea was circled in red lipstick, an arrow pointing to the location of the underwater caves.
"I will meet you at the caves. Please hurry."
She walked out of sight before Sora could stop her.
Carefully, the three friends returned to Naveen and Tiana. The scent of savory soup wafted to their noses as they got closer, all but erasing their promise to Madame Medusa.
Naveen was standing on the pumpkin with Tiana, sprinkling his minced vegetables into the soup. He winked all the while, leaning making jokes that left Tiana giggling as she cooked. Sora, Donald and Goofy gave their vegetables to Tiana and told her about their encounter with Madame Medusa while she finished cooking the gumbo.
"I see. Well, let's eat first and then head over to the caves."
With a tiny ladle made out of wood, she scooped up soup into some bowl shaped leaves and handed them out to Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy. Naveen ate out of a hollowed out acorn, and the moment he finished his meal, he asked for seconds.
"That was magnificent! You truly have a gift for cooking," he said as Tiana poured him another bowl.
She blushed. "Well, thank you. Though I couldn't have done it without your help."
"Ah well, I admit, working hard for something does make it sweeter."
Donald and Goofy, having already completely slurped up their meal, leaned closer to Naveen and Tiana. They wore the goofiest, dreamiest smiles.
Noticing her audience, Tiana went back to stirring the soup, her cheeks pink.
Sora stared at the red liquid in his leaf-bowl and then brought it up to his lips. A sour-sweet, and savory soup melted in his mouth and then he completely understood why Donald and Goofy had wolfed it down. Even he asked for seconds as soon as he was finished.
As the trio ate, Jiminy looked up from his soup. "Say, Sora, do you find it strange that there's a missing girl in this swamp?"
Swallowing a mouthful of gumbo, Sora nodded. "Now that you mention it, yeah. It is strange."
"That Madame Medusa, should we trust her? She seemed a bit suspicious to me"
"She can't be all bad. She was being attacked by heartless, and if there really is a girl in danger here, I can't just leave her."
"Right," Donald agreed, "but Jiminy has a point. We should be careful."
"I say we go look fellars. It's the right thing to do. We did say we would help."
"Okay," Sora said, "we'll go check out the caves, but keep your eyes peeled."
Jiminy's Journal
Naveen (First appeared in The Princess and The Frog, 2009): Prince of Maldonia. He's a bit of a slacker and a ladies man, but he is also easy going and loves new experiences. After getting turned into a frog, he's traveling with Tiana to find a way to become human again.
Tiana (First appeared in The Princess and The Frog, 2009): A hard working girl from New Orleans, Tiana believes that hard work is the best way to make her dreams come true. She became a frog after kissing Naveen, and she will be doing her best to change back into a human again.
Brutus and Nero (First appeared is The Rescuers, 1977): A pair of crocodiles that haunt the bayou and picked a fight with Sora, Donald and Goofy. They are vicious and love the taste of frogs.
Madam Medusa (First appeared is The Rescuers, 1977): A gaudy woman that is looking for something in the swamp. She seems a little unstable.
Chapter 3: Chapter 2: The Caves
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 2: The Caves
Madame Medusa stood on top of a rocky shore. She smiled when Sora, Donald, Goofy, Naveen and Tiana arrived, though none of them seemed to notice the annoyed tapping of her foot, or how her lips twitched as though holding her smile was painful.
"There you are! Thank goodness you've arrived."
Madame Medusa pulled out her handkerchief and blew her nose so loudly that Donald couldn't help but grit his teeth together.
"My poor girl! I can hear her voice coming from here." Medusa pointed to an opening in the rocks. "She's in the caves below and refuses to come out until she finds my diamond. I would go in there to stop her but, I don't fit into the opening."
Fat tears rolled down Medusa's cheeks and she lost her balance, swaying back and forth, her pear shaped body bouncing with the motion.
A voice echoed from the caves below.
"Hello? Is anyone up there?"
Madame Medusa cried out. "Oh! There she is! Can you hear me, darling? Are you all right down there?"
"I don't know where I am," called the voice.
One nod from Donald and Goofy was all Sora needed.
"Ma'am. We'll go down there and look for her."
"Oh look for my diamond! It's called the Devil's Eye and it's as large as a baseball." Madame Medusa said excitedly, her eyes focusing into sharp, green needles as she narrowed her gaze. Then, just as quickly, her sobs returned. "I just know my girl will leave the caves if she has it. Oh, why does she have to be so stubborn!"
"Stay out here and watch for the tide," Sora said, "we'll be back."
Carefully, he, Donald and Goofy slipped into the hole. The rock was rough one moment and then slippery the next and Sora yelped as he slid down and down in a limestone tube until he skidded to a stop in an underground cave. Something thumbed hard on his back and Sora slammed face first into the ground as Goofy crashed into him. Donald came next, slamming Goofy down on top of Sora leaving the poor boy to slam his hand against the ground to get their attention.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
"Gosh, sorry Sora."
After helping him up, Goofy and Donald went deeper into the cave. Sora dusted off his shirt and pants. Something dripped on his nose. Looking up, he saw water dripping from the stalactites on the ceiling. The droplets echoed into the tunnels that led deeper into the caves. Seawater leaked in from holes big and small in the cave system, flooding into little lakes and underground rivers.
"Wooow," Donald whistled.
He was leaning over a pool of water and something shiny was reflecting on his face.
Getting closer, Sora peered in.
"Ashidanza!" Naveen sang.
The bottom of the puddle, deep below the surface, was shiny with gold and jewels. Donald couldn't help reaching in. He splashed headfirst into the water, and then kicked his feet. Sora grabbed Donald's webbed feet and pulled. The two of them fell hard against the cave floor.
"Snap out of it! We have a girl to find, remember?"
Donald shook the water from his head. "R-right. I knew that."
"But where should we start lookin' fellars?"
Just as Goofy asked, there was a cry from one of the cave tunnels. The three friends and two frogs hurried toward the sound, ducking and weaving through narrow passageways until they exited out into another large chamber. This time, there were piles of treasure in every corner. Donald clapped his hands excitedly.
"There's loads of stuff here!"
Naveen hopped off Sora's shoulder and picked up the nearest coin, winking at his reflection.
"And just what do you think you're doing with that," Tiana huffed, joining him on the floor.
"What? Surely, the cave can afford to let go of one."
"Exactly," Donald laughed, "one, two, or maybe a hundred."
He got close to the pile of jewels in the corner of the room, and reached for the red sparkling ruby that lay right at the top. The cave shook before he could wrap his fingers around it. Stalactites came lose from the ceiling, stabbing into the cave floor by Sora, Tiana and Naveen. Scooping up the two frogs, Sora dodged and ducked while Goofy and Donald chased after him, screaming all the while.
The cave stopped rumbling as they reached the opening to another tunnel. Above, light shone down from a hole that had opened up when one of the larger stalactites fell loose. "Hello? Anyone down there," Medusa called.
Sora looked up and saw her sticking her head through the hole in the ceiling.
"Have you found my diamon-my girl?"
"No. She must be deeper in the caves."
"Well, hurry it up! The tide is getting higher up here."
"Right." Sora glared at Donald.
Donald laughed sheepishly.
"No more distractions. We've got a girl to save."
Casting one mournful look back at the treasure, Donald followed Sora and Goofy. Deeper and deeper into the caves the friends went, lured by the distant cries of Madame Medusa's girl. With the help of Naveen and Tiana scouting ahead, the three friends were able to navigate the labyrinth of caves by squeezing through tiny passages, climbing up tough rock walls and sliding down slippery hills until they came upon a dead end cavern.
Something clattered under Sora's feet. He looked down and gasped. Donald jumped up on top of Goofy's shoulders. Bones littered the cave floor, gold and jewels glittering between the old, grey remains of countless pirates and adventurers.
"Sora, look there," Naveen pointed.
Up ahead, at the very end of the cave, something was glittering through the eye of a skull. Carefully, Sora approached it, and peeked into the skull through the eye socket. Sitting in the skull was the shiniest jewel Sora had ever seen, the glittering of the gem's facets nearly blinding him.
The Devil's eye.
He grabbed the skull, and the cave lurched. Water splashed up from the underground rivers on the sides of the caves and once again, the roof crumbled. When the shaking stopped, a child stood in the middle of the cavern.
Sora, Donald and Goofy approached her. The girl's eyes were glued to the floor.
"Are you Madame Medusa's girl?" Sora stretched his hand out to her. "We should get out of here, it's not safe."
Slowly, the girl lifted her head. Her eyes were glowing yellow.
A blast of wind sent the three friends back toward the cave wall, as dark ink dripped from the top of the girl's head down to her tiny shoes. Her black body became a blob of goo that stretched and changed shape, the blurry edges sharpening into a two headed, black crocodile that darted forward and snapped its jaws inches away from Sora's chest.
Jumping back, Sora put the Devil's eye in his pocket and summoned his keyblade. The two headed crocodile roared, revealing a heart shaped symbol in its mouth. A heartless.
The crocodile reared back, opened one of its mouths and tried to snap at Sora but was blocked by Goofy, who had jumped in front of Sora just in time for the crocodile's teeth to clamp down on his shield. With one head's mouth full, Sora jumped on the other head and smacked it hard with his keyblade.
The crocodile rolled, throwing Sora and Goofy off. The movement sent Naveen and Tiana flying from Sora's shoulders. They landed on the floor with barely enough time to hop out of the crocodile's way. The heartless regained its balance and spat out Goofy's shield, turning its head toward a dizzy Goofy and Sora.
"Blizzard!"
Blocks of ice rained down on the heartless, stunning it. Regaining their feet, Sora and Goofy charged. The three friends engaged the heartless, until Sora's knees splashed in water.
"We can't stay here much longer! The tide's coming in!"
No sooner had he said it when the heartless' jaws clamped down on Donald. He screamed, using his staff to keep the crocodile's teeth from crushing him, but the other crocodile head darted forward to try and snap his staff away. Goofy threw his shield at the heartless's jaw, trying to distract it, while Sora jumped on top of the head that was trying to swallow Donald. He jammed his keyblade into its mouth and tried to grab Donald's hand, but the head was trashing around so much he could barely hold on.
From down below, Naveen and Tiana watched the battle nervously. The crocodile eventually grew tired of Goofy's shield in his face. It threw a muscular arm in his direction and trapped Goofy under its hand.
"We have to do something," Tiana said.
"Well, you're the chef. Come up with a recipe for success!"
"Up there!"
Tiana pointed to the cave ceiling. The two frogs climbed the ceiling until they were hanging upside down above the heartless. Tiana stopped in front of a stalagmite that was cracked at the base.
"I need you to grab Sora as soon as this falls."
"Of course," Naveen stuck out his tongue.
Tiana kicked with all her might. The stalactite's crack became deeper and deeper until the entire structure shook, inches away from tearing from the ceiling.
"Now!"
Naveen's tongue darted down, wrapping around Sora's wrist and pulling him up into the air. With one more kick from Tiana, the stalactite fell, stabbing one of the heartless' heads, disorienting the creature and leaving its other head to turn and show concern. Seeing the opening, Sora called his keyblade back from within the heartless' jaw. He pulled his keyblade back over hid head and then slammed it hard onto the heartless's back as he fell.
A crack echoed through the caves. The heartless screamed, spitting out Donald into the puddly cave floor. Thrashing, the heartless' body crumbled like a sand castle turning into dust, freeing Goofy as the hand holding him down disintegrated. Panting, the three friends reunited with the frogs.
"Thanks," Donald said.
"A-hyuck! That's twice you two have saved us now."
"Really," Sora gasped, "we owe you one."
Naveen gave them a princely grin, while Tiana put her hands on her hips triumphantly, but there was no time to celebrate. The water level now up to Sora's waist.
Jiminy waved Naveen and Tiana back into Sora's hood. "We'd better skedaddle!"
The trio dashed out of the caves. Donald led the way, using blizzard spells to freeze the water that threatened to engulf them and easily sliding through smaller openings while Sora and Goofy jumped and crawled their way until they came upon the cavern with the hole in the ceiling.
The water had crawled all the way up to Sora's shoulders and Goofy's chest. They approached the slide they had entered from and felt the sudden terrifying feeling of something icy in their stomachs. The entrance had caved in. They were trapped.
There was a call from above.
"Did you find the diamond," Madame Medusa demanded.
Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the skull that had the Devil's Eye inside.
Medusa threw down a rope. Quickly, Sora, Donald and Goofy climbed up and out of the caves, collapsing onto the wet, coral floor of the cove. The skull rolled out of Sora's hand, breaking onto the shore and revealing the diamond with. While he was disoriented, Madame Medusa snatched the diamond.
"Ah! The Devil's eye! Filled with power for its owner! It's mine at last! And you three, I must thank you for a job well done."
Sora rolled over, rage bubbling in his thoughts, until he felt a boiling terror in his gut. Medusa leered down at him, barring her overly large front teeth. She pulled out a long rifle from under her coat and aimed, her finger tightening on the trigger.
"No!"
Naveen and Tiana sprang out of Sora's hood, landing on Medusa's face and covering her eyes. Madame Medusa reeled backward, her rifle firing into the air.
She shrieked. "AH! Disgusting! Get them off! Brutus! Nero! Help!"
The two crocodiles that had been stalking them in the bayou jumped out of from under the cove water and attacked Sora, Donald and Goofy, distracting the trio long enough for Medusa to get a slippery hold on Naveen and Tiana and throw them into the water.
Sora jumped when Nero snapped at him. He leapt over the crocodile's back and grabbed the Devil's eye from Medusa's hand.
"Guys! Let's get out of here!"
With one powerful shove of his shield, Goofy threw off the two crocodiles, grabbed Donald and chased after Sora. The waves rose, ready to swallow the three friends into the sea as they raced back toward the swamp.
"Get back here, you brats! Give me back my diamond! Brutus, Nero!"
The crocodiles were catching up fast. Mid run, Donald threw a fire spell behind them and clocked one of the crocodiles in the face. It rolled in the water, trying to douse the fire, but it did nothing to stop Medusa and the other crocodile from advancing.
She fired her rifle and Sora felt the bullet whiz by his ear. They were running out of rocks and the water was too ferocious to swim through.
"Look there!" Tiana pointed to some rocks on their left side. "An airboat!"
Sora, Donald and Goofy changed directions, reaching the boat and hoping on.
Sora grabbed the controls.
Donald held onto his seat with a death grip. "Can you really drive this thing?"
"Like driving a gummy ship. Do you have a better idea?"
Letting out a sniveling wail, Donald closed his eyes and Goofy helped Sora pull the stuck lever into gear. The airboat grumbled and then roared to life as the fan began to spin. Madame Medusa was steps away, struggling to load another round in her riffle.
Sora punched it. The airboat launched forward on the swamp water, but they weren't in the clear. Seconds into moving away, Goofy felt something tug on the boat and turned around to look in horror as both Brutus and Nero had snapped down on a rope that was attached to the the underbelly of the airboat. Even worse, Madame Medusa was balancing herself on the crocodiles, sliding along the top of the water as though she were on makeshift skis.
"Uh, Sora, we've got a problem!"
Sora looked over his shoulder. "Well then do something about it!"
Donald shrieked. "SORA! TREE!"
Turning back around, Sora took a hard left, nearly avoiding crashing. Naveen whooped from Sora's hood, but Tiana's eyes were on Madame Medusa, and how she was carefully pulling herself forward on the rope. She took the initiative, landing on Donald's shoulder.
"Now would be a good time for some magic, Duck."
"That's Donald Duck! Goofy! Aim your shield at the crocodiles!"
Goofy raised his shield and waited for the signal. Orange firelight glowed on the tip of Donald's staff. Donald breathed deep, gathering energy. The glow at his staff became brighter, molten lava gathering from the air, into a ball of fire. Donald threw his arm back like a golf club ready to swing.
"NOW! Firaga!"
Donald flung his arm, and the fireball zoomed through the air. Goofy hurled his shield and it ping-ponged hard on each crocodile's head before returning back to his hand. Brutus and Nero thrashed their heads, eyeballs rolling in their skulls. Donald's firaga flew straight at a Medusa, who was too busy trying to balance on two shaky crocodiles to block it.
Her coat caught on fire and her rifle shot, completely against her wishes. The bullet struck the airboat's fan, jamming it. Sora lost control, and the airboat buckled, skidding left and right.
"Everybody jump!"
The trio dived straight into the swamp water, and just in time. The airboat zigzagged across the water, crashing into a group of trees, with Brutus, Nero, and Madame Medusa right behind it. From under the water, Sora Donald and Goofy saw the surface blaze orange. They resurfaced from beneath the water, watching the remains of the airboat as it burned and sank into the swamp.
Medusa and her crocodiles were no more.
The three friends swam back to the bank of the swam and collapsed onto the swamp floor, gasping.
"Woo, boy! Y'all sure made a ruckus," someone said.
Sora and Goofy looked around for the owner of that deep, raspy voice, but it was Donald that caught their attention. He swatted a spec of light in the air, just in front of his beak, but the light was small and tricky, and easily slipped between his fingers.
"Aw, come on now, you don't have to swat me like that!"
Sora grabbed Donald's arm. He squinted at the tiny light and realized it wasn't a light at all, but a firefly with very crooked teeth.
"Thank you kindly," the firefly bowed. "My name Raymond!" He wrote out his name in the air, with his bright behind. "But everybody call me Ray."
Naveen hopped onto Sora's shoulder. "Your accent is funny no?"
"I'm a Cajun bro! What y'all doin' here?"
Now it was Tiana's turn to hop onto Sora's shoulder. "Prince Charming here, got us turned into frogs by a voodoo witch doctor and we just barely escaped from a crazed swamp hag."
Ray nodded and rested his elbow on Naveen's head. "Well there ya go."
"You are not surprised friend?"
"I have been round these parts a bit. Seen all kinds o' strange, especially with Mama Odie in the swamp."
"Who's Mama Odie," said Sora.
Ray flew up right between Sora's eyes and buzzed excitedly, "She got magic, and spells and all kinds of hoodoo."
Tiana jumped. "Wait! Do you think she can change us back into humans?"
"Shoo, of course she can! She can do lots, that Mama Odie."
"Could you take us to her?"
"Course I can!"
Naveen grabbed hold of Tiana and spun her around.
Ray put his fingers in his mouth and whistled and the trees behind him light up with a thousand stars.
Naveen stared into the lights, his eyes wide. "Ashidanza!"
"Me an' my relationshionals will show you da way! You ready to go?"
Tiana and Naveen nodded.
"Guess this is where we part ways. Thank you for all your help, Sora, Donald, Goofy," Tiana said.
"I feel like we should be thanking you guys more," Sora grinned.
Naveen bowed. "If it weren't for you, my friends, we would have been hiding from those two crocodiles forever. Safe travels. The next time we meet, Tiana and I will be humans again."
Goofy bowed back. "Are you sure you don't want us to go to Mama Odie's with ya?"
Ray buzzed up to Goofy's eyes and flew left and right.
"Now see here! Me and my family will take good care of them, for sure! Trust me."
Goofy giggled. "All right Ray." Then he went to Sora and took the two frogs into his hands. "We'll miss you, Your Highness. Ms. Tiana."
Tiana hugged Goofy's thump and Naveen bowed once more.
Next Tiana jumped on Donald's beak and kissed him between the eyes. Donald blushed.
Sora shook Naveen's tiny hand and then lifted him and Tiana onto a tree branch.
"Take care of them, Ray," Sora said.
Ray nodded and then turned to all the tiny fireflies in the trees. "All right, y'all! Let's light da way!"
Sora, Donald and Goofy saw the lights dance and watched Naveen and Tiana hopping behind the fireflies into the trees, until both the fireflies and the little frogs had completely disappeared.
"We'd better get back to the door we came through. I don't think there's anything else we can do in this world."
Before they could even move, Donald yelped up into the air and landed in Goofy's arms, bellowing, "Snake!"
Sora pulled out his keyblade, looking around. A green python slithered on the floor between his feet. Sora lifted his weapon, ready to strike.
"Now, why y'all so jumpy? Calm down. It's only Juju, my seeing eye snake."
From between the shadowy trees, a white spark of light illuminated an old woman. She practically glided over the dew covered ferns and mushrooms till she was standing on the bank with Sora, Donald and Goofy, the light emanating from her walking stick glinting off her golden earrings. The python slithered up the old woman's leg and rested across her shoulders like a boa.
"Now, which one of you children got rid of the crazy swamp lady."
Sora, Donald, Goofy, all smiled nervously.
"Excuse me, ma'am" said Sora, "but who are you?"
"You can call me Mama Odie."
"Mama Odie? But Naveen and Tiana just went into the swamp looking for you!" Sora turned around. "We have to go get them."
"Don't you fret, young man. I'll find them two in no time. I just wanted to catch y'all before you left."
"Us?" Sora exchanged a look with Donald and Goofy.
"Yes. I know you're not from round here." She pointed to Sora's keyblade. "You're the keybearer. And there's something you should know."
Cold air caressed Sora's neck. "What is it?"
"There used to be a great shadow in this world, but now its left."
"You mean, the heartless we fought."
"That's part of it. No. I'm talking about the shadow man."
"The one that cursed Naveen and Tiana?" Donald asked.
"The very same. Be careful on your journey. Dangerous one that. If he's not in this world, he may be in another." Mama Odie walked past the three friends into the forest.
"Wait!" Sora called after her. "What about Naveen and Tiana. They want to become human again."
Mama Odie sang. "Prince froggy was a rich little man, he wants to be rich again, but money aint got no heart, money aint got no soul. Would that really make him happy? And little Tiana works hard for what she wants, but doesn't know what she needs." She turned to face Sora. "There's a difference between what they want and what they need. They need a princess' kiss to become human again, but there are no more princesses left in this world."
Donald and Goofy hung their heads and groaned.
"But they worked so hard to find you!"
"Now calm down. I never said there isn't a way to break the spell. You listen to your mama now." Mama Odie smiled mischievously. "I'm sure you've noticed, haven't you?"
"Noticed what?"
"That Miss Froggy and Prince Froggy may already have everything they need to change back?"
Goofy covered his mouth. Deep, chuckles escaped from between his fingers. Donald let out a long, "oooh" and then joined in on the laughter. Sora frowned.
"But, you said only a princess's kiss would change them back."
"Uh huh, and whoever becomes Prince Froggy's wife will be a," she put out her hand, inviting Sora to complete the sentence.
But Sora didn't need to finish her thought. His chest filled with warmth as he remembered how Tiana blushed, how Naveen loved her cooking, and, in his heart, he knew they would be all right.
"Right. Thanks, Mama Odie."
"Oh, and one more thing." With her walking stick, Mama Odie pointed upward toward the sky.
Up above, the brightest star in the sky flickered. Sora stared at it, watching it glow brighter and brighter until the light from the star slowly morphed into a familiar shape. A transparent keyhole hung in the sky. Automatically, Sora felt his keyblade materialize in his hands. He aimed it toward the sky, and a beam of light shot out, piercing the heavens and connecting with the keyhole. A clicking sound echoed across the sky and a sense of peace enveloped the world and the keyhole was locked tight.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The door wouldn't budge. Knocking hadn't worked, pulling hadn't worked, neither did kicking it with all her strength. She had even tried asking nicely! Worse, after days of trying to force it open, the door was perfectly pristine, as though it had never been touched.
Panting, Kairi sat down onto the cave floor and leaned her head back. Up above her was a tiny opening that let sunlight through. She looked around the cave walls, at all the pictures that the children on the island had scribbled onto the walls. There really was nothing extraordinary or strange on the island, except for this cave, and the strange door on the wall that had no knob or keyhole.
Kairi knew that door. It had thrown her off the island, the same dark night her world had been destroyed and her heart had sought refuge inside of Sora's. She was sure this was her way to other worlds. A way off the island. A raft wasn't good enough.
She stared at the scribbles on the walls, her eyes falling, for the thousandth time, on picture she and Sora and drawn together when they were little.
"I won't give up, Sora," she huffed and puffed, "I'll find you and Riku. Somehow."
Defeated for another day, but refusing to give up, Kairi left the cave with the mysterious door and exited out into the sunny day above the Destiny Islands. She stood in front of the little entrance to the secret cave, watching two boys on the beach.
They were throwing a ball back and forth on the shore. A little ways away, a girl in a yellow sundress sat on a the tiny pier, watching the two boys with a shake of her head.
Kairi walked down to the pier and sat down next to the girl. They sat in silence for a while, staring out into the waves. Kairi smiled, thinking about the day she and Sora had sat there, talking about what they would do when they got to see other worlds together. And now he was off out there, searching all the worlds without her.
The girl curled her brown hair with her finger. "You've been going to that cave a lot lately."
Kairi watched the two boys aggressively thrown their ball back and forth. The smaller of the two boys was attempting to kick the ball back to his friend in the middle of a headstand, except he kept missing and falling onto his back in the sand.
"What are Tidus and Wakka trying to do?" Kairi asked the girl.
"Trying to come up with a new ball game. I wish," the girl covered her mouth, "never mind."
Kairi smiled, even though her heart ached. "I know. You wish that Sora and Riku were here to help them with their game."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Selphie. I'm sure they'll be back someday. I'm sure of it."
"How can you be so sure?"
"We came back didn't we?" Kairi nudged her. "So there has to be a way for them to come back home too." Then to herself, Kairi said, "I have to keep believing that."
Selphie picked up the jump rope that was sitting at her side. "I hope so. I'm going to go help those two dummies before they lose their ball in the ocean!"
Kairi watched Selphie join Tidus and Wakka, watched the three of them play until the sun set, and then said goodbye when they each rode off to the main island in their boats. Alone, she stared out into the sea, remembering how the world reshaped itself after Sora and his friends had put it back together.
She had seen him, standing on the edge of the horizon before the sky reappeared and he was swallowed up by the sun. What was beyond their world, Kairi wondered. What world was the closest to theirs?
A lonely, perfectly round, island stood out of the water to her left. On the island was a tree, and on the tree were sweet, star shaped fruit. Legends said that if two people share the fruit, their destinies were intertwined and they would remain part of each other's lives, no matter what.
"No matter what." Kairi faced the entrance to the hidden cave.
Night was coming, and even though she would be in trouble for not going back to the main island, Kairi just had a feeling that the dark of the night would open the door. She entered the cave just as the sun completely set behind her.
Jiminy's Journal
Mama Odie (First Appeared in the Princess and the Frog, 2009): A kind, blind old vodoo priestess that lives in the Bayou with her seeing eye snake, Juju. She's zany and wise and won't give you want you want but will remind you about what you need.
Ray (First Appeared in The Princess and the Frog, 2009): A brave little Cajun firefly that lights up the bayou with his shiny behind. He's a reliable guide.
Kairi (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts, 2002): Sora's childhood friend and one of the seven princesses of heart. She returned to the destiny islands after Sora's last adventure.
Tidus (First Appeared in Final Fantasy X, 2001): An energetic boy that lives on the Destiny Islands. He's always challenging Sora and Riku to practice fights.
Wakka (First Appeared in Final Fantasy X, 2001): A chill boy that likes to watch the beach at Destiny Islands. He's really good at ball games.
Selphie (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VIII, 1999): A cheerful girl that always sits on the pier, watching the sea. She acts like she's in charge of the other kids a lot of the time.
Pluto (First Appeared in The Chain Gang, 1930): The King's dog and best friend. Pluto is playful and mischievious and has a habit of popping up when you least expect him.
Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Little London
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 3: Little London
"What tiresome little beasts."
Green smoke swirled around in the air, creating a circle. In the middle of the circle, like a window to another world, was the image of the Castle Oblivion's great hall. A boy, a duck and a dog walked out of the castle's dimensional door and looked around the empty space.
"Those fools. And to think they have no idea what they've stepped into."
There was a pompous cackle, followed by another puff of sickening smoke. A woman stood in front of the circle in the air. She smelled of death, both from the cigarette balanced on its holder between her bony fingers and from her puffy, white fur coat, which did nothing except make her skeletal figure look much bigger then it really was.
"Boorish woman. Extinguish that infernal instrument of suffocation."
The fur clad woman turned sharply toward the speaker. A thin, old man in long, black minister's robes turned up his long, crooked nose at her.
"Boorish?" The woman growled. "You're wearing that silly dress and hat and you call me boorish?"
Fury sparked in the man's narrowed eyes, but he did not let his emotions get the better of him. Instead, he elegantly put his fingertips together. "I am not here to partake in your petty goals. I have a much more sacred quest. Spare me the childish squabbling."
Another figure glided into the room, this one even smokier then the woman. Except the smoke came from his black robe, which flowed and swirled at the hem like ashes in the wind. On top of his long head was a blue fire instead of hair. He smiled, revealing a row of shark teeth.
"Can't get any more sacred then me, your holiness." The fire-headed man bowed. Then he turned toward the woman. "I suggest you don't underestimate those brats."
"What can one measly child do?"
"This ain't my first rodeo, ya gaudy fashionista. That little squirt there and his keyblade are annoying news."
The woman shook her cigarette at the man. "I will not be outdone by a child, an overgrown water fowl and a mongrel."
She had to pause to take a breath, on the verge of another complaint, but she did not get the chance to speak. Her smoke window disappeared, obscuring the view of Sora and his friends. The white void that they stood in dimmed slightly as a shadow without an owner moved over the floor. The shadow laughed silently on the ground, circled the woman and the two men before reattaching to a pair of black and white suede shoes.
A lanky man strutted into the space, his cane tapping along with his steps. His shadow did not match his movements. Rather then walking, it danced on the ground as though taunting the rest of the group.
The man bowed, tipping his feathered top hat, revealing a thick head of hair. He wore a maroon, undertaker tailcoat, and a purple vest that seemed too small for him as his midriff was bare. When he spoke, his voice was smooth and throaty, reverberating like a bass cello.
"Now gentleman, and lady, of course. I didn't call you all here for some meaningless squabbling, now did I?"
"No, you promised something in return," said the old man, "and you have yet to keep your end of the bargain."
"Now, Your Grace," the smooth man bowed, "I am a man of my word."
"I do not tolerate witchcraft or those that live outside of the Holy Kingdom of God. Your 'friends' aid had better be worth it."
When the shadow man rose, there was a misty mischievousness in his violet eyes. "Such darkness, Your Grace. I assure my friends will give you exactly what's coming to you."
Sora, Donald and Goofy had entered through the door from the Enchanted Bayou's side and had exited out back into the room they had started in back at Castle Oblivion. Nothing had changed since they left it. The exit hadn't magically reappeared and the only way out of the room was the same door they had just entered from.
Donald and Goofy spoke to each other, while Sora went to each corner of the room, looking for a switch or mechanism. Unfortunately, the walls were perfectly smooth and hospital white; there wasn't a spec of dust out of place that could give him even a hint of a possible secret passage. He tried to knock over one of the decorative pillars in the room, too see if there was anything underneath, but found that it was bolted to the floor. Whacking it with his keyblade hadn't worked, either. He had only succeeded in breaking off a piece of the pillar.
"Something's screwy," Donald began. "How come that door leads to another world? Why were there heartless in there?"
"We may have stopped Ansem, but it's not like we got rid of the darkness." Sora summoned his keyblade, staring at it. "Leon said that the heartless will keep coming after me as long as I wield the keyblade. And the heartless are made of darkness. It we destroyed the darkness, would we have gotten rid of Riku and the King too? Since they were in the heartless realm?"
"We'll just have to rescue the King and Riku before we find a way to get rid of the heartless for good," Goofy offered.
"But how are we going to do that? The only way out of here is through the door we just came from. So what now? Do we go back into the bayou?"
Donald shrugged and Goofy scratched his head.
"We won't get anything done in here," Jiminy said. "Let's go back and see if we can get some advice from Mama Odie. She seemed knowledgeable."
With no better plan, the three friends went back up the stairs and pulled the door open. White light enveloped them like an embrace as they walked through the doorway, but when the brightness faded, they weren't in a misty bayou.
They were standing in an alley between two ornate buildings that towered over them. It was so high that Sora could barely see the grey clouds overhead. A shiny, rain-washed street, with ridiculously large cobblestones lay under his feet and tail.
Tail?
Sora stared. There was a long, thin mouse tail between his faded, yellow shoes. He felt oddly warm, as though he were wearing a wool jacket. When he looked down at his hands, he stiffened in surprise. He had paws, and his skin was covered in a thin layer of ash-brown fur.
Shocked, he smacked his hands on top of his head, which led to another surprise. Velvety soft ears were growing out of his scull. Looking around, Sora spotted a puddle right outside the alley. He ran out into a wide street and looked down into the water.
"I'm a mouse." He pulled at his clothes. Rather then the usual red shorts and blue and white jacket ensemble, he was wearing a burgundy tailcoat with golden buttons, and black trousers.
"Cool! Guys," he turned around and called Donald and Goofy over, "check it out?"
Donald and Goofy weren't mice. They were just smaller versions of themselves. The only thing that had changed was that they were wearing similar style clothes.
"Aw man! Couldn't you guys turn into mice too?"
"Nevermind that," Donald huffed, "where are we?"
The ground vibrated as something came down the road. Turning, Sora saw hooves thundering closer and closer. The three friends ran, but their new tiny legs made it very hard to outrun a horse. Donald and Goofy panicked, crashing into each other. Dizzy, they didn't see the hoof that was about to squash them flat. Sora threw his body at his friends, grabbed them and rolled toward the middle of the horse, between the hooves. He watched as the giant animal, and the wagon it was pulling, passed over them.
Eventually, the horse and carriage stopped further down the side of the road. A man and woman stepped out.
"What a dreary morning," the woman said, opening a parasol even though there wasn't much rain. She walked arm and arm with the elegantly dressed man up the steps to the front of a house that stood next to a street sign that said, "Baker's Street."
"This is the place, my dear." The man knocked on the door.
"Oh I do hope he can help us," the woman cried, "we've no where else to turn."
The door opened and the two of them disappeared inside. Just as they did so, it seemed as though the rest of the world had woken up. More carriages and people appeared on the road. A milkman went from door to door, replacing empty milk bottles with new ones. A man dressed in all black went from lamp post to lamp post, extinguishing all the candles. A boy strolled down the streets, his satchel heavy with newspapers, knocking door to door to make his deliveries. And a little mouse girl ran past Sora, Donald and Goofy with tears in her eyes.
She ran toward the house where the man and woman from the carriage had entered, but she didn't climb up the steps. Instead, she vanished into the bushes next to the stairs. Sora chased after her. Passing between the leaves and branches of the bushes, he found a clearing with a tiny door on the side of the building. The little girl was banging on the door.
"Basil! Basil! Open up!"
Her hand was turning red.
Sora reached forward and grabbed her wrist. She turned around with wide, glassy eyes and then pointed up into the bushes.
"Look out!"
Yellow eyed rats sat on the branches above. Their mouths oozed with purple froth, their fur crumbling as though they were made from ashen paper. One of the rats reeled back. There was a heartless emblem on its chest. The rats' sharp eyes locked on Sora and the little girl.
It flashed across the small space between them like a bolt of black lightening. Sora grabbed the little girl and rolled out of the way, and the heartless slammed against the door. It quickly rolled back onto its feet, squealing like a needle on glass. The sound felt like a screw was being driven into Sora's newer, more sensitive ears. He grit his teeth, shaking his head, his brain feeling like it was swimming in smoke.
At the first sign of his weakness, the heartless attacked. The girl screamed, hiding her face into Sora's tailcoat. Sora pulled out his keyblade and hurled it at the nearest heartless. It sliced through the heartless' open mouth, making it explode into darkness. The rest of the heartless advanced, claws out, teeth dripping with purple venom, and Sora's keyblade didn't return to his hand in time.
It was just then that Donald and Goofy stumbled into the bushes, crashing shield and staff first into the heartless that was inches away from shredding Sora into pieces. The leader heartless was thrown to the side, but other heartless charged. Sora jumped in front of his friends and the girl, raising his keyblade to shield them, but just then the leader heartless had recovered and it charged at them from the side.
Sora had no time to shield himself.
He shut his eyes.
He felt the mist from the heartless' breath, and then heard a thundering blast.
Opening his eyes, Sora watched as the swarm of heartless exploded one by one. The last heartless launched itself at Sora's head, jaws open wide, only to burst into dust a moment later. Behind the heartless stood a handsome, smartly dressed mouse in a deer-stalker hat. A heartless roared at him from the branch above.
The mouse didn't even turn. He simply lifted his pistol over his head and shot. The headless exploded. He gleefully destroyed the remaining heartless, and, after defeating them all, he twirled the pistol, flipping it toward his lips and blowing into the barrel.
"Fine way to test my marksmanship, I must say."
Without looking at Sora, Donald and Goofy, the mouse bent down to inspect the ground where the heartless had been standing. He rubbed some dirt between his fingers, sniffing it.
"Hmm, extraordinary."
The mouse poured the dirt into a glass vial, and then went to the door in the wall, entered the house and slammed the door behind him. The little girl chased after him.
"Basil, wait!"
"Olivia?"
A stout mouse with a mustache entered the tiny clearing. He ran to the little girl. "I say child, what on earth are you doing here?"
Just then, the other mouse stuck out his head from his house. "Dawson, my good chap! I am on the verge of a breakthrough! Come in!"
Dawson glared. "Dash it all Basil, how can you just walk by Olivia and these people?"
Basil squinted at Olivia and then at Sora, Donald and Goofy as though seeing them for the first time.
"Ah, well. Good morning friends. Have you come to ask for the assistance of the great Basil of Baker's street?"
The little girl, Olivia, ran up to Basil. "I need your help! My Daddy's gone."
Basil huffed. "Again? Ms. Flangerhanger-"
"Flaversham!"
"Whatever. Just how many daddies can a little girl lose?"
"I didn't lose him." She stomped her foot. "He was taken! By those creatures!"
The detective's eyes got wide. "Those creatures you say? Well, why didn't you lead with that? You there, young mouse, duck and dog."
Sora wrinkled his nose. "We have names you know."
"Yeah," Donald grumbled, "it's-"
"No time for introductions! Come on in!"
Kairi sat in the middle of the cave, wrapping bandages around the cuts on her fingers and palms. She closed the pocket first aid kit and tucked in back into the travel pouch on her belt. This was her third night in a row sneaking out of the house to come to the door. She had been so sure it would open this time, and had even tried to find a crack between the door and cave wall. Her attempts to pull it open that way had only ended up with a handful of splinters.
Kairi stood and patted the dirt off her purple skirt-shorts. Spreading her feet apart, she pointed at the door.
"I'll get you open one way or another! Just watch! You won't keep me from my friends."
If only brave declarations of not giving up would make the door open. Kairi groaned. In all her years living on the islands, she had never once thought that she were in a prison, but that was when Sora and Riku were with her. Now she could understand Riku's wish to leave.
Just a few months ago, she had planned with Sora and Riku to make a raft, to sail across the ocean and see if they could find another world. She hadn't really wanted to leave the island like the boys had. She went along for the fun of it. She never really expected to be thrown off the islands, or even find the world she had originally come from.
Kairi closed her eyes, imagining Hollow Bastion, the meshwork of old, empty halls and pipes that was where she had been born and where the heartless had appeared for the first time. Questions she had never asked herself before mixed in with worries for Sora and Riku. She had been so happy living on the islands, she had never thought about where she had been born. All she remembered was her grandmother's story. But now she wondered who her parents had been, what Hollow Bastion had looked like before Maleficent had taken over, before Ansem had lost his mind and filled it with heartless. And why was she a princess of light? What exactly did that mean? What role did she have to play?
"I won't learn anything if I'm stuck on this island."
She moved toward the exit of the cave. Just before she got to the tunnel that led to the way out, Kairi turned around to look one more time at the door, hoping it had opened. No luck. With a sigh, Kairi left the caves.
The moonlight cast a silver shadow on top of the seawater. Walking along the beach, she looked out at the island with the paopu tree. She hadn't been to that island since she had come back home, and she refused to go back there until her friends had returned. Still, Kairi wasn't in the mood to go back to the main island. She was too awake to sleep and for the first time ever, she debated not going to school in the morning.
Kairi laughed. Ditching school was something Sora would do. How many times had she and Riku gone to class only see his chair empty. Then they would catch him fishing or napping on the islands. Good-at-everything-Riku would get all of his school work done just so that he wouldn't actually have to go to class, and Kairi, just as lazy as Sora, would do the bare minimum not to get in trouble.
She closed her eyes, imagining the three of them racing on the beach, and spending lazy days watching the sun set. The ocean breeze, still warm even in the night, caressed her skin, and something wet tickled her fingers.
Kairi's eyes snapped open. Turning slowly, she looked down. A dog with a bump on its head was smelling her hand. Catching her eye, the dog rolled over on its back, exposing its belly. Unable to resist, Kairi bent down to pet the dog.
"Now where did you come from?"
The dog panted happily from the belly rubs. Kairi lifted his dog tag and read the name "Pluto."
"Nice to meet you, Pluto."
The dog turned over and began scratching its ear with its hind leg. It was just then that Kairi noticed a letter in the sands.
While Pluto was busy, Kairi reached to pick up the letter. Turning it over, she noticed a mouse-shaped seal. As Kairi opened the letter, the dog went around in a circle before lying down in the sand and closing its eyes.
Sliding the delicate parchment paper out of the letter, Kairi read.
Donald. Goofy.
Things have gotten worse. We may have closed the door, but somewhere in the worlds, there is a machine. A machine made by Ansem shortly before he left his body behind and took over Riku. That machine is still making heartless, and, as long as it is running, more and more people will disappear. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but it doesn't look like I can leave the heartless realm just yet. I need you and Sora to go to Yen Sid. He should be able to tell you of a way to travel between worlds now that they are separate again. I'll try to meet you as soon as I can.
There was no name on the letter, only the same mouse shaped symbol at the bottom, but Kairi didn't care. Stuffing the letter into her pouch, she ran back into the cave, ignoring Pluto's barks as he chased after her. She reached the area with the door and threw her body against it.
Pain stabbed along her arm and shoulder, but Kairi tried again. The second time made her head spin, and she fought the urge to sit down and catch her breath.
"Let me through," she growled.
The door refused. Closing her eyes, Kairi concentrated on the letter.
"Please. I know they're in danger, I can feel it. There has to be something I can do, I can't just wait here. I have to see them again. I will see them again!"
Pluto put his head under her hand, as though trying to comfort her. Kairi patted him absentmindedly.
There was a creak.
The door opened just an inch.
All the sound in the world was silenced. Even her footsteps. As she got closer to the door, Kairi felt light, as though she were about to be blown away. She pulled the door open more and looked inside.
The thing beyond, Kairi could not describe. A mass of energy? An emotion? A place, a time, a core, a heart, a memory? Something, not air, not water, but silky and cold fluttered around her body. She floated in a sea of everything and nothing. It made her want to laugh, cry, and be furious at the same time.
Pluto didn't hesitate. He leaped through the doorway and Kairi didn't look back as she followed. The door slammed back shut behind them.
It didn't take long for Sora to learn that Basil was both incredibly intelligent, and yet irritatingly rude. He watched with an odd sense of fascination as Basil zipped from one end of the room to the other, pulling out books, sipping tea while reading and writing down notes at the same time, looking under a microscope, and muttering all kinds of things while completely ignoring everyone else in the room. Several times he ran past his housekeeper so fast that she had to keep the contents of her tray from falling by balancing it with her tail.
"Have some cheese crumpets dears," said Basil's maid tiredly, putting out tea and sweets for Sora, Donald and Goofy.
While Donald and Goofy happily partook in the treats, Sora moved toward Basil to ask what he was doing. Dawson pulled him back.
"Don't disturb him," Dawson said with a smile, "this is quite normal behavior for him, in fact."
"Huzah! I have it!"
Basil threw a book on the table and opened to a page with a strange black illustration. Getting closer, Sora saw a dark outline of a creature with jagged antennae and claws. A heartless.
"I knew I had seen forms like those creatures before. Listen."
Clearing his throat, Basil began to read.
"'Of all the strange phenomenon reported by London's very own mice, none are stranger then the myth of the shadow spawn.' Fascinating. I surmise that all the missing London mice were taken by these creatures!"
Dawson shook his head. "Creatures of shadow? Are you serious, Basil?"
"My friend, when you have eliminated all other possibilities, what remains, no matter how improbable must be the truth." He continued to read the old book. "Now then. 'These creatures seemingly come out of nowhere, and swallow unsuspecting mice and rats alike, leaving no trace behind.' What a mystery indeed!"
Olivia gave a terrified moan and then pressed her face into her scarf, sobbing.
"Basil," Dawson chastised.
"What?"
Goofy gave Olivia a pat on the head. "Now, now. there's no reason to be upset. I'm sure your daddy's all right."
Olivia peeked at him from under her scarf.
Sora rounded on Basil. "Can't you be a little more sensitive? This is no time to be researching heartless. We have to help her find her Dad."
Basil's eyes got wide. "Heartless you say? Now how do you know what those creatures are called?"
Sora could practically feel Donald's annoyed glare boring into his back. Luckily for him, Basil continued theorizing.
"I must say these creatures are simply fascinating. If I could only capture a live specimen, I could study its behavior patterns."
Immediately, Sora, Donald and Goofy all stood and yelled.
"No!"
Basil gave them a quizzical look. "You three certainly seem familiar with these creatures."
"Uh, what gives you that idea?"
"Elementary, you wouldn't react so intensely unless you had something to hide. Why shouldn't I get to the bottom of these so called heartless?"
Sora waved his hands. "I-it's just a really bad idea."
Basil raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
Sora wasn't sure it would be very smart to tell him what had happened to the last person that had studied the heartless. The worlds didn't need another Ansem.
Once again, Basil did not give Sora the time to think of a good excuse. It seemed as though a few seconds of silence was all Basil could stand before he jumped to the next course of action.
"Very well. Seeing as you three have some experience with these heartless, and since Ms. Flamhammer-"
"Flaversham!"
"-needs some help, I am recruiting you three to aid in this case."
Once again, Sora, Donald and Goofy couldn't get a word in as Basil easily turned his attention to Olivia.
"Now then, lead the way, young lady. Where did you see your father last?"
The ground beneath her feet was strange. It was sounded wet, yet there wasn't any water. The white surface didn't look like rock, or dirt, or stone. She wasn't sure if she were outside, or in a very deep cavern underground. There was no horizon, no sky, and no bottom to the abyss below. Every corner of the world, as far as she could see, ended in blackness.
The air was motionless and lukewarm. The only noise was the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat. The only light came from the eerie purple glow that peeked out like a fungus in the cracks of giant rocks that seemed to jut out of from the darkness.
Kairi didn't know how far she had walked, or even how she had gotten to that place. She was standing on a narrow bridge that seemed to extend endlessly in both directions. Above and below were a spiderwebs of bridges and platforms. If it weren't for the fact that she was sure she was standing right side up, she wouldn't know which way was up or down. Pluto walked by her side, his head down and his tail up, ever vigilant.
This had to be the realm of darkness. The heartless' world. Kairi could feel it. The empty, lonely space around her didn't have the life of nighttime darkness. Even when she lay down to sleep in her dark room, there were stars overhead, an ocean breeze, a cricket chirping, the warmth of her bed sheets, but now it was nothing but a wasteland without sensation.
Kairi took out the letter from her pouch and stared at the mouse shaped seal. She remembered Sora's adventures. Though her heart been torn from her body, she had taken refuge inside Sora's heart, and she had seen the world through his eyes. She watched Sora struggle to find his friends, watched Riku make terrible decisions, and learned about Donald and Goofy's search for their king.
She was sure the letter had been written by the king. She had to find him and tell him that the letter hadn't reached Sora, Donald or Goofy. Then together, they would find a way out of the realm of darkness and deliver the news to their friends.
She walked and walked until Pluto let out a little whine, and her feet ached from hours, or was it days, of walking. Sitting down on the strange ground, with her feet dangling over the deep chasm below, Kairi leaned back. Pluto sat down next to her and she absentmindedly scratched him behind the ear. He put his head in her lap.
"I'm so glad you're here with me."
Pluto let out a happy growl.
"I want to take a break too." She looked out into the ocean of darkness. "This place is huge. I wish I had a map."
Pluto shot up from her lap. He lowered his body, his hackles raised, his ears back, and his fangs barely visible under his quivering lips.
Though there wasn't any noise, Kairi felt something creeping closer, like the rising thunder of an incoming stampede. There was frost in her joints even though there was no change in temperature. A creeping shiver rolled through her, like ants crawling all over her skin.
Pluto barked.
Just a few paces ahead, the air thickened with dark, purple orbs. Out of the lumps of dark smoke, spherical creatures appeared, their pitch-black bodies blending into darkness. The only thing that made their bodies discernible from everything else, were the beady, yellow eyes that locked onto Kairi and Pluto.
Kairi had seen those heartless before. At Hollow Bastion.
The dark balls floated toward them, and Kairi saw the jagged, zizzagged shape of their teeth opening and closing as they got closer. One threw its body at her, and she ducked, feeling the end of the heartless' frayed tentacle pass over her spine.
Her skin itched from the contact. She felt a surge of fear, loathing and sadness flash through her body for a moment and her knees felt weak. Unable to get her legs to move fast enough, Kairi could do nothing but raise her arms and cover her face as another heartless launched itself at her. Purple teeth opened wide in front of her eyes.
Pluto jumped, snapping his jaws down on the heartless' tentacles, pulling it back from Kairi's face just in time. The heartless thrashed, tossing Pluto around like a fish on a hook. Pluto growled, refusing to let go. Kairi tried to grab his tail, to pull him off and run, but the rest of the heartless were closing in, trapping her between them and the bottomless pit below.
The last heartless finally shook Pluto off and the poor dog landed in a heap at Kairi's feet. The swarm of heartless advanced and Kairi walked backward until her heels touched the edge of the platform she was standing on. Which was worse, falling or being devoured?
The heartless attacked.
Kairi dropped down and covered Pluto with her body, gritting her teeth, listening to the sound of scratching bites ripping through the air, getting louder. There was a flash of yellow light. Metal scrapping and thunder banged through her ears, and then she felt the sprinkling of mist falling on her forehead and shoulders.
Looking up, Kairi watched the heartless explode one by one. Electricity zipped in the air before fading out. Then all was silent again.
"Are you okay?"
Kairi gasped, looking around for the owner of the voice.
"Up here."
Looking up, she saw the silhouette of someone standing on the platform above hers. There was a faint glow coming from something in his hand, a yellow spark that slowly dimmed out. The figure jumped down to land in front of her.
As he came closer, he became clearer. He was short, only a head taller then Pluto. Though, when his long, rabbit ears stuck up, he could have been as tall as Kairi's shoulder. Black fur covered his head and ears, but his face was white, with round, curious, black eyes, and a button nose. He wore blue shorts with yellow buttons and a ruffled dress shirt. In his hand was a long, stick made of mahogany wood.
"Cura," the rabbit said.
He lifted the stick in the air, the end glowed a soothing, spring green. The light fluttered around her, small four leaf clovers bursting in the air before they sprinkled over her skin. The glow faded just as quickly as it had appeared. Kairi felt warmer. Completely rejuvenated, she stood.
"Thanks."
Pluto charged, pouncing on the rabbit and throwing him down.
The rabbit screamed.
"Ah! Stop that! It tickles!"
He tried to push Pluto off in between his laughter, but Pluto, his tail wagging so fast it blurred, was determined to give the rabbit all the doggy, slobbery thanks he could muster. Kairi whistled and Pluto lifted his head, running back to her side.
The rabbit stood. He glared at Pluto. His fur stuck out at odd angles, his wide eyes and twitchy nose making him look way too adorably frazzled to be intimidating.
Kairi snorted and had to cover her mouth before she could go into a full on giggling fit. Somehow, it didn't seem very polite to laugh at her possible savior.
"Ewwww." The rabbit whipped the slobber off his face with his sleeve.
"Sorry," Kairi said breathlessly. She had to pinch herself to stop the smiling, but her cheeks refused to come down. "Thank you for saving me."
The rabbit tapped his long foot. "What do you think you're doing in the realm of darkness? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?"
"I had to come here. I'm looking for someone."
All the annoyance dropped from the rabbit's face. "Looking for someone?"
Kairi nodded, reaching into her pouch. "I have to find the person that wrote this letter. Maybe he can help me find my friends."
"You're separated from your friends?"
"Uh huh."
His eyes softened for a moment, and then he shook his head and the grumpy expression returned. "How can you come to the realm of darkness without a weapon? Do you even know any magic spells to help protect you?"
"I, uh, well-"
"What would your friends do if something happened to you while you were in here?"
"But I-"
"Hold out your hand."
"Huh?"
The rabbit grabbed her hand and tapped it with his stick. Kairi felt zapping along her arm like a million static shocks. She pulled her hand back, giving the rabbit a hurt look.
"What was that for?"
The rabbit wasn't listening. He paced back and forth, with a smile on his cute face.
"Right. That's the stuff." He waved his stick in little circles in the air. "You got magic in ya. A lot of it." He pointed at her with his stick. "You can use that."
Kairi looked down at her hands. "You mean, I can perform spells?"
"You want to find your friends, don't ya? You're going to need to learn at least one spell. I'm going to teach you the fire incantation."
Kairi clapped her hands together. "Really? How do I do it?"
"Okay, close your eyes and imagine the sun in your chest."
Kairi did as she was told. In her mind, she saw a fire burning where her heart should have been.
"Now, pretend that sun is moving through you, ready to come out."
The fire in her chest traveled through her veins. Kairi tried to imagine heat moving through her chest to her toes and fingertips, but she didn't feel any warmth.
"Now concentrate the fire in your hand and say the incantation."
Kairi lifted her hand, did as she was told, and said the word, "Fire."
But her fingers didn't glow or warm up. She didn't feel any energy being expelled from her body. Nothing. Not even smoke. The two of them stood for a moment, starring at her open palm in silence until Kairi smiled nervously.
"Guess I'm not too good at it."
"Maybe fire isn't your thing." The rabbit shrugged. "We'll keep practicing. And until you get it, stick with me. I can keep an eye on ya."
Kairi felt the syrupy sweet feeling of excitement in her chest. "You're going to travel with me? Really?"
The rabbit's ears dropped, pink coloring his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it'd be really mean to just leave you here alone. Name's Oswald by the way."
"Kairi. Pleased to meet you."
She extended her hand and the rabbit shook it. His fur was soft and warm.
Olivia's house was a toy shop with all kinds of mouse dolls, wooden boats, yo-yos and kites for Donald and Goofy to play with while Sora assisted Dawson in keeping up with all of Basil's increasingly ridiculous demands. Which was a shame, because all Sora really wanted to do was play with the toys.
At the moment, Basil's behind was sticking up from under a table. He was crouching with his eye glued to a magnifying class. Sora and Dawson were on the other side of the table, holding a candle in each hand to provide Basil with some light.
Basil rubbed dust between his fingers. Then he pulled out a glass tube with some dirt in it. Whatever he was looking for didn't match and Basil moved forward on all fours, sniffing the floor.
He smirked. "Ah hah! No mistaking it. It's the same cold smell of those creatures I so expertly dispatched earlier."
"What?" Sora leaned up so fast that the top of his head bumped the table over him. "Ouch!"
Dawson patted him on the arm. "Are you all right young man?"
Rubbing his head, Sora nodded. Then to Basil he said, "You can smell the heartless?"
"Well, certainly not, but when those creatures vanished, they left behind a very distinct scent. The scent of ozone covered the dirt where they had been and the faint scent of it lingers here as well." Basil rose from under the table. He walked over to Olivia. "Young lady, are you sure you saw your father being dragged from here?"
"Yes. Those creatures came in from the window and grabbed him. He fell under the table and then when I looked, he and the creatures were gone."
Basil tapped his magnifying class against his chin for a moment and then rounded on Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"Gentleman, we are not leaving this toy shop until we have found a clue. No time to play, we've a search to do."
Donald and Goofy put away the toys sadly. While Sora and Dawson inspected the room, looking under and behind the furniture, Donald sat on Goofy's shoulders and looked at the high corners of the room. Basil poked his head through the window and stared intensely at the sill, the curtains and the glass.
He took out a bag full of white powder from inside his coat pocket and covered the window glass and sill in it. Hand prints appeared on the window, and the white dust showed slashes in the sill, indicating claw marks. As Basil poured over what his finding could mean, Sora lifted a bookshelf for Dawson to look under.
The older mouse's head vanished under the book shelf. Then he moved back, signaling for Sora to put the shelf back down. In Dawson's hands, something metal glinted. He called Basil over and the detective snatched a coin from Dawson's hands.
He brought the coin to his nose, sniffed it, polished it on his shirt and then smirked.
"We have our next location, gentleman."
"The bank?" Goofy asked.
Basil held up the coin in front of Goofy's eyes. "There is a distinct scent of gin, sea water and sewage coming off this coin. There is only one pub in the entire city that lies in the junction between the sewer system and the ocean. Judging by the lack of dust, this coin is new. I surmise that it must have rolled under the bookshelf recently, and look here."
Sora, Donald, Dawson and Olivia leaned in close to squint at the token. There was a slash across the gold plated surface, revealing the plain metal underneath.
"This scratch mark has the same pattern as the marks on the window."
Dawson put his hand on his forehead. "Oh, don't tell me we're going to go back to that pub. My head still spins from the last time we were there."
Jiminy's Journal
Olivia Flaversham (First Appeared in The Great Mouse Detective, 1986): A sweet, rambunctious little girl who loves her Daddy very much. She's completely at ease helping Dawson and Basil solve mysteries.
Basil of Baker's Street (First Appeared in The Great Mouse Detective, 1986): An intelligent and plucky detective that lives for the game of solving mysteries. He's a jack-of-all-trades and very talented in the fields of science and history, but he can be a bit self-centered and rude at times.
Dr. David Q. Dawson (First Appeared in The Great Mouse Detective 1986): A kind doctor that assists Basil on his cases. Dawson is the perfect foil to Basil's narrow-minded nature. He provides a more grounded view when solving mysteries.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (First Appeared in Trolly Troubles, 1927): An energetic, mischievous, and mysterious rabbit that has a lot of skill in magic. He's quick to help others and do the right thing, but why is he in the realm of darkness?
Chapter 5: Chapter 4: The Clock Tower
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 4: The Clock Tower
The scent of rotten stew and some other things that Sora really didn't want to imagine mixed terribly with ocean breeze. The wharf felt like a moldy, moist laundry room with mildewed socks in every drier. Sora, Donald and Goofy walked beneath the pier behind Basil with their shirts pulled over their noses.
Tucked into the underbelly of the pier was a tiny door and to Basil's surprise, it was open.
"Curious," he said as he entered the room.
Sora had expected a room full of musty smoke, without an empty seat or table in the house. He had thought the room would have been full of tons of ruffians playing cards, throwing knives, and ordering "pints" from the bar. Instead, he saw an abandoned room with scratch marks all over the tables, floors, and overturned chairs.
Basil lit a lantern and surveyed the damage. Glass mugs and bottles had been thrown down and shattered, making the entire room sparkle under the light. Parts of the bar had been hacked off. The curtains on the stage ripped off and lying in heaps. A lone piano sat in the corner by the stage, and it had been squashed down the middle as though a giant had pounded it with his fist.
"Whoa," Donald clicked his beak, "what happened here?"
Basil rubbed some dust between his fingers. "Clearly this place has been attacked by the same fiends we are pursuing."
"I knew that! I meant why did they attack here?"
Basil walked deeper into the pub, searching for clues. "Indeed. I don't understand why these creatures are targeting London's mice. Where did the pub patrons go?"
"I can answer that question for you," someone said.
Sora, Donald and Goofy all summoned weapons, searching the corners of the room for the owner of that smooth voice.
There was a chuckle. "Hey, now calm down."
A rat appeared on the broken stage in the back of the pub. At first, Sora thought she were wearing the ripped curtains, but as she came closer, he realized that she wore a red coat with a large escutcheon over her chest and torso. He couldn't see her face, as it was covered by a red, winged hat.
"Halt," Basil commanded. "How is that you are the only one here when this place has been ransacked? Answer, rat!"
The rat stopped with her hands up. "I came for a drink. One moment this place is lively, the next, strange creatures are pouring out of the walls, gathering up every patron in sight. I tried to fight them off but one of the fiends caught me by surprise and knocked me out. I woke up to this mess."
"And why were you behind the curtain?"
"Same as you. I was looking for clues. Then you arrived."
Basil began pacing, muttering under his breath. As he went about his strange manner of investigation, the rat waved at Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"You three. You're not from around here, are you?"
"Uh," Goofy began.
"Well," Sora added.
"We're from out of town," Donald finished harshly, glaring at his two friends.
"I see."
With her finger, she lifted the brim of her hat, revealing her smile, green eyes and silver hair.
"Interesting weapon you have there."
She pointed to Sora's keyblade.
"Confound it!" Basil stomped around in a circle. "We're back to square one." He faced Sora, Donald and Goofy. "We're going back my lab, chaps. I've some deductions to do."
The rat woman got down on one knee. "If you're investigating those creatures, please let me come with you."
Basil stiffened. "Ah, that's quite all right, miss?"
"Freya. Freya Crescent."
"Ms. Crescent," Basil cleared his throat, "I assure you I have all the help I need to-"
"I'm sure my lance will be very helpful to you. There is strength in numbers after all, and I'm curious myself as to why these creatures are attacking mice."
Basil didn't look convinced.
"Come on," Sora said, "let her come."
Basil leaned in close to whisper in Sora's ear. "Don't be daft. Do you not see that she's a rat."
"What's wrong with that?" Sora whispered back.
"I have very fine hearing you know," Freya said. "And you shouldn't lump all rats together."
For the first time since meeting him, Sora saw a look of complete embarrassment cover Basil's cheeks. Before he could blink, Freya was walking out of the pub and into the wharf, and that's how Basil found himself back at his home with a new ally.
Freya and Olivia sat by the fire and the little girl delighted in wearing Freya's hat and trying to lift her heavy lance. Basil and Dr. Dawson worked on figuring out new clues. They're work went on until the sun set for the day, until Dawson fell asleep on the couch out of sheer exhaustion. Donald and Goofy curled up on the rug by the fireplace and were knocked out around midnight. Olivia fell asleep on the divan.
Only Sora and Freya remained awake, watching Basil obsess over the next course of action. Unable to stand the boredom, Sora asked Freya why she was so interested in the heartless.
She shrugged. "A good test of my fighting skills, I'd say. Curiosity mostly, something to do other then the usual."
Sora peeked at her. She was standing against the wall with her arms crossed, watching Basil with mild interest.
"What do you usually do?"
Freya leaned forward, her hat completely hiding her face. "I spent years looking for someone really important to me."
"Did you find him?"
"He found me, but he wasn't the same anymore."
Sora thought of Riku, and how they had reunited back at Traverse Town. He had been so relieved to finally find him after searching for him for so long. If only he had known what would have happened next, if only he had known about Riku's decent into darkness. He wouldn't have been so carefree back then.
He thought about the realm of darkness and hoped that Riku and King Mickey were all right in there. He thought about Kairi back on the islands. He remembered Mama Odie's strange warning, he thought about the one hundred Dalmatian back puppies in Traverse Town, and on and on, until his eyes couldn't stay open anymore.
Sora was only pulled out of his dreams when Basil exclaimed.
"DRAT!"
Donald, Goofy, Dawson and Olivia snapped awake. Freya, who had been silently keeping vigil all night, leaned away from the wall and neared Basil.
"Having some problems?"
"Yes. Without a single clue to go on, I have no way of narrowing down where those heartless will show up next in the city. We'd have better luck searching for them from the top of Big Ben at this point."
Surprise shot through Sora. He recognized that name. The image of flying around the night sky with Peter Pan and the giant clock face with the keyhole hidden inside, flashed through his mind. He looked to Donald and Goofy, and saw that they had recognized it too.
"Big Ben is in this city? How is that possible?"
Basil gave them a smirk. "One of London's greatest landmarks. You're in for a treat."
Olivia ran to the door. "We're going to go there? Let's go!"
Dawson, still groggy, tried to chase after her. "Now wait just a moment!"
But Olivia was already out the door. Seconds later, the sound of her scream shook everyone in the room.
Freya and Sora ran out and found Olivia kneeling down in the clearing. In front of her was a small shadow heartless, staring at Olivia with wide, yellow eyes. Freya was quick, reaching Olivia and pulling her away within seconds, leaving Sora with an opening to rush forward, raise his keyblade and-
"No!" Olivia screamed and kicked in Freya's arms. "Don't hurt it!"
The heartless looked at Olivia, tilting its head.
"What's gotten into you?" Sora said. "They're dangerous!"
"But it didn't hurt me. He gave me these!"
It was just then that Sora realized that she was holding a pair of spectacles in her hands. He looked at the heartless. It hasn't moved, hadn't tried to defend itself, it's only action had been when it had tilted its head and looked at Olivia with curiosity.
"These are my Daddy's glasses," Olivia said. "Can you please put me down?"
Carefully, Freya put Olivia back on her feet. Basil and the others came out of the house and their first instinct was to aim their weapons at the heartless.
"Stop! It's nice. Don't hurt it!" Olivia jumped in front of the heartless, stomped her foot, and gave each of them a commanding glare.
Sora walked around the heartless. "It's not attacking? This is weird. What's it doing here?"
"How fortuitous!" Basil reached into his coat, produced a pair of handcuffs and snapped them around the heartless' claws. He dragged the heartless inside, ignoring Sora, Donald, Goofy and Olivia's cries.
Inside the house, he walked around the heartless with a magnifying glass, poking its antennae, checking for a heartbeat with a stethoscope, measuring its height with tape and placing it on a scale to find out its weight. Olivia came inside and pushed Basil away. She knelt down in front of the heartless.
"Where's my Daddy? Did you take him?"
The heartless didn't answer, but it didn't look away from Olivia's face either, only tilting its head again.
At the door, Donald and Goofy gave Sora confused looks.
"Gosh, do ya think this heartless is like the ones at Halloween town? They were tame for a little while."
Sora remembered how Jack Skellington had tried to get the heartless to dance with him for his Halloween celebration back at Halloween town. It had been the first time on their journey where they had run into heartless that hadn't attacked them on sight.
"But those heartless started attacking after a while," Donald reminded them. "We'd better be careful."
Sora watched the docile heartless. Basil had turned it upside down and was inspecting the soles of its feet. Even then, the heartless still hadn't fought back. How was this possible? He had never seen a heartless that tame. Sora shook his head. That was lie. He did know of a heartless that didn't fight back after it was poked and prodded.
"Maybe this heartless is new."
"What do ya mean?"
"When I turned into a heartless, I started forgetting things. Maybe it takes a little while for their more dangerous instincts to kick in. I didn't attack you guys when I was a heartless did I?"
Donald shook his head.
"I have an idea. Maybe if we let this heartless go, it can lead us to all the lost mice."
Donald gave him a dubious roll of the eyes. "Come on, Sora. We don't know if that will work."
"Do you have another plan? Besides, if we can get it away from Basil, then he can't experiment on it."
"He's right, Donald."
"Okay." Donald crossed his arms. "Just be careful."
Basil wasn't too keen on letting his specimen go but was easily appeased when Sora mentioned that it could perhaps give them another lead.
"The heartless can help us. If we don't find anything we can always come back here."
Basil gave him a shrewd stare, one that he held for so long that Sora couldn't help but fidget. Finally, he said, "Very well."
He removed the handcuffs from the heartless. Then he bent down, and with his hand, moved the heartless head so that it stared at him in the eye.
"Lead us to the other mice."
The heartless turned its head back to stare at Olivia.
Basil scoffed and tried again. The results were the same.
"Oh please, Mr. Heartless," Olivia said, "can you take us to the other mice?"
To everyone's surprise the heartless began walking toward the door. Olivia chased after it, but Dawson grabbed her hand.
"It's too dangerous."
"Worry not," said Freya, picking Olivia up, "I'll protect her."
"Quickly friends! It's getting away!"
They ran out into the sunny day, chasing the heartless as it crossed the street, went through an alley, and into a long pipe that led into the sewers. Eventually they came out of a drainage pipe in the middle of a park. The heartless ran through the grass, ignoring the crowd of people that had come to picnic during the morning hours.
Basil and the others hesitated, but the heartlesss was getting away, easily evading the people's feet by flattening itself like a shadow on the ground. Carefully, they weaved through the giant shoes and were almost out of the crowd when suddenly someone's shriek burned into their ears. A woman reeled back, pointing.
"AH! MICE!"
The entire crowd panicked and soon they were dodging stomping shoes, umbrellas and rocks as the people attacked. Donald dodged one foot, only to be kicked by the next. He collapsed onto the ground and Goofy had to turn around to pick him up. Sora noticed his friends weren't on his heels and ran back after them, losing sight of Basil and the others. He was lost in a forest of legs and screams, and he didn't notice a giant boot coming down on him until the shadow of it blocked out the sun overhead.
Sora summoned his keyblade, but even he knew that it wouldn't be enough to block a giant shoe! Donald and Goofy's cries from behind him were suddenly muffled. Sora turned around, but couldn't spot his friends. Then the shoe stomped down on him.
Sora felt a sweeping sensation, and then everything was black. He was warm and nauseous, swaying from side to side. He wondered for a moment if he had fallen into the realm of darkness. Then, the black space surrounding him opened up and the light came into his eyes so quickly that he fell back on his tail, his eyes feeling as though they were ready to pop out of their sockets.
"My goodness, that was close."
Sora felt a jolt go down his spine. He knew that voice. It was loud, but very clear. With his eyes finally adjusting to the light, he looked down. He was sitting on a giant hand.
The other hand came to rest next to his, and Donald and Goofy were on it. Donald held onto Goofy, his eyes squeezed shut. Goofy patted him on the shoulder and Donald, realizing that they were no longer in danger, let go of Goofy quickly and began to pat down his clothes in a-little-too-late attempt at regaining some dignity.
Sora turned around, and saw the owner of the hands. A young, human girl smiled down at them, her blue eyes dancing with excitement.
"Sora, is that you? How curious! You've become a mouse! Is this Wonderland's magic?"
Donald pointed. "Wah? Alice? What are you doing here?"
"This is my home."
Goofy grinned. "So you picked us up from the crowd. Ah-yuck! Thanks for savin' us."
Sora looked back at the crowd of people. They were still searching the ground for mice.
"How did you know it was us?"
Alice carefully put them down on the grass at the base of tree. The overgrown roots blocked Sora, Donald and Goofy from sight.
"I felt a familiar light, so I grabbed you. And it seems as though I was just in time. It would have been dreadful if you had been squashed flat. What are you doing here? I thought the worlds were at peace."
There wasn't much time to explain, as Sora was anxious to reunite with Basil and the others, but seeing as Alice was a Princess of Light, one the seven maidens of the purest heart, and since she had saved them, he felt the need to give her an explanation.
"I've never heard of such a castle," Alice said when Sora had finished with his story. "Perhaps this door you speak of is a gateway that randomly throws you out into whichever world it chooses. Perhaps, by sheer luck, the door may open up into the realm of darkness. That must be what what hooded man meant when he said that, 'there is a doorway between light and dark.'"
"Then we're just going to have to keep trying the door until it takes us to the world we need."
"Do you think that's wise, Sora? Maybe you should think twice about going into the realm of darkness."
"Why?"
"Because the last man to open the door to darkness ended up destroying many worlds."
"But we need the king," Donald said. "And we still have to find a way to get rid of the heartless for good."
"We promise to be really careful, Alice," Goofy added.
"Oh, I hope you don't make any rash decisions. Nonsense invites the darkness, you know."
"But what do we do now?" Donald said. "We lost track of Basil and the others."
Alice lay her hands down on the grass, motioning for Sora and his friends to stand in them.
"Hmm, well, I don't know if it will help, but I do sense a faint darkness nearby. Perhaps your friends went there. Do you want me to take you?"
Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded. Alice tucked them into the pocket of her apron. Several minutes later, the booming chimes of a bell resonated in the air. Sora peeked out of Alice's pocket. Big Ben loomed high over London, looking much bigger from below then it did back when they were flying around it in the air with Peter Pan.
"Here you are," Alice said, "I sense a darkness coming from inside Big Ben."
Donald huffed. "So it was here after all."
Alice gently put the three friends back down on the ground. They thanked her before zipping across the street. They neared the building and slipped through the metal fence. At the base of the clock tower, there as a tiny hole in the dirt that the three of them were able to squeeze through.
They climbed up the brick and mortar innards of the tower, higher and higher until they were breathless. Just a few more platforms upward, Sora spotted a familiar, very round silhouette. It was Dr. Dawson.
They persevered through one more climb and collapsed at Dawson's feet.
"Good heavens! Are you all right?"
Finally catching his breathe, Sora said, "Where are Basil and the others?"
Dawson pointed to a rope that lead higher up the clock tower. "I was to wait for you three to arrive. I'm glad that you found your way here."
Standing, Sora, Donald and Goofy neared the rope. It was tied around a matchbox that rested between a pair of beams. The rope disappeared into the dark ceiling up above. Dawson herded Sora, Donald and Goofy into the matchbox. The cardboard bulged as the four of them were packed like sardines. Dawson pulled on the rope outside, before sliding the matchbox closed.
"All right then. Are you ready?"
"Ready for wha-aaaaaaah!"
The matchbox zoomed upward through the air. Donald gripped the walls with his teeth clenched. Goofy hollered.
"Ah ho ho ho hoy!"
Sora's toes curled in his shoes. He felt the matchbox swaying side to side as it shot through the air and had to cover his mouth in the hopes that he wouldn't puke. Just as he thought the ride would last forever, they jerked to a stop and tumbled out of the matchbox onto yet another beam.
"Ah, there you are," said Basil.
When his head no longer felt as though it were rolling like a bowling ball, Sora saw that the rope around the matchbox was connected to some strange wheeled contraption that was bolted to the wall. Olivia and Freya had been operating it by turning a handle.
Olivia waved a hand in front of Goofy's rolling eyes. "Are you okay?"
Goofy mumbled something silly, as though he were caught up in a lovely daydream.
"Come now. Up you get," Basil snapped. "It is not much farther. The heartless vanished through there."
He pointed upward. On the wall there was a crack that fanned out into a jagged hole. As the party climbed up and through the hole, they came out into a secret room on the other side. The walls looked as though they had been chewed inward. Cages decorated the room. They were full to bursting with mice. Young, old, male, female, crook or ordinary citizen, they were all lumped tight between chain linked metal.
Upon seeing Basil and the others, the mice, all cried out in one big, jumbled voice.
"Get us out of here!"
"Help!"
"Quickly, run before it comes back!"
"I don't want to be turned into a monster!"
Basil reached into his pocket and neared one of the caves. There was a lock placed on the metal door of the cage. He pulled out a long hair clip and busied himself with popping the lock open.
Sora went to the next cage, and with his keyblade, unlocked it. The mice poured out. Olivia ran forward, shouting for her father, but none of the mice reacted to her. They all ran toward the opening in the wall, but they never reached it.
Darkness oozed out of the walls, covering the exit. The mice screamed as the darkness amalgamated into a shape. Sora threw his key blade at the amorphous shadow, and it split down the middle, just enough for a few mice to get through.
"Quickly Dawson! Lead the civilians out!"
Dr. Dawson whistled, getting the attention of the mice. One by one, he pushed them through the doorway.
Sora shouted at his friends. "Donald, Goofy, keep it busy."
He heard the unmistakable clap of Goofy's shield striking something and felt the coldness of Donald's ice spells freezing the monster behind him, but he ignored it as he went to the next cage and unlocked it.
More mice poured out. Freya joined Donald and Goofy in engaging the giant blob of darkness, pushing it back just enough for Dawson to lead the kidnapped mice outside. Olivia chased after the crowd, calling for her father, but just then the dark shadow swelled to the ceiling. It sailed over the crowd of panicking mice below, and sharpened to a spear that was pointed straight at Olivia.
Basil and Sora rushed forward, but they weren't fast enough. The dark spear soared through the air. Basil shot at the darkness with his pistol but it did nothing to slow it down. and the spear pierced straight through Sora's ice spell.
Olivia threw her hands over her face. Then the docile heartless that had led them there jumped in front of her, taking the blow from the giant, shadowy mass and falling to the side of the room. It lay there pathetically, the only sign that it was still alive was the trembling of its limbs as it tried to stand.
Sora reached Olivia, and was able to deflect the giant shadow upward toward the ceiling. It crashed through the bricks overhead, disappearing into a cavernous room with massive gears just above them. The area shook, dust and rubble falling from the broken ceiling.
"Ms. Freya," Basil shouted, "get Ms. Flaversham out of here!"
With a nod, Freya tucked Olivia under her arm and dashed out of the room with Dawson and the rest of the mice. Donald and Goofy looked up into the hole in the ceiling.
Donald pulled his arm back and bellowed. "Blizzaga!"
A staircase of ice erupted out of his staff, leading up into the room above.
"Sora, we're going after the darkness!"
Basil ran to the bottom of the stairs. "Not without me you're not."
The four of them raced into the room, weapons up, looking between the gaps in the giant gears of Big Ben as they ground and ticked. One of the gears up near the orange, glass clock-face was pitch black. Slowly, the black color faded from the gear like paint being pulled out of a picture. The black color molded itself, taking on a shape much like the rat heartless Sora and his friends had fought when they had first met Basil. Except this time, the shape stood on two legs. A long flowing cape blew behind the creature's back, even though there was no wind. It stood taller, with a long, whip-like rat tail, and a muscular upper half.
Basil gasped. "It can't be."
Eyes appeared out the creature's head and it leered down at them, its claws digging into the gear. Invisible lips peeled back and its mouth opened, showing a row of yellow, pointed teeth. It fell toward them. Donald, Sora, Goofy and Basil all jumped away from the fiend.
Basil shot at it with his pistol, Goofy threw his shield and Donald sizzled it with a thunder spell. The creature withstood the attack, and then it reared back and roared.
The air thickened with the feeling of hatred and despair as more rat heartless appeared. As Donald and Goofy fought back the lesser enemies, the leader rat turned its eyes on Basil. It flashed toward him, pinning him against the floor, its jaws opening wide. Basil aimed his pistol into its mouth but missed, grazing the creature's cheek instead. The creature clamped its teeth together, its eyes wide.
It pulled back, only to raise its clawed hand and slice into Basil's shoulder.
Sora jumped onto its back and whacked it on top of the head with his keyblade, and the creature reached up, sunk its claws into Sora's leg and threw him across the room. Sora fell and didn't have enough time to shield himself from the smaller rat heartless as they converged on him. With all four of his friends busy, and his shooting arm trapped under the rat's heavy paw, Basil had no way to protect himself as the rat's teeth opened up in front of his eyes.
Something silver flew through the air, piercing the rat on the side of its head, knocking him off Basil. Now free, Basil rolled back onto his feet, grabbing his pistol off the floor. The room spun and his shoulder burned from the nasty scratch. Someone caught him by the arm and kept him from falling.
Basil turned and saw Freya at his side.
"This is no place to rest, Detective. We have enemies to dispatch!" She let him go and charged toward the giant rat, pulling her spear out of its temple. It was like ripping a splinter out of a finger. The rat wasn't affected, easily fighting back against Freya. She ducked and weaved out of reach from the rat's claws, nimble as an acrobat.
With the leader rat distracted, Basil turned his attention toward Sora. He was outnumbered five to one, and barely had time to defend himself let alone attack. Basil focused, breathing out, watching the heartless' movements. Then he fired four shots.
Bullseye.
Each heartless exploded, leaving the remaining one to be sliced through by Sora's keyblade. Donald and Goofy defeated the remaining heartless and then joined up with Sora and Freya. They converged onto the leader. They hit with spells, bashed it with a keyblade and shield, stabbed it with a spear, and riddled it with bullets, but each time, the giant rat treated the attack as mere annoyances.
Meanwhile the party's attacks were getting sloppier, their movements dulled by exhaustion. Sora couldn't duck fast enough, and got whipped by the rat's tail. His temple throbbed and he only had a second to jump back and keep the shadow rat's tail from slashing into his stomach.
"We're not doing any damage," Freya grunted, summersaulting out of the way of another attack. She didn't land as gracefully as she had before, stumbling to keep her balance.
Sora threw a thunder spell at the rat, and then had to lean forward to catch his breathe.
"What do we do?"
Donald, his magic almost spent, staggered where he stood. Sensing weakness, the rat lunged at him, but its claws were stopped by Goofy's shield.
Basil watched as Freya and Sora kept the heartless busy while Goofy tended to his friend. As Sora got close to the creature's teeth, rather then open its mouth and bite, the creature shut its jaws tight. Freya stabbed it in the chest with her spear, but the creature swiped her with its massive arm, throwing her off to the side and pulling out the spear as though it were nothing.
Basil's mind reeled. His eyes darted about the room. He had to do this quickly.
"Sora! Freya! At exactly the moment I tell you, run toward me and do exactly as I say."
Basil took in a deep breathe and then shouted.
"Hey you vile sewer rat!"
The creature turned its attention away from Freya and Sora, its wide eyes staring unblinkingly at Basil.
"You heard me, you common filth! Couldn't beat me then and now you're back for revenge eh? Well," Basil spread his arms wide, "now's you chance!"
The rat stalked toward Basil, ignoring Sora and Freya as they walked carefully behind it.
"Yes, that's right. It's you, isn't it, Professor Ratigan. What foul depths did you crawl out from?"
The rat had reached Basil and it lifted its claws but held them in the air, not breaking eye contact from the smug mouse below it, as though waiting, daring Basil to give him a reason to strike him down.
"But we know the truth, don't we? Eh? 'Professor?'"
The rat snarled.
"You're nothing more then a common-"
The rat opened its mouth. Basil pointed at Freya and then pointed to the Rat's feet.
"Filthy-"
He gestured at Sora, pointing up above the rat's head.
"Sewer Rat! NOW!"
Freya swept her spear low, banging it against the rat's shins. It fell forward, just as Sora stomped down on its back, the surprise making it open its jaws wide, just in time for Basil to shove his pistol between its teeth.
He fired.
The rat swelled, getting bigger and bigger until it popped, releasing a blast of wind that threw everyone off their feet, but when the moment passed, the rat was gone.
Sora, Donald and Goofy whooped. Freya, chuckling, clapped her hands. Basil threw his fist into the air.
"How about that? Defeating my arch foe not once but twice. Marvelous!" Basil turned to face his comrades. "You three! Fantastic work!" The he cleared his throat and walked toward Freya.
"Ms. Crescent. I believe I owe you an apology. You are every bit the knight you say you are. I'm ever so sorry for doubting you."
He extended his hand, and Freya took it.
"Perhaps now, you know that not all rats are nefarious evildoers."
Basil laughed. "Well, now I certainly know to call you if I ever need a knight."
Their celebrating was interrupted by the sound of Olivia's cries. She was still calling for her Daddy down in the room below. Jumping back down, Basil looked around the room. All the captured mice had escaped. Olivia was overturning rubble, her eyes glimmering with tears.
"H-h-he's not here."
She sat down on the ground and blew her nose into her scarf, wailing.
Dr. Dawson came behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. Olivia pulled out her father's glasses from inside her coat. Her tears fell on the lenses. Just then the docile shadow heartless moved from across the room. It came to sit next to Olivia and put its claws on the spectacles in her hands.
Before anyone could say anything, Olivia reached forward and patted the heartless on the head.
"D-Daddy? Is that you?"
"Oh no," Goofy whispered.
"I get it now," Sora said sadly. "It's just like me. I was chasing after you guys and Kairi, people I knew. That's why it's not hurting her."
"You mean to say," Basil began, "that creature is Ms. Flaversham's father?"
"Makes sense," Donald said. "That's why it only listened to her."
"So, he can't change back?" Freya asked.
"I don't know," Sora admitted. "When I turned into a heartless, it was Kairi who-wait! Maybe we can change him back."
Goofy and Donald exchanged a look. "What'ya mean," they said.
"Alice. She's a princess of light. We have to find her."
Sora, Donald and Goofy left Basil, Dawson and Freya behind, believing they could move faster with only Olivia and the heartless. They raced back to the park where they had first found Alice. Luckily, she was having tea under one of the gazebos, next to an older woman. When they neared, Alice stopped mid sip of her drink and excused herself.
She went to sit in some flowers nearby, which gave Sora and the others the perfect cover to approach without being seen. When she spotted the heartless, she drew back a bit, but she did not flee, or speak, until Sora, Donald and Goofy were finished explaining.
"This is curious," Alice said, picking up Olivia and the heartless. "I believe your father's love for you is what is keeping his heartless so calm, but I don't think it will last long. I can feel the darkness getting stronger and if it completely takes over, your father will forget who he was, lose all his emotions, and become like the others."
"There has to be a way to change him back," Sora said. "Kairi was able to do it! Maybe her power as a princess of heart pushed the darkness away."
Alice shook her head. "I can try, Sora, but I don't think my power will be enough. I will need Olivia's help."
Donald and Goofy hung their heads, moaning sadly.
"Olivia," Alice continued, "remember your father. Share your light with him."
"O-okay."
Carefully, Olivia wrapped her arms around the heartless. "Please come back, Daddy. I miss you, I love you."
Alice's eyes drifted shut, her hands closing around Olivia and the heartless. She breathed in deep. Sora, Donald and Goofy held their breaths. There was a flash of light between Alice's fingers, and when she opened her hands again, Olivia's father was holding his daughter tight in his arms.
Sora, Donald and Goofy said goodbye to Olivia and Mr. Flaversham. They promised to tell Basil, Dawson and Freya the good news. By the time they reached Baker's street, it was already evening. Dr. Dawson had tea ready for them and while Donald, Goofy, and Freya exchanged stories over their warm brew, Sora and Basil theorized.
Basil, now wearing his evening robe and leisurely blowing smoke out of his pipe, leaned back in his big chair. "Darkness is a peculiar thing, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?" asked Sora.
"Something so small as love for a daughter can keep it at bay it seems and something so vile as hatred can bring a defeated foe back to haunt us."
"You mean, Professor Ratigan?"
"Indeed. I believe Ratigan's lingering feelings of rage and resentment lured in the darkness, turning him into a heartless even after he was defeated. Kidnapping Olivia's father, turning him into a heartless, kidnapping all of London's mice as a conspiracy for me to investigate, all things that Ratigan would do."
"If darkness can make someone become a heartless even after they've already been defeated, would that mean that becoming a heartless is inevitable? Alice said that if Olivia's father had forgotten who he was, then he could never be changed back. Does that mean, I have no way of helping the heartless other then putting them out of their misery?"
"I'd say keep investigating."
"Huh?"
Basil poked Sora in the forehead with his pipe. "Young man, the more details you gather, the closer you will be to the truth. Go. Learn. And remember, if you're ever in need of a talented detective, make sure to find me on Baker's street."
Sora rubbed his forehead, but he was smiling from ear to ear. "Thanks."
Jiminy's Journal
Freya Crescent (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): A humble knight hailing from an unknown kingdom. Her skills with a spear are as sharp as her mind. Freya is honorable and kind, but seems as though she has experienced much hardship in her life. She is always willing to lend her spear to those in need.
Alice (First Appeared in Alice in Wonderland, 1951): One of the seven maidens with the purest of hearts. Alice is curious and logical at the same time. She helped Sora on his last journey to close the door to darkness, and warned Sora against being too reckless in his journey.
Professor Ratigan (First appeared in the Great Mouse Detective, 1986): Basil's arch enemy. He was a devious schemer that tried to take over all mousedom but was foiled by Basil and Dr. Dawson. His lingering hatred lured in the darkness, turning him into a heartless that wanted nothing but revenge.
Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Agrabah
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 5: Agrabah
Castle Oblivion felt colder. All of Donald's feathers ruffled when they returned through the door. Goofy's ears flopped backward as though there was a breeze. Something moved along the wall in the corner of Sora's eye and he turned to look but all he saw was the regular, boring white wall of the castle. Looking around the room one more time, just in case, he noticed something odd.
He neared the wall, the one that once had the door they had first entered through. The exit hadn't returned, but the wall seemed less solid. Putting his hand on the wall, Sora felt the cold marble under his fingertips. The stone seemed flimsier then that of the other walls, as though it were made from thinner material.
Curious, Sora knocked on the surface. There was an echo.
"That's weird. Was this wall always like this?"
Goofy shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with all the worlds we've been visiting."
Donald went to the door at the top of the stairs. "Why don't we go back into another world and see if anything has changed when we come back?"
Sora and Goofy agreed, and they went through the door one more time without noticing the green smoke that slithered along the floor of the room. As the door closed behind them, the shadow of a thin man moved along the walls. It laughed without a voice, and then slid under the door, following Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"Okay, let's try one more time," Oswald said.
Kairi gripped the wand tight in her hand. "I'm ready!"
Oswald positioned her hand higher.
"That's better. Are you thinking of a fire? Feeling the heat from inside your chest?"
"Yes."
"Now concentrate! See it moving toward your hands."
"Got it."
"Now the incantation!"
Kairi lifted the wand in the air like Oswald had instructed, and then swung it down with as much force as she could.
"Fire!"
The wand didn't even spark. Kairi growled.
"Why can't I do it?"
"Magic is tricky to a lot of people. Maybe you're thinking too much. You gotta feel it with your gut."
Kairi sat down. "Things were so much easier when I was ordering Sora and Riku around to do all the work." She grinned sheepishly. "I'm good at giving commands not following them."
"Sounds ta me like you're just lazy."
"So you noticed."
Next to Kairi, Pluto yawned.
"Don't agree with him," Kairi huffed.
Oswald laughed.
Pluto ducked his head, looking at Kairi with guilt stricken puppy-dog eyes.
Unable to resist, Kairi scratched him behind the ear.
"Okay," Kairi stood, "one more time."
She held up her hands, and tried more time to do as Oswald had instructed, but every time she tried to imagine a flame in her chest, tried to move it down her arms and release it from her hands, but there was nothing.
Kairi pouted. "Are you sure I have magic in me?"
Oswald's fur stood on end. "I'm a master mage. I know magic when I see it! Plus you got a lot of light in ya. That automatically means magic."
"Lots of light," Kairi repeated. "You know, on my last journey, my heart was with my friend Sora, and I learned about the worlds through his eyes. The people he met told him about the seven princesses of heart and that I'm one of them. But I don't know what means, or what kind of power I have and...what?"
Oswald closed his mouth but his wide eyes burned into her like the sun on a hot summer day.
"You're a princess of heart, and you're in here? But that's impossible."
"What do you mean?"
Oswald sat down next to Kairi. "Once, long ago, a great man tried to destroy the realm of darkness for good. He bought warriors, mages, and even hunted down all the princesses of heart to battle the darkness here. But the princesses couldn't enter where there was no light, and the darkness fought back. Many of the fighters lost their lives. Some even disappeared into the darkness. The leader was the only one to survive."
"What happened to him?"
Oswald's eyes narrowed. "Fighting the darkness changed him for the worse, and he was imprisoned somewhere no one could enter and escape without a special key."
Kairi closed her eyes, remembering her grandmother's story. Fighting over the light brought darkness into the world, but fighting against the darkness did nothing but bring people pain. She remembered Ansem, and how he had taken over Riku's body. Did that mean that Riku wouldn't be able to fight the darkness? Did he have no choice but to give in?
Kairi rubbed her arms. Even if she found Riku and Sora, would things be the same between the three of them after all that had happened? After Riku had lost his way? Would he even still want to be friends?
She thought about Sora's promise. He swore to come back. He still had her lucky charm, that lazy bum! Plus, Kairi remembered, if Sora had faith in Riku, that he would come back, then Kairi had to believe in him too. There had to be light still in him somewhere, even deep in the darkness.
"You said that the princesses of light couldn't enter here, because they couldn't go where there was no light."
Oswald nodded.
"So, that means there must be a spec of light in here somewhere. Maybe, I can find it. Maybe, that light is the person that wrote the letter I have."
Or maybe it could be Riku. Kairi knew she had to find him. Besides, she thought with a smirk, she owed him a good talking to after all the stupid choices he had made on Sora's last adventure. But how to use her power to find him was the question. Maybe she could feel light nearby?
Kairi looked at Oswald. He was patting Pluto's back with a tiny smile on his face. Carefully, Kairi put her hand on Oswald's shoulder and concentrated.
There was warmth, like the tingling of laughter, that spread all through her chest. That must have been Oswald's light. Kairi pulled her hand back. She had also felt something else, a jolt like a cold rock hitting her skin. Oswald had darkness in him, not as much as the light, but it was there still. It happened so fast that by the time Oswald had felt her hand on him, she had already pulled away.
Kairi didn't have time to answer Oswald's questioning stare. Her mind was already turning. Standing, she closed her eyes and moved away from Oswald and Pluto. She turned in a circle until she felt something soft on her skin. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was facing Oswald again.
"I have an idea."
"Well, let's hear it."
"Move around me. I'm going to see if I can find you with my eyes closed. Oh, and try not to make any sounds."
Oswald patted his foot on the ground. "Soundless walking? That's a rabbit's specialty. Okay, no peeking!"
Closing her eyes again, Kairi concentrated on her ears, her sense of smell, and the feeling of the air around her. The realm of darkness was somehow damp and dry at the same time, the atmosphere didn't have any spice or stink. When she tried to sense a change in the airflow around her, there was nothing, so she tried imagining the joy and excitement she had felt in that split second when she had touched Oswald.
The back of her left ear felt warm. Kairi turned and stopped when her ear no longer tingled. She moved back into her original position, following the sensation with her steps. As she got closer, her body filled with the same tingly sensation, and she to press her teeth together to keep herself from laughing. Kairi reached out with her hands. Her fingers felt warm.
She touched something soft.
Opening her eyes, Kairi wanted to laugh and groan. She hadn't found Oswald, but Pluto wagged his tail excitedly at the fact that she was holding his cheeks. Kairi scratched his muzzle.
"Well, at least I can sense you. Good boy." She moved back, and pointed to the ground. "Stay."
Pluto sat down and didn't move even when Kairi had taken a few steps back. Again she tried to find Oswald. A few more steps and Kairi felt the familiar warmth of light on her toes. As she got closer, the warmth moved up her ankles and legs.
But then it was gone.
Cold needles worked their way up her legs, the warm laughter being replaced by pain and sorrow. The air around her sizzled with sinister energy. Kairi opened her eyes.
Heartless were coming.
The first one appeared at the ground near her feet. Its yellow eyes rolled to pinpoint her. A muscular arm, black as soot, reached out to grab her shoe, claws digging into the material. Kairi slipped her foot out of her shoe, falling backward as the rest of the heartless climbed out of the puddles of darkness on the ground.
Pluto must have deciding that staying wasn't a demand he needed to follow. He raced to Kairi, grabbed the back of her shirt and tried to pull her back, but the heartless that had grabbed her shoe reached out and clamped its claws around her ankle. Kairi screamed, but it only brought the attention of the other heartless.
Neon blue veins pulsed over the heartless' faces and arms as they moved slowly toward Kairi like lions stalking their kill. Pluto jumped over Kairi and bit the heartless that was holding her ankle, but the heartless only pulled Kairi harder. The other heartless moved to converge on Pluto. One more inch and the heartless would be on him. Kairi raised her arm, trying to imagine a fire, reciting the incantation over and over, but the magic refused to appear.
Oswald jumped down in front of her and obliterated a team of heartless with a golden flash of lightning. He raised his wand high, ready to take out the rest, but arms appeared from the ground and grabbed his legs, dragging him down. Kairi tried to reach out and grab him, but the moment her hand shot out, a heartless wrapped its long fingers around it.
Arms mummified her body. Pluto's whining reached her hears but she could no longer turn her head as another heartless wrapped its fingers around her neck. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't say the incantation for fire. Instead of heat, every bit of her body felt cold.
They were melting into the floor, and Kairi felt darkness seep up into her nose and ears until she heard nothing but silence. Kairi was drowning, every part of her body dissolving into an ocean of darkness that was ready to wash her away. Her arms and legs felt like jelly, like she was mixing with the sea of blackness, turning into liquid, liquid, liquid.
Kairi's neck and shoulders ached as she fought against the heartless that tried to push her back down. She wasn't ready to fade away, she was going to go back to the islands with her friends, she was going watch the ocean with them again, and she was ready to bring the full fury of the sea with her.
She pulled out of the heartless swamp just in enough to be able to scream.
"Water!"
A flood washed over her body, making her tumble head over heels underwater before she found herself sitting on the ground, staring at the massive puddle and the writhing, confused, dripping heartless trying to regain their wits. Oswald rose up from the puddle, shaking off the water from his fur.
Without wasting time, he dashed toward Pluto, picked up the dog and pushed Kairi several steps away before he pointed his wand at the heartless and shouted.
"Thundaga!"
Conducted by the water, blue and gold lightening cracked in the air and over the ground, charring the heartless. When the flashes faded, the heartless were gone.
Before Kairi could even catch her breath, Oswald jumped up and thumped her so hard on the back that she bent forward.
"That was amazing! You did it! Told you ya got magic!"
Kairi looked at the puddles of water, watching as they slowly evaporated.
"I did that? Cool!"
She grabbed Oswald's hands spun him around, laughing.
"That was so close! We would've been swallowed!"
Oswald laughed back, his ears flopping in the air. "We were almost got taken over by darkness!"
"This is crazy!"
"I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay!"
Kairi slowed down and put Oswald back on his feet. Once he was no longer swaying from dizziness, Oswald put his wand in her hand.
"You still need to practice."
"Right." Kairi picked up her shoe and put it back on.
"And we still have a lot of searching to do."
"Okay. But, I'm still going to keep my senses open, see if I can find any light. Let's go."
Of all the places that Castle's Oblivion's door spit them out into, did it have to be in the middle of a desert? Sora, Donald and Goofy trudged over the sand dunes, sweating and swearing as the heat bore down on them like an evil child with a magnifying glass.
Sora licked his lips, but his throat was too dry to produce much moisture. "I think I know where we are. It's flat and immense and the heat is intense."
"It's barbaric," Donald huffed.
"It's Agrabah."
Goofy perked up. "Sure hope we get ta see Aladdin and Jasmine."
"If we ever find our way out of this desert," Donald grumbled.
Jiminy hoped onto Sora's shoulder.
"I charted maps in my journal when we were here the first time. Let me see if I can direct us."
Sora, Donald and Goofy all stared at him, making the poor cricket raise his shoulders nervously.
"Is something wrong?"
"You make maps?" Donald said.
"That's amazing, Jiminy!" Goofy smiled. "What else have been keeping track of in there?"
Jiminy beamed. "Well, other then the chronicles of our journey, I also keep track of treasures we find, scores on any games we play, and the number of heartless we defeat. I thought it would be good data for His Majesty."
At the mention of the King, Donald and Goofy deflated.
"I hope we can get to the realm of darkness to find him soon. I'm so worried," Goofy said.
Donald slumped forward. "But you heard was Alice said. Maybe it's not the best idea."
"Come on guys! I'm sure we came back to Agrabah for a reason. Maybe we should ask another princess of light what she thinks."
"I don't know, Sora." Jiminy said. "I know we want to find our friends, but the King wouldn't want us to open the door to darkness after we have just closed it. Even if the door in Castle Oblivion does send us out into the dark realm, we can't be certain that nothing else will go through it."
Sora thought about Destiny Islands, about how one wrong decision from Riku, how opening one door, had destroyed their entire home. Jiminy had a point, but still, he couldn't just abandon his best friend. He still needed to apologize to Riku, for putting their rivalry over Kairi first, for not being a better friend and noticing that Riku was getting deeper into darkness.
Sora felt his chest tighten, like a needle was pressed into his heart. Would he have to decide between keeping the worlds safe as keyblade master, or his best friend?
"Hmm, according to my map, Abrabah should be that way." Jiminy pointed.
"Oh boy! We get to see Aladdin and Genie again!"
"And no Jafar this time," Donald added.
Sora shook his head. He had to have faith that he would find Riku again. If he could reunite with Aladdin, after the worlds were divided from each other, then he was sure he would find his best friend.
They walked for so long under the blistering heat that Donald casted blizzard spells over and over to cool down his feathers and provide water for Sora and Goofy. Jiminy assured them that they were going in the right direction, but still Sora couldn't help but doubt, until several men on camels passed them by. Then they walked over a mountain-sized dune and, on the other, the towers of Agrabah's palace rose up in the distance.
When they entered the city, it was nothing but bustling noise and a whiplash of color as the outskirts of the town were filled to bursting with merchants and stands filled with exotic fruit, fresh fish, sugar dates and peas, pretty necklaces for pretty ladies, all manner of carpets and silk, and the smell of sweet spice that made the desert heat just a bit more bearable.
Goofy's stomach growled and Donald excitedly ran to an apple merchant and then stuffed his face with three whole apples before he even thought about sharing with Sora and Goofy. While eating his apple, Sora looked around the bazaar.
It was so different then the city they had visited the first time they had come to Agrabah. Instead of a deserted town with only heartless to fill the empty space, now he saw veiled women carrying pots on their heads, merchants at their stalls restocking and haggling with customers, shoppers jostling through the crowds with their purchases stuffed under their arms, and camels that were eating hay by their caravans.
Sora looked at the wares at the stand next to him and saw all kinds of shawls, and beaded necklaces. Sora nearly chocked on his apple. There was a thalassa shell in among the beads. He leaned closer to the caravan, hardly believing his eyes. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Kairi's good luck charm. The shells on the charm matched the color and shape of the one on the merchant's table.
"Where did you get that?"
The old man behind the counter pointed to the shell. "Ah, I see you're interested in the exceptionally rare. This shell was brought to me by one of the traveling caravans that venture over the sands that surround Agrabah. It's a mysterious thing, isn't it? I've never seen a shell this colorful. Think of the jewelry it will make."
"Where did the caravan travelers find it?"
"Lots of mysterious things can be found in Agrabah's deserts."
"Really? Where in the desert?"
The merchant began to tap the table. "Young man, I don't know where my suppliers get their items. Do you want the shell or not?"
"Do you know where the supplier is? Can I talk to him?"
The merchant smiled. "Of course I do, but that information doesn't come cheap."
"Really?" Sora opened his munny pouch with a huff. "How much do you want?"
"I don't want munny. I'd like for you to find me a rare jewel the likes of which I have never seen. I'll even throw in the shell as a bonus."
Donald came over to the stand and gave the merchant a glare. "Hey, you cheapskate!"
The merchant's smile became sweeter. "That will be two jewels, young man. Find them, and I'll tell you where to find the caravan."
Donald fumed. "Hey!"
"Make that three jewels."
Donald's face turned red, his entire body shook. Goofy and Sora grabbed him and dragged him away before he could throw a temper tantrum the size of a volcanic eruption. When they were several stalls away from the merchant, and Jiminy had finally managed to calm Donald down, Sora called for a huddle.
"How is there a thalassa shell in this world? Agrabah doesn't have any oceans, and I've only ever seen those shells on my island. I didn't even see any of those shells in Atlantica."
"Do ya think that Agrabah is connected to Destiny Islands somehow?"
"Maybe the worlds aren't as divided from each other as we think," Donald said. He angrily tapped his foot. "But we're not going to get any information out of that rotten merchant unless we pay him."
"Hey, fellers, what about the Cave of Wonders? Can't we get a couple of jewels there?"
Jiminy popped his head out of Sora's hood and opened his journal. "There was a lot of treasure in the Cave of Wonders the last time we were there. But keep in mind; Jafar's lamp might also be there. It's dangerous. We might need some backup."
Sora couldn't help but grin. "Now we really don't have any excuse not to go see Aladdin. Let's go find him!"
Finding Aladdin's house was an easy thing. Finding Aladdin himself, however, was like trying to catch air. Sora, Donald and Goofy had gone through the entire town before they arrived at the palace gates to see if they could talk to Jasmine instead. The burly, bearded guard standing at the gate glared at them when they neared.
Feeling a little nervous, Sora motioned for Donald and Goofy to stand back as he neared the gate.
"Excuse me? We'd like to enter the palace to see Princess Jasmine. I'm her friend, Sora."
"And I'm Captain Razoul and I say no one gets into the palace without an invitation."
"If you tell her I'm here, I'm sure she'll let me in."
Captain Razoul smiled. For a tall, brutish looking guy, he had surprisingly straight teeth. He bowed.
"Oh I see. A friend of the princess eh? Well in that case."
He grabbed Sora's shirt and lifted him up into the air.
"Do you take me for a fool, boy? No one enters the palace."
Sora kicked and summoned his keyblade in his hand, glaring down at the guard. "I'm warning you, if you don't put me down."
"Oh, of course, how rude of me."
Sora felt his stomach flip when the guard threw him backward. He braced to hit the sand, but landed on something soft instead. Blinking, Sora looked down at Donald and Goofy. Their eyes rolled in their heads.
Still dizzy, but the first to always worry, Goofy reached up to pat Sora's head. "You okay, Sora?"
"Thanks for catching me, guys."
Donald shook his head, finally recovering. Back on his feet, he jumped up and down with his fists in the air.
"I've had it up to here with this big, dumb, rude, waaaah!" Donald pulled back his sleeves and charged at Captain Razoul.
The guard responded by unsheathing his scimitar and pointing it at Donald. Raising his staff in the air, Donald's body buzzed with electricity. Razoul swung his sword. Goofy leapt forward and managed to catch Donald just before he could become duck kabob, but Razoul's sword still swung down. It didn't hit Donald and Goofy.
Sora stood between his friends and the guard, his keyblade pushing the sword back.
"What's with you?"
"I'm merely doing my job as a palace guard. I've already failed this city once, I will not allow anyone to bother the royal family again, and that includes you, street rat!"
"Come on, Razoul," said a familiar voice. "Do you really have to be so suspicious of every new face in Agrabah? It's kind of sad."
Razoul's face wrinkled at the speaker. He put away his sword and glared at someone over Sora's shoulder. Sora didn't get the change to turn around, because at that very moment something soft and fluffy landed on his head. Yelping in surprise, he only relaxed when a monkey's upside down face appeared in front of his eyes.
"Abu?"
"The only sad thing here," Razoul growled, "is that the princess still has you in her good graces, street rat."
"You'll never change eh? Stubborn old guard."
Sora finally got a hold of the monkey, transferring him to his shoulder just as the guard stomped away from the gate. Turning, Sora saw Aladdin, with a very smug look on his face, shrugging as the guard harangued on and on about how lawless outlaws like him did not belong in the castle, much less in the company of the princess of Agrabah.
"Bla, bla, bla. Razoul, seriously," Aladdin put a hand on the guard's shoulder, "take it easy. You're going to burst a blood vessel."
Like brushing off a fly, Razoul slapped Aladdin's hand off his shoulder. "The sooner you get out of my sight the better, street rat."
"Oh, I will. Just open the gate and let my friends pass."
At first, Sora thought he wasn't going to do it. Razoul's face was puffy red with so much annoyance that Sora worried that the guard would throw Aladdin into the dirt. Finally, Razoul whistled to the other guards high up on the wall. The gates groaned open and Sora hustled Donald and Goofy through before the guards could change their minds. Aladdin strolled in easily behind them, bowing to Razoul for good measure.
When the gates closed behind them, Abu climbed off Sora's shoulder and landed on Aladdin's head.
"You picked the wrong guard to be polite to." Aladdin held out his fist. "It's been a while, Sora."
Bumping fists with Aladdin, Sora's cheeks hurt from grinning.
"It's a good thing you were walking by."
"You got that right."
"Hey, don't forget us," Donald whined.
Aladdin lead the way through the outer gardens of the palace into the white, marble interior. "No way I'd be forgetting you," he said. "What are you doing here? Jasmine said that the worlds were divided again. Is something going on?"
By the time they had finished explaining, Aladdin had led them through the palace and into a throne room so pearly white and spacious that for a moment, Sora's head spun. All the way at the other side of the throne room was a single throne. A lovely young woman with midnight-black hair was sitting in it, reading a scroll so long that it rolled off her blue, puffy pants and onto the floor.
As Aladdin neared, she looked up, smiled, and handed the scroll to the ornate carpet that had been floating at her side. The carpet's corner tassel moved like a hand, and it accepted the scroll before floating upright to stand like a person.
The girl came forward with her arms outstretched.
"Sora, Donald, Goofy! It's so good to see you!"
The trio bowed. Even Jiminy, back on Sora's shoulder, removed his hat and bent forward. "Your Highness, Princess Jasmine."
Jasmine huffed. "Stand please. I should be the one bowing to you, after all you've done to get me back home and after you helped Aladdin defeat Jafar."
"All in a day's work," said Sora, straightening. "Seems Agrabah is back to normal now."
"Of course. There hasn't been a heartless attack since you were here last. And Aladdin and Carpet have been keeping a watchful eye on the city."
"What about Genie?"
Aladdin chuckled. "He's off, exploring the world, enjoying the great outdoors."
"That's great," Goofy said.
"So," Jasmine began, "are you on another journey? What brings you here?"
Sora dug into his pocket and took out Kairi's good luck charm. "Well, actually. We wanted to get your opinion on something, as a Princess of Light."
As Sora explained, Jasmine's expression hardened.
"I can understand that you want to find your friend, but I agree with Alice. It's risky."
"But there's so much we don't know about the heartless and the darkness. Can it really be all bad?"
Goofy tapped his forehead thoughtfully. "Gee, if it weren't so dark at night, we wouldn't be able ta sleep, so it can't be all bad, I think."
Donald tapped his foot. "I don't think that's what Sora meant."
"But Goofy still has a point. Darkness exists in every heart. It's in every world too. How do we keep the darkness in but the heartless out?"
Jasmine shook her head. "Sora, as the keyblade master, you should know more then anyone how dangerous heartless can be, especially to a world out there with a keyhole that hasn't been locked yet." Jasmine's eyes became soft. "It know it's a hard choice to make, between your friends and your duty. Think about all the worlds you may be putting at risk."
"But I've beaten back the darkness before. I can take it down again. We can take it down again. Don't you believe in us?"
Jasmine smiled despite herself. "I do, but just because you can doesn't mean you should."
"She's very wise, Sora," Jiminy said. "I think you should heed her advice."
Disappointment bubbled in Sora's gut. His logic warred with his heart. Jasmine and Alice were both right, but if he didn't keep going, how else was he going to find Riku and the king. Did he really have no choice to abandon them? He had sworn that he would keep searching until he had reunited with both Riku and Kairi, but, when he faced the issue truthfully, he knew that Kairi wouldn't approve of him releasing so many heartless into the worlds just to get Riku back.
Yet he couldn't help but feel as though it were his fault that Riku had sunk so deep into the darkness in the first place. If only Sora had tried harder to reach him, to support him. If only he hadn't turned against him back when they reunited inside Monstro the whale, if only he hadn't been trying to one up him on the islands. When had they gone from friends to rivals?
"Sora? You okay?"
Sora looked up at Aladdin and pasted a smile on his face. "I'm just fine. Jasmine's right. I won't open the door to the realm of darkness. A-anyway, the three of us have to go to the Cave of Wonders for a bit. See ya."
Before Donald and Goofy could question him, Sora dragged them out of the throne room and all the way back to the palace courtyard.
"Hey," Donald protested, "what about the thalassa shell?"
Goofy pouted. "And what about asking for Aladdin's help in the Cave of Wonders?"
"We're going there alone."
Goofy put a nervous hand under his chin. "We're not going with our friends?"
"We'll be fine on our own."
"Sora? Are you okay?" Donald said.
"It's nothing."
"I want to find the king too," Donald said, "but Jasmine and Alice both have a point. Maybe we should just try to find a way out of Castle Oblivion and see if we can find Pluto. We still haven't read the king's letter. For all we know the king could be out of the realm of darkness by now."
Sora felt the heat rising in his chest. What about Riku? He turned around and opened his mouth but then a shadow passed over his head. The carpet from the throne room hovered down from sky, Aladdin stood on top of it. As the rug came down to the ground, Aladdin came between Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"You three really didn't think you'd go to the Cave of Wonders without me and Carpet did you?"
Sora couldn't think of an excuse fast enough. "Huh? But-"
"You'll need Carpet's help to get through the desert. Hop on."
Donald and Goofy didn't hesitate. Sora got on Carpet as well, but as they flew over the desert, the ambivalence still gnawed at his heart. After everything he had done to save the worlds on their previous adventures, it annoyed him that Alice and Jasmine didn't believe he could take down anything the realm of darkness had to throw at them. Yet, at the same time, he had to remember that both princesses had seen the terror of what darkness could do first hand.
He wouldn't wish what had happened to Hollow Bastion to happen to Agrabah, or London, but didn't they trust him when he said he would be careful and that there was no way he would allow the worlds to fall into ruin?
By the time they reached the Cave of Wonders, night had fallen, and Sora hadn't come up with any answers. He caught Donald and Goofy staring at him from over their shoulders from time to time during the carpet ride. Now wasn't the time to be upset. They still had the mystery of the thalassa shell to figure out. If Agrabah and the Destiny Islands were connected somehow, Sora wondered if he could go home, at least for a little while. Kairi was there. Maybe her advice, as a princess of heart, would be different.
Soothed by the thought, Sora jumped off Carpet with the rest of his friends. The desert sands were still and silent. The air had a chill that bit into Sora's skin. A moment later, a breeze sent needles of pain through his body and made his teeth chatter. The wind pushed the sands, swirling them up into a tornado.
Sora watched as the sands stacked on top of each other, molding into a mountain. The winds slowed down, and the tornado slowly faded away. A giant tiger's head rose up from the sand. The face of the tiger leered down at them with golden eyes, its massive mouth opened wide.
All though Sora had been in the Cave of Wonders before, he still felt a little nervous going down the tiger's mouth every time he neared it. As they rose up onto the Tiger's lips and looked down into its throat, a set of stairs appeared. An orange torch-like glow lighted the walls.
They descended the stairs. The long hallway eventually opened up to underground cave full of raised platforms, traps, and bottomless pits. Sora, Donald and Goofy kept their guard up, walking behind Aladdin and Carpet with their weapons raised but no heartless jumped at them.
"By the way," Aladdin said as they ventured deeper into the cave, "you never told me why you had to come here."
Sora explained about the thalassa shell and the caravan merchant that had found it.
"That's strange. How did something that belongs in your world end up here?"
"Maybe the worlds are connected in some way after all. I mean," Sora put a hand on his chest, "if our hearts are connected, maybe our worlds can be too?"
"Maybe our connection is what is bringing our worlds closer together," Aladdin winked.
"Ayuck! It would be nice if the worlds came together. Then we can visit our friends whenever we like."
Sora felt his spirits brighten a little. "Yeah. That would cool."
They passed through an archway and came out into the deepest part of the Cave of Wonders. As they entered the next cavern, a feeling of awe washed over them. Though it wasn't the first time Sora had seen the treasure room, it still blew his mind whenever they entered. The entire cavern was painted gold. Mountains of coins, gems, jewelry, golden plates, goblets, even giant vases covered every inch of the floor.
The sparkle of the treasure reflected in Donald's eyes and he couldn't help reaching out to try to grab a handful like a child being tempted to steal cookies from the jar.
"Donald," Sora and Goofy scolded.
Donald turned around quickly from a treasure pile, his hands behind his back, giving them a sheepish look. "I'm just looking for the jewel that merchant might like."
Sora loomed over Donald. "Oh really?"
"Yes really."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I do this." Sora grabbed Donald by his feet and held him upside down, shaking him.
"Ah! Put me down!"
Coins, jewels and anything he could get he grubby little hands on, tumbled out of Donald's pockets. Sora was amazed the little duck had managed to stash so much treasure in such a short amount of time. Now that was talent.
Donald wailed, trying to grab all the gold and stuff it back in his pockets, but Sora's shakes made it hard to catch the treasure out of the air.
"Stop it! My treasure!"
"We don't need it! We have tons of munny! Stop being so greedy!"
While Sora was busy trying to convince Donald that they couldn't just take all the gold in the cave with them, Goofy and Aladdin were distracted by Carpet. As soon as they had entered the treasure room, the carpet had flown out of sight and was diving into the mountains of gold. Finally, Carpet resurfaced from under the treasure and flew across the air to land at Goofy's feet.
Carpet was holding three star-shaped rubies in its tassel. Brushing the rubies off, Carpet gave them to Goofy.
"Gosh. It's pretty. Thank you, Carpet."
Sora, still holding Donald upside down by one leg, walked over to inspect the jewels. Bright red and glittering, he could see his multiple reflections in the jewels' facetted surface.
"Wow. I'm sure that merchant won't be able to say no to this."
"Can you put me down now," Donald growled.
"Sure, except this time, you're carrying Jiminy."
Donald groaned, but didn't complain when Jiminy moved to sit on his hat. Sora was sure the cricket could keep Donald in line, at least until they left the treasure room. Goofy pocketed the gems and the group turned to leave. Just outside the archway, Sora saw something move over the treasure in the corner of his eye.
"Did you see that?"
Donald put a hand over his eyes, looking around. "See what?"
"There," Aladdin pointed.
A shadow moved over the treasure.
"A heartless?" Goofy said.
Aladdin whistled and Carpet put itself flat on the ground. Jumping on top of Carpet, he waved for Sora and the others to climb on. "If it is a heartless, we have to get rid of it. Jasmine's been working so hard to get Agrabah back to normal. I don't want all her hard work to go to waste."
They flew over the gold, keeping their eyes peeled for shadows where there shouldn't be. Then Carpet flew deeper into the caves, beyond the treasure, through a dark blue tube, and out into a gloomy cavern with a lake. Carpet lay flat on the ground, allowing Sora, Donald, Goofy and Aladdin off. Once free from his burden, Carpet bounced up and down, pointing with its tassel.
Following the direction Carpet had indicated, Sora saw a shadow slithering along the cave floor. It wasn't the familiar shape of a heartless. In fact, it was the shape of a tall, thin man in a top hat. The shadow moved toward the lake, over the stepping-stones toward a high pillar of rocks stacked one on top of each other.
Aladdin looked up at the top of the rock pillar. At the summit, there was a raised stone under a spotlight. "No! That's where the lamp is!"
Sora felt all of his muscles seize. "Jafar's lamp?"
Aladdin hopped onto Carpet. "He's a genie now remember! This is where he would be kept!"
The four friends jumped back on Carpet and flew through the sky toward the top of the pillar. Something flashed, and a ball of green light flew right at them. Carpet swerved out of the way, but its fabric caught fire. Donald and Goofy tried to pat down the flame, but the fire only grew, the green flames burning Carpet's back end to cinders.
Unable to fly, it floated weakly toward the lake. The water doused the fire. The four friends swam back to the bottom of the stone pillar. Donald and Goofy dragged Carpet out of the water.
The poor rug was half singed. It lay flat on the ground, trembling. Goofy held one of its tassels.
"Are you okay, Carpet?"
The rug shook its top half, no.
Donald pointed to the top of the pillar. "We'll stay here with Carpet. You two go and stop that shadow!"
Sora and Aladdin nodded and raced up the stairs, but when they reached the top it wasn't a shadow looming over Jafar's black lamp. It was a suave looking man. Leaning casually on his cane, the man tossed the lamp up and down in his free hand.
"Gentleman. You're late for the reunion party."
"Whoever you are, you'd better put that back where you found it," Aladdin warned. "You have no idea how dangerous that is."
"Now, do you really think that's fair, deriding my knowledge like that?" He brought his other hand closer to the lamp.
Sora, didn't wait, hurling his keyblade through the air at the man's hand. Something black and swirly appeared in front of the man. It hit the keyblade in midair, sending it hurtling down into the lake below. Sora raised his hand to call his keyblade back, but then felt himself falling backward onto his behind. Aladdin came down next to him. From underneath his legs, Sora spotted a shadow slithering across the stone floor, the same shadow that had crossed the rocks down below. The shadow moved across the platform, attaching to the tall man's feet.
Mama Odie's warning echoed in Sora's head.
"A shadow man? Are you the one that cursed Naveen and Tiana?"
The shadow man tipped his hat. "Dr. Facilier if you please. Enchanté."
He rubbed the lamp.
The cave rumbled as red smoke exploded from the lamp's tip. The smoke spread outward like a fan, lightning flashing within it. A sinister laugher echoed in the cave, making the lake water rise and fall in harsh waves below.
"Ah, Jafar," sang Dr. Facilier, "it's your lucky day. For you have a master with wishes that align with yours."
Aladdin regained his feet and jumped forward to try and snatch the lamp from Dr. Facilier's hand but the shadow man was thin and hard to catch, easily fox-trotting away from Aladdin's lunges.
"For my first wish," Dr. Facilier aimed his cane low, tripping Aladdin, "let's go terrorize Agrabah."
Sora wasn't fast enough, and neither was the blizzard spell he threw at Dr. Facilier. The man, his shadow, the lamp, and Jafar's red smoke all vanished, but not without leaving something behind. A pool of darkness remained where Dr. Facilier had stood, and out it rose a black, feminine shape.
Then, yellow eyes opened wide, a heart shaped symbol appearing on the creature's abdomen. It stood tall, with long antenna like pigtails and pink ribbons that extended from its slender body. Without warning, it raised its leg and aimed a kick at Sora's face.
He ducked, but not fast enough. The heartless' attack connected with his temple. Sora fell backward, the world spinning in front of his eyes. From far away he heard the sound of punches and kicks and the slicing of a sword cutting through the air, but his head was too full of spirals to understand it.
There was a hand on his shoulder, and then a warm feeling that trickled down from the top of his head to his toes and suddenly the world stopped spinning.
"Sora, move!"
A foot was coming down on top of his head. Sora rolled backward and then nearly lost his balance at the edge of the platform. Aladdin reached out, grabbed his hand and steadied him, but the heartless was still attacking. It threw out its arm, and the ribbon attached to it looped around Sora's wrist. Before he could even try to counterattack, the heartless hurled the ribbon into the air, sending Sora flying like a fish on a hook.
Upside down and disoriented, Sora saw Aladdin and the heartless clashing, sword versus kick, down below. His keyblade appeared in his hand, and as Sora fell, he kept his eyes locked on the pink ribbon at his wrist.
Red fire pooled at the tip of his keyblade. Sora wrapped the ribbon around the shaft of his weapon and then fired.
"Firaga!"
The ribbon ignited, the fire following the cloth all the way down to its owner. Too busy engaging Aladdin, the heartless flinched when the fire spell hit it square on the back. It pulled its ribbon back to it, and Sora fell, the water down below ready to pull him in.
He landed on something soft, but still he dunked into the lake. Sora resurfaced fast enough to see Carpet struggling to stay afloat. He reached out and grabbed a handful of Carpet's material before it could sink below the lake's surface.
Looking up, he spotted Aladdin, still fighting the heartless. The heartless blazed from Sora's fire spell, but it wasn't slowing down. Its movements were graceful and precise even as its ribbons began to disintegrate.
Donald and Goofy were running up the steps to help Aladdin but weren't able to reach him. The heartless was throwing its fiery ribbons at them, keeping them at bay.
"It's keeping us separate on purpose," Sora whispered.
With Carpet in his hand, he swam back to the opening of the cave and screamed.
"Guys! Don't fight it! Run!"
Donald and Goofy were the first to react, racing back toward the opening of the cave. Aladdin, still the closest the heartless, was able to summersault out of the way of the heartless' kick and then race back toward the bottom. Once he reunited with Donald and Goofy, the heartless backed off, keeping its distance, its ribbons getting closer to its body.
It looked up, saw Sora alone at the cave's entrance and charged.
Exactly like Sora wanted.
"Carpet," Sora whispered, "I know you're tired, but do you think you have enough in you to do one more thing?"
Carpet gave him a thumb's up.
"Okay, when the heartless get's close, I want you to trip it."
Sora let go of Carpet, saw the rug lie flat against the floor, raised his keyblade and felt the chill of his ice spell freezing the air around him. The heartless was several feet away, its ribbon stretching out to reach him.
"Blizaga!"
A torpedo of ice flew toward the heartless. It jumped over the attack and landed right on top of Carpet. Sora ducked its swing and then Carpet rolled out from underneath it, making the heartless reel backward and off balance for only a second, but it was enough time for Goody's shield to smack it from behind, followed by Donald's second fire spell, which distracted the heartless just enough for Aladdin to get close behind it and slice it with his sword, leaving Sora to deliver the finishing blow from the front.
He clocked the heartless right the head and it crumbled to the ground, leaving nothing but dark ash and flames. Sora reached down and carefully rolled up Carpet in his arms.
"Thanks. For saving me from bellyflopping dead into the lake, and for giving it your all."
Carpet waved him off, as if to say "no problem."
"I'm sorry," Sora tucked the rug under his arm. "Will Carpet stay broken like this?"
"Carpet should be fine as soon as Genie comes back," Aladdin answered, "but right now we have to get to Agrabah. There's no telling what Jafar and that Dr. Facilier guy will do.
Goofy reached into his pocket and pulled out four glass bottles. He handed each member of the party a potion.
"You might need these, fellars. That was a tough battle."
After drinking down the warm, sweet liquid, the group raced to the entrance of the Cave of Wonders. Sora hoped that Agrabah would still be standing by the time they reached it.
"Water!"
A torrent washed away the heartless in Kairi's path, sending them flying into the dark abyss down below, but another heartless troupe appeared in its place. Kairi whistled, and Oswald sprang forward from behind her, barbecuing the heartless with a thunder spell.
Oswald and Kairi gave each other a double high-five.
"You've gotten a lot better at channeling magic," Oswald said.
"I still feel like I still have a long way to go. If you weren't here with me, I don't know if I could fight off all these heartless by myself. They just keep coming." Kairi sighed. "I feel like we've been fighting the same ones over and over."
"We probably are."
"What do you mean?"
"Without a keyblade, we can never stop them. We can only keep them away for a little while, because they will spawn again and again. I know I've fought the same heartless a bunch of times."
"There must be a really important reason you're in here."
"There is. I'm also looking for someone."
"They must be special."
Oswald looked at his wand, his eyes softening. "She is."
Kairi leaned down so that she was looking straight into Oswald's eyes. A sly smile spread across her face. "She?"
Oswald's cheeks turned pink. "W-we should keep going. Do you sense light anywhere?"
"Come on, Ozzie. Don't change the subject! I want to know about this special lady."
Oswald's ears sprang back up, his black fur standing on end. "Ozzie?"
"Haven't I earned the nickname level of friendship yet?"
"Not until you've mastered the water spell."
Kairi poked him on the nose. "Come on. I'm going to keep asking about her until you tell me."
Oswald jumped backward and began tapping his foot on the ground. "No."
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I'll stop asking about the mystery lady if you tell me one thing about her."
Oswald narrowed his eyes. "Really?"
"Promise." Kairi held up her pinky.
Oswald wrapped his pinky around hers. "One thing? It can be anything?"
"Yup. One."
"I'm not leaving the realm of darkness until I find her."
"Hey! That doesn't count! That's more about you."
"You said it could be anything." Oswald winked. "Now it's your turn to share."
Kairi reached out to pinch Oswald's cheek but then pulled her hand back. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling something tingly in her toes. Oswald stood alert, looking around, searching for heartless. When none came, he walked over to Kairi and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Kairi? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just have a weird feeling."
"Like what?"
Kairi tried thinking of words to explain. It was as though she had remembered something scary, some deep, dark, night terror that made her snap awake at night, but she didn't know what. It as just a feeling, like she had gone days without sleep, or felt a weakness in her bones that said something had happened that wasn't supposed to. She had felt this way before, once, when the islands were being destroyed.
"It's like, I'm tired all of a sudden. Like something, somewhere is taking away all my strength."
"What do you think caused it?"
The words she spoke hadn't come from her mind, hadn't been there consciously. She felt them in her heart.
"Somewhere, in the realm of light, an evil wish was made."
Jiminy's Journal:
Aladdin (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): A quick witted, agile and optimistic citizen of Agrabah. He is dedicated to helping Jasmine put Agrabah back together again after Jafar and the heartless' attack, but is always willing to join Sora on a little adventure. Aladdin is kind and a team player, always willing to help others in need.
Captain Razoul (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): Captain of the guard for the Royal Family of Agrabah. Razoul is a stubborn man that judges a person based on their status. Despite his black and white view of justice, he is a loyal guard.
Princess Jasmine (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): Princess of Agrabah and one of the seven princesses of the purest heart, Jasmine has taken over ruling since losing her father at Jafar's hands. Highly intelligent and independent, Jasmine is not the type to let others order her around or decide what's best for her kingdom. She is able to see a plan from many angles and gives Sora some wise advice about his responsibility as keyblade master.
Abu (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): A monkey who's Aladdin's right hand pal. He loves treasure so make sure he isn't stealing anything he isn't supposed to.
Carpet (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): An enchanted Carpet from the cave of wonders. Loyal and brave, Carpet assists Aladdin and Jasmine in taking care of Agrabah and occasionally takes the two out on a romantic evening.
Dr. Facilier (First Appeared in The Princess and the Frog, 2009): A witch doctor with control over the shadows. He's as smooth as he is devious. His shadow is something to watch out for, as is his mysterious knowledge about other worlds.
Chapter 7: Chapter 6: The Counter Spell
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 6: The Counter Spell
From far away, Agrabah looked like a giant had stomped on everything except the palace. Darkness oozed from the rubble. Black shadows chipped off cracked walls and broken pots, like ash after a fire. Sora, Donald and Goofy walked behind Aladdin, their eyes wide at the state of the city. Of all the worlds they had been to, none of them, not even Hollow Bastion had gotten that level of destruction.
As they walked deeper into the ruins, a cry ripped through the air. Rushing toward the noise, they spotted a woman and a child, cowering in the middle of a group of heartless. The creatures were peeling off the walls and the floor, creeping closer to the mother and her son. She shielded him with her body, and the heartless pounced.
Without waiting, Sora and Donald stretched Carpet between them and used it as a slingshot to send Goofy flying through the air. He got between the civilians and the heartless just in time to protect himself and the victims with his shield. Confused, the heartless didn't see Sora, Donald, and Aladdin creep up behind them. Donald fried the farthest heartless with fire magic, while Aladdin and Sora made quick work with the others, slashing them in half.
Once the danger had passed, Goofy checked on the mother and son.
"Thank you," she said, her eyes red with unshed tears.
Aladdin knelt down and put his hand on the boy's head. "You're safe now."
The child nodded at him, too stunned to speak.
"Can you tell us what happened here?"
The mother's voice shook as she spoke. "A red storm cloud crept over the city, and the next thing we know, those creatures are appearing out of thin air, destroying everything and everyone. The guards tried to save as many people as they could, tried to get them to the palace, but, we-"
She broke down into tears, squeezing her son's shoulders.
"Everything's okay now," Sora said, "we'll get you to the palace."
"But there might be more people in the city that need help," Goofy said.
Donald put up his hand, catching the group's attention. "Let's split up. Goofy and I will search the city. You two, get to the palace and see what's going on."
Donald handed Carpet to Sora.
"I think you should get Carpet someplace safe too."
Without wasting time, Goofy and Donald raced into the dilapidated city while Aladdin and Sora carefully guided the mother and son toward the palace. Heartless popped out of the air the further they walked. The darkness was thickest near the castle, blocking out the sun. Agrabah had gone from sweltering heat to freezing cold in minutes, but still Sora and Aladdin battled wave after wave of heartless while defending the civilians at the same time.
Just a few streets away from the gates of the palace, an army of heartless stood in their path. Aladdin told the mother and son to find a place to hide as they approached the army. The heartless twitched as the got closer, as if sensing danger. They stood with swords in their hands like a brigade of bandits ready to terrorize anyone still unlucky enough to cross their path.
Civilians cowered in front of the palace gates. Standing between the terrified citizens and the heartless, were Razoul and his men. A heartless jumped at Razoul and he defeated it with his scimitar, but the rest of the heartless swarmed at him, knocking him down, and then turning their attack on his guards.
The people cried out, covering their faces with their arms. Sora summoned up all the magical power he had in him, feeling electricity zing inside his bones. He grabbed Aladdin's arm and then threw his keyblade behind the two of them.
"Thundaga!"
The spell rocketed them forward at breakneck speed. Sora screamed over the wind.
"Get ready!"
Next to him, Aladdin grit his teeth, concentrating hard on the enemies.
They flashed through the heartless, gutting anything with sword and keyblade before they stopped inches in front of the crowd. Completely winded from the attack, Aladdin and Sora fell over, gasping.
"Did we get them?"
Aladdin rolled over, a weak smile on his face. "Yeah. But don't ever shoot me that fast through the air again."
"Deal."
Razoul, now free from all the heartless, stomped over to stand over them.
"Explain this street rat!"
"Explain what?" Aladdin flipped back on his feet. "How we just saved you, your men and all these people?"
"What? Are you expecting a thank you? For all I know, you caused all this!"
Sora's fury propelled him to his feet. "Hey, you big, dumb bum!"
"Forget it, Sora. Some people are too stubborn to change." Aladdin glared at Razoul. "Instead of picking a fight with me, maybe you should get these people to safety."
"I don't take orders from you," Razoul growled. "Men! Get these people to safety. And you two: go and clean up whatever mess you unleashed."
"One more thing, Razoul. There's a mother and son back there."
Razoul gave Aladdin a seething look, but went after the mother and her child all the same.
As quickly as they could, Aladdin and Sora herded the people into the palace. The gates had been ripped open, the inner gardens of the palace crackling with fire. Just as Sora and Aladdin reached the doors that led deeper into the palace, a horde of heartless popped right out of the air.
Sora readied his weapon, counting the number of heartless' emblems on each enemy. He jumped in the air and smacked his keyblade down on three heartless at once. Aladdin followed his lead and then the two of them danced, back to back, hacking and slashing heartless as they moved like a spinning top.
The last heartless fell and Sora, Aladdin, the civilians and the guards entered the palace. Despite all the destruction outside, the inside of the palace remained untouched and clean. They burst into the throne room, which was full to the brim with civilians. Jasmine was going around the room, soothing people with a smile even though her face was grey with exhaustion, and her legs trembled with every step.
Aladdin reached her in seconds.
"Are you all right?"
When Jasmine spoke, her voice came out in gasps. "Holding back the darkness is draining. Jafar and some thin man with a shadow have been attacking the castle for hours." She swayed, moments away from losing her balance.
The castle rumbled above, causing an echo of unease to ripple through the people. Razoul and his guards worked to keep the peace while Aladdin let Jasmine lean on him as he guided her to the throne to sit down.
"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," Jasmine panted. "It's so much harder to keep the darkness at bay alone."
"You're not alone," Sora said. "We just have to go out there and take out Jafar and Dr. Facilier."
He raised his keyblade in the air and chanted. "Curaga."
Three bellflowers appeared in the air above Jasmine's head, sending out droplets of energy and warmth like a spring breeze. Her face brightened a little.
"That should buy us some time," Sora said to Aladdin, "but we should deal with Jafar before Jasmine's strength runs out."
Jasmine reached out and grabbed Aladdin's hand. "Be careful."
"When am I not?"
She smirked. "Really? You don't run head first into trouble without thinking?"
"I'm a street rat remember? I improvise."
"Sora, please watch out for him."
"I will."
"Hey," Aladdin said in a mock hurt voice, "I can watch out for myself."
Jasmine squeezed his hand. "I know that, but together, you're stronger. Go."
Sora put Carpet in Jasmine's lap and left the palace with Aladdin. A sandstorm raged right outside the castle gates. Shapes appeared through the brown air, rushing toward them. Sora and Aladdin drew their weapons, but then the figures came closer. A few more civilians passed them, rushing into the castle. Right behind them were Donald and Goofy.
They watched the people enter the palace. Donald and Goofy didn't question Aladdin and Sora. One look on their focused expression was all they needed.
The party moved deeper into the sandstorm. The tempest scrapped Sora's skin and he had to walk half blind, with a hand over his squinted eyes. Next to him, Donald chanted and then raised his staff. A gust of summer wind rose up from the ground, swirling around each of them like a barrier.
"Aeroga," Donald chanted.
Now protected, they moved faster through the brown blur. Then Sora caught it. A shadow moved across the floor. It stopped below his feet, smiling up at him and clapping.
"I must thank you," came Dr. Faciliar's baritone voice.
The shadow slithered behind them. Turning, Sora watched as Dr. Faciliar moved in an air bubble through the sandstorm. He took off his hat and bowed.
"Thank you, for opening the castle's door to this world." He brought Jafar's lamp out from behind him, and raised it in the air.
Aladdin rushed forward, trying to grab the lamp but it was too late.
"For my final wish. I wish for you, Jafar, to be free of this lamp."
The lamp disintegrated in Dr. Facilier's hand. Furious, Aladdin tried to slash Dr. Facilier with his sword, but the Shadow Man vanished into purple smoke. In his place, there was cruel laughter that rumbled in the sky like thunder.
The sandstorm turned from brown to red. It blew in one direction, amalgamating into a shape. The dust morphed from sand to smoke, blackening. It swirled and slowly shrank in size and then Jafar walked out of the smoke. His red and black clothes sizzled with dark electricity. His long, thin face twisted into an insane smile.
Jafar curved his long neck down at them contemptuously. "I must thank the Shadow Man for his kind gesture. Never would I have dreamed I'd get the chance for such sweet revenge."
He raised his cobra headed staff, and a beam of red light flew over the ground, splitting it in half, separating Aladdin from the rest of the group. Sora, Donald and Goofy charged, but Jafar took a deep breathe and simply blew at them.
Daggers of cold air flew at Sora, Donald and Goofy, and without having time to react they were instantly frozen.
"Chill for a while," Jafar cackled, "while I deal with the street rat."
Jafar's deranged grin widened as he flew through the air. Lasers flew out of his staff, searing the ground where Aladdin had been a second before. Completely outmatched, Aladdin could only use his agility to run and dodge.
Sora watched helplessly, feeling his fingers and toes tingle from the ice he was trapped in. Instead of shivering, he felt as though every bit of him were on fire. Every muscle in his body seized. He could barely breathe: the ice had covered his nose and mouth. It was creeping up higher to cover his hair.
The only thing he could do was move his eyes. Then he saw the end of Donald's staff. It was sticking out of the ice, red flames building up at the tip. Seconds later, Donald's staff was completely aflame, the ice melting from his arm, then his torso, and finally his face. He stumbled out of the ice, shook his head and then faced Goofy and Sora.
"Get ready! Fire!"
Sora gasped for air, only to exhale in a scream as his body went from burning from the ice, to melting from the fire. Goody jumped up and down, patting his smocking clothes. Donald came to the center of the three of them, raising his staff high.
"Curaga!"
The burns and blisters from the fire and ice erased from Sora's skin. Donald collapsed.
Goofy bent down to help him, but Donald waved them off.
"Go help Aladdin."
Goofy dug into his pocket and put a bottle filled with blue and red liquid in the ground next to Donald.
"I was saving this ether for an emergency. Drink it."
Sora gave Donald a potion. "Thanks Donald."
The duck was busy pulling the cork off the ether bottle, desperate to try and replenish his magic. "Stop staring at me and go," he snapped.
Sora and Goofy raced through the buildings, chasing the sound of Jafar's laugher and the cracks and booms of his attacks. They rounded a corner, and then they were in the market place. The broken stalls and wares were on fire, and several paces ahead, Aladdin was held down by a team of heartless. Hovering above him was Jafar.
"As soon as I'm finished with all of you," he hissed, "I will plunge Agrabah into a deep darkness!"
Sora jumped on Goofy's sheild and then was launched into the air toward Jafar. From above, he fired an ice spell that hit Jafar's cape. The heartless looked up, and didn't see Goofy's shield flying toward them like a frisbee. It hit one of the heartless, freeing Aladdin's arm. He reached for his sword and slashed the other heartless.
Jafar turned his attention to Sora and conjured knives in the air. They flew toward Sora, ready to skewer him into pieces. Goofy jumped up between Sora and the knives, deflecting the attack. Down below, Aladdin got rid of the last heartless and tried to slash Jafar, but the ex-genie disintegrated into smoke, dodging the attack.
Landing on the ground, Sora and Goofy regrouped with Aladdin, searching for Jafar. Seconds turned into minutes, and then the sound of footprints made the three of them turn around, weapons raised, but it was only Donald catching up with the group.
"Without your genie boy," Jafar's voice echoed above them, "you're nothing. You can't hope to stop me. Once I plunge this world into darkness and be like a plague over the others and the first thing I need to do, is get rid of the light protecting this world."
A look of horror crossed Aladdin's face. Sora, Donald and Goofy felt ice pooling in their guts. The only light standing in Jafar's way was Jasmine.
Aladdin screamed into the sky. "Picking on defenseless civilians, Jafar? Despite all your power, you're nothing but a coward."
"Yeah, ya big palooka," Donald added.
"Yer just a big bully," Goofy said.
"Yeah, you ugly snake," Sora bellowed, "come out here and fight!"
There was a chortle.
"Ssssnake? Now there's an idea."
The ground rose up like a typhoon ocean wave, sending everyone down to their knees. Any building that had been standing crumbled, leaving the entire area as bare as the desert surrounding it.
There was nowhere to hide.
The perfect place for a predator to strike.
A thick, muscular tube rose up from under the ground. The sand beneath Sora's hands and knees parted to reveal black and red scales. A mound of sand rose up, burst and then a giant cobra head popped out. It turned to face them, its hood flaring, its lips peeling back to show sword-sized fangs. The red, hatred filled eyes narrowed at them. It was Jafar.
The scales under Sora twitched. Without thinking, he pushed Donald, Goofy and Aladdin off before the snake tail bucked, throwing Sora backward into the sand. He landed face first on the ground, his chest and torso burning from the impact, his mouth grainy with sand. Pulling himself up onto his elbows, he spit, and only had a moment to notice the ground beneath him get darker as a shadow loomed above.
Sora rolled, barely dodging the snake tail as it sank into the ground where he had just been. Quickly, he got back onto his feet and slammed his keyblade down on the snake's back. It was like a flea biting a dog. Rather then rear back in pain, the snake tail swept the area, crashing into Sora and slamming him back into the sand. This time, he landed on his back and stars burst in front of his eyes, his body tingling from head to toe.
With Sora down, Jafar turned his attention to Donald, Goofy and Aladdin, hissing with laughter.
"Come on," came his slithery voice, "won't you stay for a bite?"
He snapped at the Aladdin, Donald and Goofy, making the three of them fan out to avoid his strikes. Donald aimed fire spells at Jafar's face while Goofy ran to Sora. Aladdin slashed at Jafar's mouth whenever he flashed forward to try and bite the street rat, but it only slowed Jafar down.
His attacks wouldn't stop, and he slammed his long, thick body so hard against the sand, it sent everyone flying. From the air, he caught Aladdin in his tail. Sora, barely coming out of his daze, had no time to help Donald and Goofy, who had been caught up in Jafar's attack and had fallen to the ground, completely incapacitated.
Too exhausted to get up, his friends out of commission, Aladdin gritting his teeth from being crushed in Jafar's scales, dread sliced into Sora's heart. Then he felt a light nearby and turned his head to see Jasmine racing toward them. She reached Sora, and a look of horror twisted on her face at the sight of Aladdin.
He was barely awake, his eyes almost closing.
Jafar opened his mouth, ready to swallow Aladdin whole.
Jasmine put her hand on Sora's shoulder, pushing past him without noticing the spark that traveled from her hand to Sora. He felt an energy pass through him that brought him back up to his feet. Before Jasmine could get too far, Sora reached out and grabbed her hand. A powerful force slammed through him and into his keyblade.
Jasmine whirled around, staring at their hands. She reached out with her free hand and put it on Sora's keyblade. The power coursed through Sora and into his keyblade like a fury of a thousand sandstorms. He and Jasmine turned, aimed the keyblade together at Jafar, and had to take a deep breathe to relax the sizzling, fiery energy coursing through them in order to say in the incantation.
"Mega Flare!"
An explosion of light and heat blasted from the keyblade. It passed through Donald, through Goofy, Aladdin, Sora and Jasmine like a gentle breeze. Only Jafar roared as the spell burned through him, making his body vanish as the white light from the explosion momentarily erased everything.
Sora's eyes burned from all the light. The power he just commanded flickered out and died, and he fell into nothingness.
A light in the darkness, a home to return to, a memory of a friend left behind, he was lost in the switching narratives of dreams. Yet, somehow, he had a feeling that he shouldn't be asleep, that there was so much he had to do in the waking realm, but something wasn't letting him wake up completely.
Then a voice whispered in the dark.
Stay asleep.
He didn't want to listen to the voice. He wasn't sure why. The voice was low and only wanted to give him comfort. Yet, it bothered him. He was tired of drifting in and out of consciousness, of thoughts that shouted that something was wrong, only to be forgotten a second later. There was something, someone, important that he just couldn't remember, and the more he felt that he was forgetting, the more his heart screamed in anguish.
The feelings flashed intensely one moment and then numbed out the next, as though something didn't want him to feel that way. Something a lot like...
Darkness.
Do not awaken. You are not ready.
He was standing on a round platform. It was pitch blade, but he knew that it wasn't supposed to be. Vague memories of a bright and colorful platform beneath his feet appeared in thoughts. This wasn't right.
"I want to wake up," he thought.
The waking world has no place for you.
"But I have something important to do."
You belong here, in the darkness.
That was a lie. He only remembered the stupid grin of a boy, and the giggles of a girl he once knew, but he knew that was where he belonged, with his friends, and not here, locked in a prison of nothing.
He fought against the dreams, against forgetting, but the power of sleep crept into his mind each time. Focus, breathe, repeat, he chanted. He didn't want to forget. He couldn't forget.
Just accept oblivion.
"No. I won't."
You have no choice. You are alone.
And the dreams took him again, but not before he swore to himself that he would wake up one day.
If they would stop shaking him he could sleep for five more darn minutes.
"Sora. Wake up."
Just a little longer.
"Aw phooey! This is how you do it."
Cold water slammed against his face. Sora sprang up, coughing. One look at the bucket that Donald held his hand explained what had happened.
"Why you!" Sora made a grab for Donald, but the duck was short and sprightly, hiding behind Jasmine's legs.
The princess smiled sweetly. "I'm so glad you're awake."
Goofy fell down to his knees and wrapped up Sora in a bear hug. "Gosh, I so was worried!"
Sora whipped the excess water off his face, leaning away from Goofy. "What happened?"
"You fainted after we cast that spell."
"The spell? Oh! What was that?"
"I don't know." Jasmine said. "But when I saw Aladdin in danger, I-"
She rounded on Aladdin, poking him in the chest. "I told you to be careful! You-"
She didn't say more. She threw herself at Aladdin. He "oofed" when she fell on him, but he didn't complain, wrapping his arms around her.
Sora and Goofy turned their heads, feeling as though they were intruding on a private moment. Only Donald stared with a silly grin on his beak, until Jiminy reminded him to be polite, making Donald turn reluctantly.
After a moment, Aladdin cleared his throat, telling everyone that it was safe to look again.
Sora spoke first. "Where's Jafar?"
Jasmine looked around the area. "Gone. I don't feel any darkness nearby at all, nothing like the power when he was attacking you. Agrabah's safe again."
"But how did we do that? I've never casted a spell that powerful before."
Goofy slammed his fist into his palm. "Isn't it because Jasmine is a princess of heart? Maybe her power and Sora's together is what got rid of Jafar."
"There's a lot we don't know about the light," Donald said.
And a lot they didn't know about the darkness, Sora remembered. Their enemies were getting stronger, he realized. He looked around Agrabah, or what was left of it.
"What about the city? Is it just going to stay like this?"
Aladdin sighed. "Razoul's going to find some way to blame me for this, I just know it."
"I'll deal with him, don't worry," Jasmine said. "We can rebuild Agrabah and who knows, if Genie comes back, we might be able to make it better then before."
Hearing Genie's name reminded Sora about Carpet and about how Dr. Facilier's attack had nearly destroyed the poor rug. Anguish turned in Sora's stomach, making him feel sick. Ever the attentive friends, Donald and Goofy leaned forward to look at his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Dr. Facilier. He thanked us for opening the castle door." Sora crumbled to the ground. "We brought Dr. Facilier here didn't we? He followed us. So, all this," he gestured to Agrabah's sorry state, "is our fault?"
Jasmine and Alice were right. He couldn't go to the realm of darkness to save Riku. Just by using Castle Oblivion's door, they had helped in destroying the home of their friends.
Jasmine poked Sora on the nose. "Did you plan to put this world in danger?"
"No."
"Do you want heartless to get out of the realm of darkness?"
"Of course not."
"Are you willing to face the consequences if they do? If a world get's destroyed, if the people you care about are in danger? These are questions a person with responsibility always has to ask."
Jasmine turned in a circle, pointing to her city. "Since I've lost my father, I've had to think about these things everyday. I've also made mistakes, but as long as one thing in my city is still standing, I will fight for it. Don't blame yourself for what happened today Sora. Dr. Facilier and Jafar did this, but you and Aladdin helped me to protect it."
"I don't know what to do. We're trapped in that castle and the only way forward is through the door that could, or could not, throw us into the realm of darkness."
"If that happens, then I want you to promise me one thing. Lock the door that leads to the realm of darkness with your keyblade. We don't need another person like Ansem, or Maleficent, out there destroying the worlds."
"Even if it means we might lock our friends in there too?"
"I think you should have more faith in Riku," Jasmine said, "you never know, he might just get out of the realm of darkness on his own." Jasmine smirked. "And when the two of you meet again, bring him back here. He owes me an apology for when he kidnapped me for Maleficent."
Sora looked at Donald and Goofy and the two of them smiled reassuringly at him.
"I think she's saying that she trusts us, Sora," Goofy said.
"Yeah, if we go to the realm of darkness, we'll just have to make absolutely sure nothing comes out," Donald added. "Besides, we have to defeat the Shadow Man."
"That's right. He made his third wish to set Jafar free. There's no telling what his second wish did."
Jasmine smiled at the three of them. "I have faith in you three. But don't forget that as keyblade master, you have a duty to keep the worlds safe."
"Of course, Highness." Sora bowed.
Just then something ran up to them. Abu jumped on Aladdin's shoulder. He was holding a thalassa shell in his hands.
Sora took the shell from the monkey. "We never did talk to that merchant."
Jiminy's Journal:
Jafar (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): The former grand vizier of Agrabah. His lust for power made him conspire with Maleficent to take over Agrabah in the past. His thirst for revenge was not enough to stand up to Sora and Jasmine's combined light.
Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Todayland
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 7: Todayland
A cloaked figure laughed silently into the void. A wave of fresh air moved through the realm of darkness. The walls between the worlds were getting weaker. The figure flew over the black platforms. The heartless stirred at his nearness, but he ignored them.
There was a light he was chasing, a light struggling against the darkness that had captured it. He needed to find it, to use it to escape, to set his plan into motion. He felt the bright warmth of it in the distance, and as he got closer, the light's power cut through the gloom of the dark realm.
Then something jumped at him and he was blinded by a white wave of energy. Like a wave, it threw him back.
The cloaked figure paused. Something was keeping him away every time he made a move. He couldn't reach the light, but it didn't matter. Soon, he would be free to go to the outside world.
The merchant had been very happy with the three star-shaped rubies that Sora, Donald and Goofy had given him. He described the caravan driver that had given him the thalassa shell. To the trio's surprise, the man the merchant had sent them to hadn't been in the palace.
They found him outside, in the destroyed city, helping women and children gather their belongings from the broken homes. He was a tall, handsome man, with silver hair tucked underneath his blue and gold bandana. Daggers rested on his hips, and he wore a series of exotic scarves and belts over his blue pants.
"Excuse us," Goofy began politely, "but are you a caravan driver?"
The young man turned around and bowed. "Locke Cole, and I'm a world class treasure hunter, not a caravan driver."
"Gosh, sorry Mr. Cole."
The young man laughed. "Locke is fine. What can I do for you?"
Sora held up the thalassa shell. "Can you tell us where you found this?"
"Sorry," Locke shrugged, "a treasure hunter never reveals his best hunting spots."
"We don't want to steal your thunder. We just want to know if there was something odd about the place where you found this shell."
Locke crossed his arms. "Odd? Like?"
Sora bit down on his tongue. How was he going to get this guy to tell him about the thalassa shell without revealing the existence of other worlds?
He dug into his pocket and took out Kairi's good luck charm.
"My friend made this. She made me promise to give it back. I haven't seen her in a while and well-"
Locke stared between the charm and the thalassa shell. "She used those shells to make that? You must really be important to her if she gave you something she worked so hard on."
Sora felt a tingly sensation in his heart. "Well, uh, yeah, I guess."
"All right, kid. I'll tell you where I found the shell, but I don't think it'll help you much."
"Why?"
"Well, because you might not believe me."
"Try me."
Locke hustled them away from the women he had been helping. Once they were out of earshot from the other civilians, he began his story.
"I'm not from around here, you see. I go wherever there's treasure, especially treasure that's out of this world, if you catch my drift."
Donald and Goofy shared a look.
Sora, still being cautious, used his words wisely. "You mean, like a different world?"
Locke snapped his fingers. "Bingo. What do you think? Sounds crazy right?"
Sora's keyblade appeared in his hands. "Not at all. We're out of this world too."
Locke quirked an eyebrow at the keyblade but didn't make a comment toward it.
"Lots of things from different worlds got blown around back when the walls separating worlds were gone. I went from place to place finding things that don't belong. Think I found that shell on a beach somewhere a few months back. Been carrying it around in my pocket for a while. Then something happened to the worlds and I ended up stuck here."
Sora felt his chest deflate. He must have been talking about when the heartless attacked the worlds and destroyed Destiny Islands. Once the worlds had been restored, they had been cut off from each other and that must have been why Locke was stuck in Agrabah.
"Wait. How come you didn't go back to your own world?"
"Already found all the treasure there. Didn't feel the need to return."
"That's not what I meant. When we restored the worlds, you should have gone back home, not been stuck here."
"We?" Locke repeated.
There was no use in hiding the truth when Locke already knew about the existence of other worlds. Sora, Donald and Goofy explained about their mission, about how they defeated Ansem, and that they were looking for their lost friends. When they were finished, Locke closed his eyes, as though meditating on their story.
"Sounds like you guys have had it pretty rough. You have no clue where your friends are?"
"All we know is that they might be in a realm of darkness, but we can't just-"
"Sounds like you need another set of eyes." Locke winked.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone should stay behind in that castle you mentioned and keep an eye out. I'm volunteering myself. Besides, what kind of world traversing treasure hunter stays in one place?"
"But-"
"Aw let him come." Donald said.
Goofy and Sora squinted at him.
Goofy scratched his temple. "Are ya sure, Donald?"
"Yeah, I didn't expect to hear that from you."
Donald tapped his foot. "Well, he has a point. We need someone to stand guard while we go from world to world to make sure nothing gets in or out, like Jasmine said."
"Really?" Sora leaned down to glare hard into the duck's eyes. "This wouldn't have something to do with the fact that Locke's a treasure hunter and that you want some of his bounty, now would it?"
Donald looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I understand if you don't trust me," Locke said, "so how about this."
He dug into one of his many pockets and produced a green gem. Donald's eyes widened. He stared at it with a star stuck expression. Locke held the gem high, out of Donald's reach. In the sun, the gem gleamed, revealing an inner red fire within.
"What's that?"
"Magicite. A rare, powerful treasure from my world," Locke explained. "It's very important to me. I'll offer it up to you as collateral. As long you have that, I won't do anything out of the ordinary, I promise. Do we have a deal?"
Sora looked at the gem in Locke's hand. "Before that, I want to know what you want. You can't just come along with us for only treasure."
Locke shrugged. "Well, for one, I don't like staying in one place too long. Plus, I want to help you guys."
Donald jumped up and down. "Come on, Sora, just take it."
"I don't think Locke's a bad guy," said Goofy. "After all, he was helping all those civilians earlier."
Jiminy whispered in Sora's ear. "It's your decision. I'll support you either way."
Sora thought about Jasmine's warning, and about how Dr. Facilier had entered Agrabah without any of them seeing. He took the magicite from Locke's hand.
Kairi stopped mid step.
Oswald turned around to look at her. "Something wrong?"
"That light we're chasing. It's closer then ever now."
Kairi closed her eyes. Somewhere nearby, there was a warm, honey feeling that made her feel giddy. Yet, it was behind something cold and angry and the whiplash of feeling two powerful but opposite things at once made Kairi's joints feel tingly and weak.
Excitement was shinning in Oswald's wide eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for. Let's go get it. Which way is it?"
Kairi turned in a circle. She felt the warm and cold sensations on her feet and walked toward the edge of the platform they were standing on. Pluto sniffed the floor as he walked behind her. When he looked down over the cliff, he barked and pointed with his nose.
"You can feel it down there too, boy?"
Oswald came to stand next to them. Down below, the darkness flowed like a black river.
"We should be very careful," Kairi said, "I can feel a powerful darkness down there too."
Oswald held out his hand. "Are you ready?"
Pluto jumped into Kairi's arms. With one hand holding the dog and the other grasping Oswald's, Kairi nodded.
"I'm ready."
"Okay. Here we go!"
With his powerful, rabbit legs, Oswald jumped, pulling Kairi and Pluto up into the air with him. As they descended down into the darkness below, magic pooled at the end of Oswald's wand. Kairi focused on the light down below, and on gathering magical power within herself, in case they ran into any heartless. Just as they descended down into the abyss, she felt another light.
It was only for a second, but the light was familiar, reminding her of her days chasing two boys on the beach. Then it was gone, leaving Kairi with a lonely feeling. She looked up at the platform they had just fallen from.
"Riku?"
Locke walked around the hall of Castle Oblivion, knocking on the walls and pressing his ear to the ground. Sora, Donald and Goofy watched him from the top stair in front of the dimensional door. Locke tapped on the castle's decorative pillars with his daggers. Then he raised his hand in the air, and chanted. "Thunder!"
Lightning rained down from the sky, charring the ground Locke was standing on. He stood with his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Then he turned to Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"There's a draft. I'm willing to bet that there's a secret door here somewhere."
Sora went to the wall that had changed the last time they were there. It was paper thin. He could almost see a dark horizon beyond it. He pulled out his keyblade and smacked the wall. The wall shivered as though it were made from jelly, yet it didn't break.
"I think this wall is getting weaker. I thought it looked weird the last time we were here." Sora turned to look at the door on the other side of the room. "Maybe it changes every time we travel through there."
"Looks like I'm going to keep an eye on this wall while you guys head out into another world. Bring me something shiny, will ya?" Locke sat down next to the wall and busied himself with sharpening his daggers.
"Let us know if anything interesting happens when we get back," Sora said.
At the door, he turned around to look at Locke one more time. Then he walked though the doorway with Donald and Goofy.
They stepped out onto the greenest lawn Sora had ever seen in his life. The sky was a perfect blue and in the distance, beyond a crystal clear lake, a city stood tall. Without hesitation, Sora, Donald and Goofy rushed toward the town. The closer they got, the more marvelous the city became.
People in giant soap bubbles flew around perfectly rounded towers. Skyscappers rose up in seconds, like inflatable balloons, from strange contraptions labeled, "instabuildings." The sidewalks and bridges between each building were covered by perfectly green grass. There were rails and rails of trams taking businessmen, children and families all around the sky scrappers. Not a single drop of smog, grime, or pollution existed in the city.
Unable to resist, Sora, Donald and Goofy raced to the top of the nearest building. On the roof of the building was a bubble machine. They stood excitedly in line, waiting to stand under the giant bubble wand. As soon as Sora's turn came, he practically raced to the circular platform. A bubble ring came down over his head, and a moment later, he was floating in a clear sphere. Behind him, Donald and Goofy floated in their own bubbles, marveling at the views of the city below.
Sora looked down at all the trams moving to and fro below him and the tops of the buildings with their perfect rooftop gardens. He floated to another building and a giant gloved hand poked his bubble. It popped. Before Sora could scream, he was looping down a tube-slide so fast, he couldn't resist throwing up his hands like he were on a roller coaster. The slide ended at the bottom of the building, and Sora slid out onto soft, smooth grass.
He leaned back in the grass and laughed, catching his breath, just as an excited Donald and Goofy landed out of the tube slide right behind him. Sora helped his friends up and couldn't resist jumping up and down with them in childish glee.
"This place is amazing," Sora said between pants, "what a city!"
In the next second, Sora instantly regretted his words. As if appearing just to ruin their good mood, black bowler hats popped out of the air. Tentacles came out of the bottoms of the hats. They floated in the air, twitching like poisonous jellyfish, heartless emblems shining on the top of each hat.
Donald groaned. "Why does this always happen?"
He raised his staff and send a blizzard spell careening out at the nearest heartless. Sora and Goofy charged into battle right behind Donald. Sora slashed through several heartless at once, smashing them to bits with his keyblade without ever noticing one of the heartless sneak up behind him.
The heartless' metal tentacles reached out and plucked Sora right off the ground, raising him up into the air. Struggling to get free, Sora spotted another heartless zooming toward him, its metal tentacles sharpening into a spear, ready to run him through.
Sora threw his kepblade with all the force he could muster and it sliced through the incoming heartless, but he was helpless to stop the others that were still flying toward him. Down below, Donald jumped up on Goody's shield and was thrown up into the air. He rose up right in front of Sora, raised his staff and bellowed.
"Thundaga!"
The heartless exploded as the lightning zinged through them. Donald and Sora fell, landing on their feet just as Goofy crushed the last heartless.
They never even got the chance to question why there were heartless in such a perfect city, because, just then, a boy ran up to them.
"Suspicious newcomers. You're coming with me!" He reached out and grabbed Sora's arm, dragging him.
Sora dug his heels into the ground and pulled his arm away from the strange boy. "What's your deal? You can't just grab someone like that."
"Young man-"
"Young? You're like the same age as me."
"I am a member of the police force in this city and I order you," he pointed between Sora's eyes, "to come with me and explain the appearance of those strange creatures."
"You mean the heartless?"
"Aha! So you do know what those creatures are. You've just admitted guilt, my friend."
"What?"
By this time, Donald and Goofy had stepped between Sora and the boy.
Donald stomped his foot. "Hey, you brat, didn't anyone teach ya it's not polite to just grab people like that?"
"Now, now," Goofy began. "Why don't we all just calm down?" He turned toward the boy. "Excuse me, mister-"
The boy smoothed back his glossy, black hair. "Robinson, Wilbur Robinson."
"Mr. Robinson. Can you tell us why you're so upset?"
Wilber Robinson looked at the back of his nails. "I'm a time traveling spy from the future and this is my city. It's my job to make sure nothing goes wrong here."
"Has something gone wrong here?"
"Yes. Those strange creatures have been appearing and causing all kinds of trouble."
"Then maybe we can help you. We're sorta good at handling the heartless. Why don't you calmly explain to us what's going on."
Wilbur Robinson squinted shrewdly at Goofy and then gave Sora and Donald a once over. The duck and the keyblade master glared back at him. Finally, Wilbur sighed and brushed off imaginary dust from his shoulder.
"Fine. Let's go to my place. I'll explain things there. "
Sora had expected that a "time traveling spy from the future" would take them to some super, secret, underground facility, not to a big, fancy house on a beautiful, green hill. A giant, golden letter "R" hung above the front door.
Wildbur went up the steps toward the door. On the left and right sides of the entrance were two potted trees. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy went up the steps to the porch, someone's head popped out one of the giant pots.
Donald screamed, jumping into Goofy's arms. Sora's keyblade appeared in his hand and he pointed it toward the head. A man with a pointy nose and sunglasses smiled.
"Hey," he nodded toward the door, "ring my doorbell."
There was a voice from behind them. Turning, there was an identical head coming out of the other pot.
"No, ring my doorbell. It's cooler!"
"Uncle Spike, Uncle Dimitri," Wilbur huffed, "we don't have time for this. We're on a very important mission."
Uncles Spike and Dimitri blew raspberries at him.
If Sora thought two heads coming out a flower pot was the strangest thing he would see that day, he was so wrong. A second after Wilbur had knocked on the door, a giant, one-eyed, purple squid opened it.
This time, Goofy screamed, hiding behind Donald.
The squid took one look at Wilbur and moved out of the way. Wilbur moved to enter the house but stopped when he noticed that no one was following.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
Sora, his keyblade still in his hand, pointed at the door. "That giant squid doesn't bother you."
"Squid? How dare you. That's my trusted butler, Lefty. Now come on!"
Sora couldn't help ducking awkwardly as he entered the house behind Wilbur. The "butler" stared at them with its giant eye as they entered. Once inside, Lefty closed the door and slithered away.
The interior of the house was just as bright and sunny as the city had been to and Sora would have thought it were a perfectly normal home, if it weren't for the fact that the room suddenly rumbled and a giant train moved across the foyer. A woman sat on top of the locomotive, screaming, "yee-haw!"
"What was that," Donald asked.
"That was Aunt Billy and her toy train," said Wilber.
"That was a toy train?"
"Sure was," said someone new.
Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped. A old man, who was wearing all of his clothes completely backwards, had appeared behind them.
"Hi Grandpa," Wilbur waved, "have you seen Dad anywhere?"
"Don't think so," said Grandpa, "but I think Grandma Lucile might have seen him last."
"Where is she?"
"Baking cookies."
It turned out that "baking cookies" really meant that Grandma Lucile was having a dance party for one. They found her dancing under a disco ball in a large, empty room. Sora, Donald and Goofy couldn't resist not dancing as they walked under the disco lights.
Grandma Lucile didn't stop grooving even when Wilbur asked her where to to find his father.
"Ask, Uncle Art."
Uncle Art was a pizza delivery guy and, by the time Wilbur and the others had caught up to him in the topiary garden, he was already flying away on a delivery in his flying saucer. Luckily, Uncle Fritz and his wife, who was actually a wooden puppet on Uncle Fritz's hand, told them to talk to Wilber's mom, Franny.
Wilbur lead the way to a room that, even with the door closed, was loud with jazz music. When they entered, Donald and Goofy clapped excitedly at the sight of a whole ensemble of frogs singing, dancing, playing the guitar, piano, drums, trumpets, all while being conducted by a tall, pretty lady that shared Wilbur's glossy, black hair and brown eyes.
Wilbur didn't even bother to talk to his mother. He sat back and listened to the music. Sora, Donald and Goofy danced along, until the number ended. Then they gave the frogs and their conductor a standing ovation.
When the frogs and the conductor bowed, Sora thought about Naveen and Tiana and how Franny would have loved to meet them.
"Thank you! Thank you," Franny said.
Standing, she noticed, Sora, Donald and Goofy. "Oh. Wilbur, looks like you've made some new friends."
"Mom, have you seen Dad?"
"Said he was going to go give Uncle Joe a new waistband."
Sora, Donald and Goofy groaned but followed Wilbur to the next family member.
Uncle Joe was busy eating PB&J in front of a TV and he sent them to Uncle Gaston, who fired them out of a canon to see Uncle Fritz's son and daughter, Talula and Lazo, who then (finally!) told them that Wilbur's dad was in the garage, which led everyone back to the foyer where they had started.
"A-yuck, what a nice family."
"That was so much fun," Donald chuckled.
"Yeah," Sora said to Wilbur, "your family is really something."
"Thanks."
"Okay, so we're back here," Donald said. "Now what?"
"We need to get to the garage," said Wilbur.
Then he pulled a string that hung down from the ceiling and the ground split open beneath Sora, Donald and Goofy. Screaming, Sora looped and bounced in a long, glass tube before he landed on his feet in the cavernous garage.
Donald and Goofy crashed onto the floor behind him. The next second, Wilbur landed easily on his feet.
Sora stomped up to the Wilbur. "Couldn't you have warned us?"
Wilbur put a hand up in front of Sora's face. "No time for that." He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. "CARL!"
"Kid I'm right here, you don't have to shout."
A golden robot with long, spaghetti arms and legs walked out into the light from the shadowy corners of the garage. The robot snapped his fingers and the garage lit up. The entire room was full of all kinds of contraptions and tools and in the middle of it all were what looked like two rocket ships, one blue, and one red.
Donald and Goofy got close to the red rocket ship, excitedly bouncing up and down.
"Sora! It's like the gummi ship," they said.
Wilbur popped up between Donald, Goofy and the "gummi ship."
"Hey, hey, hey! Hands off the time machine!"
Sora felt an irresistible urge to go to the other rocket-ship and climb onto one of its wings.
"A time machine? No way! That's so cool!"
"Hey! Get down from there! Carl!"
The robot's arms stretched out and looped around Sora's waist like a rope, taking him off the time machine and putting him back down on the ground.
"Listen kid, the last time we had a spiky haired boy try and take the time machine out for a spin, we almost put the fate of the entire timeline in jeopardy. Be careful, will ya?"
Sora couldn't bring himself to feel too guilty when a literal robot (which was really cool) was the one scolding him, but he apologized anyway.
"So, what's with the red, blue and green trio?" Carl asked Wilber.
"That is an excellent question," Wilbur said. "But first, where is Dad?"
"Just a sec."
Car's arm stretched and stretched all the way to a corner of the room, where a pair of legs were sticking out from under a massive, black cube. Carl's arm looped around the legs and the next second, a blond man was pulled through the air toward them.
Dangling upside down, his lab coat hanging form his shoulders, Wilber's dad waved.
"Hello."
Sora, Donald and Goofy waved back awkwardly.
Carl flipped Wilber's dad right side up and put him back on his feet.
"Hey, Cornelius. Wilbur's got something to say to you."
Cornelius adjusted the glasses on his nose. "Wilbur, can't you introduce me to your friends first?"
"Oh right, this is," Wilbur stopped. "Uh, I don't actually know their names."
After some introductions, Wilbur finally got the chance to speak to Cornelius.
"Those strange creatures that we've been seeing lately, these three took them down without a sweat."
"Really? How?"
"I guess you can call us exterminators," Sora said.
"That's really good news," said Cornelius. "I've been running around for days, trying to come up with an invention that can get rid of those things and-"
One second, Cornelius Robinson was in front of them, the next he was gone. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Wilbur and Carl stared at the empty space where he had just been. Sora rubbed his eyes and when he opened them, he realized that he hadn't been seeing things.
Cornelius really was gone.
"Dad?" Wilber called.
There was no response.
"Carl, did you see?"
But Carl was gone too and the next second the garage looked as though it were glitching. The surrounding walls and ceiling faded in and out of focus.
Sora summoned his keyblade, but there was no enemy to fight. "What's going on? Where did your Dad go?"
Wilbur ran to the red rocket ship and opened the door, jumping inside. "Come on," he shouted.
Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped into the time machine and sat in the seats behind Wilbur. They buckled up while Wilbur was frantically pressing buttons. The rocket ship roared to life and then they were floating off the garage floor.
Outside, the glitching became worse as everything turned red hot, melting. The ground split open, the walls crackled, and then all the inventions and contraptions around the room began to explode one by one.
"Hold on tight!"
Wilbur punched a red button and a second later, Sora was pressed into his seat as the ship flew through a long tube of colorful light. When the ship stopped, they were no longer in the beautiful, clean, gleaming city they had seen. The buildings were made of brick and steel. Rain poured down from the sky, pitter-pattering on the glass doom of the rocket ship, or time machine.
The city below was grimy and the air had a polluted grey glow to it.
Goofy pressed his nose to the glass next to his seat, looking down. "Where are we? What just happened?"
"We jumped back to the past," Wilbur explained. "I think something happened to my Dad when he was a kid."
"How do you know that," Sora asked.
"Because Carl was invented by my dad. If Carl disappeared then that means that Dad never invented him. If we don't find my Dad and fix the problem, the entire future will disappear. And so will I."
Kairi, Oswald and Pluto floated down and down and down. The chasm below felt as though it had no end, and the heartless watched them from dark cliffs as they descended deeper and deeper. Yet, they did not attack. Strange.
The lower they went, the more the happiness of the light warmed Kairi while the anger of the darkness gnawed at her. Whatever was down there was both dangerous and rewarding.
Were they even floating downward, Kairi began to wonder. The platforms they passed looked as though they were flipped upside down. Had they gone so far that they had immersed on the other side of the realm of darkness, like a kid who believed that digging through a planet would lead to them standing upside down on the other side.
When her feet finally touched the ground, Pluto wriggled out of Kairi's hold. He ran around sniffing with his rear in the air, his tail sticking straight up and alert. Kairi stretched her arm, which had stiffened from holding Pluto for so long.
Oswald noticed and helped her aching muscles with a cure spell. Thanking him, Kairi searched for the source of the strong light and incredible darkness she felt. Then she saw it.
Down the road they stood on, was a massive arch that stretched up several meters from the ground like a giant open mouth, ready to swallow them if they passed below it. The arch was decorated by black, stone barbs, like shark teeth, that jutted out in every direction, cutting into the nearby platforms that were unfortunate enough to float too close.
Beyond the arch was another terror. A black sphere with purple, blue, and neon red energy was floating there. Kairi could see lighting flashing within the sphere. Rubble floated around the sphere like the outer ring of a planet. Whatever was inside that darkness, Kairi new there would be no turning back once they entered it.
"You nervous?" Oswald said.
"Kind of. But I came here to find that light and I'm going in."
Oswald grinned at her and then held out his hand. "You ready?"
Grasping it, Kairi winked at him, summoning up her magical energy, getting ready for a fight she knew was coming.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
Jiminy's Journal
Locke Cole (First appeared in Final Fantasy VI, 1994): Self proclaimed treasure hunter who seems to have a soft spot for women. He's friendly and loves to joke around. Locke has agreed to keep an eye out in Castle Oblivion while Sora and company visit the other worlds.
Wilbur Robinson (First Appeared in Meet The Robinsons, 2007): The son of Frannie and Cornelius Robinson. An overconfident boy from the future, the world Wilbur lives in is a direct result of all his father's inventions. Wilbur's a bit impatient, but seems to have the future's best interest at heart. His life is on the line if Sora, Donald and Goofy don't help him figure out what went wrong in the past.
Carl (First Appeared in Meet The Robinsons, 2007): A golden robot made by Wilbur's dad. He has arms that can stretch for long distances and is always trying to keep Wilbur out of trouble.
The Robinson Family (First Appeared in Meet The Robinsons, 2007): Okay, Bud, Fritz and Joe are Brothers. Fritz is married to Petunia (who is a cranky puppet). Talula and Lazlo are their children. Joe is married to Aunt Billy. Lefty (the squid) is the butler. Spike and Dimitri are twins (and the Robinsons don't know who they're related to). Lucille is married to Bud and Wilbur's Dad, Cornelius, is their son. Cornelius is married to Frannie and her brothers are Gaston and Art.
Chapter 9: Chapter 8: The Invisible
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 8: The Invisible
Sora, Donald and Goofy had to resist running up to poke all the contraptions and innovations in the domed convention hall. People in lab coats scurried around, carrying papers and veiled objects, moving giant machines with forklifts, reconnecting wires to electronic circuits, and tightening the bolts on their inventions.
Among all the scientists were people in business suits. They walked around from stand to stand, taking furious notes on each of the inventions on display. None of the suits paid any attention to all the field trip children that had come to the science fair. The inventors, on the other hand, were more then happy to answer any the children's questions.
Wilbur had been leading the way through the exhibition hall. Suddenly he set off at a run toward a stand where several suits were listening to a young boy. His invention looked much more make-shift than anything else in the exhibition hall.
"This," the boy was saying excitedly, "is what I call the 'bully radar.'"
The boy pointed to what looked like a pair of walkie-talkies. A lightbulb was taped to the walkie-talkie's antennae.
"This will greatly lower the rate at which bullying occurs in schools by allowing teachers to put a stop to the behavior as or before it even occurs. Whenever there is a bully or a student that is experiencing extreme negative emotion, the lightbulb on the radar starts to blink and the beeping will get louder the closer the teacher moves toward the target. I'm still working on increasing the radius of effect so that teachers and faculty members can get feedback from anywhere on campus, but..."
The boy trailed off, leaning to the side in order to look just beyond the suits. He noticed Wilbur waving his arms.
"Uh, sorry. Would you excuse me for a second?"
Wilbur pointed to a nearby machine that was big enough for all of them to duck behind. Sora, donald and Goofy waited behind Wilbur for the boy to arrive. When the boy came around the machine, he grabbed Wilbur's ear.
"Don't tell me you left the garage door open again."
Wilbur winced. "I didn't! I swear! I came here to protect you!"
"From what? Did another one of my inventions come back to try and ruin my future?"
"Excuse me," Goofy began, "but are you Wilbur's father?"
The boy finally let go of Wilbur's ear, and nodded. Sora was amazed he hadn't noticed the resemblance before. Young Cornelius Robinson had the same spiky, yellow hair and the same glasses. Although he wasn't wearing a lab coat like his older counterpart, Cornelius did wear the same blue vest over a white collar shirt and the same red shorts.
"Call me Lewis. The name Cornelius hasn't grown on me yet." He extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
Goofy shook hands with Lewis. After Sora and Donald introduced themselves, Wilbur explained why they were there and what had happened in the future. The more he told his story, the more worried Lewis' eyes widened.
"Wait," Lewis said, "If something happens to me in the past, then how are you still here? Logically, you shouldn't exist."
Wilbur raised his hand into the air and took a deep breathe as though he were about to launch into an explanation tirade, but then he stopped. "That, uh, is an excellent question. How am I still here?"
"Maybe it has something to do with your heart?" Sora offered.
"My heart?"
"A strong heart can push you through the hardest times. Believe me."
Lonely memories of moving through Hollow Bastion after being left behind by Donald and Goofy, of offering his own heart to the darkness in order to free Kairi's, filled Sora's mind. He never would have been able to summon the strength to fight Riku if his heart hadn't grown so much from the adventures he'd had and the friends he'd made.
"We don't have time to talk about hearts." Wilbur faced Lewis. "Has anything strange happened to you? Like, were you followed?" Wilbur waved his arms in the air. "Did you get attacked by these weird, black alien looking monsters with glowing yellow eyes?"
Lewis gave Wilbur a "really" look.
"Alien monsters?"
"They're called heartless," Sora explained. "Weird stuff happens when they're around. Have you noticed anything?"
"The weirdest thing I've seen all day is when Mom started screaming in the middle of a backflip."
Wilbur slapped his palm on his forehead. "Is she on the caffeine patches again?"
"Caffeine patches?" Sora, Donald and Goofy repeated.
The explanation never came. Something made a high pitched, beeping sound. At first it was low, and then the rhythm became faster. The beeping shrieked through the entire room, bouncing off the walls. Everyone in the exhibition hall yelped and covered their ears. Lewis' face twisted in pain.
"That's my bully detector," he yelled over the noise.
The ground shook.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Wilbur and Lewis peeked around the machine they had been hiding behind. Across the room, Lewis' radar was bouncing on the table at it screeched. A man in a suit rushed toward it, to try and turn it off, but he bounced off the air and crashed into a nearby table.
Goofy ran out to try and help the civilians, but the moment he had finished helping the injured man, he was flung across the room himself. He slammed onto the miniature town model, that had been the centerpiece of the exhibition hall, and lay there, a giant among tiny buildings, with stars flying around his head.
The man Goofy had just helped and the people in the exhibition pushed and shoved, running out of the room while an unseen hurricane knocked over machinery, tables, coffee stands, forklifts and whatever else that wasn't tied down.
Sora grabbed Wilbur's shoulder.
"Get Lewis out of here!"
"Be careful," Wilbur said, before running out after the civilians with Lewis right behind him.
Donald raced across the room to help Goofy, and Sora, keyblade in hand, chased after him, keeping his eyes and ears open for a sudden, invisible attack. Something crashed to his right, and Sora sent a blizzard spell careening out in the direction of the noise. The icy particles of his attack hit the wall opposite the room.
He watched the floor, trying to see if he could catch movement in the dust, but the stupid exhibition hall just had to be swept spotless. Behind him, Goofy groaned as regained consciousness. The stars that had been swirling around his head vanished.
Donald helped him off the model and just in time too. In the next second, something, like a giant's foot, squashed the model flat. Donald aimed a spell at the invisible threat, but his attack didn't hit anything that was alive.
The three friends huddled, back to back, watching, waiting for an attack, but the room was empty except for the mess of broken inventions and spilled coffee.
"How do we fight something we can't see," Goofy said.
"Sora, up there."
Looking up, Sora spotted the sprinkler system high on the doomed ceiling. He raised his keyblade with Donald and shouted, "Firaga!"
The fireballs crashed against the sprinklers high above and then the entire room was awash in an artificial rainstorm. Then they saw it. The water from the sprinklers produced an outline of something in the middle of the room. Right in front of them, hunched over like a predator ready to strike, was a creature as big as a school bus. Sora couldn't see any details, but the creature had a long, thick tail that stick out far behind its body. Its back legs and feet were wide and heavy looking, while its head was long and round.
Massive footprints stomped toward them. Sora, Donald and Goofy raised their weapons. Donald threw an ice spell at it, Sora threw his keyblade, and Goofy threw his shield, but it was like throwing pebbles at an incoming boulder. The creature didn't stop charging, and the three friends barely had enough time to jump out of the way before they were trampled.
Sora and Goofy summoned their weapons back to their hands and regained their feet, ready for another round, but the room was empty. They looked down toward the floor, looking for any displaced water, but there was nothing. The only indication that the creature had been there, was the mess left behind from its attack.
Sora looked at the exits around the hall. They weren't distorted or pulled off. If something that big had gone through any of them, there was no way they would have remained in such perfect condition.
Then they realized how silent it was. With the adrenaline of the battle pumping through them, Sora hadn't noticed the beeping from Lewis' bully radar. It had finally stopped. Searching, he found two walkie-talkies on the floor and picked them up. The light bulb was off, but the two radars were completely untouched. They wasn't even wet from the sprinklers.
Sora held the bully radars close to his chest as he ran out of the building. Outside, the sun shined down on their wet clothes. Police officers and ambulance members were helping terrified and confused inventors, children, teachers, and business people alike. Sora, Donald and Goofy ducked away from the uniformed men and women and retraced their steps to where Wilbur had hidden the time machine.
When they reached the alley, Wilbur and Lewis were there waiting for them.
Lewis ran up to them first. "You guys are okay! That's good news."
"What happened," Wilbur asked.
"We don't really know," Donald said. "Was that a heartless? We didn't see a heartless emblem."
"We didn't see anything. It was completely invisible."
"Gosh, could that be the thing that is after Lewis?"
Sora gave Lewis his bully detectors.
"Thanks," Lewis sighed. "Another failure huh. Need to work out more of the kinks in these things. Maybe the voltage was too high? Or I haven't calibrated the sensors to correctly predict angry responses. You think that must be it?"
Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded quickly at Lewis' words, not understanding a thing but too afraid to look like complete buffoons.
Wilbur winked at them. "Don't worry, I don't understand my dad's mumbo jumbo in the future either."
"It's not mumbo jumbo." Lewis huffed. "It's science! And I seem to recall that my mumbo jumbo created the future you live in." He looked down at the walkie talkies in his hands. "Still, I can't understand why they would suddenly beep like that. I didn't tweak the speakers in these walkie talkies to make that much noise."
Sora thought back to the attack, and how one of the businessmen had been pushed back when he had tried to grab Lewis' invention.
"Hold on, maybe your bully detectors went off because that monster was nearby."
"What do you mean?"
"It makes total sense! Heartless are made of darkness and your bully detectors can sense negative emotions. That must be why it went off, because it sensed the dark emotions from the heartless."
"But, Sora," Donald said, "didn't the reports we read say that heartless don't have emotions?"
Goofy put a finger on his chin. "Maybe Lewis' bully catchers-"
"Bully detectors," Donald corrected.
"-can sense darkness nearby."
A slow smile spread on Lewis face. He elbowed Wilbur's shoulder and then exclaimed, "This looks like the job for experimentation!"
"Experi-what now?"
"We won't know if my bully detectors sense darkness or not without testing it out. Besides, if there's an invisible monster after me, it might come back. What better way to be prepared?"
Goofy nodded proudly. "Ya know, I think he's right."
Wilbur sighed. "I just knew this was going to result in more work for us. Okay, Dad, what's the plan?"
They walked through caverns that looked like the inside of a melted, crimson candle. The tunnels and pits on the floor opened and closed like toothless mouths caught in between screams and silence. The material of the walls glowed molten hot, but were rock solid to the touch.
Every footstep click-clacked on the floor and the sound echoed through the shifting passage ways, but instead of fading out into silence, the sounds increased in volume, making a stomach-turning, creaking sound like the groaning of metal against metal.
Kairi, Oswald and Pluto walked over the shifting ripples on the floor, each of them holding their breath. Pluto's teeth stuck out from under his lips. He walked with his head low and his tail between his legs. Kairi stuck close to Oswald, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other without losing her balance.
The darkness was thick there. She could see the black dust swirling in the air, could feel it scrapping against her skin and roaring in her ears. Her head had throbbed from the moment they had entered and the pounding was only getting worse the deeper they went.
Every so often, she would feel a tickle of light, and she would direct Oswald toward it, but with the way their surroundings changed, Kairi feared that walking onward would only trap them in the darkness, unable to escape. Even if she wanted to turn back, she knew she couldn't. Every tunnel they moved through closed behind them, making their only choice forward.
Kairi rubbed her temples and for a brief, wonderful moment, she felt a minty breeze wash over her face as Oswald casted yet another healing spell to help her deal with the darkness. Thanking him, Kairi used the momentary clear headedness to pinpoint the light they were chasing.
She pointed to a tunnel, and they squeezed through it before it melted into the floor. They quickly stopped moving before they slipped and fell into the perfect Kairi, Oswald and Pluto shaped hole that was right on the other side. Hugging the wall, Kairi shimmied to the other side of the hole and when they were finally back on flat ground, Oswald's ears stuck straight up.
"Did you hear something?"
"No."
His ears swiveled left and Oswald faced a tunnel that had just appeared right behind him.
"It's in there."
"Is it a heartless?"
Oswald leaned his head into the hole. There was a bark. Oswald screamed, jumping up in the air, his wand raised toward the tunnel, his eyes wide. Kairi sent a water spell rushing through the tunnel and then turned around to glare at Pluto.
The dog was barking into the pit they had just walked around and the echos of his barks were like thunderous crashes down below. Oswald walked over to the dog and poked him on the nose.
"You almost scared my fur off!"
Pluto growled and then pointed into the hole with his nose. Kairi went to stand next to him, and then she felt it. The light was down below and the hole was shrinking. Quickly, before it could close, she leapt in with Oswald and Pluto, and felt the tunnel getting thinner and thinner as they descended.
They squeezed through the icy tube and fell onto a wet floor. Even the water in the waxy dungeon had a oozy, red color to it.
"I hear it again!" Oswald turned toward a tunnel. "I know that voice. It can't be!"
"What voice? I can't hear anything."
But Oswald wasn't listening, he dashed into the tunnel. Kairi and Pluto rushed to chase after him, but after going through the tunnel, Kairi lost sight of Oswald in the confusing mess of opening and closing tubes. Pluto was gone as well.
The pounding in her head had returned. Kairi sat down, helplessly watching the cave around her stretch and melt as her head felt as though a nail were being hammered into it. Then there was a whisper of a voice against her ear.
"Kairi?"
She stood, looking around the tubes for that sound.
"Kairi?"
The tube to her left was closing, but that was where the voice had come from.
Kairi jumped in and slid all the way down into another cavern. Her shorts and socks filled with water that somehow wasn't cold or wet, but felt like metal sand that nicked her skin. When she stood, she found out that she wasn't alone in that room.
A boy stood across from her. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew that silver hair, recognized the bulky shape of his shoulders. The boy turned around, and his light, blue eyes were like an icicle through Kairi's heart. There was no light in him.
"No way," Kairi moved across the room. "Riku? Is that you? What happened?"
The boy didn't respond. His face was angled toward the floor. On his black, sinewy chest, there was a heart shape. It was much like the emblem of the heartless, except it did not have the black thorns that made an X across the heart.
"Riku? Can you hear me?"
Kairi reached out to touch him, to make sure he was real, but then she felt her guts twist with freezing agony. She jumped back, summoning the mental image of water.
"You're not Riku."
The boy in front of her melted and out of the black puddle he left behind, a muscular arm reached out. The body of the heartless followed. First the dark, blue horns that crowned the heartless' head poked out of the floor. Then its lipless face appeared. It ground its teeth at her, raising its other arm. A sword was in its other hand.
The heartless flew up from the ground, stretching its muscles in the air. Its long, thin tail stretched behind its thick thighs. Then it turned and pointed its sword at Kairi.
The heartless flew across the cavern.
Kairi ducked into the nearest tunnel just as the sword pierced into the wall where her head had been only a second before. The tunnel shrank and Kairi bent forward, and then ducked, and then crawled. The opening was just a few feet away and Kairi threw herself out just as the tunnel completely closed behind her.
Gasping, Kairi had to press her hands to her temples. The darkness was getting worse and her fear was growing with it.
"Oswald? Pluto? Anybody?"
The only response was from the darkness. A ring of black fire swirled around Kairi's feet. The ring began to shrink, getting closer and closer to her legs. Kairi leapt out of the circle of shadows. She watched as the shadows reattached to each other, and the heartless with the sword had returned.
"Water!"
Kairi's spell hit the heartless right between the eyes, throwing it back against the wall. The darkness was thick, and the heartless was quick to recover as soon as the water faded from its body. The heartless flashed forward and then was jerked back. Its tail was caught in one of the tunnels. As the heartless moved its tail to get free, Kairi ducked into another tunnel.
"Oswald! Pluto!"
There was no answer, and soon the heartless was back, but this time it wasn't alone. More of its kind had joined it and Kairi's head was ready to split in two. The darkness beat down on her shoulders, making her crumble to her knees. She gathered magic from deep within and pointed at the army of heartless that were filling the shrinking space of the cavern.
"Water!"
The entire chamber flooded, and Kairi fell through yet another tunnel as she was washed away by her own spell. She landed in another part of the cave, and collapsed against the wall. The anger of the darkness screamed in her head, and her heart was being crushed under its power. The heartless found her again, and Kairi was out of magic.
The army of heartless were coming closer and Kairi bit her lower lip to keep herself from screaming, from sobbing, from letting everyone know that she had let them down. She hadn't given the king's letter to Sora, she hadn't found Riku, she hadn't done anything but wonder the darkness and she was all alone and no one was going to save her.
And yet, somewhere nearby, there was a tiny, butterfly of light. It touched her forehead gently like a mother's kiss during a fever.
Kairi wobbled to her feet.
"Fine," she panted, "if it's light you want, it's light you'll get. I came here to find a way to my friends and you're not going to stop me!"
The darkness punched her head from the inside, but Kairi focused on the tiny sliver of light in her thoughts.
"I'm a princess of light! I may be alone, but my heart is not! As long as the light exists here, I will fight! Come on!"
She raised her hands up in the air and summoned every last bit of strength she had. Water pooled around her ankles and Kairi sent it crashing into the heartless directly ahead. It pushed back the heartless to the other side of the room and Kairi collapsed back onto her knees, unable to defend herself as one of the shadows got free and dashed at her.
Pluto jumped down from a hole in the ceiling and bit down on the heartless' head, throwing it aside. Oswald's cure spell sprinkled over Kairi and her head cleared for a moment. Oswald landed next to her and held her hand. Together, they faced the heartless.
"There's a light right behind them."
"Then we had better make this quick."
"I don't have much energy left."
"Yes you do. You have all the light you need. And mine too."
Kairi squeezed his hand. "Thanks!"
Oswald threw fire spells at the heartless as Kairi closed her eyes.
She imagined the ocean, the sky, the stars, the heart-pounding feeling of Sora holding her close after she cured him of the darkness, Riku's laughter whenever he caught the two of them lazing off, and the paopu tree where all three of them would watch the sun set. She imagined the way Pluto wagged his tail, the way Oswald's eyes filled with excitement whenever she did magic with him.
Oswald's hand grew warm in hers and together, the two of them raised his wand. Pluto came to stand behind them, pushing on Kairi's thigh and Oswald's hip as though cheering them on. The light in Kairi's heart only grew from Pluto's support.
She sang the spell with Oswald.
"Holy!"
A sword of light slashed through the heartless, through the cave, through the realm of darkness itself. The red cave disintegrated and Kairi felt a rush of wind sweep her off her feet. She flew off the platform with Oswald and Pluto.
Up above, there was a moon, and the wind was pushing them toward it.
But it wasn't a moon. It was light, a way out of the realm of darkness. Pluto didn't fight the pull, scurrying through the air, up toward the light, but Kairi hesitated when she felt Oswald's hand slip from hers. Turning, she watched in horror as he fell back, letting go.
She tried to swim through the air, to catch him, but Oswald shook his head.
"Wait," Kairi begged, "I can't leave you!"
"I told you before. I won't leave the realm of darkness without Ortensia. She's down there, I know she is."
"No! Oswald!"
He put his hand on his heart. "We will meet again! I know we will! It's a promise! And you had better be a full fleshed mage when we meet again!"
Kairi's tears fell into the darkness. "And you better have found Ortensia when I come back!"
She was pulled through the gateway. Too exhausted to stay awake, she let herself fade into the white light.
Lewis ran from one end of the room to the other, gathering metal. He was so caught up in his work that Wilbur, Sora, Donald and Goofy could only hand him tools. They watched as Lewis hammered into a ribbon of metal, curving it into a ring. Then he wielded a metal disk onto the ring. Finally, he connected wires from his bully radars to the ring and added some padding on this inside.
When he was finished, he put his contraption on his head, making him look like a doctor with an extra large stethoscope on his forehead. The wire from his new headband connected to the bully detector on his belt. With a screwdriver, he opened up the other bully detector, and tweaked the inner machinery with some fine tools.
"It's finished! I had planned to make a better sensory tool after getting funding from the businessmen at the inventor's showcase but this will have to do for now."
Lewis walked up to Wilbur and put a flat screen into his son's hands. Turning the screen on, a green grid appeared. Then Lewis gave the other bully radar to Sora and instructed him to move about the room. Shrugging, Sora walked around as instructed.
Wilbur whistled and pointed. "Is that Sora?"
On the screen, there was a yellow dot that matched Sora's movements as he walked around.
Lewis grinned. "It works! Hah!"
He turned up the radio frequency on his walkie-talkie.
"What works?" Donald tapped his foot. "I don't get it."
"I've re-calibrated my bully detector and connected it to this screen. If any darkness pops up, it will appear on this screen and I'll be able to direct you toward it, using the bully detector that Sora has."
"I get it," Wilbur said, "the bully detector was originally a walkie-talkie. You're going to use it to communicate and guide them toward those heartless things?"
"That's the plan."
"But will the bully detectors really be able to sense the darkness?" Goofy asked.
"We won't know until we try." Lewis tapped the big disk on his forehead. "I've increased the sensory range. It should be able to sense things from Wilbur's time machine. We're going to be guiding you guys from the air through the city and exterminating anything we can find. This is going to be fun!"
Donald and Goofy gave each other a dubious look, but Sora came up to Lewis and gave him a high five.
"That's genius!"
"They don't call me the 'Father of the Future' for nothing."
Wilbur twirled the time machine's keys on his finger. "Well, 'Father,' let's go darkness hunting."
Jiminy's Journal
Lewis (First Appeared in Meeting the Robinsons, 2007): An intelligent boy who loves to experiment and invent. He doesn't give up even when his experiments don't work on the first, second, or one hundredth try. Lewis will eventually grow up to have a big family and become Cornelius, "The Father of the Future." That is, if he survives whatever came to the past to destroy him.
Chapter 10: Chapter 9: The Warehouse
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 9: The Warehouse
"So far there's nothing in front of you, but I'm getting some strange readings from further up the street."
Sora listened to Wilbur's voice through the special headset that Lewis had made for him. He gave Donald and Goofy a thumbs up and the trope moved down the street. They had been slowly and carefully walking through the city. Goofy held on to the bully detector, while Sora communicated with Lewis and Wilbur. The father and son duo were flying over them in the time machine, keeping an eagle's eye out for any suspicious activity that may be lurking nearby.
It had been an hour and a half since they had started and they hadn't run into the invisible monster, or even a single heartless. Sora was starting to get a little annoyed. Just once, it would be nice if the heartless appeared when they actually wanted them to.
They passed another busy street and walked into the park on the other side. The playground was full of children running, hiding and climbing the monkey bars while their parents and grandparents supervised.
Sora stopped to stare for a moment. He watched a little boy and his two friends playing in the sand. One boy had an talent for making sand castles. The other boy was excitedly cheering on his friend's creation without doing any work. A girl watched the two of them and decorated the sides of their castle with flowers.
Donald poked Sora's side.
"What are you smiling about, eh?"
"Aw, they sure do look cute," Goofy cooed.
Sora blushed. "I was just thinking about home. You know, earlier when we met Wilbur's family, I missed my mom. I wonder if she's worried about me."
Donald and Goofy looked at the all the children on the playground.
"I miss my family too," Donald admitted. "I wonder what Huey, Dewey and Louie are doing, if Daisy misses me back at the castle, what kind of crazy, money making scheme Uncle Scrooge is up to and even if Uncle Ludvig has made some crazy invention."
"Wow, you have a big family too?"
"We all have people we left behind, Sora. Gosh, I miss Maxie everyday."
"Who's Maxie?"
"Max is Goofy's boy. I sure hope he's not slacking off on the castle guard back home."
Sora's jaw dropped. "You have a son?"
"Yup. Ahyuck. He's a real good boy, my Max. You kind of remind me of him, Sora."
The bully detector started beeping loudly.
"Guys," Lewis screamed into Sora's headset, "the playground!"
The children's laughter had mutated into screams. Heartless rose up from the sand, grabbing hands and ankles, dragging the kids down. Darkness pooled behind the swing set, and the bowler hat heartless appeared, grabbing children, hoisting them into the air and blocking the panicked parents that had tried to help their sons and daughters.
Sora, Donald and Goofy summoned weapons.
"This is beyond low, even for heartless! Let's get them!"
Goofy charged, his shield raised high. He crashed into the battalion of heartless that had surrounded a group of toddlers. The kids sat and cried, calling for their parents, and were luckily reunited moments after Donald blew away the heartless that had been holding the adults down.
A few families escaped, but the heartless were still coming. A father punched a heartless that flew at his wife and child, while a Grandmother whacked a shadow heartless on the ground with her cane to protect her grandson and husband. It was no use. The heartless rose up and grabbed the father's legs, pulling him down, while the elderly lady's cane was knocked away and she was helpless as the heartless leapt up in the air, ready to slam her down onto the ground.
Sora jumped in front of the grandparents, stabbing the heartless between the eyes with the end of his keyblade. He smacked the next group of heartless backward and once they were a few feet away, he hit them from above with a thunder spell. Then he dashed forward, slicing through the heartless that had dog-piled on top of the father, freeing him.
"It's clear. Go!"
The young father, mother and child moved to escape, but the grandmother and grandfather weren't as fast. Sora stayed in his spot to guard the grandparents and their grandson, repelling incoming heartless with magic.
Goofy managed to free several more children, and Donald reunited them with their parents, even healing minor scraps with magic before sending the families away. The last heartless went down, and finally the bully detector stopped screaming.
Sora turned to the grandmother and grandfather, who were busy trying to soothe their crying preschooler.
"Are you all right?"
The old woman ruffled Sora's hair.
"Oh, thank you, young man. That was very brave."
Sora grinned. "No problem. It should be safe now."
Grandfather had managed to calm the little boy down. He thanked Sora, Donald and Goofy by giving them each a piece of hard, caramel candy. The family walked off hand in hand. Sora watched until they were across the street.
After scanning the area for more heartless and making sure it was safe, the trio regrouped and made contact with Wilbur and Lewis.
Sora pressed the button to communicate from his headset. "Goofy was right. The bully detector does sense when darkness is nearby."
"Looks like the experiment was a success," came Wilbur's voice.
"Yes. I was able to see the attack coming from my monitor, even from up here." Lewis said next. "I'm so glad it worked! I can't believe those things would attack little kids."
Donald fumed. "Stupid heartless."
"We should keep patrollin' the city," Goofy said. "We can't stop until we find that invisible creature."
The bully detector worked like a charm. Within the next few hours, Sora, Donald and Goofy scanned the whole town, taking down heartless in alleys, rooftops, and even in the city streets. It wasn't until sundown when the trio finally reunited with Wilbur and Lewis.
Completely drained, Sora, Donald and Goofy sat back to back on the floor of the time machine.
"Where is that stupid invisible creature," Donald panted, "we're never going to find it at this rate."
Lewis checked his screen. "I'm not picking up anything on the radar. Seems like we've taken down everything in town."
Wilbur tapped the steering wheel of the time machine. "What do we do now? We can't go back to the future until that invisible monster is killed."
"That creature only attacked my inventor's table at the science fair and it hasn't appeared for as long as I've been in the time machine."
Wilbur turned around sharply. "Lewis, you're not suggesting to be bait for that thing, are you?"
"We don't have any other leads, do we?"
"That's a terrible idea. We're not doing it."
"Hey, I'm your father, you have to do as I say."
"Don't play the dad card on me! What if something happens to you?"
"Can't you have a little faith in me? I already saved the future once. And besides, we don't have a better plan."
Wilbur pressed his hands on his face. "I swear you're just as annoying now as when you're older! If mom were here and she were listening to you, she would karate chop your bully detector, sick her frogs on you and laugh as they make you sleep with the fishes. I'm not exaggerating."
"Yes, you are. Franny would never do that."
"That's not the point! You know she's always right and she would think you're being crazy! Let me be the bait. Nothing will happen to the future if I get hurt here."
"Hey, don't bring your mother into this. And this is about protecting both of our futures. I'm not going to put you in danger!"
Wilbur and Lewis glared into each other's eyes until Sora got between the two of them.
"Who said anything about putting anyone in danger?"
"That's right," Donald chimed in. "We're not going to let anyone go in as bait."
"At least, not alone," Goofy said.
Wilbur tapped his foot on the ground. "I really, really, don't like this plan."
"Keep moving forward," Lewis said.
Wilbur glared. "Oh, you just had to use that one on me, didn't you?"
Lewis grinned. "Not fun when your own tactics are used against you, is it?"
"Fine, Dad," Wilbur relented. "So what's the plan?"
Sora, Donald, Goofy and Wilbur crouched behind some bushes. Wilbur kept the radar tight in one hand while his eyes searched every direction for movement where there shouldn't be. His other hand rested on top of a can of paint.
Across the street from their hiding spot, Lewis was acting completely normal, as normal as a twelve year old boy could be while wearing a metal headpiece with a mini satellite on it. The bully detector was tucked into his pocket. Lewis sat with a much younger looking Grandma Lucile and Grandpa Bud at a cafe, eating a sandwich. His parents didn't pay attention to the contraption on their son's head as they talked excitedly while sharing their lunch.
Sora watched the people on the street. A fancy car was parked across from the cafe, and a woman with a ridiculously puffy fur coat walked out of it and down the street. A young man jogged by Lewis' table. A group of kids bought some ice cream from a truck that was parked nearby. Wilbur, ever vigilant, glared at anyone that came too close to his father. A dog ran up to Lewis to get some free pets and Wilbur growled until the dog's owner called it away.
Sora put a hand on Wilbur's shoulder.
"Relax," he said. "If something were to attack, the bully detector would go off."
"I can understand how you're feeling, Wilbur, but I agree with Lewis. I wouldn't want to put my Maxie in danger either."
"You guys are really cool, but you don't understand. Parents always talk about how they would do anything for their kids, but they never think about how hard it would be for us to lose them and my Dad should have been the first person to realize that."
"Why?"
"Lewis grew up in an orphanage. My grandma and grandpa adopted him. He should already know what it's like not to have parents."
Sora and Donald opened their mouths to say something, to comfort Wilbur, but couldn't come up with a good pep talk. Only Goofy's good natured kindness was able to give Wilbur some guidance.
"I think you should have faith in him like he has faith in you."
"Faith in me?"
"He wouldn't have asked you to help protect him if he didn't think you could not do it. Family has each other's back, ya know. Just like how us friends do. We won't let anything happen to Lewis."
Sora punched Wilbur softly in the shoulder. "That's right."
Wilbur smiled. "But I still don't like how that lady in the fur coat is smoking so close to my dad."
Sora looked. The fur coat woman was sitting a few tables from Lewis. She was reading a newspaper while green smoke puffed from the long cigarette holder she held between her bony fingers. She was a strange woman. It was too warm to wear such a coat, and her hair was black on one side, and white on the other.
Lewis' bully detector began to beep.
Wilbur looked down at the radar in his hands and then pointed.
"Look over there."
Just a few parked cars down, the leaves on the pavement were moving. There wasn't any wind and the leaves were crunching flat, even though nothing was crushing them. At least, nothing visible. Nodding to each other, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Wilbur watched the leaves. They moved, using the leaves' crunching to slowly creep up on the invisible creature.
Wilbur opened the can of paint and held it carefully under his arm as they got closer. The creature must have been moving very slowly, for there wasn't any sounds of its footsteps, but the cars it passed on the street did sway slightly from its passing.
The beeping from Lewis' headdress had caught the attention of the people on the street and the cafe, but Lewis refused to turn it off. All of the bystanders left the cafe out of annoyance, except for Wilbur's parents and the black and white haired woman in the fur coat. The beeping was a lot faster now, the creature must have reached Lewis. Wilbur jumped out of the bushes, raced across the street and threw his can of blue paint up into the air. It sprinkled down over something and then everyone could see the spiky back of some kind of monster.
The civilians on the street screamed as the paint moved in midair. They began to run away. Lewis' parents grabbed him and tried to flee, but the creature let out a roar and chased after them. Now it was Sora, Donald and Goofy's turn.
They burst out of the bushes, sliding between Lewis and the creature. Sora and Donald blasted it with fire spells, while Goofy threw up his shield, just in time to deflect a blow from the creature's invisible jaw. They spread out, attacking the creature from the front, the side, and the back. The paint on the creature's back spun as the creature turned, throwing Sora, Donald and Goofy back as something thick and muscular hit them from the air. Caught off guard, Sora he fell onto his back and barely had time to react when he heard the stomps of the creature as it approached him.
He threw a fire spell into the air, hoping to push the creature back. The fireball hit something directly in front of him, and the asphalt to his right cracked. A second later, he felt as though someone had broken an egg on his head and then blue paint dripped onto his shirt.
He looked up. Wilbur was above them in the time machine, dumping paint down onto the ground. The creature was now completely covered and they could see its entire outline. Sora rolled away and regrouped with Donald and Goofy, who were staring at the monster with open mouths.
It was a T-rex, and it had turned around to charge at the three of them. Sora, Donald and Goofy split up. Donald ran into a nearby alley, where the creature couldn't enter because of its size. From his safe spot, he threw ice and lightning spells at the T-rex, while Sora and Goofy engaged it from the ground.
Goofy shielded Sora from the T-rex's bite, giving the keyblade master enough time to move under the T-rex and slash at its belly. The T-rex reared back on its hind legs and tail, roaring. Goofy took this moment to throw his shield at its face.
Sora attacked the two legs, and the T-rex lost its balance and fell on its side, crashing into the parked cars on the street. Donald came out of the alley, a lightning spell buzzing at the end of his staff. Goofy jumped up in the air, his shield under his feet. Sora charged at the creature's belly.
The thundaga spell shocked the T-rex's entire body, Goofy smashed down on the creature's neck with his shield, and Sora gave one powerful, final slash at the creature's gut. There was an explosion and then the painted outline of the creature was gone. Goofy landed in a heap on the paint splattered floor, but stood up with triumphant smile.
"So it was a heartless after all," Sora said, watching as a glowing, pink heart flew up through the air, disappearing into the clouds.
Donald jumped a full three feet. "Yeah! We did it!"
Wilbur landed the time machine on the ground. But when the glass dome of the time machine opened and Wilbur tumbled out, he didn't look happy. His face was green, his legs shaking. A second later, he fell to his knees. Sora, Donald and Goofy were next to him in seconds.
"Are you okay?"
"No." Wilbur croaked. "I don't think I can hold out much longer. Something's wrong. Lewis."
It was just then that Sora looked around the street and spotted Lewis' parents. They were speaking to a police officer. While Donald and Goofy looked after Wilbur, Sora went toward Lewis' parents. Just a few steps away, he heard the terrifying news.
"She was wearing a white coat, and she drove a long, sleek, red and black car."
Sora raced back to his friends. Goofy lifted Wilbur's head off the floor and Sora put Wilbur's arm across his shoulders. Together, they helped Wilbur back into the time machine and sat him down in one of the chairs. Sora went to the controls and grabbed the steering wheel.
"Can you really drive this thing," Donald said.
"Can't be that different from driving the gummi ship."
Too frantic to put that much thought into what he was doing, Sora let instinct take over, and luckily, they were up in the air in a few moments. He let the time machine hover for a little while and then checked on Wilbur. Donald was funneling healing spells into him and Goofy had given him potions, but Wilbur didn't look like he was getting any better.
Wilbur coughed. "It's Lewis. What happened to him?"
"That weird lady you were worried about earlier, I think she kidnapped him."
"I knew she was suspicious!"
Wilbur's outburst made him hack and he turned over, looking as though he were about to retch. Goofy produced a bucked from somewhere and Wilbur hurled. When he had finally stopped, he reached out for Sora with a pale, sweaty hand.
"You have to find him and fast. The future."
"I know."
"But how are we going to find them? We don't know where to look," Donald said.
"The radar, and the bully detector," Wilbur pointed to the front seat.
Sora gathered up Lewis' inventions. The radar was still beeping.
"Lewis made them so that they can track each other. Hurry."
Goofy took the radar from Sora.
"I'll keep an eye out. You drive."
Wilbur turned on his side and curled up into a ball. Donald casted another healing spell on him.
"Thanks," Wilbur whispered and then feinted.
"We have to hurry," Donald said, "the magic isn't going to last forever."
The yellow dot, which indicated Lewis' position, on the radar, was moving. The friends flew over the city, chasing it. Sora parked the time machine in the air over a warehouse on the outskirts of town. From above, the building looked as though it could collapse at any second.
Carefully, Sora landed the time machine in the alleyway next to the warehouse. He climbed out with Goofy right behind him. Donald didn't leave Wilbur's side.
"I'll stay behind with him. Get Lewis out of danger."
"We will," Sora said.
Goofy handed Donald an ether. "I'm running low. We may need to stock up again soon."
"Be careful," said Donald. He closed up the time machine.
Sora and Goofy stepped around to the side of the warehouse. All the window and doors were barred and covered by wooden planks. The front door didn't have a lock for Sora to open with his keyblade. It too was boarded shut. The only way in was the old fashioned way. Hiding behind Goofy's shield, the two friends rammed the front door, breaking through the wood and crashing into the warehouse.
The first thing they noticed was the dust. Sora and Goofy picked themselves off the floor and sneezed. A nice layer of brown covered the old, yellow, linoleum floor. Shelves of moldy cardboard boxes, rotting wood, and rusted metal were laid out before them. The shelves stretched up toward the high ceiling and into the darkness that obscured the innards the warehouse. Broken light bulbs hung from the ceiling, swaying back and forth, making a high pitched creaking that echoed through the large space.
Sora and Goofy stepped carefully down the aisles. They passed by the shiny, red and black car Sora had seen parked on the street when Lewis was at the cafe. From the front, the headlights of the car looked like scowling face.
The car's location marked the end of the aisles. The dark warehouse suddenly burst with lights, blinding them for a moment. When Sora finally got used to the brightness, he felt cold, wet dread lick the back of his neck.
The block long warehouse ended in a large empty space filled with broken scaffolding on the back wall. Shards of glass and old, forgotten materials were littered all over the floor. All the way across the room, sitting in a lonely chair, right in the middle of the huge space, was Lewis.
Ropes were tied around his body and his mouth was hidden under a white cloth. Next to him, breathing out a long, thin line of gag inducing, green smoke was the black and white haired woman from the cafe. Sora and Goofy raced forward, their weapons drawn.
"Ah, ah, ah," the woman wagged her finger.
The bully detector in Goofy's hand beeped. Heartless appeared next to Lewis.
Sora and Goofy froze.
"Don't you know how a hostage situation works, you fools? You don't want the future ruined, now do you?"
Sora lowered his weapon. "What do you want?"
"That ridiculous contraption there." She pointed to Goofy's bully detector.
"How do I know you'll let him go if we give it you?"
"By my name as Cruella De Vil, you have my word that I'll let the brat go. Now hurry up. I can't guarantee what those heartless will do."
Sora took the bully detector from Goofy and slowly approached the skeletal woman. She snatched the walkie-talkie out of his hand with a wide, pointy smile. Then she raised her cigarette into the air and the smoke at the tip hardened and congealed into a green fireball. She aimed at Lewis.
Goofy didn't hesitate. He threw himself forward, shield up, crashing into one of the heartless just in time to protect Lewis from the fiery attack. The green flames burst around his shield but Lewis was unharmed.
Sora lunged at the woman, Cruella, but heartless appeared in his way. As Sora and Goofy battled a wave of heartless, a familiar shadow loomed over the back wall of the warehouse. Sora recognized that long, thin silhouette. It was Dr. Facilier.
Cruella threw the bully detector and the shadow caught it with one hand. Then it snuck up behind Goofy and Lewis and lifted the other bully detector from Lewis' belt. Goofy thrusted his shield at the shadow but it quickly sank into the ground, sliding away with the bully detectors.
Sora slashed through another wave of heartless and barely had any time to defend himself as Cruella threw another ball of green flames his way. Using his keyblade like a baseball bat, Sora knocked the spell away from him and the fireball crashed against the weak roof, making the entire warehouse shiver.
The shaking walls distracted the heartless, allowing Goofy to finally untie Lewis. The boy jumped out of his seat and ran. Goofy chased after Lewis, deflecting heartless as he ran back into the aisles of the warehouse. A group of heartless jumped in the air, ready to dog-pile Goofy, but Sora destroyed them with a lightning spell, finally allowing his friends to escape.
He moved to follow his friends, but heartless appeared in his path. As Sora made quick work of them, he sensed something hot on his back. He jumped to to the left, just in time to see a green ball of fire char the heartless he had been fighting. Turning around, he saw another fireball coming at his face.
Sora rolled out of the way. Across the room, Cruella's already messy hair was spiking up hideously around her face as she threw fire spells nonstop. Her spells fanned out like a whirling hurricane, attacking Sora and the remaining heartless. He jumped and ducked, but the spells were sticking to the floor and walls, giving Sora less and less space to maneuver.
"First you stopped my plans to make the perfect puppy coat and now this!"
The smell of cigarette smoke was Sora's only warning that another fireball was coming his way. He dodged to the right, barely avoiding the green flames as the spell zoomed past and crashed into the aisles behind him. Then he was backed into a corner. Pushed between the warehouse wall and a barricade of fire, all he could do was smack the incoming spell back at Cruella. It flew at her head, but she simply spread out her fingers and the fireball dissipated before it could burn what little skin was left on her thin face.
"Puppy coat?" Sora panted. "What are you talking about?"
"My Dalmatians, you imbecile. If you and your disgusting animal friends hadn't found them all, I would have had a glorious new fur coat by now."
She summoned a fireball three times as huge as the last and it seared through the air. There was no way to block that one, and Sora had no choice but to roll through the flames on the ground to avoid it. The fireball slammed into the warehouse wall where he had been second before, leaving a black hole in the concrete.
Sora patted down the green flames on his clothes, casting a healing spell on himself to ease the burns. Fury roared in his heart. His grip on his keyblade tightened until his entire arm twitched.
"You were the one that separated Pongo and Perdita from their puppies? All to make some stupid coat?"
Cruella lifted up her arm. Another blast was coming, this one almost as tall as the warehouse aisles. "And I was so close too," she hissed.
"How could you kill puppies for a fur coat? What's wrong with you?"
"Naive boy, don't you know that animals only exist for the enjoyment of people?"
Sora felt an anger eat away at his bones, and he charged through the fire toward Cruella, ignoring the burning on his legs and the crackling of the flames in his ears. Just a few feet away, he raised his keyblade, ready to throttle her, but she simply flicked the giant fireball at him.
The impact was like hitting a burning, sandpapered wall. Sora fell against the ground, smoking from head to toe, barely able to lift his arm and cast a healing spell on himself. The warmth of the cure spell did little good, only keeping him conscious.
There was a whisper in his ear.
"Sora, are you okay?"
Jiminy.
"I can't get close," he panted, slowly turning over to stand back up.
From behind his hood, he felt something light fall off of him. Then he spotted a little spec jumping over the green flames on the ground. It was nearing Cruella.
Sora waved his arm. "Hey, Cruella, your fashion sense is so last week."
"Excuse me? All those ridiculous zippers and you call my fabulous outfit outdated."
"Not just outdated, tacky."
"Why you-"
She lifted her hand in the air, a fire spell as big as a semi truck pooling at the end of her cigarette holder. Cruella swung her arm back. Sora covered his face, preparing for the attack. Jiminy jumped on Cruella's hand and pulled her fingers free. The cigarette holder came lose, the fireball flew up into the air. The warehouse ceiling exploded.
Debris rained down on Sora and Cruella.
Panic overruled Sora's exhaustion. He jumped, ducked and weaved as broken scaffolding, metal beams and glass stabbed into the floor. In the midst of all the running, Sora spotted Jiminy on the ground, hiding under his umbrella, barely avoiding the chunks of ceiling that were ready to squash him. Sora turned around, and ran toward Jiminy, scooping him up. He tucked the cricket into his pocket and then had to raise his keyblade over his head to stop a piece of the ceiling from giving him a concussion.
Cruella screamed. Her coat was caught under a fallen beam from the ceiling and she was desperately trying to dislodge it, not noticing that the concrete slabs right above her head were dangling by a single thin, metal string. The slabs came lose, and before Sora could even try to rush to help her, she was buried under several tons of metal and cement.
The ceiling wasn't finished breaking apart, and Sora jumped out of the way as a rockslide of bricks came crashing down toward him. The walls were beginning to crumble inward, trapping Sora. Something shined about his head, and he looked up to see the time machine coming down from the sky.
Goofy was hanging out of the side of the time machine, holding onto Donald's legs.
Donald reached out for Sora. "Grab on!"
Sora leapt, his hands clamping down on Donald's wrists.
Goofy roared from above. "Pull!"
Sora was lifted up into the air. The time machine weaved between the falling pieces of the building. Sora felt his legs get nicked and scratched by runaway rubble, but then Goofy and Donald finally pulled him into the time machine. He crashed into his two friends. Behind them, Lewis closed the time machine's glass dome.
"Wilbur, jump to the future!" Lewis commanded.
The crumbling warehouse vanished. Bright colors erased everything. Donald and Goofy held onto Sora as they flew through the rainbow tube. The old fashioned city with its brick buildings and pollution inducing cars had disappeared, replaced by the bright and shiny city of the future.
Wilbur flew them straight to the Robinson house, and landed the time machine on the lawn just as the entire Robinson family came running out.
Inside the time machine, Donald and Goofy fussed about Sora, but he waved them off.
"I'm okay, I'm okay! Really."
"Why'd you have to take that crazy lady on by yourself," Donald demanded.
"I didn't take her on by myself. Jiminy had my back. Thanks pal."
From behind Sora's hood there was a little chuckle. "Anytime."
"Wilbur, open this time machine right this minute, Mister!"
Franny's furious voice made Wilbur hide behind Lewis.
"Maybe you should go first, Dad."
With an annoyed sigh, Lewis opened the time machine's dome and hoped out. The mere sight of him cooled the fury in Franny's eyes and she threw her arms around him.
"Oh don't tell me you were in danger again!"
"I'm okay. Really. I'm fine."
"We sure are," said a familiar voice.
The entire family turned around to see Cornelius Robinson walking out of the house. Without missing a beat, Lewis went up to his older self and gave him a high five. Wilbur jumped out of the time machine and ran to his dad. Sora, Donald and Goofy watched as the father and son hugged, until the rest of the family pulled them out of the time machine to join in on the celebration.
After getting thanked personally by everyone, and even getting a kiss on the cheek from Mrs. Robinson, Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves in the grand dining room of the Robinson house. Everyone was eating PB&J sandwiches.
"Have you seen any more heartless in the future," Lewis asked his older self.
"Not since the five of you came back. I haven't gotten any reports from the city."
"Does that mean that the heartless problem is done," Wilbur asked.
"Maybe," Lewis said, "but we won't know for sure. Hey, remember those bully detectors I made when we were kids?"
Cornelius tapped his nose. "Hmm, yeah, we did make something like that. But I remember that they disappeared."
"Might want to try and remake those bully detectors. Although I think they might need a better name at this point."
"How about darkness detectors? If those heartless come back, we'll be ready."
Watching Lewis and Cornelius talk gave Sora a headache. Time travel was crazy enough, but Lewis and Cornelius acted as though talking to yourself was like talking to your best friend.
"So what are you guys going to do now," Wilbur asked.
Sora's mouth was too full of peanut butter to talk, but Goofy answered for him.
"Well, if the heartless problem is solved and the future is saved, I guess we should be continuing our travels."
Cornelius dug into his pocket. "Before you go, I wanted to give these to you."
He handed Sora, Donald and Goofy a pin. Donald and Goofy immediately put the rocket shaped pin on their shirts.
"What are these?"
Lewis and Cornelius shared a look and winked. "Think of it as a lucky charm. Might come in handy."
"Wow. Thanks."
"I really should be thanking all of you guys," Lewis said. "For saving me, for saving Wilbur, and for saving the future."
After dessert was served, Wilbur took Lewis back to his time. Sora, Donald and Goofy said goodbye to Cornelius and his family. As they were leaving, just outside the Robinson house, a light flashed in the corner of Sora's eye. Turning around, he saw that the big letter R that hung over the front door of the Robinson mansion was gleaming. Donald and Goofy watched as the letter faded, to be replaced by the shape of a keyhole.
Raising his keyblade, Sora sent a beam of light into the keyhole. There was a click, and the keyhole faded. The world locked, and a warm breeze flowed over the lawn, through the future city in the distance, and through time, giving Lewis a sense of closure when he returned to the past.
The darkness' whispers were soothing but the deeper he fell into sleep, the harder it became to breath.
Stay asleep.
"No."
What good would it do for you to go back?
"I have to go back. I have to see my friends."
What friends? Can you even remember their names?
He didn't have an answer.
You abandoned them. You opened your heart to darkness. They don't want you back.
But he wanted to see them, even if he didn't deserve to. He wanted to know they were safe, he wanted to say sorry, he wanted...he couldn't remember. The darkness smothered him back into oblivion and the more he tried to fight it, the harder it squeezed his heart.
Something sliced through his sleep. It pushed the darkness away and then he remembered something. Names.
Sora.
Kairi.
And one more name.
Ansem.
He resisted the darkness, swimming up against the harsh current of the black depths that were trying to pull him back down, reaching toward a tiny star above the surface of the dark water. The light blinked in and out, yet still he reached for it. Even if it were small, even if were far away, he knew he had to get it.
The darkness spoke.
Why fight?
He didn't answer, he kept swimming.
I am a part of your heart now. You will have to face me sooner or later.
The star was just ahead of him. He reached up to grab it but the darkness gathered around his chest like the claws of a monster, pulling him back.
You've been in the realm of darkness too long. You're mine now.
The star was getting further and further away. He scratched and struggled against the tendrils of darkness that wrapped around his body. A weapon appeared in his hand, and he sliced the darkness, but it was not enough. More dark hands appeared to try and drag him down.
Then something came down from above, white and hot like lightning. The dark hands loosened just a tiny bit and he wriggled free, swimming up and breaking through the surface. He rolled over onto a shiny, colorful glass platform, gasping for breath.
Finally able to stand on his feet, he looked down. The dark ocean he had swam through was gone. Instead, he saw a picture of himself on the disk-shaped platform below. A silver haired boy rested against a tree with star shaped fruit. He stood alone, looking out into the sea.
He was finally out of the dark. It was safe to wake up.
Riku opened his eyes. In his half awake state, he could feel the darkness lingering in his heart, but now that he was awake, he was more equipped to fight it. The world around him was completely black. He was still in the realm of darkness, but he knew that there must have been some new light in that realm, otherwise he never would have had the strength to wake up.
His heart seized, and for a moment, Riku thought he heard a familiar voice.
"Kairi?"
Jiminy's Journal
Cruella De Vil (First Appeared in 101 Dalmatians, 1961): A fashion obsessed woman who wanted to use Pongo and Perdita's puppies to make herself a fur coat. Her greed and obsession proved to be her downfall.
Riku (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts, 2002): A responsible boy from Destiny Islands and one of Sora's best friends. He disappeared into the darkness after Sora and Mickey closed the door. No one knows what happened to him, or if he is still fighting the darkness on the other side.
Chapter 11: Chapter 10: The Forest of Spirits
Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, nor any of the Disney Characters in this story. The following is purely fan made. Please support the original work.
Chapter 10: The Forest of Spirits
A purple vortex revealed Sora, Donald and Goofy re-entering the castle's foyer from the dimensional door. Dr. Facilier watched the trio.
"So much for the Ms Fationista," said the fire headed god next to Dr. Facilier.
The witch doctor smiled, pulling out a walk-talkie from his pocket.
"Cruella may have succumbed to her own insane hatred, but she still did her job."
"And just what do you plan to do with those, my shadowy friend?"
"Oh, you'll find out, sooner or later."
"You know, I've worked with three old, wrinkly fates that are less cryptic then you."
"Thank you for the compliment." Dr. Facilier inclined his head.
The so called God of the Underworld clicked his shark teeth, and then shrugged. "Whatever. As long as what you're doing gets rid of those three yutzes, I'm not going to complain."
"Speak for yourself," said another in the room.
The old man in minister's robes walked forward and gazed into the window in the air. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the image of Sora, Donald and Goofy speaking to the so called "treasure hunter."
"What a disgusting display," said the old man, curling his lip at the treasure hunter. "Clearly a gypsy, that man. How you can stand to let that filth stay in this castle is beyond me."
He waved his hand, as though shaking off a piece of dust from his fingertips.
"Tell me, are the rest of us to share that boorish woman's fate?"
Dr. Facilier bowed graciously at the old man. "Cruella was consumed by her own need for vengeance of course, but that doesn't mean that one so noble as yourself must follow her example."
"Don't patronize me."
"Not at all Your Grace. And fear not. The boy found another keyhole. Everything is still on track. As long as the two of you do your part, all will be well."
"Whoa kid, what happened to you?"
Locke pointed at Sora's clothes.
"What did you do, jump from paint buckets into a mud puddle?"
Sora rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know, I'm a mess, but that's not important right now. Did anything strange happen while we were gone?"
"Sure did."
Locke pointed over his shoulder to the entrance wall of the castle. The wall was more translucent then ever. Just beyond the thin, white material, Sora could see a blurry, dark blue something. Maybe it was the sky?
"Oh boy," Donald jumped, "does this mean we can finally get out of here?"
Sora knocked on the wall. While the cold surface wasn't visually sturdy, it was still felt too hard to break through.
"What's causing this wall to look weaker. Is it because we're going to a different world each time we travel through the castle door?"
"And what about Dr. Facilier. We still don't know where in this castle he is," Goofy added.
"Or what he's going to do with Lewis' bully radar," Sora said.
"Don't forget that man in the black coat," Jiminy whispered in Sora's ear.
Locke snapped his fingers in front of Sora's eyes. "So are you guys going to tell me what you're talking about or do I have to piece together the story myself?"
When Donald and Goofy finished filling the treasure hunter in, Locke leaned back against the castle wall and crossed his arms.
"That explains the green smoke."
"Green smoke?" Donald repeated.
"As soon as you guys went through the door, just as it was closing, there was trail of green smoke following you. By the time I got to the door, it was already closed, and the smoke had passed through. I couldn't pull it open after that. Seems as though the door locks on this side after you three close it."
Donald huffed. "So that's how Cruella got into that world."
"Did you see anything else? Like the shadow of really thin guy?"
Locke shrugged at Sora. "Other then the smoke, there was nothing. In the ten minutes you guys were gone, that's all that happened."
Donald quacked. "Only ten minutes?"
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hood and went to the transparent wall. He opened his journal and began writing.
Sora knelt down behind him.
"What are you up to?"
"I'm writing down all the clues we have so far. This wall gets thinner every time we go to another world. The door locks from this side when we enter, and it seems as though time works differently in here then in the worlds through that door." Jiminy tapped his feather quill on his lower lip. "But what could it all mean?"
"Maybe we just need to do like Lewis said, and keep moving forward," Goofy said. "But I sure wish we could resupply on some potions and ethers."
"If it's supplies you need, I got them," Locke said. "Though they don't come cheap."
"We have a lot of munny," Goofy said, digging into his pocket.
"Not munny. Got anything from that world you visited? Any special treasure?"
Goofy pulled out the button that Cornelius had given him from his pocket. "Will this do?"
Locke took the button from Goofy, turning it over. On one side, there was a rocket ship. On the other side, the button was smooth and flat. Locke bounced the button up and down in his palm and grinned.
"Yup. This will do."
For a guy that didn't look as though he had pockets, Locke produced a lot of glass bottles and vials seemingly out of nowhere.
"And as a special gift." Locke winked, pulling out a glass vial with swirling, galaxy colored liquid. "One elixir."
"Gosh! Thank you, Locke."
While Goofy carefully stocked up on supplies, Donald came to stand next to Sora and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
"There's something I want to try when we go to the next world. Don't do anything there until after I've checked."
"Okay," Sora whispered back.
Jiminy finished writing and hopped back up into Sora's hood. Goofy put away his newly bought supplies. After saying goodbye to Locke one more time, the trio passed through the door.
The realm of darkness felt different then the last time he was awake. There was a hint of a scent that Riku couldn't put his finger on. He tried to think back to what had helped him wake up, but the memory of his dream was hazy. He walked with his weapon, the soul eater, in his hand, keeping an eye out for heartless while trying to figure out his next move at the same time.
The last thing he remembered was closing the door with Sora and King Mickey. Had he fallen asleep right after? Riku put a hand over his heart. And, at least, Sora and Kairi were safe.
Or so he hoped.
For a split second, right after he had woken up, he thought he had heard Kairi's voice, but it must have been his imagination. He was alone. Even King Mickey had vanished. When the realm of darkness had been cut off from the realm of light, something had forced him into a deep sleep, something strong enough to separate him from the king, but what could it have been?
Riku stepped on something squishy. Looking down, he felt his blood run cold as a shadow heartless had appeared in the ground. It wrapped its hands around his leg and soon, Riku found himself being dragged down.
Riku swung his the soul eater and sliced the heartless' arms. It let him go, and he pulled his leg free. Yet, he wasn't finished fighting yet. More heartless appeared on the road before him. Riku charged and slashed through the first wave easily, but another squadron of heartless appeared right after, converging on him.
Gasping, Riku fought the next wave, and the next, until the sweat was dripping from his face. His entire body ached from exhaustion. The soul eater was too heavy to lift and his arm fell limply to his side. The heartless had slowly morphed from simple shadows, to menacing dark balls, and, finally, to powerful neo-shadows.
The hungry creatures had pushed him to the edge of the platform he had been standing on. Riku stared at the line of heartless advancing toward him. His head swam in a thick fog, his knees shook, and a voice spoke from deep inside him.
Why don't you control them? You did it before.
"No."
The voice was silent, but its presence was not gone.
A neo-shadow lunged at him.
Raising his weapon, Riku was able to stab the heartless right in the gut, making it explode in the air, but he didn't have any time to react when three other heartless came at him from the front, the left, and the right. They grabbed his arms and pushed him down. Riku could barely breathe under all the weight, but he forced himself up against the heartless' crushing downward push.
No energy left to fight, Riku rolled, falling off the edge of the platform and taking the three neo-shadows with him. The fall was enough to send the three heartless flying off, but Riku had no way of stopping himself from splattering into the platform down below.
Something hit him in midair, and Riku was knocked out cold.
The chirping of birds and the whistling of wind moving through the leaves met Sora's ears. The smell of fresh spring and the softness of the grass under his feet was a much more welcome feeling after the dreary, rotting space of the warehouse in the last world. Too bad his clothes didn't look any less messy.
Goofy went to the nearest rock and sat down to stretch and Sora was about to join him before he felt a tugging on the back of his shirt. Turning around, he saw Donald point to the door that led back to Castle Oblivion.
"Lock the door so that nothing follows us this time."
"Good idea."
Sora stood in front of the white door and aimed his keyblade at it. A second passed, and the keblade didn't respond. Sora swung the keyblade again at the door, but there wasn't even spark at the end of his weapon.
"What are you doing, Sora?" Donald snapped impatiently. "Lock the door."
"I'm trying, but the keyblade's not working."
Sora inspected the door. There was a handle, but there was no lock. Grabbing the handle, Sora tried to pull it open, but the door didn't budge.
"Come on!"
He swung his keyblade again but the weapon refused to respond.
"This is so weird. Usually, the keyblade would react to it!"
Goofy left his rock and put his ear to the door. Then he knocked on it.
"Gosh. Maybe the door to Castle Oblivion works differently then the other doors."
"Maybe it won't let us pass back through until we're done with this world."
"Aw phooey." Donald kicked the dirt. "I was so sure we could lock it too."
Sora checked the other side of the door, and had no luck finding a lock on that side either. Something blue flickered on the forest floor by his feet, erasing all thoughts of the door from Sora's mind. The blue speck danced around his legs and then floated away.
A whisper fluttered through the air. It was so quiet that Sora felt as though he had heard it in his thoughts, but then Donald and Goofy looked around the forest, searching for the sound.
The blue spec reappeared a few feet away.
Sora moved toward the blue wisp but it was gone just as he took a step. Up ahead, another blue wisp appeared. This one moved, and Sora heard the soft whispers coming from it.
Donald came around the door and pointed. "What's that?"
The wisp blinked out.
"Donald," Sora whined, "why'd you have to be to loud?"
"I was just asking a question!"
"Hey fellars, there it is again." The wisp had moved to shimmer between two trees just a few more paces ahead.
Donald charged. "Get it!"
He lunged forward, his greedy fingers wrapping around the blue spec. The wisp blinked out before he could get his feathers on it and Donald crashed into the floor, right in the middle of a clearing in the woods.
Sora and Goofy followed Donald into the clearing and then marveled at the sight around them. They stood on an emerald green hill, surrounded by thirteen-foot-tall stone pillars that were arranged in a circle. Scratches and scuffs decorated the pillars. Sora wondered if the stones were naturally set up in a circle, or if someone placed them in that pattern. Before he could ask his friends about it, the crunching of leaves drew his attention back to the forest.
A girl and a big, burly man with puffy, red hair rolled out of the trees and right into the middle of the stone circle. The man raised a sword high and brought it down on the girl. She blocked easily with her own sword and danced around him to try and slash at him from behind. He blocked her by throwing his sword over his shoulder. With a grunt, the big man threw her back and the girl nearly crashed into one of the stones.
"Keep yer elbows up, girl!"
The big man roared, charging.
Sora and Goofy slid between the two. Goofy blocked the sword strike with his shield, allowing Sora to shove the big man away. The man fell backward into the grass, his blue eyes wide with surprise. He kicked his peg leg in the air as he tried to regain his balance. Donald used this chance to grab the sword from the man's hands.
Goofy charged to help his friend. "Don't worry, miss, we'll handle this!"
By this time, Donald and Goofy had piled up on the big man. The man thrashed.
"Sora! Get in here," Donald called.
"He's really strong!" Goofy grit his teeth as he tried to hold down the man's arm.
The big, red haired man grunted. "Merida! Help!"
Sora ran forward, his keyblade up. Something swept in front of his shins and he fell face first into the dirt. Raising his head, and spitting out a mouthful of fresh earth, Sora saw something shine from above him.
"What are ya doin' to my Dad?"
Looking up, Sora saw the girl. She drew back her bow, aiming an arrow at him.
"Let him go," she commanded Donald and Goofy.
The duck and the dog got off the big man. He sat up, rubbing his forehead.
Sora stood. The girl tightened her bow string in response. It was a warning.
He put up his hands. "I'm not going to do anything. I swear!"
"Who are ya? What are ya doin' here?"
Donald and Goofy abandoned the big man and got between Sora and the girl.
"Hey! Put that done before you put someone's eye out," Donald growled.
"Gosh, miss. We're sorry. We didn't know he was your dad."
"Yeah," Sora added, "why was he attacking you with a sword?"
"We were sparing, ya dumb lad."
The big man had now completely recovered. He came to stand next to his daughter, and nodded to Sora, Donald and Goofy.
"Aye, twas just a friendly bout between father and daughter." He ruffled the girl's already messy, bright red hair. "Got to make sure my little girl has got her wits about her."
"You need to keep your wits about you! They almost had ya."
The girl finally put down her bow and arrow and bowed her head. Her long, unruly hair spilled over her shoulders. She raised her dark, green skirts in a curtsy that did not suit her at all.
"I am Merida. First born of Clan DunBroch and this is my father, King Fergus."
Sora, Donald and Goofy never got the chance to bow because King Fergus darted forward to poke Goofy's shield.
"You blocked me sword with this wee thing? And you, young man, that is some weapon. No one can push the Bear King back, 'cept me big, strong, girl here."
Fergus' entire barrel chest puffed up as he laughed. Shaking her head, Merida moved passed Sora, Donald and Goofy to pick up her sword, which lay on the grass at the base of the stone pillar. Sora watched her slide the sword into the sheath on her hip.
"You use a bow and a sword?"
"Archery is my specialty. Though I'm not bad with sword either."
"That's my girl!"
"Daaaad."
Fergus cleared his throat and then faced Sora. "So, what brings you three to my lands."
"We were chasing some blue, fiery thing here," Donald answered.
"The will-o'-the-wisps are back?"
Goofy tilted his head. "Willa-the-what-now?"
Merida snorted. "Will-o'-the-wisps. They're spirits that live in these forests. Some say they lead ya to yer fate. Though, why are they here?"
Fergus put his big hands on Sora and Goofy's shoulders. "Let's think later, lads. For now, join me us at our camp! We'll eat and then have a rematch! I want to see what that strange sword and that shield can really do."
Sora, Donald and Goofy quickly found themselves following Fergus and Merida back to their camp. After a short walk, white triangle tents appeared at the bottom of a green hill. Men were riding their horses around the camp, sparring, or training the hunting dogs. A feast was set up on one of the tables. Fruits, fresh bread, chunks of cheese, plates full of giant turkey legs and the most savory looking ham Sora had ever seen.
King Fergus walked them to the table and then growled. Three little boys, all with identical red puffs of hair, were sitting on the table, gobbling up a plate piled high with jelly tarts.
"Hubert, Hamish, Harris! I leave ya three alone for one minute and you're attacking the sweets! Eat some meat for goodness sake! You three are going to get a tummy ache."
King Fergus lunged forward to try and grab the triplets, but the wee devils were fast. Giggling, they darted off into the camp, with King Fergus chasing after them. His peg leg slowed him down, but he still he barreled through the camp after the three boys. Merida watched, laughing loudly at the scuffle.
"Well," she turned, "dig in, you three. You'd best eat yer fill before my dad comes back."
"Don't mind if I do!"
Donald stuffed whole pieces of bread and cheese into his mouth.
Goofy joined in. Even Jiminy hopped onto the table to take a bite out of an apple but Sora wasn't feeling partially hungry.
"You said earlier that those will-o'-the-wisps lead you to your fate. What did you mean?"
"Ach! Mysterious those things are. They led me to a witch last time, and I made one big, dumb mistake."
Merida picked up her bow and quiver and walked across the camp to where an archery range was set up. She rolled her shoulders, notched an arrow on her bowstring, aimed at the target, and fired.
Bullseye.
"But if it weren't for that witch, my mum and I would still be arguing."
Sora clapped. "Wow! You're a really good shot."
"Aye," Merida winked, "no one's got my skill for shooting." She held out her bow. "Want to try?"
Sora took the bow from her hand and tried to mimic her stance. Pulling the bow was a lot harder then he had first thought. Even worse, the arrow wouldn't stay straight.
"Pull back to yer cheek," Merida instructed.
Sora did as she said. The bow shook in front of him, and he tried to line up the tip of the arrow with the target. He fired. The arrow flew through the air. And thunked into the dirt several feet in front of the target.
Merida laughed. "Reminds me of my first shot."
"Think I'll stick to magic," Sora said.
"Magic? Really lad?"
"What, you don't believe me?" Sora summoned his keyblade, raising it so that the end of the weapon lined up with the target in the distance.
"Fire!"
A ball of flame shot across the field and burned the target to a crisp. Merida whooped.
"That was amazing! Say, how about a match, your sword against mine, eh?"
Sora rested his keyblade on his shoulder. "Bring it."
Merida unsheathed the sword at her hip. "Ready?"
The second Sora nodded, she lunged. He easily sidestepped and parried her next attack, but Merida was fast. She jumped back, circled around him and then aimed a jab at his head. Sora raised his keyblade to block and then found himself on the floor as Merida had used his reaction to switch targets and sweep her leg under his feet. Before she could claim victory, Sora rolled and tried to slash at her side. She caught his keyblade with her sword and pushed him back.
Sora darted forward to start the next round of attacks when he saw something blue and shiny over Merida's shoulder and stopped mid step. The next second, Merida had knocked him down and had forced the keyblade out of his hand with her sword.
"Hah! I win."
Sora stood, dusting off his pants. "You sure did."
"What happened at the end there? You better not have let me win."
"Actually I thought I saw one of those willow things a second ago."
"Will-o'-the-wisps, lad."
"Right. It was over there."
Merida turned. Sora was pointing down a trail that led out of the clearing and into the woods.
A will-o'-the-wisp appeared under the tree. It whispered, beckoning. When Sora and Merida reached the tree, the wisp had vanished. It reappeared by a rock further up the trail. Sora and Merida followed it through the forest, until the air became thick and cold with mist and the wisp completely disappeared.
They slowed down, walking carefully through the silver fog. The trees lost their green luster the further they went in. Skeletal branches, broken logs, and the mangled remains of a ruin appeared through the mist. Sora took a step and then the ground under his foot melted. He tripped. In front of his eyes, the ground split open. He managed to regain his balance just in time to keep himself from falling into the hole in the floor.
Something looked up at him from down below.
Someone with silver hair and light, blue eyes.
Sora's heart skipped a beat. He looked down into the dark ruins. The person was gone.
"We shouldn't be here." Merida's voice trembled. "These ruins used to belong to Mor'du, the demon bear. Why would the wisps lead me here again? What more do I need to learn?"
Sora jumped down into the ruins. Merida called after him from above but he didn't listen. Summoning his keyblade, Sora stepped deeper into the large underground room. The walls were covered in deep claw marks. Broken weapons and shields littered the floor, and there was a turned over table against the wall.
Someone moved through the shadows. A boy stood in front of him, a boy that stretched out his hand as if to say, "come with me."
Sora rushed forward.
"Riku!"
The ground above him rumbled, the ceiling hissed as dust and rocks came lose. From above, Merida screamed. Sora looked around the room, casting a fire spell, lighting up his surroundings. He was alone.
Quickly he climbed back out of the hole and came to stand next to Merida. She was aiming her bow into the mist, ready to attack whatever was thundering toward them. A giant, black, something appeared in the fog.
Merida drew back her bowstring.
Then a horse jumped over a pile of ruins and skidded to a stop in front of Merida.
"Angus?"
The horse whinnied, stomping around in a circle.
"Whoa," Merida put up her hands, "easy there, Angus."
She put her hand on the horse's muzzle and looked into his distressed eyes.
"Something's wrong."
Merida pulled herself up onto the saddle and then reached down to grab Sora's hand.
He settled into the saddle behind her and then they were off, racing back through the mist and into the forest until Angus skidded to a stop in the middle of Merida's camp. He pounded the floor with his hoof as it to say it was their stop.
It didn't take long for Merida and Sora to realize what was wrong.
The entire camp was deserted.
Jiminy's Journal
Merida (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): A headstrong and free-spirited princess that loves the great outdoors, archery, and a good sparring match. She's curious about the will-o'-the-wisps and why they appeared before Sora.
King Fergus (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): The "Bear King" of Dunbroch. Like his daughter, he is loud and easygoing, though he tends to lose patience with his triplet sons whenever they cause trouble.
Hubert, Hamish, and Harris (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): Merida's triplet brothers. Wee devils with a knack for stealing jelly tarts and getting into all sorts of trouble.
Angus (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): Angus is a powerful shire horse who serves as Merida's loyal companion and best friend. He went after Merida because he sensed danger, but what could have spooked him?
Will-o'-the-wisps (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): Blue, spiritual, ethereal beings that represent past lives. The legends say that they lead people to their destinies, so why do they keep appearing in front of Sora?
Chapter 12: Chapter 11: The Vanished
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 11: The Vanished
Skin crawling silence filled the space where there was once lively chatter, barking dogs, and the clangs of swords and arrows hitting their targets. Angus' hooves echoed as they rode through the camp, staring at the steaming plates of food, the forgotten armor, and all the fallen weapons on the floor.
There was no rips in the tents. The grass was unmarked by the glittery residue left by magic. Sora searched for weapon or claw marks, but there was nothing, no clue. It was as though the people, the horses and the dogs just decided to leave everything behind and go.
Merida called for her father and brothers while Sora searched for Donald and Goofy. Only the rustling and chirps of the forest responded. Dread rattled like rocks in Sora's stomach. His keyblade appeared in his hand. He tensed, waiting for the inevitable sizzle that tingled in the air seconds before heartless would appear. Merida saw his weapon, and set an arrow on her bow. Angus pulled back his ears. A breeze went over the grass, caressing Sora's face, sending a chill down his neck.
Nothing happened.
Merida put down her bow, and gave Sora an impatient look.
"What are we waiting for?"
"That's strange. Usually, I'd get attacked by heartless the second something weird happens."
"Heartless? What are ya talkin' about?"
"They're dark creatures that go after people's hearts."
"I don't like the sound of that, lad. You think these monsters got rid of everyone here?"
"Maybe."
Merida narrowed her eyes. "Maybe? That's all ya got?"
"Well, usually they attack me everywhere I go and every chance they get, but here, it's just quiet."
Merida whistled and Angus lurched forward. Sora grabbed the saddle before he could fall off.
"We won't get any answers just standing round here. Let's search the area."
After an hour of galloping through the surrounding forest there was no sign of Merida's family, her father's men, or Donald and Goofy. Merida went back to the circle of stones where she had met Sora for the first time. There, she inspected the stones, squinting at their carvings as though waiting for them to break like a cornered prisoner and tell her everything. While she was distracted, Sora snuck off to the Castle Oblivion door. Maybe Donald and Goofy had gone back. He couldn't think of any reason why the two of them would willingly leave him behind, but he felt the need to check regardless.
The door was gone.
Sora looked around the clearing, and even tried summoning the door with his keyblade, but there was no response from his weapon. He felt his worries twisting in his throat. He tried to swallow them down, but his heart wouldn't be quiet.
A will-o-the-wisp appeared in the space where the door had been. It whispered and then zipped away.
Sora followed the blue spec. It led him back to the stone circle, back to Merida, but it didn't vanish.
The wisp flickered.
It stretched, growing taller and wider.
Angus slammed his hoof on the ground, disturbed.
The wisp morphed from a blob into the shape of a boy. A boy with shoulder length, spiky hair. Sora's heart beat even faster.
"Riku."
The blue light of the wisp blinked out.
"Wait!"
Sora ran around the rocks, searching, but it was no use. The wisp was gone and all that was left in his head were questions. Merida grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.
"What was that?"
"That wisp. He looked like my friend. What does that mean? What was it trying to tell me?"
"I don't know, Sora. Wisps are a mysterious thing."
"Do you think they're responsible for everyone's disappearance too?"
Merida's brows came together in a frown. "I don't think wisps are dangerous. Maybe everyone in the camp went back to the castle in a rush."
"They went back to the castle and just left all their things behind?"
"Maybe it was an emergency? It makes more sense then people just disappearing. Ach! More questions. I'm just as confused as you."
"So what do we do?"
"We're going back to the castle." Merida grimaced. "We're going to talk to my mum."
They were sitting, side by side, watching the sun set. Riku was leaning against the paopu tree with his arms crossed, talking about seeing other worlds. Sora was lying back, lazing on the tree's curved trunk, relaxing his head on his hands, looking forward to tomorrow. Kairi watched the sunset, feeling the breeze and the warmth of being with her two best friends.
Yet, she was afraid.
"Say Kairi, what was your home like. You know, where you grew up?"
What if she had told Sora the truth?
"I told you before. I don't remember."
But what could she have even said to him? The dark memories of her past would have ruined their search for other worlds.
"Nothing at all?"
"Nothing."
That was a lie. She did remember something. Before she came to Destiny Islands, there was one memory. How could she have told her friends about the night her home decayed from a black disease that tore hearts out of people, the warnings in her grandmother's fairytales and the fear that she might have been the only person that had survived.
But she should have told them. Maybe then they would have been more careful. Or would it have mattered? Would the three of them still be apart? Was that how things were always going to be? Separated from the people she cared about most?
Kairi swam in a bright void until her feet touched something cool. Silver doves appeared out of the whiteness, fluttering for a moment before once again vanishing out into the bright nothing beyond. Light glittered below her feet. Looking down, she saw the image of Destiny Islands on a stained glass platform. In the picture below, she sat with her friends on the paopu tree, watching the sun set. On the other side, opposite the picture of the sunset, there was an image of a girl, a dog, and a rabbit facing the darkness together.
Which was the right path to take? Was it to chase after old friendships or new ones? She leaned down to get a closer look at the two images.
The glass below her swayed back and forth.
The platform slanted diagonally, the ground curving upward below her feet. She ran, her shoes sliding on the glass, and her body tumbling forward. Her hands pressed against the smooth surface, her fingertips burning as she slid downward. Kairi pushed with her legs, and managed to get her fingers around the edge of the platform. Her feet hung over the white nothing below, and yet the platform kept tipping forward like a sinking ship. A few more seconds and there would be nothing left to hold on to.
The white world around her began to shift, getting darker and darker until it was completely black. Words without a voice echoed around her. Her ears didn't tingle with sound, her eyes didn't see the letters, but she knew them in her heart as though they had always been there.
The closer you get to the darkness, the stronger your light must be in order to pierce through it.
The platform tipped too far and Kairi's fingers slipped from the smooth edge. She fell into the abyss, down and down in endless darkness until the blackness shifted again into grey and then into a white so blinding that her eyes stung.
Kairi sat up.
The white world around her faded as more colors appeared. Blurry shapes came into focus and slowly, the dream faded from her mind. She was in a pink bed. Her legs were tangled in silk bed sheets, and she wasn't alone.
Something stood next to her.
Kairi kicked the blankets, skittered toward the edge of bed, and crashed onto the floor with her feet still on the mattress. There was a sweeping noise. Her surprise overruled the pounding in her head and she jumped to her feet, moving backward, away from the thing that was creeping closer and closer.
"Brooms don't move," she whispered, "this is a dream. Right. A dream. Brooms don't move and they definitely don't have arms to hold a tray full of...pancakes?"
The broom didn't seem offended by her surprise. It simply bowed and extended the tray in its hands, as if to say, "please eat."
Slowly, as though making a false move could send the broom into a sweeping frenzy, she took the tray. Before she could think to say thanks, the broom turned around and walked out the door.
Kairi sat on the bed, staring at the white door the broom had walked through for a full minute before the temptation, and her stomach, made her finally look at her breakfast.
A plate with three pancakes. They were arranged in the same mouse-shaped symbol that had been on the letter Pluto had given her on the Destiny Islands. There was also a silver cloche. Kairi lifted the cloche, and saw a plate of steaming eggs and bacon underneath. The three sunny side up eggs were also arranged in a mouse shape.
Her stomach rumbled and in the next five minutes she had devoured her food so fast that her throat was dry from thirst. As if summoned by her thoughts, the door to her room opened and the broom came back in with another tray. This one had a cute, pink teapot, teacup, a bowl of sugar, and a glass of milk.
A duck came into the room behind the broom. She walked with a noble's grace, her hands folded daintily in front of her lavender gown. Delight danced in her blue eyes, her beak curved into a smile.
"Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness." She waved at the broom. "Would you please go get me a teacup as well?"
The broom put down the tea tray, picked up Kairi's used breakfast tray, saluted the duck with one arm, and then swept out of the room. Moving around to the side of Kairi's bed, the duck picked up the teapot and poured green liquid into the cup. She handed the cup and saucer to Kairi.
The herbal steam of the tea warmed her hands and face.
"Sugar dear?"
"Yes, thank you."
While Kairi spooned three heaping teaspoons of sugar into her tea, the broom returned and handed the duck the teacup she had requested. Its chore done, the broom promptly left. Once they were alone again, Kairi cleared her throat.
"Don't know how I got here, but thank you for the breakfast and the tea. My name's Kairi, by the way."
"I am Duchess Daisy Duck. A pleasure."
"You remind me of Donald. Do you know him?"
"Oh?" Daisy's eyes narrowed as she took a sip of her tea. "You've met that good for nothing, have you?"
"Well, I sort of met him, it's more like-"
Daisy slammer her tea cup against its saucer. "That big, dumb buffoon! He hasn't sent me a single letter since he left on his mission! If the king can send Her Majesty letters then so can he. Here I am, worried sick and he-"
She looked sharply at Kairi.
"Wait, how do you know about Donald? You're from another world. That must mean that you met him during his mission."
"Technically I know him and Goofy through my friend Sora. He has the keyblade and-"
Daisy almost spilled her tea.
"Do you mean the key that the king mentioned? What happened to Donald? And Goofy? Are they all right? Did they accomplish their mission?"
"I think so. I haven't seen them since my world was brought back and-"
Daisy grabbed Kairi's wrist. "You must meet with Queen Minnie. There is no time to waste. Come with me."
Kairi stumbled out of the bed after Daisy, spilling her tea onto the floor. For such a small duck, Daisy was shockingly fast. She pulled Kairi through a pearly white castle so quickly that Kairi's head spun. They exited out into a topiary garden. The hedges were perfectly trimmed and the entire garden looked like an orchestra of dogs, pigs and cows playing trumpets, horns, drums and cymbals.
At the center of the garden was a yellow, purple, and blue flowerbed. A topiary castle, the size of a small cottage, sat in the center of the flowerbed. Sitting next to the castle, sipping tea from atop a crystal table, was a regal mouse in a pink gown. Across from the mouse was a young woman, wearing a flowered hat.
Completely ignoring the other woman, Daisy dragged Kairi to the mouse in pink.
"Majesty Minnie, I have very important news."
The mouse's long lashes rose up into her forehead. "Daisy dear, now is not the best time to, oh! She's awake."
Kairi tried to bow politely to the queen, but before she even got the chance, the other woman stood quickly.
"Ah yes! Majesty Minnie, I know exactly when I felt the need to visit here today."
"Oh? And what could that be, Mary?"
"It's because of this girl."
Sora leaned over the side of Angus' saddle to look at the stream under the stone bridge. Down below, people were lugging barrels full of water from the stream up the toward a door that was hidden into the side of the hill.
Across the bridge, Merida's castle stood tall on a cliff that overlooked a scenic, perfectly still lake. The hearty stone of the castle felt strong and ancient, blending perfectly with the rich, green mountains in the distance. When they entered through the gates, Sora didn't know what to look at first. Stablehands were busy brushing, cleaning and feeding the horses, maids rushed to and fro with basketfuls of laundry and food for the kitchen, chickens clucked all over the courtyard, servants laughed with guards at their posts and Merida just rode through it all without a second glance.
She parked Angus at his stall at the stable, grabbed Sora's hand and led him through the castle's doors into a stone audience hall. Sora was still too busy looking around to notice Merida run up to a woman sitting in one of the three thrones.
"Mum! We have a problem."
The woman gave Merida a surprised look, but quickly smoothed her features into a professional mask.
"Ahem, we have a guest," she pointed at Sora.
Merida waved her arms. "He's with me, Mum. Listen, Dad, Hubert, Hamish and Harris-"
"Merida, it's rude to speak without including others."
"Mum! This is important."
"So are manners."
Merida groaned. "Fine. Sora, this is my mother, Queen Elinor."
Sora bowed.
Elinor nodded reverently at Sora and he couldn't help staring at the emerald green gem in the center of her crown.
"Your Majesty," Sora began, "we might need your help."
Merida launched into a desperate explanation of what had happened. Elinor quirked an eyebrow at her daughter's sudden return to impolite behavior, but listened patiently to the story. By the time Merida was finished, Elinor put a hand over her mouth and chin, making her look both worried and deep in thought at the same time.
"The boys, well, have a knack for getting into trouble, but it's unlike Fergus and the men to just leave you behind. You say you've been seeing more wisps lately?"
Merida nodded.
With her hands folded in front of her emerald gown, Elinor glided out of the throne room. Sora and Merida followed her up the steps to the second floor of the castle and entered a small library. Elinor stopped in front of a bookcase full of letters and scrolls. She reached into the many rolls of paper and pulled out a book that looked as though it could crumble into dust if someone so much as breathed on it.
Elinor turned the yellowed pages until she came upon a picture of a wisp. She slide her finger over the writing on the next page and began to read.
"Will-o-the-wisps are nothing more then children stories. They are small, quiet and shy creatures that guide the lost and lead people to their destinies. Sometimes they grant wishes, and other times they teach harsh lessons. The wisps can be just as mischievous as they are playful. They're said to be attracted to light and laughter."
Elinor stopped reading and looked up toward the ceiling.
"That's all?" Merida huffed.
"Fairy tales exist because the story is so old that a lot of information is lost. And sometimes, it's better not to know the whole story." Elinor gave Merida a stern look. "Now is a good chance for you to practice being a proper princess."
"Ugh, Mum."
"You're going to call in the soldiers and command a large scale search for the will-o-the-wisps."
"Why bother when I could just go to the forest and investigate myself? I'm much faster then a battalion of brutes."
Elinor drew a sharp breathe, annoyance tightening on her face. Then she relaxed and exhaled slowly. "I don't want you to disappear like your father and brothers. I'm only worried."
Merida's frown vanished. "Right, I'll be careful, Mum, I promise."
"Don't worry," Sora interjected, "I can make sure she's safe. I'm sort of, um, experienced in handling monsters. If there's something out there to worry about, I can handle it."
Merida lightly punched Sora's shoulder.
"I can take care of myself, ya know."
"Then let's just say I got your back."
Merida grinned. "Please Mum? This is something I can do, something I can learn from experience. We promised to try things my way sometimes."
Elinor looked from Merida to Sora. Her face was stony, authoritative. Then she closed her eyes.
"Promise that you will report to me at the first sign of trouble. And, young man, please watch out for my rowdy girl."
Merida jumped around in a circle. Then she attack-hugged her mother singing, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Elinor stiffened like a pole when Merida pinned her arms to her sides, but then she melted and carefully patted her girl's messy hair. A moment later, she cleared her throat and Merida let go.
"I think I may have something to produce the light the book speaks about. Follow me."
Elinor led Sora and Merida to a storage room. The small space was bustling with craftsman organizing, sending out materials, and carefully balancing wooden boxes one on top of the other. The second the servants spotted Elinor, they stopped what they were doing, stood up straight and cleared their throats.
"Hello, gentlemen," Elinor greeted, "has the delivery for Merida's room come yet?"
"Yes, Majesty," one of the craftsman said.
He gave Elinor a parcel wrapped in brown paper.
"A delivery for my room? Mum, what is it?"
Elinor thanked the craftsman and then cautiously unwrapped the paper. Inside was a rainbow disk of stained glass. The disk was as thick as a textbook.
"You broke your window glass when you were trying to save me from staying a bear forever," Elinor said.
Sora blinked at Merida. "Did she say bear?"
Merida's cheeks turned the same color as her hair, making her look like an overgrown tomato on a dry vine.
"It's a long story." She waved her hand. "Anyway, my window has already been fixed so, why the glass?"
"I thought it would be nice to change it a bit, so I ordered some stained glass. It was supposed to be a surprise, but there are more important things to worry about now."
Elinor moved out of the storage room. Merida and Sora followed her to the courtyard, where she lifted the glass up to the sun. Colorful raindrops of green, blue, red, orange, purple, and yellow light glittered over Elinor's dress and onto the ground.
"Wow," Sora whistled.
Elinor produced a drawstring bag and put the stained glass inside.
"Use this to try and lure out the wisps. Please be careful."
Merida carefully tied the bag around her belt. "I will, Mum. I'll be back with Dad and the boys before your know it."
Merida raised the rainbow disk to a streak of sunlight that poked through the treetops. The stained glass casted glittering shadows over the forest floor. Angus trotted easily over fallen logs and boulders, his ears up and relaxed. Sora watched the specs of light dance over the grass and leaves. He kept an eye out for any blue wisps, but the longer they trotted in silence, the more he felt his mind wandering.
He worried about Donald and Goofy, and questioned why the wisp had taken Riku's shape. Maybe Donald and Goofy had seen the wisp too and had gone after it. But again, Sora couldn't believe they would leave him behind.
They stuck together. All for one and one for all, like they promised. Donald and Goofy wouldn't just pull a disappearing act, not without telling Sora first. They would have at least left Jiminy behind to convey a message.
"Sora," Merida whispered, "do you see that?"
Straight ahead, a wisp was floating above the green shadow cast by the glass. Merida pulled Angus to a stop. Carefully, she and Sora slid off the horse's saddle. Merida took the reigns and led Angus to a nearby tree.
"Stay here."
Angus didn't seem too eager to follow. He bent his head down and began to graze while Merida and Sora tiptoed closer to the wisp. Singing, the wisp drifted over the ground, guiding them deeper into the forest until the trees began to lose their leaves, and the air became white with fog.
Merida placed an arrow on her bow. She slowed down her movements, stepping carefully over rubble and fallen logs. A lonely monolith appeared out of the grey void. Sora and Merida walked up broken, stone steps toward it.
A pair of axes were carved onto the monolith.
Merida traced the axes with her finger. "Mor'du's castle."
"Mor'du?"
"The demon bear," Merida explained. "He was once a prince, but his hunger for power made him into a monster. He's the reason my dad has a peg leg."
"Whoa. What happened to the bear?"
"My mum took him down."
"Your mom did that to a demon bear?"
Merida winked.
"So you don't just get your strength just from your dad then."
"Nope. Don't tell her I said this, but Mum is very brave. The wisps brought my mum and me here last time. If it weren't for her, I would've been Mor'du's lunch."
They walked deeper into the ruins. The stones were scarred by deep claw marks. Parts of the ancient castle had crumbed into heaps of rubble. An eerie wind whispered from the ruins. Merida rubbed her arms.
"Why do the wisps keep bringing us here?"
Sora walked around a crooked pillar. There was a hole in the floor. He tapped his feet. The ground was hollow. He looked down at the base of the pillar and saw that there was an opening big enough for him to squeeze through.
"Over here."
Looking inside the hole, Sora saw the remains of a throne room. Rotting chairs, piles of rocks, stone walls that looked as though they were as unstable as dominoes, told him that the room below had been abandoned for a long time.
Sora and Merida jumped in. When they laded, the room rumbled. Dust and dirt rained from the ceiling. Sora's back tingled, as though someone were watching him.
He turned.
A blue ghost stood behind him.
The ghost of Riku.
The ghost smiled and outstretched his hand again.
It walked backward into the darkness on the other side of the throne room.
"No, wait!"
Sora lunged into the darkness, ignoring Merida's calls. The shadows of the throne room embraced him as he raced through a long, stone tunnel. Seconds later, he found himself back outside. The Riku lookalike stopped in front of the monolith. By the time Sora caught up to it, the spectre had vanished.
The cobblestones under Sora's feet shivered, blue fireflies shined in the crevices between the stones. The fireflies rose up from the ground, gathering into a ball right in front of Sora's eyes. The ball got bigger and darker, morphing from shiny blue to a shimmering purple and then to black.
A thick arm appeared out of the blob of darkness. It reached out, ready to claw Sora across the face. An arrow sunk into the arm, making it pause. Then the arrow was pulled into the black creature's body, like a stick being swallowed by a bottomless sea of mud.
A hand clamped around Sora's wrist. Merida tugged him away from the smoking, black creature.
"Don't just stand there! Run!"
The black ball melted, spilling into the ground. It roared after them like a toxic tidal wave.
Sora threw his keyblade at it, but the dark tide kept advancing. Summoning his keyblade back, he tried attacking with fire magic, then ice, then lightning. The magic simply faded into the black water.
Merida and Sora jumped over the debris of the old castle. Behind them, the dry, dead trees crackled and snapped as the darkness ripped through the ruins in pursuit.
The mist cleared, revealing a cliff just a few feet ahead. Sora and Merida skidded to a stop, their toes just barely over the edge. Down below, harsh waves crashed into the sharp rocks of a river and right behind them, the black ooze was slowly creeping up.
Merida pointed.
"The disk!"
The stained glass had fallen out of her pocket when she had rushed to stop. She reached out and grabbed it seconds before the dark sludge covered the ground where it had been.
Stuck between a cliff and the ooze, Sora and Merida shot magic and arrows at the sludge, but it was no use. The ooze was almost to their feet.
Desperate, Merida waved her arm. The stained glass in her hand caught the sunlight. The ooze shivered. It stopped in front of the little yellow spec of light that was reflecting from the glass.
Noticing this, Merida held the glass up. The light reflected on the trees just beyond the ooze. The black sludge shifted, as though turning.
Sora watched the sludge chase after the light like a cat trying to catch a firefly. His keyblade hummed in his hand. Lifting it, he aimed the tip of his keyblade at the glass.
A razor sharp beam of light exploded out of the disk. The muscles in Sora's arm tightened and Merida could barely keep the glass steady. The beam flew all around, completely out of control. Is seared the black liquid, the trees, and even dug into the stone floor beneath them.
The ooze recoiled, twitching.
It moved back, deeper and deeper into the trees.
Slowly, Sora and Merida moved away from the cliff, directing the beam further into the mist.
The sludge fled into the fog. Gone. Sora's arm was throbbing. He released his keyblade and fell on his hands and knees, gasping for breathe. Merida collapsed against a tree and closed her eyes.
"My shootin' arm feels like it's going to fall off."
"Yeah," Sora coughed, "making that beam takes a lot out of me."
"Talk about luck. Ugh. I need some water."
Merida and Sora went back to Angus and the horse easily led them to a stream in the middle of the forest. After drinking their fill, Sora helped Merida build a fire. She used her archery skills to catch a few fish. Once Sora's belly was full, he stared into the stream.
"I'm sorry Merida."
"What for?"
"For letting my guard down. I was so desperate to try and catch that wisp, the one that looks like my friend. We almost got splattered because of me."
"Don't worry so much about it."
"But, it wasn't the right choice. Your dad and brothers are gone. Donald, Jiminy, and Goofy are gone, but all I can think about is Riku."
"Aw, wee lamb. Quit your moping."
She thumped Sora so hard on the back that he fell, face first, into the stream. Spluttering out of the water, Sora spotted Merida on the ground, kicking her feet and snorting with laughter.
"Oh yeah?"
He summoned his keyblade and hurled a mini tidal wave at Merida.
The water slapped her in the face, flattening her puffy hair. She stared at Sora with a confused look for two seconds before she jumped into the stream next to him. And then the two of them were throwing around so much water that Sora's hands got wrinkly.
"All right, you win!" Sora panted, shaking water off his hair.
Merida stretched. "Well I feel better, don't you?"
"Yeah. I don't have time to worrying. We've got to get our friends back."
"Right. And now we know that that dark creature is weak to light. Time to set a trap."
Sora leaned back to admire his work. He had to hand it to Merida: the girl sure knew how to make a trap. They had returned to the ruins. Carefully, Merida and Sora had hidden mirrors and pieces of glass in the floor, between cracks in the rubble, and in the trees. The reflective surfaces sparkled, even in the mist. Now they just needed to lure the ooze into it.
Merida closed an eye and pointed. "I think we've got the angles just right. Now we have to hit the right mirror and we've got an instant light storm."
She climbed one of the trees and placed the stained glass disk between the branches. Jumping back down onto the ground, Merida waved at Sora.
"Ready to go hunting?"
Sora grinned. Raising his keyblade in the air, he chanted. "Thunder!"
Lightning rained down from the sky. The mist parted and beams of sunlight sprinkled over the ruins. Artificial fireflies glowed on the floors, trees, and ancient debris, brought to life by the reflections of all the hidden mirrors and glass. Sora and Merida ducked behind a fallen pillar and waited for the black sludge to appear.
And they waited. And waited. And waited. Almost two hours later, Merida was yawning and Sora had sunk down so low against the rock, he was practically lying down. He turned onto his knees, and peeked over the pillar.
The Riku lookalike stood in the middle of their trap.
It turned to where Merida and Sora were hiding and shook its head.
Merida leaned in to whisper. "Is your friend trying to tell us something?"
The lookalike vanished.
There was a thunderous stomping that was getting louder. Merida readied her bow, Sora summoned his keyblade. They kept their eyes on the ruins, searching for the black sludge.
But the vibration wasn't coming from the ruins. It was coming from behind. A horse galloped out of the mist and into the sunlight. It skid to a stop, neighing angrily at its rider and tapping its hoof on the ground. The rider's face was as red as his hair. He fell off the horse, right at Merida's feet. Merida turned him over and Sora recognized the rider's guard uniform. He had seen it back at the castle.
The man on the floor could barely breathe.
Without missing a beat, Sora raised his keyblade and chanted a healing spell. The rejuvenating magic flowers gave the man back his energy. He sat back up with a gasp and grabbed Merida's shoulder.
"Princess, you have to come back to the castle immediately! We're under attack!"
Jiminy's Journal
Queen Elinor (First Appeared in Brave, 2012): Queen Elinor is ladylike and strict, leading her people as both a diplomat and paragon of elegance. She can be stubborn like her daughter, which leads the two of them to argue at times. Despite this, Elinor loves Merida very much and does soften a bit when she compromises with her.
Daisy Duck (First Appeared in Mr. Duck Steps Out, 1940): Duchess of Disney castle. Daisy is Queen Minnie's lady in waiting and best friend. She can be a bit single-minded and spoiled, but Daisy is also loyal to her queen and castle. She worries for Donald's safety, though she won't admit it.
The Brooms (First Appeared in Fantasia, 1940): Enchanted brooms that serve as Disney Castle's servants and guards.
Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Light Lessons
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 12: Light Lessons
"Now hold still, please."
Mary stretched a long ribbon of measuring tape from the top of Kairi's head to her feet.
Holding up the tape, Mary looked at the result. "Just as I expected. 'Determined yet surprisingly lazy.'"
"What?" Kairi snorted. "Let me see that."
"As you wish."
Kairi took the tape from Mary and held it up above her eyes. Right there, in bold print, the tape indeed said that she was determined and lazy. Unable to resist, Kairi tried measuring Mary. The older woman stood completely still as Kairi measured her from the bottom of her polished, black boots to the neat bun of dark-brown hair at the top of her head.
Kairi read the results to herself.
"Mary Poppins. Practically perfect in ever way."
Kairi stared. Mary's smile was full of secrets. She took the tape measure back with a quick "thank you" and tucked it into her pocket.
"Now then," Mary clapped her hands, "shall we begin?"
"Begin what?"
"Your magic lessons of course."
"What? Magic lessons?"
"Yes, dear. That's the reason that you are here."
"But, I thought-Daisy said I needed to talk to the queen."
"Ah. Of course. Majesty Minnie," Mary called.
By this time, Daisy had taken Mary's vacant seat at the garden table. The queen, Minnie, her pinky raised, was sipping tea across from Daisy. The pair of them looked as though they were having an ideal Sunday afternoon.
Queen Minnie looked from Kairi to Mary and giggled. Daisy pressed the back of her hand on her forehead and let out an exhausted sigh.
"Oh go ahead," she huffed. "I'll tell Her Majesty everything. Why don't you two come back after your magic lesson?"
"Yes," Minnie added, "we'll meet after the lesson is over."
Mary Poppins bowed. "Thank you, Majesty. Come along now, Kairi."
"How did you know my name?"
"Spit spot. No time to waste."
"But-"
Mary pointed to the topiary garden. "Let us leave Her Majesty to finish her tea. We have much to do."
Kairi felt like a toddler that was easily handled by an experienced granny. Except Mary wasn't anything at all like a granny. She had fair, smooth skin, with rosy cheeks. Tall, with perfect posture, wearing a navy-blue dress with a red bowtie, and yet she still walked with a spring in her step.
They stood in the flower bed between the topiary castle and the surrounding orchestra. It was then that Kairi noticed the purse that Mary was holding in her hand.
"That's a nice bag."
"Carpet," said Mary.
"The bag is a carpet?"
"No, made of."
Mary opened the carpet-bag and pulled out a long, black umbrella with a green and blue, parrot-shaped handle. This wouldn't have surprised Kairi so much, if it weren't for the fact that the umbrella was much longer then the bag was deep.
She inched closer and looked into the bag, but saw that its insides were completely normal, and empty. A moment later, Mary bent down onto the ground and the bag swallowed her arm up to the shoulder. She rummaged around as though she were sticking her arm into a deep hole.
"Now where did I put that silly stick. I know it's in here somewhere."
She pulled out a wooden stool and laid it on the grass.
"Wow!"
Kairi measured the stool. It was tall as her hip. Either Mary was a magician or her bag was a black hole.
"How are you doing that?"
Mary blinked at Kairi. "Whatever do you mean?"
"How are you getting all those big things from that tiny bag?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about. Ah! Here it is!"
Mary straightened. In her hand was a conducting baton. She placed the carpet bag on the wooden stool and then faced Kairi with a wink.
"Now then. I assume you know some magic."
"I know one spell."
"That will do for now."
Mary waved the conductor's baton. Kairi yelped, covering her ears. The entire topiary garden erupted with a swelling crescendo. The cows, dogs and pigs were no longer frozen in time. They played their instruments to the beat of Mary's conducting.
The music slowed, becoming quiet for a moment. Mary spoke over the hum.
"Now then. Show me what you can do. And don't fret too much, please. There's no danger to be had from a garden."
Before Kairi could say "huh" the nearest topiary animal launched itself at her. She jumped back and then felt the ground pounding below her feet. A green, bushy dog was stomping toward her with its horn blasting air at her face. The base tones of the horn were like a hammer pounding on Kairi's head.
She looked at Mary, her eyes full of questions, only to see Ms. Poppins happily conducting away without even looking at the animals.
So that was how Mary wanted to play.
"All right. I'll just have to rain on her parade."
Kairi charged toward the topiary dog with the horn. She raised her arm and shouted.
"Water!"
A blast of liquid slammed into the horn, drowning out the sound. The topiary dog turned the horn over to inspect it. While it was distracted, Kairi threw another water spell at its bushy feet. The dog slipped.
There was a crash.
Strange.
Rather then coming from the dog, Kairi felt a crash booming behind her.
She covered her ears, her teeth grinding together. Turning around, she was too slow to dodge the topiary pig that was charging at her. The pig spread its arms wide and then caught her between its cymbals. Kairi grunted as the leaves and branches pressed into her face and back.
"Now that's quite enough," came Mary's calm yet commanding voice.
The topiary pig pulled the cymbals apart, freeing Kairi. She landed back on her feet just Mary came to stand next to her, waving the conducting baton at each decorative bush.
"Back to your places, please."
All the topiary animals went back to their original spots and stopped moving. Mary threw the conducting baton over her shoulder and it flew right into the open mouth of the carpet bag. Minnie and Daisy applauded from their tea table.
"A good effort, Kairi."
Mary raised her black umbrella. A green powderpuff of flowers exploded from the tip. The petals rained down on Kairi. She felt lighter. Her bruises vanished, and the leaves and twigs fell away her clothes and hair.
"You have talent. I'm sure you'll find my lessons quite diverting."
Kairi blushed. For some reason, being complimented by Mary made her feel like a kindergardener being praised for answering a trick question. If only Sora and Riku were there. The whole scene would have been perfect with the two of them causing trouble while Kairi watched and waited for the inevitable scolding.
"I must be off," Mary said.
"What? I thought you were going to teach me magic."
"Exactly. To do so I must go and get some proper materials. See you soon."
Mary reached into her carpet bag, took out her flowered hat and then opened her black umbrella. She raised the umbrella into the air, and just like that, her feet left the ground. Kairi watched as Mary hovered for a moment before a blast of wind came right out of nowhere and nearly blew her away. Struggling to stay standing, Kairi watched as Mary flew up and up, out of the topiary garden, and out of sight. The moment she was gone, the wind died down.
"Quite the delight, isn't she?"
Kairi turned. Queen Minnie had finished her tea and had come to stand beside her. Kairi curtsied.
"No need for that, dear. That was quite a show. You certainly have some magic."
"Thank you. Um, pardon me, but where did Mary go?"
"Oh, she comes and goes as she pleases."
"How?"
Queen Minnie put her palm on her chin. "Well, I'm not quite sure. Perhaps it has something to do with her umbrella. But we'll speak about Mary later. I wish to know about this news Daisy told me about. Come, let's go to the library."
From the outside, Merida's castle looked completely normal. It wasn't until they passed through the gates that Sora realized what was missing. The chatter, the movement, and the people, were all gone.
"It's just like the camp," Sora said.
Merida jumped off Angus' back. The guard that had accompanied them ran ahead of her, his sword raised.
"Stay back princess, it could be back any second."
Merida pushed him aside. "No time for that now. Where's Queen Elinor?"
"The guards took her down to the kitchens where she would be safe."
Merida ran into the audience room. All that was left of the castle doors were the splinters that were splattered all over the floor. The entire room smelled of smoke. The sconces, chandeliers, and candle holders along the walls had been ripped out and thrown down, covering the floor with wax.
Merida and Sora walked, back to back, weapons raised, with the guard trailing close behind. When nothing jumped out at them from the corners of the room, Merida raced through the castle and down the stone steps to the kitchen.
From the outside, barrels, boxes and anything heavy were thrown in front of the kitchen door. Sora and the guard helped Merida push aside the junk, leaving a small space for Merida to squeeze through.
She banged on the kitchen door.
"It's Merida! Let me in!"
There was a chorus of grunts from inside the kitchen. The door was pulled open from the other side and Elinor squeezed through the few remaining guards and servants. She threw her arms around Merida.
"I'm so glad you're safe."
"Mum, what happened?"
Sora felt a tingling on his back. When he turned around to look down the hall, cold sweat rose up on his neck. "Merida, we have a very big problem!"
Elinor's face became so pale that she looked like a porcelain doll. Merida turned. Down the hallway, the sludge she had fought in the forest was oozing toward them like a dark flood.
"Majesty, get back!"
The guards inside reached out, grabbed Merida and Elinor and shoved them into kitchen with the servants. They lined up with Sora, their swords being freed from their belts.
In the kitchen, Merida tried to join the fight, but was pulled back by Elinor.
"I already lost your father and the boys. I can't lose you too."
"Mum, I have to help!"
The ooze was inching ever closer to Sora and the guards. He raised his keyblade and sent a blast of light toward it. The ooze shivered. It began to slush faster through the narrow hall. Sora tried hitting it again with another blast of light, but it was like throwing matches in a blizzard.
"The light's not strong enough. We need the glass."
The guards roared. Pointing their swords at the sludge, they charged.
"Wait!" Sora called.
But it was already too late.
The first guard reached the ooze and stabbed his sword into it. Back tentacles spread out from the sludge, wrapping around the sword and the guard's wrist. The black sludge crept up the guard's arm, covering his chest, his neck, his face, and his screams. Then the guard was gone, and the sludge expanded.
The next few guards hesitated.
One of them turned and pointed to Sora and then to the kitchens.
"Protect the queen and the civilians."
"But-"
"Go! If it catches them, all of our sacrifice will be for nothing! There's a hidden door in the kitchen. Use it to escape while we keep this thing busy!"
"I can't just leave you guys!"
"We're soldiers! We protect the weak! That's our job! GO!"
Sora ran back into the kitchens and slammed the door behind him.
"We need to get everyone out," he told Merida.
The servants busied themselves with clearing a space on the floor. They opened a hidden trap door. One by one, Merida and Sora helped herd the people inside, all the while ignoring the sound of screams and clangs coming from the hallway.
Elinor slipped into the secret tunnel and Merida followed her. Sora was just about to jump down to join them, when he heard a terrible crunch. Looking over his shoulder he saw the kitchen door crack right down the middle. The crack branched out like a tree, spreading through the wood. The ooze was dripping in through the fissures.
Sora jumped into the tunnel, threw the door shut over his head. He raised his keyblade. A lock appeared overhead. Light passed through the keyblade and the trapdoor disappeared above him.
"Sora!" Merida called from further up the tunnel. "Hurry!"
They raced to catch up with the servants and the queen. The people huddled together under the flickering torchlight. They moved, single file, through the moist earth and stone until they came to another door. Pushing it open, the servants spilled out into the light.
Sora came out last. Ahead of them was a river, and above was the bridge that lead to the castle. They were down below in the ravine.
And above them, the sludge was rolling out of the castle and out to the bridge. It dripped over the side.
The servants screamed.
"Run!"
They scattered.
The ooze feel, splattering on the ground. Pieces of the dark liquid flew in every direction. Merida and Sora threw themselves on the ground to avoid getting hit. A servant jumped in front of Elinor, and the black ooze wrapped around him like a rope.
The puddles of ooze began to move, reattaching to each other. As the ooze coalesced, it was pulling all the servants that had been unlucky enough to be touched by it.
Merida reached out and grabbed one of the servant's hands, but the servant struggled, making Merida let go. Another servant pushed Merida back and was caught in her place when his stepped into a small puddle of the black goo.
Sora roared, throwing a fire spell, charing the ooze.
Someone slammed into him, pushing him into the river. Just as Sora splashed into the water, he saw the last remaining servant get caught in the sludge.
"Forget about us," the servant begged, "just run!"
The ooze took him over.
Elinor grabbed Merida's arm. She raced across the river with her daughter and began stumbling up the hill on the other side. Sora threw another light spell at the sludge before he turned and followed Merida and Elinor.
Just as he was over the hill, he crashed into the foliage of the forest. He lay on his back, gasping. Nearby, Merida leaned against a boulder. Elinor hunched over, her fists clutching her tattered emerald skirts.
"Are you guys okay?" Sora panted.
"I will be as soon as I figure out how to destroy that gooey monster," Merida snapped between breaths.
Cracking and snapping crept through the forest. Sora's legs shook. Merida and Elinor's horrified expressions turned into screams.
Long, black tendrils speared through the trees.
"Merida! Look out!"
Elinor pushed her daughter away from the bolder. Merida fell to the ground, and just in time. A tentacle of ooze sliced right through the rock she had just been leaning against. Another tentacle looped through the trees. It caught Eleanor's arm and began to pull.
"No! Mum!"
Merida sent arrows into the black ooze, but her shots simply melted into the sludge. She wrapped her arms about Eleanor's waist and pulled.
Sora ran toward the tentacle and slammed his keyblade against it, but the ooze simply wrapped around his weapon, drawing it in. Sora let go of his keyblade, letting it disappear before it was completely lost. With nothing else to do, he grabbed Merida's waist and tried to help pull Elinor back.
"Merida, let me go."
"No! I won't lose you! Not again!"
"Let go of me. That's an order from your queen!"
"NO!"
Elinor grabbed the tentacle around her arm, but her other hand simply sunk in. The rest of the ooze appeared in the trees. It opened up like an oily mouth, ready to swallow.
Elinor hissed. "I faced a demon bear, I can face this darkness too! You won't take my daughter, do you hear me? Merida, let me go! This is the last time I will ask!"
"No! I will never let go. You've always been there for me! Now it's my turn to be here for you! If we get swallowed, I'm just going to bust my way out of that thing! Sora! Pull harder!"
Sora felt something spark in his chest. It was warm and fluttery. It spread throughout his bones. Power zinged through him. He knew that feeling. And he knew just what to do.
"Merida! Elinor! On the count of three, I want you to concentrate all your bravery on me!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you afraid of that monster, Elinor?"
"No! I will face any demon if it means keeping my family safe!"
Merida spoke through clenched teeth. "Me too."
She looked over her shoulder at Sora and the fierceness in her eyes fueled the fiery power inside him.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it, Sora!"
"Right! Ready? One."
Elinor dug in her heels, struggling harder. "We will defeat it! I know we will!"
Her will slammed into Sora.
"Two!"
"Yer right, mum! As always!"
Merida's spirit was as fiery as her hair. Mother and daughter began to glow, and Sora's keyblade appeared in his hand. The blue and green light of Merida and Elinor's conviction flowed into the weapon. The light was heavy, hard to control and Sora had to grit his teeth to focus on keeping the power in place. His arm pulsed, but still he raised his keyblade and aimed at the tentacle holding Elinor.
The ooze was getting desperate. The black liquid was starting to creep up to Elinor's shoulders.
Just a little more time!
Sora concentrated. His faith pulsed deep in his chest. His body sung with power and screamed with exhaustion at the same time. All of the light, the love and hope the three of them shared gathered in his keyblade.
His arm was shaking, his feet were sliding off the ground.
The ooze gave one powerful pull. Merida and Sora's feet slipped off the ground. They lost the tug of war.
Sora felt the light burning through his entire body.
It was only one second, but his, Merida's and Elinor's hearts were one.
They were falling toward the ooze, but there was no fear inside them. Together, they closed their eyes, and chanted.
"Trinity Limit!"
A scorching blast of blue, red, and green light flew through the air, slamming into the black blob. Like a rope being snapped, the ooze holding Elinor's arm broke.
Merida, Elinor and Sora fell onto the ground. The fall was nothing compared to the aching in Sora's joints. He couldn't remember the last time he held and released so much energy. He could only watch as the spell moved through the ooze, changing it from black to dark purple to light lavender.
Blurry shapes appeared in the sludge, like shadows in swamp water. There was an arm here, a leg there, the shape of a tall, round man, what looked like a duck and some children.
Then he completely forgot about the strange figures in the ooze as the trinity spell exploded and white light washed away everything. The brightness made Sora's eyes swell with tears. The spell drowned out all sound.
Except the whispering in Sora's ear.
He didn't understand the words, but there was a picture in his mind. An island, a redheaded girl in a white room, and a boy in the darkness. The brightness faded, as did the images in his thoughts.
Sora blinked.
Merida and Elinor were still on the ground, dazed.
The ooze was not defeated, but it was completely still. It was smoking, whole sections of it were chipping off like dust. Then, without warning, it stretched. A black hand reached out toward Merida and Elinor.
Sora couldn't stand.
His body was too tired from their last attack.
He wasn't fast enough.
The ooze was inches away from Elinor and Merida.
It stopped.
The shape of a man appeared out of the ooze. A big, round man.
Elinor gasped. "Fergus?"
The shape pulled. Arms and legs swimming through the ooze. A second later, like a man surfacing for air in a dark lake, King Fergus' head appeared.
"Dad!"
Merida began to crawl toward her father.
"Stay away! Run before it gets you too!"
Elinor reached out. "Are all of you trapped in there?"
"Your attack has weakened it, but it's regenerating! I don't know how long I can break free like this! Run!"
Another tendril of the ooze moved. This time, it inched toward Sora. Donald and Goofy erupted out of the blackness. Sora bent his body. He managed to get up onto his hands and knees.
"Hold on! I'll pull you guys out! Just give me a second."
"No," Donald said. "You'll get caught in it!"
He grunted, struggling to pull the rest of his body free. But he was only able to get his arm out. With the last of his strength he raised his staff and bellowed.
"Curaga!"
Energy flowed into Sora, easing his bruises and exhaustion. He was able to stand straight.
"Sora, catch!"
Goofy threw an ether at him. Catching it, Sora moved toward them, but his two friends stopped him with a glare.
"Don't worry about us, pal. We know you can get us free!"
Goofy vanished into the sludge.
"You big palooka!" Donald was sinking backward. Soon only his beak was sticking out. "Don't have a stronger blast of light then that?"
His friends disappeared.
King Fergus growled. He was also being pulled back in. The ooze was beginning to come back to life. Sora saw parts of it twitching, as though it were waking up.
There was no time to waste. Sora chugged down the ether quickly. Magical power surged through his body. He raced toward Merida and Elinor and chanted.
A healing spell sparkled at the end of his keyblade. The green clovers glittered over Merida and Eleanor, bringing color back to their faces.
"Go now! Please," King Fergus begged.
"I got Mum free! I'll get you free too!"
"You can't. The light wasn't strong enough to push all this darkness away."
"Then help us fight it from the inside," Sora said. "While we try to destroy it from out here."
"Just get my family to safety, lad!"
Fergus was gone. Sora grabbed Merida and Elinor's arms. He pulled them into the forest, away form the ooze. Merida resisted.
"I'm not going to leave them behind!"
"My friend gave me a big clue. There is way to push the darkness back and free everyone trapped inside."
"What's your plan?"
"Remember the trap we set? Do you guys have enough energy for another trinity spell?"
Merida winked. "Look who yer talkin' to."
Elinor picked up her skirts, running faster. "I don't know what you two are talking about, but if I know one thing, it's to have faith in you. Lead the way."
They sprinted through the forest. Merida could easily jump over boulders and loop around tree trunks that appeared out of nowhere, but she had to stop frequently to help her mother along. Sora kept up the rear.
It wasn't long before he heard the slimy cracks and snaps from the sludge chasing after them. Sora looked over his shoulder and saw that the sludge was moving faster through the trees.
He sent a blast of light out behind him, but it did nothing to push the sludge back.
"Why do I even try," he huffed. "Merida, how much farther?"
"We're getting close."
"Keep going, get the you-know-what ready! I'll catch up!"
Sora stopped and waved his arms.
"Hey, you! Slime-ball! Over here!"
The sludge threw out an oily black arm at him, and Sora rolled just before it could slam him into the ground. He danced around the sludge, ducking and weaving in and out of its attacks as he moved closer and closer to the ruins.
The trees thinned. Mist appeared around his feet. He was almost there.
The sludge threw out a ropey tentacle at Sora's legs. He jumped up, nearly avoiding getting caught by the ankle. The tentacle moved, angling upward. Sora spread his legs and the tentacle missed his skin by an inch. The second he landed on the ground, he bolted toward the ruins and just barely made it into the center of the trap.
Something slammed into him from behind. Sora took a step forward to catch his balance and then felt a arm loop around his middle. He looked down in horror.
The sludge had caught him. He was tugged back like a fish on a hook. He pushed forward, reaching out. He had been so close!
Merida and Elinor rushed out of the ruins and grabbed his arms.
They pulled.
The sludge was too strong. It reached out and wrapped itself around Elinor and Merida's waist. The trap was getting farther and farther away.
Merida's hands were still free.
Sora had an idea.
"Can you hit the target?"
"In my sleep!"
Sora aimed his keyblade. "Okay. Get an arrow ready!"
Merida twisted, turning her upper half so that her bow and arrow faced the stained glass.
Elinor put a hand on Merida's shoulder. Her other hand squeezed Sora's. Light, bravery, forgiveness, and love flowed through her, connecting Sora and Merida. He felt Merida's stubbornness, her refusal to give up, her cheerful nature. The power of their will was so strong that he nearly feinted, but he forced himself to concentrate, gathering the power within himself and pushing it toward Merida.
The blue, green, and red energy moved from Sora's keyblade to swirl around Merida's arrow. They were closer to the blob of darkness more then ever now. Merida didn't hesitate. She aimed and fired.
The tricolored arrow slammed into the disk.
A rainbow lazer shot out of the glass, hitting all the hidden mirrors in the ruins. The light multiplied. Sora threw out his keyblade, and called all the light to the tip of his weapon. A burning, liquid star of silver power gathered on the keyblade.
He threw his weapon over his shoulder and fired the star at the sludge.
The blast threw Sora, Elinor, and Merida out of the blob's hold and onto the ground. The smell of burned rubber made Sora's choke. He covered his nose with one hand and ducked down into a little ball.
Light flashed again and all Sora, Merida and Elinor could do was cover their eyes and wait for the storm to pass.
An explosion of sound. Then silence.
Slowly, the sounds of the forest returned, and the light faded.
Sora sat up and looked around.
The sludge was melting into the ground, turning from dark purple to blue. As it evaporated the people trapped inside stood up. All the guards, dogs, and horses from Merida's camp reappeared. The servants and soldiers from the castle jumped happily.
"Fergus! Boys!"
Elinor and Merida ran to their family. Merida's triplet brothers gathered around her. One of them gave her a noogie, another hugged her leg, and the last brother jumped into her arms. Merida's father gathered up his wife, daughter and sons.
"Now that's how it's done! My girls! So brave!"
Sora's cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. He stood up, only to be knocked back onto the ground when Donald and Goofy tackled him. He hugged his friends tight. Relief warmed his heart.
"I missed you guys so much!"
There was an eruption of laughter and cheers from the people. Sora, Donald and Goofy held hands, jumping up and down in a circle. Even Jiminy hoped from one head to the other, whooping.
Suddenly the crowd gasped.
Swords were freed from their scabbards.
"Stand down," came Merida's voice.
The guards stilled, but didn't put away their swords. Sora followed their line of sight.
The Riku look-a-like was walking through the crowd. It came to stand in front of Sora and nodded approvingly. There was a whisper.
"Thank you."
The look-a-like changed shape, turning back into a tiny wisp. It floated around the people and over the lifeless, tiny puddles of blue goo that still remained on the floor. The goo rose up from the grass. The people all held their breaths, but it wasn't a blob of darkness that appeared.
All the puddles of goo turned into wisps. They gathered together, lined up into the shape of a heart and flickered away, finally free of the darkness that had taken them over.
"You're stupid."
Yeah. He really had been.
"Sooner or later, they'll swallow your heart."
Is that what had happened? Is that where he was? In the belly of a heartless, trapped, never to escape? Alone? Is that what he deserved after betraying his friends? After letting someone else's dark heart take over his own?
"Riku? Can you hear me?"
The words were muffled, speaking to him from far above, but he was too deep in the depths of darkness to understand them. The darkness pressed on his eyelids, but something inside him resisted the temptation of sleep. Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared into the black ocean he was drowning in. He couldn't see the surface, there was no light to tell him which direction he was even looking.
"Please wake up."
It hurt to blink. Chalky, dust rested on his cheeks and lashes. If only he could just close his eyes and not feel the pain anymore.
Yes. Stay asleep.
He jolted. That voice again. The one that whispered deep from within his heart, a scar left from all of his bad choices, a trap he was quickly falling back into.
"No. I'm not turning to you. Never again."
So you say. You woke up before, and yet here you are again.
"Shut up!"
He struggled against the darkness, swimming through it, searching for some light to guide him back to the world of wakefulness.
You came back to the darkness. You're addicted.
Riku shook his head but the voice echoed louder, from every direction, filling his thoughts with the oily pollution of despair. His heart seized, fighting back, even as the terror threatened to choke him.
Afraid? Just give in. It's easier.
"I won't."
Why fight? You're alone.
"No he's not!"
Sweet, warm air sliced through the darkness. It swirled around Riku, lighting his body, clearing away the sand from his eyes and watering the shriveled parts of his heart. The breeze moved upward. Riku swam after it.
The darkness around him trembled. Hands appeared out of the void, reaching toward Riku's legs. The breeze of light converged on Riku, shielding him in a protective sphere. The hands recoiled, long, pointy fingers curling in anger.
It was time to move. Riku chased the light. He felt the darkness' hold on him melt away. He reached out and grabbed the tiny star above him.
He opened his eyes, truly awake once again.
The world was blurry and whatever was under his back was hard and cold, but something warm was holding his hand.
"You're up! Gosh! What a relief!"
Riku squeezed the hand holding his.
"King Mickey? Is that you?"
He sat up. When he tried to take a look around, everything around him was melted together, like an painting that gotten drenched in water.
He covered his eyes. "Ow!"
"Oh! Hold on."
Something touched his chest.
"Curaga!"
Warmth tingled on his skin, pushing away the pounding headache and the confusion. But the world around him was still melting.
"What's going on? How come everything looks like its underwater?"
Mickey put a hand on Riku's shoulder.
"Rest for a little bit. You took a bad hit from those heartless earlier."
Riku lay back down. He placed his arm behind his head and took in a few long, deep breaths to try and calm down his frantic heart.
"What happened to me?"
"Once the realm of darkness was sealed off, we had to beat all the heartless that had gathered behind the door. I lost you in the fight."
"How did you find me? This place is huge."
"Yup. But for a moment there, I felt a strong light in the realm of darkness. I followed the light, and it led me to you, and just in time. You were falling with a lot of heartless. I caught you and fought off the heartless, but you were unconscious for a while. I was really worried."
Riku rubbed his eyes.
"Yeah, I remember now. Those heartless just kept coming. They caught me off guard."
"Without a keyblade, they can't be fully defeated."
"Why?"
"Because only a keyblade can release the heart from the darkness. It's a really dangerous place here. We should be careful not to get separated again."
If he hadn't given into the darkness, Riku wondered, would the keyblade have chosen Sora over him? Riku grit his teeth. No! None of that mattered anymore. He couldn't spend his whole life feeling jealous and doubting everything around him. That was had gotten him in the realm of darkness in the first place!
Riku wobbled to his feet.
"Wait! You're not fully recovered yet."
The realm of darkness was one big blob of black and grey, but Riku took a step. He could feel the darkness all around him, but for once he didn't feel alone. His heart was much more at ease with King Mickey standing next to him.
"I'll be okay. Besides, we can't stay here too long. We need to find a way out of here."
"Okay. But take it easy."
"Thanks Your Majesty. Say, do you think you can teach me that healing spell you did earlier?"
The DunBroch family threw one heck of a party. Donald and Goofy stuffed their faces with feast food, challenged Hubert, Hamish and Harris to a jelly tart eating contest (the triplets won) and then took a nap while Sora and Merida retold their story to the servants and guards.
Everyone danced and drank until sundown when Elinor officially thanked Sora, Donald and Goofy for their bravery. Fergus gave Sora a hug that nearly cracked the boy's spine, and then sent them off.
Merida and Angus escorted the trio back to the stone circle where they had met. Once there, she gave Sora one of her patented thumps on the arm.
"I don't think I've ever had an adventure like that! I hope you come to visit again soon."
She raised her arm and Sora bumped his fist with hers.
"Thanks for everything, Merida. I'm glad I helped you find your family."
"And I'm glad you found yer friends. I hope you find Riku too. Seek me out if you want someone to rumble with."
Merida shoved a parcel and a letter into Sora's hands.
"A thank you gift from my family. Bye lads!"
Merida and Angus galloped away. When they was gone, Donald snatched the parcel out of Sora's hands, leaving only the letter behind. While Donald greedily opened the parcel, Sora undid the wax seal on the envelope.
Instead was a small pendant made of green, blue, and red glass. Sora recognized it. It was a piece of the stained glass that Elinor had given Merida. There was a little note attached.
"In case you ever need help finding light within the darkness."
Light within the darkness, Sora thought. Like the people inside the corrupted will-o-the-wisps. A light at the end of the tunnel, like the story Kairi's grandma had once told her.
Something sparkled. One of the stones in the circle glowed like a sunset. Then the old writing and harsh surface of the rock faded away, and a golden keyhole appeared. Sora raised his keyblade. Light passed through the key into the keyhole, sealing the world.
A smooth whisper fluttered through the forest. A will-o-the-wisp appeared at the base of the pillar. It danced, then fading away.
After a moment, the trio moved back to where the castle door had been. Sora hoped that the door had returned. Goofy led the way back while Sora walked along with Donald, eating a fruit tart from the parcel that Merida had given him.
"This really was an interesting world," Sora said.
"What do you mean?" Donald asked through a mouthful of raspberry jelly.
"There were no heartless here. I wonder why?"
Goofy tapped a finger on his chin. "Say, weren't there no heartless in Tarzan's world when we first visited there too?"
"There may not have been heartless here, yet darkness was able to seep through and affect the willow-the-wisps."
"That must be why the wisps took on Riku's shape. They must have been tryin' ta get your attention so that you could help them."
Sora lost his appetite. He lowered his fruit tart and stared at Donald and Goofy's backs. "I never got to apologize to you guys."
His friends turned around to pin him with a questioning stare.
"What for?"
"I saw Riku, and I ran after him without thinking. I shouldn't have left you behind. You're my friends too. If I had been there when those corrupted wisps had attacked, I could've helped you guys."
Goofy patted Sora's shoulder. "Aw, you don't need ta be sorry. It was actually a good thing you didn't get caught like we did. Otherwise you couldn't have saved us."
"But I left you guys behind. I never should have done that. Friends stick together."
"You were only chasing after someone you care about, right? If it were us and we saw the King, I'm sure we would have been too excited to wait for others too."
Somehow, his speech made Sora feel even worse.
Donald tapped his foot on the ground. "It's okay this time, but next time, talk to us."
Sora bowed his head. "Yeah."
Jiminy spoke on Sora's ear. "Don't be so down. They're both right. It's okay to worry about your friends, but don't leave others behind. Though, this time, it kind of worked out for the better."
Sora put his hand on his shoulder and felt Jiminy jump into his palm. He held the cricket out in front of him so that they could be face to face.
"It's just that, what if I never find Riku? After everything that happened here, seeing how just a little bit of darkness was able cause so much havoc, I can't help but feel that Jasmine was right. If we keep going, there's a chance that we can find an entrance to the realm of darkness. I don't know if we should continue. Imagine what could happen if more darkness got out."
The friends grew silent as the shadows of the forest around them transformed from green, to orange, and then slowly into the dark blue hues of the night. The sun had set.
Finally, Donald spoke.
"So what do we do if we don't find the king, or if we don't keep going through that door? Are we just going to stay stuck inside the castle?"
"And what about Locke," Jiminy added.
Goofy raised his hand. "Hey, why don't we try talking about this stuff back at the castle. It's getting dark out here."
"Will the castle door even be there?"
Donald gave Sora a suspicious look. "What do you mean? Of course it will be there."
"After you guys disappeared, I came back here to see if you had gone back to Castle Oblivion without me."
Goofy ducked his head apologetically. "Aw, we wouldn't do that."
"I know. Don't worry. Anyway, when I came to find the door, it was gone."
Donald's eyes got wide. "Does that mean we're stranded here?"
"Well, fellars, why don't we go check and see if the door's come back first?"
Goofy's optimism won out. The castle door stood eerily luminescent in the surrounding dark forest.
Sora, Donald and Goofy passed through it. Merida's world faded away, to be replaced by the white interior of Castle Oblivion. But something was wrong.
Locke was gone.
Jiminy's Journal
Mary Poppins (First Appeared in Mary Poppins, 1964): A mysterious yet lovely nanny with a wide range of magical powers. She has an uncanny ability to make children behave and pay attention. She has hired herself to be Kairi's magic instructor.
Mickey Mouse (First Appeared in Steamboat Willie, 1928): Although he is the king of Disney Castle, as a keyblade master, Mickey also has responsibilities outside of his world. He's no stranger to adventure and doing the right thing. He vanished with Riku after the door to Kingdom Hearts was closed. Now that he and Riku are reunited, can the two of them work together to find a way out of the realm of darkness?
Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Atlantis
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 13: Atlantis
The surgically clean and empty foyer of Castle Oblivion made Sora's spine tingle with a warning. His steps echoed in the silence as he searched the corners of the room. No clues of a struggle, nothing left behind. Locke had simply vanished.
He stood in front of weak wall of the foyer. Through the blurry, white film of the castle wall, Sora saw dark, sharp edges. Something tall and wide stood beyond the wall. Had the world outside the castle changed in all the time they had been there?
Sora aimed his keyblade at the wall, but, just like the castle door back in Merida's world, no keyhole appeared. Frustrated, he slammed his keyblade against the flimsy surface. The only thing that did was make his arm tingle with fiery pins and needles. The keyblade fell to the floor while Sora shook his wrists in an effort to ease the pain.
One thing was for sure. If Locke had left them behind, he certainly hadn't gone outside the castle. Sora regrouped with Donald and Goofy but before the friends could even start their meeting, a deep, husky voice resonated from Castle Oblivion's dimensional door.
A shadow slithered over the door. Then, like pulling bark away from the tree, the shadow peeled off, and Dr. Facilier stood at the top of the steps. He leaned forward on his cane, chuckling at Sora, Donald and Goofy as they drew their weapons.
"Now, y'all weren't thinking about stopping your journey, were you? I would just hate for you to leave your friend behind here." The witch doctor tilted his top hat down over his face until only the sharp, white, shiny gleam of his teeth were visible. "That so called treasure hunter put up quite a good fight, but my friends on the other side proved to be too much for him to handle."
Donald gasped. "Treasure hunter?"
Sora hissed. "What did you do to Locke? Where is he?"
"Oh, he's just fine. I just thought he would be getting bored sitting here all on his own, so I opened the door for him."
Dr. Facilier spun around to tap the dimensional door with his cane.
Sora leapt forward.
"Better hurry, the world he ended up in looked very dangerous."
At the top of the steps, Sora swung his keyblade at Dr. Facilier.
He hit nothing but air.
Dr. Facilier was gone, but his laughter remained, haunting Sora with images of Locke trapped in a world of darkness.
Sora stared at the castle door. There was still no way out, and nothing to do but go forward. Donald and Goofy came to stand by his side. Each of the friends held out their hands.
All for one, and one for all. They would not leave their friends behind.
Together, they stepped through the door yet again.
Kairi looked around the library at Disney Castle. Sunlight sprinkled into the room through the windows on the ceiling, revealing her reflection in the polished, white and grey checkerboard floor. All four walls of the library were curved inward, giving the room a lopsided feeling.
Despite this, the library was beautiful, with a golden fireplace and chimney on one side, and a mahogany desk and chair on the other. The wall opposite the door was covered in book shelves. The books were so tightly packed that Kairi wondered whether pulling out one book would send the whole shelf toppling down on her head.
Queen Minnie stood next to the desk. In her hand was the letter that Pluto had given to Kairi on the destiny islands. Minnie slowly lowered the letter from her face.
"Oh dear."
Daisy snatched the letter and read, her frown deepening with each line.
"A machine that manufactures heartless? How awful! And if you're here, then the letter did not get to its recipient."
"That's right." Kairi turned to the queen. "Daisy mentioned that the king sends you letters. Do you think we can try to let the king know that his letter didn't reach Sora and the others?"
Minnie shook her head. "King Mickey has not sent me anything in quite some time. If you hadn't come here, none of us would have known that Sora, Donald and Goofy had completed their mission." Minnie put a hand on her cheek. "I have been trying to contact King Mickey for a while, but he hasn't been responding to my letters."
Daisy covered her beak. "Didn't restoring the worlds mean that they would be separated again?"
"Yes."
"If that's true, then how are His Majesty, Donald and Goofy going to get back home? In fact, how did Kairi get here?"
"To be honest, I don't know how I got here."
Carefully, Kairi explained about the realm of darkness. When she mentioned Oswald, Queen Minnie and Daisy tilted their heads.
"Why is that name so familiar?" Minnie wondered.
"Perhaps we should search the library," Daisy suggested, "to see if we have some record of this rabbit."
"Good idea. But first, why don't you finish your story, Kairi."
Before Kairi could answer, the door to the library swung open and Mary Poppins strutted in.
"Forgive the intrusion, Majesty." Mary bowed.
Minnie curtsied. "Welcome back, Mary."
"It appears as though I have come in during a very serious discussion."
"Indeed," Daisy said, "Kairi was telling us how she got here."
Mary took one look at Kairi and huffed. "Oh now that will never do!"
Kairi squinted. "Excuse me?"
Mary slammed her carpet bag on the desk. "Majesty Minnie and Lady Daisy, would you kindly fill me in while the young lady changes clothes?"
Kairi looked down. Her skirt-shorts were a little dirty, and the hem of her white tank was ripped.
"A lady must have proper attire when addressing royalty, training, or fighting."
"Fighting? Fighting what?"
Mary reaching far inside the carpet bag.
"Now where is it! I'm sure I brought it with me!"
She stuck her head in the bag, and then her whole waist. Kairi tried not to giggle. It looked as though Mary were nothing but a skirt and a pair of boots kicking around in midair. Mary straightened out of the bag. She removed a set of dressing panels and proceeded to unfold them in the corner of the library. Then she returned to her carpet bag and pulled out a square, paper wrapped parcel that was tied up neatly with a red ribbon. She placed the parcel in Kairi's hands and pushed the girl to stand behind the dressing panels.
"Try these on, please. It would be best to move around in clothes that do not impede your movements. Oh, and Majesty Minnie, about the discussion you were having before I entered the room."
As Minnie, Daisy and Mary began their meeting, Kairi stood alone behind the dressing curtain and inspected the parcel in her hands. She pulled the ribbon and the pink paper unfolded like flower petals. For such a small rectangle, there were a lot of items inside. Kairi changed.
"Are you finished, Kairi dear?" Mary called.
Taking in a deep breathe, and wiggling her toes in her new shoes, Kairi moved around the dressing panels. Queen Minnie and Daisy gasped.
"My, you look lovely," Minnie giggled.
"And functional," Daisy added. "I wouldn't expect anything less from Mary. Those leggings and shorts look much easier to move around in then the skirt you were wearing earlier."
"Quite right." Mary agreed. "I must say it is both fetching and more suitable for going on adventures."
Kairi awkwardly played with her new gauntlets, pulling the material higher up on her forearm. She was tempted to pull her black hood over her head to hide her face from all the flying compliments.
Mary produced a vanity mirror from her carpet bag and set it down in the middle of the room. Stepping in front of the mirror, Kairi took in her appearance. She wore a lilac v-neck tank top with a white undershirt. The straps of her top were made out of lacy, yellow stars.
She had replaced her purple skirt-shorts, with a pair of black damaged shorts over white leggings that ended just blow her knees. Her brown belt had leather pouches that rested on her hips. A pair of black, mid calf boots completed the look.
The only items Kairi questioned were the pair of metal gloves she wore on her hands. Silver covered the backs of her hands and fingers. Soft leather-like material cushioned her palms. The metal went all the way to her forearms. The design was sleek, non-bulky and inlaid with with images of stars.
"Do you not like your new attire?" Mary asked.
"No I love it! Though, I have to ask," Kairi lifted up her arms, showing off the gauntlets, "what are these for?"
"You'll get all your questions answered in due time. For now, we have much training to do. Come this way."
Mary went to the library door and opened it.
"Wait a minute, what about-"
"Majesty Minnie, I believe we should begin Kairi's training as soon as possible, as you quite keenly would agree?"
"Well, if you deem it so necessary."
"Good. Come now, girl, I have many spells to teach."
Darkness greeted Sora, Donald and Goofy when they passed through the door. The smell of moist earth, and the drip, drip, dripping of water echoed in the vast nothing ahead. Behind them, the door to Castle Oblivion glowed, brightening and dimming like a slow heartbeat.
Donald chanted a spell. His staff lit up with fire. He moved his make-shift torch around, and the light flickered over stalagmite, brown rock and soot.
"Look's like a we're in a cave," he said.
Goofy rubbed his nose. "That's a relief. It would have been terrible if Dr. Facilier had thrown Locke into the realm of darkness."
Sora felt his gut twist.
"We'd better get moving if we want to find him." He turned around to face his friends. "Keep your ears," he blinked, "open?"
Donald tapped his foot. "What is it?"
"Our clothes."
Sora ran his hand over the sleeve of his new black, military, buttoned down shirt. On his shoulders, he felt golden, metal stars stitched into the cotton. He looked down at a set of red, cargo pants, and black, steel toed boots.
Donald knocked on the beige pith helmet on top of his head.
"Ah-hyuck, nice hat, Donald."
"You too."
Blinking, Goofy lifted his hand to notice that he was wearing an identical helmet. His usual cargo pants were replaced by green kakis. He wore, thick leather boots and an olive military jacket over an orange undershirt.
Donald seemed the most comfortable in his outfit. His new royal-blue sailor uniform had military medals over the front breast pockets. A yellow scarf around his neck completed the look.
Holding out his hand in front of him, Sora flexed his fingers, testing out the new leather gloves he wore. From between his fingers, he saw something flash from deeper within the cave.
Blue light flickered in the darkness. Soot sprinkled dorm from the ceiling as the cave rumbled. The blue light was getting brighter, lighting up the cave. Something wide, stoney and blue was zooming toward Sora's eyes.
"Hit the deck!"
Donald and Goofy flattened onto the ground. Sora covered his head when he ducked. The air above him shifted, his ears tingled with a high pitched sound.
He shouldn't have looked up.
Blue light shot directly into his eyes. Sora yelped. When he was finally able to look again, he realized that whatever had passed over them was moving deeper and deeper into the cave.
"Gawrsh, what was that?"
Donald raised his staff. "A heartless?"
There was a crash.
Footsteps.
Sora, Donald and Goofy had barely stood back up when a spear jutted out of the darkness and stopped them in their tracks. They raised their weapons, preparing to fight, but the spear was fast, knocking the staff, shield, and keyblade away in seconds, leaving the trio with nothing better to do then to put up their hands.
Sora's eyes moved from the sharp end of the spear, to the shaft, and then to the young woman holding it. She was cast in a blue glow which radiated out of the crystal around her neck. She hissed at Sora, Donald and Goofy, and then began speaking a language that none of them had heard before.
"What is she saying?" Donald asked.
"What makes you think I know?" Sora snapped.
A beam of light flashed from behind the young woman, obscuring her features for a moment. There was a blast of air and the light moved over Sora, Donald and Goofy till it stopped directly overhead.
Sora looked up and his jaw dropped. A massive, stone fish was floating above their heads. The fish creature's giant eyes and open mouth glowed the same cerulean color as the young woman's necklace. The light illuminated the cavern, and it was just then that Sora noticed that someone was sitting on top of the fish.
A young man jumped down to stand next to the woman with a spear. He tapped her gently on the shoulder.
"Uh, Kida, I don't think these guys are in league with those creatures," the young man said.
"Creatures?"
Sora shared a look with Donald and Goofy.
The young woman, Kida lowered her spear. She moved around the trio.
"Fascinating." She tapped Donald with the shaft of her spear. "Could this creature be related to Mole?"
"I'm not a mole, I'm a duck! Donald Duck!"
Kida ignored him. She poked Goofy on the nose.
Goofy giggled. "And I'm Goofy. Pleasure ma'am."
Kida smiled and nodded at him. Then she pointed at Sora.
"And you?"
"Right. I'm Sora."
"Where are you from?"
"Uh, we're explorers, kinda."
"Really," said the young man excitedly. "Are you here to find Atlantis too?"
Kida blew her silver bangs out her eyes. "Are all surface dwellers this strange, Milo?"
Goofy scratched his temple. "Atlantis? Don't you mean Atlantica?"
"No," said the young man, Milo, "Atlantis. You know, the ancient civilization that sank into the ocean thousands of years ago."
Donald pointed at the giant fish above them. "What is that thing?"
"It's a vehicle. From Atlantis," Milo answered proudly.
Sora squinted at the fish. "So, you're saying, that's a machine?"
He had never heard of a fish that was made out of solid stone. He stared up into the vehicle's glowing blue mouth, and then up at the pair yellow eyes peering down at them from above. Eyes that moved in the darkness. Eyes that quickly multiplied, and were slowly moving closer.
"Donald, Goofy, it's the heartless!"
A pitchfork came down over Milo's head.
"Milo, look out!"
Kida pushed Milo and jumped back, barely avoiding the pitchfork that stabbed the ground. A green heartless with a long, torpedo shaped head was holding on to the weapon. Kida wasted no time. She stabbed the creature in the chest with her spear, lifted it up and threw it down into the stalagmites. The heartless burst into dust.
Sora, Donald and Goofy sprung into action. Goofy tackled a heartless and smashed it between the cave wall and his shield. Donald jumped up onto the fish-vehicle and blasted the remaining heartless off of it with a series of firaga spells. Sora and Kida stabbed and bludgeoned any heartless that were stupid enough to be down on the cave floor.
Just when they thought the battle was won, Milo yelped. The heartless were on him, pulling at his coat, his arms, his legs, stretching him out.
Kida sliced through the heartless holding down Milo's feet, but she was too slow to stop the heartless near his head. The heartless crawled over Milo's chest. It reached into his coat and pulled out a leather bound book. Then it ran into the darkness, book in hand.
Milo struggled to pull his arms free. "Wait! No! The Shepard's journal!"
Kida and Sora reached out to stop the heartless, but it had already slipped away. Goofy came charging back, bulldozing through the heartless that were still holding Milo down. He then extended a hand to Milo, but young man waved him off.
"Forget about me! The book!"
Kida jumped up onto the fish vehicle with Donald.
"Hey Sora," she called, "you ready to for a chase?"
"I'll stay with Milo," Goofy said. "You guys go."
Sora climbed onto the vehicle. Kida took off her necklace and placed the crystal into a hole on top of the vehicle, much like a key being put into ignition. A second later, the fish jerked forward like a bullet. Donald yelped and grabbed onto Kida's waist in an attempt not to fall off. Sora tightened his legs around the stone fish. He tried his best not to get dizzy as Kida ducked and weaved through the winding tunnels of the cave.
Up ahead, a group of heartless hovered through the caverns. Sora concentrated, charging up a lightning spell. He aimed his spell at the heartless. "What do you think you're doing?" Donald snapped.
He turned around and smacked the keyblade, causing Sora's spell to fly out and crash against the cave wall.
"What did you do that for?"
"You dummy! If you attack them with magic, you might end up frying the journal as well."
"Then what do we do? They're getting away!"
Kida stood up on fish, facing forward with her staff out. "Sora, take over."
"What? I don't know how to drive this thing!"
"Just put your hand on the inscription pad."
Sora looked down at the glowing writing all along the stone fish. There was a square shaped pad. He slapped his hand down on it. The fish jerked forward so fast, Sora slapped his hands on the surface, his fingers digging into the ridges as his legs dangled out behind him. Kida stumbled, stabbing her spear into the fish, trying not to slip off.
"Whoa! Gently! Press the pad gently!"
Sora put a finger on the pad and the vehicle slowed down. In fact, it slowed down a lot. The heartless were getting away.
With one hand, Kida held on to the fish's dorsal fin. She leaned over the side of the vehicle, her speak tight in her other hand. "I take it back. Punch it, Sora!"
"Okay! Hold on tight!"
Sora slapped his hand against the inscription pad and they rocketed through the air so fast that his teeth rattled. The vehicle looped up and down, and Sora had to duck several times to avoid getting beheaded by stalactites.
"G-g-get me off this th-th-thing!" Donald wailed.
"We're almost there," Kida screamed over the wind, "just a little bit farther! Sora take us down."
"But the stalagmites!"
"Just move your hand to the left or right to dodge them."
Sora did as instructed, weaving through incoming stalagmites so fast that his stomach turned. They were nearing a heartless. Kida leaned out and sliced through the air with her spear, cutting the heartless in half.
"Up," Kida commanded, and a moment later, she cut through a heartless that had been keeping close to the ceiling.
The tunnel narrowed.
"Sora!" Donald screamed. "Put on the breaks!"
"No, don't stop," Kida commanded, "we can make it through!"
She get back up onto the fish, and passed her hand over the inscription pad. "Hold on!"
The vehicle rolled. Sora felt electricity rush through his bones as they looped. Once they were right side up again, he felt the pain of Donald's hand clamping on his ankle. The duck had almost fallen off.
While Sora helped Donald back up on the vehicle, Kida stood up and angled her spear above her head. With a roar, she threw her spear and it pierced through the last three remaining heartless like a shesh-kebab. A book fell down onto the cave floor.
Kida slowed the vehicle down. Donald jumped off when it stopped. He could barely walk. After a few, uneasy steps, he collapsed onto the ground and Sora swore he saw stars circling around the poor duck's head.
Kida laughed. "You're friend is unsuited for intense rides it seems."
"That was amazing! You got all three of those heartless at once!"
"You weren't so bad yourself. Nice driving."
She jumped off the stone fish.
"Come on, we'd better find that book before Milo winds himself into knots."
Finding the book was easy, and the ride back was much less unpleasant, even if Donald refused to let go of the back of Sora's shirt the whole time.
To say that Milo was happy to get his book back was an understatement. As soon as Kida and Sora had given him the shepard's journal, Milo began flipping through the pages and muttering to himself.
"Those creatures are nothing like the Atlantean guardians we saw on our way here. If I had known that the shepherd's journal was being literal, I would have helped Commander Rourke take better precautions, but who would have possibly guessed that Atlantis would have such marvels guarding it?" He paced back and forth. "I mean, of course the legends talk about how Atlanteans had advanced science, medicine and technology, but machines that still work? Over thousands of years later? I never would have imagined such a thing!"
He pointed his journal at Sora. "Do you understand the magnitude of such an archeological find?"
"Uhhhh..."
Milo groaned. "If only those creatures did not appear during our journey! I could have focused all my energies on uncovering the secrets of Atlantis by now!"
Sora leaned toward Kida and whispered, "Is he okay?"
"He's a scholar, can't you tell. Judging by his diminished physique and large forehead, he's suited for nothing else."
Milo wrung his hands. "I lead a whole crew to the greatest archeological find in history, only to have some crazy, yellow eyed creatures get in the way!"
"Sounds like you are having troubles with our specialty, ah-yuck."
Milo froze. "Your specialty?"
"Me and my friends, we're sort of experts on those creatures."
"They're called heartless," Donald explained.
Sora raised his hand. "We're also looking for friend of ours. If we can keep the heartless at bay, do you think you can take us to Atlantis. He might be there."
"I like this idea," Kida said. "They are very capable fighters and we need help if we are to figure out what happened to my city."
"Your city?" Donald asked.
"She's an Atlantean," Milo explained. "Amazing, isn't it? My team and I came all the way down here, hoping to find ruins, maybe some ancient artifacts, not a living, thriving city."
Kida didn't look as excited as Milo. She turned away for a moment, and Sora spied her rubbing her crystal necklace between her fingers. Before he could ask her what was on her mind, she jumped back up onto the fish-vehicle.
"Why don't we talk on the way to the city? We have more to discover there."
Milo grunted, pulling himself up onto the vehicle. "Good idea."
"And you three can look for your friend there too," said Kida.
"Just a sec."
Sora called for a huddle.
"I want to explore Atlantis, but we can't forget about Locke."
"Right," Goofy agreed, "if the heartless are here, he may be in danger."
Donald groaned. "I just wish we didn't have to ride that stupid fish thing."
Lucky for Donald, the fish moved at a more leisurely pace. As they rode through the caverns, Sora described what Locke looked like. Unfortunately, neither Kida nor Milo had any clue as to Locke's whereabouts, so the topic was changed to talking about Atlantis.
Milo adjusted the glasses on his nose, his face widening into a grin. He then launched into a lecture about everything he had ever studied. Donald and Goofy's eyes drooped, but Sora was stuck on every word.
"Atlantis was once a continent that possessed all kinds of powerful technology and medicine far beyond what is current in the world. It was struck by a some kind of cataclysmic event that sank it to the bottom of the sea. My grandpa spent his whole life searching for Atlantis! He was most amazing explorer. I'm here to prove all the things that he believed. You see numerous cultures all over the agree that Atlantis possessed a power source of some kind. More powerful then steam, then coal! More powerful then our modern combustible engines. That power source is the key, the heart, of Atlantis if you will. That's what I came down here, all the way under the ocean, to look for."
"Wait, you're saying this cave is under the sea?"
"That's right."
Sora swallowed. Suddenly the cave air felt lighter, making him dizzy. Sure, he had been in the sea before, but that was back when he could breathe underwater. How on earth had Milo managed to dive so deep into the sea and find such a cave? When Sora asked him, Milo's eyes lit up.
"Let me tell you the story."
The rain slammed against the mansion's enormous windows, blocking out the view of the estate outside. Milo walked deeper and deeper into the spacious room, staring at the floor to ceiling bookshelves on the walls. Historical artifacts decorated the room. The only light sources were the orange glow that came from the fireplace and the massive, blue fish tank that was built into the wall.
"Um, hello?"
There was no answer. A painting caught Milo's attention. Two old men, their hands clasped in camaraderie, were depicted in the frame. One man wore a brown suit, while the other was dressed in a green expedition uniform and helmet. Milo stared at the man in green.
"Grandpa?"
"Finest explorer I ever met," said a voice.
Milo turned. The other man from the picture was sitting behind him. He no longer wore his brown suit. Instead, he was in a navy blue bathrobe and his arms and legs were folded around him like a pretzel.
"Preston Witmore," the old man introduced himself. "Pleasure to meet you, Milo."
He extended his foot like hand and Milo awkwardly shook it.
Mr. Witmore's joints cracked as he unfolded himself. He sat straight for a moment before twisting his upper half. "Join me in a little yoga?"
Mr. Whitmore bent his body in a way that put his feet up onto the top of his head.
"Um no, but thank you. Mr. Whitmore, did you really know my Grandfather?"
"Oh yeah," Mr. Whitmore grunted, "met old Thaddeus Thatch in Georgetown. He even took me on some of his expeditions. Crazy as a bat, that old Thaddeaus. He spoke of you often."
"Funny." Milo turned away as Mr. Whitmore did a headstand. "He never mentioned you."
"Oh he wouldn't. I like my privacy."
Milo tried his best not to turn his head until Mr. Whitmore was sitting properly.
"Why exactly am I here?"
"Oh right. Check the desk there, son."
Milo looked around. A rectangular package sat on top of the desk in front of the fish tank.
"Your grandpa gave me that to give to ya when you were ready. Whatever that means."
Milo picked up the package and unwrapped it. His heart flipped as he lifted up a leather bound journal.
"This can't be! This is the shepard's journal."
Milo whirled around to pin Mr. Whitmore with an incredulous stare.
"This is the key to unlocking the secrets of Atlantis! My grandfather found it?"
Mr. Whitmore chuckled. He got off his yoga pillow and moved around the room to stand behind some dressing panels. As he changed clothes, he spoke to Milo.
"For years, your granddad bent my ear with stories about that old book. I didn't buy it for a minute. So finally, I got fed up and made a bet with the old coot."
Mr. Whitmore came around the dressing panels. He was now fully clothed in a white business suit, complete with a red tie and a gentleman's cane.
"I said 'Thatch, if you ever actually find that so called journal, not only would I finance the expedition, but I will kiss you full on the mouth!'" He shuddered. "Imagine my embarrassment when he did find the darn thing."
Mr. Whitmore went to the table in front of the fish tank and sat down.
"Well, Milo, now that you have journal, what do you plan to do?"
Milo brushed his hair out of his forehead. "My gosh. Um, I will show the journal to the board members of the museum and get funding for the expedition."
"Hah! Those old fools? They'll never believe you."
"I will show them. I will make them believe."
"Like you've been trying and failing to do all these years?"
Milo grit his teeth. "I will find Atlantis on my own! Even if I have to rent a row boat."
Mr. Whitmore's mustache rose up in a smile. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear. But forget the rowboat son. We'll travel in style."
He pressed a button on the table. Milo heard a mechanical whirl and then the surface of the table opened up. A platform rose up from within the table. Lined up on the platform were miniatures of submarines, digging equipment, boats, balloons, planes and excavation tools.
"It's all been arranged. The whole ball of wax."
"Why?"
Mr. Whitmore sighed. "Your grandpa was a great man. Greater then you'll ever know. Those fools at the museum dragged him down, made a laughing stock out of him. 'Atlantis. Ridiculous,' they said. Oh, Thatch. If I can do one thing for my friend, find one shred of proof that Atlantis exists, that will be enough for me."
Milo looked at all the materials on the table. The expense must have been immense and he felt the weight of his grandfather's legacy pressing down on him. To find Atlantis, to prove to the world what his grandfather believed in. Milo's heart brightened. But there were still one problem.
"Mr. Whitmore, in order to do what you're purposing, we need a crew. Engineers, and geologists."
Mr. Whitmore tapped a pile of folders on the desk with his cane. "Taken care off. I got em all. The best of the best."
He winked at Milo, holding out the young man's coat.
"All we need now, is a linguist. You know, an expert in gibberish to make sense of all the Atlantean writing? What do you say?"
Milo was so jittery with excitement that he put his coat on completely backwards.
"I'm your man, Mr. Whitmore. You will not regret this!"
Jiminy's Journal
Kidagakash Nedakh (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): Kida for short. The princess of Atlantis and a powerful warrior in her own right. Kida is devoted to finding out the ancient, forgotten secrets of her city so that she can save her people. She is as curious and playful as she is fierce, and finds Milo's excited scholarly ramblings entertaining.
Milo James Thatch (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): A linguist from the surface, Milo has spent most of his career searching for answers about the lost city of Atlantis. He idolizes he grandfather, Thaddeus Thatch, who was a famous historian before the scholars on the surface ruined his reputation. Milo hopes that by finding the heart of Atlantis, he can restore his grandfather's honor. His passion for Atlantis and its mysteries endears him to Kida.
Preston Witmore (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): Mr. Witmore is the financial backer of the expedition to find Atlantis. He is an old friend of Milo's grandfather. Despite the fact that Thaddeus Thatch is long gone, Mr. Whitmore believed that his friend's dream deserved to come to reality and gave his full support to Milo and his team.
Minnie Mouse (First Appeared in Plane Crazy, 1928): The radiant and kind Queen of Disney Castle. Patient and responsible, Minnie leads the castle while King Mickey is away on his mission, though she is more then capable of ruling her kingdom on her own. Don't let her caring personality fool you, though. She is an expert in light based magic and will not tolerate cruelty or rudeness in her kingdom. Perhaps that is why Disney Castle has never been touched by darkness.
Chapter 15: Chapter 14: The Crew
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 14: The Crew
Donald stared at a Milo with his beak hanging open.
"So, Mr. Witmore really paid for all that equipment?"
"The whole expedition?" Sora added.
"Yep."
Goofy chuckled. "He must have really cared about your grandpa."
"Yeah. I owe him a lot. I finally get to show the world all the amazing things my grandpa believed in."
"And you get to help me uncover a few mysteries about my own city," Kida said.
Goofy scratched his temple. "I don't get it."
Donald frowned. "Yeah, it's the other way around. Shouldn't you be the one telling him about your city, Kida?"
The ride through the caverns slowed down as Kida stared out silently into the tunnel ahead of them. When she finally spoke, her voice was low.
"We are not thriving. My people live, but our culture is dying. Since we were banished down here, no one can understand our writing. We are forgetting our past and, without it, we may not have a future. With each passing year, a little more of our way of life is worn away. And with those creatures suddenly appearing, it's getting even harder to hold on to our identity."
Donald and Goofy hung their heads.
"What do you mean?" Milo asked.
"Before you arrived, those 'heartless' appeared. My people already have to scavenge for food at the edge of a crumbling city and now those creatures are attacking them, making them vanish."
"Well it's a good thing we're here then," Sora said. "Milo can help you figure out the past while Donald, Goofy and I can take care of any heartless that pop up."
Kida turned around and grinned at Sora.
"You give quite a bold promise."
Donald rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he does that a lot."
"Hey, come on! We can't just abandon people in need."
"Yeah, Donald," Goofy chuckled, "you know it's the right thing to do."
Donald crossed his arms. "I just don't want to forget why we're really here."
The caves got brighter. A sea breeze reached Sora's nose. Soft light peeked through the rocks at the end of the tunnel. Vines and roots crept out from between the cracks along the walls.
They flew toward the light. The cave faded away and the world opened up. Sora forgot that they were underground, or even under the sea. He stared out into a crystal clear waterfall that stretched high above his head. Kida made the vehicle fly upward, and, once they were above the waterfall, Sora, Donald and Goofy gaped at the sight below them.
From above, the city of Atlantis sat in the middle of an enormous disk of water. The water roared down over the edges of the disk in powerful waterfalls that ended in a layer of mist so thick that they couldn't see anything beyond it. Standing along the edges of the disk, like stern guards protecting the city, were statues of ancient golems.
A shadow was cast over them as they flew under the thick arm of the statue. It stood with its legs spread wide and its arms outstretched as though it were ready to block a massive wave from washing away the city.
They flew over the disk of water, mountains and small islands that rose up from the miniature sea. At the center of the disk, there was a city that looked like one massive cone of houses, statues, buildings, and courtyards. Kida flew to the city and slowly descended down onto a plaza.
Citizens of Atlantis waved at them as they landed. As they ran up to greet them, Sora noticed that all the people of Atlantis had the same silver hair, brown skin, and blue eyes that Kida did. They even wore the same cerulean crystal around their necks.
The Atlanteans greeted Kida with excitement. Some even poked and prodded the fish vehicle as though they had never seen such a marvel before. The crowd swallowed Kida, pulling her away, yet she didn't seem bothered by her people's eagerness.
She looked over her shoulder and called out to Milo. "Meet me at the palace later!"
As Kida moved away to answer her people's questions, a few children jumped up onto the fish vehicle with Milo, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Goofy patted some of the kids' heads, entertaining them with funny faces and silly jokes.
Sora looked around. The city was covered in fresh vegetation and vines, which grew like spiderwebs over the buildings and the stone roads. Carved into every surface were symbols and pictures from Atlantis' past. Many of the buildings were were cracked and scratched. Still the city was beautiful, even if parts of it looked a little run down and flooded.
After politely interacting with the Atlanteans and answering their questions, Milo led Sora, Donald and Goofy through the city, explaining the ancient history and culture of Atlantis.
"There was just one thing I was wondering," Sora said. "Why would the heartless want that journal?"
"This," Milo presented the journal with a flourish, "isn't just any journal! It's the key to unlocking all of the mysteries of Atlantis. In addition to leading my crew here, I've learned so much about the city through this journal."
"Where is your crew?" Donald asked.
Milo gave them a smug grin. "Wait till you meet them."
He led the way to a bustling market near a stone pier. Milo asked the trio to wait for him while he went to gather up his crew. The moment Milo left, Sora felt the overwhelming need to site down and relax for a second. Too bad there wasn't a bench in sight. Though, there was nice, lone blanket by one of the food stands. Sora walked over to it and sat down.
Which turned out to be a big mistake.
There was a low, scratchy growl by Sora's ear.
He turned his head and found himself staring into the beady eyes of a chubby, and very dirty looking man.
"What have you done?" the man snarled.
Sora stumbled backward, his keyblade appearing in his hand out of reflex. He stared at the strange, metal apparatus that covered the man's head and half of his face. There was a headlamp in the man's forehead and a crooked lever coming out of his temple. The man's eyes looked like tiny telescopes. They popped out of his head and stared into Sora's face.
Sora squirmed, feeling as though he were under a magnifying glass. "Uh, what?"
The man turned the lever at his temple and his telescope eyes shrunk back into his head.
"You have disturbed the dirt!"
The man pulled up the red blanket Sora had been sitting on, revealing whole piles of different color dirt underneath.
"You have mixed and smashed all my samples!"
He turned on Sora with a beady eyed glare.
"You do not look Atlantean. Who are you? Where are you from?" He pointed at Sora's keyblade. "What is that?"
"This is my-"
"Ah! You're so slow!"
The man grabbed Sora's wrist and took out a pair of tweezers from the pocket of this thick, trench coat. He brought the tweezers dangerously close to Sora's hand.
Sora struggled. "Let go!"
"Hold still, crybaby!"
There was a little pinch on Sora's fingertip.
"Voila!"
The man let Sora go. His eyes zoomed in the tiny spec of dirt he held between the tweezers. He mumbled to himself while he smelled the dirt. He even tasted it. Then he turned to fix Sora with a furious stare.
"Young boy, the microscopic blueprints of the dirt tell me you are not from here. A forest, a swamp, a desert, two separate cities, these are all the places you have been to, and recently." The man's eyes narrowed. "How is it you have traveled so far in such a small amount of time?"
Sora swallowed a lump in his throat. From behind the dirt man, Donald growled.
"Sora, can't you wash your hands!"
Goofy raised his arm and took a whiff. "Gee, I think we all could use a bath."
The man turned on his headlamp and shined the light right in Sora's eyes.
"Talk! Who are you? Where did you come from? What is your country of origin? Tell me, fiend!"
Sora backed away until he hit someone. Turning, he looked up a tall man with a thick, black mustache.
Mustache looked at the dirt man and then back at Sora.
"Did ya sit in the dirt?"
"I didn't know it was there!"
Mustache shook his head, and put a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, friend. Mole, can you let the little kid off this once?"
"Mole?" Sora repeated.
The dirt man introduced himself. "Je m'appelle Gaetan Moliére, lead geologist on this expedition. Everyone calls me Mole."
Sora could see why. With the man's very round head and body, the thick furry collar around his neck, the overwhelming stench of mud, the buckteeth, and the thin layer of scruff on his cheeks, the so called lead geologist felt more rodent like then human.
There was a tap on his shoulder and Sora turned around to see the mustached man holding a waterskin.
"Have some water. To relax."
"Thanks." Sora drank the water and then noticed the very concerned look on the man's face.
"What?"
The man was looking at the back of waterskin. "Oh no."
Donald and Goofy pushed passed Mole. "What's with the face?"
"What did I just drink?" Sora asked harshly, feeling panic rise up in his gut.
"I think I just gave you nitroglycerin by mistake." The man sniffed the waterskin in Sora's hand. "Yep, definitely nitroglycerin."
Donald and Goofy nearly fainted. "Is Sora going to explode?"
Mustache put up his hands. "Don't move, or breathe, or think, or do anything, except pray maybe?"
"BOOM!"
Sora, Donald and Goofy screeched. They crumbled onto the ground, clutching their chests, wheezing and shaking. In front of them, Mole and the tall, mustached man roared with laughter.
Fueled by fury, Donald was the first to get back on his feet. He waved his fists in the air, his face red. "What's the big idea! Are you trying to kill us?"
"Relax junior," said Mustache, waving around a red stick of dynamite, as though it were just lollipop. "It was only old nitroglycerin. The chances of exploding," he pinched his thumb and forefinger together, "very tiny."
Donald took one look at the sparking explosive in Mustache's hand, and stepped back, his hands up.
Goofy groaned. "I feel sick!"
"Sick? I can help you with that," said a new voice.
Goofy turned around. The bald man standing behind them looked as though he could challenge a grizzly bear to a wrestling match and win. The muscles on his arms and chest seemed way too big for his olive colored, army tank top. He loomed over Goofy and the poor, old dog gulped.
Luckily, the big man sidestepped Goofy and moved passed Sora and Donald to cross his arms in front of Mole and Mr. Mustache.
"Vinny, Mole, what have I told you about picking on little kids?"
"We were only giving the kids directions, doc. Ain't that right Mole?"
"That is correct."
The big man raised a suspicious eyebrow at his two buddies and then turned around to face Goofy.
"Did you say you were feeling sick?"
He removed a stethoscope from his pocket and pressed it to Goofy's heart.
"Now, take a deep breathe."
Goofy did as instructed.
Big man stuck a popsicle stick into Goofy's mouth.
"Say 'ah'."
Goofy opened his mouth wide.
"Hmm, nope. You look completely healthy to me. Did you eat something that is making you feel nauseous?"
It was just then that an old man popped up out of nowhere. "Course he's sick! Look at all the food these people be eatin'."
The old man pointed to the food in the marketplace. There were all kinds of fish, and sea food, and some kind of green goo that looked a lot like mashed seaweed. Now it was Sora's turn to feel sick.
"No beans, bacon, or lard! I gots to teach these people how ta cook!"
A girl in overalls walked up to them and a swung at the old man with a wrench, barely missing him.
"Oh no you don't, Cookie. I want some actual food, and not another one of your lard surprises."
Sora pressed his hands on his temples. Between Mole, Vinny, the muscular doctor, the wrench girl, and the old man, his head was beginning to throb.
"Who are all you people?"
The beefy doctor snapped his fingers.
"Ah, right. The name's Sweet. Joshua Sweet. Medical officer."
He pointed at the mustached man.
"This is Vinny, our demolitions expert, and you've already met Mole."
"Enchanté."
"This," he pointed to the girl in overalls, "is Audrey Ramirez, our chief engineer."
The girl gave Sora a once over, chewed and blew out a bubble of pink gum.
"And finally," Sweet continued, pointing to the old man.
The old man held his suspenders and stood up straight. "Jedidiah Allardyce Farnsworth."
"But we all call him Cookie," Sweet explained. "He's our chef."
"Please to meet cha," Goofy said.
As if things weren't confusing enough, Milo appeared, with a beautiful, blond woman and a barrel-chested, middle aged man in tow.
Milo spread his arms wide. "Ah! I see you've met everyone."
Sora wondered if it would be rude if he were to sit back down on the dirt. He was about to collapse but was stopped when the blond woman caught his eye. Her sharp, hawk-like stare seared into Sora, and he couldn't help standing straight with his arms at his sides.
The woman set her red lips in a thin line as she looked at Sora, Donald and Goofy, assessing each of them.
"Now, Helga, you're frightening our heroes," said the older man.
The woman stepped back, but her gaze didn't leave the trio.
The man cleared his throat.
"Lyle Tiberius Rourke. I'm the commander of this expedition. I've heard you three helped our friend Milo get his journal back." He extended his hand. "Please allow me to express my gratitude."
Commander Rourke's hand looked big enough to punch through solid concrete. Sora wondered how many pushups a man like Rourke would have to do in order to have such bulging biceps. As they shook hands, Sora couldn't help but feel a little scrawny.
Donald and Goofy saluted.
"At ease, gentleman," Rourke said. "You're not a part of my crew, there's no need to be so formal. Though I do believe I need your help."
Helga fixed Sora with a look that made him feel as though she knew about every lie he had ever told in his life.
"You three. State your name and rank."
"Um, Sora. Keyblade master?"
"Goofy. Captain of the guard."
"Donald. Royal court magician."
"Interesting titles. What is your objective in coming down here?"
"Actually, we're looking for someone."
Sora described Locke as best as he could without breaking the world order. Unfortunately, it didn't look like anyone on Rourke's recognized his description. Helga narrowed her eyes.
"You lost a friend down here? My condolences."
Commander Rourke gestured to the city. "Perhaps looking around for a little while may help you find him. However, I have a favor to ask. Those creatures have been making it rather hard to rest and resupply here. We're only allowed in Atlantis for a sort time you see, and my crew are tired from the trip."
"You're asking us to take down any heartless we run into?"
"That's correct. It would also help Mr. Thatch greatly. He still has some research to do."
Sora scratched the back of us head. "Okay, we'll do it. We will meet back up with you after we've searched the city for our friend."
"Very well, meet us back at the edge of town at o' three hundred hours," Helga commanded.
"Yes ma'am," Sora said automatically.
Rourke smiled. "And someone still needs to talk to that Atlantean princess and get a feel for how things are around here."
He thumped Milo so hard on the back that Milo's glasses nearly flew off his nose.
"The rest of you," Rourke looked at his crew. "You know what to do."
Rourke and Helga walked off with Vinny, Mole, Dr. Sweet and Cookie trailing close behind them. Only the mechanic, Audrey, and Milo stayed behind.
"Hey squirt," Audrey pointed at Sora, "can you really take down those monsters?"
Sora summoned his keybalde. "You bet I can."
Audrey put her hands on her hips and leaned in so close that Sora couldn't help backing away.
"Two for flinching."
She punched Sora twice in the arm.
"Hey," Donald growled.
Audrey ignored him, twirling her wrench in the air. "Scrawny kid. I'd like to see you in action."
"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you take down some heartless with your wrench."
"You got a deal."
"Sora," Donald moaned.
"What? She wants to see what we're made of, let her see it."
Audrey put her hands in her pockets. "Let's go kill some monsters."
"You mean we'll kill the monsters. You can just watch."
She gave Sora a "yeah right" look.
"Um, guys," Milo started, "don't forget that we still have to meet up with Kida at the palace."
"You go on ahead, Milo," Goofy said, "we can't go there until we've searched the city for our friend."
The trio searched the city and asked the citizens if anyone had seen Locke while Audrey looked at the sights. After searching every nook and cranny with no hint of Locke, or the heartless, Sora was starting to get antsy. He could feel Audrey's judgmental stare burning the back of his head. It would be nice if one heartless would show up so that he could destroy it and get Audrey off his back.
With no luck in the city, the friends started exploring the ruins on the outskirts of town. They passed under stone pillars covered in moss and vines, over ancient roads that were cracked and covered in craters, and climbed up old, forgotten statues. Still there was no sign of Locke.
"Looks like your friend ain't here," Audrey said. "And neither are those monsters."
"What is you problem?" Sora snapped.
"I don't have a problem. I just want to see you wimps in action."
Donald raised his staff. "I'll show you a wimp!"
Goofy reached out and plucked Donald off the floor before the duck's temper could erupt. "Now now."
While Donald had a tantrum in Goofy's arms, Sora glared at Audrey.
"What? You don't think we can take those heartless on?"
"Those things destroyed half of our crew getting here. Everyone on my team is a trained professional and we were barely able to take them down. I'll believe that you three can take them on when I see it."
A cloud of darkness popped up right behind Audrey's head.
Goofy dropped Donald in favor of bringing out his shield. Sora raised his keyblade at the heartless. Audrey, surprised, took a step back. The heartless raised its lance. Sora reached out, grabbed Audrey's shoulder and pushed her to the side. The lance sliced down through the air, missing Audrey by an inch.
Donald, still fuming, finally had something to throw his temper at. He pounced on the heartless' torpedo-shaped head and began smacking it with his magician's staff.
"You stupid, annoying, confounded heartless! Blizzara!"
Icicles stabbed the heartless, making it vanish, but darkness always attracted more darkness. Before Donald had even landed on the floor, a horde of heartless had appeared in the ruins.
Audrey raised her wrench. Before Sora could stop her, she charged forward, whacked a heartless across the face, and sent it flying toward a stone pillar. The pillar cracked and fell over, smashing the heartless.
The other heartless moved toward Audrey, surrounding her. She backed away, hitting the heartless that got too close. Her defense didn't stop the creatures from calling more of their kind. They closed in on her like a pack of wolves that were ready for the kill.
Goofy put his feet on his shield. Sora and Donald gave him one big push and he rocketed off at blinding speed, crashing into the heartless like a bowling ball hitting the pins. The heartless went flying, which was the perfect opportunity for Sora and Donald to fry them with a pair of thunder spells.
More heartless appeared on the ground, but with Goofy defending Audrey, there was nothing to hold Sora and Donald back. Sora picked up the duck and put him on his shoulders. With his keyblade in his hand, he charged the group of heartless. Donald threw fire spell after fire spell from Sora's shoulders, keeping the heartless at a distance, while Sora hacked and slashed his way through the heartless on the ground. Like a firecracker with a knife, Sora and Donald obliterated every last remaining heartless.
When everything was quiet once again, Donald gave Sora a high five, and then jumped off the boy's shoulders.
"Oh boy, that felt good. I really needed to blow off some steam."
"I think we've gotten a little stronger," Sora said.
"Stronger? With the keyblade maybe, but your magic could still use a little work."
"Aw, come on, Donald."
"You know, fellars, I think it's our teamwork that has gotten better."
Audrey cleared her throat, making the trio look at her. She came up to Sora and pinned him with a glare. Sora glared back, only to be completely thrown when Audrey grinned.
"Sorry for being so hard on you. It's been a tough few days."
Sora blinked, but couldn't help smiling back a moment later. "Don't sweat it. To be honest, I actually kinda like having you around"
Audrey smirked. "Oh really?"
Sora blushed. "I mean, you kind of remind me of a friend of mine. A friend that always pushes me to be stronger."
"Sounds more like a rival to me."
"He's that too." Sora put a hand over his heart. "We've been friends since we were little kids, and we were always competing."
"Sounds like me and my sister. We pretend we don't get along, but I know she always has my back." Audrey dusted off her overalls. "Well, I'd better get back to Commander Rourke and the others to help them finish setting up. See you, Sora."
She left before Sora could ask what her crew was setting up for. When she was gone, Goofy called for a huddle.
"Hey fellas, I don't think Locke is in the city."
"But the shadow man said he was in this world," Donald said.
"Well, we haven't checked the palace," Sora reminded them, "and Kida did ask us to go there."
Goofy looked down at the ground sadly. "I sure hope Locke is okay."
Sora felt like pins were being pushed into his heart. What if Locke wasn't in Atlantis? What if Dr. Facilier had just been lying? He shook his head. There wasn't time to doubt. They still had to check the palace, and if Locke wasn't in that world, then that would mean that they would have to beat his location out of Dr. Facilier himself.
"How are you feeling?"
Riku rubbed his eyes. After some walking, and a few healing spells, he had gotten used to the darkness around him. The black energy still lingered in the back of his mind, but it was easier to ignore now that King Mickey was with him.
"Better. I can see just fine."
"I'm glad to hear that. You know, I'm impressed."
"Why?"
"You're a good student. You were able to pick up how to do a cure spell pretty easily."
"You think so?"
Mickey nodded, winking.
"You know, back home, I would be the one doing all the work. Sora would laze off and Kairi would find a way to make us do her part."
"Sounds like you had to learn to be independent."
Riku stopped walking. He took a look around the realm of darkness, at all the strange, black and purple glowing platforms that stuck out of the black void. The large, open road he and Mickey stood on seemed felt like it stretched forever into the darkness. How far would he go down that road before realizing there was no end?
"Maybe, I'm a little too independent," Riku said.
"What do you mean?"
"I spent a lot of time doing things on my own, and look where it got me. All alone."
"Gee, you're not alone. I'm here."
Riku gave Mickey an appreciative grin. "You know, I don't know even know why I'm telling you all this. Somehow, you're really easy to talk to."
"I was alone for a while here too. So I know how you feel. It's just lucky we found each other again. This place is so huge. I wonder if it's just as big as the sky that connects all the worlds."
"Right. The worlds really do share one sky."
"And one destiny."
And one realm of darkness, Riku thought. For a moment, he wondered if the world of light would be able to exist without the realm of darkness. Then he felt a heavy thud against his heart. Something was coming.
Mickey summoned his keyblade.
Dark spheres with hungry teeth and sharp, yellow eyes floated in the air. Underneath the dark ball heartless, shadows rose up from the ground. The heartless circled around Riku and Mickey, yet they did not attack.
The platform underneath Riku's feet rumbled. Then the world slanted sharply to the side, like a sinking ship. Riku leaned on the soul eater, trying to keep himself standing. The platform tilted the other way, and it was all he and Mickey could do to hold on. A swirling, black whirlpool appeared on the floor.
The ground tilted once more as a massive, muscular arm came out of the vortex. Like a hand clutching the end of a cliff, the creature's claws dug into the stony platform. The arm pulled the rest of the body out, and Riku watched, his heart screaming in fear, as a giant heartless stood up among all the small fry. It was only then that the ground stopped shaking.
Riku stared into the giant, heart shaped hole in the creature's chest. Slowly, the monster straightened up to stand on its short legs. It's head was a mass of tentacles. There was no face, only yellow eyes that stared silently into the darkness.
Tiny shocks stung on the inside of Riku's stomach and chest. The creature was looking at him. It twitched and then the smaller heartless attacked.
Something slammed into Riku back, smacking his lungs. He fell to his hands his knees, gasping. Darkness sprinkled onto him from above, and Riku looked up just in time to see a heartless explode overhead when Mickey's keyblade ran through it. The king landed at Riku's side.
"You okay?"
Riku grit his teeth. Shame pushed down his terror, stuffing it into a deep well inside him. He pushed himself back up, gripped his soul eater tight in his hands, and charged the shadows and darkballs.
"Riku wait!"
Riku sliced through one heartless sphere, and then through the row of shadow heartless that had tried to scratch at his legs. The sound of chewing drew Riku's attention to the right and he ducked before a darkball could bite into the side of his head.
Standing, Riku stabbed the heartless in the back. He felt spidery fingers clamping around his ankles. Looking down, he tried to slice the heartless holding his legs, but then a shadow heartless jumped onto his shoulders. It pulled at his hair and tried to scratch his face. Riku was too distracted by it to stop the heartless dragging him down.
Mickey dashed forward and sliced through the heartless holding Riku's legs, allowing Riku to finally get rid of the heartless on his head. He opened his mouth to thank the king, but the words died in his throat.
The giant heartless was right behind Mickey. It's fist flashed through the air.
"Look out!"
Riku pushed Mickey out of the way. The fist crashed into Riku, flattening him into the ground. He didn't even have the strength to scream. A fist closed around his body, lifted him up. The giant heartless squeezed. Riku grit his teeth, staring into the creature's empty, emotionless eyes.
King Mickey appeared in the air behind the giant heartless. He raised his keyblade and sent a fireball that spiraled down, searing into the back of the heartless' tentacled head. The heartless turned around, swiping the air behind it as though Mickey were nothing more then a fly to be swatted.
The king landed on the heartless' head and slammed his keyblade into the the heartless' face. With its free hand, the heartless grabbed King Mickey, and began to squeeze. Riku watched helplessly while listening to the sound of his own body being crushed. The smaller heartless down below began climbing the giant. They sat on the fist holding Riku, swarming him. He felt claws and teeth on his arms and legs.
The darkness tightened around him. The eyes of all the heartless melted together until Riku was looking at a dark, black sea full of yellow eyes that were ready to swallow him back into the abyss he had just barely escaped from. Riku couldn't think. He swatted at the eyes, at the darkness, but it closed in, tighter and tighter until he breathed in the stench, until he couldn't hear anything, until...
You're one with the darkness now.
Riku opened his mouth but couldn't hear himself scream. He was buried under a rockslide of darkness and there was no escape. The voice felt closer then ever.
Open your heart to darkness.
Riku struggled harder. He couldn't sink back into the darkness. He would never let Ansem take over him.
Never again.
Oil gathered up in his chest and eyes, but he wouldn't let it stay there. He raised his hand in the dark, and felt the power transfer there. Ansem's voice laughed in his ear, the darkness began to burn his skin, but Riku forced the black energy toward his arm, and shouted without words.
Black and purple orbs of energy burst from his hand, shredding through the heartless, the platforms above him, and everything that was unlucky enough to be in its path. The swarm split apart, the heartless pulverized the dark power. The hand holding him down let go. Riku fell toward the floor, finally free from the darkness, but not from the burning.
Flames seared his entire body. His eyes felt as though they were melting. He hit the ground, but the pain of slamming against the floor was nothing compared to what he felt in his head. He lay on the ground, unable to move until something soft and warm numbed the pain.
A pair of hands helped him sit up. Riku sat still gasping, listening to King Mickey voice. The chants of healing spells, one after the other, relaxed his heart. Finally, the burns were lifted, but exhaustion made it hard to open both eyes.
Riku opened his right eye and thanked King Mickey.
"Are you all right?"
Riku nodded.
"What a relief."
Riku looked at the king. His black fur was matted and tussled. There were scratches on his pale face.
"Whoa, are you all right?"
"Don't worry about me. That huge heartless got a few good hits in, but I was able to take it down after you shot that dark firaga spell."
Ice gathered in the pit of Riku's stomach. "Dark firaga?"
"Yes. Right after you threw out that spell, the giant heartless was stunned. I was able to defeat it."
"I used the power of darkness."
"You had no choice. Things were desperate."
"No you're wrong! All that talk about rejecting the darkness and I just made the same mistake!"
Riku opened his left eye. Half of his vision was completely black.
"What? My eye! I can't see though it!"
Jiminy's Journal
Gaetan Moliére (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): The lead geologist on the mission to find Atlantis. Members of his crew call him "Mole" because he's more at home in the dirt then anywhere else. He has an uncanny ability to deduce things simply from studying one sample of dirt.
Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): An expert in explosives who just loves to blow stuff up almost as much as he loves to play practical jokes on people with his buddy, Mole. His deadpan and chill sense of humor makes him the most relaxed person out of everyone on Milo's crew.
Joshua Sweet (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): Although he's a tall, muscular man, Dr. Sweet is a good-natured person who genuinely cares for the health of others. He is bombastic and self-confident and keeps troublemakers like Vinny and Mole in line.
Audrey Rocio Ramirez (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): A teenager with a tough exterior, Audrey takes a little while to warm up to people. She's a gifted engineer who also isn't afraid of a fight. Underneath her tomboyish outer layer, she has a softer, more sisterly side.
Jedidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): Don't let his old age fool you. Cookie is a spry old man who is both resourceful in the field and in the kitchen. He serves as the cook for Milo's crew, though his meals are questionable at best.
Lyle Tiberius Rourke (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): The composed commander of the team sent down to find Atlantis. He is a big, imposing man who seems to be in complete control of his crew despite the fact that he hasn't given a single order. How does he get such a team of misfits to respect him?
Helga Katrina Sinclair (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): A beautiful lieutenant and Commander Rourke's right hand. Helga is the one that barks orders and makes sure the team is doing their jobs. She has little to no tolerance for nonsense and is comfortable using intimidation to keep people in line.
Chapter 16: Chapter 15: The Heart of Atlantis
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 15: The Heart Of Atlantis
Sora, Donald and Goofy met up with Milo and Kida just outside the palace throne room. The massive doors opened, revealing a reflective pond in the middle of a great hall. Powerful stone pillars supported the ceiling. A walkway of stones allowed the group to walk across the pond to the other side of the room, where an old man sat on a couch throne with pillows and silk blankets.
The old man's fist tightened on his staff as Kida and her entourage neared. When they were a few feet away, he rose to his feet and said something to Kida in a language that Sora didn't understand. Milo tensed.
Kida spoke back, in a tone that sounded as though she were pleading, but the ruler slammed his staff down on the ground. Their discussion was over but Kida was not giving up.
"Please Father, just give Milo and his people a little bit more time."
The old man's eyes did not have any irises or pupils. His face shifted from his daughter to Milo.
"Look at what we were able to accomplish," Kida continued, "we were able to get one of Atlantis' ancient machines to move. Imagine what we could learn about Atlantis' past by working together. These explorers and I were even able to defeat those creatures."
Sora wasn't sure how, but he felt as though the king were looking at him.
"Enough, Kida," said the King, in a tone that left no room for discussion. "We will discuss this later. You are dismissed. And you three..."
Sora, Donald and Goofy straightened.
The King said nothing further. He waved to his guards, and the men escorted Kida and Milo out of the room. Once they were alone, the king descended the steps in front of his throne. He walked out onto the stone platforms of the pond and loomed over Sora.
"I sense something ancient with you, boy. You are not just some explorer from the outside world. You are a destroyer."
The guards around the room raised their weapons.
"Destroyer? I would never do something like that."
"Your Majesty." Donald began. "Sora has been done nothing but defend your city from heartless. We don't mean any harm."
"Heartless?" The old man stroked his long beard. "So it is true. You are the key bearer, are you not?"
Sora's shoulders felt tight, and he repressed the need to call on his keyblade, but it reacted to his heart nonetheless, appearing in his hand automatically.
The old king walked back to his throne. "I want you three out of my city immediately. While I thank you for helping my daughter defeat those heartless, I will have nothing to do with the bringer of ruin."
"Bringer of ruin," Sora repeated. "Why do you say that?"
"The key holder who meddles in the affairs of other worlds only brings about ruin. Those creatures must have appeared here shortly before you arrived, as if they sensed you were on your way." The king slammed his staff down. "I am giving you one chance to leave peacefully."
"But aren't the heartless attracted to darkness?" Goofy interjected. "You may need our help."
"This city is protected from the darkness."
"But Kida said that-"
"We will handle this issue ourselves."
"Please, at least let us find our friend Locke. We were told he's here somewhere and-"
"Enough! No one with that name has entered my city, and if he had, he would have been thrown out with the rest of the outsiders. Leave. Now."
Sora opened his mouth, but felt a tugging on his sleeve. He turned around to see Goofy shaking his head. This wasn't the time to argue. The trio bowed to the king and left the room.
Once they were outside the palace, Donald tapped his temple, thinking.
"He reminds me of King Triton. He didn't trust Sora either."
"Why do some people believe that the keyblade is bad luck? I haven't done anything but try to help people since I got this thing." Sora sighed. "What do we do? Do we respect the king's request and leave?"
Donald crossed his arms. "We haven't found Locke, but then again, the shadow man could have been lying to lure us here."
"Why don't we find Kida and Milo for now," Goofy suggested, "we did tell them that we were going to help them."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Goofy? Breaking the rules?"
"Well, we can leave the city after we help our friends. Right?"
Donald didn't wait for Sora to make a decision. He began walking.
"Get a move on."
They found Kida and Milo relaxing by a lagoon. Ruins surrounded the water, a set of stairs led into the depths. Fireflies floated in the air like golden stars.
Kida held her crystal over Milo so that he could have light. He was reading the shepherd's journal so intently that his nose disappeared into the pages.
When Sora came near, Milo leaned away from the book, rubbing his forehead.
"Something wrong?" Kida asked.
"The journal describes a power source, the heart of Atlantis, and then goes off to a completely different topic on the next page. There's a page missing."
Kida looked at the book. "Wait, I recognize that."
She walked toward the water and stepped in.
"You do swim, do you not, Milo?"
"Uh yes."
"Good. There is a mural under the water, with writing all around the pictures."
"Ah, I get it." Milo took off his coat and pants. He waded into the water with nothing but his undershorts.
"Sora," Kida called, "keep an eye out for those creatures and my father's guards until we return."
"You got it."
Kida and Milo took a deep breathe and disappeared under the water.
Riku sliced through the air but his weapon didn't hit its target. The heartless jumped on his shoulder. Pain burned on the back on his neck, and Riku threw the soul eater over his shoulder, stabbing the heartless, but when its weight vanished from his shoulder, another heartless hit him from the left.
Fire drilled into Riku's side. He fell to his knees, turning his head to see the heartless advance on him. It reached out with its claws. Something flashed in Riku's eye, and then the heartless fell backward, melting into the darkness. King Mickey stood in front of Riku, his keyblade glowing.
The danger had passed.
For now.
Mickey raised his keybalde and chanted a healing spell. Bell flowers appeared over Riku's head. The spell sprinkled over him, soothing the pain in his side and neck.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay."
"What about-" Mickey stopped, looking at the ground with an apologetic expression.
Riku rubbed his eye. It had become a habit since he lost his sight. Each time he opened his eye, he expected to see again, but the results were always the same. The left side of his world was bathed in darkness.
"Still can't see," Riku said.
Mickey deflated. "Gosh, I guess healing spells don't work on wounds inflicted by darkness that strong, but don't lose hope. Maybe your vision will come back once we get out of the realm of darkness."
Somehow, Riku wasn't sure he believed Mickey.
"Anyway, for now, just make sure to stay behind me. I'll keep you safe from the heartless."
"No."
Mickey blinked. "What?"
"I don't want to slow you down."
"But Riku-"
"I know!"
Mickey ducked his head.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. It's just that," Riku bit his lip. "I know my attacks have gotten slower, I know that I keep getting hit in my blind spot, but I don't want to be a burden. Let me fight alongside you."
"I can't let you get hurt."
"Then teach me magic. Real magic. So that I don't have to rely on the darkness when things get desperate. I," he swallowed, "I don't know if I'll ever see in my left eye again, but I'm not going to give up. I want to fight."
Mickey crossed his arms. "You sure are tough. And stubborn. Reminds me of Donald."
Riku grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"I can teach you magic, but promise me that you'll still be careful. If things get too rough, let me defend you."
"I will," Riku promised.
Sora had paced back and forth so many times, it was a wonder that his feet hadn't dug a hole in the ground
"Donald, can you just give me a merman's tail like you did in Atlantica? I want to go check on them."
Donald looked at Sora as though the boy had grown antlers.
"Are you out of your mind? How are you going to explain suddenly being part fish to Milo and Kida? Do you want to shatter the world order?"
"But they've been down there forever!"
Goofy patted Sora's back. "I'm sure Kida knows what she's doing."
Sora didn't get the chance to voice his concerns. Footsteps drew his attention. Rourke and his crew had come to the ruins. Helga's glare made Sora nervous. She walked around the lagoon, her finger drumming on the pistol in the holster at her hip. Rourke pulled something out from his boot, something that looked a lot like a piece of paper.
Audrey ran up to Sora, blocking his view of the rest of the crew.
"Still haven't found your friend?"
"No. What's going on?"
"Oh, we just came to talk to Milo, is all."
Sora looked over Audrey's shoulder. Vinnie, Cookie, Dr. Sweet and Mole were holding rifles. They all looked tense, as though expecting someone to attack. Audrey waved her hand in front of Sora's face.
"So, where is Milo?"
Sora looked from her eyes to the wrench she was gripping tightly in her hands.
"What's going on?"
"Don't you worry, son," Rourke said, "this is a matter our crew needs to discuss."
Donald and Goofy gripped their weapons. The crew aim their rifles at them, but then quickly turned their attention to the lagoon.
Bubbles appeared in the water. Milo emerged, gasping for air. Rourke went to the edge of the lagoon and knelt down. Sora moved passed Audrey, to try and talk to Milo.
Cold metal slammed into his shoulder blades.
Pain.
Sora fell, gasping. His back blazed, and the agony spread down to his knees. He was too shocked to even hear Donald and Goofy's grunts behind him. Boots appeared before his eyes and a moment later, Vinne and Mole lifted him up.
"Nice work, Audrey," came Rourke's voice.
When Sora could finally breathe without fire burning in his lungs, he saw Helga holding Kida's arms behind her back. The Atlantean princess grit her teeth, struggling, but Helga's hold was firm.
Milo stomped toward Rourke.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Come on now, son. We've been here long enough, it's time to go find that crystal." Rourke showed a piece of paper to Milo.
The missing page from the shepherd's journal.
"Of course, the Heart of Atlantis. How could I have been so stupid? This is nothing but a treasure hunt for you, isn't it?"
"Well it's big, it's shiny, it's going to make us all rich."
"You don't know what you're doing."
Milo took a step. From behind Rourke, Cookie raised his rifle.
A warning.
"Listen, you think the Heart of Atlantis is a diamond, I thought it was some kind of power source, but we're both wrong. I know now. The heart is the people's life force. That crystal is the only thing keeping these people alive. If you take it away, there will be nothing to protect the people from the darkness."
"Well, Helga, you here that?"
"I'd say that doubles the price of this diamond."
Milo stomped his foot. "Don't do this."
"You scholars never want to get your hands dirty. Do you really think that all the artifacts in a museum are acquired through diplomacy? We're just doing our job of sharing Atlantis' great history with the world."
"Not interested," Milo hissed.
"That's too bad. Helga?"
Milo turned around. Helga had a pistol pointed at Kida's back.
Rourke threw Milo's clothes at him.
"Get dressed son, we've got a king to talk to."
Milo glared as he dressed.
Sora thrashed and kicked. Vinnie and Mole let him go, but Sora didn't get a chance to summon his keyblade. Audrey quickly put a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. Sora turned to glare at her, but then saw his friends. Donald and Goofy were on the ground, groaning. They were cuffed too.
"Keep those three out of our way," Rourke hissed over his shoulder.
Helga dragged Milo and Kida away. Dr. Sweet walked after them, but not before casting a look back at Sora and his friends.
With nothing left to do, Sora sat up on the ground. His head felt too big for his neck. Audrey's wrench had really done a number on him, but at least the dizzy spell was slowly going away. He heard Donald and Goofy struggle. Mole, Cookie, and Vinnie loomed over them, but it was Audrey that Sora looked at it.
Her eyes caught his and she quickly turned around.
"So," Sora began, "earlier, when you came with us to 'see what we were made of,' you were just spying on us for Rourke, weren't you? So he could know what we're capable of? So that we don't get in his way?"
Audrey's shoulder twitched.
"Wow Audrey. I thought we could be friends. You're really going to put all these lives in jeopardy. For money. You know, you remind me more of my friend now. He also made some dumb choices, hurt a lot of people, and now, he's gone."
"Sora," Goofy whispered sadly.
"I wonder if my friend regrets what he did. Will you really be happy with all that money, Audrey? I sure hope so. I sure hope hurting all these people is worth it."
Audrey's fists were clenched so tightly that her arms were shaking.
"Mole? Vinnie? Is destroying an entire city just one big joke to you guys? This is wrong. And you all know it."
Audrey groaned. She turned around, baring her teeth. She raised her wrench. Sora turned away, bracing for the blow.
The cuffs around his hands came lose.
Audrey set Donald and Goofy free next.
She gave Vinnie, Cookie, and Mole a fierce look.
"He's right. We can't do this."
Mole burst into tears. "How could I have been so blind? Oh, the riches, they forced me to make such foolish decisions!"
"Done a lot of things I'm not proud of." Vinnie counted off his fingers. "Grave robbing, plundering tombs, double parking and not paying the tickets, but no one got hurt."
Cookie sniffed, taking off his hat. "Y'all done opened this old fool's eyes."
Audrey grabbed Sora's arms and helped him to his feet. "Get up. We've got to rescue Milo."
"Music to my ears. Donald?"
"I hear ya! Curaga!"
A shower of green sparkles rejuvenated Sora, Donald and Goofy. Vinnie pulled out a few cherrybombs from within in coat. Audrey swung her wrench through the air, Cookie twirled his rifle, and Mole sniffed the ground.
"They went that way, friends! Let's go!"
When they reached the palace, the doors to the throne room were wide open. The guards lay on the ground, out cold. Rourke, Helga, and Kida were nowhere to be found. Across the room, Dr. Sweet and Milo knelt over the king of Atlantis.
Sora, Donald and Goofy stepped forward, but then a group of heartless popped up before them, blocking their path. A stick of dynomite flew over Sora's shoulder.
BOOM!
The first wave of heartless were burned to a crisp.
Vinnie, Cookie, Mole, and Audrey jumped in, rampaging on the remaining heartless.
"We got this," Vinnie shouted. "Go help the others."
"Yeehaw! Let's get 'em!" Cookie roared.
While the crew wailed on the heartless, the trio made their way across the pond to the throne. In the middle of the pond, the water had split open, revealing a deep, cavernous hole. Water fell in to the hole and vanished into the darkness below. Sora ignored it and ran to the king.
Dr. Sweet, his face twisted in concern, was pressing a stethoscope against the king's heart. The old man's breaths were low and labored.
"What happened," Sora demanded.
Dr. Sweet closed his eyes. "Rourke did this. This was never a part of the plan. That monster."
"Move!" Donald stood next to the old man. "Curaga!"
Magic showered over the king, but it didn't glow on his skin. Sora watched as the spell vanished.
"What?" Donald looked at his staff. "It didn't work?"
Dr. Sweet grit his teeth. "His wounds are too great."
The king's head looked as though it weighed a thousand pounds as he slowly shifted his gaze toward Sora. When he spoke, his voice was gurgled, as though he were drowning.
"Boy, you say that the key-holder does not bring ruin? Prove it. Go to my daughter. Please."
"Kida? What happened?"
The king's hand dropped. Milo caught it.
"Rourke and Hega took us to the Heart of Atlantis. It was hidden down there." Milo nodded toward the hole in the pond. "Kida, she," Milo swallowed. "She merged with the heart of Atlantis. Rourke and Helga took her."
"Merged? What are you talking about?"
"In times of danger," the king explained, "the crystal chooses a host, one of royal blood, to protect itself and its people."
"Chooses?" Milo shook his head. "The crystal is alive?"
"In a way. The crystal thrives on the collected hearts and emotions of all who came before us. It protects us. But we abused its power, used it as a weapon, and it led to our destruction, thousands of years ago. We had forgotten that the crystal was something that connects us, something we shouldn't use for dark purposes."
"Just like any other heart," Sora said. "So even something that powerful can be affected by darkness."
"That's why you hid the crystal beneath the city? To keep history from repeating itself?"
"And to protect Kida." The king took off his crystal necklace and placed it in Milo's hand. "Without the heart, we are lost, and if Kida remains bonded to the crystal, she will be lost as well. Please. Save Atlantis. Save my daughter."
The king took in a deep breathe. Milo, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Dr. Sweet turned away. A light in the world of Atlantis went out.
Milo and Sora raced toward the entrance to the city. Audry, Donald, Goofy and the rest of the crew chased after them. At the bridge that led out of the city, a crowd of Atlanteans watched Rourke and Helga herd something shiny into a metal box. Sora's heart flipped when he realized what it was.
Kida.
Her hair swirled around her face. Her eyes and skin glowed the same cerulean blue as the crystals worn by all the Atlanteans. She stood like a doll, completely still as Rourke and Helga trapped her in the metal box. They bolted the box shut. Only a small, circular glass window allowed Kida to be seen from within.
By the time Sora and the others caught up, Kida's face had vanished behind a layer of frost. Just a few feet away, a shot was fired at Sora's feet. He stopped.
Helga pointed her pistol at the Atlanteans. "Don't do anything stupid, boy. You wouldn't want anything to happen to all these people, would you?"
Rourke came around the box and glared at his crew.
"Oh, you can't all be serious? You pick now to grow a conscience?"
"Rourke! Stop this. You're going to wipe out an entire civilization. And for what? Money?" Milo pointed to the people. "The city needs her."
"Get off your soapbox, Thatch." Rourke yawned. "You've read Darwin. It's called natural selection. We're just helping it along. Here, let me show you."
Rourke snapped his fingers. Heartless popped into the air in front of Milo. The Atlanteans drew back in fear. Rourke laughed. Purple smoke oozed out of his skin. Darkness.
Sora pointed his keyblade at the commander. "So you brought the heartless here."
Rourke shrugged. "This was more of a happy accident, boy. At first, these creatures were nothing more then a nuisance, but I am a very persuasive man. I sought to use them to my advantage. You know what they say, 'survival of the fittest.' Only the strong are fit to lead, to make the decisions others are too weak to make."
"You're not strong, your selfish," Milo growled.
The heartless loaded Kida's box into a military cargo van.
"Helga," Rourke shouted, "get this car rolling."
"Yes, Commander."
Helga jumped into the driver's seat. Rourke, his teeth bared in a vile grin, saluted them.
"You know," he looked at the heartless, "I think I may like these new soldiers a little better then a crew that turns on me. Maybe I'll use the money to start up a small army with my new, more loyal, soldiers."
Rourke got into the van. The heartless attacked. The Atlanteans scattered out of fear. Dr. Sweet, Audrey, Cookie, Mole, Vinnie and Milo rushed to evacuate the citizens from the area, while Sora, Donald and Goofy engaged the heartless.
Mere seconds into the fight, the ground shook. An explosion threw Sora off his feet. Up ahead, smoke and fire were all that was left of the bridge that led out of the city. Rourke and the van had vanished into the caverns, but there was no time to chase them. The heartless were still coming.
Sora ripped through the first wave of heartless with his keyblade, but another horde was quick to take their place.
"Guys, we've got to make this quick. Rourke is getting away."
They took down one battalion, and then another, and then another. Every time they took down one heartless, ten more sprang up to take its place. Sora's body ached. Exhaustion made him stop for a few seconds to catch his breathe.
Big mistake. A heartless charged at him from the left. It swiped at his side with its harpoon. He fell back, barely keeping the metal from spearing his side. The heartless drew its harpoon back, preparing for another strike.
Goofy rammed into the heartless, slamming it into the ground with his shield.
Donald regrouped with Sora and casted a thunder spell to thin out the heartless' numbers.
"We can't keep this up for much longer."
The heartless were closing in. Sora, Donald and Goofy huddled together, back to back. A shadow flashed overhead. Looking up, Sora gulped. He pushed Donald and Goofy.
"DUCK!"
A giant stone fish fell from the sky, squashing the heartless flat. Four more fish appeared, blowing the heartless away.
"Now's our chance!"
The trio brought their weapons together.
Donald's resilience.
Sora's bravery.
Goofy's kindness.
The power surged through their weapons, connecting at the center. A ball of bright light grew between them. It rose up, higher and higher into the air. Then it burst, brightening the sky, bathing everything in white light.
Caught by surprise, the heartless had no time to defend. The light seared through them all. When the brightness faded, the stone fish-shaped vehicles from Atlantis hovered around the trio.
Milo and his crew sat on top of the vehicles.
"Get on," Milo called.
Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped onto the stone fish with Milo.
Turning, Milo waved at Audrey, Sweet, Vinnie, Mole and Cookie.
"We're going after Rourke. We're going to bring Kida back to the city, or die trying."
Cookie loaded bullets into his rifle. "Saddle up, partner! Bring jerky and ammo!"
"I would have preferred a tuna. More sporty." Vinnie snapped his fingers. "Yo Milo, you get Rourke, we'll try to keep his monster soldiers busy, yeah?"
"Enough talking!" Audrey growled. "Let's go!"
The vehicles lurched forward, out of the city and into the dark caves. Up ahead, floating in midair, heartless appeared. Donald climbed up Sora's back, and sat on the boy's shoulders.
"Keep going!"
Milo zoomed toward the heartless. The creatures aimed their harpoons ahead. They charged.
Donald pointed his staff straight ahead.
"Thundaga!"
Lighting crashed though the heartless, zapping them into nothing, but there were more coming.
Vinnie threw cherrybombs into the air. Clouds of fire burst on the heartless, burning them. The crew rode the smoke.
The tunnels got wider. Something red appeared between the stalactites up ahead.
Sora hurled his keyblade through another incoming group of heartless and then gaped at the sight beyond.
A red, rocket shaped, hot air balloon was rising up toward a hole in the cave ceiling. Rourke and Helga stood in the basket. Hanging under the basket, connected by thick, metal chains, was Kida's steel box. The heartless flew around the balloon, shooting bullets of darkness at the Atlantean vehicles to keep them away.
Milo and the others flew up, down and looped in the air to avoid the attacks. A heartless crashed into the underside of Vinnie's vehicle, nearly throwing him off. In an attempt to regain his balance, Vinnie slammed his hand onto the vehicle's inscription pad, and then a blue lazer of energy shot out of the stone fish's mouth. The lazer flew through the air, slicing an incoming group of heartless into nothing.
"Okay, now things are getting good!" Vinnie shouted. "Hey, guys check this out!"
Armed with fire power, the other crew members engaged the heatless, leaving an opening for Milo to get closer to the balloon.
"Okay, Milo, any last ideas," Sora asked.
Milo swallowed. "Yeah, but really I wish I had a better idea then this!" He stood up. "On the count of three, jump."
Milo aimed the vehicle at the balloon.
"One."
Sora got up to his feet, his eyes wide. "Wait a minute! You can't be serious? Do you know how high up we are?"
"Two!"
Donald jumped up into Goofy's arms. "This is crazy!"
"I know," Milo whimpered. "THREE!"
The vehicle lurched forward.
Sora felt ice replace all the fluids in his body.
He didn't think, he didn't hear his friends wailing frantically. All he could see was the bright, red material in front of his eyes.
The vehicle was inches away from the balloon.
They jumped.
The stone fish crashed into the balloon, poking a hole in it.
Milo, Sora, Donald and Goofy fell into the balloon's basket, slamming into a surprised Helga. The entire basket tilted, nearly throwing Rourke over the side. The balloon began to descend.
Helga was the first to recover, aiming her pistol at Milo. Sora lunged and knocked the weapon out of her hand with his keyblade. Helga recovered quickly. She turned toward Sora and swept her leg under his feet, tripping him.
Donald and Goofy tackled Helga, pushing her back toward the edge of the basket. She collapsed onto the basket floor. Rourke came over and punched the poor duck and dog so hard that they flew out of the basket.
Sora stood back up in a flash. He reached out, managing to grab his friends before they fell to their doom. Leaning over the side of the basket, he had nothing to defend himself from Rourke. The big man cracked his neck, darkness coming off his skin like toxic sweat.
"I have to hand it to ya brats, you turned out to be more of a thorn in my side then I first thought. As if Thatch wasn't enough."
Milo punched Rourke's shoulder, but it was like throwing a toothpick a mountain. With an exasperated growl, Rourke smacked Milo, making him crash into the other side of the basket. The impact made the balloon tip downward even faster.
"Well, would you look at that? We're loosing altitude." Rourke cracked his knuckles. "Looks like, I have to lighten the load. Aw well, ladies first."
He reached out, grabbed Helga, and then threw her off the basket. Then he caught Sora by the scruff of shirt, and Milo by his neck and hurled them over the side. Sora's throat burned from screaming.
The ground rose up to meet him.
And then he landed on something soft.
"I got you!"
Sora opened his eyes and stared at Dr. Sweet. Looking around, he realized he was on one of the fish vehicles. Audrey was driving. She flew toward Donald and Goofy and Dr. Sweet, plucked the duck and dog out of the air.
Sora looked around desperately. "Wait, where's Milo?"
Audrey pointed. "Up there!"
Milo was standing on to the Kida's box, which was dangling under the balloon. Above him, Rourke had grabbed an ax, and was about to climb over the basket to try and slice Milo to pieces.
"We gotta help him. Get me close!"
Rourke landed on the metal box, and swung his ax down toward Milo. He missed, hitting the glass window of the box, shattering it. Dodging the attack made Milo slid down the side of the box, his feet dangling in midair.
Rourke loomed over Milo.
He drew his ax back, ready to strike again.
"You are a bigger pain in the neck then I ever thought possible! It takes a lot to get under my skin, but you win the solid gold prize, cupie doll!"
The ax sliced through the air.
The keyblade slammed into the ax's handle, knocking the ax out out of Rourke's hand. Rourke roared at Sora, but it was just enough time for Milo to grab a piece of shining blue glass from Kida's box. He reached up and sliced Rourke's bicep.
Rourke yelped. The scratch glowed. Blue and red sparks traveled up Rourke's arm. The scratch spread, like an infection, hardening Rourke's skin, turning him into a monster made of crystal. But he wasn't defeated.
The crystal commander turned toward Milo, and kicked him. Milo fell off the box. The fight had made the balloon lose more air. It was no longer floating downward. It was falling.
Audrey flew toward Milo. He landed safely on the Atlantean vehicle a few seconds before the balloon, the basket, Rourke, and Kida's box crashed into the cave floor. The impact shook the entire cavern. The shockwave nearly blew out Sora's ears. Hot smoke filled the air.
"Take us down," Milo ordered, "we have to get Kida back to the city."
Yet as they descended down toward the ground, orange light lit up floor.
From atop his own vehicle, Mole whimpered. "The volcano! She awakes!"
Red veins of magma appeared through the cracks in the stone floor. Kida's box lay on its side above it. Milo and Sora reached the box, grabbed the chain and tied it around the tail of Audry and Sweet's vehicle.
Donald screamed. "Sora, look out!"
Milo and Sora turned. Rourke's blue arm appeared from under the debris left by the balloon. He crawled out from under it, locked eyes with Milo, and let out a metallic scream. A black floating, fishlike heartless appeared next to Rourke.
Sora's feet were getting hot. His lungs were starting to choke on the air. They didn't have the time to fight.
An army of heartless surrounded Rourke. He pointed at Sora. The heartless didn't move. Instead, they turned toward Rourke, grabbing his arms and legs. The ground beneath Rourke melted and magma spewed upward, washing over Rourke and the heartless.
There was no time to think about it. There was no time to reach the vehicle. Sora and Milo jumped onto Kida's box and held on tight.
"GO!"
Every vehicle flew, top speed, back toward Atlantis.
The magma spewed out of the ground in blazing fountains.
Sora and Milo were flailed back and forth as the box flew through the air, towed by Audrey's vehicle. They flew through the caverns. Donald shot blizzard spells into the magma, but the fiery tidal wave was not slowing down.
Magma burst out of the sides of the tunnels, forcing the vehicles to make sharp turns in order to avoid getting melted. The heat scratched against Sora's skin. The space in the caves were getting smaller, but a light was shining up ahead.
The vehicles reached Atlantis. Behind them, the magma roared in from the cave entrance, where it began to flood the area below the disk that held up the city. Audrey's vehicle crashed onto a plaza.
Sora and Milo were thrown off Kida's box, but it didn't matter.
The metal sides of the box fell away and Kida floated in the middle of the city. Light filled in every crack and carving along the floors, the ruins, the walls, and soon the entire city was glowing. Giant stones, each with the face of one of Atlantis' kings, burst through the floor around Kida's feet.
She shot up into the air, the with the stones orbiting her. The stones spun around Kida, faster and faster, until they blurred into a shining star above the city. Light shot out from the star and connected to the stone golems standing along the edges of the disk. The giant golems came to life and stood at the borders of the city, where they clapped their massive hands.
A blue membrane of light grew from the hands of each golem. It spread out, shielding the city from the hissing waves of the rising magna. The light shield rose higher, covering the city in a protective dome.
The magma slammed against the blue shield. The red, hot waves climbed up onto the shield and soon the entire dome was covered. Down below, the people of Atlantis watched as the molten rock obscured everything beyond the blue shield.
There was a flash from the star. The red glow faded from the magma. The hot liquid cooled, turning black. Cracks spread through the rock, blue light shined through the openings. With a thundering boom and a flash of light, the hardened magma fell away from the blue shield.
The shield walls fell.
Water began to flow through the city again. The blue light faded from the walls and floors.
The danger had passed. The volcano had quieted.
Above them, a ray of light pierced through the silver clouds and Kida floated down from the sky. Her glow was gone. The heart of Atlantis had set her free. Milo moved closer, catching Kida before she hit the ground. She opened her eyes and looked around the city.
All was well.
Needless to say, Milo's crew were handsomely rewarded for helping to protect the city. Not only did Kida give them a vehicle that would take them to the surface, but she also made sure to pack that vehicle with as much gold as possible. Each member of the crew got a complementary crystal necklace as well.
Audrey punched Sora playfully on the arm and gave Milo a kiss on the cheek before she left.
Dr. Sweet hugged Milo so tightly that the scholar's back cracked.
Cookie gave Milo the bacon grease he had been planning to use for the whole trip, and Milo threw it in the garbage when Cookie wasn't looking.
Mole played one more practical joke on Donald by digging a hole under the duck and leaving him stuck in the ground, which made Vinnie laugh so loudly he accidentally set off a firecracker that made Donald fly out of the hole with a yelp.
After a round of laugher, the crew finished saying their goodbyes. Once they were gone, it was Sora, Donald and Goofy's turn.
"Gosh, Milo, are you sure you're not going to miss your friends," Goofy asked.
"Nope. I spent so much time trying to find Atlantis. This place already feels like my home. Besides, I still have so many secrets to uncover."
Kida reached out and held Milo's hand.
"By the way, Sora," she said, "were you able to find your friend?"
"No. We searched, but there's no trace of him."
"Perhaps I can help you. Can you describe your friend to me?"
Sora described Locke's appearance and his mannerisms. Kida looked up at the sky. The heart of Atlantis hovered in the air above the city. The heart had returned to its original form. It was now a mass of blue light that was surrounded by stones. Each stone had the face of an ancient Atlantean king. Kida's father was now among them.
Raising her crystal necklace to the sky, Kida closed her eyes. The heart flashed for a moment.
"Your friend is not here. I have searched the whole city, and the surrounding area. No one matching that description has ever been in Atlantis. I'm sorry."
"You're saying that Locke was never here?"
"Yes."
A tiny needle of pain stung Sora's heart, yet he felt relieved. If it weren't for Milo, the crew, and Kida all working together, the entire city could have been destroyed and Locke would have gone down with it. Sora shuddered to think what danger Locke may be facing if he were alone in another world.
"I guess we're just going to have to keep looking and hope we find him."
If they find him. Was this how it was going to be? Was Sora going to keep making friends and losing them? Like he lost Riku? Like he left behind Donald and Goofy?
There was a pat on his shoulder.
Goofy gave him a smile. "Don't look so down. We're here with ya, I know we'll find him. And our other friends too."
"Yeah," Donald added, "there's nothing the three of us can't do together."
"Your friends are correct," Kida winked. "Just like the heart of Atlantis connects all the thoughts and feelings of my people, your heart can connect you to your friends. I know you will find them."
Sora couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face.
"You're right. I don't ever want to break the bonds I make, like Rourke did"
Kida reached out and placed a crystal necklace in Sora's hand. "The light will always connect you to those you care about."
There was a glimmer from overhead.
A keyhole appeared in the air below the heart of Atlantis.
Raising his keyblade into the air, Sora locked the world. The water in the city glowed, the wilted plants rejuvenated and became lustrous, and Atlantis felt a new sense of peace.
Jiminy's Journal
Kashekim Nedakh (First Appeared in Atlantis The Lost Empire, 2001): The ancient king of Atlantis. He is now a part of the Heart of Atlantis. Though he does not trust outsiders in his city, and thinks the keyblade wielder brings nothing but ruin, he believed in Milo and Sora and begged them to save his beloved daughter, Kida.
Chapter 17: Chapter 16: Litwak's Arcade
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 16: Litwak's Arcade
Sora pressed his forehead against the cold wall of the castle. The shapes beyond the thin white wall were still blurry but, if he concentrated hard enough, he could see dark red spots outside of the castle. He looked down. There was a road leading out of the castle, but it didn't look like the strange, silver platform they had walked on before.
Donald and Goofy stood behind him in silence, but Sora didn't need to ask what was on their minds. Locke hadn't been in Atlantis, which meant that he was still in the castle somewhere.
Or so Sora hoped.
He turned around to stare at the dimensional door and pressed his teeth together in a grimace. There was still the risk of opening a door to the realm of darkness. The king of Atlantis had said that the wielder of the keyblade brings ruin. If he opened the door to darkness and let a sea of heartless escape into the worlds, then he would be doing just that.
Sora felt as though he were standing between two traps. He held the ropes that stopped the axes from falling. On one side was the fate of all the worlds, and on the other were his friends and comrades. There was no way to save one or the other without letting go of one rope.
Donald and Goofy's concerned faces caught his eye and Sora blurted out all his worries.
"Since when did you become so responsible?" Donald said.
"What does that mean?" Sora growled.
"I think he means that he's proud of ya."
"Yeah, what he said."
"Proud of me? All I'm doing is standing here without making a decision."
"But you're facing a tough decision, right?"
Donald tapped his flipper on the ground. "That means that you're becoming stronger. King Mickey has to make hard choices all the time, but we stick by those choices, right Goofy?"
"Yep. Because we know that whatever he decides to do, he thought it through to the end and we know that whatever you decide to do, you thought about it with all your heart."
Sora covered his eyes.
"You guys."
He snorted.
Donald and Goofy winked.
"I don't want to leave Locke behind," Sora admitted, "but-"
"Jeez louise, enough with the pity party. I'm going to be sick. Isn't it time you get your caboose moving? Or is talking the only thing you would be heroes can do?"
A ripple of shock zipped down Sora's spine. He knew that voice.
Donald and Goofy readied their weapons.
Like water spilling into a sinking ship, smoke leaked out of the floor in front of the castle's dimensional door. It swirled and stretched, rising higher, until it obscured the door completely. Out of the black fog, a tall man floated out. His black lips stretched, revealing a row of shark teeth, and his yellow eyes narrowed at the trio.
He floated down the stairs to stand in front of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and quirked a thin eyebrow when the trio pointed their weapons at him.
"What? Did you forget your manners? Is that how heroes say hello nowadays?"
Donald was gripping his staff so tightly, that feathers were turning red. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"Hades," Sora growled, "didn't we knock you back into the underworld where you belong?"
"Pu-lease kid. You really thought getting punted by a trio of shrimps was going to keep the Lord of the Dead down?"
"He's gotta be working with Doctor Facilier," Goofy said.
"Bingo. You know for suck a dumb looking dog, you figure things out pretty quick eh?"
"Hey! Keep your opinions to yourself!"
"Calm down, kid." Hades leaned to the side and then his entire body was floating in the air as though he were lounging on an invisible bed. "You see, I'm here to give you guys some help."
"As if we'd want any help from you!"
"Can it, unless you want to become roast duck."
"I'll show YOU roast duck!"
Donald's staff glowed a deep blue. He threw a spear of ice toward Hades' head. The Lord of the Underworld vanished and the ice shattered against the castle wall.
Hades voice echoed in the camber.
"You see, shrimps, the good doctor still needs you to do a few more things for him. And since I love a good round of revenge, I thought I'd lend him a hand."
Sora felt something grainy and cold on the back of his neck. A blast of air slammed into his back. He went flying across the room with Donald and Goofy right behind him. The castle door opened and they were swallowed by the light.
"Enjoy the ride, kiddos!"
Sora landed face first into mud. He was about to open his mouth and spit out the dirt when he realized that the mud tasted sweet. Sora licked his lips. Chocolate?
He stared at the ground. The warm, spongy material under his hands made Sora's jaw drop. Either he was re-experiencing his six year old fantasy, or the ground was actually made out of vanilla cake. As he stood up and walked around, his head whirled in what he could only describe as the scents of every single bakery known in existence hitting his nose all at once.
Just looking at the world made Sora's teeth ache. Pink cotton candy clouds floated in the mint green sky. Chocolate egg mountains rose up in the distance and he swore he saw a forest made of lollipops just beyond the audience stand.
Audience?
Tiny, stupidly adorable, lollipop, biscuit, popcorn, mint and hard candy people were waving desperately at him. He was standing on a yellow and pink fondant paved road between what looked like spectator seats made out of candy boxes.
A pair of voices shouted.
"GET OFF THE ROAD!"
Sora turned around and stared, wide eyed at the pair of walking, talking donuts that were waving at him from between the audience stands.
His fantasy was quickly turning into a nightmare. The donuts pulled out some kind of pistol and a pair of pretzel police batons from their pockets. They moved toward Sora, but the moment they put their feet on the road, something pink and glittery flew by so fast that they fell back on their non-frosted behinds.
The audience screamed, several of the mint candies covered their little, black eyes. Something purple flashed by Sora, nearly crashing into him. He watched as the purple thing careened out of control before it crashed into one of the candy audience boxes.
Racing toward the accident, Sora stared down at a go-kart made out a hodgepodge of sweets. The kart was smoking, the hood of the cart had completely collapsed, and the wheels had fallen off. A little girl in a green hoodie lay by the kart, whimpering.
Sora leaned down. "Hey! Are you okay?"
The little kid turned over and stared up. Her eyes were spinning in her head.
"Stop in the name of the law!"
The two donuts were crossing the road. Sora turned toward the girl.
"Sorry about that! Curaga!"
Green bellflowers floated over the girl, healing her bruises. The second after he had uttered the spell, Sora ducked between the audience boxes and bolted into the candyland beyond. Stopping under a candy cane tree, Sora took a moment to catch his breathe. Then a candy cane branch fell into his hair.
"Hey Sora! Get me down from here!"
Donald was hanging off a branch of the candy cane tree by the back of his shirt. He wriggled in the air, quaking angrily. With a sigh, Sora began climbing. Once Donald was free and back on the ground, Sora spotted a pair of legs sticking up from a chocolate puddle in the floor.
Donald grabbed one leg, and Sora grabbed the other. They pulled and Goofy popped out of the ground like a carrot. He whipped the chocolate off his face with his sleeve.
"Hey fellars, is it me or are we in the most delicious looking world ever."
He picked up a candy cane branch from the floor and crunched it between his teeth. A lollipop was growing like a dandelion by Donald's feet. He pulled the lolly from the ground and began munching.
"Guys!" Sora huffed. "We don't have time for sweets! We've got to find the door back to Castle Oblivion and beat information out of Hades."
"You three! Stop right there!"
"What now?" Sora groaned, turning around.
The donuts had caught up. They pointed pink pistols at the trio.
"You three are under arrest!"
"For what?" Sora smirked. "Have I robbed a bank? Stolen some dough?"
Donald and Goofy wheezed with laughter.
"Ah-yuck! Good one!"
"Sora, are you trying to get us thrown in the fryer?"
"Hey, I don't want to go to jail. It's cold in there. I don't want to get frosty."
"Yeah, Donald. Donut worry."
The tall, eclair cop with brown glaze adjusted his aviator glasses. "Oh you think that's funny? Duncan?"
The ring-shaped donut had a mustache made of frosting. When he smiled, the frosting cracked a bit. "I hope you three like sticking together."
He raised his pistol and fired. A blob of sticky, pink, strawberry scented goo slammed into Sora, Donald and Goofy, covering every part of their bodies but their heads. Sora wriggled, which turned out to be a bad idea. The goo pressed on him and seemed to get more solid the more he struggled.
"What is this stuff? Taffy?"
"Yep. Criminal proof taffy. Let's roll boys."
Eclair cop kicked the ball of taffy and Sora, Donald and Goofy yowled as the world spun.
Sora had been on some wild rides since he had left the Destiny Islands. He had surfed on some jungle vines, he had driven a space ship through fleets of heartless, he had even learned how to fly, but nothing had ever made him feel as sick as being rolled to the dungeon in a taffy ball. Wynnchel and Duncan, the two donut police officers, had thrown them into a jail cell.
Sora looked around the chocolate brick walls and door. There was a window with pretzel sticks for bars. He pulled and stretched in the taffy, but the candy had hardened. It was like being trapped in a jawbreaker.
"Give it up, Sora," Donald moaned, "it's not use."
"We can't stay stuck like this. We have to get back to Castle Oblivion as soon as possible."
"But we don't know where the door is," Goofy said.
"Stupid Hades," Donald seethed, his face turning red, "stupid taffy!"
There was a chuckle.
"Aw, poor diaper baby. Having a tantrum?"
Sora looked at the cell window. A little girl was lying down behind the bars. He recognized her. It was the girl that had almost crashed into him on the race track.
She looked completely relaxed, with her jaw in her hands and her legs kicking up behind her.
"Who are you calling a baby, you baby," Donald snapped.
The little girl rolled over, giving them an upside down smirk.
"You guys aren't from here, are ya? What game are you from?"
"Game?" Sora repeated.
"Yeah, game? You know, the world we live in? Duh. Are you usually this much of a space cadet, or are you just programmed this way?"
"Listen, kid-"
"The name's Vanellope, spike-boy."
"Spike-boy?"
"Yeah, cuz your hair looks like it could pop a balloon."
"Okay. Do you know a way to get out of this pink, taffy, thing?"
"Sure do."
"Really? How?"
"I mean I could tell you, but then what would I get out of it?"
Sora grit his teeth. He resisted the urge to retort and ask why she was so freakishly annoying, but he decided to take a deep breathe instead.
"Uh, I don't know. We'll just owe you a favor."
"What are your talents?"
"Magic," Donald said.
"Defense," Goofy added.
"And I can open pretty much any lock."
"Bingo, we have a winner!"
Vanellope rolled back over onto her feet and ran away from the window. Sora heard her muffled voice in the distance.
"Hey, ham hands! Help me with a jail break, will ya?"
A giant fist smashed through the window. Pieces of the pretzel bars and chocolate walls scattered all over the cell. Instead of dust, powdered sugar filled the air, making the cell smell dizzyingly sweet and salty. Sora, Donald and Goofy's taffy ball rolled over to the side.
The dust cleared and Vanellope popped into the cell. A giant of a man entered the room behind her, making the jail cell feel incredibly small. His huge feet appeared in front of Sora's eyes as he lifted the taffy ball up onto his shoulder.
With his free arm, he smashed another hole through the cell wall, and out they went. They stopped in a field of cake pop dandelions. The big man put down the taffy ball and then pulled his arm back.
Then he lightly punched the taffy ball and it splintered into a billion pieces.
Vanellope clapped. "Nice job."
"Ah, it's really no big deal," said the big man, "they don't call me Wreck-it-Ralph for nothing."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy stretched and rotated their joints.
"Man, I've been in some tight spots before, but nothing like that."
Donald rolled his eyes. "Enough with the puns, Sora."
It didn't take long for the two of them to start a glaring match, and while they were staring each other down, waiting for one or the other to make a wrong move, Goofy went up to Vanellope and Ralph to thank them for busting them out of jail.
"Ah, don't sweat it. Those two dough-heads will throw anyone in jail these days. Just want to feel like their doing their civic duty and all that."
Ralph frowned. "You know, kid, as president, shouldn't you have a talk with them and tell them not to abuse their power like that?"
"Yeah, I really should." Vanellope shrugged. "Aw well, maybe later. We've got a factory to bust into, remember? Hey spike-boy and duck!"
Sora and Donald stopped glaring at each other in favor of glaring at Vanellope.
"We've got names you know."
"Yeah, yeah, save the introductions for later. It's time to talk terms."
Sora squinted at Vanellope. Everything about her screamed sweetness. Her black hair was up in a ponytail and was tied with red licorice. Her hair accessories were gum drops and sprinkles. Her mint-green hoodie had strawberry string tassels, her skirt was made out of peanut butter cup wrappers, her stockings looked like green candy canes and even her boots had red frosting on the soles. So how did such a cute little girl have so much sass?
When she stood next to Ralph she looked even smaller, but Sora had no problem believing that Vanellope was a force to be reckoned with, even with Ralph standing nine feet tall next to her. He was big and beefy, with freakishly big hands and feet. His brown hair stuck up on his head. His wore a plaid, red shirt with ripped off sleeves. He seemed too big for his burgundy overalls, because one of the straps was broken.
Vanellope moved around the trio, sizing them up.
"So, you said you can pretty much open any lock? How?"
"With this!"
Vanellope's reaction to the keyblade wasn't what Sora had expected. She stared at the weapon and then at Sora with a look that said, "really?"
"I've seen some dumb video game weapons before. A sword that is way too long to reasonably exist, a shark gun, even a guy that uses a water pollo ball as a weapon. But a sword key? That's new."
"Keyblade! Wait, video game?"
Ralph and Vanellope exchanged looks.
"Did you hit your head there, professor?"
Ralph gestured to the world around them. "You know, the games in the arcade. Where we are? Did you guys just get plugged in or something?"
"Wait, you're saying we're actually in a video game? Like one of those black and white hand-held electronic toys?"
"Ah-doi there, Captain Obvious."
"Could you excuse me?"
Sora called Donald and Goofy in for a huddle.
"Okay, first off all, on the one hand, this is crazy cool! There are no games this amazing on my island! On the other hand, are there worlds within electronics?"
Donald shrugged. "The universe is huge. Anything can happen, I guess."
Goofy shrugged. "I mean is it really that strange? We've seen all kinds of crazy things on our adventure."
"This isn't the time to worry about that though." Donald said. "Remember Hades?"
"Oh yeah. We should look for him after we finish helping out Ralph and Vanellope. There's no telling what kind of damage he could do."
The meeting was over. Sora leaned down so that could look Vanellope in the eye.
"Okay. What do you need?"
Kairi wheezed. Each breathe felt as though she were inhaling fire. Across the castle throne room, Mary sat in one of her portable silver chairs, reading a book. Without looking up from her page, she waved her conductor's baton and a ball of light flew through the air. It rushed toward Kairi, ready to crash into her.
Kairi rolled to the side and felt the comet fly past her. She scrambled to her feet and chanted the spell she had been practicing.
"Thundara!"
Lightning attacked the orb of light, making it vanish.
More comets appeared, circling around her. They all attacked at once and there was no time to dodge, and no spell to counter the attack, except one.
"Reflect!"
A sphere of magic glass surrounded Kairi. The orbs hit her shield, and bounced off. Kairi let the shield drop and fried the remaining orbs with a lightning spell. She waited for another round, but instead of orbs flying at her face, she heard clapping.
"Well done, Kairi."
Mary put away her conducting baton, waved gestured for Kairi to come over.
Catching her breathe, Kairi sat down across from her teacher. There was already a cup of ice tea waiting for her. Kairi stared into the sweet, berry tea that was swirling in her mug, resisting the urge to put her head on the table and relax. She was used to waking up early, going to school, and then spending the rest of the day doing homework, or lazing off with Sora and Riku (when they were around), but Mary's teaching was nothing like going to class.
Her first lesson had nothing to do with magic. Mary had simply taken Kairi to a world inside one of the castle's paintings. There, Kairi and Mary had taken in a stroll in the country side. When Kairi tried to ask Mary what walking had to do with magic, there was a sudden rainstorm.
A few children had been out on the road, playing in the rain when a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. The children panicked. There was another lightning strike on the road, as though the storm clouds were specifically targeted the kids. Mary opened her umbrella, flew toward the children and guarded them with a reflect spell, but one of the children was too far away to be shielded.
Kairi leapt forward, grabbed the child, and waited for lightning to strike, when, to her surprise, the lightning bounced off her own reflect spell. After that, the storm vanished, and then it was just practice, practice, practice until Kairi could perform the reflect spell without even thinking about it.
It was nearly impossible to say "no" to Mary Poppins. Despite the sneaky way she taught her lessons and the hours of training she put Kairi through, she was always pleasant. There was always a break that involved treats and tea, or a moment to play a game, like flying a kite, or going horse back riding in one of the castle paintings. She even tricked Kairi into learning how to do the lightning spell by taking her out for a picnic by the lake.
Mary, Minnie, Daisy and Kairi spoke about how to contact Yen Sid, the castle's day to day activities, magic and elemental properties, and bla bla bla. After stuffing her face with picnic food, Kairi was so full, and the idle talk had gotten so boring that she had stared out into the lake water in a daze. She would have fallen asleep if it weren't for the giant crocodile that suddenly broke through the surface of the water and tried to take a bite out of their picnic.
Kairi was in such a panic that she screamed the first spell she could think of, which happened to be the last spell she had heard Minnie and Daisy talking about before she zoned out. The thunder spell smacked the crocodile across the face and it slithered back into the water.
A hand on her forehead brought Kairi back to the present.
"Hmm, you aren't ill. Well then, is there a reason you are out of sorts?"
Kairi took a sip of her tea. "I was just 'reflecting' on my lessons."
Mary didn't laugh, although her smile had a sneaky quality to it, which made Kairi wonder what kind of lesson she had planned for her next.
"So have I, and I must say you are advancing quite nicely."
"Really?" "Yes dear. You are agile and can think on your feet. Both good qualities to have for magic users." Mary took a delicate sip of her tea and then slammed down the cup in her saucer. "But it is not enough. This will never do."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Not at all."
Mary stood from the table and walked toward the middle of the audience hall. She opened her carpet bag and pulled out her umbrella, as well as a thick, heavy, black book. "Give this spell book to Majesty Minnie, would you? There should be a spell that will allow her to send messages to sorcerers."
Kairi took the book, "So we're finally going to try and contact Master Yen Sid, the man in King Mickey's letter?"
"Correct. Though there is no guarantee we will get a response." Mary opened her umbrella. "While I'm gone, practice your magic with Queen Minnie. I will see you shortly!"
With a gust of air, Mary vanished.
Vanellope and Ralph led the trio through a factory that lay at the base of some ice cream mountains. They stopped in front of a door.
Sora's heart flipped in his chest.
Black smoke oozed from the door, covering the doorknob.
Darkness.
"See behind here, is the kart making factory," Vanellope explained. "Earlier, when you decided to make the dumb decision to walk into the middle of the the race track, you made me completely wreck my kart."
Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry."
"Ralph and I came back here to get a new kart, but this weird black stuff doesn't let us go through. I think the game may be glitching again."
"That's no glitch," Sora whispered to Donald and Goofy.
"We know," they whispered back.
"Do you think it might be Hades' work?" Goofy asked.
"Or the heartless?" Donald added.
"Hey, you three got something to share with the rest of the class?" Ralph said.
Sora shook his head. "No. Anyway, you need me to open this door, right?"
Vanellope snapped her fingers. "That's the plan, key-boy. Come on, bust it open."
"I don't know if this is a good idea."
"Hey, you owe me, remember?"
"Keep an eye out for heartless," Sora whispered to Donald and Goofy.
He raised his keyblade and aimed it at the door. A beam of light disintegrated the darkness and the door opened up. Sora followed Ralph and Vanellope into a dark, circular room where every wall was covered with a red curtain.
Vanellope stepped on a red button in the center of the room and paintings of go karts lit up on the curtain. "Select your kart" was written in rainbow letters over every picture.
"Ready for the minigame Ralph?" Vanellope asked.
"Bring it on, kid."
Vanellope jumped and high-fived one of the paintings. The curtains opened up, revealing a massive bakery beyond. Some kind of long, conveyor belt, factory machine lined the wall of the huge room.
The raspy voice of an announcer boomed overhead. "Welcome to the bakery! Let's bake a car!"
"What is this? A game within a game?" Sora asked.
"It's a minigame," Ralph and Vanellope said.
"Gawrsh, this looks like fun!"
Goofy jinxed it.
A row of go-kart shaped heartless, with yellow eyes for headlights, appeared between them and the game. Above, flying cupcake-shaped heartless were twitching in the air. Sora, Donald and Goofy readied for battle.
"Ralph, Vanellope, take cover!"
A cupcake heartless flew at Vanellope. Ralph jumped in front of her and punched the heartless into nothing.
"You have one minute to win it," the announcer said.
"Ralph? What are you doing? Get her out of here!"
"We can't leave!" Vanellope shouted. "The game's already started!"
Ralph pointed to a steering wheel on top of a platform in front of the minigame. "Vanellope, play the game! I'll handle these guys."
Sora chased after Ralph. "Not alone you won't! Donald, Goofy, help Vanellope!"
"MIXING!" The announcer screamed. "Put the ingredients in the bowl and throw away the trash!"
Cupcake heartless floated over the first section of the mini game. There was a see-saw under a tube that released trash and ingredients onto it. One side of the see-saw led into a trash can and the other led into a bowl. Across the game, Vanellope was using a steering wheel to move the see-saw, trying to tip the ingredients into the bowl.
The heartless pressed down on the see-saw in the middle of the mixer, making it hard for Vanellope to move the steering wheel. One of the heartless threw a pair of underpants and a hairbrush into the bowl.
Ralph and Sora jumped up onto the see-saw. Sora hurled his keyblade at the floating heartless, smacking them away. A heartless car crashed into the base of the game's conveyer belt, making Sora and Ralph lose their balance.
"Keep the game going!" Ralph ordered before he jumped off to thrash the heartless cars below.
"Sora, cupcake at three o' clock!" Vanellope shouted. Sora turned around and smacked his keyblade at the heartless like a base ball bat. It went flying, but the game was still going.
"Oh no!" Goofy pointed. "The milk and eggs! You're going to miss them!"
From above his head, trash and ingredients kept falling. Sora pushed eggs and milk into the bowl, while kicking away fishbones and cans. He managed to get a bag of flour in the bowl as well before a heartless flew at his head and he let a pair of old socks slip through.
The bowl began to move down the conveyer belt of the bakery machine.
"BATTER UP!"
A pair of cake mixers came down and began to mix the ingredients in the bowl. From across the room, Vanellope, Donald and Goofy sprinted to the next section of the game. Down below, Ralph smashed the last heartless and chased after Sora into the next section.
"BAKING! Pump up the heat and hold the perfect temperature."
The cake bowl entered a giant, red oven. On the side of the oven there was a thermometer with markings that read, "too cold, just right, too hot." Across the room, there was a pump that was connected to the thermometer. Vanellope and Goofy worked together to push air through the pump while Donald defended them from flying heartless.
Meanwhile, flying cupcakes were slamming against the oven glass. Sora jumped up onto the oven and threw fire spells left and right, keeping the heartless away from the glass. Ralph caught up and slammed a few heartless into the ground, but he missed one. It hit the glass, making it crack. The temperature of the oven went down from "just right" to "too cold."
The timer was now down to twenty seconds.
"I got this!" Donald raised his staff. "FIRAGA!"
A fireball went through the hole in the glass and the oven dinged. "Just right."
Vanellope raced to the next section of the game. "Come on, guys! Fifteen seconds!"
A baked go kart came out of oven. It was being moved by the conveyer belt. Above it were glass candy dispensers filled with all kinds of candy and frosting.
Across the room, Donald and Vanellope fired gumdrops from a golden gun. The gumdrops hit the targets on the glass dispensers and four cake wheels fell down onto the conveyer belt where they were attached to the kart.
Too bad a bunch of heartless also appeared on the conveyer belt in front of the kart. Ralph and Sora, stood on either side of the kart, protecting it from heartless. There was only five seconds left. The last heartless neared the kart. Ralph punched it and sent it flying. It crashed into the glass candy dispensers above. The glass bottles broke, throwing all kinds of candy, sprinkles, frosting, glaze and jam all over the baked kart.
But it didn't matter. The kart made it to the other side of the conveyer belt and that was when the game announcer called out, "Time's up!"
Vanellope, Donald, Ralph, Sora and Goofy gathered in front of the garage door where the kart was supposed to come out.
"Congratulations, you did it! And here's your kart!"
The door opened up and Vanellope's kart came rolling out. It didn't look anything like the pretty and streamlined pictures they had seen back in the curtain room. Instead, the headlight gumdrops didn't match; one was white, and the other was red. The kart was covered in messy, purple and chocolate frosting with sprinkles all over it. The wheels were all mismatched biscuits with gummy worms as the tires.
Donald and Goofy hung their heads. "Sorry, Vanellope, we really tried."
"What are you talking about?" Ralph laughed.
"Yeah! It's perfect! It looks exactly like the kart I had before! I love it!"
"You do?" Sora said. "Sweet!"
Heartless popped up in the air just in time to ruin Sora's good mood.
Vanellope jumped into the driver's seat of the kart. "Get on!"
Sora, Ralph, Donald and Goofy piled up on the kart. Vanellope slammed the accelerator and they sped out of the factory. Ralph sat on the back of the kart, punching incoming heartless away while Vanellope drove.
They escaped out of the factory into the cake hills. More cupcake heartless flew at the kart from every angle. Sora and Donald knocked them back with magic, while Goofy boomeranged them with his shield.
Vanellope veered off toward a vanilla wafer bridge. Across the bridge, a giant cake rose up from the ground. Except it wasn't a cake. It was a heartless, and it's lower tier opened up to reveal a mouth with candy corn teeth. It was just waiting for them to drive right into it so that it could swallow them whole.
"Vanellope! Gun it!" Ralph yelled.
Donald quacked. "Are you crazy?"
"We're gonna get swallowed!" Goofy covered his eyes.
"Just watch! You got this, kid."
"You're dang darn right I do! Hold on!"
Vanellope pushed the kart's stick shift forward and the kart sped up toward the giant heartless cake's open mouth.
Sora fingers dug into Ralph's shoulder. The heartless' long, fruit-ribbon tongue stuck out, and Vanellope grinned.
Sora felt a weird tingly feeling, as though he had just come apart and was put back together in an instant. He patted himself down to make sure he was still whole. Then he looked around. They weren't in the gut of a giant, cake heartless. In fact they were racing away from it at top speed on the other side.
It was as though they had phased right through it.
"Wait? What happened? How did we get here?"
Vanellope laughed. "One minute I'm here, one minute I'm there! I am the greatest racer with best glitch superpower in the game!"
The kart blinked in and out, popping from one area only to reappear several paces ahead, as though Vanellope had made it jump through space. She swerved to a stop and turned around to pin Sora, Donald and Goofy with a grin.
"That was totally awesome! You guys can really fight!"
"You're not so bad, yourself," Donald said.
"Yeah! That was some fancy drivin', ah-yuck!"
Ralph raised his hand high and Sora gave him a high five.
"So," Sora began, "what do you plan to do now?"
"The race you crash landed into was postponed, so I have to go back and teach that Taffida what-for before the arcade opens."
Ralph put a hand on his head. "Oh man! It's that time already!"
"What time?" Donald asked.
"The arcade is going to open in a few hours. You guys better make sure to be back in your game before that happens."
"But we can't leave Sugar Rush just yet," Sora said.
"Right, we're looking for someone."
Vanellope shrugged. "Well, I got time. I'll drive you around."
"Thanks. But I don't want you to miss your race. Donald, Goofy and I will go our separate ways for now."
The trio got off of Vanellope's kart. Before they left, Ralph gave them a salute.
"See ya round boys! Make sure to come by the race track before the arcade opens."
"You got it."
Ralph and Vanellope rode off.
Jiminy's Journal
Hades (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): The hot-tempered Lord of the Dead, Hades is a manipulative god that who's actions are always self-serving. Sora and his friends teamed up with Hercules to put a stop of Hades' schemes back in Olympus Coliseum, but how and why is he in Castle Oblivion?
Wynnchel and Duncan (First Appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, 2012): Two donut police officers that try and keep order in their sugary video game. Wynnchel is a tall, éclair cop while Duncan is a shorter, ring shaped shaped donut. They seem to get annoyed very easily, especially at sweet puns.
Vanellope von Schweetz (First Appeared in Wrech-It Ralph, 2012): A sarcastic and mischievous little girl that can really tear up the racetrack. She also has a special glitch superpower allows her to teleport through objects and space. When not racing, you can find her goofing off with her best friend, Ralph.
Ralph (First Appeared in Wreck-It Ralphm 2012): A nine-foot-tall lumberjack that can break anything that's unlucky enough to be in front of his massive fists. Ralph is more of a laid back, gentle giant that enjoys spending time with Vanellope in her game. He doesn't seem to mind getting into all kinds of trouble.
Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Good Guys and Bad Guys
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Author's note: Let's play, "Guess the video game references/characters."
10 points to the person that figures out the REALLY obscure video game character in there.
Chapter 17: Good Guys and Bad Guys
Vanellope's game, Sugar Rush, was infuriating. Sora, Donald and Goofy scoured every inch of the sweet world, but found no clue as to whether or not Hades was around. After getting lost in a jungle with laffy-taffy vines, a swamp full of gum drops, and an ice cream sundae tundra, the trio were as sick of sweets as they were of searching.
With nothing better to do, they went back to the race track, just in time to see Vanellope cross the finish line and win first place. A blonde girl in a pink helmet came in second, and she clearly wasn't too happy at her loss because she sat in her pink go kart and cried obnoxiously.
"Oh, stop cryin' Taffida." Vanellope said as she got out of her kart. "There will always be next time. Oh wait, no there won't, because I will beat you, every time!"
Taffida sniffled through a stream of mascara blackened tears. "Whatever, Glitch. Next time, you'll eat your words."
The other racers drove off, leaving only Vanellope on the track. She drove toward Ralph and jumped up to smack his palm with a high five.
"Great job kid! Top of the roster, three days running!"
"Naturally." Vanellope winked. "The arcade is going to open soon. You'd better get going. See ya, chump!"
Vanellope drove off just as Sora, Donald and Goofy approached Ralph.
"Hey, you guys are back. Want to head back to Game Central Station together?"
"Uh, sure," Sora said. "Hey, Ralph, is it okay if we stick by in your game for a while? No one, really, uh, plays our game much, and we still have some work to do."
"Fine by me," Ralph shrugged, "come on."
Ralph led the trio up a rainbow ribbon road and into a chocolate egg mountain. Once they passed under the chocolate arch, the sugary motif was replaced by what looked like a subway station. The walls were made of metal instead of cake batter. In the middle of the room was a railway that went into a long tube made exclusively out of electrical wires.
Ralph and the trio sat down on the tram in the middle of the railway. The tram lurched and then moved smoothly through the tunnel. Sora watched the sparks fly along the wires until they stopped at another platform. Jumping off the tram, the trio followed Ralph through an arch that led into a bigger station.
Just as they passed the archway, an alarm went off, and a blue man in a security officer's uniform zapped into being.
Ralph groaned. "Come on! Again?"
"Step aside sir," said the officer, "random security check."
"Security?" Sora repeated.
The security guard clicked a pen and opened up his note pad. "I'm just a surge protecter doing my job."
"Yeah, sure you are? Why do you always stop me?"
The guard ignored Ralph's question. "Name?"
"Wreck-it Ralph."
"Where did you come from?"
"Didn't you just see me come out from Sugar Rush?"
"Where are you headed?"
"Fix-it Felix Jr. Haven't we done this enough times for you to know already?"
"Anything to declare," the surge protector continued.
"You're annoying."
"I get that a lot. Proceed."
The surge protector zapped away.
"What's his problem?" Sora huffed as he followed Ralph into a cavernous, open lobby that was labeled "Game Central station."
It didn't take long for Sora to forget the incident all together as a slew of colorful game characters drew his attention. All over the station, different game characters were moving from platform to platform. There were so many that Sora wasn't sure what, or who, to gawk at first. Tortoises with spiked shells chased after short mustached man in a red shirt and blue overalls. A kid walked by with a cute, yellow, electric mouse on his shoulder. Golfers, tennis and basketball players huddled together in a corner. A zombie with mushrooms growing out of its face walked around, making clicking sounds.
A purple dragon and golden dragonfly fly overhead. A martial artist with hair-buns was in a sparing match with muscular, four armed man with a top knot. A monkey in a red baseball cap gave a piggyback ride to his blond, ponytailed girlfriend. A redheaded woman raced by on a robot horse. A blue hedgehog zoomed by so fast, Sora almost didn't see him. A jet did a barrel roll in midair and Sora swore he saw a fox in the pilot's seat. A square, line and l-shaped block bounced on the floor. A bounty hunter with a plasma-gun for an arm walked next to an blond elf-boy with a sword and shield. A beautiful woman with a braid sat on one of the benches, polishing her two pistols. A man in army fatigues hid under a cardboard box. And finally, a young dragonmaster walked by with a white, talking, winged cat flying right behind him.
It would have been much more fun to keep staring at all the video game characters if Sora didn't realize that most of them were moving away from his group, hiding behind benches, or darting away quickly whenever they neared.
"What's the big idea?" Donald huffed. "Why are they all avoiding us? Never seen a boy, a dog, and duck before?"
'No," Ralph sighed. "It's me. This always happens."
"Why?"
"In my game, I'm the bad guy. My job is to break the building and it's Felix's job to put it back together."
"Oh, so that's why the game is called Fix-it Felix Jr."
"Yep. The people in my game have started being a little nicer to me, but most members of the arcade still think I'm nothing but a bad guy."
Sora walked backwards in front of Ralph.
"Forget those guys. We know you have good inside. You may be the bad guy in your game, but you're cool in my book."
'Here, here," Donald and Goofy added.
Ralph grinned. "Thanks, but it doesn't bother me much anymore. I don't really care what everyone thinks of me as long as I've got the coolest friend in the world waiting for me back in Sugar Rush."
"Coolest friends in the world," Sora repeated.
He stared at Donald and Goofy for a moment. If the two of them hadn't been on this journey with him, Sora was sure he never would have accomplished half the amazing feats he had set out to do. Through out all the battles and the crazy shenanigans they got themselves into, it would have meant nothing if Donald and Goofy weren't next to him. And soon, he hoped, he could share his adventures with Riku and Kairi again.
Donald caught him staring. "What are you lookin' at?"
Sora leaned forward. "You got something on your face." He flicked Donald's beak.
Donald chased Sora all the way to the tram that led to Ralph's game. Goofy eventually convinced the duck to calm down just as the tram made its stop in Fix-it Felix Jr. Ralph's game was a lot simpler then Vanellope's. Instead of an expansive, colorful country made entirely out of desserts, the game was set in perpetual night. An apartment building made out of red bricks stood tall over a perfectly trimmed lawn and flower beds.
In the sky, right in front of the apartment building was a giant, orange screen, and, on the other side of the screen, Sora could see the interior of a gaming arcade.
"Well, fellas," Ralph said. "This is it. I'm going to get into position just in case a player comes to start the game. I suggest you finish what you need to do and get back to your own game quickly."
"We will," Sora said.
Ralph went to stand next to the apartment building. Sora, Donald and Goofy checked every corner of the world for suspicious activity but were interrupted when a loud voice screamed from the sky.
"QUARTER ALERT! QUARTER ALERT!"
A child's face appeared in the screen in the sky. From his place next to the building, Ralph raised his arms and yelled. "I'm gonna wreck it!"
Ralph jumped onto the windowsills of the apartment building and began smashing the windows and the walls. The residents of the apartment building lined up in the windows and cried out.
"Fix it, Felix!"
On the other side of the apartment building, a short man in a blue, button down shirt, baseball cap and jeans raised his golden hammer in the air.
"I can fix it," he proclaimed.
On the screen, the child stuck out their tongue as they began playing the game. Felix moved from window to window, fixing broken glass with his hammer while avoiding the bricks and debris that crashed down from above. Ralph climbed higher and smashed the walls of the building with his fists.
"Wow," Sora said, "Ralph really is good at breaking stuff."
"Oh no!"
Goofy pointed to the backside of the building.
A group of monkey heartless were climbing the walls.
One of the windows blew out from the side. A resident of the apartment slammed into the grass lawn at Sora's feet. Without a second thought, Sora chanted a healing spell. He helped the resident sit up.
"Are you all right?"
"Ow," the resident rubbed his head. "What kind of monsters were those?"
"What happened?"
"I was playing the game like usual and then one of those creatures came up from behind me and blasted me out of the my apartment! Oh no!"
The resident grabbed Sora's shirt.
"You can't let those creatures appear in front of the game screen! If the players notice something wrong in the game, they might think the game is broken and we might be unplugged!"
Sora looked at the building. The side windows showed some of the residents panicking as they ran from the heartless inside their apartments. Up in front, Ralph punched a heartless into the building to keep it from appearing before the game screen. The gamer behind the screen squinted into the game, suspicious.
Even Fix-it-Felix's smile twitched nervously as he continued to be controlled by the player.
Sora, Donald and Goofy snuck behind the building, and climbed up into the holes the heartless had made when they got in. Inside one of the apartments, a resident was cowering on their couch, throwing whatever they could get their hands on at the heartless.
The monkey jumped around, knocking down all the pictures on the walls, throwing over vases, chairs, anything that wasn't pinned down. It then jumped toward the window. Donald and Goofy tackled the heartless, slamming it to the rug. Sora dashed forward to help finish the job, but another heartless appeared right behind the resident.
Sora reached out, grabbed the resident's hand and then sliced through the heartless the second she was out of the line of fire.
"Oh thank you," the resident sobbed. "There's more in the apartment across from me! You have to keep them away from the windows! We can't let the players see them!"
Sora threw open the apartment door and ran into the next unit. Donald and Goofy chased him once they had destroyed the other heartless. They split up into the different rooms. The resident in the next apartment was running around in circles inside own kitchen, ducking from the heartless that kept trying to claw him from the ceiling fan.
Sora hurled a fire spell at the fan, and the heartless fell down, bursting into flames and leaving nothing but ashes behind. He then ran into the living room to fight a group of heartless that were jumping on the couch and coffee table. Sora sliced through two of the three heartless, but one of them got near the window.
A fist from outside obliterated the heartless before it could leave the room. Ralph stuck his head in from the window.
"Sora! Quick! There's more on the penthouse floor! The player is almost there!"
Sora dashed out of the apartment and ran up the stairs. The heartless had completely trashed the upper floor. He sliced through the first round of enemies, blasted through the second, but didn't catch the next four creeping up behind him. They threw him down onto the ground. Sora rolled and slammed against the window.
The heartless nearly tumbled out, but Sora grabbed two of them by the ankles and pulled them back in the room, but with his hands full, he didn't have the keyblade to defend himself and another heartless came at him, slamming him through the open window. Sora grabbed the sill with one hand, and the tails of the monkey heartless with the other. The heartless thrashed, trying to get free.
He looked at the screen. The player didn't spot the heartless because they were hanging out of the window that was three levels above where Ralph and Felix were still playing the game. The player smiled, passing a hard round and the game screen moved up.
Ralph looked up and saw Sora and the heartless dangling from the window. He looked down. Felix was still fixing the mess two levels below. One more level up and the player would see Sora and the heartless.
"Sorry, Felix," Ralph whispered.
He brought his arms back and destroyed six windows at once. The bricks rained down on Felix, and the player was not fast enough to dodge. A brick slammed on top of Felix's cap. Felix fell over and lay flat on the window sill, holding a flower in his hands.
There was a loud, angry announcement.
"GAME OVER!"
The player on the other side of the screen threw up his hands in annoyance. Then he walked off. Sora released the heartless he was holding and let Ralph pummel them as they fell down. He breathed in a sigh of relief for all about one second before another heartless stuck its head out the windowsill he was holding onto.
A fist slammed into the heartless' face, throwing it back into the room. Ralph grabbed Sora's hood and pushed him back into the penthouse.
"Now this is one infestation that I never saw coming. Let's take them down. Jump on, kid."
Sora climbed onto Ralph's shoulders. The big man bulldozed through the heartless, tossing them up in the air where Sora sliced them in half one by one. Nearly done, Sora spotted a heartless climbing up the stairs that led to the roof. He jumped off Ralph's shoulders.
"I got the ones down here! Go get the ones on the roof!"
Ralph gave Sora a thumbs up and began climbing the stairs.
A heartless crawled up the steps, chasing Ralph. Sora hurled his keyblade at it, breaking it and part of the stairs. The rest of the heartless switched targets and Sora prepared to defend himself.
Up on the roof, Ralph destroyed the last heartless. He was about to climb back down and lend Sora, Donald and Goofy a hand when a wall of blue flames light up all the sides of the apartment building.
"What the-"
Ralph reached out to touch the door that led back down to the penthouse, but the blue flames jumped out at him, pushing him back.
"Now, slow down there big guy, or you will ruin the show," someone said.
Ralph looked around the roof and spotted a pillar of blue fire. A tall, shadowy man with a head of blue flames waltzed out of the fire.
"Who are you?"
"Hey there, the name's Hades, Lord of the Dead. Hi, how are ya doing?"
Hades extended his hand. Ralph took a step back and brought up his fists.
"You're the guy wrecking my building, aren't you?"
"Hold yer horses there, lumberjack, I haven't done nearly half as much of the destruction you have today. Yeesh! Bad move," Hades grinned wickedly, "from a bad guy."
"The real bad guy here is you!" Ralph charged forward and aimed a punch at Hades' head, but only ended up hitting the air. The blue flames surrounding the building vanished.
Hades reappeared in front of the roof access door. He opened the door and the residents of the apartment building spilled into the roof.
"Ralph! What were those creatures," said one of the residents.
"What's going on, is our game broken for real this time?"
"My apartment is in ruins!"
"Ah, you poor, poor home owners," Hades sighed.
The residents turned around and screamed.
"It must be so hard living in this world, knowing that you're only a second away from losing your home to that brute. Oi."
"What are you talking about?"
"Why those creatures of course. See, they're attracted to darkness, and what better source of darkness," Hades pointed at Ralph, "then the bad guy."
"NO!" Ralph yelled. "I didn't do anything!"
"I mean, destroying that wall so that you can hit that poor fixer-upper down there and force the player lose the game on purpose? Couldn't you think of a better way to solve the problem then to throw the game's hero under the bus? I mean bad habits die hard, right?"
"HADES!"
The Lord of the Underworld winked. "Well, I've leave these nice folks to clean up the mess. I've got some robotic bugs to go see."
He vanished.
By the time Sora, Donald and Goofy caught up to Ralph, the residents of the apartment building had already lifted Ralph up and thrown him off the roof. Ralph slammed into the mud puddle down below.
Queen Minnie placed Mary's thick textbook on the desk in the library. Kairi watched as she flipped through the pages until she found a picture of a pointy, blue hat with stars. Raising the wand in her hand, Minnie closed her eyes.
A cold breeze swept through the library. Minnie's feet left the ground. The room dimmed. A blue glow casted shadows over the books, and the air twinkled with artificial stars. Minnie twirled in place. Silver rays of light sparked out of her wand.
The rays gathered into a ribbon that slowly morphed into a glittering scroll. With her wand, Minnie wrote something on the parchment. Minnie tapped on the scroll twice. The scroll rolled itself up, flew up toward the library ceiling, and vanished.
Once Minnie's feet were back on the ground, the library had returned to normal.
"There we are. I hope the scroll reaches Master Yen Sid."
"Do you think he will know where the heartless machine is," Kairi asked.
"If anyone would have such foresight, it would be him." Minnie opened a drawer in the library desk and put away the wand. "Now then, Kairi, how are your studies going with Mary?"
Kairi fidgeted. "There aren't really any lessons. Magic just sort of happens when I'm hanging out with Mary."
Minnie giggled. "Well that's Mary for you. You can never tell what she's thinking."
"She told me to practice with you until she comes back."
"Oh my. Mary has you advancing faster then I thought if she believes you can practice with me."
Kairi blushed.
"Well, we're going to need a bigger space then this. Meet me in the throne room."
On the way to the throne room, Kairi worried about the message Queen Minnie had sent to Master Yen Sid. The queen had told her that Yen Sid was a powerful wizard that had once taught King Mickey. The only problem was that no one had heard from him in over ten years.
Kairi winced. Over ten years. That was before Hollow Bastion was taken over by the heartless. She paced in the throne room. If Yen Sid could tell her how to travel between worlds, could she travel freely to Hollow Bastion? Memories of her original world were still hazy, but just maybe...
Kairi shook her head. She needed to focus on other things. As soon as she finished her magic training, she was going to go out into the worlds and look for Sora.
The door to the throne room opened and Minnie and Daisy walked in. Minnie had exchanged her pink and red gown for a regal, red tailcoat, white skirt and boots. Her crown was replaced a pink ribbon tied behind her head. Daisy on the other hand had opted for a lavender skirt and pink dress shirt. She wore golden bracelets around her wrists.
"Wow, you two look amazing."
"Naturally," Daisy winked.
Minnie tapped her wand in her palm. "It's much easier to manage in then formal attire. Well then, shall we begin."
Daisy stretched. "Oh, I haven't had the chance to exercise in ages! This will be fun."
"You're joining too?"
"Why the surprised face? My fire magic could give Donald a run for his money. Let me just show you what I can do!"
Daisy hadn't been kidding. Within seconds she hurled several fireballs at Kairi. Jumping to the side, Kairi raised her arm and threw a water spell at Daisy. Minnie jumped in front of the duck and waved her wand. A line of pearls appeared in the air. The orbs flew through water spell, disintegrating it. Minnie summoned more pearls and it wasn't long before a dozen of them flew straight at Kairi's face.
Kairi protected herself with a reflect spell. The orbs bounced off her shield but did not vanish. Minnie conducted the light pearls around the room, making them zoom at Kairi from every angle. They broke through her shield. Soon, Kairi was dancing around orbs and fire spells, looking for an opening to attack Minnie and Daisy.
Her chance came when the two of them separated to flank her from both sides. Kairi threw a water spell at Minnie, but the mouse's body glowed with light. She raised her hand high in the air, and a whirlwind of light pushed the water back.
From behind her, Kairi felt something hot. She ducked just before Daisy's fire spell could hit the back of her head. Watching the fire spell hit the wall, Kairi remembered Oswald's words.
Imagine the sun in your chest.
Kairi concentrated, imagining the flames coming out of her body. She said the incantation, but nothing happened and she had to run to avoid getting hit by another round of spells. How was it that Minnie and Daisy could look so cute and harmless yet be completely ruthless at the same time? Kairi's back hit the wall of the throne room and she gasped. Daisy slowly approached her, a fire spell already glowing between her hands. Kairi threw up a reflect spell. The fireball crashed into her shield, but the heat of the spell passed through. The warmth sprinkled across her chest and neck.
Minnie's light orbs slammed one after the other against Kairi's shield. Cracks appeared in the reflect spell. The shield broke.
One more time.
Heat.
Campfires on the beach in Destiny Islands.
Hot sand under her toes.
Kairi raised her hand and chanted. "FIRA!"
Several balls of fire erupted from her hands. They flew outward, crashing into the light orbs. The magic exploded, and threw Kairi back into the wall, but she was too happy to care, or feel the burns on her arms.
"I did it? Yes! Oswald, I finally did it! I did a fire spell!"
Kairi wanted to cry. If only he had seen her.
Minnie and Daisy stopped their attack. They exchanged looks.
Daisy tapped her forehead. "Oswald? We never did research why that name is so familiar, now did we?"
"I vaguely remember reading that name in one of the books at the castle library."
Kairi, still celebrating, raised her arm and summoned another fire spell. The spell zoomed around the throne room. Kairi threw a water spell at it and watched gleefully as the spell vanished.
"Well done Kairi," Minnie said. She raised her wand and a healing spell sprinkled over Kairi's arm, healing the burns.
"We're not done are we?" Kairi asked. "I want to practice my new spell."
Daisy tapped her fingertips together. "Your Majesty, what do you say to a battle royal?"
Minnie giggled. "Oh I haven't this kind of fun in ages. Now, Kairi, the key to light magic is..."
"Oh my land! Ralph, what happened? Are you all right?"
Ralph picked himself up from the mud puddle and stared sadly at Felix.
"You'd better stay away from me, Felix, before I throw another pile of bricks at you."
"But that wasn't your fault! If you hadn't made that quick decision, the gamer would have spotted those monsters and would have reported our game as out of order."
"That's not how the nicelanders see it."
Speak of the devil.
The nicelanders all piled out of the building and swarmed Felix.
"Get away from him, Felix, before he ruins another good thing."
"Lucy, if you would please calm down and listen to what Ralph has to say."
"But Felix, we should have known he would revert to his old ways sooner or later."
'That's enough!"
Sora, Donald and Goofy squeezed through the nicelanders to stand between them and Ralph.
Sora spread his arms wide. "You big jerks! Ralph's quick thinking is what saved your game!"
"And where did those creatures come from huh? No one here has any darkness. Of course they would be attracted to the bad guy."
Donald stomped his flipper. "That's not true!"
"Ralph may be the bad guy of this game, but there's not a single shred of darkness in him," Goofy said.
"Yeah, he even fought the heartless off for all of you."
The nicelanders were done listening. One of them even stuck his nose in the air at Sora's words. They turned to Felix.
"How much hammering is going to fix this mess?"
Felix looked up at the building and sighed. All the windows were broken. So many of the walls had collapsed inward that it was a wonder the building was still standing. To top if off, the broken pipes leaked water into the units, flooding the already messy floors.
"I'd better start fixing all that before we get mold. You all go back to your apartments. I'll start at the ground floor and work my way up."
The nicelanders all went into the building. Felix turned around to face Ralph.
"Let me talk to them. I think they're just stressed from everything that happened today."
"Why bother," Ralph stomped away, "they'll just start treating me like a disease again."
Felix ran after Ralph.
"Listen, you're an integral part of this game. Logically, it makes no sense that you would try to ruin it on purpose. This is your home too. I think today's events just made the nicelanders want someone to blame. Don't lose hope, okay."
Ralph stopped. "Fine. I'll do it for you Felix. Thanks for vouching for me. And you guys," Ralph pointed at Sora, Donald and Goofy, "that was really nice of you, thanks."
Sora grinned. "Anytime."
Felix ran back to the building and it wasn't long before the windows and the broken walls on the bottom floor were magically fixed thanks to Felix's golden hammer. Ralph watched Felix work before he walked toward the tram that led back to Game Central Station.
Sora fell into step next to Ralph.
"What happened up there?"
"Some wierdo who calls himself the King of the Underworld, that's what."
Donald quacked. "That's Hades!"
"Gawrsh, he IS here."
"You know him?"
Sora's eyes narrowed. "Let's just say that he's from our game and unlike you, he's not a bad guy because it's his job. He's a bonafied villain."
"Why would he want to destroy my game?"
"We don't know, but we have to stop him."
"Already on it, kid." Ralph sat down on the tram. "That Hades fella mentioned something about robot bugs. There's only one game in the arcade that has that. Strap in boys, we're going to go talk to Felix's wife."
Kairi stretched her sore muscles, enjoying the feeling of the cool lawn grass under her arms and legs. Too bad the relaxed feeling of the topiary garden only added to her boredom. It had been days since Mary Poppins had left. Once her daily sparring matches with Minnie and Daisy were over, Kairi had way too much free time. Minnie and Daisy had royal duties and could only spare time in the morning to train her.
It was like being back at the islands. Day after day, she would go to school, come back home, miss Sora and Riku, worry about Sora and Riku, play half hearted games with Selphie, Tidus and Wakka, and then spend the rest of her nights doing absolutely nothing, except maybe homework. Never in her life had she wished she had something to actually do!
Wish granted. Mary's face appeared overhead.
"Taking a nap?" she said.
Kairi stood. "No, I was just, uh..."
"I heard you have indeed been practicing with Majesty Minnie. Brave of you. She doesn't hold back."
Kairi blushed.
"Well, since you seem perfectly rested, would you like to continue your studies?"
"Yes, please!"
"Good."
Mary moved toward the topiary castle in the garden and waved someone over. Kairi heard the clacking of armor. A castle guard Kairi had never seen before walked into to the garden. He bowed to Mary Poppins.
"Young man, take that helmet off, spit spot. We don't cover our faces when introducing ourselves."
The guard flinched. "Sorry."
He pulled off his helmet.
Kairi stared. "No way. Don't tell me!"
The young dog looked at her with a confused expression. "Uh, what?
Kairi pointed at the two buck teeth sticking out from under the boy's lips.
"You're totally Goofy's son! You have to be!"
The boy's eyes got wide. "Wait, you know my dad?"
Mary cleared her throat. "Well, let me be the one to introduce you two. Kairi, this is Maximilian Goof."
"Just Max is fine."
"He's going to be your sword instructor."
"What? Sword instructor?"
"Dear girl, what did you think those two gauntlets were for?"
Jiminy's Journal
Fix-it Felix Jr (First Appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, 2012): The titular hero of the Fix-it Felix Jr. video game. It's Felix's job to fix what Ralph wrecks and, with his magic golden hammer, he is more then equipped to do just that. Felix is easy going and an all around nice person. He treats Ralph with more respect then the residents of the apartment building Ralph routinely has to destroy.
The surge-protector (First Appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, 2012): The security guard that patrols Game Central Station for suspicious behavior. He seems to have it in for Ralph.
Chapter 19: Chapter 18: A Hero's Duty
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 18: A Hero's Duty
The arcade was still in full swing when Ralph and the trio made it to Game Central Station. The empty terminals didn't stop the surge protector from stopping Ralph when he walked out of Fix-it-Felix Jr, and then again in front of the other terminal that led into a game labeled Hero's Duty.
After a round of annoying questions, Ralph, Sora, Donald and Goofy boarded a bullet train that led them into a military base. Big, beefy soldiers ran around the base in a panic. Their thick, metal and cybernetic armor didn't seem to slow them down. The soldiers ran into a smokey room where a red alert was flashing. A voice boomed throughout the base.
"QUARTER ALERT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. QUARTER ALERT."
One of the soldiers ran by the bullet train and then skit to a stop, aiming his lazer rifle at Ralph.
"What are you doing here? You know Sergeant Calhoun's orders: no more game jumping during work hours."
Ralph put up his hands. "I'm not here to game jump or take over the game, I just want to talk to Calhoun."
There was another alarm. The automated doors of the smoky room had begun to close.
"Oh no! The player has started round two! I have to go." The soldier pointed at the train. "Go back to your own game! You can talk to the sergeant after the arcade closes."
Sora watched the soldiers rush into the room, desperately preparing their rifles for battle.
"Is this place always in such a panic?"
"This is one of the more violent and scary games in the arcade." Ralph put his hands in his pockets. "Guess we just have to wait until the player gets a 'game over' before we can talk to Calhoun."
Donald paced about the room, looking at the old, scratched machinery and the big, red buttons and levers along the wall that had the words, "warning," and, "pull in case of emergency" written above them. Thick wires were built into the walls of the base. The bolted doors that led into the game were reinforced with steel clamps on each side to lock them shut.
Donald couldn't help going up to one of the doors and knocking on the metal. Something knocked back from the other side. Donald took a step back. The knock turned into a bang. The door burst apart.
A giant, four-eyed, beetle monster with metal armor, neon-green wings and a glowing tail buzzed into the room. It pounced on Donald, the pincers around its mouth opening wide.
Ralph was the first to react. He darted forward, punching the creature off Donald. The giant bug slammed against the metal door, but it recovered quickly and flew toward the bullet train. Ralph tried to jump on the bug, but despite its size, the bug was fast. It neared the tunnel that led back to Game Central Station.
"Sora, don't let that thing leave this game!"
Climbing on top of the bullet train, Sora managed to grab the bug's glowing tail. It didn't take long for Sora to realize that he was no match for the bug's strength. His feet slid along the roof of the train and he would have been pulled off his feet if Goofy hadn't grabbed his waist and pulled him back.
While Sora and Goofy played tug of war with the bug, Ralph grabbed Donald, put the duck on his shoulders, and jumped up into the air above the train. From above, Donald sent a fire spell that slammed into the bug's wings, pushing it down. Sora and Goofy jumped out of the way. Ralph came down on the bug with his fists, crushing the bug into the roof of the train.
The bug burst into mist and the number 100 appeared in the air for a second. The mist cleared, and all that was left of the bug was the dent on the bullet train.
Ralph shook his fists. "That was close!"
Donald jumped off Ralph's shoulders and nudged the dent with his foot. "What was that?"
"A cy-bug. And they're bad news. If even one of those monsters gets out into another game, the entire arcade could be in jeopardy. They're like a virus. They don't know they're in a game. All they know is to multiply and destroy. Sugar Rush was almost unplugged because of these things." Ralph stared at the door the bug had burst through with wide eyes. "Wait a minute? How did one of these things escape?"
"Gee, do you think the soldiers might be in trouble?"
Sora jumped off the train. "Let's go check."
Ralph broke down the door that led deeper into the game. As the party rushed inside, the soldiers shouted.
"Beacon up! Beacon up!"
They ran out of the military base and onto a bleak, harsh, war torn landscape. The dark sky could barely be seen through the mist in the atmosphere. Sharp spearheads of rock rose up from the ground. The world was unfit for life to grow, and in the distance, a single, cold, steel tower looked down over the black and grey battlefield.
Light shot up into the sky from the top of the tower. Swarms of cy-bugs flew toward the light, where they were vaporized the instant they touched it. The soldiers didn't pay any attention to the beacon. They raced passed Sora, Donald, Goofy and Ralph, back into the military base.
A tall, slender woman stomped toward the party. Her blond, bob-cut hair stuck out in the dark blues and shades of grey in the surrounding area. She tilted her head to the side, moving the long bangs out of her eyes, allowing her to glare daggers at Ralph.
"Wreck-it, what the H-E-double hockey sticks are you doing here?"
Ralph stammered, "Well, we needed to..."
The woman bumped Ralph's shoulder as she passed him. "I don't have time for your blubbering, princess. A cy-bug broke out of the containment area."
"Don't worry about that," Sora said, "we already took care of it."
When the woman turned around to pin Sora with a tough, no-nonsense look, he wished he hadn't opened his big mouth. Her athletic build and the red and black cybernetic armor she wore made Sora feel like she could beat him with nothing but her pinky finger.
"Who are you?"
"We're Sora, Donald and Goofy, um, ma'am."
"That's Sergeant Calhoun to you, small-fry." The woman narrowed her eyes at Ralph. "What, you're a tour guide now? I thought we agreed that there would be no more game jumping during the arcade's open hours and here you are bringing these rookies in? You know how dangerous this game is!"
"But I have something important to ask you!"
"I don't have time for this. Another player could start a new game any minute and now I have some weird creatures to worry about."
Sora jumped in Calhoun's way. "Wait. These creatures, do they have these red, heart-shaped emblems on their bodies?"
"Yes. And it's thanks to those things that one of the cy-bugs got away. Now I have to spare the manpower to keep an eye out for those creatures before either the gamer realizes something is wrong or the cy-bugs get loose and destroy everything they touch. You three," she snapped, making Sora, Donald and Goofy stand stiff, "explain your objective. How do you know about those creatures?"
"They're from, uh, our game. Let us help you fight them."
"Negative. If the players see you, they could think our game is broken. The four of you stick out like vegetables on a chocolate cake."
"But we can help you! Let us keep those heartless out of your way so that your game can run smoothly!"
Ralph put up his hands. "He's right. You don't want another cy-bug escaping because of those things do you?"
Calhoun pinned each one of them with a searing glare. Finally she sighed. "Fine! Just stay out of sight of the first person shooter. If the players see you, we're as good as unplugged."
Another quarter alert shook the base. Calhoun reached up behind her back and pulled out a massive lazer rifle, one that was half her height in length. She checked her weapon and then called out to her soldiers.
"All right ladies, back to start positions!"
Ralph and the trio followed the soldiers back into the deployment room. The automated doors closed up behind them. The room glowed with a red alert.
A robot with a screen for a head drove by. Words and numbers flashed on the robot's screen: game start in ten...nine...
"First person shooter coming through," the soldiers shouted, moving out of the way of the robot.
Calhoun tilted her head toward Ralph and the others.
"Keep those creatures under control. You have your orders!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Sora, Donald, Goofy and Ralph made sure to stay behind the robot as they stood in the tight space of the deployment room.
"We are humanity's last hope," Calhoun spoke to the first person shooter. "Our mission: destroy all cy-bugs. Are you ready rookie? Let's find out."
The automated doors behind Calhoun opened up. Cy-bugs filled the war zone behind her. Calhoun ran out into the swarm. The first person shooter followed her. The soldiers charged, shooting at the cy-bugs in the air.
Ralph ran in, punching and stomping down on any cy-bug that was on the ground. Sora, Donald and Goofy followed his lead, ripping through the bugs with no mercy while keeping an eye out for heartless.
A shadow moved on the floor where it wasn't supposed to be. Sora spotted it moving toward one of the soldiers. The man was too busy busting up cy-bugs with his lazer-gun to notice the heartless sneak up between his legs. Hands shot out from the ground, and in the next second, the mole heartless had made the soldier lose his balance.
A cy-bug flew down at the soldier. Its mouth opened, the razors in the bug's stomach rotating like a blender, ready to shred the man into pieces. Sora threw a blizzard spell at the bug's head and it knocked the beetle back, giving him enough time to slide by the man's legs and slash the heartless.
The guard took his chance and shot the cy-bug while it was still confused. The bug blew up into a hundred points.
"Thanks," the soldier said to Sora.
There was no time to talk. More mole heartless appeared in front of the door that led back into the base. The monkey heartless that had spawned in Fix-it-Felix Jr. also appeared by the door.
"Don't worry about the cy-bugs," the soldier said, "we can handle them. Make sure none of those creatures weakens the door." He roared back into battle, toward Calhoun and the first person shooter.
"Sora, let's split up," Goofy said. "Donald and I will protect the doors! You and Ralph make sure none of the heartless appear in front of the first person shooter."
"Got it! Ralph, let's go."
Never before had Sora wished that the player would hurry up and lose the game. He and Ralph punched and sliced through heartless and cy-bugs alike, ducking and jumping around the first person shooter's vision. The soldiers doubled down, helping Sora and Ralph fight. Even Calhoun took shots at the heartless when the first person shooter wasn't looking. The swarm was getting worse, the gamer had almost made it to the tower to get to the next level of the game.
A heartless appeared right behind the first person shooter and clawed at the machine. Calhoun jumped over the robot and shot the heartless before it could be seen by the player, but that left the first person shooter wide open from the front. A mole heartless was already on the attack.
Ralph spotted the heartless moving in the dirt and did the first thing he could think of. He picked up Sora by the scruff of the boy's neck and said, "I hope you can make this shot kid."
"I got it, just throw me!"
Ralph hurled Sora through the air. He flew toward the first person shooter and pushed it down, blocking out the screen for a second in order to slice the heartless on the ground. The robot got up and moved toward the tower just as Sora was out of sight.
Almost there. The first person shooter's line of sight was smaller. There was more space to maneuver. The soldiers, Sora and Ralph all ran forward, taking down heartless and cy-bugs. The player entered the building.
The level was over. A light shot out from the top of the tower.
"Beacon up!"
All the cy-bugs' eyes widened and filled with a blue glow. They moved toward the light as though they were in a trance, but there were still heartless on the ground to deal with. Calhoun worked with Sora, Ralph and the soldiers to take care of them. When the battle was finally one, Calhoun rested her lazer-gun against her shoulder and smiled for the first time.
"Nice work, rookie."
Sora straightened. "Thanks, ma'am."
"At ease, soldier. And Ralph, I've got to hand it to you, that was some fighting."
"Thanks. Do you think you have time to talk now?"
"Sure thing. Let me get my men in position in case the gamer loses and then we'll talk. Head back toward the base."
When Ralph and Sora met back up with Donald and Goofy, they were relieved to know that none of the cy-bugs had breached the base. By the time Calhoun came back, the gamer had won the final level and the game had reset. The soldiers all went back to their starting positions. Some of them even gave Sora and Ralph a fist bump as they passed by.
Then the party was alone with Calhoun outside the base.
"You said you needed to talk about something important?"
"Fix-it-Felix Jr. was attacked by those monsters earlier," Ralph explained.
A flicker of worry crossed Calhoun's face. "I see. What's the status of the game?"
"Don't worry. Felix is fine."
"Good."
Ralph explained about Hades and how he suspected that the Lord of the Dead may be coming to Hero's Duty.
"I haven't seen anyone matching your description, but I will keep my men informed. We'll find that son of a gun and beat him senseless."
"Aw, aren't I popular."
Hades popped out of a cloud of smoke behind Calhoun. The sergeant didn't miss a beat. Immediately she turned and aimed her rifle at him. Without hesitating, she fired. Hades snapped his fingers at the same time. He vanished into smoke and then reappeared in front of the base door.
"I gotta say, that was quite a show back there, but did any of you lamebrains think to check inside the tower?"
Calhoun growled. "What?"
Hades brought something out from behind his back. It was a glowing, neon-green egg.
"No!"
The egg hatched, and a tiny cy-bug popped out. Calhoun shot at Hades' hand, but he raised his arm. The laser missed.
"Is it true," Hades said, "that these monsters become what they eat?"
A mole heartless appeared in Hades' other hand. The cy-bug jumped at it and swallowed it whole. It began to mutate, turning from a metal beetle into a smoky bug with six yellow eyes. The pincers around its mouth elongated, thorns grew out of its exoskeleton.
"Now there's a good cy-heartless," Hades cooed. "I know just the sweet treats to get you growing big and strong. Smell ya later, zeroes."
Hades and the cy-bug vanished.
Ralph raced ahead of Sora, Donald, Goofy, Calhoun and Felix into the archway that led into Sugar Rush. Sora was one step into the game before a concussive blast nearly blew out his ear drums. He fell backward into Donald and Goofy, knocking his friends over like a bowling pins. Behind them, Calhoun held Felix's hand, keeping him steady.
Chunks of rock sugar, candy dust, and smoking cookie crumbs burned and itched on his skin. Sora had to cover his eyes when he wobbled to stand behind Ralph. The big man's back shielded him from the debris, but the aftershock of the explosion still made Sora's knees buckle.
Ralph's voice trembled. "Oh no."
"What is it?"
Ralph pointed.
Sora moved around him to stare out into the horizon of Sugar Rush. In the distance, what looked like a giant soda bottle mountain was burning. Green smoke and melted sugar blasted out of the sides of the bottle, sending boiling, hot soda over the cake and ice cream environment. Hot coals rained down from the sky, leaving steaming craters all over the world.
The bottom of the coke bottle blew open. This time, the resulting shock wave nearly threw everyone off the bridge. Sora swallowed hard at the sight of millions of cy-bug heartless flying up from the wreckage at the base of the cola bottle.
Calhoun growled. "Doomsday and Armageddon just had a baby and it is ugly."
Felix took off his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow. "How did the cy-bugs multiply this quickly!"
"It must be the effect of the heartless," Sora said.
Ralph turned around sharply, his face ashen. "That was diet cola mountain. If that's destroyed then-" Ralph ran down the rainbow bridge. "We have to evacuate the game!"
"Way ahead of ya! Felix, hop on!"
Felix jumped onto Calhoun's hoverboard and the two of them flew down into the race track. With Calhoun controlling the hoverboard, Felix shot green lazer blasts up in the air, blowing up the comets that were raining from the diet cola mountain's eruption.
Sora, Donald and Goofy sprinted to the race track.
The denizens of Sugar Rush were in a state of total panic. Several candy people ran by the trio, and they were the lucky ones. In seconds, the cy-bug heartless crashed down from the sky and began picking off racers and candy people alike. One of the donut cops flew over Sora's head. He flailed wildly in the air and shot the bug-heartless with one of his taffy guns.
Bad idea.
The taffy weighed the bug down and then both it and the police officer were plummeting to the ground. Sora jumped, and managed to wrap his arms around the cop. They landed in Donald and Goofy's arms.
"Thanks kid," the éclair cop panted when Sora put him down.
"You can thank me by helping us evacuate!"
"On it! Move it, people, let's go!"
Calhoun and Felix flew overhead. "Get to the track," they shouted.
Ralph was down by the finish line, flipping over the carts and rescuing the trapped racers. The kids ran the moment they were free, but Vanellope was no where in sight. Ralph grabbed a racer with a candle on her head.
"Vanellope, have you seen her?"
"Her cart got blasted in the direction of the taffy swamp when the explosion happened. That's all I know, I swear!"
"What? I'm not going to hurt-you know what, forget it. Get out of here!"
The racer joined the other evacuees while Sora, Donald and Goofy chased after Ralph.
"We're going with you!"
But Ralph was already running off and a dozen bug-heartless hovered by the trio. They began to terrorize the citizens. Ralph disappeared into the chaos while Sora, Donald and Goofy had no choice but to fight.
Ralph's lungs felt as though they would burst. But he would not stop. He raced into the candy cane forest.
Vanellope.
He had to find Vanellope.
They had to escape the game.
He dodged chocolate meteors that rained down from the sky. He pummeled any cy-bug heartless that was stupid enough to get in his way.
Keep running.
Don't stop.
Find her!
The sugar particles burned his dry throat like acid. Just ahead, green lakes of taffy bubbled under the trunks of the candy cane trees. Something purple was sticking up from the swamp water.
Ralph skid to a stop, grabbed the purple thing and pulled it out. It was Vanellope's kart. He jumped into the swamp, searching, begging, wading through the thick syrup of the taffy. When he came up for air, he heard a voice that twisted his guts.
"Now this is what I call a party! If this were my place, my Underworld would be so full, there would be no standing room."
Ralph wiped off the taffy from his face so he could bare his teeth at Hades.
"You, turbo fire-headed piece of dirt! Where's Vanellope?"
Ralph charged, and threw a punch at Hades, but the slippery villain vanished into a cloud of black smoke.
"For a bad guy, you really do care about that annoying ankle bitter."
Ralph followed the voice and spotted Hades lounging on one of the candy-cane branches above.
"Do you really think she could be a friends with a bad guy like you? I mean, you almost destroyed her game once, right?"
Ralph roared.
He jumped and couldn't wait for his fist to smash in Hade's smug face.
"Whoa, now hold yer horses there."
Hades snapped his fingers, and Vanellope appeared between him and Ralph's fist.
Ralph's fury evaporated, his fist stopped millimeters away from Vanellope's nose. He fell down into the swamp.
"Ralph!" Vanellope called. She kicked the air in front of Hades' face.
"Put me down, fart-head, before I blow out that flame like a sad birthday cake candle!"
"Ugh, see this is why I don't like kids."
Down below Ralph sputtered out of the taffy.
"Please," he begged, "let her go."
Hades shrugged. "Okay."
Vanellope fell.
A cy-bug heartless plucked her out of the air.
"NO!"
The bug rose up into the sky.
Ralph jumped from tree branch to tree branch, trying to reach Vanellope. She glitched out of the heartless' hold, only to be grabbed by another one.
Just a little higher.
Just one more jump and Ralph would be close enough to help her.
Hades appeared in his way.
"Let's see you dodge this one."
Hades snapped his hands. Balls of fire appeared all around Vanellope.
Hades reached out, and flicked Ralph on the nose.
As Ralph plummeted, he saw the fireballs, and the heartless converge on Vanellope.
There was an explosion.
Sora, Donald and Goofy watched as something fiery burst above the forest straight ahead. Seconds after the blast, something green flashed in the sky for a moment. Then Vanellope appeared out of thin air. She landed in a heap on the ground, out cold.
Sora, Donald and Goofy caught up to her. Vanellope wobbled, but was able to stand. Panting, she grabbed Sora's wrist to steady herself.
"I don't I've ever glitched like that before!"
"What happened?"
Vanellope's face turned red. "That stupid fart-head is still bullying Ralph! We've got to back and save him!"
They found Ralph standing in front of the taffy swamp. His back was turned, and he was holding completely still. Vanellope moved toward him, but Sora grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
Darkness wafted out of Ralph's shoulders. The plaid on his red shirt blackened. When he turned around, his arms hung limply in front of him, his eyes glowed yellow, and his skin darkened to a dusty grey.
Someone clapped.
"I got to hand it to ya kid. Thought for sure that last attack would ice a little squirt like you. Doesn't matter though."
Hades appeared next to Ralph.
Vanellope shook. "You! What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything. In fact, you did, kid."
"What are you talking about?"
"Poor Wreck-it Ralph. All he ever wanted was a friend. And when he thought that his best friend was lost, well, it was just the perfect condition for darkness to seep in."
Vanellope glitched forward, appearing in front of Ralph.
"I'm fine? See? It'll take more then some lame fireballs and bugs to stop me."
She reached out and tried to hold Ralph's hand.
Ralph's fist flashed forward, pounding the dirt.
Sora's heart wrenched. "Vanellope!"
She glitched and appeared on the ground in front of him.
"Nice try kid."
Black smoke obscured Ralph and Hades. As they vanished, Hades' laughter hung heavy in the air.
Not wasting any time, Vanellope ran toward her kart, which was still laying on its side next to the taffy swamp. She pushed the kart over got into the driver's seat.
"Get on! I'm going to pound that blue moron, if it's the last thing I do! No one messes with my friends!"
As soon as the trio piled onto her kart, Vanellope was speeding through the pandemonium. She glitched through obstructions and ran over any heartless in her way, while Sora and Donald provided cover from the cy-bugs above.
Driving by the track, Vanellope veered off from the road that led out of the game. Before Sora could even ask what she was doing, he saw Ralph standing under the finish line, attacking Felix and Calhoun.
Vanellope stood up on her kart while it was still moving. She jumped, and glitched onto Ralph's back. Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped off the kart just in time to watch it crash into Vanellope and Ralph.
The attack wasn't slowing down Ralph's frenzy. He lunged and tried to throttle Calhoun and Felix, while Vanellope hung on, begging him to snap out of it.
Felix barely ducked a boulder that was thrown at his head. "Ralph, what's gotten into you?"
Calhoun rushed Ralph and managed to knock him over. Sora, Donald and Goofy grabbed the big man's arms and legs, trying to hold him down. It was like trying to stop an incoming train with pure will alone. Ralph thrashed and before long Sora was out of breathe with the effort of restraining him.
Felix climbed onto Ralph's chest and tapped him with his golden hammer. For a split second, Ralph stopped moving. Then he bucked, throwing Felix off. Calhoun tried to help wrestle Ralph down, but it was no use. Ralph was seconds away from throwing them all off. Worse, they were sitting ducks. All it would take was one cy-heartless to come crashing down and it was game over.
Hades appeared and Sora would have roared with frustration if he wasn't using all his strength to hold Ralph still.
"You know, I hate to say it, but I'm kind of getting bored. I mean this kind of destruction is great and all, but I really wish I was dishing it out back home at Herc-the-jerk."
"Hey, Lord of the Underpants! No one asked for your garbage opinion," Vanellope snapped.
Hades flicked something out of his ear. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Are you so stupid that your ears went numb for a second there?"
Hades' blue flaming hair, burned red for a second. "You little." He sighed, his flame cooling down. "You know what, kid-"
"You know what kid," Vanellope repeated in an annoying voice.
"Are you mimicking me?"
"No, genius, I'm complimented your mom."
"Hey Hades," Donald snapped, "why don't go back to the hole you came from?"
"Yeah, if you haven't noticed," Sora grunted, "we're kind of busy here. Go annoy someone else."
Hades burst into red flames.
"How about I solve your problem by burning all of you at once!"
A pillar of fire burst out from the ground. It moved toward Ralph, leaving Sora and the others no choice but to let him go and dodge. The flames threw Ralph back and he crashed into the audience stands.
"Felix, Calhoun, Vanellope. Take care of Ralph. We'll handle Hades."
For all the adrenaline rushing through Sora's veins, he wasn't quite sure how he was going to fight Hades with the swarm flying overhead. He didn't have too much time to think about it because Hades started chucking flaming balls of magma at them. Sora and Donald dodged while Goofy blocked with his shield. Goofy raced toward Hades while Sora and Donald flanked him, shooting out blizzard spells.
Hades grinned, disappearing just at the right moment. The two blizzard spells hit each other and the blast sent Sora, Donald and Goofy flying. Hades appeared in the air above them, and readied another fireball.
Something green flashed, and in the next second, Vanellope glitched behind Hades and dropped her kart right on his head. Hades fell forward, the kart bouncing off him and crashing on the ground. He was wide open. Sora smacked his keyblade across his face. Goofy threw Donald in the air and the duck slammed three blizzard spells down on Hades' back.
Hades burst into flames, the fire pushing back the trio. He spread his arms wide, and pillars of fire burst out from his fingers. A giant scoop of ice cream came plummeting down from the sky. It squished Hades, leaving a steaming pile of cream where the fiery god had been moments before.
"Why don't you cool off," Vanellope said as she glitched back down on the ground.
Hades burst out of the ice cream. His eyes, his hair, and even his shoulders burned red with flames. Then he simply laughed.
"Cool off? Think I will." He snapped his fingers.
Thousands of the cy-bug heartless flew down from the swarm above.
"You know what, I'm get tired of this show. Think I'll just let the swarm take care of the rest. Ta-ta!"
Hades vanished into the swarm.
Sora ducked as cy-heartless rained down from the sky. He sliced through one wave of heartless before something slammed into him from behind. In the next second, Sora was on the ground with a cy-heartless hovering over him. He tried to attack with his keyblade, but the heartless clamped down on the weapon with its pincered mouth.
Donald and Goofy were busy, each fighting their own dozen heartless. Vanellope could only glitch and escape, and Sora looked into the mouth of the heartless as it tried to swallow him whole.
Something black and grey bulldozed into the heartless, knocking it off Sora. Standing back up, Sora watched Ralph stomp the heartless into the ground. His target defeated, he turned and charged at Sora.
Sora raised his keyblade, preparing to defend. Vanellope glitched onto Ralph's back.
Ralph stopped and tried to buck Vanellope off.
"You're not a villain, Ralph," Vanellope cried, "don't let that fart-head turn you into one!"
Ralph stilled.
Sora raised his keyblade.
"I hate to do this Ralph!"
He shot out a blast of light that threw Ralph back toward the stands on the other side of the race track. Vanellope glitched back to stand next to Sora.
"Do you think that did it?"
Her question wasn't answered, because in the next moment another cy-heartless came hissing down at their heads. A lazer blast shot through the air, making the heartless explode. Calhoun and Felix ran toward Ralph.
"Come on," Felix said, "I think I know of a way to fix him!"
Donald and Goofy joined the group.
"Sora, remember what Alice did," Donald said.
Supply the light.
It was Ralph's only chance.
Sora ran into the stands where Ralph crashed. The big man lay there, his yellow eyes, glowing and wide, staring up into the sky. He twitched as though he were regaining his strength.
Vanellope jumped in, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Come on, stink-brain, I know you're in there!"
"Wake up, soldier," Calhoun demanded.
Felix tapped Ralph with his golden hammer.
"Come on, brother, it can't end here!"
The hammer's hits send ripples of golden light through Ralph, pushing away the ashen grey tone from his skin for a few seconds. But the darkness ran deep and soon Ralph was steaming in it.
Sora gathered light in his keyblade.
"Don't stop talking to him, don't stop hitting him."
Felix bonked Ralph on top of the head.
Vanellope reached into Ralph's shirt and pulled out a heart-shaped, cookie necklace. "You're my hero, remember?"
Ralph stilled.
Sora pressed his keyblade above Ralph's heart. With one more gentle tap from Felix's hammer, light spread across Ralph's body. The ashy grey color peeled away from his skin. His shirt and pants lit up with the color red, and with one blink of his eyes, he was back to normal.
Vanellope threw her fist in the air. "Yeah!"
Ralph's eyes filled up. "Kid! You're okay!"
Calhoun's rough voice interrupted them. "Move it, people! Save the reunion for later!"
Grabbing Vanellope, Ralph rolled out of the way of an the incoming heartless. Then he jumped and slammed the heartless into the dirt, obliterating it. The entire party was thrown back into battle. Yet, even with Ralph's help, there was no way they could take down the whole swarm. It ended with all seven of them in a circle, back to back, panting.
Donald looked at Sora with dull, exhausted eyes.
"Sora! We can't possibly take down millions of these things!"
"We have to leave the game and blow up the exit," Calhoun said. "It our only choice."
"But what about the game," Sora said.
"Diet cola mountain was destroyed," Ralph said. "There's no beacon to draw the cy-bugs."
Sora remembered the pillar of light that appeared above the tower in Hero's Duty.
"I won't leave this game behind to be destroyed."
"Like fun you are, rookie! Cy-bugs were already bad enough without the extra darkness. We have to destroy the game to save the rest of the arcade."
"I can make a beacon of light."
"There's no way you can make one big enough."
"Not alone, I can't."
Sora looked at Donald and Goofy. "We've faced worse, right?"
Goody winked. "Sure have."
"Wait! Sora, do you still have that piece of glass that Merida's mom gave you?"
Sora dug into his pocket and pulled out the stained glass piece. Donald braced Sora's leg, Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders.
Vanellope raised an eyebrow. "You guys are going to save my game with that tiny thing?"
"All I need you guys to do is to is give me your strength."
Ralph bent and picked up Sora, Donald and Goofy, balancing the trio on his broad shoulders.
"You heard the man, let's do this!"
Vanellope jumped up onto Sora's shoulder.
Felix and Calhoun held hands and then stood back to back with Ralph.
The heartless must have sensed a threat coming because they came down on them like a million comets. Calhoun shot in the air, Donald protected them with a aero spell.
"Sora," Felix called, "whatever you're doing, do it now!"
Sora concentrated. Gathering light from Donald and Goofy was easy, it was freely given. Vanellope's spunk hit him like the sour bite after a sweet rush of candy. Next came Felix's kindness. Calhoun's intensity was like a punch in the gut, and Ralph's hope was the final piece, connecting all the light together.
Sora reached up and held the stained glass in front of the keyblade.
The resulting blast of light was so electrifying that all seven of them had to fight to stay standing. The light shot up high, through the swarms, the clouds, maybe even through the code of Sugar Rush itself. The heartless and cy-bugs flew toward the white beam to be vaporized one by one. The keyblade shook in Sora's hand. The stain glass slipping from between his sweaty fingers. The power was so strong that he felt the light creep into his veins, burning the space behind his eyes, whipping out everything but the moment.
The glass slipped.
But the light did not stop.
Vanellope caught the glass and held it up on top of the keyblade.
Donald chanted healing spells to push away Sora's pain.
Goofy tightened his arms around Sora's waist, steadying him.
Ralph fell to his knees but would not drop the people he was holding.
Felix raised his hammer to give Sora more strength.
Calhoun held Felix up to help channel his power.
The last heartless melted into the light.
The stained glass piece shattered into dust.
The group collapsed.
Lying on the floor, they gasped and listened to a crescendo of cheers. The sky above was a perfect mint green and one of the cotton candy clouds parted to reveal a keyhole. Sora raised his key, and locked the world without leaving his spot on the floor. His arm fell against his side. He didn't have any energy left to stand, but it didn't matter. In mere moments the denizens of Sugar Rush had come back and lifted all of them in the air.
Jiminy's Journal
Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun (First Appeared in Wreck-It Ralph, 2012): Fix-it Felix's wife. She is the strict, intense commander of the troops in her game, Hero's Duty. Calhoun expects nothing less then two hundred percent from her men and it's a good thing too, considering part of her role is to fight deadly cy-bugs everyday. She has an strong sense of duty and will do everything she can to keep the arcade safe.
Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Maroon Studios
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 19: Maroon Studios
Ralph hesitated in at the terminal. Up ahead of him, Felix turned around from the gateway that led back to Game Central Station. Vanellope put a hand on Ralph's arm and the big man started.
"Sorry," she grinned, "you okay?"
Ralph shrugged. "Fine."
"The arcade is going to open soon," Felix called. "We'd better hurry up!"
"I know." Ralph sighed. "I just worry about things going back to the way they were."
Felix crossed his arms. "Now Ralph, that's twice you've gone out of your way to help others. If the nicelanders don't start showing you some due respect, then..."
Felix's face reddened, his facial muscles twitching.
Ralph took a step back. "Whoa! Calm down, buddy."
"Oh no, watch out," Vanellope said in a bored tone, "he's gonna blow."
"It's just, now pardon my potty mouth, such gobbledegook! If the nicelanders don't treat you well then I will stop talking to them."
Ralph let out a small chuckle.
"You really are a good guy, Felix."
"So are you, Ralph," Sora said.
"Yup! A hero looks out for their friends," Goofy added.
Ralph turned faced the trio. "You know, even if I'm the bad guy in my game, it's great to know that my real friends see me for who I am and not what I do."
Felix, Ralph, Vanellope, Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, falling into a comfortable silence as all six of their faces melted into the dorkiest of smiles.
At the tram, Calhoun groaned, despite the fact that the corners her lips curved upward.
"Oh brother. Hey, ladies, when you're done with the mushy stuff, can we head back to our games before the arcade realizes what's up?"
Vanellope gave Ralph a hug.
Before he boarded the tram, Ralph waved at the trio. "You guys, I don't know what game you're from, or what you do there, but you are true heroes in my book."
Sora scratched the back of his head.
Goofy blushed. "Gee."
Donald put his hands on his hips. "Now if only Phil agreed with that."
Calhoun saluted. "Hey rookies, don't be strangers!"
The trio stood straight, with their hands at their sides. "Yes, ma'am!"
After Felix, Ralph and Calhoun vanished into the tunnel Vanellope let Sora, Donald and Goofy escort her back to the race track.
"Thanks again for helping to rebuild the game," Vanellope said.
"No problem." Sora winked. "Though it was Felix's hammer that did most of the work."
Goofy pretended to hammer a nail. "Gee, I wish I had a magic hammer that can fix anything. Then I wouldn't have to always fix all the dents in Max's armor."
Donald rolled his eyes. "You spoil him too much."
"Well anyway," Vanellope began, "I owe you guys big time for saving my game and helping me get Ralph back to his senses. Next time you come around, candy feast on me."
"Forget that." Sora held out his hands as though he were holding an imaginary steering wheel. "I want a race. Hey Donald, is there any chance we can get the gummi ship to-"
And with that, both Donald and Goofy covered Sora's mouth. "That's a secret!"
Vanellope raised an eyebrow. "You guys are weird, but cool, in a dorky way. All right, you got yourself a race. But I'm warning ya: you're so going to lose."
Sora never got the chance to retort. By the time he wrestled Donald and Goofy off him, Vanellope was already gone. He also never got the chance to pin Donald and Goofy with an annoyed glare. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a trail of black smoke moving under the giant popcorn box by the race track.
Sora made a mad dash toward the box, ducked under its white and red stripped cardboard, and froze.
Hades was there, standing in front of the door that led back to Castle Oblivion. Donald and Goofy caught up and brandished their weapons.
Hades looked at his sharp nails. "Oh, look at that. You guys, found me. What do ya want, a gold star?"
"You sure are confident after your plan failed." Sora crossed his arms.
"And what plan might that be, squirt?"
"To cause all that mayhem," Goofy said.
"To get rid of us," Donald added.
"You three olives-for-brains couldn't possibly know, could you?"
"Then why don't you tell us?" Sora summoned his keyblade, aiming it at Hades' head. "Are you working for Dr. Facilier too? Why are you here?"
"The only person I work for is myself."
"Yeah, sure. I bet you came here for revenge like Cruella did."
"Nope. In fact," Hades opened the door that led back to Castle Oblivion, "the only thing I was supposed to do, was distract you."
He jumped through the door.
"Wait!"
Sora, Donald and Goofy were blinded by white light as they moved through the dimensions. When they crashed into the foyer of Castle Oblivion, it wasn't Hades standing in front of them. It was Dr. Facilier.
"Now wasn't that a fun world," he sang.
Just as the trio regained their feet, the doctor had teleported to stand in front of the dimensional door. Hades lay in the air next to the door, his expression sleepy, his hand holding up his head.
"Well, Shadow Man, I did my part, even roughed them up for ya. Now, about my reward."
Dr. Facilier tapped the castle door with his cane. "Of course. I am a man of my word."
Hades flipped, landing back on his feet. Dr. Facilier dropped something smokey and red in Hades' hand. The castle door swung open and Hades looked in.
"Well, well, you actually can control it." He waved at the trio. "Hey squirts. I really should thank you, but I have a hostile takeover to get to. See ya never, zeroes."
Sora dashed forward, but was blocked by Dr. Facilier's shadow. Its skinny leg whipped him across the face, throwing him back into the waiting arms of Donald and Goofy. At the top of the stairs, Dr. Facilier wagged his finger.
"Now be a good boy and see your elders off politely, won't you?"
"I can't say it's been pleasant, doc," Hades walked into the door, "but for icing on my cake, I would really enjoy if you toasted those three for good."
The door closed behind Hades.
Dr. Facilier twirled his cane and slammed it against the door one more time.
"What's going on?" Sora growled. "What did you give Hades? Just what do you want?"
Dr. Facilier put his finger to his lips. "Now don't spoil the suspense young, man. Just play along," his voice lowered, "and enjoy the show."
Something blocked the light from overhead, and Sora made the mistake of looking up just in time to see Dr. Facilier's shadow looming over them. The shadow swept up the air behind the trio and they were blasted across the room straight through the door Dr. Facilier was so nicely holding open for them.
The stench of melted, rotting, meatloaf surprise made Sora want to barf. He pulled his head out of the trashcan, only to have his feet slip on the wet floor. His back slammed into the wall of an alley. Sora waited for the stars to stop shining in front of his eyes before he shook off the banana peel and the cheesy napkins from his hair.
"Gross! First Hades, now, Dr. Facilier. I'm getting real tired of being thrown around like last week's garbage."
"Sora, I could use a hand."
Looking up, Sora spotted Goofy's head stuck in the ladder of a fire escape. Donald, on the other hand, was hanging, upside down, by his flipper, on bottom handle of the ladder. Now normally, Sora would waste no time in helping his friends out of their predicament, but at that moment, all he could do was stare with his mouth hanging open.
"What happened to you two? Why do you guys look like moving drawings?"
Donald flapped his arms, trying to keep himself from swaying too far and letting his webbed foot slip from the ladder. "Stop gawking and help us already!"
The second he reached to help Donald out, Sora pulled his arms back and screamed.
"What's going on? Why are my arms so flat?"
"SORA! Figure it out later!"
Donald's foot slipped from the metal stair. He fell, wriggling and screaming until Sora caught him right before he could hit the ground. Putting the duck down, Sora climbed the fire escape to move the ladder so Goofy could free his head. With his friends out of harm's way, Sora inspected his hands.
Everything, from the tips of fingers to his shoes, was completely flat, as though he had been smoothed over by a clothing iron. He flexed his fingers and was amazed that the movement felt completely normal, and not like he were folding a piece of paper.
Brushing aside the dust on one of the old windows in the alley, Sora marveled at his reflection. His entire body looked like a drawing, and he was ridiculously colorful. Compared the dingy, grey, dark browns and faded reds of the alley, Sora, Donald and Goofy looked like a rainbow that had crash landed on earth.
"What's wrong, Sora," asked Goofy.
Unable to keep it in any longer, Sora whirled around and poked Donald's bill.
The duck took a step back, covering his mouth. "What did you do that for?"
"You guys aren't freaking out? Why do we look like comic book characters that have come to life?"
Goofy shrugged. "Ya know, I can't explain it but something about this feels very, um..."
"Familiar?" Donald finished.
"Yeah, that's it."
Sora turned toward the door that led to back to Castle Oblivion. He tried to pull it open, but once again the door did not respond, even when he summoned his keyblade and tried to force it open. Sora looked at his weapon. It too, looked like a drawing. But everything else around them was three dimensional, from the trash, to the buildings, to the fedora wearing man that was stomping into the alleyway.
A flashlight shined right into Sora's eyes.
"Hey! What are you toons doing out here the middle of the night?"
"Toons?" Sora snapped his fingers. "Oh, like cartoons! That's what we are!"
"Why are you on Maroon's property?" The man clicked his teeth. "Dang toons. Pretty stupid to be here after what happened."
"And just who are you?"
"Eddie Valiant. Private detective. And you three-"
The most annoying of screams, more irritating then a crying baby on a crowded thirteen hour flight, echoed from the street at the end of the alley. Sora covered his ears, staring wide-eyed into the mouth of the alley where a white, cartoon rabbit in red overalls came scrambling in. He jumped onto the private detective's chest.
"Eddie! Oh thank goodness," the rabbit lisped. "Don't leave me behind! I'm begging ya for your help!"
Eddie Valiant grabbed the rabbit's blue, yellow polka-dotted, bow tie. He held the flailing rabbit out at arm's length. "Did you follow me all the way from my apartment? I already told you, I don't work for toons!"
"P-p-pwease Eddie, you've got to help me! If you don't, I'll get turned into, into-"
"Spit it out, rabbit, before I throw you into the trash."
Speaking of trash, the garbage bags in the alley shivered and rolled even though there wasn't any wind. Sora felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Clawed, inky, black hands ripped out of the black plastic. Then the bags burst, and the rubbish splattered against the alley walls and floor. The fresh stink of garbage brought a dozen cartoon-weasel, emblem heartless with it. They crawled toward Valiant.
The rabbit pointed. "Those, Eddie! I'll get turned into one of those!"
He wrapped his arms and legs around Valiant's face and neck. The detective growled as he tried to pry the rabbit off. "Get off me, Roger!"
The heartless reached out with its golden claws and slashed at the rabbit's tail.
Sora shoved his way passed Valiant and smashed his keyblade on the head of the toon weasel heartless. The heartless' head flattened into the ground. Then it stood back up straight and its head re-inflated as though nothing had just happened. Donald threw a lightning spell at the weasels, and they twitched as the electricity zinged through the bodies. Yet, once the lightning had run out, the heartless advanced as though they had only felt a minor static shock. Goofy charged into one of the heartless, but both him and his shield bounced off as though the heartless were made out of rubber.
"What's going on? Why can't we hurt them?"
Sora slashed at a heartless, but instead of injuring it, he watched in total confusion as the heartless' head vibrated back and forth as though it were on a metal spring. Then the heartless bounced back into its regular shape and began slashing at Sora with its claws, leaving him no choice but to defend.
"The keyblade is not working!"
Eddie Valiant had finally succeeded in prying the rabbit off him.
Held up in midair, the rabbit whimpered and covered his eyes. "What do we do, Eddie? We're trapped!"
With his jaw tight, Valiant looked at the heartless, closed his eyes, and took an tense, deep breath. "Hey Roger, why don't you use your head for once?"
Valiant grabbed the rabbit by the scruff of his neck and tail.
"Oh no! Don't tell me you're going ta do what I think you're going ta do?"
Valient sprinted out of the alley, using the Roger's head like a battering ram as he crashed through the heartless, knocking them up in the air. Sora, Donald and Goofy took their chance. They raced out of the alley and into an abandoned movie studio parking lot.
Valiant booked it to a nearby car and jumped into the driver's seat. The tires screeched as the car swerved around to a stop in front of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and Roger.
"Get in!"
Sora and the others barely had seconds to hop into the car before Valiant crushed the accelerator under his foot. They lurched out of the parking lot so fast that Donald and Goofy slammed into the car's rear window. Meanwhile, Sora and Roger literally bumped heads every time the car swerved. Finally, Valiant slammed the breaks, making Donald and Goofy crash into Sora and Roger, leaving all four of them in a tangled mess of arms and legs.
In the front seat, Valiant panted, leaning against the steering wheel. "What kind of toons were those?" He opened the car door and stumbled out, leaning forward, hands on his knees. "Crazy, I can understand. But downright violent? I haven't seen a toon like that since-"
Valiant stopped for a moment and looked around the street, his back tight. Then his eyes locked onto the confused ball of toons that were staring at him from the backseat window of his car.
"Get out of my car, morons."
Roger, somehow, was able to detangle himself from the trio, roll down the window, and flop out of the car. Pressing his palms together, he knelt in front of Valiant.
"You gotta help me Eddie. Judge Doom is out to get me."
"Gee, I wonder why."
"I didn't do anything to make Acme or Maroon disappear. I swear!"
"Yeah, but you were the one that had the most motive." Valiant pointed to Roger's hands. "And your yellow glove paint was found at the scene where Acme disappeared, not to mention Maroon's office. I've had enough of this."
He stomped toward the fire station across the street.
Roger ran after him.
By this time, Sora, Donald and Goofy had finally managed to get out of the car. Before Valiant could walk through the door next to the fire-station, Sora stepped in his path.
"Hold on! Can you explain what's going on? Who's Acme? Who's Maroon? Why is, uh, Roger a suspect?"
"I ain't got time to explain to you, kid."
"But he's been begging for your help all night. And if it weren't for his head, we would still be fighting those heartless toons back there. You owe us an explanation, at least."
Eddie Valiant's eyes narrowed. "Heartless? Yeah, that sounds about right."
Roger's long ears flopped down behind his head. "You can't really think of all toons like that, can you, Eddie?"
"That's low," Sora glowered, "what did toons ever do to you?"
The sudden rush of red in Valiant's cheeks, the winkling on his forehead, and vein pulsing in his thick neck, made Sora realize that he had breached a touchy subject. Valiant squeezed between Sora and Roger and walked into the door next to the fire station. Roger and the trio chased after him. After going up a set of stairs, they found themselves in a saloon. The patrons, firefighters and mechanics, stood around wooden tables exchanging stories over cold brews. A train roared by, shaking the entire bar. The waitress behind the counter had to press some glass bottles against the back wall to keep them from flying off and shattering.
Valiant made his way over the counter and sat down. The waitress placed a glass in front of him.
"Water? Come on, Dolores, I need more of a pick me up then that after the night I've had."
"I'm cutting you off, Eddie," said Dolores. "You're not getting anything until you've paid me back all the money you owe me. Besides," Dolores nodded her head in the direction of Roger, Sora, Donald and Goofy, "looks like you've got company."
Valiant turned around with a sigh.
"Aw come on."
Roger bumped a table as he moved toward the counter, causing a bottle to fall off. It rolled under Roger's foot. He tripped and skidded over the floor, heels over his head twice before he landed in a heap at Valiant's feet. Little birds chirped around Roger's head. The men in the bar pointed and laughed.
"Thank you, thank you," Roger saluted from his position on the floor. "I'll be here all week."
Goofy reached down, grabbed Roger's shoulders and pulled him up to his feet.
"Gee, that didn't hurt, Roger?"
"Not at all, nothing really hurts if it's for comedy."
"Are you sure?" Sora looked down. "Your face just sandpapered the floor."
"Naw, I'm fine. We're toons remember? We take damage all the time. See?"
He grabbed a plate from the counter and smashed it on his head. The broken porcelain gathered around his feet.
Roger picked up another plate.
Smash.
"I got a lot on my plate, but no pain."
The bar patrons slapped their knees, roaring happily.
Dolores let out an angry cry. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Oh, s-s-sorry."
Before Dolores could scold Roger, the sound of screeching tires silenced the bar. Donald and Goofy went down the stairs to investigate.
"It's some tall guy in black clothes," Donald announced.
"He seems mighty annoyed." Goofy added, "Why is he wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night?"
Roger screamed and jumped into Valiant's arms. "Hide me, Eddie, p-p-please! It's Judge Doom! He hates toons!"
"You moron, if he sees me with you-"
Dolores grabbed Roger and Valiant's wrists. "Quickly, this way."
She led them through a hidden door behind the counter. Valiant, Roger, Sora, Donald and Goofy entered a secret room full of barrels, crates and all kinds of bottled drinks for the bar. Dolores closed the door, blocking the view of the bar and the patrons. Luckily there were two eye holes in the wall. Valiant and Sora peeked through the holes, watching the scene unfold outside.
The patrons were quiet and stiff, their eyes following a tall, slender man as he walked around the room.
Judge Doom, Sora realized.
The judge wore all black. His suit, tie, fedora, and clean shaven face made him look distinguished. Yet, Sora felt a skin-crawling itch whenever he looked at the judge's face. His eyes were barely visible behind his perfectly round, yellow glasses. He had the whitest, straightest, most perfect looking teeth Sora had ever seen, so why did he feel oddly uncomfortable whenever the judge opened his mouth to take a breathe. Even his face seemed too perfect, with barely any blemishes or discolorations, like a doll's.
The judge's voice was low and had a sense of finality to it, like an interrogator that had already decided you were guilty.
"I'm looking for a fugitive of the law."
Roger began biting his fingernails.
"Goes by the name of Roger Rabbit." He paused after each word, either because he believed everyone around him was too stupid to string the words in a sentence, or because he wanted to make each harsh syllable send warning shivers through his audience. "Of course, any information about him would be handsomely rewarded."
"Great," Valiant whispered, "They're going to sell us out."
"No way. They laughed at my pitfall earlier. They wouldn't rat us out."
"Sure they wouldn't."
"You'll see. Laughter is the thing that bonds us together. Why sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."
A fireman smirked. "Yeah, I've seen a rabbit."
Valiant, Roger and the trio held their breaths.
Judge Doom leaned down toward the man. "Have you now?"
"Yeah." The fireman put out his arm as though he were holding an invisible friend next to him. "It's my old pal, the Easter Bunny. Say hi, buddy."
The bar patrons chuckled. Their mirth was silenced a second later when Doom slammed his cane down hard on a table. The wood cracked and then the table split into two pieces with a snap. The patrons stiffened.
Judge Doom walked by the counter, his arm outstretched, tipping over the plates and glass cups on the counter. Dolores cringed as the glasses shrieked and shattered. The patrons gritted their teeth.
"I've heard news of terrible events recently. People vanishing without a trace, and every time, toon paint at the sight they were last seen. Witnesses are reporting that toons attacked the good folk of this town in broad daylight. Now, I ask you, gentleman, and lady, these insane creatures have never had respect for the law, and now they are acting violently. Is it really worth protecting one suspect? After all," Doom looked at Dolores, "it isn't the first time that we've lost someone because of a toon."
In the hidden room, Eddie Valiant balled his hands into fists, his lips peeling back into a silent snarl. Sora and Donald glared at Judge Doom, while Goofy comforted a shivering Roger.
"Until that rabbit is found, the authorities will have an eye on this establishment. That is, of course, unless I get a report as to the rabbit's whereabouts." He tipped his hat. "Gentleman."
Judge Doom descended the stairs. Minutes after he was gone, the bar patrons finished their drinks, and left one by one. When Dolores was alone, she went down the stairs and locked the bar door. Only then did Valiant and the toons leave their hiding spot.
Once they were all out, Dolores handed each of them a broom, mop, or a dish towel.
As Sora swept the broken glass into a dustpan, he spoke to Donald and Goofy. "So toons can't be hurt? Like when Roger fell over earlier. So we can't do any damage to the toon heartless?"
"You can do damage," Roger said. "Toons get hurt all the time. If it makes you laugh, I'd jump off a bridge."
"Please don't. Back to the topic, you're saying nothing can actually destroy a toon, right?"
"Well, almost nothing." Roger clasped his hands. His shoulders shook and his teeth chattered. "Except the dip."
"What's the dip?"
"Only the most horrible substance known to toon kind! It's an evil poison that melts any toon that so much as touches it!"
"So it must work on the heartless too. Where do we get some of that?"
Both Roger and Eddie Valiant looked at Sora with an "are you crazy" look.
"Kid," Valiant shook his head, "that stuff can kill ya."
"Besides, only Judge Doom has it," Roger added.
"So that's why you were so afraid of him. What's his deal? Why is he so suspicious of toons?"
"Weren't you paying attention to what he said about people vanishing and toons attacking?" Valiant huffed. "Seems like every toon has gone crazy."
"That's not true Eddie," Roger said. "Toons have been disappearing from Toontown as well, but no one's talking about that in the news. And what's worse, it seems as though they've been turning into those rubber monsters."
"They're called heartless." Donald explained.
Goofy scratched his head. "I'm confused, why is this Judge Doom fella after Roger then?"
"Because the dang rabbit got jealous after his wife, Jessica, was caught playing patty-cake with Marvin Acme. The next day, both Acme, and his friend RK Maroon, who just happened to show Roger the pictures of his wife and Acme playing patty-cake, have disappeared."
"Which makes me suspect numero uno." Roger rubbed his arms. "But I would never do anything to hurt Acme and Maroon."
"So where did you go after you saw those pictures, huh?"
Roger blushed. "I figured someone must have made Jessica play patty-cake, because I know my smoochziepoo would never do anything to hurt me. I went to her dressing room to tell her how much I love and trust her but she wasn't there." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "But I did find a nice, clean piece of paper while I was there. So I decided to write her a love letter."
Valiant rolled his eyes. "You're telling me that in a fit of jealousy, you wrote your wife a love letter?"
"That's right! I was waiting to give it to her, but then those creatures-"
"Heartless," said the trio.
"Those heartless came to attack Jessica's dressing room. I barely escaped and then I found out I was wanted for Maroon and Acme's disappearance. And worst of all, I don't know where my wonderful wife is."
Roger pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and obnoxiously blew his nose.
"So, all we need then," Goofy said, "is find a way to prove that the heartless are the reason Maroon and Acme disappeared, right?"
"Good luck with that boys," said Valiant. He dropped his dishcloth and moved toward the exit.
"Oh no you don't." Sora got in his way. "Roger came to you for help. You can't just sit here. We have to go after that Doom guy, we have to investigate the heartless."
"And we have to find Jessica! I couldn't bear it if something happened to my dear wife!"
"Didn't you hear me before, kid? I don't work for toons."
"But you're totally curious, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You said so earlier. Toons aren't usually violent. Don't you want to know what's making these toons go crazy? And why were you on Maroon's property? You want to know why he and Acme have disappeared, otherwise you wouldn't have been there. Am I wrong?"
Valiant crossed his arms. "So what if I do? What makes you think I'll work for you?"
"With. Not 'for.' Why don't we work together to get the bad guys and once we're done, you can go back to never working for, or with, toons again."
Sora caught Donald and Goofy staring at him.
"What?"
"Uh nothing." Goofy said hastily.
Donald crossed his arms, smirking. "We're just impressed you figured all that out."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Donald and Goofy shared a laugh. "Oh just that you're growing, is all," they said together.
Valiant poked Sora in the chest. "Fine, I'll work with ya. But on one condition." He pointed at Roger. "When we're done, you're going to tell all the toons in Toontown that I'm retired. You will make sure no toon ever comes to ask me for help ever again."
Roger looked sad. "Are you sure that's what you want?"
"Don't make me change my mind."
"Okay Eddie. I'll do it."
"Good. Our first stop should be Toontown. The last person to see Acme was Roger's wife. We're going to see if we can talk to her. Hurry up."
Valiant stomped out of the bar.
Sora winced when the front door slammed shut.
"What a sourpuss," Roger sighed, "and he used to have such a great sense of humor."
"Really?"
Roger nodded. "Valiant was a great detective that helped so many toons during their times of crisis. What could have happened to make him so mean?"
Dolores stopped running the sink and looked out into her empty bar. "Eddie lost his brother because of a toon."
Sora hung his head. "Oh. So that's what Judge Doom meant."
Dolores nodded. "This whole thing has Eddie on edge, but I'm glad you convinced him to take the case. Maybe you can help him find some closure."
And bring back his sense of humor before the darkness of grief got to him, Sora thought.
Mary made Max and Kairi face each other, positioning them just a few feet apart.
"Back straight, Max, we don't slouch."
Max stiffened. "Yes ma'am."
"Now then, before you begin instruction, I would like to see Kairi test out her skills against a close range opponent. So far she has only fought against magic, but there are many dangers out there that she may need to prepare for."
Max scratched the unruly hair on top of head. "I'm not sure I'm down for this. I mean, she doesn't even know how to use a sword. I don't want to attack someone that's defenseless."
Mary simply raised her eyebrows at Max's objection. Then, she looked at Kairi and nudged her head as if to say, "well?"
"You think I'm defenseless?"
"You don't have a weapon."
"So? I can take you on. What's the matter? Scared?"
Max's eye twitched. "Dude? Me? Scared?" He put on his helmet and unsheathed the pair of swords at his hips. "Bring it."
"Splendid." Mary sashayed out of Kairi and Max's way. She pulled out a nice, wide ottoman from her carpet bag, as well as a full cup of tea.
"Begin, please."
Max charged, his blades thrust out before him. Kairi jumped back just as he sliced through the air with his swords. She retaliated, shooting several fire spells at him. Max ducked and rolled, dodging all of Kairi's attacks. While he was distracted, Kairi jumped up onto the topiary castle, and sent a water spell crashing down on Max's head.
He reacted in the last second and narrowly avoided getting drenched. Too bad his foot slipped in the puddle. He flipped two whole rotations in the air before landing on his back. Kairi took advantage of the opening. From her vantage point, she sent a thunder spell crashing down toward the puddle.
Max wasn't fast enough to dodge that. He rolled out of the puddle but his arm was still in the water when the lightning hit. His arm zinged and tingled. He lay flat on the ground, dizzy.
"Ouch."
"Oh sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Kairi jumped down from the topiary castle. "Are you okay?"
Before she could reach him, Max flipped back onto his feet.
"Guess I should stop going easy on you."
Kairi fumed. "What? Going easy on me? May I remind you that I nearly toasted you a second ago?"
Max shrugged. "One thing I learned from my dad: always let your opponent underestimate you."
Annoyed, Kairi gathered energy and threw a fire, water and lightning spell, one after the other at Max. He sliced through the fireball, rolled out of the way of the water spell and, once the water had covered the floor, Max used it to slide toward Kairi, avoiding the lightning spell in the process.
It only took a few seconds for Max to close the distance between them, which gave Kairi less time to cast and aim. She blasted him back with a water spell, and gathered magic for another attack once he was pushed back. In that same second, Max took off his helmet at hurled it at Kairi's hand.
The metal slammed into her open palm. Kairi's spell careened out of control as she shook her hand, biting her lip from the stinging pain.
Something flashed at her.
Kairi threw a reflect spell around herself just Max's swords came down on her head. From behind the spell he grinned.
"Nice."
"Thanks."
He slammed his swords down on the magic glass, over and over, cracking it.
Kairi gathered magic.
The glass broke.
She hurled a fire spell at Max, making him jump back. She threw spell after spell at him and he danced and ducked away from each one. Kairi didn't let up, but gathering energy for spells one after the other made her head spin. Her attacks slowed down and Max was gaining on her every time there was a gap between spells. Soon, Kairi was backed up against the castle wall. Desperate, she threw another thunder spell.
Max dodged and threw one of his swords at her. Gathering the last of her energy, Kairi protected herself with a reflect spell. The sword bounced off her shield. Completely winded, Kairi let the shield drop and looked around for her opponent.
A blade appeared under her neck.
"I win," Max said from next to her.
"Cheap trick," Kairi huffed. She raised her hand, but no magic came forth.
"Looks like you're all out."
"I lost." Kairi clicked her teeth. "Fine, you win."
Max lowered his sword. "That was the most fun I've had in a while."
He held out his hand.
Shaking it, Kairi smiled. "Thanks for not going easy on me."
"Sure thing."
"Indeed. A fellow warrior always gives his all to a worthy opponent," said Mary.
She walked over to Max and Kairi, clearing her throat and nodding toward the damaged garden. The topiary animals were smoking, the leaves still crackling from the after effects of Kairi's magic. Branches littered the floor, all cut off by Max's swords.
Kairi and Max hung their heads.
Mary snapped her fingers at each damaged bush and suddenly the garden fixed itself until it was as good as new.
"A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," Mary sang. Then she faced Kairi and Max. "Now, to review. Kairi, as a spell caster, you are only powerful as long as you do not run out of magic power. You can always carry ethers with you, but I believe that any respectable mage has more then magic up her sleeve."
"So that's why you had me take on Max? To see how I do once I'm out of magic?"
"Well yes, but it was also to show Max what you're capable of. So what do you say, young man? Will you teach Kairi how to wield a blade?"
Max picked up his other sword from the ground and handed it to Kairi.
"I've been looking for a worthy sparing partner. PJ doesn't use a sword and King Mickey has been off on his mission for ages."
Kairi tested the weight of the blade in her hand. Then she swung it. The blade went down a lot faster then she expected. The tip of the sword poked through the grass.
"This is a lot heavier then the toy swords Riku and Sora used back on the islands." Lifting the blade, Kairi rotated her wrist, watching the metal move. "Can you teach me to dual wield too?"
Max reached out and fixed Kairi's arm, making sure she was holding the sword properly.
"First, you need to learn how to use one sword before you can learn how to use two."
As Max began explaining the basics of using a weapon, Kairi closed her eyes.
Sora, Riku, Oswald. I'm catching up to you guys.
Jiminy's Journal
Eddie Valiant (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): A private detective with a chip on his shoulder. He was once a well known investigator that loved to joke and help toons alongside his brother, Teddy Valiant. After he lost his brother at a toon's hands, Valiant swore never to work a toon case again. Yet, he still entered into a tense agreement with Sora and the others to clear Roger of a crime he didn't commit.
Roger Rabbit (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): An over the top, hyperactive, cartoon rabbit who's life's mission is to make people laugh. He's a bit anxious and panicky, which makes sense since he's the prime suspect in the disappearance of Marvin Acme and RK Maroon. Despite this, Roger is always trying to brighten people's day with a jokes or slapstick. Anyone would be crazy to think him capable of committing a crime.
Dolores (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): Eddie Valiant's girlfriend. She's runs a bar across the street from his detective agency. Dolores always has Valiant's back, whether it's on a case, taking care of his health, or making sure he isn't in over his head.
Judge Doom (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): Though he is a judge of Toontown, Doom is completely prejudiced against toons and will stop at nothing until he has Roger dipped for his "crime." Something about him is just...off.
Maximilian Goof (First Appeared in Goof Troop, 1992): Goofy's son and a knight at Disney Castle. Max has taken over Goofy's responsibility of leading the castle guards until his father returns home. Although he doesn't like being compared to his father, Max shares the same penchant for clumsiness. Despite this, he is thrill-seeker with a talent for the sword that is only outmatched by King Mickey himself. He's agreed to be Kairi's sword instructor and it seems like the two of them get along well.
Chapter 21: Chapter 20: Toontown
Chapter Text
Author's Notes:
So I didn't get the chance to thank my readers for all the kudos they've been leaving me. Thank you, LunalaRose, Ravagerking07, Enterprise_Tardis, DiscordsAdvocate, Ferniejvp, KarmaKaoKio, Joyfuladorable and all the guests that gave kudos as well!
@Ferniejvp: I'm so happy you recognize Oswald and that you enjoyed the Robinson's chapters! Thank you!
@Ravegerking07: KH1 only had two keyblades in existance, and I'm following those rules...you'll just have to wait and see.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 20: Toontown
Valiant drove through the long, dark tunnel that led to Toontown. In the back seat, Donald, Sora, and Goofy, bounced with excitement.
"What do you think Toontown will be like," Sora asked.
"I bet it's pretty lively," said Goofy, "with lots of singin' and maybe even some fun jokes."
Roger turned around in the front seat. "All that and more! There is no place like Toontown!"
His words made Donald's eyes brighten like a child on Christmas morning. "Oh boy, oh boy!"
Sora spotted a red, cartoon curtain up ahead. A drumroll echoed in the tunnel. The curtains opened and the world beyond was absolutely bonkers. Donald and Goofy pressed their faces against the car windows, their behinds bouncing with the music.
The sun shined brightly over the cartoon, country road. They drove by meadows made entirely out of quilts. Barns, wishing wells, and fairy tale castles popped up in the distance. Everything, from the bouncy trees and flowers, the farm animals, dragons, chubby, flying angels, and even the tweeting birds, sang a chipper song that was so catchy that Sora began humming it.
"Smile, darn ya, smile..."
It was colorful, wacky, constantly moving, and Sora couldn't keep his big, dumb grin off his face. Until the cartoon, country road faded and Valiant drove into the town itself. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Roger slammed against the car windshield when Valiant hit the breaks, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a speeding toon firetruck. Roger and the rest of the toons pulled back from the window, their bodies compressing like an accordion as they moved.
Valiant got out of the car. His companions followed only when their bodies returned to their regular shape. The town was ten times as crazy as the road they had taken to get there. The streets were complete anarchy. Police cars, horses, dragons, and ambulances raced by without paying any attention to the streetlights, which changed from red to yellow to green every two seconds. Despite the road hazards, all the toons j-walked or skipped down the streets without a care in the world.
The sidewalks were covered in all kinds of junk like fruit, rubber duckies, broken pianos, everything but the kitchen sink. Scratch that, Sora actually spotted a broken sink among a pile of cartoon gags, such as anvils and mallets.
Valiant's group followed Roger into an apartment building that stretched so far up, it vanished into the clouds. Inside the foyer, Roger called the elevator.
"My apartment is just a few stories up. Jessica has to be there."
The elevator dinged, the doors opened.
"Going up, sirs?" droned the elevator attendant, a dog with a very droopy face.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roger and Valiant all tripped when they entered the elevator. The dog hadn't told them there would be a huge step.
"Mind the step, sirs." He pulled the lever. "Hold on, sirs."
They weren't riding an elevator. They were riding a rocket! They flew up the floors so fast that the toons, and even Valiant himself, flattened like a pancake against the floor. Then the elevator stopped abruptly and they slammed against the ceiling.
"Your floor, sirs."
Dizzey, Valiant and the toons flopped out of the elevator and into the hallway outside.
"Have a good day, sirs."
The dog vanished as the elevator doors closed. While Valiant and the trio rubbed out the pain in their necks, Roger skipped straight to his apartment unit.
"Jessica, dearest, I have returned! Jessica?"
Valiant and the trio entered Roger's unit. Inside, they found Roger tearing up his own apartment. He threw clothes and plates out of their cabinets, lifted up the couch, and even burrowed under the rug. Resurfacing, he wailed.
"Eddie! She's not here!"
Valiant checked the whole unit. Then he called Roger and the others over. There was a large, yellow paint stain on the floor of the bedroom. Valiant grabbed Roger's yellow glove and compared the paint color. Roger's glove was lighter.
"This isn't your paint," concluded Valiant. He stared at the stain on the floor with a frown.
"Oh no! You're telling me that another toon came in here and kidnapped my beloved wife?"
"Seems that way. Unless there's anywhere else that Jessica would go."
Roger flailed his arms. "We must search the town! She could be in danger!"
Before Valiant could stop him, Roger was out the door. Seconds later, they found him in the hallway outside, on his back, his eyes rolling in their sockets, birds flying around his head.
"O-oh, e-excuse me sir," Roger stuttered from his place on the floor, "I-I d-d-didn't see you there. Sorry for b-b-bumping in to ya."
The man that Roger had charged into patted down his black and magenta robes. Out of all the toons Sora had seen so far, this one was the most severe looking. He was a tall, slender, elderly man, who's pale skin, thinning grey hair, and long, careworn face made him stand out from the zany, colorful, bouncy denizens of Toontown.
"Hideous creatures such as yourself rarely look where they are going."
Glaring at the man, Sora bent down to help Roger up. "Hey, he said he was sorry. You don't have to call him names."
The red ribbon hanging from the man's black and purple hat swung violently when he turned his head toward Sora. His voice was a low, deep, authoritative growl. "Is this how you treat your elders, boy?"
Sora glared. "Just because you're older then me doesn't give you the right to be rude."
"Insolence."
"Come on you four," Valiant barked, "we've got a town to search."
"I must warn you of the foolishness of that idea," said the elderly man.
Donald crossed his arms, drumming his finger against his elbow. "And why should we listen to you?"
The man looked out the window. "The world is cruel, the world is wicked. Why not stay in here and avoid the danger?"
"Heroes don't run from danger," Goofy proclaimed.
"Then heroes are fools."
The old man walked toward the window. Ignoring him, Sora and the others rode the roller coaster elevator back down to the ground floor. When they exited out into the city, Sora froze.
Toontown was eerily quiet and deserted, not a single, active toon in sight. The colors seemed oddly muted, with more shades of grey then a newspaper. The streets were dimmed, yet there wasn't a single cloud overhead.
"What's going on, Roger," Goofy said, "why is everything so quiet?"
Roger pressed his fingertips to his lips. "Something don't feel right. Toontown is never like this."
Valiant looked around the deserted streets with a scowl. "Something real messed up must have happened if Toontown of all places has quieted down."
They walked down the sidewalk, passing by abandoned grocery stands, milk trucks, post offices, and police stations. Donald and Goofy brandished weapons. Sora's fist tightened around his keyblade.
"This place reeks of darkness. I just know a heartless is going to pop up any second now."
"Jeepers. Don't tell me that those creatures have completely taken over town."
Just as Roger said the words, oily, rubbery weasels, elephants, rabbits, mice, and dogs melted off the walls, and the street lights. Shadow heartless rose up from the concrete. They blended with the toon heartless, creating a black, tidal wave of darkness that rose up, ready to wash Valiant, Roger and the trio away.
Donald and Goofy were able to dispatch the run of the mill shadow heartless, but it didn't take long before the five of them were surrounded. Sora fought back with his keyblade, but the swarm kept pushing inward, until they were all back to back, with no way out.
"This is it, Eddie," Roger cried, "I'm going down without ever getting to say goodbye to my wife!" Roger flailed like a rubber hose with the water still running. "I have so much ta live for, so much ta do! I didn't even get a chance to get my cartoon with Baby Herman right!"
Roger got dangerously close to a heartless and it reached out to swipe him across the chest. Valiant, growling out of frustration, tried to grab Roger's ears, but the rabbit slipped out of his grasp.
"It's over! It's curtains! I've gone past my prime!"
"Calm down, you crazy rabbit!"
"How are we ever going to get out of this!"
This time, a heartless actually succeeded in hitting Roger. It slashed at his feet, which made Roger jump backward. His head banged against Donald, who then fell back onto Goofy and Sora. They bonked heads, and the resulting clap of their skulls hitting each other let out a weird beat that almost sounded like a song.
Sora shook his head, raising his keyblade, ready to defend from the inevitable attack but something strange happened. All the toon heartless froze, and then clapped their hands twice.
"What the-"
Roger blinked at the heartless. "Wait a minute." He clapped his hands in the same beat Sora and Goofy had just accidentally made.
Once again, the heartless clapped.
All except for the regular shadow heartless that pounced on Donald. Valiant reached down, grabbed the heartless off Donald and hurled it like a bowling ball into the toon heartless.
Strike.
Once again, the same beat rang out and the toon heartless clapped again.
"What's going on," said a very confused Donald.
"Of course!" Roger snapped his fingers. "They may be heartless, but they're still toons! And no toon can resist the old 'Shave and a Haircut' bit! Come on, Eddie! Do it!"
"Fine." Valiant clapped his hands. Roger sang.
"Shave and a hair cut-"
The heartless clapped the last two notes.
"-too bits! I knew it! Come on guys!"
Valiant, Donald, Goofy and Roger repeated the beat, over and over and sure enough, the toon heartless couldn't resist stomping and clapping the last two notes each time. They moved through the swarm, using the song to freeze heartless in place. Sora pushed back and destroyed any regular heartless that came too close to the group.
Of all the ways to fight, he never would have imagined he would be distracting heartless with an old barbershop beat. He would have laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it, if he hadn't been concentrating on keeping the heartless back. For a split second, a gap opened up in the heartless horde and Sora swore he saw the face of the old man Roger had bumped into.
He blinked and the old, cruel face was gone, but he didn't have time to wonder if it had just been his imagination. Even with his friends clapping "Shave and a haircut," there was no end to the heartless. More and more of them popped up on the roofs, the lambs, the trashcans, covering any open space.
The last time Sora had seen so many heartless was when he and his friends fought off endless armies of them at the end of the world. His shoulders were beginning to ache. Even Donald and Goofy had to stop clapping to help him fight off the regular heartless.
Panting, Sora looked up, trying to drink in as much air as possible. That's when he saw it. He forgot to breathe. His lungs screamed for air, but Sora was frozen. Frost built up in his bones and joints, and he could feel his teeth chattering.
A sphere of darkness hung in the sky, like an evil moon that was ready to swallow the world whole.
The heartless were still advancing. They had pushed the party toward the mouth of an alley. Donald sent a series of lightning spells into the heartless, distracting them just enough for the party to rush into the alley. They turned a corner. There was a back door on one of the buildings. Sora unlocked it.
Donald, Goofy and Roger crashed into a dark room. Sora and Valiant slammed the door shut behind then. Locking the door with his keyblade, Sora ducked under the windows. They held completely still, holding their breaths as the stampede of heartless roared through the alley. The room rumbled and shook from the millions of footsteps squeezing through the tiny space.
Finally, things were quiet. Valiant and Roger peeked out of the window. The alley was deserted.
Valiant finally caught his breathe. "Okay, I think the coast is clear." He thumped Roger on the shoulder. "Good thinking with the 'Shave and a Haircut' bit back there. Not bad, for a toon."
Roger blushed, pulling his ears down around his face. "Thanks! See, what did I tell ya, humor can really save the day."
"Fine, I'll give this one to you."
"H-hello? Anyone there?" said a voice from one of the dark corners of the room.
The party jumped, preparing to fight. Someone turned on a light, and it took all of Sora's willpower not to scream when dozens of eyes all locked on him at the same time. The entire room was filled to the brim with toons.
They reacted to Valiant and the others by flinching back, hands up.
"You're not with those dark toons are you," asked a cartoon taxi.
Roger leaned forward. "Benny? Is that you?"
The toon taxi blinked his headlight eyes.
"Roger! You're safe! Finally, some good news."
"Why are all you toons hauled up in this place?"
"Everything was fine in Toontown one second. Then those dark toons are appearing left and right, making a mess of everything."
"The toons they took were never heard from again," said a hippo in a tutu.
"We had to hide," said one of the three little pigs. "More of more of those things were appearing in the streets, and we couldn't fight them off."
Roger's face turned grey. "H-has anyone seen Jessica?"
The toons shook their heads.
Donald and Goofy covered Roger's mouth and tried to soothe him before he could break down to into hysterics and alert the heartless of their hiding spot.
Sora addressed the toons. "Hey, did any of you notice something strange about the town?"
"Yeah, the colors are fading," said a toad in a suit.
Sora rubbed his temples. "This isn't good."
"What's going on, kid?"
Sora looked at Valiant, but wasn't sure how to explain what he knew. He beckoned to Donald and Goofy, but they were still busy soothing Roger.
"Hey, Jiminy."
The cricket jumped into his hands. Sora moved toward a corner and whispered.
"I think the heartless might be trying to destroy this world. That dark ball of energy in the sky, I've seen it before. It was hovering over the islands the night my home was destroyed."
Jiminy swallowed. "We have to find the keyhole fast."
"But we can't defeat the toon heartless."
"What about that dip substance Roger mentioned? "
Sora shook his head. "In this world, I'm a toon. It can destroy me and then who will face the heartless until King Mickey comes back?"
"But Valiant can use it safely right?" Jiminy tapped Sora's hand with his umbrella. "I think you should tell him what you know. The fate of this world depends on it. This is something someone with a good conscience would do."
Sora nodded, turning around.
"Done talking to your imaginary friend?" Valiant said.
Sora put out his hand. Jiminy bowed.
"Hello, my name is Jiminy Cricket. I think you should listen to what Sora has to say, Mr. Valiant. We are all in danger."
"No kidding. Toons attacking, a swarm of monsters turning on their own kind, and to top it off, some kind of dark meteor appearing overhead."
"You noticed it too?"
"Yes." Valiant crossed his arms. "I think it's time you explain who you really are, kid."
Sora frowned. "What?"
"I may have been out of the sleuthing game for a while, but I'm not that thick. You three," he nodded toward Donald and Goofy, "are clearly not from around here. You don't seem to know how toons work, despite being toons yourself. There isn't a single toon that doesn't know Acme, the guy that owns Toontown, and yet you acted as though it was the first time you had heard his name. You appeared right around the time those heartless creatures did and you're not utterly terrified of the dip. Not to mention that you are the most level headed and least zany toons I've ever met."
Sora wasn't sure if he should be flattered or concerned. "Okay, I'll explain, but not here. We need someplace private."
Valiant looked at Benny the taxi.
"Think you can outrun those monsters?"
The taxi toon clicked his teeth. "Don't insult me."
"Good. Give us a ride back to my place. It's time we get all of our clues together."
Riku hung back while King Mickey fought a wave of neoshadows. He expertly sliced and weaved through the heartless' long limbs and claws. A few shadow heartless managed to pass the king by, moving toward Riku. Raising his soul eater, Riku breathed in deep and felt the sparks from his heart rising up in his bones.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning sizzled through the shadows, obliterating them. Up ahead, King Mickey slashed through the last heartless. He only had a second to rest. A group of darkballs appeared. They circled Mickey, their round bodies rotating, their teeth chewing the air.
A darkball lunged, aiming to tackle Mickey. The king jumped in the last second, bounced off the heartless' body and flew up in the air. The darkballs moved upward to try and catch their prey.
Perfect.
Mickey's keyblade sparked with electricity. His lightning spell burned anything it touched to a crisp. Several of the heartless dodged, but it was already too late. From down below, Riku aimed and picked off the last few darkballs with some well timed fire spells.
The last heartless exploded and Mickey landed safely on his feet. Once the adrenaline was gone, Riku slapped a hand over his good eye. Sitting down, he took several deep breathes to stop his head from spinning.
"You okay, pal?"
Riku felt Mickey sit down next to him.
"Just dizzy."
"Well, why don't you rest for a bit?"
"I don't want to slow us down."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing a great job, even with half of your eyesight gone. You practiced all the spells I taught you and your aim has gotten better."
"But I'm not helping you fight much by hanging back like this."
"What are you talking about? You're learning to be a team player. I tell ya, it takes a lot more strength to learn to support others rather then take your own glory."
"You think so?"
"I know so! Part of being a king is to learn to rely on your people to help you run your kingdom. I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe that Minnie can handle the castle, and that Donald, Goofy, and Sora could take care of the realm of light without me."
"You really do have faith in them."
"Don't you have faith in Sora too?"
Riku stared down at his weapon. The same one that he had turned on Sora so long ago. Time and time again, Sora had stood up and fought against the darkness. And won. Mickey was right, if anyone deserved to be believed in, it was Sora.
But did Sora still have faith in Riku? After all that he had done?
Riku slapped his palms on his cheeks. He couldn't stay in the realm of darkness, feeling sorry for himself. He hadn't relied on the darkness once since he had lost sight in his left eye. He had learned to trust Mickey to take down the bigger heartless while he provided support, yet...
Mickey stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. "I know that look. No more negative talk."
"But-"
"Just take it easy. Gosh, you worry a lot."
Riku snorted. "Someone had to. I swear, if it weren't for me reminding Sora to do his homework, he would have flunked school. And Kairi only got good grades because she used my notes."
"See, like I told ya. Your friends have faith in you, so you have to have faith in them and in yourself."
Faith in himself. Riku closed his good eye. Mickey was right.
So why did it feel as though the air was closing in?
Why did his skin tingle as though there were ants crawling all over him?
There was no breeze, no rain, no dust, not even the faintest echo of a sinister growl, yet every one of Riku's nerve endings buzzed with warning. Both his eyes pulsed, the ants on his skin felt as though they had started chewing.
Riku rubbed his arms and opened his eye.
The strange feeling vanished, but the panic remained.
The soul eater appeared in his hand.
"Riku?"
He turned in a circle, looking out into the empty nothing all around them. Yet he knew, with a reason he couldn't explain, that they weren't alone. A thousand invisible eyes locked on him from every direction, waiting for him to make a wrong move so they could attack.
Straight ahead, the ground cracked. Footprints and claw marks moved toward them. A pair of red spots appeared in the black void.
Mickey summoned his keyblade.
The red spots flashed.
They vanished.
Riku heard the jingling of chains from behind him.
He jumped.
The creature's teeth clamped down mere inches in front of his nose. He raised his soul eater and threw a fire spell point plank at the creature's mouth, but despite its size, the massive heartless was quick. It flashed across to the other side, and swiped at Mickey with its thick, thorny, red tipped tail.
Mickey was smacked up into the air. The heartless turned, and rose up on its hind legs, its mouth wide.
Riku sliced the heartless' back leg. The heartless stumbled. He had saved Mickey, but had also to annoyed the beast. Recovering, the heartless flashed to the side, and Riku stared at its red after-image for a second before he felt fire searing into the side of his head. The creature had swiped him with his paw.
He crashed onto the floor and stared at the blurry, dark claws that were slicing down toward him. Mickey's golden keyblade caught the claws, defecting them. They sunk into the ground next to Riku's head. The creature's growls filled Riku's ears, making his head throb. Above him, creature's underbelly moved over him as it chased and fought Mickey.
Riku felt the flash of magic. He saw the creature's blue veins and magenta tentacles pass overhead. Then came a sickening crunch, and a whimper from Mickey.
With every ounce of his strength, Riku turned. Mickey was trapped under the creature's paw. It pressed him down into the ground. The floor beneath the king cracked. Mickey's eyes rolled back into his head.
"No!"
Ignoring the pain that was still burrowing into his skull, Riku stood and charged. He sliced through the creature's claws, and it reared back, releasing Mickey. The mouse was able to crawl away and raise his keyblade in time to chant a healing spell, but then he cast a horrified look at Riku.
"Look out!"
The creature flashed forward, opened its jaws wide, and swallowed Riku whole.
Valiant leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his desk.
"I've heard some crazy stories in my line of work, but yours takes the cake. So, if I'm getting this right, clearing Roger's name is the least of our worries, because it may just be the end of the world as we know it?"
Goofy pointed to the ceiling. "When the heartless destroy the heart of a world, the world disappears, and so do its people. That big ball of darkness overhead is a sign that they're getting close to finding the heart of this world."
"When my world was destroyed," Sora explained, "there were heartless coming out of every nook and cranny. We go around, defending the worlds from the heartless, but I haven't yet seen this many in one place. I think the fact that they're toons makes it easier for them to multiply."
"And toons can't be killed, except with dip." Valiant closed his eyes. "We're going to need one heck of an exterminator."
The door to Valiant's apartment began pounding. Grabbing a lamb, Valiant reached for the doorknob. Sora, Donald and Goofy readied their weapons. Roger cowered behind a chair. When Valiant opened the door, Dolores rushed inside. Her face was shiny with sweat, her eyes wide with terror.
"Eddie! You're okay."
Valiant grabbed her arms. "What's wrong?"
"The toon monsters! They're everywhere! All my customers are holed up in the secret room at the bar."
"And you ran out into danger to get here?"
"I had to know if you were okay. Plus, I have to tell you something I found out."
"What?"
"It's Doom, Eddie. I saw him commanding those things."
"That doesn't make sense. Judge Doom hates toons. Why would he be working with the heartless?"
"I don't know. But he was spouting some nonsense about getting rid of Toontown for good."
There was a crash outside. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Roger peeked through the blinds of Eddie's windows. A black car stopped illegally in the middle of the street. Judge Doom stepped out of the car. He opened the passenger's side door and dragged out the most beautiful toon Sora had ever seen in his life. A voluptuous woman in a crimson cocktail dress put up her hands. She had smooth, red hair and mysterious green eyes that looked up into the windows of Eddie's apartment.
Roger jumped. "Jessica!"
Donald's jaw dropped. "That's your wife?"
Without warning, Roger slammed through Eddie's window, leaving a rabbit shaped hole in the glass. Donald and Goofy chased after him. Sora was about to jump out and join them when he realized that Valiant wasn't following.
"Mr. Valiant, they need our help!"
Valiant turned to Dolores. "Stay inside and stay safe until we've sorted this out."
Sora landed on his feet on the street below. A moment later, Valiant exited the apartment building through the front door. Before anyone could do anything. Judge Doom put his cane under Jessica Rabbit's neck.
Roger fumed, steam puffing out from his ears. "Doom, if you hurt a single hair on her head, I swear I'm going to-"
"Do what? Haven't you fools noticed that you are surrounded?"
Though Roger's gesture to jump straight into danger at the sight of his wife was heartfelt, it had been pretty reckless. The heartless surrounded Valiant, Roger and the trio.
Valiant put up his hands, walking toward Judge Doom. "What do you plan to do with these creatures? Destroy Toontown?"
"That's the idea. Mr. Valiant."
"And I suppose you got rid of RK Maroon and Acme because they would have been the first to react if something had happened to toons?"
"Well, I couldn't have the owner of Toontown asking questions. And Mr. Maroon had a certain softness for toons, after working with them to make movies and cartoons for so long. It made sense for the heartless to take care of them."
"Ya know, your honor, for a judge, you're not that smart."
Judge Doom smiled. "And for a detective, you don't seem to have a firm grasp of how dangerous the situation is."
"Maybe, but at least I'm not dumb enough to admit guilt in front of several witnesses. I was just taking a shot in the dark, Judge. What's your excuse?"
The sky flashed and there was a roar of thunder overhead. Sora looked up. The sphere of darkness above had doubled in size.
"You, Doom guy."
'That's Judge Doom, young man. Toons. As disrespectful as ever."
"Why did you bring heartless into this world?"
Doom tilted his head. "Bring the heartless? It was not I that invited these creatures here. In fact, it as a toon that introduced me to these, rather, obedient lackeys. You see, young man, even some toons have enough sense to support my vision."
Sora blinked. "You didn't bring the heartless here? But then who-" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You have to stop using the heartless. They're going to destroy much more then Toontown. If you don't stop, then this whole world could disappear."
"What a creative lie from a desperate toon." Judge Doom swept his arm. "Take them away."
The heartless pounced on Sora, Roger, Donald, Goofy and Valiant.
Jiminy's Journal
Dark Hide (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Final Mix, 2010): A truly monstrous pure-blood heartless that stalks the realm of darkness. Able to cloak itself in darkness, it uses its incredible speed to vanish and ambush its prey, leaving only an red after-image behind as it moves. Its power was able to overwhelm both Riku and Mickey, allowing it to swallow the former whole.
Chapter 22: Chapter 21: The Dip
Chapter Text
A/N
Trigger Warning: One of the characters in this chapter uses a racial slur. It is only spoken by the villian, and was used to stay true to the character. While the word was originally used in the movie, by both the villains and heroes, and later in "Dream Drop Distance" I do not condone the word's usage in real life, against real people. It is simply used in this context as to demonstrate the character's flaws.
Thank you @ LunalaRose (I made sure to drink some water) and @DiscordsAdvocate for commenting. And thanks @Taiski for bookmarking, and @WeStanlzoucha for the kudos!
This is probably my favorite fight in the whole story...and one of the HARDEST to write. But I made darn sure to do "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" justice. Hope you all enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 21: The Dip
Sora discovered two very unfortunate things when woke up. The first was that a pair of heavy, steel manacles were tied around his wrists. There was even a ball and chain connected to the metal cuffs around his ankles. The second was that he was sitting back to back with Valiant, Roger, Donald and Goofy, and all four of them were knocked out.
Sora struggled. "Wake up!"
Valiant, Goofy, and Donald came to, but Roger was still out cold with his tongue sticking out from between his lips.
"Are you guys okay?"
Goofy's eyes rolled. "I see stars."
Donald shook his head. "I think I'm okay. Where are we?"
"This is Acme's factory," Valiant explained.
Sora scanned the brick warehouse. From the large, glass windows along the walls, he could see the storm brewing outside. There were no stars in the sky. Purple lightning flashed in the furious dark clouds. Sora swallowed, wondering how long they had before the heartless found the keyhole and destroyed the world.
To distract himself, Sora looked around the factory. There were mountains of wooden crates, each labeled with black letters that spelled out words like Acme shoes, Acme fireworks, Acme portable holes, and Acme singing swords. There were prop missiles hanging from the ceiling, crates full of dynamite, metal ten-ton blocks that hung precariously from the scaffolding above. The dangerous materials clashed with all the zany props. Buckets of industrial glue, giant balloons, clowns, cacti with ten gallon hates, cartoon mallets, merry go rounds, oversized magnets, inflatable hotdogs, and candy props were stacked under the walls. But what caught Sora's attention the most was a dark blue curtain that covered a big lump in the middle of the room. The lump had with wheels, and for some reason, Sora felt uneasy whenever he stared at it.
He spotted Jessica Rabbit. She was rope-tied to metal beam that came down from the high ceiling.
Donald let out a breathe. "Wow."
Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood and landed on the duck's beak.
"Now Donald, it's impolite to stare at a lady."
"Daisy would be mighty upset if she were here," Goofy mumbled sadly.
Donald shook his head vigorously. "S-sorry."
"Jiminy," Sora tilted his head toward his wrists, "do you think you can get these cuffs off? I can't aim my own keyblade at them when my hands are tied. If you free me, I can use the keyblade to free the others."
"I'll try." Jiminy landed on Sora's hands and used his umbrella to try and pick the lock on the handcuffs.
While he was busy, Sora wriggled and turned to speak to Jessica.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but do you think you can explain what's going on?"
Jessica looked over at Roger. "Oh honey bunny," she cried in a deep, sultry voice.
"He been looking for ya. He was really upset when he heard you were playing patty-cake with Mr. Acme," Goofy added.
Pain crossed Jessica's delicate brows. "I had no choice. Maroon told me that if I didn't pose for those pictures, if I didn't play patty-cake with Acme, then Roger would never get an acting job in this town again. I couldn't let that happen! I would do anything for my husband."
"Why was Maroon setting up Roger?" Valiant asked.
"He wasn't setting up Roger," Jessica explained, "he was trying to use those pictures to blackmail Marvin Acme. But none of that matters now. Doom doesn't care about Maroon or Acme anymore. He's lost his mind. He's turning toons into monsters, corrupting them."
"You mean turning them into heartless?"
"Is that what they're called? Well it doesn't matter. He plans to use them and the dip to destroy Toontown."
"How do you know all that?"
"I've been investigating to try and clear Roger's name. Then I witnessed Doom, and some other toon talking about using 'the power of darkness to clear away the filth from this world.' I wanted to warn Roger, but Doom caught me."
"In your apartment?"
"Yes."
"Hold on." Sora frowned. "Doom said something about another toon helping him. This toon you saw, talking to Doom about the darkness, what did he look like? Was he a tall, witch doctor in a top hat?"
"No," Jessica made a disgusted face, "he was an old man dressed in long, black and purple robes. Even though he was a toon, he looked at the rest of us like we're bugs under a moldy stone."
"Old man?"
"Remember that stuffy, old fool we ran into right outside Roger's house," Valiant said.
"He's the one working with Doom?"
"Makes the most sense."
Sora looked down at the manacles around hands. "Jiminy, how's it going?"
"This is a hard lock to pop, Sora. I need more time."
The door at the end of the factory opened. Oily toon heartless slithered into the room. They pulled Valiant and Roger away from the trio. The movement finally roused Roger.
When he spotted Jessica, he kicked his feet.
"My dearest! Are you all right?"
"Oh darling, I'm more then well now that you're awake!"
"Hey lovebirds, do you really think now is the best time?" Valiant snapped.
But Roger wasn't listening. He slipped his hands and feet out of the manacles and ballerina jumped toward his wife.
"What?" Valiant roared. "You mean to tell me you could have escaped those cuffs at any time?"
"No, not at any time. Only when it was funny."
"Funny? Do you not see the state we're in?"
"Now is the best time to be funny! There's no better time for humor then when faced with life's biggest hardships."
Jessica sighed dreamily. "Oh Roger, that was brilliant!"
Roger busied himself with untying his wife, having completely forgotten about the heartless that had been dragging him away seconds before. Leaving Valiant on the floor, the heartless snuck up on Roger and tried to nab him from behind.
Either Roger had sensed them coming or he was a total dumb dumb, because he jumped up a full twenty feet into the air, screaming. Jessica stoically watched him panic from her spot down below. The heartless jumped up after Roger. In his attempt to escape capture, Roger accidentally knocked over the heavy metal weights, squashing the heartless flat. He also knocked over a giant ax that nearly cut Valiant's head off. Lucky for Valiant, the ax only caught the manacles on his wrists, freeing him from his metal restraints. While the heartless twitched on the floor, Jessica wriggled out of her loose ropes. Roger finally got back on the ground and jumped in Jessica's arms. Their happy reunion was cut short, because, a moment later, a cruel voice called out.
"Enough. Capture those two buffoons and the temptress before they make their escape."
The heartless recovered and it didn't take them long before they restrained Jessica and Roger.
"Come on, Jiminy," Sora whispered.
The toon man from Roger's apartment walked into the factory. His beady, narrowed eyes made Sora chest burn.
"So, you were the guy Jessica was talking about. Why are you working with Doom to attack everyone?"
The man gave a sideways glance at Roger's wife.
"I see the siren has lured you in with her treacherous wiles."
Jessica cast a foul look at the robed man.
Ignoring her, the man returned his attention to Sora. In that moment, Sora had to resist every temptation not to look down at his hands and draw attention to Jiminy. The little cricket was smart. He had stopped picking the lock and hid in Sora's hands mere moments before the old man loomed over the trio.
"You've changed forms as well I see, but no matter what guise you wear, gypsies such as yourselves cannot disguise their hideous true nature."
"We're not-we're toons."
"Hedonists that live outside the world order, partaking in vice and sin. How are you any different then the thieving gypsies that have infested my world?"
"If you really cared about this world, you would stop! The heartless are destroying it!"
"That's of little consequence to me."
"How can you be callous? All these toons, all the people here, they'll lose their home, and their hearts."
"That is the price they will pay for straying from the path of the righteousness."
Sora kicked his feet, wishing he could knock the old man's teeth in. "No wonder you and Judge Doom can work together. Both of you have so much against people who are different. You are the one that brought the heartless and the darkness here, aren't you?"
"Do not twist the truth, boy. These creatures have been gifted to me by our Lord, and they follow my commands. I will use them to purge the world of the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd. And once I have exercised my judgement upon this world, I shall be allowed to return to my own, where I shall use the gifts given to me to purge all the gypsies from Paris."
Sora glared. "You're own world? You're not from here, which means you came in through the castle door. You're on Doctor Facilier's team. Who are you?"
He looked down at Sora in the same way one looks at filth. There was nothing but utter contempt in his tight frown.
"Very well, I shall grace you with my name. I am known as Judge Claude Frollo. And I am not that so called 'doctor's' ally. He is yet another means to an end. Once I have finished my business here, he will assist me in getting back to my world. Then I shall enact judgement upon him, and that gypsy 'treasure hunter' as well."
Donald and Goofy's eyes widened. "Treasure hunter?"
Sora hissed. "What did you do Locke? Where is he?"
"He's been put in the proper prison. A more merciful act then he deserves. If I had my way, he would have been disposed of long ago."
More heartless popped out of the air. They closed in around the trio, but they did not attack. Frollo raised his hand, signaling the heartless to wait. Across the warehouse, the heartless opened the front door and Judge Doom appeared.
Doom walked over to the blue curtain. "Do you know what this is, my dear toons?"
He pulled on a rope and the curtain fell off the massive mechanical monstrosity underneath it. A demonic bulldozer, with spikes on its blade, glared at the trio. A giant, cauldron of neon green, smoking liquid, bubbled on the back of the machine.
Roger and Jessica instinctively moved away from cauldron but couldn't get far because of the heartless holding them back.
"Oh no! It's dip!"
"That's right," Doom roared triumphantly, pointing at the red turret at the top of the machine. A power hose was attached to it. "Enough to dip Towntown off the face of the earth. A vehicle of my own design. Five thousand gallons of heated dip, pumped at enormous velocity through a pressurized water canon. Toontown will be erased in a matter of minutes!"
"You have to stop!"
Judge Doom whirled as though he were on a conveyor belt. He pointed his cane at Sora.
"There's no stopping it now. The heartless toons have attacked so many regular citizens. At this point, everyone in this city will happy to be rid of all the menaces in Toontown."
Despite his restraints, Valiant stood up.
"So, you were making those creatures attack toon and human alike to frame toons as violent? So that people wouldn't complain when Towntown was completely destroyed? You're kidding me!"
"None of that matters now," Sora said.
"Yeah! It's not just Toontown that's going down," Donald added.
"This whole world is going to be destroyed!" Goofy pointed his chin to the window. "Just look outside! The darkness storm is getting worse. There's way too many heartless here!"
"What foolishness," Frollo huffed. "Shall we get rid of these seditious voices and get on with destroying the town?"
"Indeed. Tie the toons together with escape-proof-toon-rope," Judge Doom snapped at the heartless.
Sora held his fists in front of his face. "Jiminy," he whispered to the cricket hiding in his palms. "Get to safety."
"But-"
"Just do it!"
Jiminy sneaked out of Sora's fingers, hopping away, disappearing into the Acme props.
The heartless swarmed the toons, tying them all up and hanging them from a hook. Soon, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Roger and Jessica were hoisted up into the air, hanging in front of the factory's back wall. The heartless began to work Doom's dip machine, pointing the water canon at the hanging toons.
"It's over Mr. Valiant," said Doom. "You'll watch your toon friends get dipped and then the heartless will get rid of you."
The heartless pressed a button and a stream of dip shot through the air at the toons. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jessica and Roger lifted their legs, barely avoiding the hot liquid. Sora's shoe slipped off his foot and he watched it melt into the puddle of dip below, leaving nothing but a splotch of yellow paint.
Valiant turned toward Frollo. "Creepy old man. How can you just stand there and watch your own kind be destroyed?"
"I'm surprised one such as yourself cares about these unholy creatures. All they do is twist the mind with frivolous laughter."
"What is with it with you judges? Sentencing toons to death based solely on bias? Does judiciary law suddenly not matter anymore? Where's the justice?"
Dark dust rose up from Frollo's robe like smoke from an unholy fire. "Fool. I am the only administrator of true justice."
Up on the hook, Roger clapped his ears. "Come on you guys, 'Shave and a Haircut?' Remember?"
Donald and Goofy bonked heads. The heartless paused for a moment, clapping the last two beats.
"Idiots," Doom roared. "One of these days, your compulsive need to funny will be your undoing! Just dip the toons and get on with it!"
Down below, Valiant's eyes widened. He looked at the heartless that were still trying to clap the last two beats of "Shave and a Haircut." Then he cast his eyes around the entire warehouse before he faced Judge Doom.
"Nothing's funny to you ain't it, Judge Sourpuss?"
Doom pulled a blade out of his cane and pointed the sharp end at Valiant.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Valiant walked backward, away from the blade. "Naw. I just think you should open up your mind, maybe embrace the laughter. I'm mean, you're on the verge of getting what you want, why not have a little fun in the process?"
Valiant's back hit a merry-go-round. He reached behind him and pressed one of the buttons on the merry-go-round's control panel. The machine's drums, trumpets and xylophones began playing themselves. The merry-go-round lit up, and soon chipper, excited music filled the whole warehouse.
Judge Doom and Frollo glared at Valiant, but were too slow to stop him when he began singing and dancing. From above, the toons watched Valiant's crazy routine.
"He's lost his mind," said Jessica.
Roger smiled. "I don't think so. Look."
Roger's ear pointed at the heartless on top of the dip machine. Try as they might, they were bouncing along with the music. Some of them even started doing pitfalls alongside Eddie.
"Oh! I get it! Ahyuck! They can't resist being funny!"
"Come on, Sora," Donald said, "crack some jokes!"
"Now? How do you expect me to be funny when I'm hanging by a thread here?"
Roger erupted into a giggling fit. "Hah! Word humor! Puns! Hanging by a thread! Hah!"
Straight ahead, the heartless at the turret started twitching, almost as though it were in pain. Roger's began kicking his feet, making the hook above him swing back and forth like a pendulum.
Sora tried not barf. "I mean, I always hoped I'd go down swinging but this is not what I meant."
Donald joined Roger's laughter.
"You guys gotta help me think of something funny here." Sora wriggled in his restraints. "I'm kind of at the end of my rope."
Jessica tried to keep her face straight, but even she couldn't resist snorting. The heartless behind the turret was writhing now. Suddenly, it fell over, bursting into dust.
Down below, Valiant picked up three steel balls. He juggled but his timing was off and he missed catching a ball, allowing the other two to bounce on his head. He lost his balance, slipped on a random banana peel and crashed into some of the Acme boxes.
Roger and Goofy were in hysterics. Jessica and Donald wiggled with laughter.
More heartless fell over, convulsing. One of them even fell into the vat of dip.
"It's working!" Sora brightened. "Of course! Laughter. Light. Mr. Valiant, keeps the jokes coming! We're slaying 'em! Hey Donald, what do you call a clever duck?"
"I don't know."
"A wise quacker!"
Donald, Roger and Goofy screamed with delight. Valiant jumped out of the Acme boxes on a pogo stick. He bounced up and down for a few seconds before his head hit a lamp hanging from the ceiling. Valiant screamed as he took a massive shock.
If Sora and the rest of the toons were laughing before, it was nothing compared to the breathless screeches they were doing now. The heartless twitched, clutching their bellies, falling over one by one. They began to explode.
"What disrespectful, disgusting frivolity," Frollo growled.
"Stop the comedy routine, you fools!"
Doom and Frollo moved toward Valiant, who by this time had fallen to the floor and was rubbing his forehead. Doom readied his blade, and Frollo raised his hand, a black fire spell glimmering on his fingertips.
"Get those toons dipped right now!"
The last heartless jumped on the machine and moved the turret. A stream of dip shot out of the cannon.
Roger yowled. "Swing for your life!"
Everyone leaned to the right and swung away from the stream, but that didn't stop the heartless. It moved the turret and the dip stream rose higher.
"Eddie! Help!"
Valiant, no longer dizzy, backflipped away from Frollo and Judge Doom. He lost his balance and bonked his head on a steel beam. Roger snickered. "Ah! The old slip and bonk! Classic! What timing!"
One more fit of laughter from Donald and Goofy did it. The last heartless was done for. It burst into nothing but without it, there was no one manning the machine and it was still running! The stream of dip inched closer and closer to the toons. Down below, Valiant was busy ducking under Doom's sword and Frollo's fire spells.
Sora could smell the acidic stink of the dip in his nose. The fumes made his eyes burn with tears.
"This is it my darling," Jessica closed her eyes. "I want you to know how much I love you. I've loved you more then any woman has ever loved a rabbit."
Donald wailed. "Come on, swing!"
But it was impossible to move the hook far enough.
The stream of dip was inches away from burning their legs.
A tiny spec jumped on the machine. It bounced up and down on top of a lever. The lever snapped downward. The stream of dip weakened. The machine turned off.
Sora caught his breathe just in time to see Jiminy land on his hands.
"I'm so glad I made it in time! Are you all right?"
Sora cheered. "Jiminy, you're amazing!"
The cricket blushed. "Shucks. There was no way I was going to let my friends get dipped. Now hold still Sora, I've got to get these manacles off."
Sora looked down at Valiant. He was completely outmatched. He tried to punch Doom, but the judge was surprisingly fast and dodged with ease. There was no time for another attack. Valiant had to duck and cover from each one of Frollo's fire spells.
Picking up one of oversized magnets, Valiant tried to pull Doom's sword out of his hand. Doom simply let the sword go and it flew through the air. Before he could get stabbed, Valiant turned the magnet around. The sword clattered to the ground, but the magnet got caught around Valiant's waist, and he flew back toward a metal beam.
Trapped between the magnet and the beam, Valiant was a sitting duck. Unable to escape, he could only watch as both Frollo and Doom advanced on him, ready to both skewer and char broil him.
Doom pulled his sword back.
Frollo released his fire spell.
Sora felt the locks around him hands pop off, but he was still rope tied to the hook. There was a net full of bricks hanging above Valiant.
Sora called the keyblade to his hand and hurled it at the net holding the bricks.
The keyblade shredded the netting. Frollo jumped back, but Valiant reached out and grabbed Doom's foot, keeping him from escaping. The ton of bricks pummeled Doom and stopped the fire spell from burning Valiant.
A flat hand popped out of the brick pile. Doom rose up out of the bricks, stars circling his head. He was cartoonishly rubbery and flattened.
Valiant's jaw dropped. "Holy smokes! He's a toon!"
"Not just any toon," Doom sang. He re-inflated, his eyeballs popping out of his head.
A look of horror crossed Valiant's face. "I'd know those crazy eyes anywhere! You're the toon that got my brother!"
Doom leaned back and laughed, his voice pitching higher and higher until it was an unearthly shriek that threatened to blow out Sora's eardrums. From above, Roger cowered at the sight of the red, insane, rolling, toon eyes in Doom's three dimensional face.
Frollo seethed. "All this time, you were just the same as these lowly creatures?"
Doom turned around, casting a freakishly wide grin and deranged, piercing gaze at Frollo.
"And what are you going to do about Judge Frollo?" Doom's eyes stretched out his scull, turning into swords. "I swore to destroy all toons. Did you think that didn't include you?"
Although he wasn't a hodgepodge of toon and man, the wrinkles that deepened when Frollo's face stretched into a sinister glower, were just as terrifying.
"I'm much purer then one such as yourself. You deserve to cleansed just like the rest of your kind."
"You're welcome to try," Doom screeched. "I could use a little f-f-fun! Isn't that right, Mr. Valiant?"
Frollo's teeth clenched, his sneer absolutely insane. Fire engulfed his hand. "May you be the first example of how my fires smite the wicked."
Black fire sailed through the air toward Doom's rubbery face. The spell crashed into Doom, and an explosion of flames obscured his body. Frollo watched with an indifferent expression until Doom shot up from the fire. Cartoon springs were attached to Doom's feet. He grasshopper jumped toward Frollo. Removing one of his gloves, revealing a golden, toon anvil underneath, Doom's arm stretched. He tried to smash Frollo with his anvil fist.
Frollo's robes began to move on their own and soon, he was floating around the room, throwing down molten balls of lava at Doom, who slithered and stretched like a rubber band, avoiding the attacks. The fire spells fell on the Acme props, making the fireworks and dynamite explode. The industrial glue burst into flames, but Doom and Frollo completely ignored it as they raged against each other.
Doom sliced with a cartoon razor blade growing out of his arm. Frollo flew out the way, and the razor blade cut through steel beams and the ropes holding up the scaffolding. The hook holding the toons swung lower. Caught in the chaos, the toons got singed by random fireworks, coughed on the smoke that was filling the factory, and were attacked by the random, flying props.
Down below, Valiant struggled to escape the magnet holding him. By some miracle, he avoided the fire spells and props and somehow grabbed an Acme portable hole. He pressed the hole into the magnet. A piece of the magnet disappeared into the black hole, freeing Valiant, but he wasn't safe yet.
Doom and Frollo's rampage forced him to run and duck. Seeing him from above, Doom swooped down to try and slice Valiant with his razor arm. He only backed off Valiant when one of Frollo's fire spells caught his cape. Flames crept up the hems of Doom's clothes, forcing him to turn his attention back to the other judge.
But Valiant was still running for his life. If it wasn't Doom slashing at him, or Frollo's fire spells threatening to turn him into steak, it was the props trying to fry, flatten, blast, or slice him into pieces.
Sora watched the fight, pulling at the rope around his chest. "This is insane! We have to do something!"
"We can't escape this rope," Roger said. "It's toon proof!"
Sora looked out the window. The storm was no longer visible. Instead, the world outside the factory was inky black. Both Valiant and the world were running out of time!
"We can't stay up here! We have to do something."
"But even if we could get down," Goofy said, "the floor below is covered in dip."
Jessica gasped. "Wait, the dip! Can you throw your weapon again?"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Move the turret so that it aims at Doom and Frollo."
"Oh! I see what she means, Sora."
Jiminy hopped away. Sora saw his little spec jumping toward the dip machine.
"Okay, here goes."
Sora threw the keyblade at the turret. The pressure hose moved slightly to the right. He tried again and again, but the noise drew attention. Doom and Frollo looked up.
"Uh, don't mind us," Roger said. "We're just hanging around."
"Yeah," Sora snapped, "can't you let us off the hook just this once?"
"Hey, Frollo, I heard Doom say you were a lily-livered phony," Donald said.
"Yeah," Goofy added, "he thinks you're the impure one."
That did it. Frollo gathered up all his energy. A sword of fire appeared in his hand. He flew at Doom, intending to melt him with his sword. With one more throw, Sora was able to angle the water canon so that it was right above Doom and Frollo.
"Jiminy. Now!"
Jiminy jumped on the lever and the dip splashed out of the cannon, completely drenching the floor. Doom and Frollo moved away from the stream, but didn't see Valiant pick up a cartoon mallet down below. He aimed and pressed a button the mallet's handle. A boxing glove shot out the mallet, punching Doom into a shower of dip.
Doom's high pitched screams vibrated along the walls and the metal props. The dip melted him into the floor. Frollo flew over the ground, but even he wasn't fast enough to avoid getting splashed with dip once Valiant climbed up the machine and aimed the water canon at him. Furious, Frollo threw a ball of magma at Valiant.
That had been a mistake. The fireball knocked Valient back, away from the turret, but it also broke the water canon. Dip exploded out of the machine, drenching Frollo. He didn't even have time to yelp before he was erased from the world.
With both Doom and Frollo done for, Valiant recovered. He turned off the dip machine by pulling the bulldozer's key out of the ignition. Then he moved toward a set of rep pipes in a corner of the factory and turned a valve.
All the fire hydrants in the factory burst, washing away the dip down the drainage holes on the floor and dousing the remaining fires. With the floor clear, Valiant was able to lower the toons safely to the ground and untie them. Moments after they were free, Benny the Taxi, Dolores and the police burst into the factory.
Benny shined his headlights over the melted yellow paint on the floor. A rubber mask and a black suit lay over the paint.
"Sister Mary Francis! What happened here?" Benny said.
"That's all that's left of Judge Doom," Valiant explained. "Turns out he was a toon all along."
"Wait a minute," said one of the police officers. "That's the same paint that was on the scene where Acme and Maroon vanished."
"Yep," Valiant let out a deep breathe. "This joker was responsible for the loss of Marvin Acme, RK Maroon, and my brother. I think that's enough proof to show that Roger's innocent."
The police officer's face darkened. "Sure, he's innocent."
"Then what's with the look," Valiant said.
"I got bigger fish to fry, Eddie. The storm outside is somehow causing earthquakes and there are still those monsters moving about. Roger may be innocent but what about all those other inky, toon creatures."
Sora came forward. "I can explain all that, but first, I need everyone's help. We need to stop that storm before it destroys everything."
"What are you talking about, kid?"
"Just hear him out," said Valiant. "He's a good kid. He really saved my hide back there."
The police officer nodded at Sora. "Okay."
"I need everyone to look for a shiny, glowing keyhole. And if you want to take down those toon monsters, do something funny and laugh. They can't stand laughter."
Roger stood straight and saluted. "I'm on it Sora! I'll get the word out to the toons! They'll find this keyhole before you can say door to darkness!"
Sora blinked. "Wait a minute, how do you know about that? I never-"
But Roger had already left.
Jessica blew a kiss at Sora. The toon kiss fluttered in the air like a butterfly and smacked Sora on the face. "Thank you for saving my husband."
Sora whipped the kiss off his cheek, blushing. "Uh, sure. No problem."
She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Donald jumped in front of her. "I have to ask. You and Roger?" Donald held up his palms. "How?"
Jessica winked. "He makes me laugh."
It took the combined efforts of all the toons, Valiant, Dolores, and the police to clear the heartless from the world. Even some of the patrons from Dolores' saloon helped. Sora couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard. Roger had pulled no punches, bringing in some of the greatest physical comedy Sora had ever seen. Normally, he would have been terrified of someone getting stabbed, squashed, set on fire, stung by bees, electrocuted, and even cut into a million pieces, but Roger made it all look so comical, and it absolutely devastated the heartless.
By the time Benny and Roger located the keyhole in Toontown's city hall, Sora's stomach and cheeks were killing him. With the keyhole locked tight, the darkness storm cleared away from the world. Toontown came back to life, as zany as ever.
What was once a deserted city was now full of nonstop movement and gags. Donald got squashed under a falling anvil. Goofy got a pie to the face after a circus truck full of monkeys raced by. The colors brightened. The cartoons came out into the streets to sing and dance.
Valiant turned toward Sora and put out his hand. "Thanks for helping me bring that Judge Doom to justice."
The moment Sora touched the detective's hand, he felt a zing go up his arm and tingle all over his body. His entire body zapped so hard that his hair actually went from spiky to smooth for one second. Sora yelped and let go.
Valiant, laughing, held up his hand, revealing a buzzer hidden in his palm.
"Gotcha kid."
"Do my eyes deceive me?" Roger blinked. "Eddie Valiant? Laughing? Making a practical joke? You've regained your sense of humor?"
"I know. Shocking isn't it?"
Roger, Sora, Donald and Goofy stared with their mouths handing open. "Did you just make a pun?"
"Well," Valiant spread his arms wide, "it is Toontown."
Darkness cocooned Riku, squeezing him tight like a fly caught in a web. It pulled him down, deeper into a black sea of nothing. Fear chewed at his heart. The darkness seeped into his lungs. His body begged for air, for light, for home, for his friends, for relief from his regrets.
Don't fight. You belong here.
It couldn't be true. Not after trying so hard to escape.
You can't control the darkness, can't fight it. You should just accept it. Accept me. Ansem's voice echoed from within. Riku felt something thick and slimy spreading in his chest and abdomen. It wasn't cold, it wasn't hot, it was liquid fear and despair and it was making him forget. Who he was, why he was there, what it felt like to laugh, or cry.
Something burned his eye. A sphere of light floated down from above.
"Riku! Fight! Don't let the darkness win."
King Mickey?
Memories rushed inside his skull. Images of boy on the beach, a boy he was constantly competing with, filled his mind and heart. There were also memories of a girl, one that bossed her two friends around, one that was easy going, even with her friends' competitive antics. Another memory showed images of King Mickey, and reminded him of the joy of fighting at his side.
He wasn't alone. Not anymore. And even if he were, he wouldn't forget. But the voice kept screaming from within his heart.
No matter how hard you run, how hard you fight, the darkness will always be there! You will lose to it, again and again.
King Mickey's voice was slipping further away, but Riku was still able to make out the words.
"You're more then your mistakes! Even if you mess up, as long as you keep trying to be better, the darkness can never win."
Just accept it. There will always be darkness in your heart.
"You're right," Riku said.
Yes.
"The darkness will always be there. There is darkness in every heart."
You finally see the truth.
"But that doesn't mean I have to give in to it."
There was anger in the voice now.
You already have, fool.
Riku struggled against the dark web he was tangled in, freeing his leg.
"There was darkness in my heart back in Destiny Islands. There was darkness in my heart when I let Maleficent manipulate me, when I stole the keyblade from Sora in Hollow Bastion. Even now, this darkness, this place, this is my heart, but I haven't completely disappeared in the darkness yet. I will fight. I control this darkness, not the other way around!"
A tiny star appeared above Riku's eye. He reached out and grabbed it.
Destiny Islands. The sound of the beach, the laughter of all the children playing on the shore, the stupid grin on Sora's face whenever they raced, Kairi's cheeky, sneaky giggle. He may never see them again. Not with his eyes. But, no matter what, he will be reunited with his friends.
The star's light washed over Riku, freeing him from the dark binding. He floated, his soul eater in his hand, ready for battle.
The bitter smell of greed and rage filled the air. A man materialized in the darkness in front of Riku. He was a tall, handsome man with silver hair and a muscular build. One look at his menacing, yellow eyes easily revealed the hollow, emptiness of his soul.
Riku pointed his soul eater at the man.
"I know now. You're not the real Ansem. Sora defeated Ansem when he restored the worlds. You are what I fear. My fear of the darkness. Me, running away from all my mistakes instead of facing them. Me, being afraid of forgiveness."
The man's smile was mocking. "Is that what you believe? Foolish boy."
"No, that's just the darkness in my heart talking. All my worries and doubts. Before I let my jealousy, my pride, lead me to use the darkness, to let it grow. I forgot what hope, what faith and connection felt like."
Riku looked up, toward the surface of the darkness. Just beyond, he smelled something sweet. It was faint, but he could feel King Mickey's light in the distance. He felt the honey smell of it tingling his nose.
"I've run away from the light, and I've feared the darkness. Now I have a choice. I can give in to you here, or I can face my darkness and accept it all." Riku raised his weapon, and spread his feet. "I will accept my darkness, but I will never let it consume me again!"
The man's shoulders tightened. A heartless guardian appeared behind him. Though the guardian's muscular, black body, blended into the darkness, its sharp, tightly-clenched teeth floated menacingly in the void.
"Go ahead then. Overtaking you will be simple if you rely on the darkness to defeat me."
"You can't use my darkness against me. It's mine to use."
"Don't delude yourself. I can see the fear in you."
"Even if I'm afraid, I will face it."
"Then are you ready to pay the price?"
Riku closed his good eye. He could smell the stink, taste the bitter acid of darkness in the air. Yet, if he concentrated hard enough, he felt the slight, sweet tingle of light. It was still in him.
King Mickey's voice echoed in his heart. "Light and darkness are both a part of who you are. Both will make you stronger."
Riku turned his soul eater toward his chest. He used the sharp side of the blade to slice off a piece of fabric from his shirt. He tied the black strip around his eyes.
"I'm ready."
"Then submit!"
Riku stilled. The itch of the darkness rushed toward him, its bitter taste getting closer. He breathed in deep, trying to calm his terrified heart. A memory rushed to the surface of his thoughts. A memory of his best friend standing up to him.
I know now I don't need the keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart.
To think Riku had scoffed at what Sora had said. To think he had called Sora's heart weak. He was no different.
I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power.
And so were Riku's friends. And so was his darkness.
The smell and taste of darkness were on him.
He attacked.
His first strike slashed the guardian across the face. The false Ansem fell back, and sent saw-blades of darkness hurtling toward Riku.
With his eyes closed, he heard the meat grinder sound of the blades approaching. With his nose he felt the sting of darkness nearing from the left and right. Riku ducked, and from his position below, he gathered dark energy in his hand.
All of his regrets and pain, all of the hardships he had endured in the realm of darkness, gathered from his mind and heart. The spell sparked and grew in his hand. Riku transferred its dark energy to the soul eater.
Ansem was near, and his darkness was growing, but Riku was no longer felt fear. The darkness made him faster, his acceptance of himself made it easy to channel the negative feelings he had been suppressing for so long.
"Firaga!"
The fire spell zoomed toward Ansem. He dodged, but that was what Riku had been hoping for. Once Ansem had moved out of the way, Riku flashed through the darkness. He appeared behind Ansem, and with the darkness gathered on his blade he slashed the heartless guardian in half.
Ansem staggered back, surprised, which gave Riku just enough time to gather more dark energy.
The dark power gathered in his hand, burning his fingers. It sizzled up his arm, neck and face. It blazed into his right eye, but he didn't feel any pain. Instead, he felt the release of letting go of all his anger, jealousy, fear, pride, and regret. The emotions only made his dark fire spell stronger. He released the darkness.
The spell tore through Ansem, or the darkness, or the manifestation of Riku's fears. Whatever it was, it vanished, never to be seen again.
Riku could feel the darkness crumbling around him. Sweet scented, warm light broke through the gloom. The black void was weakening. It was time to slice his way out of the beast.
And with the darkness gathering in one spot, with the scent of the beast's power getting stronger, it was easy for Riku to slice through the monster he was trapped inside. He felt the rush of flying through the creature. Then he landed back on his feet, in the same platform in the realm of darkness he had been on before the dark hide had swallowed him.
There was nothing in front of his eyes, no shapes or colors, but his nose and ears sensed the darkness coming. Riku jumped back just before the creature's teeth could clamp down on him.
"Riku! You're okay!"
King Mickey's voice.
The darkness was sneaking closer to his back. Riku ducked when he felt the air shift above him. He felt the bitter, angry energy near his legs and he jumped before he could be tripped by the giant heartless' tail.
"You can see again!" Mickey said excitedly.
The king's light tickled his side. Mickey was standing next to him.
"No, I can't see at all."
But he could sense it. The dark, the light, it was all around him, pressing on his skin, tingling his nose, seeping into his ears, exerting pockets of pressure in the air. He knew exactly where the heartless was, and that it was crouching down low to attack. Riku pushed Mickey's shoulder.
"Look out!"
Mickey went prone. The giant heartless swiped the air above him with its claw. Rolling over, Mickey blasted the heartless with a well timed blizzaga spell. It hit the heartless' underbelly. Roaring in pain, the heartless retreated into the void in an attempt to stalk and ambush its prey.
"Where did it go?" Mickey turned in circle, searching.
"Don't panic," Riku said, "just wait for my signal."
"Okay."
There was a vibration under his feet. The scent of the creature's breathe tingled in the air from behind. The power of its raw, animalistic energy shocked the back of Riku's ears as its electrical currents moved through the air.
"Your Majesty, three o' clock!"
Mickey took a sharp right and fired an orb of searing, hot light into the darkness. It hit the heartless right between the eyes. The creature roared, rolling over, clawing at its face. Riku dashed toward it, jumped up on its underbelly, and raised his soul eater.
Calling on the darkness was easy when he was surrounded by it. It gathered around him from the atmosphere, responded from deep in his heart but he wouldn't let the it take control of him. It was his dark strength to channel. He forced the burning energy into his blade and sliced into the heartless.
The creature's limbs flopped onto the ground, its breathe came out in a small gasp. Riku felt the darkness beneath him dissolving. The creature vanished. Defeated.
Then Mickey footsteps came closer.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?"
Riku unbound the black blindfold around his eyes. Even without it, he could see nothing.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
"What for?
"I used the power of darkness."
Riku turned his back on Mickey.
"I-if you don't want to travel with me anymore, I understand, but I promise, I never plan to use the power of darkness selfishly again so," Riku swallowed, "so please don't think of me as your enemy."
The light inside King Mickey burned brightly behind Riku. He felt the soft breeze of it on his shoulders. Riku waited for a scolding, an attack, anything.
"Now, you've experienced both," Mickey said.
"What?"
"In the past, you used the darkness with no fear and you became overconfident because of it, abusing it without thought to others."
Riku cringed.
"By using it recklessly, you let it take you over. But then you tried fighting against it, rejecting it completely, to the point that you let your fear of it control you."
Riku turned around. "And now?"
"I think, everything we do is a choice, even if we don't think we're making it. And it seems to me that you have chosen to balance the darkness with the light that's inside you. There's darkness in every heart, so I think it's only normal for you to accept that side of yourself."
"But what if I make a mistake one day?"
"Then learn from your mistakes. It impossible to never mess up. Know that over-reliance on the darkness corrupts, but don't let fear hold you back. Trust in your light so that you know when it's time to stop abusing the darkness."
"So, you're saying-"
"There's a keyblade in both the realm of light and the realm of darkness. We needed both to close the door and you needed both to feel whole again, right?"
Riku knelt down and reached out to touch King Mickey's face. He felt the mouse's soft cheeks and round nose.
"That tickles!"
"Your Majesty, I'm really flattered! Thank you!"
"You don't have to call me that anymore! We're pals."
"Oh." Riku let him go. "Okay, Mickey."
He stood and tied the black ribbon around his eyes.
"Does it hurt, not being able to see," came Mickey's sorrowful voice.
"No." Riku said. "And I don't regret it. I'll stick with the choices I've made. I won't run away anymore."
"I'm proud of ya."
Riku laughed, and when he did, he felt the light inside of him shine.
Jiminy's Journal
Jessica Rabbit (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): A lovely toon with a mysterious allure to her, but her real beauty lies in her rather compassionate, loyal, and selfless nature. Although she seems distant at first glance, she is hopelessly in love with Roger and will do whatever she can to make sure he is happy. Even though they don't seem alike, Roger is just as supportive and caring as she is. So maybe they're a match made in toon heaven after all.
Judge Claude Frollo (First Appeared in Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996): Intolerant and prejudiced against anyone he deems unholy and sinful, Frollo ruthlessly punishes without compassion or mercy. He plotted with Doctor Facilier so that he can go back to his own world and pass judgement on the Romani people, who he cruelly discriminates against. His inflexibility and cruelty allow him to use the darkness to purge those he deems wicked. But even his advanced use of darkness couldn't protect him from Sora, the toons and Valiant's teamwork.
Ansem (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts, 2002): Once a great, old, wise man that led Hollow Bastion, Ansem eventually let his research of the heart and curiosity of the darkness consume him, leading him to destroy many worlds. Sora and his friends eventually defeated him, yet his apparition still appeared in Riku's heart, taunting the boy. Once Riku accepted the darkness in himself, Ansem completely vanished. It is unknown whether the Ansem that appeared before Riku is the true Ansem or a manifestation of Riku's fears.
Chapter 23: Chapter 22: Ducksitting
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 22: Ducksitting
Kairi parried the blade that swung at her chest. She thrust her own sword at Max. He sidestepped and then aimed a jab at her head. Kairi ducked, and then found herself on the floor a second later, confused, blinking at the ceiling. Max's smug face appeared overhead.
"You have to learn to watch your opponent's whole body, not just their weapon."
As he helped Kairi up, he gave her another criticism.
"And your footwork is terrible. You were so off balance that it was way too easy to trip you."
"Good pep talk," Kairi panted. "When are you going to get to the part where you tell me what I did right?"
Max's sword flashed toward her side.
Kairi jumped back, ready to parry another attack, only to relax when she realized that Max hadn't moved.
"Did you have to take a swing at me so close?"
"Nice reflexes. There's the praise you wanted. Also, I wasn't going to actually hit you."
He turned his sword around so that Kairi could grab the handle.
"Anyway, that's enough sparring for today. Show me the basics of dual wielding."
Kairi's lip curled as she took the blade. "Come on, again?"
Max moonwalked. "You want the moves, you have to practice the basics. Just like-" He groaned. "Like my Dad says, 'You have to stay focused on your goals.' If you want the skill, you have to fix both eyes on it like it's a horseshoe stick."
"Horseshoe stick?"
"It's my Dad's favorite lecture. He always uses a horseshoe metaphor." Max sat down on the training floor. "I wonder where he is now."
"You miss him?"
"Not just that. I wanted to go with him. For once. My dad's so overprotective, I can totally can handle myself out there." He waved his hand. "Shouldn't you be practicing?"
Sighing, Kairi went through the motions Max had taught her, for the billionth time. Training with Max was nothing like training with Mary. There were no cute, fun, field trips or relentless attacks with magic. Nope. Instead, Max had Kairi doing push-ups for days on end. Then he taught her how to punch and avoid getting hit. He made her practice with toy swords against dummies until he was convinced she could hold a sword without poking an eye out.
Even when Max let Kairi use an actual sword, he forced her to do the same swinging motion and drilled her on basics for so long she was sure her arm was going to fall off. And just when she thought she was done with that, Max made her train her other arm in the same way.
Kairi wondered if she had spent months or years practicing with Max. Mary Poppins prepared their training space three times a day. To make sure that the castle garden wouldn't get wrecked again, Mary would take Max and Kairi into a painting of a training room. The first time they had been there, Kairi had thought they had been training for hours. It wasn't until they left the painting when she realized that not a single a minute had gone by on the clock in the castle library. And Mary would not give her a straight answer about whether or not time passed in the painting-training room.
"Well of course a painting is timeless, dear. That is why it is called a painting."
Once Max was convinced Kairi could attack a wooden dummy, he began to spar with her, though she still had not beaten him in a single match (at least, not without magic). Once her skills were "decent," Max started dual wielding training, though he refused to have a sparring match until she mastered the basics.
"Good job," Max pointed to Kairi's swords. "One more time."
"So will these basics let me hack and slash through heartless," Kairi panted.
"You can hack and slash through anything, but mastering the basics will make sure you do it well. It's all about-"
"Focusing on your goals, right. Sora runs around the beach with a toy sword and then gets upgraded to a keyblade one second later, and I'm stuck practicing basics."
"I'd say you're pretty good."
"Really?"
"Yeah, if you're going to fighting a few unarmed enemies."
"That doesn't sound too bad. Heartless don't use weapons, usually."
"But against an experienced opponent, you should just stick to using one sword."
Kairi grinned. "So you do think I can handle myself with one sword?"
Max wiggled his hand. "Barely."
"Was that a compliment?"
"Probably."
Kairi snorted. "So why do you use two swords?"
"Because it's cool."
Kairi stopped. "What? Were you trying to impress someone?"
Max turned around so that he wasn't facing her. "No. Maybe. Kind of."
Kairi stopped practicing.
"Something wrong?"
"Everyone here just thinks of me as 'Goofy's boy.' I wanted to set myself apart somehow. I didn't want anyone to think I didn't work hard just because my dad is captain of the royal guard. I wanted Roxanne to like me for me, but I'm nothing but a goof. Clumsy, awkward. I choke the second I try talking to her. She probably thinks I'm stupid."
Max cleared his throat.
"Plus, I trained so hard because I really wanted to get out here, go on adventures, see other worlds. You know, test my skills."
Kairi bit her lip, forcing down the questions she had about whoever Roxanne was. She remembered Oswald and how he had been too embarrassed to even namedrop Ortensia. It was better not to hurt Max's feelings.
"So, suppose you got to another world," Kairi giggled, "what would you do there?"
Before Max could answer, there was blast that shook the entire painting. A moment later, Mary popped into the training room and magicked Max and Kairi back out into the castle library. Sitting on the floor, Max and Kairi bounced when yet another powerful quake banged along the walls. Despite the swaying, Mary was not knocked over. Books fell out of the library shelves and the desk screeched along the floor before smashing against the fireplace.
"What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"
"Be calm, Kairi," said Mary as she snapped the library back to normal, "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for these rather intrusive rattles."
Max raised his ear. "It's coming from the garden."
Picking up his swords, Max dashed out of the library with Kairi on his heels.
Running out into the colonnade outside, they saw black clouds puffing out of the topiary castle down below like a sneezing chimney. By the time they reached the castle, the green, leafy doors were thrown open and two small creatures ran out of the smoke, coughing. Max bent down, picked up two chipmunks, and pulled them away from the smoking corridor.
There were footsteps. Max drew his sword and pointed it at the door of the topiary castle. A duck walked out of the smoke. He took off his spectacles and began rubbing them with his singed lab coat.
"Confound it, I vas so close! Perhaps my calculations ver off."
Max lowered his sword. "Professor Von Drake? What were you doing in the gummi hanger?"
One of the chipmunks jumped up and down in Max's palm.
"Messing with things he should not be!"
The other chipmunk sneezed and then rubbed his, big, red nose. "I think we're going to need more then the castle brooms to clean up that mess."
Kairi leaned in to whisper in Max's ear.
"Who are they?"
Max pointed to the chipmunk with the black nose. "That's Chip." He pointed to the bucktoothed, red nosed chipmunk. "And that's Dale. They're the castle's gummi ship engineers."
"And I am Professor Ludvig Von Drake," said the old duck. "Genius scientist. Although, I find myself quite disappointed. Seems as though tinkering with a gummi ship vas more difficult then I first thought."
"Difficult?" Chip growled. "Try catastrophic! You nearly blew the entire gummi hanger sky high!"
Dale covered his ears. "We're going to need Gadget's help to put things back to how they were."
Professor Ludvig Von Drake clenched his fists. "Oh no. I vill not be outdone by that tiny engineer. My science is more then enough to fix the hanger."
The chipmunks rolled their eyes, jumped off Max's hands, and ran back into the topiary castle, which was still smoking.
"Vait! Engineers. So impatient."
Professor Drake vanished down the set of stairs that led underground.
Kairi leaned into the door of the topiary castle. "All this time there was a room down there?"
"Not a room. That's the gummi ship hanger," Max explained.
"Hold on. The gummi ship is down there?"
"Usually it would be, but we haven't seen it since Dad and Donald took it for their mission."
There was a surprised cry. Turning, Kairi spotted Minnie, Daisy and Mary walking toward the castle. Another old duck walked along with them.
Daisy covered her beak. "What happened?"
Mary walked toward the castle, opening her umbrella. A warm breeze of flower petals blew away the smoke obscuring the garden. Once the sky was clear, the old duck walked toward the castle, shaking his head.
"I see Professor Ludvig is as eager as ever. I'm sorry, Majesty Minnie, I had asked him to wait until after I had spoken to you."
"The professor? Oh, that explains much. He's always tinkering with things."
The old duck adjusted the glasses on his bill, squinting at Kairi. "Aye, is this the young lady?"
"Yes, this is our guest, Kairi."
The duck took off his blue top-hat and bowed. "Pleased to meet you, lass."
Daisy cleared her throat. "It seems introductions are in order. Kairi, this is Scrooge McDuck. He is Donald's uncle."
"And the richest duck in the world." Scrooge winked.
Just then, three little ducklings raced out into the garden. Kairi saw a red, blue and green blur as the ducklings ran toward the topiary castle, chatting excitedly, their white feathers ruffling. The sight of them gave Kairi a nostalgic feeling about a jazzy, small town with brick buildings, hidden districts and gizmo shops. Then she realized she had seen those ducklings before, through Sora, back in Traverse Town.
"Wow! What do you think Professor Drake has invented now? Just imagine the engineering wonder," said the duckling in the red T-shit and baseball cap.
"I bet it's some kind of super cool freeze ray," said the duckling wearing an identical shirt and cap, except his were blue.
"Whatever it is, I bet it's going to make Uncle Scrooge even richer. Let's go," waved the duckling in green.
Scrooge McDuck slammed his cane on the ground. "Huey, Dewey, Louie!"
The ducklings flinched. "Yes, Uncle Scrooge?"
"You will not interrupt Professor Drake's work! Come back here."
Hanging their heads, the ducklings lined up behind Scrooge.
Mary reached into her carpet bag and produced one large, crystal, tea table and several matching chairs. Once everyone was seated, Mary treated the ducklings to cake in order keep them distracted. Max went down to the gummi hanger to check on Chip, Dale and Professor Ludvig. Meanwhile, Minnie and Daisy had their meeting with Scrooge.
"Since learning about other worlds, I have been obsessed! I wish to explore, but alas, learning that the worlds are sealed off from each other by impassible walls has halted my plans," Scrooge explained. "So I have hired Professor Ludvig to build me a new ship, one that can travel through the walls of any world."
Kairi leaned forward. "You're going to travel to other worlds?"
Scrooge tapped his fingertips together. "Aye lass, there's business to be done, whole new ventures to set up, and a lot of munny to be made in the doing so!"
"Could you take me with you when the ship is complete? I have to find my friends."
"We'd have to finish the ship first. Which is why I wanted this meeting, Majesty. Naturally I can't use the gummi hanger without your permission."
"You have my permission, provided that you use the ship to help search for Mickey, Donald and Goofy as well."
"Of course, Majesty."
"Then it's settled. Thank you, Mr. McDuck."
"Anything for you, Majesty." Scrooge rubbed his temple. "Though, it seems that after today's fiasco, building the ship may take longer then I had hoped. And keeping those three," he pointed to the ducklings with his cane, "out of trouble for one day might take up more of my time then helping Professor Ludvig with the ship."
Kairi stood. "Let me help! I can hang out with the triplets for the day. If I watch them, will you let me come along to other worlds?"
"Doing a favor for a bonnie lass like you? How can I say no?" Scrooge turned away. "Especially after the munny you'd be saving me by not having to hire a babysitter."
"What was that?"
"Nothing dear. Boys!"
The triplets glared over their half-eaten dessert.
"That's not fair Uncle Scrooge," Huey slammed his fist on the table.
"Yeah," said his brothers.
"We've already been to another world," Louie stated, "so we should be allowed to go with you."
"I can't have you running around, interfering with Professor Ludvig's work."
"But we can help," Dewey whined.
"None of that. I'm asking you to be on your best behavior today and to show Ms. Kairi here around Duckburg."
Kairi blinked. "Duckburg?"
"It's Donald's and my hometown," Daisy explained. "There's more to this world then just the castle, dear. If fact, we have another town right outside the castle gates."
Max returned from the gummi hanger. "I think Chip and Dale have finally reached an agreement with Professor Von Drake. What's this about Duckburg?"
"I'm going to be spending the day there with Huey, Dewey and Louie."
Scrooge tapped Kairi's shoulder. "Just to be clear, are you sure about this lass? Life can be like a hurricane in Duckburg."
"Yeah, we have race cars," said Huey.
"Lazers," said Dewey.
"Airplanes," said Louie.
"Yeah, I get it," Max huffed. "It's a real duck-blur. Kairi, you're not seriously thinking of doing this are you?"
"It could be fun. I might solve a mystery, or rewrite history."
"You do realize you're talking about babysitting, right?"
"Oh come on. If we watch Scrooge's nephews, then Professor Von Drake can have the freedom to work on the gummi ship and we might be able to travel to other worlds."
"I'm sorry. Did you say just 'we' will be watching the triplets?"
Kairi batted her eyelashes. "Come on, please?"
Max eyed the triplets suspiciously. "You clearly don't know what you're getting yourself into."
"If you help me, I'll give you dating tips."
Max twitched. "What?"
"Admit it, you want to impress some girl, and who better to give you advice," Kairi pointed to herself, "then an actual girl? I can even put in a good word for you."
Max stared at Kairi with his mouth hanging open. His cheeks flushed. Queen Minnie and Daisy looked away as though they didn't see what was happening. Their cheeks were puffed up, barely hiding the giggles that were just begging to escape from their mouths. A faint grin appeared on the corners of Mary's lips before she cleared her throat.
"It's settled then. Please escort the boys to the castle gates."
Huey, Dewey and Louie led the way through the courtyard in front of the castle. They walked on the long, white, marble road while staring at the perfectly trimmed lawn grass and flowerbeds. Kairi looked over her shoulder at the lopsided Disney Castle looming behind them. Next to her, Max marched silently, determined to do his best not to enjoy their babysitting errand.
Up ahead, sitting right in the middle of the wide road was a red seaplane. One look at it and all the color drained from Max's face.
"Oh no. There is no way I'm riding the Sunchaser."
Before he could hightail it back to the castle, Kairi grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the plane.
"Don't be such a wet blanket."
The pilot of the plane hopped out. He was a tall, muscular duck in a red and beige aviator uniform. A tuft of ginger hair stuck out from under his brown helmet and goggles. He waved to Huey, Dewey and Louie.
"Hey boys, heading back to Duckburg already."
"Hey Launchpad," the triplets said sadly. "Uncle Scrooge wants us to stay out of trouble."
"Well, hop on. I'll get us back to McDuck manner in a jiffy."
Kairi hauled Max toward the plane.
"Room for two more?"
Launchpad nodded, putting his hands on his hips proudly. "Of course! Anyone is welcome aboard my plane."
Kairi pushed Max in. He immediately sat down and looped his seat belt around twice before he clicked it into place. He sat still, gritting his teeth, even though the plan hadn't taken off yet. Kairi sat down next to him and looked out the window to watch the propellers spin.
At the pilot seat, Launchpad was pressing buttons. "All right passengers? Here we go."
The engine roared, and Launchpad took off.
Kairi slammed back into her seat. The plane flashed forward, sprinting down the road, straight toward Disney Castle. Kairi and Max screamed, watching the castle getting closer and closer, feeling like flies that were about to smash into a windshield.
The plane dipped upwards, but the castle was still in sight. They barely scrapped by the tallest tower. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kairi looked out the window and watched the castle disappear from view. They sliced through the clouds. Patches of vibrant, emerald-green hills and the occasional, colorful village appeared below. Either Duckburg was closer then Kairi had thought or Launchpad's plane was able to travel faster then a gummi ship, because, just a few moments later, Kairi had to clutch her seat belt for dear life as the plane began to descend.
The jerky landing made her bounce and she wondered if her head would have smashed against the roof if her seat belt wasn't holding her down.
Finally-thank goodness-the plane stopped.
The triplets whooped. "WOW! We didn't crash this time!"
Kairi swallowed. "This time?"
Launchpad turned around and winked from the pilot's seat. "Here you are lady and gents. McDuck manor. Thank you for flying Launchpad express."
The second the plane doors opened, the triplets raced out. Kairi's legs shook as stepped down from the plane. Max wobbled out behind her, fell on his hands and knees and pressed his forehead to the concrete.
"Solid ground!"
Looking around at McDuck manor, Kairi blinked at the giant, golden money sign that sat on top of one of the red roofs. Somehow, Launched had landed right in the middle of the driveway, between the manor and the fountain. Though not as grandiose as Disney Castle, the manor was a little less lopsided, Kairi still found herself gaping at the mansion.
Huey, Dewey and Louie ran through front door, which was opened for them just in time by a dog in a butler suit. The ducklings completely ignored the old dog as they ran up the stairs behind the foyer.
"Ah, you must be the boys' current babysitters," said the dog when Kairi and Max awkwardly walked in.
"Hello, Duckworth," Max said sadly.
"Master Max," the dog bowed. Then he reached, took Max's swords and hung them on the wall next to the door. Turning to Kairi, he said, "Do you have any weapons, miss?"
Kairi shook her head.
"A pity."
"Huh? Why?"
The butler upturned his nose, his eyes looking down at Kairi. "No reason in particular. The boys' room is upstairs, in the attic."
Kairi followed Max up the stairs to the second floor. When she was sure they safe, she leaned toward Max and whispered.
"Is the butler's name actually Duckworth?"
"Yep."
"He's not secretly hiding webbed feet, is he?"
Max chuckled. "No."
He took a big step over a loose floorboard.
"You seem to know your way around this place."
"I've been here a few times with my dad, whenever Scrooge needed extra security at his manor, though really I was invited along to keep Huey, Dewey and Louie out of trouble."
By this time, they had reached the attic. Taking in a deep breathe, Max opened he door. They were greeted with a rather messy and empty room. An escape rope made out of bed sheets was hanging out of the window.
It was all hands on deck looking for the Huey, Dewey and Louie. Yet even with Duckworth and Launchpad searching every nook and cranny of McDuck manor, and the surrounding area, the triplets were nowhere to be found.
"Nice going, Kairi. You volunteer to look after Scrooge's nephews and what is the first thing you do? Lose 'em." Kairi stopped pacing in the foyer, turning to Max. "You don't think they're already back at the castle do you?"
"Maybe they went to Mr. McDuck's money bin." Launchpad pointed his thumb at his chest. "I can take you there."
It turned out that Scrooge's money bin was a giant tower full of two things: money, and security devices. Even though she was frantic to find the boys, Kairi's jaw dropped when she entered a cavernous room that was much like a water tower. Except, instead of water, there was nothing but a lake of gold and jewels down below. She stood on a walkway that hovered several stories above piles of gold coins. It looked like there was enough to swim in. There was even a diving board at the end of the precarious walkway. Scrooge McDuck hadn't been kidding when he said he was the richest duck in the world. Kairi wondered what he would do if he saw the Cave of Wonders.
After searching the entire bin with Max, and finding nothing, Launchpad called them back to his plane.
"Incoming call from Duckworth," he said, holding up the seaplane's phone.
Kairi pressed the receiver to her ear. "Did you find the Huey, Dewey and Louie?"
"Hello Ms. Kairi, and no, I did not, but given the boys' penchant for getting into trouble, I thought this might interest you. Professor Von Drake has a lab in Duckburg, and security devises detected a break in at one of the secret labs."
"You think it's the boys?"
"Well, they were very upset at the notion of not being able to help Mr. McDuck and Professor Von Drake, so it only seems logical that they may be there."
Thanking Duckworth, Kairi put down the phone.
"Launchpad, do you know where Professor Von Drake's lab is?"
"You bet I do. Strap in."
Max cringed, but sat down in the seat next to Launchpad. After yet another bumpy ride, the plane slammed down in a parking lot next to a tall, white, square building with silver windows. Kairi barged through the main entrance, charging toward the receptionist's counter. The dog receptionist snapped her head up in surprise when Kairi leaned forward and stared at her with wide, twitchy eyes.
"Did you see three ducklings in red, blue and green baseball caps?"
"Mr. McDuck's nephews? Yeah, they asked if they can study in Professor Von Drake's library like half an hour ago."
"Great! Where is it?"
The receptionist brushed her smooth, red hair off her forehead. "Down the hall, to the right." She looked over Kairi's shoulder, and a heavy blush appeared across her cheeks and over her brown nose. She waved timidly.
"Hi Max."
Kairi turned around and noticed that Max was completely frozen, standing in the middle of the room as though his feet were stuck there.
"H-hi, Roxanne. What are you doing here?"
"Mr. McDuck needed help keeping an eye on things while he and Professor Von Drake are out of town, so I volunteered. How are you?"
"Fine. I'm good. I'm great. Babysitting the triplets for Mr. McDuck. You know, trying to help out."
Roxanne's neck disappeared as she raised her shoulders. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "That's really nice of you. I bet Huey, Dewey and Louie like having a knight as a babysitter."
"Yeah, nice, right, knight, babysitting."
Roxanne giggled.
Max chuckled.
The laughter went on until Max let out a sound that sounded a lot like "ah-yuck." He quickly covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide. The spell was broken. Roxanne was staring at Max with a confused look. As if to say, "help me," Max looked at Kairi.
Roxanne turned her head and cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry, I totally forgot about you. Did you need any other help?"
Kairi, who by this time was leaning forward with her elbows on the counter and her chin in her palms, grinned. "Oh no, I'm good. So," her smile widened, "you're Roxanne."
"Um, yes."
"You know, Max talks about you a lot."
"He does." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask your name."
"Kairi. Max is my sword instructor. He's a really good teacher."
Roxanne lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"
Max slapped his palm to his forehead.
"Yeah. His sword skills are amazing. You should come by the castle some time and-"
Max grabbed Kairi's shoulders and pushed her away from the receptionist counter. "Okay, it was really nice seeing you Roxanne. And Kairi," he spoke through clenched teeth, "we have ducks we should be babysitting, remember?"
While Max pushed her toward the library, Kairi looked over her shoulder. Roxanne leaned forward on the counter and sighed sadly. Once they were out of earshot, Kairi pulled away from Max and huffed.
"Why'd you do that? Things were going so well! I was about to tell her to come have lunch with you."
Max looked down at the floor. "This was a bad idea. I blew it. I got her laughing and then what did I do? I choked."
"I don't think so. I think she was having fun. We should go back there and-"
Once again they were interrupted. The building shook. Dust fluttered down from the ceiling. Kairi was sure she heard the distant wailing of Huey, Dewey and Louie. Max broke off at a run down the hall.
He threw open the library door. Kairi ran in right behind him, already gathering magic in case of attack, but the library was empty. One of the bookshelves had been pulled forward from the wall, revealing a secret passageway behind it. A set of stairs led down to a dark basement below. Max and Kairi went down the steps.
A steel door, with the words "For Authorized Personnel Only" waited for Kairi and Max at the bottom of the stairs. They turned the bolted wheel on the door and entered into a massive underground lab. Turned over tables full of broken chemistry beakers, test tubes, thermometers, and burners littered one corner of the room. Wires were tangled all over the floor, and there were electrical panels hanging from the walls like snapped tree branches.
Electricity sparked the ceiling from the broken light bulbs. Kairi spotted Huey, Dewey and Louie cowering on the scaffolding up above. They pointed.
"Look out!"
Something stomped toward Max and Kairi from the corner of the room. Light flashed from the broken electrical wires, giving Kairi a brief glimpse of a giant fist. It reached out and grabbed her. She was lifted up into the air and held up in front of the huge, bulbous chin of a rather fat, angry looking, black cat.
A growl, and fish breathe, blew Kairi's red bangs away from her face. She covered her mouth to keep from the contents of her stomach on the inside, and got a good look at the pair of fangs that stuck out from under the cat's bottom lip. The cat narrowed its bloodshot eyes at her and then shook its head violently as water balloons from above smacked his face and neck.
"Up here, you big, ugly, Franken-kitty!" Dewey screamed as he tossed the balloons.
Huey and Louie blew raspberries.
Down below, Max sliced the creature's ankles.
Roaring, the creature loosened his fingers and Kairi dropped to the floor. She had to jump out of the way to avoid getting squashed when the cat's behind flopped down onto the ground.
"What are you doing?" Max snapped at the ducklings. "You can't beat that thing with balloons! Run!"
The cat was angry now. He got back up onto his feet and began a set of furious punches at Max and Kairi. Ducking under the attacks, Kairi ran between the creature's legs. Once she was behind it, she shouted.
"Thundara!"
Lightning shot the creature right between its massive shoulder blades. From above, Dewey and Louie cheered.
"She can do magic!"
"It's just like Uncle Donald!"
"Do it again!"
Their excitement drew the fat cat's attention. He turned around and reached up toward the scaffolding.
"Oh no you don't!"
Max sliced at the cat's calf and the cat's knee bent, shaking the entire lab and the scaffolding above. Huey, Dewey and Louie slipped off the metal sheet they had been standing on. Their webbed feet dangled in the air. From its seated position on the floor, the cat swatted at them.
Kairi jumped onto the cat's peg leg and climbed up his rags till she was on his shoulder. Snarling, the cat slammed his beefy hand on her. Protecting herself with a reflect spell, Kairi watched the creature's sausage fingers wrap around the magic glass. She was thrown like a baseball up toward the scaffolding.
Seconds away from smashing into Huey, Dewey and Louie, Kairi dropped her shield, and managed to grab Louie's feet. Now the four them were dangling from the scaffolding.
Max called from below. "Hey, you big, ugly brute! Down here!"
He poked the cat's behind with his swords. The cat roared, turned around on its hands and knees and began crawling after Max.
Kairi watched, horrified as the cat slammed its massive paw on the ground, making Max trip. While he was down, the cat swiped at him and Max went flying.
"Oh no! Huey, let go the scaffolding."
"Are you crazy?"
"Trust me! I can do magic, remember? Just don't let go of each other."
"No, don't do it!" Louie begged.
"Do it, do it, do it!" Dewey sang.
Huey closed his eyes and let go. They fell, and Kairi pulled the triplets close. They bounced on the floor in a reflect spell and then rolled toward the door.
Releasing the spell, Kairi wasted no time on being dizzy. Even as the ground rose up and down beneath her feet, she pushed the ducklings toward the stairs.
"Get out of here! Go to Launchpad."
"But-"
Kairi pinned each of them with a glower, pointing toward the exit. "Don't you argue with me! March!"
"Yes ma'am."
The boys scrambled up the stairs. Once she was sure they were not coming back, Kairi turned back toward the cat. Max was caught in the cat's fist and he was being squeezed like a stress toy.
Kairi grabbed the electrical wires off the floor and wound them around the creature's legs. Max's swords glinted by the cat's feet. Picking them up, Kairi poked the cat's thick thighs.
Roaring, he stumbled backward, tripping over the wires. Max flew out of the creature's hands and landed in a heap on the broken chemistry glass. Running to him, Kairi covered her mouth when she saw the all dents and scratches in his armor. Max groaned, his eyes squeezed shut, purple bruises glowing on his face.
The creature wriggled behind them, shaking the lab whenever he thrashed. Tangled up in wires, his growls only grew more ferocious as he tried to free himself.
Kairi put Max's arm over her shoulders, pulling him up.
"Just go." Max coughed. "I'll slow you down."
"No way!"
Huffing and puffing with the effort, Kairi dragged Max out of the room and toward the stairs. Behind them, the creature had turned over on its stomach and was inch worming after them. Sweat dripped off of Kairi's cheeks. The ground behind her shook as the cat's jaw slammed down inches away from Max's legs.
The creature roared and the blast of air from its breath pushed Kairi off her feet. Desperate, she cast a reflect spell. She rolled in the magic ball with Max, right through the door. The spell broke and Kairi jumped, bolting the door shut just as the cat slammed into it from the other side.
Safe, Kairi hoisted Max up the stairs.
"Why'd you have to take that big brute on by yourself?"
"What was I supposed to do?" Max heaved. "Let that thing get you and the triplets?"
"This is all my fault! You were right! I didn't know what I was getting into."
"I was talking more about taking care of a punch of hyperactive kids. Neither of us expected to take on a giant, Frankenstein cat."
"But you took such a beating! I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. That was an awesome challenge."
"Don't try to make me feel better. If only I could just cure you or something!"
Max glowed a light, green color, the scratches on his skin fading. Blinking, he put weight on one of his legs and leaned away from Kairi.
"Wow. What did you just do? I feel better."
The minty glow faded from Max's black fur.
"I don't know. I just really really wanted you to be okay, and I-" Kairi stared down at her hands. "Max, can I try something?"
He nodded.
Kairi closed her eyes, thinking back to her training sessions with Minnie and Daisy.
Minnie's voice echoed in her head. "The key to light magic is to give your hopes, faith, and trust a form. If you can focus on those feelings, channel them into magic, then you can command the light inside you. What makes light magic hard to master is that there are no spells. You trust in the light inside you and let it do the rest. Healing magic is the easiest. It's just one type of light given form."
Hope.
Helping others.
Trust.
Protection.
Kairi concentrated.
Max had watched her back, had agreed to help her with the ducklings even though he really hadn't wanted to. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his chest.
"Cure."
Green leaves sprinkled over Max's head. Max stretched his bad leg and straightened.
Breathing in deep, Kairi casted the spell one more time, and Max was able to hop from one foot to the other, completely back to normal.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would have happened with that mad scientist's experiment back there."
To Kairi and Max's surprise, Ludvig Von Drake, Scrooge McDuck, Roxanne and the triplets were waiting for them up in the library.
Roxanne covered her mouth at the site of Max's banged up armor. She ran to him and began inspecting him for injuries.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm, I'm, uh, f-fine."
"Are you sure? You're armor looks like you just went through a food processor."
"I'm okay, really. You should see the other guy."
Roxanne gave him a cute smile.
Max's face blazed. Awkwardly, he stepped away from her and faced Professor Von Drake and Scrooge.
"What are all of you doing here?"
Scrooge glared at the triplets, who covered their faces in response.
"Once these three came running out of the secret lab, this smart lass," he gestured to Roxanne, "had the sense to call us for help. What happened down there?"
"We fought some sort of giant, cat, monster, experiment, thing."
Professor Von Drake's eyes widened. "Vat have you done? You voke Julius? I'm still in the middle of teaching him! He's not ready to meet regular people. You three, vat do you have to say for yourselves!"
The triplets hung their heads. "We're sorry, Professor."
"Vy vere you in my secret lab? There are things in there that are highly dangerous! Now I'll have to coax Julius out of the sewers again! Do you know how long it took for him to trust me? Move out of my vay!"
Professor Von Drake disappeared down the staircase toward the underground lab. Now it was Scrooge's turn to scold the triplets.
"Curse me kilts. I can't turn my back on you three for a second. It's a good thing Max and Kairi were there, otherwise who knows what might have happened."
Huey, Dewey and Louie, their eyes shining, apologized. "Thanks for saving us. That was some magic. And Max, we promise not to run away again."
Max poked each boy on the forehead. "I'm just glad you guys weren't hurt. I really need to apologize to my dad one of these days. Keeping kids out of trouble is not easy."
Scrooge hugged each of the boys, but then stood with his hands behind his back. "You three are grounded for three days. That will give me and Ludvig some time to fix this mess. No fun, no games, just studying in your rooms and helping Duckworth around the house."
The boys' looked defeated.
"And, if you prove you can behave for three days straight, I'll let you help me and the professor on the gummi ship."
The boys brightened.
"But no funny business. Understand? You will do what you're told and stay out of danger."
Huey folded his hands in front of his bill. "Really, Uncle Scrooge?"
Dewey held his breathe. "You mean it?"
Louie crossed his fingers.
"Yes. Now go wait with Launchpad by the plane."
When the triplets left, Scrooge turned to Max and Kairi.
"Thank you for keeping my nephews safe. Now if you'll excuse me."
He went down the stairs to the lab, leaving Kairi, Max and Roxanne all alone. The two dogs looked at each other and then turned their faces away. Max scratched the back of his head, while Roxanne began rubbing her arms. Huffing, Kairi grabbed Max's arm and pulled him to a corner of the room.
"Why are just standing around? Go talk to her."
"What if I end up letting out another 'ah-yuck?' She'll think I'm nothing but a goof."
Kairi put her hands on her hips. "What's wrong with being a goof? I didn't get to spend that much time with your dad but I did see him through my friend's eyes. Your dad is loyal, brave and kind, just like you. Any girl would be crazy not to like a person like that. I should know, because Sora is exactly like-"
Kairi pressed her lips together. Taking a deep breathe, she positioned Max so that he faced Roxanne. "Look. Just be yourself. If she really likes you, she'll accept you for who you are."
Max swallowed. Turning, he walked over and tapped Roxanne on the shoulder.
"Hey, um, thanks for calling Scrooge and Professor Von Drake here."
Roxane twirled a tuft of hair around her finger. "It was nothing really. I knew something was wrong when the building started shaking."
"No, it wasn't nothing. You're s-so smart and you really care about other people. I mean I see you in town sometimes and you're always helping someone out."
Roxanne bit her lip, even though her cheeks were raised in a smile. "And you're really brave. I've seen you patrolling and breaking up fights sometimes."
Max was so red, it was a wonder he didn't blast off like a rocket ship. He turned to look at Kairi and she gave him a double thumbs up and mouthed, "keep going."
"S-so, would you ever want to, I mean, um."
Roxanne leaned toward him. "Yes?"
"Would you want to come to the castle for tea sometime?"
"I'd love to."
"I mean if you say you no, I'll completely understand and-" Max blinked. "Wait? Seriously?"
Roxanne giggled. "Of course."
"Excuse me for a second."
Max ran out of the room, flashing by Kairi so fast that her hair puffed up.
Outside the door, Max screamed. "Ayuck! Yes! She said yes!"
Kairi winked at Roxanne. "Nicely done."
Three days later, Max and Kairi entered McDuck manor and caught the boys in the kitchen, stacking a triple-decker bologna sandwich.
Kairi tangled her fingers in her hair. "What a mess!"
Broken eggs covered the floor in yellow and clear slime, ketchup and mustard stained the cabinets, the refrigerator's contents had had a rockslide, and the garbage was turned over, spilling its stinky guts all over the tiles.
Max's nearly slipped on a dirty frying pan. "Why do you need pots and pans to make a sandwich?"
Kairi carefully moved around to the table, where the triplets munched on the messiest looking sandwiches Kairi had ever seen. And here she thought she was a bad cook. She snatched their meal out of their hands.
"No one's taking another bite until this place is clean."
"The lady's correct, Master Huey, Dewey and Louie."
Kairi jumped when Duckworth magically appeared next to her elbow. If she didn't know any better, she would say the butler was a ghost. Duckworth picked up the boys by the backs of their shirts and held them in midair. He placed Huey in front of the sink, Dewey by the trash and Louie by the refrigerator.
"If the young masters want to help Mr. McDuck, they will scrub this place spotless."
The ducklings mumbled under their breathe but did their chores nonetheless. Duckworth shoved a mop and broom into Kairi and Max's hands.
"What?" Max protested. "I didn't make this mess."
"Save the excuses, Master Max."
Now it was Max's turn to grumble as he swept up the broken dishes. Once the food, garbage and broken plates were cleaned from the floor, Kairi washed away the filth from the cabinets with a water spell. Then she began mopping.
"Wow," said the Dewey and Louie from their spot on the counter. "I miss Uncle Donald."
Huey stopped soaping the dishes for just a moment to stare. Feeling a little excited, and wanting to show off, Kairi waited until the magical water vanished before she blasted Huey's soapy dishes with another spell.
"Cool! Thanks." Huey jumped off his high chair. Too bad Duckworth put him back up there in the next second.
"And just who's going to dry and put those dishes away?"
The hard work tired out the triplets. Once the kitchen was clean, they actually sat on the floor of the foyer without moving. In fact, they stared at Kairi with wide eyes for so long that Max leaned toward her and whispered.
"What did you do them? I've never seen them sit still for this long."
"I didn't do anything."
"What kind of spells can you do?" Louie asked.
"All kinds. I just learned healing magic."
Huey tapped his bill thoughtfully. "I wonder if we'll run into Uncle Donald once Uncle Scrooge and the professor finish building the gummi ship."
"I sure hope Uncle Donald is okay," said Dewey.
There was a knock on the door and Duckworth emerged out of nowhere to answer it. A moment later, Professor Von Drake walked in. Chip, Dale, and a tiny, white mouse with blond hair, sat on the professor's shoulders.
"Hello, Duckworth. Ver the boys behaving like they should be?"
"Quite well, sir. I should say I'm thoroughly surprised."
Chip, Dale and the mouse jumped off the professor's shoulders and lined up in front of the ducklings.
"It looks as though you three are cleared to help out," said Chip.
"And perfect timing too. Our friend here already has a task for you," said Dale, gesturing to the cute, white mouse in the violet jumpsuit.
The mouse waved. "Hi, I'm Gadget. And from now until the ship is completed, you three are going to do exactly as I say. Let's go make a spaceship."
Jiminy's Journal
Professor Ludvig Von Drake (First Appeared in An Adventure in Color, 1961): An expert in all things science, Professor Von Drake tends to be a little over eager and easily distracted whenever he's on a task. Still, he is a genius and possibly the best person to make a new gummi ship for Scrooge's money making schemes. Let's just hope the gummi ship he makes can only break through the walls keeping worlds apart and not through anything else.
Chip and Dale (First Appeared in Private Pluto, 1943): The castle's gummi ship engineers. Chip is the more clever of the two, though he can also have a bit of a temper at times. Dale, on the other hand, tends to be more lazy and laid back, balancing out his brother. Both chipmunks can be a little hyperactive, but one thing is for sure: no one messes with their gummi ship hanger.
Scrooge McDuck (First Appeared in The Spirit of '43, 1943): Smarter then the smarties and tougher then the toughies, he is the richest duck in the world. Scrooge McDuck may be elderly, but he's a quick witted, clever businessman that can smell profit a mile away. Despite his savvy money making skills, he's also rather cheap. Even though he's often caught scolding the boys for their mischief, he loves his triplet nephews dearly, and is willing to let them join him on adventures, provided they behave.
Huey, Dewey and Louie (First Appeared in Donald's Nephews, 1938): Rambunctious triplets that have a knack for getting into trouble. Huey, the triplet in red, is the oldest and tends to be the most responsible of his brothers. Dewey wears blue and is possibly the most adventurous and daring out of the three. And finally, Louie, in green, is the sneakiest out of the trio. They're eager to prove themselves to their uncle, Scrooge, and probably go out into the worlds to look for Donald, though they won't admit it.
Launchpad McQuack (First Appeared in The Treasure of the Golden Suns, 1987): Launchpad is a pilot. It's his job to fly Scrooge and the triplets around in his red seaplane, the Sunchaser, whenever the family goes on adventures or needs a quick lift to Disney Castle. Though Launchpad is friendly and loyal to Scrooge and the boys, his flying skills need some serious work, as he is more likely to crash his plane rather then land it.
Duckworth (First Appeared in DuckTales, 1987): The butler that makes sure Scrooge's manor is up to snuff. He has the uncanny ability to appear when you least expect him. He's dry wit and low tolerance for nonsense helps to keep the triplets in line.
Roxanne (First Appeared in A Goofy Movie, 1992): A caring and friendly young lady that's always willing to lend a helping hand to the people in Duckburg and Disneytown. She's a little on the shy side, but she's not afraid to take a chance if the opportunity presents itself. Her crush on Max is obvious to everyone but him. Thankfully Kairi was there to give the two of them a little push.
Julius (First Appeared in Runaway Brain, 1995): A large monster created by an unknown mad scientist. Julius is a big brute that doesn't understand anything other then stomping around in an angry tirade. Professor Von Drake seems to have befriended him and believes he can teach Julius how to be around regular people, but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen any time soon.
Chapter 24: Chapter 23: The RLS Legacy
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Author's Notes:
Holy space cows! I was not expecting to get such amazing reviews! First off, if I haven't done so already, thank you @ariu_rban, TheVrone, and CarbyneCanyne for the kudos! Always appreciated!
@Discords Advocate: Glad to know that I can write some scary stuff. That was the idea. The original KH had a level of 80s kid's film creepiness to it that just loved and I'm trying my best to replicate it.
@JoyfulAdorable: Thanks again for your advice. I really appreciate it. I do agree that Disney has a lot of work to do before they can properly represent certain cultures, but that's a conversation for another time, perhaps through another means. And I see you can't wait for Sora, Riku and Kairi to get reunited. Well, I hope I don't disappoint.
@LunalaRose: Glad you liked the ducktails themed chapter. I was my favorite to write. Sad that 2017 Ducktails is over, but hoping for better remakes in the future, if Disney decides to try again.
On a side note, these last chapters have been a real pain in the patella, because MAN this movie is hard to do justice while still keeping it fresh. And I though Roger Rabbit was bad (I was so wrong). Here's hoping I represent this cult classic well.
Chapter 23: The RLS Legacy
Sora stood in front of the Castle Oblivion door. All the excitement of fixing up Toontown, faded away as he pondered what to do next. The dusty alley surrounding them made him feel itchy and his nose wrinkled from the smell of trash. Yet it was the perfection of the castle's pristine, white door that annoyed him. Beyond that door was an empty, hollow space and nothing more. It was like a carnivorous plant, luring people in with its mysteries and beautiful, white interior. Worse yet, it seemed as though there were parasites in the castle that were just waiting for him to open the door and let them in.
"What Frollo said reminded me of Hades, Jafar, and Cruella," Sora began. "For each bad guy, Dr. Faciler made some kind of promise to them. Cruella and Jafar wanted revenge, Frollo, and I think Hades too, wanted to go home with extra power."
Jiminy, flipping pages in his journal, paced back and forth on Sora's shoulder.
"But, except for Hades, things didn't pan out."
"Right. Hades said that Dr. Facilier 'really can control it.' Is the 'it' he was talking about the Castle's dimensional door?"
"Do you think that was the wish he made back in Agrabah," Goofy offered. "We never did find out what his second wish was."
Jiminy pointed to a list of notes in his journal. "What about the wall in the castle? It's getting weaker and weaker. What if it's open when we get back?"
Sora twirled his keyblade. "Then we take out Doctor Facilier, find Locke and escape the castle before we end up opening the door to darkness."
"I'm glad to hear that you haven't forgotten your responsibilities, but I don't think it will be that simple."
"Why not?"
"Well, being hostile has gotten us nothing but being tossed around. Maybe we should change our strategy. Besides, as long as Doctor Facilier is holding Locke hostage, we can't make any demands."
Goofy's head slumped forward. "What if he hurts Locke? What kind of heroes would we be if we allowed that to happen."
Sora opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. Somehow, saying his fears out loud made him feel as though they were more likely to come true, so he tried not to think about the possibility that Locke might have been turned into a heartless.
"Doggone witch doctor! Whacking him and getting it over with would be so much easier." Donald grumbled. "So what do you think we should do, Jiminy?"
"Why don't we try being diplomatic?"
Sora put his hands on his hips. "I get it. We act like we want to hear Doctor Facilier out. Maybe he will be more willing to monologue about his evil schemes."
Goofy perked up, jumping in place. "Maybe he'll slip up and give us a clue about Locke."
Jiminy tucked away his journal. "I sure hope so."
Donald tapped his foot impatiently. "Do you really think he'll fall for that? He seems pretty tricky to me."
Sora shrugged. "What have we got to lose? Plus if things go bad, we can always go back to plan A."
"Which is?"
"Beating the snot out of him, of course."
Goofy stood tall. "Well fellers, are we ready for this?"
Donald stretched. "Yup."
"Remember, we're going to get answers. Don't attack until we find out where Locke is."
Moving through the dimensions felt shorter then ever that time. When the trio landed back in the castle's foyer, the first thing they noticed was the castle wall. The door that led out of Castle Oblivion had returned. The wall was now completely see through, and beyond the cold glass, was a city.
Grey clouds covered the sky outside. Tall, lonely skyscrapers and streets, lit by glowing, silver lamps waited just beyond the castle door. Sora aimed his keyblade at the entrance, but the door did not open. Silver words appeared in the air.
"Passage given only when all seven locks are sealed."
The letters vanished. Sora's felt goosebumps rising on his skin. The sound of his comrades echoing footsteps behind him made him turn.
Silently, the trio nodded.
Ready.
"Hey, Doctor Facilier, I know you're in here somewhere. Come on out."
A shadow moved along the castle ceiling. It stretched, hanging down like a spider on a web. When the shadow touched the floor, like black clay, it sculpted itself into Doctor Facilier's shape.
The shadow man tap danced in the foyer, clapping.
"I see you got rid of that overzealous old fool. Good riddance."
Goofy's lip curled. "But, wasn't Judge Frollo your ally? Aren't you angry that he's gone?"
"Not at all. That man hated anything that didn't fit his view of what an upstanding citizen should look like. Intolerance like that is the perfect invitation for darkness."
"That's true." Sora stated. "So what about you? What lets you call the darkness?"
"Oh no, young man, you've got me all wrong. I don't use the darkness. I got friends on the other side that lend me their strength."
"Do you mean the heartless? I don't think it's a good idea for you to trust them. They will turn on you the second you get too comfortable. Believe me, I've seen it happen."
Dr. Facilier leaned forward on his cane, his white teeth gleaming. "Are you worried about me, little man?"
"I'm just saying that it's not too late to turn around. I don't know why your here or what you want, but, if you tell us, maybe we can help you. You won't have to rely on your 'friends' on the other side. It's never too late to walk in the light."
Dr. Facilier walked backwards toward the castle door. "Now did you really think I would fall for that song and dance?"
He tapped the door with his cane, and the door opened wide. Then, Dr. Facilier took something out of his pocket. "Now I can look deep into your heart and soul and make your wildest dreams come true, but if I were a betting man, I'd say this is what you're looking for."
He held up a card. The top part of the card was shaped like a crown with three points. A picture of Locke was depicted on the paper.
"Poor treasure hunter. He went pokin' around in places he shouldn't."
Without another word, Dr. Facilier threw the card into the open door, watching as it vanished into the white void beyond.
The trio dropped all pretense and pulled out their weapons.
"Do you have time for that?" Dr. Facilier asked. "I would rush after your friend if I were you. I hear the world beyond the door is a quite breathtaking."
Growling, Sora, Donald and Goofy ran through the door.
If one were to find himself suddenly in the middle of a sky full of glittering stars, galaxy dust and distant nebulae, one's first instinct would be to gasp desperately for air. But not Sora. Additionally, one would be very worried if they suddenly landed on a haunted, demon ship. Except Sora.
For the first time since the journey began, Sora had had it! Being thrown through doors, rolled in taffy, dunked on with paint, tossed in the trash, and now he was stuck in a hostage situation and there was still no sign of King Mickey, Riku, or any answers to be had. So when heartless popped up on the ripped, cobwebbed sails above, holding Locke's card in their hands, Sora went full on Donald rage mode, climbed up onto the sails, and began slashing.
The heartless vanished and the card fell down onto the purple, black veined deck of the ghost ship. Goofy caught the card, and the second he touched it, a bright light blinded both the trio and the heartless crew.
Locke flopped onto the deck. Rotating his neck, he clenched his teeth. "Now I know what being turned to stone feels like."
"Talk later." Donald bashed an octopus heartless on the head. "Fight!"
A heartless lunged at Locke. He back-flipped away. Recovering, he unleashed a pair of daggers and sliced the heartless in half. Sora watched his friends fighting from his place on the mast. The ship below breathed, the deck rising and falling, the purple, sinewy floor boards twitching.
A heartless flattened on the deck, moving toward Goofy like a shadow flatfish ready to strike. Sora jumped off the mast and stabbed his keyblade into the floor, destroying the heartless. The ship retaliated. The doors on the deck opened up and heartless spilled out like water taking over a sinking ship.
Locke jumped in front of the trio and raised his daggers.
"Thundaga!"
He fried the octopus, jellyfish, and spongy blobs, but, immediately after, a group of pirate heartless took their place. Swords, muskets, and knives were pointed at the group. Donald and Sora fired blizzard spells, while Goofy defended them from the sharp swords, but the heartless ship kept spewing more pirate and sea monster alike.
Up above, on the sails, a horde of pirate heartless jumped down, slamming Locke and Sora into the deck. Beads of sweat dripped off Sora's face, the weight of the heartless threatening to crush him into the gross, fleshy floor. Through the swarming eyes and dark bodies, he saw Donald and Goofy's arms reach in and try to pull them out. The heartless thrashed, biting and scratching, forcing Sora's friends to pull their arms back or risk losing them.
Darkness pressed down on Sora's back, and he felt his lungs flattening. He choked, unable to see, with no choice but to listen to the hissing of the heartless in his ears.
Bang.
The heartless flew off Sora. The floor tipped to the left, and Sora slide down with the heartless to the other side of the ship. He crashed into the wall on the port side. The heartless tumbled off of him, falling into the vast emptiness of space.
Bang.
The ship rumbled, shaking like rag in a hurricane.
Holding onto the wall, and trying to keep the contents of his stomach on the inside, Sora spotted another ship hovering beyond the starboard side of the heartless one. Blasts of light exploded like fireworks from the ship, slamming into the haul of the living vessel Sora stood on. The heartless ship groaned a low, underwater tuba sound. The flying fish heartless moved toward the shining, enemy ship, where they were easily destroyed by giant laser cannons.
"Prepare the next firing round gents! We've got captives to rescue!"
Was it Sora's imagination or was there an actual cat woman giving orders on the other ship. Another blast from the golden ship split the heartless deck in half. The heartless tumbled into space. Locke and the trio struggled to stay standing as the fleshy floor heaved and snapped underneath them.
"Over here," someone shouted.
Turning toward the stern, Sora spotted a boy and a big man with a cybernetic arm in a flying skiff. They flew the lifeboat closer to the heartless ship. The cyber-man tied a rope around the boy's waste and the boy leaned his hand out of the ship.
"Grab on!"
Sora reached down and tossed Donald up. The boy caught the duck and pulled him into the skiff. Goofy interlaced his fingers to give Sora a boost, but before Sora could jump, a heartless popped up behind Goofy. Luckily, Locke tackled the heartless, obliterating it with his daggers.
The heartless ship was on its last legs. Beneath Sora's feet, the living wood shattered into pieces and he sunk into the floor. He clawed at splinters to keep himself from slipping, his feet dangled over nothing. Locke and Goofy grabbed his arms, pulled him out and threw him up onto the skiff.
Crashing into Donald and the young boy, Sora quickly pulled himself up and looked over. Locke and Goofy were climbing the mast. The heartless ship below was crumbling piece by piece. Whatever monster still on the ship, crawled and scratched up the mast after Locke and Goofy.
Without a moment to lose, the boy and the cyber-man moved the ship closer to the mast. The big man's cybernetic arm shifted, morphing into a claw. He clamped his metal pincer on the boat's railing and jumped out. Hanging on the side of the boat by his hand, balancing with his robot peg leg, the big man stretched his thick arm down toward the mast.
"Jimbo, take the skiff down!" he ordered.
"Aye, aye!" The boy grabbed the skiff's lever and cranked it down.
The skiff lowered.
"Jump lads!"
Locke grabbed Goofy's shirt collar and tossed him up. The robot man caught him. Donald and Sora leaned over the side and pulled their friend in. With Goofy onboard, they grabbed the cyber man's arm and helped him haul Locke into the skiff.
The small boat dipped downward from the extra weight and the big man yelped.
"They're inching on us, lad!"
Sora and Donald looked down. The heartless were jumping up, scratching the bottom of the boat with their claws.
"Hey! Stop that! Blizzaga!"
Donald's spell encased the heartless in ice, giving them just the second they needed to get away.
The boy pushed everyone in the skiff, making them sit down. "Hold on!"
The skiff zoomed back toward the golden ship in the distance. When they neared, the cyber-man's arm morphed into a flag. He waved to the crew below.
"All clear! Blast away!"
"You heard the man! Light up the skies!"
Sora, Locke and the others watched the fireworks as the laser cannons blasted what was left of the heartless. The living ship melted like candle wax, its droplets crumbling into dust. The big man and the boy hollered, throwing their fists in the air.
Slowly, the skiff descended down onto the deck of the golden ship. Sora whistled as he looked at the glittering sails. The material didn't look like cloth and it shined with a golden, hexagonal pattern, reflecting the light of the stars. The ship blow had the smoothest, cleanest deck Sora had ever seen. He remembered Captain Hook's pirate ship, and how it had had cracks and scuffs on it. This ship, however, looked as though it were polished by the hour.
"I think I might want to trade the gummi ship for this ride."
"What?" Donald snapped. "No way!"
"It is a very pretty, old-timey ship though," Goofy said.
"Traitor." Donald huffed.
Locke cleared his throat, extending his hand to the big man with the cybernetic arm. "Thanks for pulling us out of there. Name's Locke Cole."
"John Silver." The man's flag arm morphed into robot fingers as he shook Locke's hand. "That was some mighty impressive fighting back there." He winked with his golden, cyber eye. "And this lad here," John Silver reached behind him and threw his arm around the young man in question, "none other then Jim Hawkins! That was fine flying, lad." He ruffled the boy's hair.
Snorting, the Jim pushed Silver off. He smoothed out his hair, a cheeky grin on his face. "Hold on, we're about to touch down."
Silver was the first to jump off when the skiff hovered next to the deck. His pot belly stuck out as he put his hands on his hips and roared out a laugh that nearly shook the sails.
"That's how it's done mates!"
The crew came forward, cheering, throwing their hands in the air, stomping their feet. Sora jumped onto the deck and was swallowed by the merriment. He joined in the celebration, hollering with Donald and Goofy. Once Locke was off the skiff, Jim took the little boat below the ship.
Locke glanced at the crew with his eyebrows raised. "Well, I've now seen a crew that's more ragtag then Setzer's, and I was a part of that one."
Said crew were indeed the strangest Sora had ever seen, and he had seen a whole crew made entirely out of heartless just a second ago. The current sailors came in all shapes in sizes. Four armed, one eyed, horned, six eyed, fish-faced, short, tall, grey, loose skinned, some even with no legs.
One of them looked like a slug with all kinds of tentacles on its back. It blew farting noises out of the many trunk-like appendages that grew out of the area where the mouth would usually be. Sora tried not to laugh, but despite himself he couldn't help smiling.
One of the bigger crew members sneered. "What are you smiling about, stowaway?"
"Enough," commanded a deep voice.
The sailors spread apart and cut the chit-chat. A tall, man walked toward Sora, Donald, Goofy and Locke. This one didn't look like the crew at all. In fact he looked like a giant rock that had come to life. Despite his rather tough looking skin, he was the most dignified sailor among the group, wearing a wrinkle free, red tailcoat with golden shoulder tassels.
The rock man moved aside to allow a tall, slender woman through. She wore a royal blue uniform with golden accents, complete with boots and a white set of pants. Her gait was graceful, like a feline, which was fitting because that was exactly what she was. Her green eyes were so fierce, Sora could swear she could see in the dark. Her cat ears twitched attentively to all the growls, breaths and grunts the crew let out. Even her cat nose scrunched up as she sized up Sora and his companions.
"Well gents, a fine vessel you four decided to unceremoniously collide into," said the cat. She reached out and cupped Sora's jaw in her clawed hand. "I already have a ludicrous parcel of driveling galoots on my ship. I have no use for stowaways. You four are lucky that I am merciful, otherwise I would have thrown you to the space whales by now."
"I believe the proper term is 'orcus galacticus,' Captain."
The cat woman raised her eyebrow and turned around to smile smugly at another passenger. The man that had the gall to correct her was actually a rather scholarly looking dog. Even though he didn't look as athletic as the captain, or had the same commanding presence, his lips were set in a proud line under his big nose.
"Dr. Doppler, with the outmost respect, I wouldn't expect an academic to be able to read the rather obvious state of enforcing a chain of command, nor understand the nuances of drawing respect from your new subordinates during an initiation."
She must have said something that insulted the dog doctor, because he stiffened, his upper lip twitching, and it was a good thing too. Without his reaction Sora would have had no idea that what the captain had just said was meant to be an insult. In fact, he was still trying to figure just exactly what she meant.
"Captain Amelia," the dog growled.
"Now Doctor, I mean this in a very caring way. Zip your howling screamer." She cleared her throat. "Mr. Arrow."
The rock man stood straight, clearing his throat. "Yes, Captain."
"Show these gents how one gives thanks on this ship."
Captain Amelia, her hands folded behind her back, walked into the captain's quarters. Once she was gone, the crew dispersed, each getting to their posts. Silver bowed to the trio and Locke before moved below deck.
"Good luck lads. I'll be down in the kitchens. Have to make sure Jimbo has not set fire to tonight's dinner."
Mr. Arrow kicked a set of buckets and some brushes toward Sora, Donald, Goofy and Locke.
"Welcome aboard the RLS Legacy. There is no room for idle hands on this crew. Time to pay back for the rescue. I expect a thorough washing from bow to stern. Understood?"
Even Locke gave a halfhearted, "yes, sir."
Mr. Arrow went back to the ship's helm, but Sora and the others still felt his eyes on them as they began their chore. It was a good thing the other crew members stayed out of their way as they worked, because it gave Sora the perfect chance to ask Locke what had happened to him back in Castle Oblivion.
"How did Doctor Facilier catch you? What happened?"
Locke rolled his shoulders. "While waiting for you guys to come back, I was tinkering with the castle, trying to figure out where the draft was coming from. Turns out there's a hidden passage to another room."
Donald quacked. "Another room?"
"Yes. I was attacked by black fireballs while I was investigating."
"Frollo," Sora said.
"Next thing I knew, I was stuck in that card. My guess is that the witch doctor guy didn't want me to tell you what I found out."
"What was in that room?"
"Nothing much, just a white room with a crystal ball, and a few other hidden treasures I put away for myself, but I did learn a few things about Castle Oblivion. You guys ready to here this?"
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hood and landed on Locke's shoulder. "Let me take out my journal! I have to write this down." He tapped his quill on an empty space, indicating he was ready.
Locke cleared his throat. "Castle Oblivion is a prison that locks in anyone that comes inside of it."
Jiminy wrote. "So that's why we couldn't get out once the door closed behind us."
"That's not all. The castle throws out anyone that accidentally stumbles upon it by spitting them out into random worlds and trapping them there. I'm guessing that since you have a keyblade, that's why you are able to return to the castle from these worlds. If you want to leave the castle through the entrance you entered from, the only way to escape is to lock seven specific keyholes. Each time one of the keyholes is locked, the prison weakens."
Jiminy tapped his quill against his notebook. "That would explain why the castle wall looks flimsier every time we return from the worlds beyond the door."
"Wait a minute. That must have been what those words meant. 'Passage given only when all seven locks are sealed.'" Sora calculated. "I've locked six worlds so far. Not counting Agrabah and Little London. And if Castle Oblivion is a prison, does that mean that Doctor Facilier has been sending us through the worlds so that we can open it and let him out?"
"Fellars, you don't think this is the last world that needs to be locked, do you?"
"If there are heartless here, then we have no choice," Sora said. "We can't let this world be destroyed."
Jiminy paced back and forth. "Hold on. Remember what Mama Odie said?" He flipped through his journal and read aloud. "A great shadow had left their world. Dr. Facilier is from the Enchanted Bayou and that was the first world we went to."
Sora flinched. "Are you saying that we let him into Castle Oblivion?"
"It's possible. Either that, or it was that mysterious hooded man that did it."
"Hooded man," Locke repeated. "I saw someone like that in the crystal ball back at the castle, right before Dr. Facilier trapped in that tarot card."
Jiminy finished writing. "Let's review. The castle is getting weaker because we've been locking the keyholes that break down the wall that leads out. Castle Oblivion is a prison and it seems that only a keyblade master can get out once trapped inside. But why is it built that way? And what was the castle a prison for?"
"The realm of darkness?" Donald suggested.
Sora swallowed. "But, wait. There's was nothing beyond the castle except that long plain we were in."
"Not anymore," Jiminy said. "Whatever is outside has changed. It's a city now. We'll have to investigate when we get back."
"That's if we find the door back to Castle Oblivion." Donald moaned. "Need I remind you that we fell right out of the sky?"
"Don't worry, fellars, I'm sure we'll find the door once we've finished what we need to do."
Sora bit his lip. "But what if the door to escape the prison is completely open when we go back?"
"That means," Locke's voice darkened, "that we need to take out Dr. Facilier before he can escape."
The hard work was a welcome distraction from Sora's anxious thoughts. Even after an hour of scrubbing, they were still only halfway done.
John Silver came up on the deck, dragging Jim Hawkins behind him. Silver clicked his teeth at Locke and the trio's handy work.
"Aye lads, still got half a ship to scrub by the looks of it." He thumped Jim on the back so hard that the boy stumbled forward. "Say hello to Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket, Jimbo. Time for you to do yer part as cabin boy."
"Yippee." Jim rolled his eyes. He picked up a mop.
Laughing, Silver lumbered back down below deck.
Sora cracked his back. He wouldn't be surprised if he woke up with callouses the next morning. Jim poured soapy water on the deck and started mopping, his brown hair falling over his eyes. Locke, Donald and Goofy spread out toward the back of the ship, leaving Sora and Jim alone toward the middle. The boys worked in silence.
A few times Sora looked over, trying to thank Jim for helping them off the heartless ship earlier. Yet there was a hint of sadness in the shadows around Jim's eyes, and Sora thought better of bothering him. Still, sitting still for too long without talking was starting to get on Sora's last nerve and he looked over at Jim to try and say hello when suddenly Jim slammed his mop down on the wooden deck.
"What are you looking at?"
Sora wrinkled his nose. "What are you looking at?"
Jim knocked over his bucket, spilling soapy water all over the floor that Sora had just scrubbed dry.
"Hey!"
"You got a problem with me?" Jim snapped.
Snickering drew Sora's attention. The commotion had drawn in the crew. Smacking their fists into their palms and glaring, they surrounded Sora and Jim. The two boys found themselves back to back, surrounded.
"Are we goin' have a go? A tussle?"
"Me money's on the boy in red."
"That scrawny brat? Hawkins' going to bust him up for sure."
"Whoa," Sora put up his hands. "Who said anything about fighting?"
It was like he had insulted everyone's mother. The grins were replaced with clenched teeth.
"Yer saying I left me post for nothing?"
One of the sailors grabbed Sora's shoulders and shoved him at Jim. The boys fell over.
Standing, Sora extended his hand to Jim. "You okay?"
"Oi! Don't help 'im up, idiot!"
In the distance, Sora heard Donald and Goofy's cries. Locke pushed his way through the crowd, but then a red, crab claw clamped down around his arm and pushed him back. The sailors snickered and then moved apart, allowing an eight legged creature to tower over Sora and Jim.
Now Sora wasn't one to judge someone based on what they look like, but the orange, bug-eyed glare from the half spider, half crab gave made his throat dry up. The sailor moved around the boys, snapping his shiny claws. His long, thin head moved downwards, the hump on his back making him resemble a bull that was ready to charge. Thin lips curled upward over his lower fangs, making his smile look both hungry and spiteful at the same time.
"Cabin boys need to learn how to work quietly, or there will be trouble," the spider-crab hissed.
The crew cheered. "Scroop, Scroop, Scroop!"
Jim smirked. "Why, you got something to hide, bright eyes?"
In a flash, the spider-crab, Scroop, reached out, grabbed Jim's shirt, and lifted him up. "Maybe your ears don't work so well."
Jim coughed, leaning away from the spider's face. "Too bad my nose works just fine."
"You little-"
Sora aimed his keyblade at the Scroop's thorax. "Put him down."
Scroop response was to look over Jim's shoulder and sneered sneer. A claw appeared in front of Sora's eyes. Smack. Sora flew backward, crashing into a four-armed a crew member. The brute used its extra limbs to restrain Sora's arms and legs.
"Let go!"
Scroop put his claw under Jim's neck. "Any last words, cabin boy?"
A robotic hand shot out from crowd, grabbed Scroop's claw and pulled it away. Hissing, Scroop turned away from Jim. A look of surprise appeared in his wide eyes. Silver stood next to him, a relaxed smile on his face.
"Mr. Scroop, have ye ever seen what happens to a fresh purp when you squeeze real hard?"
Silver bent Scroop's arm at an odd angle, his robotic fingers pressing down on the claw until there was a crack. Scroop flinched, dropping Jim. Grunting, Scroop held his injured claw and glared at Silver. There was an angry shout.
"What's all this then?"
The crew winced, moving out of Mr. Arrow's way. Arrow loomed over Scroop, Jim and Silver, and then gave the crew an authoritative glare.
"You know the rules. There will be no brawling on this vessel! Understood?"
The crew lowered their heads. "Aye, sir."
"Any further offenders," Arrow continued, "will be confined to the brig for the remainder of the voyage." Arrow spat in Scroop's face. "Am I clear?"
Scroop hissed at Arrow through clenched teeth. He cast a look at Silver and exhaled.
"Transparently, sir."
"Back to your posts," Mr. Arrow barked.
The crowd moved apart. The brutish sailor dropped Sora onto the deck. He sat there, rubbing his behind and the claw mark on his forehead, until Donald, Goofy and Locke surrounded him. Helping him stand, Locke patted down Sora for injuries.
"You okay kid?"
"Jimbo!" Silver bellowed. "And the rest of ya. You had one job-"
"Hey, I was doing it until that bug thing-"
"Belay that! I want this deck swabbed spotless and heaven help you if I come back and it's not done!" Silver stomped back down to the kitchens.
Jim, Locke and the trio sighed. The crew had left footprints all over the floors they had just cleaned. They had to start from scratch.
An hour and a half later, the sky had darkened as the ship had moved into quieter space. Sora, Donald and Goofy sat under the main mast, with their eyes squeezed shut. Between fighting the heartless, cleaning the first time, arguing with the crew and cleaning up, again, Sora felt more exhausted then he had in a long time. He should have followed Locke's lead and gone down below deck to collapse on one of the hammock's in the crew's quarter, but he was just too tired to stand.
Jim put away his mop and bucket and stood under the foremast, looking out into the stars with glassy eyes. Sora left Donald and Goofy snoozing. He was about to say hello to Jim when he heard a half stomp, half tap pattern of footsteps behind him. Silver walked by Sora and cleared his throat, catching Jim's attention.
"Thank heavens for little miracles. Up here for over an hour and the deck's still in one piece." Silver looked at Donald and Goofy. "Yer friends out right tuckered themselves out. Have ya never done a day's work lad?"
Actually, Sora couldn't remember the last time he had worked so hard, on a chore at least. Riku wasn't around to pick up the slack, but he was too embarrassed to say that so instead he puffed out his chest.
"This is nothing."
Silver shook his head, seeing through the lie.
Jim played with his jacket collar. "Look, I um." He took a deep breathe. "Thanks for stopping that spider psycho."
Silver sat on the railing. "Lads, that was a fool's thing to do."
"But I didn't-"
Silver cut Sora off. "Didn't your paps ever teach you to pick your fights more carefully?"
Sora rubbed the crown on his necklace.
Jim's lips set in a hard line. He turned away.
Silver's eyes softened. "I see. Your fathers are not the teaching sort."
"No," Jim crossed his arms. "He was more of the 'taking off and never coming' back sort."
"That's awful," said Sora.
"Sorry lad."
"It's no big deal." Jim forced a smile. "I'm just fine."
Silver bumped his metal shoulder against Jim's. "Is that so. Well, since the captain has put me in charge of you and the rest of the lot we rescued, like or not, I'll be pounding a few skills into that thick head of yers."
Sora and Jim blinked. "What?"
"From now on, I'm not letting your five out of me sight."
"You can't do that," Jim snapped.
"Yeah, what about-"
"You two won't so much as sleep, eat, or scratch yer bums without my say so."
Jim growled. "Don't do us any favors."
"Oh you can be sure of that lads." Silver leaned his head back and laughed into the sky. "You can be sure of that. Get some rest while ya can."
When he was gone, Jim collapsed onto the floor. Once again, Sora stood in silence, not sure what to say or do. It had been a while since he'd been with someone near his own age. Jim wasn't anything like Wilbur and Luis. He was quieter, and Sora felt like he had a lot to prove.
He remembered Riku, back when they were reunited in Traverse Town. Maybe if Sora hadn't been so competitive, hadn't tried to impress Riku with his keyblade or the gummi ship, then Riku wouldn't have wanted to one up him so much. Maybe then, he wouldn't have turned to Maleficent for more power.
Taking in a deep breathe, Sora raised his hand.
"Hey, Jim?"
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Jim looked up. "If this this is about my old man-"
"No, I meant for earlier. I wasn't trying to pick a fight. I wanted to thank you, for saving us from that heartless ship."
Jim scratched his head. "Oh that. Don't worry about it."
"That was some cool flying. Where did you learn to handle a skiff like that? Did Silver teach you?"
"Naw. It's not that different from flying on a solar surfer, so it came easy to me."
"What's a solar surfer?"
Jim raised an eyebrow. Standing, he motioned for Sora to follow. "Come on."
It turned out that a solar surfer was a lot like a surfboard, except it was made out of metal, with a retractable solar sail and a pair of thrusters on the back. Jim brought it up on deck and taught Sora how to ride. It wasn't long before the two of them were taking turns riding around the sails. Jim even built another solar sailor for Sora out of spare parts from the ship.
They raced.
Sora lost.
When they got back down on the deck, he swore. "One of these days, I'm going to actually win a race and then I will rub it in Riku's smug face." He spoke in an mocking, low voice. "'We're naming the ship, Highwind. The paopu thing was just a joke.' That jerk! He owes me a rematch!"
"Who's Riku?" Jim asked, putting the solar surfers away.
"My best friend." Sora looked at the stars. "He's out there, somewhere."
"We're alike."
"You think?"
Jim rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. Hey, sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have egged on that spider-pyscho. I have a problem with uh, following rules sometimes."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "No kidding."
"Shut it. That's why I'm on this voyage, to prove I can do right. To show my mom that she can rely on me."
"Where is this ship headed anyway?"
Jim looked around. They stood alone on the quarter deck. The only crew members that were still awake were the ones in the crow's nest.
"I found a map," Jim whispered.
Sora's eyes shined. "Like a treasure map? No way."
"Not just any treasure map, a map to the Treasure Planet. Where Captain Flint stashed the loot of a thousand worlds."
Sora looked out into space. Worlds. Was this ship able to travel between them? How was that possible? The worlds were divided from each other. Unless this space was a part of Jim's world somehow. So was this ship moving around the interspace between worlds or did this world have its own version of space, or...Sora's head was starting to hurt.
"I'm a little behind on my pirate legends. Who's Captain Flint?"
Jim rolled his eyes. "Only the most feared pirate in history." He jumped up onto the railing and pointed to the stars. "They say that on clearest of nights when the winds of the Etherium were calm and peaceful, great merchant ships felt safe and secure. Little did they know they were pursued by pirates. And the most feared of them all was Captain Nathaniel Flint. Flint and his band of renegades would swoop in out of nowhere and once they gathered up the spoils, they would vanish," Jim snapped his fingers, "without a trace."
"Cool."
"Right? They never found Flint's treasure, but they say that it's stashed at the edges of the galaxy, on Treasure Planet. That's where we're going. When I bring home the treasure to my mom, I would have made up for all the mistakes I've made. We can rebuild our inn and start fresh."
Sora yawned. "In that case, maybe we should get some shut eye. Can't find any treasure while sleep deprived."
"Aw, is it Sora's bed time?"
"Excuse me? I can stay awake longer then you."
"Prove it."
"You're on."
Jiminy's Journal
James Pleiades Hawkins (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): The ship's cabin boy. Jim has a bit of a smart mouth, and a chip on his shoulder, but there is a starry eyed, honest need for adventure under his rebellious front. Despite his complaints, he is a hard worker and has a talent for sailing. He hopes to prove himself on his voyage and set things right with his mother by bringing back gold from Treasure Planet. It looks as though he and Sora became fast friends.
John Silver (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): A cyborg with a cybernetic arm that can take on many shapes, from a clamp to a set of knives for cooking. He also has a cybernetic peg leg and eye. For a big man with an easygoing personality, he can be surprisingly strict when ordering his cabin boys around. He seems to have a soft spot for Jim, and a suspiciously intense respect from the crew.
Captain Amelia (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): The captain of the RLS Legacy. Sharp witted, and quick tongued, Captain Amelia runs a tight ship, even treating her rescues as honorary members of the crew. Leading by example, she expects nothing less then complete propriety and obedience. She has a loquacious way of speaking, and seems to enjoy intimidating her crew.
Mr. Arrow (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): The first mate of the RLS Legacy. He and Captain Amelia seem to have a deep rooted respect for each other, as she lets him handle the affairs of the ship independently. Mr. Arrow is loyal to his captain and makes sure the crew lives up to her high standards.
Scroop (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): Part spider, part crab, Scroop feels more like a pirate then a crew member, as he has no problem threatening others with violence. It seems as though he respects Silver and Mr. Arrow enough, but it may be a better plan to steer clear of this one. There's no telling what he would do when no one is looking.
Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Supernova
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 24: Supernova
When Sora rolled out of his hammock and slammed onto the floor early the next morning, he was surprised to see Locke standing over him.
"Kid, those clothes are filthy and it seems as though you've outgrown them. Now I managed to scrounge up what I could, but I still think this outfit is a better look for you then what you've got going on." Locke dropped a paper parcel onto Sora's chest. "Get changed. Silver's hollering for us." Locke walked out.
Standing, Sora looked at his red shorts and jacket. He was still covered in all the paint and grime he had collected from the worlds he had traveled to so far. The soles of his shoes were starting to peel off. His shorts were ripped and higher up on this thigh then he remembered. Just how long had he been traveling?
He unpacked the parcel. The outfit Locke had picked out for him replaced his red onesie with a blue and black shirt. He got a new black, short sleeved jacket with a hood and a pair of black shoes. Cargo pants completed the look. Yellow belts, red pockets and blue accents decorated the outfit. After changing, Sora met Donald, Goofy, Jim and Locke up on deck.
Goofy gave him a thumbs up. "Nice duds, Sora."
"Glad I picked the right size," said Locke. "Looks good on you."
Donald crossed his arms. "About time you changed those old shorts for pair of actual pants."
Jim smirked. "Yeah, you look less like a momma's boy now."
Sora narrowed his eyes. "You want to say that again?"
"You kept the necklace though." Jim pointed to the silver crown that rested on Sora's collarbone.
"This? It was my dad's."
"Was?"
"Yeah," Sora looked up at the sails. "He's gone now."
"You too huh?"
"Not like that. I lost him."
"Oh."
Donald and Goofy looked down at the floor. "Gosh, Sora."
"It's no big deal. It was a long time ago."
Jim opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Mercifully, Silver arrived just in time to distract them from their grim mood.
"Well, I see that yer all up and about. Hope ya got a good night's sleep." Silver smirked. "Because you cabin boys have one doozy of a chore list."
"Silver!"
Donald, Sora, and Goofy stiffened, hands at their sides. Locke, Jim, and Silver looked up at Mr. Arrow with passive expressions.
"Captain's orders. We're in need of restocking. Assemble an away team. We'll be docking on a supply planet shortly."
"My dear sir! The crew hasn't even had their mornin' stew!"
"You have one hour. The captain expects breakfast to be ready before docking."
Mr. Arrow walked away, his hands clenched tightly behind his back.
Silver leaned his heavy body forward in a massive sigh, and then pinned Jim and Sora with a sneaky grin when he straightened. "Well, I did say I was going to teach the pair of ya a thing or two." He pointed to the kitchens. "We've got a monster of a day's meal to cook boys."
Silver had not been kidding. Locke, Jim, and Sora peeled and sliced an entire storeroom full of vegetables. Goofy stood over a cauldron, stirring a thick soup for so long that his arms trembled. Meanwhile, Donald washed so many cooking utensils that his feathers bristled with annoyance.
When they rolled out the giant stew onto the deck, the entire crew swarmed them like a pack of hungry wolves. While Silver took a cart full of breakfast to the captain's quarters, the trio, Jim and Locke took turns ladling and serving bowls of stew. Each member of the crew ate over three bowls, leaving barely any breakfast left for the cooks.
After eating, Silver returned and gave Locke, Donald and Goofy a chore chart.
"Best hope those tasks are finished by the time I come back, boys," Silver winked, "because you don't want to see what a hungry crew will do to ya!"
Goofy grabbed Donald before the duck could jump on Silver's shoulders and start punching. Shaking his head, Locke tied an apron around his waist and got to work.
Sora and Jim followed Silver to the deck where the away teams lined up in neat, three man rows. Captain Amelia, marched in front of the crew and pierced them with a narrowed, green eyed stare.
"Listen here you miserable pack of unscrupulous, blathering, untrained dung beetles. We will be docking on a rogue planet shortly. Each of you has a list of provisions and supplies you are to bring back to the ship, and I expect nothing less then the amount specified. Otherwise, it will be your meal that will come up short for the rest of the voyage."
Captain Amelia nodded at Mr. Arrow. He gave each team out a piece of paper. The vastness of space faded, blocked out by a massive purple, blue, and green sphere. As the ship moved closer to the planet's surface, the atmosphere replaced the distant stars and nebulas, painting the sky in a green hue instead.
Sora felt tingly. An actual planet, not another world. How was that possible? He had to bite his lip to keep himself from jumping up and down in excited glee. After all, Mr. Arrow and Captain Amelia were right there. The captain's eyes caught him, as though she had a radar for sensing unprofessionalism. Immediately, Sora swallowed and tried to look as serious as possible, which was super hard because the corners of his lips kept twitching, begging to smile.
As the ship docked, Sora felt the skin prickle on the back of his neck. He turned to see Scroop sneering down at him from the main mast, his orange eyes narrowed.
"Creepy spider psycho," Jim mumbled, noticing Sora's line of sight.
"You said it."
The away teams jumped off and disappeared into the rough, rocky, blue and purple mountains. Sora tried his best to keep pace with Jim and silver, despite the fact that all he really wanted to do was stare at the strange, spiral shaped bushes, zigzagging flowers, and arched mountains.
"We're looking for plasma pods. Not an easy task our dear Mr. Arrow handed us."
"Plasma pods?" Sora and Jim repeated.
"Seems as though that last battle reduced the cannon's supply," Silver explained. "Plasma pods make good fuel for explosives."
Jim eyes brightened. "Cool."
"Aye, but they're hard to find, growing in a place that's both dark and light. Not to mention there's no tellin' what kind of creepy crawlies there are on this here rock. Keep yer eyes peeled."
Sora summoned his keyblade.
Shrugging, Jim put his hands in his pockets.
Silver raised a brow. "Lad, get yer hands out! Here." He shoved a laser pistol in Jim's hands.
Jim looked back at Silver with his mouth open. "You're serious?"
"What? Don't tell me ya don't know how to shoot."
Jim rolled his eyes, twirling the pistol."Please, how hard could it be?"
The trigger went off and a runaway shot flew out, nearly shooting through Sora's toe.
He jumped. "Hey!"
Jim held the pistol right side up, his eyes wide. "Oops."
Silver rubbed his forehead with his meaty paw. Then he snapped his fingers at Sora. "I trust you know how to use that blade o' yers?"
Sora, without looking away from Jim, twirled his keyblade.
Jim huffed. "Show off."
"Focus on me, Jimbo." Silver's robotic hand morphed into pistol. "Got to teach ya how to shoot that thing right before ya put holes where they shouldn't be. Sora, give us a target."
Shrugging, Sora shot out a series of fire spells into the sky. Silver stretched his arm, pointing the tip of his pistol at the three fireballs.
Pop, pop, pop!
Each of the targets burst one by one, sprinkles of laser dust appearing in the smoke. Jim and Sora clapped.
"Your turn, lad."
Silver got behind Jim and raised the boy's arm. "Keep yer knees bent but yer stance firm. These things push back."
Jim planted his feet firmly in the dirt. Holding his pistol with both hands, he raised his weapon and closed an eye.
"Keep 'em both open."
Silver nodded at Sora.
Sora cast his spell. Silver held Jim's arm, angling the pistol at the fireball.
"Now!"
Jim shot. The spell exploded.
"Nice lad!" Silver clapped. "Still standing. That's a good sign."
Jim flung his arm up and down, as though trying to throw off a spider. "This thing recoils more then my solar sailer."
"Harder then ya thought eh?" Silver went over how to use the laser pistol correctly. "Well, ya got the basics. Now practice with a few unmoving targets. Let's go."
Hiking through the curving trails, Jim snuck a few shoots at rocks and bushes whenever Silver stopped a moment to scan the environment. Soon they found themselves hiking up a rocky mountainside. Up ahead, was a spiral shaped peak.
Sora followed Silver silently until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, he watched as Jim grinned and then proceeded to shoot a tiny rock that had been resting on the tip of the cliff they had just passed.
Bullseye. The rock popped off the cliff, disappearing down into the dark valley below.
Accepting the challenge, Sora pointed to a boulder across the cliffs. He hurled his keyblade at it, cracking the rock down the middle. Jim rolled his eyes. At the top of Sora's cracked rock were three tiny pebbles. Jim shot all three rocks. Huffing, Sora threw a fire spell at a rock wall. It crumbled, the boulders sliding down the cliff. Jim shot the rocks as they fell, hitting each of his targets. It was all fun and games until a runaway laser whizzed by Silver's ear.
Turning around, he bellowed, "Boys!"
Sora and Jim pointed at each other. "It was his idea."
They glared.
"If you two have time for fun and games," Silver smiled, "then you'll have plenty energy for the rest of the chores we've got lined up back on the ship."
Sora and Jim hung their heads. "Great."
"And besides," Silver said, "this is how you do it!"
Morphing his hand into a pistol, Silver aimed. They stood on a slopped cliff above a great chasm. Across the dark valley below was a rock formation with a single, thinly sliced boulder balanced precariously at the top. Silver shot the slim target and then waited patiently. The rock pancaked hard onto a pile of boulders. The entire mountainside roared. A rockslide thundered into the darkness below. Sora and Jim's jaws dropped.
One of the boulders hit the wall on their side of the mountain, cracking it. The wall crumbled away, revealing a cave underneath. Sora stared into the hole. Something glimmered within.
He pointed. "I think I found what we're looking for. Look in there."
Silver's cyber eye zoomed into the crevice. "Hah! Light from above, darkness from within. We found the plasma pods, lads."
While Silver held a rope, Sora and Jim climbed down into the cliffside cave. Slipping into the surprisingly large space, Jim and Sora opened up a pair of burlap bags. Purple moss pulsed along the walls, swelling and collapsing, as though they drew breathe. Poking out of the moss were bright, green bulbs. They glowed like lanterns. Carefully, Jim and Sora cut the plasma pods off their vines. Sora picked the last pod and stared into its green light. Something grey and syrupy dripped onto the pod's glimmering surface.
Sora looked up and his throat went dry.
"Jim! Look out!"
Sora threw his keyblade. By the time Jim reacted, the keyblade shredded through the black tentacles that had reached for him from the ceiling. It took seconds for Jim to aim his pistol at the giant, fanged, heartless flower that hung overhead. The creature's thorny vines flashed out, wrapped around Sora, and hoisted him up. Jim shifted his attention, shooting at the vines that were quickly mummifying Sora. Angry, the creature's vines tightened, squeezing Sora until the boy's face turned red.
Jim threw a plasma pod at the ceiling. Keeping his eyes open, he shot. The pod burst right under the flower's dripping mouth. Green fire spread all along the its thorns and leaves. An ear drilling squeal vibrated through the cavern.
The heartless dropped Sora. He sucked on air, hacking as he wobbled to his feet. Through the smoke above, thorny tentacles reached out and grabbed Jim's waist. The heartless threw him to the wall. Jim's shoulder and temple banged against the rock. He crumbled to his knees.
Sora dashed forward. Thorns rained down on him from the ceiling. Sliding and ducking from the sharp attacks, Sora threw firaga spells over his head. The only good that did was slow the heartless' attacks down, letting Sora reach Jim . He bellowed a healing spell, bringing color back to Jim's face.
"Let's get out of here."
Jim pointed over Sora's shoulder. The heartless' vines were covering the entrance to the cavern, blocking the light, casting them in complete darkness.
Something sliced through the vines. Silver's face appeared through the cut.
"Cover yer ears!"
Silver's arm morphed into a mini cannon. He shoved the barrel through the vines, aiming at the heartless. The resulting shot banged along the walls and slammed against Sora's chest. If he hadn't been covering them, he was sure his ear drums would have burst. The heartless' ripsaw shriek made him grind his teeth together. It pulled back its tentacles. Silver stretched his cybernetic arm.
"Reach lads!"
Sora and Jim lunged at silver. Jim was the first one out, climbing up the rope with Silver and Sora right behind him. Seconds after he grabbed the rope, Sora felt a stinging pain on his leg. The creature's thorny vine wrapped his calf, the thorns digging into his skin. The rope burned Sora's palms as the plant pulled him down.
Jim called from above. "Hold on!"
A pair of lasers flared down from above, searing the vine. It peeled away from Sora's leg. Holding on to the rope with one hand, Sora aimed his keyblade at the cave entrance. He ignored the burning throbs in his leg, and screamed.
"Firaga!"
The spell crashed against a loose rocks on the roof of the cave. The cliff wall collapsed inward, squashing the heartless within. Sora spotted a pink heart floating out of the debris. Then, a pair of arms reached down and hoisted Sora back up onto the cliff.
Silver fell on his behind, holding both boys in his arms. "You all right lads?"
Jim stood, rubbing his temple and shoulder. "I'm fine."
Sora didn't rise. He lifted his pant leg, looking for injuries. Healthy skin greeted him. He rubbed his leg, feeling for bumps and scabs. There was nothing there, even the pain was gone, yet he swore he had felt burning just moments ago.
"You got a boo boo, Sora?"
Standing, Sora gave Jim a sideways glance. "Please, you're the one that needs a nurse after that thump on the head."
Jim stretched. "Naw. Thanks to you, I'm am operating at one hundred percent."
Sora reached out his arm. "And thanks to you, I wasn't plant food."
Jim bumped his fist with Sora. Then, he nodded at Silver, a heartfelt smile dancing in his eyes. "Thanks for getting us out of there."
"O' course. Now let's get those pods back to the ship."
Mr. Arrow counted the plasma pods. "Fine work. There was no trouble I assume?"
"Nothing me and the lads couldn't handle. Pair of bright boys, those two."
Jim and Sora beamed.
Mr. Arrow nodded approvingly. "The ship will be ready to sail soon. I suggest you get your afternoon meal before then."
It turned out that Donald, Goofy and Locke had made quite the delicious seafood (or was it space food) stew. Even Silver was impressed, but that hadn't made him ease up on the chores for the next few days. He made all five of them scrape off space urchins, from the ship's rudder all the way to its figurehead. They swabbed and polished the deck, tightened the mizzen ropes, and scrubbed so many dirty, stinky dishes, that both Sora and Jim's hands were wrinkly by the time they were done.
And that's how the voyage went, day after day. Sometimes they would watch Silver entertaining the crew by telling sweeping stories of his adventures, but most nights, Goofy, Donald, Sora, Locke, and Jim collapsed in the crew's quarters. The boys didn't even have the energy to go solar sailing. After five days, Silver finally gave them a break. On that night, Sora and Jim sat under the main mast, staring up at the ship's sails.
"Man, I miss the islands. I would just sail to the island where all the kids went to hang out, skipping homework and chores."
"No kidding. My mom needed all the help she could get running the Benbow Inn, and I would spend all of my time solar surfing if I didn't want to take on an extra shift."
Jim and Sora listened to the cosmic winds moving through the sails and the groaning of the ship as it cut through space. The quiet was interrupted by the sound of metal scrapping on wood.
A dog man in a red coat walked out onto deck. One of his arms was full of rolled up parchment. The other dragged a metal stand behind him. He muttered under his breathe.
"That woman, that feline. Who does she think is working for whom? If it weren't for me financing this expedition-oh!"
A powerful cosmic wind rocked the ship, and the parchment flew out of the dog's hands. The papers unrolled and rained down over the deck, easily sliding over the wood. They would have slipped off the ship if Sora and Jim hadn't jumped up to catch them all.
"Here you go, Delbert," said Jim, handing the star-charts and maps back to their owner.
The dog man set down the paper on the deck, using an old compass to hold them down. "Thank you Jim, and um, terribly sorry, young man, but I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Delbert Doppler."
Sora shook the dog's hand. "Nice to meet you Doctor. I'm Sora. So, what's all this stuff?"
Dr. Doppler set up the metal stand, balancing a telescope on top of it. "It's not everyday one gets to look out at the vastness of the universe from a completely different point in space. I thought it a fine opportunity to view the nearby star systems."
Jim picked up one of the maps and unfolded it. "How far do you think we've come?"
Dr. Doppler put his tongue between his teeth, wrinkling his nose. "Well, that feline," he cleared his throat, "I mean, Captain Amelia, states that she's been viewing the map and we are halfway through the Magellanic Cloud."
Jim tapped a crescent shape on the map. "We're a long way from Montressor. Wonder what Mom's doing back at home."
Sora stared at the map in Jim's hands.
"Say, um, Doctor, are all the worlds, I mean, planets, charted on these?"
"Interested in astronomy are you? Well, even with my vast experience, I have yet to discover all the stars and planets out there. The universe is ever expanding and it will take more then my lifetime to unlock all of its secrets."
"Have you come across any planets called Olympus Colosseum or Halloween Town?"
Doppler lifted one of his floppy ears. "Afraid not. Are those newly discovered planets?"
Sora shook his head. "No, they're just, um, legends. I was just curious."
Dr. Doppler sniffed Sora with his big nose, as though trying to smell out a lie like a bloodhound. He must have decided that Sora was not suspicious, because he adjusted his round glasses, finished setting up his telescope, and looked through it.
"Ah! There it is! Take a look, Jim. The Coral Galaxy."
Jim put his eye to the telescope. "Kinda small."
"Of course it is," Doppler huffed, "we're still light years from-"
The ship rocked over a turbulent solar wind, and the telescope nearly fell over. Sora caught it before it could hit the ground. Picking up a rope, Jim tied telescope's metal stand to one of the ship's cannons.
"What a fine knot. Is this one of your other hidden talents?"
Jim shook his head. "No. Silver showed me how."
"Keeping you on your toes, is he?"
Jim leaned his head back. "You have no idea. Any time I even think about running off to take a nap-"
Sora rubbed his temples. "He's there. Watching us."
"Aye, is that me name yer gossiping about?"
Sora and Jim grimaced when Silver walked by.
"Doc!" Silver slammed his fleshy hand on Doppler's shoulder. Doppler's glasses nearly flew off his nose.
"What do you say to me taking Jimbo here out on a ride to see the comet."
"Comet? What comet?"
"Aye, the Etherium is clear-"
"And the nebulae are shining. Of course. A plasma comet is on the way."
Jim's eyes filled with excitement. "Really? We're going to fly up next to it?"
"A little reward for all yer hard work. That is, if ya don't mind manning the skiff."
"Sora, are you coming?"
Sora rubbed his neck. "Normally, I'd say yes, but I have to save up energy for tomorrow."
"Hop to it, Jimbo. We can't let that comet get away."
"Aye, sir!"
Dr. Dopper removed the telescope from its stand. "Sora, watch my charts! I simply cannot let this opportunity pass me by!"
Dr. Doppler ran back to the quarter deck, where he pointed his telescope to the sky. It wasn't long before an electric, blue glow shined overhead. Sora watched the comet sail over the ship, its glittering tail sprinkled shining dust over the sails.
A memory flashed in Sora's mind, of Kairi reaching out for him at the End of the World. Coldness as well as warmth went through Sora's heart. He remembered screaming her name as he faded away from the newly restored Destiny Islands.
Reaching into his pocket, Sora pulled out Kairi's star shaped good luck charm. He promised he come home to her. Was their world a part of this one? Would they find his home if they kept sailing through space? If they went back to Castle Oblivion and defeated Dr. Facilier, would he eventually find a way home through the castle door?
"Something on your mind, kid?"
Sora pocketed Kairi's charm.
Locke came to stand next to him.
"This world is so confusing. It's like, where are we? Are we in interspace? The space Donald, Goofy and I flew the gummi ship in? Is this world a universe within an even bigger universe? It even has its own planets!" Sora drummed his fingers on his scalp. "My head hurts."
"Don't think too hard on it then." Locke leaned against the railing, taking a bite out of an apple. "Sometimes you just have to accept things as they are."
"They say that every star out there is a different world, and this world doesn't even have its whole universe mapped out. How far are the worlds from each other? How many are out there? It just makes me wonder if I'll ever find my friends."
"You'll find them," Locke said. "I'm searching too."
"For your friends?"
"For redemption."
"Hunting for more then treasure then?"
Locke threw what was left of his apple into the vast space below. "The greatest treasure kid," he pointed to Sora's chest, "is right here. Everything else is just shiny stuff. As long as you have that to connect you to your friends, you'll find them. I want to believe that's true."
Sora looked back at the comet. A tiny, spec chased after it. Silver and Jim. If they could catch up to a comet, why wouldn't he eventually run into his friends?
Sora and Jim balanced on their solar surfers. Hovering just behind the ship, they flew close to the thrusters. The plasma was weak, like a dying oil lamp in the middle of a frozen tundra.
"How's it looking, Jimbo?" Silver called from the deck above.
"I think the power is a little low. We may need a replacement."
"Hold on. I'll be down in a minute."
"Sora! Mr. Hawkins!"
Sora and Jim looked up. Captain Amelia watched them.
"Make sure those thrusters are operating at one hundred percent. We are about to enter a dangerous sector."
"Yes ma'am."
Captain Amelia's face disappeared from overhead, but her voice carried over. "Mr. Arrow, make sure this miserable ship is spot on from stem to stern."
"Aye. You heard the captain! Inspect the sails, tightened the ropes, make sure those cannons are secure!"
Clamoring echoed from above as the crew set about their tasks. A moment later, Silver floated up to Jim and Sora in a skiff.
"Here you are." He lifted a black cube. "One sparker, as ordered."
Sora passed tools along to Jim while the boy worked on opening up the compartment behind the thrusters. He set the black cube inside, tightened some knots, reworked some wires and then bolted the compartment shut.
"That should do it." Jim said. "Now all we need is to light it up."
"I got this. Get clear."
Sora flew back from the thrusters, aimed his keyblade into the rectangular tubes of the thrusters and shouted. "Firaga!"
The fireball hit the thrusters, and, like a chimney roaring to life, the thrusters burned with white, hot, plasma fire.
Silver whooped. "Now that's how it's done! All right, you two, get in the skiff so we can go back."
Once the boys were in the boat, Silver pointed to their solar sailors.
"I tell ya, if I was able to ride like you two, they would've been bowing in the streets as I walked by."
Sora leaned back against the skiff, a grin on his face. "We are pretty good huh?"
Jim shrugged. "I don't know, they weren't exactly singing my praises when I left home." Jim looked up at the stars. "But I'm going to change that. Already on my way to making people see me a little different."
A flicker of doubt crossed Silver's face, or was that guilt? It was gone before Sora could fully comprehend it. Silver grunted, using a screwdriver to tighten the bolts on his robotic leg.
"Say, what happened," Jim nodded to the robotic prosthetic, "that caused that?"
"You give up a few things," Silver said sadly, "chasing a dream."
"Was it worth it?"
"I'm hoping it is, Jimbo," Silver winked. "I surely am."
They made it to the underbelly of the ship. A pair of doors opened up, revealing the skiff hanger. Silver moved the skiff upward, parking it nicely into the small space. The three of them worked, wordlessly securing the skiff and the solar surfers. Just as all the ropes were tied and skiff hooked steadily in place, the ship banged from side to side.
The skiff rocked back and forth violently, nearly bucking both Sora and Jim off. Silver caught both boys his arms.
"What is going on?"
Jumping out of the skiff and rushing up onto the deck, they felt an intense heat coming from overhead. Sora looked up and saw nothing but fire in the sky.
Dr. Doppler screamed from the quarter deck, pointing his telescope at the red inferno. "Good heavens! The star Pelusa. It's gone supernova!"
Captain Amelia ran to the ship's wheel. "All hands, evasive action!"
The heat of a thousand desserts rained down on the ship. Molten star chunks zipped through space. Donald climbed onto the sails, shooting blizzard magic at the meteors. At the helm, Captain Amelia fought with the wheel, turning the ship away from the falling debris. Locke, Goofy and Sora jumped behind the cannons, blasting any burning rocks that was heading their way.
"Secure all sails!" Mr. Arrow ordered. The crew raced up the masts, pulling the solar sails back.
"All hands, fasten your lifelines," roared the captain.
Jim and Silver ran around, handing out ropes. Every member of the crew tied the rope around their waist. One by one, Jim secured the other ends of the ropes to the main mast, tightening the knots. A shock wave blasted the ship, several crew members were blown off their feet, including Silver.
He flew like a cannon ball over the ship's deck, right toward the edge. Sora and Jim reached out, grabbed Silver's legs and hauled him back onto the ship before he could be flailing behind them like a kite.
"Thanks lads," Silver huffed.
There was another blast. The ship rocked back and forth, the crew sliding from one side of the deck to the other. At the helm, Captain Amelia grit her teeth, using all her strength to hold the helm steady.
"Oh no you don't," she growled, forcing the wheel back to its original position.
Where there was once blinding, orange supernova light, a sudden shadow blanketed the atmosphere.
Dr. Doppler raised his telescope, and gasped. "Captain, the star! It's devolving into a," he gasped, "a black hole."
From their place at the cannons, Sora, Goofy and Locke saw the hot comets being pulled back into the collapsing star. The ship was pulled backward, toward the gaping, black leftovers of the star.
The closer they flew to the hole, the more Sora felt a cold, bone scraping feeling of despair and forgetfulness, almost as though he were being pulled into the realm of darkness. He stood there, watching the black mass get bigger and bigger, feeling a sharp needle work its way into his leg.
A big paw slammed down on his shoulder, waking him up.
"Get a hold of yerself, lad!"
Another shockwave slammed the ship. The only person that didn't completely lose their balance was Captain Amelia.
"Blast these supernova waves. They're so deucedly erratic!"
Dr. Doppler ran onto the quarter deck, and looked down at the rip's radar.
"No captain, the waves are not erratic at all! There'll be another one in precisely fifty point eight seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"
"Of course! Brilliant, Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"
Mr. Arrow rushed up to the helm. "All sails secured, Captain."
"Good man! Now release them immediately!"
Mr. Arrow balked, but did as he was told. "Aye, Captain. You heard her, unfurl those sails!"
Glaring, the crew raced to set the sails free. Sora, Goofy and Locke joined Donald on the main mast, and fumbled with the ropes. Even Mr. Arrow climbed the masts to help undo the sails.
Down below, Captain Amelia barked at Jim.
"Mr. Hawkins! Make sure those lifelines are secured good and tight!"
Jim checked all the ropes and called back. "All lifelines secured, Captain!"
Another wave pounded the ship, sending Sora and Mr. Arrow flying off the mast. Hanging above the black hole with nothing but a single rope to protect them, Sora and Mr. Arrow could do nothing but watch Donald, Goofy and Locke try to pull them back.
Above them, something red slithered behind the sails.
A red claw appeared behind Locke. Sora cried out, but it was too late.
Scroop's claw slammed on the back of Locke's head. Locke swayed, slipping from the sail. Donald and Goofy rushed to pull him back up. With them distracted, Scroop cut Mr. Arrow's lifeline.
"No!" Sora summoned his keyblade, blasted a fire spell behind him to propel himself forward, but he was too far to grab Mr. Arrow and had no choice but to watch, helpless as Mr. Arrow vanished into the black hole.
Donald and Goofy, furious, lunged at Scroop, but the spider creature reached out with his claws, grabbed Donald and Goofy by their shirts, and threw them out into Sora. The three friends crashed into each other and barely had enough time to look back at the ship. Locke, still dizzy, wasn't able to defend himself when Scroop threw him out next.
With the four of them lagging above the ship, Scroop gave each of them a sneer. He cut their lines.
Terror ripped through Sora. The black void pulled at them. Its cold fingers wrapped about Sora's neck, numbing him. He forgot how to scream, how to feel, or think, or stay awake. Vaguely, he felt something burning in his pocket. There was a blast from the black hole, and it slammed into Sora like a giant fist. The last thing he saw before he was blinded by a pink light, was the ship being pushed away by the final wave from the black hole.
The RLS Legacy sailed away, its sails pushed by the titanic final wave from the black hole. Flying into safer space, the crew cheered, throwing their hats up into the air. At the helm, Dr. Doppler held his chest, his frantic breaths turning into ones of relief and admiration.
"Captain! That was-my goodness-that was the most-"
"Oh tish-tosh." Captain Amelia waved him off. Pausing for a moment before she left the helm, she smiled at him. "Actually, Doctor, your astronomical advice was most helpful."
Dr. Doppler straightened his collar. "W-well, thank you."
Captain Amelia walked to the main mast, waving Silver over. "Congratulations are in order. Your cabin boy did a bang-up job with those lifelines."
Silver turned and gave Jim a proud smile.
Captain Amelia cleared her throat. "All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?"
Silence.
"Mr. Arrow?"
Scroop slithered forward, his head down, his teeth clenched in sadness. "I'm afraid Mr. Arrow and the other cabin boys were lost. Their lifelines weren't secure."
For the first time in the entire voyage, Captain Amelia's steadfast and unflappable demeanor vanished. When she took Mr. Arrow's hat from Scroop, her green eyes dimmed.
Then all eyes were on Jim. He raced to the main mast. Five lifelines were missing from their posts. "I checked them all! They were secure. I swear!"
Jim fell to his knees. Around him, everything slowed down. He could still feel the rough edges of the ropes, the sudden stop when he tugged each one, the burning in his palms when he pulled each knot tight. His hands remembered them all being tightened, but his sight did not match.
Somewhere, Captain Amelia began to speak, her voice breaking, but Jim didn't understand her words.
Taking a deep breathe to steady herself, Captain Amelia addressed her crew. "Mr. Arrow was a fine spacer, finer then most of us could ever hope to be." She paused, pushing down a shiver in her throat and setting her face back to its usual stern mask. "But he knew the risks, as do we all. Back to your posts. We carry on."
The crew went back to work.
Jim heard Dr. Doppler approach, saw the old dog's shadow move toward him, pause, and then move away. The night wore on, but Jim couldn't bring himself to go down to the haul and get some rest. He held onto the shrouds, staring up at the sky, hoping to see a familiar face, but there were none.
Then Silver's step-creak gait made him turn around.
"It wasn't your fault you know," Silver began. "Accident's such as these are part of the voyage."
Jim jumped off the shrouds, and walked down to the deck, passing Silver by.
"If it weren't for you, why, half the crew would be spinning in that abyss."
Jim turned around, his teeth clenched, his eyes wide with fury. "Don't you get it? I messed up! Thanks to me, Sora, his friends, Mr. Arrow. They're gone. Okay? And it's all my fault! For two seconds, I thought that maybe I could do something right but now-" Jim covered his eyes, taking in a deep, shaky breathe.
There was a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into Silver's face. The big man's eye was full of compassion.
"Now you listen to me, James Hawkins." He pressed a hand over Jim's heart. "You got the makings of greatness in ya, but you have to take the helm and chart your own course. Stick to it, no matter the squalls." Silver looked toward the sky. "And when the time comes, you get the chance to really test the cut of your sails, and show what you're made of, well, I hope I'm there, catching some of the light coming off ya that day."
Jim threw his arms around Silver's torso. The big man patted his back. "It's all right, Jimbo."
Stepping away and whipping his eyes, Jim let out a tiny thanks. Yet, as he walked away from Silver, his heart felt heavy. No matter what Silver said, even if the lifelines had come undone because of an accident, it didn't change the fact that people were lost. No matter how he thought about it, the truth was that he wasn't ever going to see Sora again.
The chains holding him in place, the prison that had been his purgatory for countless years, was weakening. There was only one more lock to be released before his cage came undone.
The cloaked figure watched the boy and the king. Even though the boy had conquered his darkness, even though his plans for control had failed, it didn't matter. There was another that was now touched by darkness. Soon he would have everything he needed to finish what he couldn't do so long ago. The only thing was to make sure the shadow man did his part.
He was stuck in a void of light that was quickly darkening. The ringing in his ears was interrupted by disjointed words.
"-up, please!"
He didn't want to open his eyes. The brightness was already searing through his brain, giving him a headache. The incoming darkness was more soothing, cooler.
"Wake up!"
"Cure spells aren't working!"
The voices were clearer now. The light was almost gone. He felt as though he were forgetting something important.
"Do you think the black hole did something to him?"
Black hole?
Mr. Arrow.
Sora's eyes open and he jerked, sitting up in a flash. The next moment, he was tackled back to the ground. Donald and Goofy squeezed him. Sora and touched his friends' faces. They were real. Breathing out, he hugged them back.
"Don't scare me like that," Goofy sobbed.
"He's okay! He's okay!" Donald chanted.
Someone patted his head. Looking up, Sora spotted Locke. The treasure hunter looked a little worse for wear. There were scratches on his face, but he was still alive and kicking.
After Donald and Goofy released him, Sora looked around. They were no longer in space. In fact, the new world they found themselves was painted entirely by faded shades of orange and brown, almost as though the entire planet had rusted from years of neglect. Sora sat on a cushion of half dry, half rotten vines. Mushroom trees provided shade from above. Forgotten pieces of metal rose up from the dirt like a scrap heap's graveyard. Yellow-green moss covered the copper material.
"Where are we?"
"We don't know," Donald said. "We woke up and we were just here."
Sora looked around and then stared down at his hands.
"Mr. Arrow. He's gone."
"It wasn't your fault, Sora."
Goofy put a hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Yeah! Scroop is he one that cut his life line. And ours! When I get my hands on that spider, I'm going to-" Donald made a strangling motion with his fists.
"But, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop it. First the king of Atlantis. Now this. Why can't I protect everyone?"
Donald and Goofy were silent. They opened their mouths several times, but couldn't produce words.
Locke pulled Sora to his feet.
"You're growing up, kid."
"What?"
"I know how you feel, when you try so hard to help people in need. But you can't always save everyone. Believe me, I know. What makes you a hero, what keeps the darkness away, is the fact that you don't stop trying to do the right thing."
Sora whipped his eyes. "You're right. We still have things to do. Like find out where we are, and how we got here."
"Gee, before I blacked out, I remember a light coming out of your pocket, Sora."
"A light?"
Sora reached into his pocket and felt something hot. He pulled it out. It was the green gem Locke had given them as collateral back in Agrabah. The gem glowed and dimmed, pulsing with an inner pink fire.
Locke gasped. "What? How?"
"Say, isn't that the, uh, magisit?"
Locke corrected Goofy. "Magicite."
"Right. But why's it glowing?"
"I-I don't know. I've never seen it do that. But my friend, she could-"
Sora handed the gem back to Locke. "You've proven that you're trustworthy. I don't think I need to hold on to this anymore."
Locke looked at the gem with longing. "Thanks."
"That treasure seems important to you."
Locke put the magicite next to his heart. "When the darkness invaded my home, my friend, Terra, protected me. The darkness overtook her. This gem is all that all that's left of her."
Donald rubbed his arms, a guilty pout on his beak. "You gave us something that precious?"
"I'd hoped that, maybe going to different worlds might trigger something, to change her back." Locke said. "Terra was special. If she wanted to, she could fly and when she did, she had a pink glow about her."
Sora scratched his collarbone. "Wait, I remember a pink light before I passed out. That must have been the magicite. Your friend protected us from being drawn into that black hole."
Locke squeezed the magicite. "Maybe there is hope for her after all."
Goofy waved at the gem. "Thank you, Terra."
The pink fire in the gem flickered and then faded. Locke put the magicite in his pocket.
"Hey, Sora," Donald began, "maybe we can take Locke to a princess of light. Maybe they can help bring Terra back to normal."
"What do you say, Locke? Down to stick with us for a little longer?"
Locke smirked. "I'm always up for an adventure."
Gadget was the "build if first, then test it" sort. While Professor Drake, Chip and Dale brainstormed and worked on blueprints in the gummi hanger, Gadget preferred to be out and about, making things. And that was how Kairi, Max, Huey, Dewey and Louie found themselves on the edges of Disneytown.
Hauling wooden trollies full of all kinds of materials and tools, they stopped on a wide field of hills and flowers. Gadget jumped off Kairi's shoulder, diving into the materials. She pulled out an oversized remote control, jumped off the trolly, and started pacing in the grass.
"Now I just need to figure out the right coordinates for the test flight and then we can begin the experiment."
Huey, Dewey and Louie fussed about Gadget, listening to her every demand as she began putting something together out of spare parts. It was like watching a surgeon demand tools while they worked. Pretty soon, clinks, clangs and hammering drowned out Gadget's voice as she worked.
While the triplets worked with Gadget, Max checked the perimeter. He came back with two other dog guards. One of them was a tall and thin knight with a mohawk of red hair, and the other was a plump knight who looked around anxiously, his black fur sticking up.
"Are you sure about this, Max?" said the portly guard. "We're supposed to be on guard duty."
Max waved him off. "Relax, PJ. You said it yourself. Nothing happens out in the fields."
"Yeah, take it easy bro-oh," said the mohawk guard, "embrace the chill."
"But we shouldn't leave our posts."
"You're telling me you want to miss this? This could be our chance to see if we can travel between worlds."
The anxious dog looked around and spotted Kairi. Clearing his throat, he stood straight and saluted.
"Ma'am. Sir PJ, at your service."
"Relax Peej, she's with me."
Mohawk guard whistled. He bowed in front of Kairi. "Intros are in order. The name's Bobby Zimmeruski, knight of Disney Castle."
Kairi looked at the two knights. Bobby gave her a wide grin, his cheeks pressing against his round, beady glasses. PJ ducked his head shyly. There was a war hammer attached to PJ's back. Bobby held a spear in his hand.
Kairi reached over and pulled one of Max's swords out of the scabbard at his hip.
"Hey!"
"Nice to meet you guys. What do you say to a quick sparring match until Gadget and the boys are finished setting up the experiment."
Bobby held out his spear. "A little spar-age. Nice." He howled like a wolf.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea," PJ said. "We should be stopping fights, not starting them."
Max ignored PJ. "I'll fight the winner."
While Bobby and Kairi practiced, PJ decided it was better to help Gadget with her tinkering. The dual ended with Kairi knocking Bobby's spear out of his hand.
"Total bum-age. Yo, Maximilian." Bobby stretched out each syllable in Max's name. "She fights like you do."
"With mad skills?"
"No. Cheap."
Max bowed to Kairi. "I have taught you well."
"What?" PJ stomped forward. "You taught her how to use a sword but you gave up teaching me?"
Max shrugged. "Hey, she's a quick learner." Then put his hand on his chin. "Either that or we've spent way longer training in Mary's timeless painting then I thought."
"That didn't answer my question, Max."
Max stammered and then pointed over PJ's shoulder. "Hey, look's like Gadget is done!"
The group gathered around the tiny mouse. Gadget and the ducklings had assembled a mini gummi ship as well as ramp to help the rocket shoot off into the sky.
Huey and Dewey unrolled a set of blueprints and notes on the ground. Gadget walked on top the paper.
"I think I've followed Professor Drake's instructions well enough. Though I did add a few tweaks. I mean who builds a spaceship without a grabby claw."
Gadget rotated and pressed buttons on her remote control. "All right, stand clear of the ramp. Beginning gummi ship piercing test number one. Huey, take notes."
Huey held a notepad and pen. "Ready."
"Ten seconds to launch!"
Kairi crossed her fingers. Gadget counted. The mini gummi ship's thrusters came to life.
Three, two, one.
Gadget slammed her feet on the red button on the remote control. The ship launched, shooting through the air like a firework. They watched as the rocket cut through the clouds, vanishing.
Gadget was glued to her remote control, watching a little blip on the pink radar.
"How's it looking?" asked Huey.
"Still gaining altitude," Gadget said. "It hasn't reached the edge of the world yet. Just a little farther. I hope you're keeping time."
Gadget's remote control exploded. She flew up into the air. Max thrust his hands out and caught her before she started falling. Shaking the soot off her head, Gadget stood, completely fine.
The group stared at the mouse, stunned.
Gadget shrugged. "Oh well, back to the drawing board." She jumped off Max's hands, landing on the blueprints. "Now what could have gone wrong? Maybe it needs better stability? I did follow all of the professor's instructions. Or could it have been my add-ons?"
"Um, Gadget," PJ began, "what exactly happened?"
"No big deal really. The test ship just exploded upon reaching the world wall is all."
The triplets quacked. "Exploded?"
"Yep. Into pieces. We're going to need a tougher ship. Or at least a more intricate wall piercing system."
Max and Kairi hung their heads. "Total bum-age."
Bobby nodded. "Right on, my dudes."
Gadget jumped onto Louie's notepad and looked at the data he had written. "Don't look so down. The ship was able to reach the edge of the world. That's pretty good for the first run. Now we just need to test, tweak and keep going until we strike gold." She looked up at all the defeated faces. "Or are all of you giving up?"
"Never!" Max and Kairi said.
"Good. Let's do another test run and then get Huey's data back to the professor."
Jiminy's Journal
Dr. Delbert Doppler (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): Longtime family friend of Jim's mother. Though a bit clumsy, both socially and physically, Doppler is highly knowledgeable about astronomy and cares for Jim deeply. He is not afraid of adventure, though his lack of experience in it makes him contest with Captain Amelia at times.
Peter Pete Jr. (First Appeared in Goof Troop, 1992): A knight at Disney castle and one of Max's best friends. His buddies affectionately call him "PJ" or "Peej." PJ is too honest and nervous to act out, though he still gets dragged along to break the rules whenever Max and Bobby "break" the rules. Still, it's good to have him around to act as the voice of reason.
Robert Zimuruski (First Appeared in A Goofy Movie, 1995): A super chill knight at Disney Castle, Bobby's laid back attitude makes him more agreeable when playing hooky. He likes to hype up his teammates and has no problem getting into all sorts of trouble.
Gadget Hackwrench (First Appeared in Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, 1990): A cheerful inventor that doesn't let failure stop her from building. She has a naturally curious mind that allows her to easily tinker with all manner of things, from robots to rockets. She helps Chip and Dale in the gummi hanger from time to time, and has agreed to work with Professor Ludvig Von Drake to create a new gummi ship.
Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Treasure Planet
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 25: Treasure Planet
"This place is fishy." Locke said.
"You feel it too?" asked Sora.
He pulled his shirt away from his chest. Of course a planet with vegetation that smelled like a piece of moldy, old bread, would have a lot of humidity. It seeped under his skin, giving him tingling sensations that no amount of scratching would fix. The weird thing was that he had a lingering feeling that he had felt this familiar itch before. But when?
Locke snapped his fingers. "Oh, I can feel it, all right."
He banged his daggers against a copper tusk that stuck out from the dirt. The vibration echoed from the scrap and down into the ground. Getting on knees, Locke stabbed his daggers into the floor and dug. There was a metal tink. He pulled up a layer of moss and dirt, revealing a metal saucer underneath. Locke lifted the lid, a large tube appeared below it. Coils and wiring lined the tube, spiraling down into a black abyss, as though the tube stretched all the way down to the center of the planet.
"No doubt about it." Locke looked around. "Uninhabited area, ruins, secret, forgotten machinery. I smell treasure."
"Wait a minute, are we on Treasure Planet?"
Donald jumped up in Sora's face. "What are you talking about?"
"Jim told me about it." Sora explained about Jim's map and Captain Flint's treasure. He could have sworn he saw dollar signs in Donald's eyes.
"A whole planet full of treasure! Where should we start digging?"
While Donald began clawing at the floor, Goofy gasped and pointed to the sky.
Up above, the RLS Legacy floated down from space. The ship was descending fast, the atmosphere burning around it. Laser light and cannon fire glittered under the rudder. One of the sails hosted a black flag with a skull and crossbones.
Pirates.
A skiff darted away from the ship. An explosion of golden smoke set the skiff's sail on fire. The boat shot across the sky like a blazing missile. Racing after it, Locke and the trio nearly fell over when the ground shook under their feet. Bursting through podlike, green bushes, the party raised their weapons, but then stopped at the sight in front of them.
The skiff lay on its side, its back end completely singed, the sail ripped off. The sour smell of melting metal hung over the wreckage. Dr. Doppler carried an injured, unconscious Captain Amelia away from the crash. Jim leaned against the underbelly of the boat, gasping.
Donald rushed to Captain Amelia and raised his staff. The cure spell erased the scrapes and bruises off her face, but she didn't wake. Meanwhile, Sora knelt besides Jim, casting a few healing spells of his own. The magic eased Jim's heavy breathing, his eyes opening wide to stare at Sora.
"No way. Am I dreaming?"
He tugged on Sora's hair.
"Hey, watch it!"
Jim pulled his hand back. "You're okay? How? You got sucked into a black hole!"
"It'll take more then a space vacuum to get rid of me."
The skiff crackled.
Locke reached froward, grabbed Jim's arms, and hauled him to his feet.
"Move it, kid!"
Sora and Jim sprinted. Goofy got between Dr. Doppler and the boat, raising his shield. He took the impact, allowing Donald, Doppler and Captain Amelia to get to safety. The blast sent Goofy flying, and his head dug a nice, long trail through the dirt. Lucky for him, Donald and Sora were there in seconds to cast healing magic.
He sat up, shaking his head. "Thanks fellars. Oh, and you're going to need these." Digging into his pocket,Goofy held up a pair of ethers.
Sora chugged down the contents of the glass, whipped his mouth and then faced Jim.
"What happened after the supernova? Where's Silver and the rest of the crew?"
Jim's jaw tightened. "Silver is a traitor. The entire crew were his pirates."
It felt like someone had dunked Sora's head into a tub full of ice. The skin crawling feeling he had felt earlier was back, except now Sora wasn't just scratching, he was rubbing his arms so roughly that the flesh began to burn.
"Silver? But," Sora's fingernails scratched deep into his skin. "What about all that stuff he did for us? For you? All that was fake?"
"Of course it was." Jim spat.
"There has to be a reason."
"All he cares about is Flint's treasure!"
Jim kicked a rock with so much venom that it shot out toward a tree, piercing the bark. Green sap oozed from the tree's wound.
"I can't believe I was actually stupid enough to think he cared about me!"
Locke put a finger to his lips, pointing upward. The Legacy was descending.
"We need a more defensible position," groaned Captain Amelia, finally coming to.
"You're in no condition to give orders." Dr. Doppler said.
Amelia struggled out of Dr. Doppler's arms. "Slight bruising is all. Cup of tea and I'll be right as rain." Yet just as she stood on her feet, she keeled over. Doppler caught her before she hit the ground.
"The Captain is going to need more healing magic," Donald said.
"And we're going to need cover, fellers. Looks like being body guards is our jobs."
"You two take the back," said Locke, "I'll keep an eye out from the front. Let's move."
Goofy and Donald defended Doppler and Amelia in the center while Locke led the way. In the back of their diamond shaped formation, Sora and Jim walked side by side, keyblade and laser pistol in hand. Slowly, silently, they moved. Sora had to switch the hands holding his keyblade every so often so he could scratch his arms. He was starting to wonder if he was allergic to the planet, but that didn't explain the strange coldness he felt in his heart. Or was that just a different kind of allergy?
He looked at Jim out of the corner of his eye. The boy's jaw was tight, yet there was a glint of sadness in his eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Jim said. "The supernova-and the lifelines, I-"
"It wasn't your fault." Sora scowled. "It was-"
"Scroop. I know." Jim clenched his teeth.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Jim took a deep breathe. Quietly, he explained.
Jim couldn't sleep. Even after Silver's kind words, he still couldn't shake the images of Mr. Arrow and Sora vanishing into the black hole. He stayed on the deck until only the watchman in the crow's nest was awake.
No one blamed Jim, and somehow that only made him feel worse. He stood by the mast, watching the sky. A shadow moved overhead. Scroop watched him from the sails above.
"Lost something, cabin boy?"
Snarling, Jim went down to the crew's sleeping quarters. He tossed and turned in his hammock. Just when he had fallen asleep, his eyes shot open the next minute. Morning light crept through the dimness of the sleeping area, shining right into his eyes. Jim rolled out of bed and groggily walked to the kitchens. Reaching to get a purp to munch on, he was so tired that he fell right into the barrel.
Then he heard whispers. Turning so that he right side up, Jim peeked through a tiny hole in the barrel, into the dark shadows of kitchen.
"...sick of all this waiting," a crew member whispered.
"There's only three of them left. We are wanting to move," said another.
"We don't move till we got the treasure in hand."
Jim was instantly awake, his heart slamming against his ribcage. Silver?
Though dark, he was able to make out the metallic shine of Silver's cybernetics. Then he saw the sharp edges of Scroop's claw. The spider-psycho inched closer to Silver, a sneer in his voice.
"I say we throw the rest of them off the ship, take the map and keep sailing. No one would know."
"I say what's to say." Silver's deep whisper had an edge of warning in it. "Disobey my orders again, like that stunt you pulled with Mr. Arrow and the others, and so help me, you'll be joining them."
Barbed wires squeezed Jim's heart. The moisture drained from his mouth as he breathed in fast. Mr. Arrow, Sora and his friends, it had been Scroop's all along? And Silver-
"Strong talk, but I know otherwise."
Scroop's mocking laughter made pins and needles rise up in Jim's neck.
"You got something to say, Scroop?"
"It's that boy."
Jim clenched his teeth.
"Methinks you have a soft spot for him. Haven't see the light shine in your eye like that except when talking about Flint's treasure, but now." Scroop's chuckle felt more like a growl. "'You got the makings of greatness in ya.'"
Silver reached out and clamped down on Scroop's jaw. "I only told the little whelp what he wanted to hear to keep him off our scent."
The barbed wires around Jim's heart tightened, burning.
"I ain't gone soft. Mark me, the only thing I care about is Flint's trove!"
Jim slumped in the barrel, unable to move, or think. Everything had been a lie. He mattered less to Silver then he had mattered to his father. And worse, Sora, Mr. Arrow and his friends had paid the price. All for what? Some stupid treasure?
Scroop pulled away from Silver, and Jim swore he saw the brightness in the spider's eye dim. For a moment, he thought he saw a purple flash in Scroop's pupils, but after Scroop blinked, his eyes were as bright as ever.
"Careful 'Captain.' One wouldn't want their greed to consume them."
"Aye, but one would also be keen on not upsettin' their superior."
The two men glared at each other.
There was a call from up on deck.
"LAND HO!"
The pirates dashed out of the kitchens. Jim got out of the barrel and ran up the steps, but stopped at the top. Silver's cybernetic leg was on the stair in right front of him. The big man's eyes widened in surprise, but then wrinkles deepened around his mouth and forehead.
"Playing games are we? Jimbo?"
Silver stalked Jim, pushing him back down into shadows of the kitchen.
"Yeah," Jim said, looking around. There was a kitchen knife on the table to his left. "I'm playing games."
"Oh," said Silver, hiding his hands behind his back. "I was never very good at games."
"Me too!" Jim reached out, grabbed the knife, and stabbed it into Silver's cybernetic leg. The metal squealed, gas exploding out of the hole. Silver grunted, falling over, his hand covering the injury under his metal knee.
Jim raced out of the kitchens, ignoring the confused looks of the pirates as he passed. He barged into the captain's quarters, slamming the door behind him. Dr. Doppler and Amelia rose from their seats.
"Jim? What's the matter?"
"Mr. Hawkins, what is the meaning of-"
"They're pirates," Jim gasped. "The entire crew! It's mutiny!"
Amelia reached into the cupboard and pulled out a pair of laser pistols. "Pirates? On my ship? I will see that they all hang!" She threw one of the pistols at Jim and then the other at Doppler. "Cover us Doctor, Mr. Hawkins, we're going to escape with the longboats."
"Thanks to the captain, we were able to escape the ship." Jim pulled out a copper sphere from his pocket. Lines, circles and indiscernible writing were carved into the surfaces of the sphere. "At least I got the map out."
Sora closed his eyes. The chill he felt had moved down through his stomach and into his legs. So Silver was no different than Rourke: another leader using his crew to steal from good people. If he gave in to the darkness of his greed, Sora would have to fight him.
Like Riku.
Sora swallowed. Did darkness have that effect? Did those that gave in to it get so caught up in whatever goal they had to achieve that they stopped caring about the people around them? He rubbed his arm again. Stupid, allergy. Stupid darkness. Stupid Silver.
"Silver knew that Scroop was the one that cut Mr. Arrow's lifeline?"
"Yes." Jim hissed.
"And he let Scroop get away with doing that? That mechanical moron!"
"Moron is right," Jim spat. "I can't believe I trusted him. "
Sora seethed. One thing was for sure. If he saw Silver again, he was going to deck him right in his big, fat nose. For Jim's sake. Now if only he could stop itching.
Something sliced into his leg. Sora fell over. On the ground, he stared at his calf. It was the spot where the heartless plant had caught him. Lifting his pant leg, he searched for an injury, but there was nothing. Yet he felt the heartless' thorny, phantom vine cutting into his bones.
"Are you all right?" Jim reached down to help him up.
Sora couldn't take Jim's hand. His arm didn't move.
"What's wrong?"
Sora's neck and face blazed, his face sweating.
"W-what did that heartless do me?"
There was a popping noise, and then ten dark ball heartless flew right over Dr. Doppler's head. Goofy blocked them with his shield, forcing the heartless up into the air, where they was fried a second later from Locke's thunder spell. The heartless twitched under the lightning, exploding into purple dust, but when the debris cleared, there were twenty identical heartless floating above.
Jim fired a laser beam and popped one of the heartless, only to have two more appear in its place. The heartless swooped down, their frayed tentacles buzzing with lightning, reaching out like electric beestings ready to poke someone's eye out. Sora, reacting, threw his keyblade when one of them came close enough to singe his eyebrows. It popped like a spark plug.
More heartless appeared. The party ducked as the swarm came down on them. The heartless melted together, turning into a nebula of purple, black and yellow lightning. With only one working arm and legs that couldn't move, Sora was helpless when a darkball came up behind him and bit into his shoulder. Jim shot the creature point blank, but it was too late.
A new sensation burrowed its way into Sora's shoulder. It spread across his back, his chest, freezing his bones. Around him, the party fought against the swarm. Donald and Goofy, too busy protecting Doppler and Amelia, fell back, and it was up to Locke, and Jim to provide cover.
Locke blasted the swarm with fire spells, creating massive holes in the dark cloud overhead. Seconds later, the darkball heartless multiplied. Worse yet, on the ground, shadow and neoshadow heartless rose up. They closed in, their yellow eyes swarming together, looking like a sky full of hungry, sinister stars. Jim and Locke stood, back to back, watching the cloud of heartless overhead spark with thunder.
Jim growled. "What's with these things? We get rid of one and then ten appear in their place."
Sora could barely keep himself sitting. He slumped to the side.
Locke's hands grasped his shoulders, steadying him.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I don't know."
Sora casted a healing spell on himself, but it did nothing to stop the burning on his skin, the freezing in his bones, or the numbness in his legs. The fever pounded on his head, mixing with Sora's rising panic, making him shake all over. His legs were seconds away from turning into jelly.
"Kid! Come on, stay awake."
Locke cursed. He pulled Sora over his back.
Leaning his cheek on Locke's shoulder, Sora wasn't sure if the buzzing he felt was from the heartless or from deep within him. His eyes opened and closed, his world fading in and out, dark, light, dark, light...
The door will open soon.
The words echoed from deep within, but Sora couldn't understand them.
The darkness is close. It is your heart it really wants.
The burning in his body was now clawing at his eyes.
Don't be afraid.
Sora lost consciousness.
Jim's arms flopped to his sides. He stared at Sora's grey face.
"Is he-"
"No." Locke said. "He's just passed out."
"Need I remind you," Dr. Doppler shouted, "that we have bigger problems right now?"
The heartless dived down, like missiles, at the party. Jim and Locke ducked away from the attacks, firing and slicing. Fighting with only one dagger, and the extra weight on his back, slowed Locke down. A heartless flew at his neck, its mouth open wide. The heartless burst, revealing Jim right behind where it had been, still holding his smoking pistol.
"Nice shot," Locke said.
"Thanks, but it's not going to do any good if this keeps up."
Donald jumped up onto Goofy's shoulders, green energy swirling at the end of his staff.
"Aeroga!"
A protective whirlwind surrounded the party. Locke and Jim watched the heartless banging against the wind sphere.
"I can't keep this up forever," Donald warned.
"We need attacks that can destroy large groups of them." Doppler said.
"What do you suggest?" Jim asked.
"If only Sora were awake. Then, me, him and Donald could combine our strength and get rid of these heartless together."
"Well, he's out of commission, so we're just going to have to do it," Locke said.
"But we've never combined our powers without Sora."
Just then, Sora reached out, his keyblade appearing over Locke's shoulder.
"I can do it," Sora croaked. His keyblade trembled.
Jim grabbed the end of the keyblade, steadying it. "Take it easy."
"What? You think I can't handle this? I've faced bigger heartless for breakfast."
Jim rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth lifted. "Show off. Okay, How can we help?"
"We need something that can make magnify light," Sora rasped.
Dr. Doppler dug into his shirt and pulled out a pocket telescope. "This should do it."
He removed the lens and tossed it to Jim. Holding the lens in front of the keyblade, Jim put his shoulder under Sora's arm, holding his keyblade steady. Donald and Goofy leaned against Sora, giving him their support. Locke lifted Sora up.
Concentrating, Sora's heart reached out toward his friends. Hope, trust, and determination, channeled into his keyblade, but he couldn't hold the gathered power. Like a spark that kept getting fanned away by the wind, Sora wasn't able to get the fire going. The keyblade burned, searing into Sora's palm. He grit his teeth, forcing the light to gather at the end of the weapon. A small flicker lit up, and then was blown out. The keyblade slipped from his hand. His head slumped against Locke's shoulder.
The aeroga spell broke. The heartless rained down upon them. Locke, Goofy, Jim, and Donald attacked, but one by one, the heartless thrashed them, and soon only Dr. Doppler was standing, helpless to defend himself or the captain. The heartless closed in.
Pow.
Dr. Doppler fell, the captain tumbling out of his arms. The air above him shook with a shockwave that slammed him flat against the ground.
Pow!
Another blast shot a hole through the heartless sky. The creatures moved apart, fire burning their antennae.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The legacy appeared through the holes in the heartless. The side of the ship smoked as the cannons fired. Angry roars reached Dr. Doppler's ears. The pirates rushed into the dark cloud, attacking the shadow heartless on the ground while the cannons continued to roar from above. The shadows vanished, completely obliterated by the pirates.
Silver, Scroop and the other pirates surrounded the exhausted party. Before he could blink, Doppler was tied up with the others. Only Jim was spared the ropes and gags. Silver raised his hands, walking toward the boy.
"It doesn't have to be this way lad. Just give me the map, and I'll let you and yer friends go."
Jim cast a look at Doppler and Amelia. Doppler nodded, but Amelia shook her head, ever steadfast. Donald, Locke and Goofy had enough strength to wriggle, but not to escape their bonds. And Sora, bound and tied, gasping in his restraints, was still unconscious. They stood no chance.
Jim reached into his pocket, took out the spherical map and threw it at Silver.
"Thank you, Jimbo."
Silver twisted the sphere as though he were trying to open a jar. Turning his hand into a claw, he clamped down tight on the map, but the sphere wouldn't turn. Reddening with frustration, Silver shoved the map back at Jim.
"Open it."
Without taking his eyes off Silver, Jim pressed the map's hidden switches, twisting the sphere and turning the inner cogs. The map clicked. A green line appeared in the air, pointing through the dried forest and miles and miles further into the planet. Silver and the pirates cheered and then glared at Jim the next second. The green light had vanished.
Jim met their eyes without fear. "You want the map, you have to take me too."
"Have it your way Jimbo."
"Captain," said the big, burly pirate with four arms. "What should we do about these ones?" He stomped around Sora, Donald, Goofy, Locke, Doppler and Amelia.
"Bring the boy as collateral."
The burly pirate threw Sora over his shoulder.
"Take the rest of 'em to the ship's brig. Everyone else, we've got treasure to find!"
Swaying woke Sora. His head pounded like a thousand nails were being hammered into his brain. Watching the ground move underneath him only made his stomach turn harder. His body was bent in such a way that all of his muscles and joints felt stiff, yet it was the insufferable, inescapable itching that frustrated him the most.
A red claw appeared in front of his eyes. Grabbing his chin, the claw pushed his face up. Scroop sneered at him.
"Finally up, cabin boy?"
Sora looked around. Marching silently next to Silver, a look of concentration on his frown, Jim held the map up, following a green laser line through the rusty hills of the planet. Ten more pirates kept pace with Silver. Sora's eyes met Jim's, and the flash of concern, fear, and determination in Jim's gaze told Sora all he needed to know. If he had had the strength to struggle, Sora would have given Scroop and Silver a healthy dose of snark, but all he could do was let his head fall when Scroop pulled his claw away from his chin.
"You'll get a nice look at the treasure before I send the pair of you to meet Mr. Arrow."
Sora watched the spider psycho's legs skitter away from him. He faded in and out between being conscious and burning up, and complete nothingness. He was shocked awake when the burly, four armed pirate dropped him hard onto the ground.
"There's nothing," someone shouted.
Barely able to lift his head, Sora noticed that they were standing on a cliff that overlooked a vast valley of empty, dried out plains. The map's green arrow vanished the moment if passed over the side of the cliff.
"We never should have listened to this boy!"
The no armed, two legged pirate pushed Jim over, making him fall dangerously close to the edge. Jim stared at the ground. He dusted off the dirt with his hands, revealing a spherical hole in the metal floor beneath him. Jim slammed the treasure map into the hole. The moment the map clicked into place, there was a whirling sound. Wind burst from the ground, making everyone shield their eyes. Then a massive triangle of light appeared in the air right in front of the edge of the cliff. At the same time, Sora felt all the heat in his body being replaced by ice. The spot on his leg, where the flower heartless had bitten him, was now completely numb. Only the voice in his heart soothed him.
Don't be afraid.
"What is this?" Silver demanded.
The image of cosmic, swirling, blue, gas clouds appeared within the triangle.
"The Lagoon Nebula? But that's halfway across the galaxy," said Silver.
"It's a portal," Jim realized.
Just above the groove where the map was placed, there was a floating, green sphere of light. Stars and planets glowed within it. Jim pressed one of the planets. The triangle closed and opened, like a book. Except this time, it was on a completely different page. A bustling town appeared in the portal.
"That's Montressor space port." Jim marveled, his eyes wide. "That's how Captain Flint did it. He used this portal to roam the universe stealing treasure."
"But where did he stash it all?"
Silver shoved Jim aside, pressing all the stars and planets, opening the door on a frozen world, a fiery galaxy, a windy desert, and on and on. Each time the door opened and closed, Sora lost feeling in another part of his body.
Don't forget.
"Where is that treasure?" Silver pressed a switch that looked much like a keyhole.
The portal opened to a world of nothing. A deep, dark, bottomless chasm with no horizon, no time, and no end, just an infinite sea of blackness. Stale air floated out of the portal and into Sora's nose, reminding him of a horrible place, filled with separation, confusion, loss, and Ansem's cruel laughter.
You hold the mightiest weapon of all.
Terror ripped through Sora. "No! Jim! Close that door, quick!"
A claw reached over Sora's head, hooked on the front of his shirt and lifted him up.
"What's the matter, cabin boy? Frightened of that part of the universe?"
Scroop walked toward the portal, dragging Sora with him.
Jim lunged forward but was stopped by a hand on his chest. Silver pointed his cybernetic sword at Scroop. "Let him go."
"Interesting," Scroop half sung, half hissed. "You have a softness for this one too?"
Scroop stretched out his arm, dangling Sora over the abyss below. His body numb from the neck down, only the panicked beating of his heart reminded Sora to stay awake. The empty world around him pulsed. It was hungry, more then ready to swallow the world of light that had so graciously opened within it. Sora felt something breathing on the back of his neck. He looked around, trying to spot the invisible heartless, but there was nothing, just the darkness creeping into his brain. Something moved below. A cloaked figure, like a wrath from his nightmares, was looking at Sora through the void.
Set me free.
Scroop shook Sora, snapping the boy's attention back to him. He opened his claw, slowly. One more inch and Sora would fall. Jim and Silver flinched. With strength he didn't know he had, Sora grabbed onto Scroop's arm and held on.
Scroop looked into Silver's face. "There was once a time you were ruthless, and now you pick up lost pups like a heartbroken mother. Methinks it's time for a new captain to lead the crew."
"You don't know what you're doing," Sora begged. "This world will destroy everything! Please, close it, Jim!"
"But you'll be trapped inside!"
"Release him. That's an order, Scroop!"
"Happily."
Scroop claw opened wide. Sora fell.
Jim threw himself onto the dirt, his hand clamping hard on Sora's wrist. Above him, Scroop's claws flashed down toward Jim's back. A metal fist slammed into Scroop's face, and he fell over the edge of the cliff and into the darkness below.
Sora's weight pulled Jim downward. Slowly, Jim slipped further and further for the edge but he refused to let go. Silver appeared over Jim's head.
"Jim! Behind you!"
Silver reached down, grabbed Jim's waist and lifted both him and Sora out. The boys crashed onto Treasure Planet's dusty floor. Silver pressed another button on the green sphere and the portal to the realm of darkness closed. A keyhole appeared before the portal. His arm trembling, Sora lifted his keyblade and locked it.
The moment the lock clicked shut, Sora breathed in deep. The weight on his chest eased, the tingles in his body slowly fading. Jim pulled Sora's arm over his shoulder, helping him stand.
"You okay?"
"Just give me a minute."
Sora rotated his ankles and bend his knees. While he slowly got used to moving again, the pirates shouted excitedly. The portal that Silver had opened, gleamed. A golden light shined in Sora's eyes. Silver and the pirates roared, running into the portal. Looking into the triangle, Sora's jaw dropped. A miniature planet, every inch of it covered in gold, chests, and jewels, floated within the portal. There was enough loot to put the Cave of Wonders to shame. If Donald were there, he would have had a heart attack.
Sora leaned away from Jim. Though he wobbled, he was able to stand. The numbness from his injured leg had faded.
"I'm okay." Sora turned toward the portal. "I can't believe there was a door to the realm of darkness here of all places."
"What are you talking about?"
Sora shook his head. "Never mind. Hey, what you did back there, thank you."
Jim patted Sora's shoulder. "Now the score's three to zero."
"Excuse me?"
"I saved you three times. I'm ahead."
"Since when?"
"When we rescued you from that evil ship, just now, and when I shot that flower monster that caught your leg."
"No way. We're tied. I cured you, twice, and protected you back when we were getting the plasma pods."
Jim shrugged. "All right you win. Let's just grab some treasure and get out of here."
Sora followed Jim through the portal. Inside, the sour smell of metal dust and musky wood made him sneeze. His shoes slid over doubloons, gold bars, crystals, all kinds of jewelry, and pearls the size of basketballs. The spherical cave they stood in was made out of thick sheets of copper and wiring. Massive, wired tubes pointed out of the ceiling like makeshift stalactites.
"It's just like the tunnel that Locke found." Sora turned to Jim. "You don't think-"
"That we're standing on the core of Treasure Planet? After everything I've seen today, I can't say I'm surprised. Look there!"
On a golden hill, sat a small, old, forgotten pirate ship with torn, red sails. Its wood was scratched, the sails leaning to one side, burn marks on its hull. Heaps of jewels and coins were piled up on the deck.
"That's our ticket out of here. Come on."
They raced to the ship, climbed onto the deck and froze. Near the stern, a skeleton was slumped in a throne-like chair. The rags of a brown tailcoat and trousers hung off the grey bones like a scarecrow. The long, narrow skull had six slit sockets where the eyes should have been. The jaw was clenched tight with four, long, thick fangs and incisors that looked like sharpened fingernails. An old captain's hat sat askew on skeleton's cranium.
"Captain Flint?" Jim whispered. "I can't believe-Ah!"
An indigo shadow buzzed by Jim's temple. Then something twitched in the corner of his eye. Slowly, Sora and Jim faced Captain Flint's corpse. Floating right next to the skull, was a ball of eyes. The pupils rotated in their sockets, frayed tentacles sticking out from between each eye like a demonic morning star.
The creature phased through Captain Flint's ribcage. The hollow space inside the skeleton filled with darkness. The eye sockets lit up with a yellow glare. Captain Flint stood from the chair, his bones ticking as he slowly took steps forward.
Jim fired a shot right between Captain Flint's eyes. The skull fell backward with a crack. Then the head bounced back and rotated, the neck bones snapping back into place.
Jim winced. "What is this? Some kind of zombie?"
"No, a heartless! I knew I felt something pass by me when Scroop was holding me over the realm of darkness!"
A sword of darkness stretched out of Captain Flint's hand. Wide, bloodshot eyes lined the blunt edge of the sword. Flint sliced through the air like a sawblade, separating Sora and Jim as the boys jumped to avoid getting cut in half. With only bones to carry, Flint's corpse flashed over the deck, tearing up the wood like a cutting board as the sword blurred with furious slashes. Jim had only seconds to fire, but his shot went right through Flint's torso.
Sora dashed forward, ready to attack Flint's remains from behind, but then the sword's eyes swiveled, noticing him. In seconds, the sword sliced through the air so fast that it created a sharp, protective sphere around Captain Flint. Sora grit his teeth, skidding to a stop before he could be ripped to pieces. Keeping his distance, he threw fire, ice, and lightning spells at the skeleton, but it was attacking the air. No effect.
Captain Flint stalked toward Sora but stopped when something blasted him on the back of his skull. Turning, Flint's arm reached out, grabbed Jim by the neck and slammed him against the side of the ship. Sora rushed forward to help, but, without turning to look, Captain Flint's arm swung the sword. The tip of the blade nearly sliced through Sora's collar bone. He stopped so fast that he lost his balance and fell. With Sora on the ground, there was nothing to stop Flint from raising his blade and aiming it at Jim's neck.
The sword swung down.
From underneath the ship, a blast hit the blade on its side, pushing it away from Jim's neck. A cybernetic arm reached out, and grabbed the blade.
"Get yer hands off him, ya forsaken carcass!"
The arm pulled the sword away from Jim and then pulled the bony hand away from the boy's neck. Then it flung Flint's skeleton away like a rag doll. Jim crumbled onto the deck, his eyes wide.
Silver pulled himself onto the ship's deck.
"You all right Jimbo?"
Jim patted his neck. "I'm fine. What you doing here?"
"Saw that you were in trouble, and I, well," Silver cleared his throat.
Sora stood. "And this ship with all the treasure on it had nothing to do with it?"
Silver turned to Sora with an easy going smile, but then his humor was completely erased by horror.
"Lad! Look out!"
Sora turned to look over his shoulder and the only thing he saw was flash of red eyes. Something soft and blue crashed into him, knocking him down to the floor. The red eyed blade stabbed into the deck. Sora's shoulder and side throbbed from the fall, but otherwise, he was fine. He stared at the tip of Flint's weapon at his feet and then looked up to see Locke standing over him.
A skiff flew over right over Captain Flint's head, pushing him face first into the deck. Crashing onto the ship, Donald and Goofy jumped off the skiff. Seeing Silver standing next to Jim, Donald and Goofy aimed their weapons at him.
Silver held up his hands. "I'm on yer side lads!" He pointed to Captain Flint. "We've got bigger enemies to go after."
Before anyone could move, the entire cavern vibrated, and then a quake forced everyone to their knees. The gold underneath the ship shifted like a wave at sea before a storm. One of the massive coils on the ceiling swayed back and forth.
Donald was the first one back on his feet. "What's going on?"
Locke looked over the edge of the ship and into the gold. "Most likely a booby trap. I mean, if I were a famous pirate legend and I went down with my treasures, I wouldn't want anyone else to find it."
"And just what are ya insinuating with that logic, Mr. Cole."
Locke shrugged. "Well this isn't a cave, it's a planet, so that that would mean..."
"Out with it."
"Planet's going to blow up."
Donald bit his fingertips. "I'm sorry, but did you just say the planet is going to blow?"
"Yes."
"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?"
"It's pretty standard for treasure hunting."
Donald's face reddened, but didn't burn nearly as hot as the blasts that erupted on the ceiling, separating the massive metal pipes from their base. The pipes stabbed through the gold and into the core of the planet. Blazing geysers of violet magma erupted out of the gold surface, sawing through it. The treasure slid like a waterfall into the fissures, vanishing into the white, hot, planet's core. Whatever pirate that had still been hanging around, raced toward the portal, running for their lives, the gold completely forgotten.
Goofy waved everyone over to the skiff. "We have to get out of here!"
Silver roared, watching the gold slip away, revealing the fractured metal core of the planet underneath. "We have to fix this ship! Ride it with the loot out of here!"
Both Sora and Jim opened their mouths, but never got the change to scream at Silver. A beam burst out from under the haul of the ship, slicing it in half, making it bend downward, pointing into the fissure underneath. Locke and Sora stabbed their weapons into the ship to keep from falling in. Donald and Goofy grabbed Locke and Sora's legs. On the other side of the ship, Jim slipped, grabbing onto the splintered planks of the deck, his feet dangling over the fiery inferno below. Silver grabbed a treasure chest before it could slide off. His other hand held onto the railing of the ship.
In the midst of it all, Captain Flint stood up from under the skiff and wobbled toward Jim. Sora watched, helpless as Silver was too distracted by the treasure to even try to pull Jim up. The boy's fingers were slipping from the wood, and with Sora's hands gripping his keyblade to keep himself and Donald from falling into the raging fire below, there was nothing he could do but scream.
Silver looked up at Sora's cry and caught sight of Flint standing over Jim. The corpse raised its sword. Each of the eyes swiveled, locking onto Jim. The sword swung down.
"Blast me for a fool! Reach lad! "
Silver let go of the chest, cringing is it slid down the wood and into the chasm below. He leaned over the fissure, grabbed Jim's hand and pulled him away just as the Captain Flint's sword sliced into the wood.
Sora hollered. "Yes!"
But Silver was not done. With Jim safe, he reached over, and grabbed Captain Flint by the neck. The heartless sword tried to cut Silver's arm, but it did little damage to his cybernetic hand. Silver threw Flint off the ship and out into a nearby laser beam, where Flint's remains and the heartless inside them were vaporized into nothing.
Jim held on to the ship's railing, his wide open mouth changing into a smile.
"Silver, you just-"
"Gave up a lifelong obsession," Silver whipped his eye. "I'll get over it."
Silver reached over and grabbed the skiff. It was hanging over the fissure, seconds away from tipping into it. Jumping into the skiff with Jim, Silver moved under Locke and the trio. They slid into the skiff and held on. They sailed, weaving through the plasma lasers that burst up from the core. Up ahead, a swarm of darkball heartless appeared right outside the portal.
Donald fumed. "You have the worst timing! Firaga!"
Sora, Locke, and Jim joined Donald, firing the heartless one by one, but, like before, every time one of them went down, ten more appeared in their place. The skiff was only a few feet away from the heartless when-
"Chew on this, you puss filled boils!"
The RLS Legacy burst through the swarm. Captain Amelia balanced on the figurehead of the ship, firing, with perfect precision, with her laser rifle. She blasted a hole through the swarm.
"Doctor! A little further, we've almost got them!"
"Aye Captain," came Dr. Doppler's reply from the helm.
The ship rammed forward, piercing through the swarm. Amelia provided cover fire while Silver got the skiff close to the deck. Jumping off, the trio joined Amelia, while Jim, Locke and Silver helped Doppler at the helm. Together they reversed the ship, but as they sailed over the planet, more and more magma and fire burst through the rusted surface. A hot comet hit the underside of the ship, breaking off several of the thrusters.
Silver grit his teeth. "We're firing at only thirty percent!"
Doppler gave Amelia a defeated look. "We can't clear the planet's explosion at this speed."
Jim ran into the ship and came back up with his solar sailor. "Yes we can! Doppler, turn the ship around. We're going through that portal."
"Are you crazy! Need I remind you that there are all manner of creatures in the way and you want to fly us into an inferno of doom?"
"Yes, but I'm going to open a different door before we go through." Jim jumped on his solar sailor. "I just need cover!"
"Leave that to us," said Sora. Behind him, Donald, Goofy and Locke nodded.
"Captain, I really don't think-"
"Listen to the boy!" Silver lifted the solar sailor over the ship's railing, helping Jim up onto it.
"Whatever happens," Jim urged, "keep this ship heading for the portal."
Silver reached out and put his hand on Jim's shoulder. He gave the boy a pained look. Jim nodded at Silver, squeezing his hand. Once he let Jim go, Silver took a steadying breath and then ran to one of the cannons.
"Doctor, head us back to the portal," Captain Amelia ordered.
Doppler bit his lip, but turned the ship's wheel, chasing after Jim.
Jim flew like a bullet, weaving through explosions and laser fire. All around him, hot metal and heartless attacked, but still he kept going. From the mast, Sora, and Donald fired magic at the heartless, keeping them away from Jim. Meanwhile, Silver and Locke used the cannons to blast away the planet's debris before it could hit the ship. At her spot on the figurehead, Captain Amelia's sharpshooter skills kept the heartless at bay even though the ship lagged several yards behind Jim. They were almost at the portal, but a heartless caught the back of Jim's solar surfer, turning off the thruster.
Sora forgot to breathe as Jim fell. He jumped off the mast, leaned over the side of the ship, and would have fallen off if Donald and Goofy hadn't grabbed his legs. He watched Jim fall below. Gritting his teeth, Sora pointed his keyblade at Jim and concentrated.
"Firaga!"
The spell shot down below, but Sora couldn't see Jim anymore.
Then a speck appeared from the fissure. Jim shot upward, flew straight toward the green sphere, and pressed a button to change the portal. The gateway changed, the ship passed through. Sora raced to the stern, aimed his keyblade back at the portal and locked it. The triangle closed, trapping the heartless on the other side with the exploding planet.
Jim flew around the ship, shouting, throwing his hands up in the air. Silver clapped, and waved his hat at the boy. When Jim touched down on the deck, Silver, the trio, and Locke lifted him up in the air. Only when Captain Amelia cleared her throat did they put him down.
"Unorthodox but ludicrously effective, Mr. Hawkins. I'd be proud to recommend you to the interstellar academy. They could use a man like you."
It turned out Silver had been right all along. Jim really did have greatness in him.
The crescent moon that the Legacy sailed toward wasn't a moon at all, but a port. Sora's jaw dropped when he noticed that the surface of the crescent was not smooth. In fact, it covered in houses, streets, pubs, and massive, domed shaped buildings. All kinds of ships sailed over and under the crescent city.
As they neared the empty space that served as a waterless harbor, Captain Amelia barked orders. Since the crew was reduced to only a few trustworthy hands, with several pirates tied up below deck, Doppler, Locke and the trio ran around getting the ship ready to dock. Midway through checking the sails, Sora realized that Jim was missing. While the remaining crew finished up the docking process, Sora slipped below the deck. He found Jim standing in the empty skiff hanger.
"What are you doing down here?"
Jim put his hands in his pockets. "Saying goodbye."
"To?"
"Silver."
"He's gone? You let him go?"
"Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same."
Sora closed his eyes, letting out a guilty sigh. "You're right. I would have. Since I started adventuring, I've seen so many people give in to the darkness, and so far, only one person has tried resisting it. When you told me that Silver betrayed you, I was so angry because I was sure that he was going to give in to the darkness."
"You've been though this kind of thing before?"
"With my best friend. He gave in, but, at the end, he helped me. Sure, Silver and Riku did a few bad things, but I don't think they're evil. There are people out there whose light can push back the darkness. I can't believe I forgot that. I have to believe that my friend can overcome it too."
"Maybe Silver and I kept eachother's darkness away. I mean look at me." Jim smiled. "I went from a loudmouth that can't get anything right to interstellar academy material. Maybe you just need someone else to keep you grounded, to tell you of your potential, to remind you that you do have a future after all."
Sora beamed. "You're right."
Jim walked passed Sora, leading the way back to the deck. The Legacy had finally docked. Amelia was down below, talking to a robot constable. She looked up and gave Jim a wink.
"From now on, I'm going to chart my own course, just like Silver taught me. What are you going to do?"
Sora looked out into the port. "I have some unfinished business to take care of before I can go home."
"Well, make sure to come back here sometime. I've got to even the score."
"What?"
"We're four to three now. You really saved me with that fire spell of yours."
Sora shook his head. "Naw. We're even. You got us through the portal. Next time we meet, we'll start fresh."
"You got a deal."
After shaking hands, Sora watched Jim run down the ramp. A woman with the same blue eyes and smooth, brown hair waited below. Jim embraced her. Doppler stood near by, holding hands with Amelia, watching Jim with a proud smile.
Donald, Goofy, and Locke joined Sora.
"I've been on some crazy airships before, but nothing that compares to this." Locke said.
Goofy leaned against the railing, resting his chin in his hands. "Is that Jim's mom? It must be nice to return home after such a long journey."
"All that," Donald huffed, "and still no treasure."
"Come on, Donald," Sora offered a consoling smile, "we just had the craziest adventure together and you're still upset about the gold?"
"Yes! First the caves in the bayou, then Agrabah, and now this? I'm tired of losing the loot."
Locke dug into his pocket and pulled out a single gold coin. "Look what I got."
Donald snapped up the coin before Locke could blink.
"You really love gold, huh?"
Goofy covered his face to hide his giggles. "Like a duck with a vault."
Locke blinked. "What does that mean?"
Sora turned around to ask the same question but then closed his mouth. Rising out of the deck of the legacy was the door that led back to Castle Oblivion. His friends sobered at the sight of it.
Sora summoned his keyblade. "We've got a shadow man to take down."
"You got a plan?" Donald asked.
"Kind of?"
Goofy put his hand on Sora and Donald's shoulders. "We can beat him if we work together."
The three friends moved to stand in front of the door, but did not pass through it. Locke hadn't moved from the railing.
"Sorry. I'm not going back with you."
Donald and Goofy hung their heads. "Why?"
Sora stepped forward. "You'll be stuck here if you stay."
Locke pulled out the magicite from his pocket. "This world is so vast. I just know there is a way to bring Terra back. I'm sure I can find it if I explore this world. Plus, there's more pirate treasure out there to find."
Locke reached out and ruffled Sora's hair.
"You guys are getting close to the end. I don't think you need a lookout anymore."
"Next time we meet, you'd better help me actually find and keep some treasure."
"You got it."
Locke shook Donald's hand.
Goofy saluted. "Thank you for everything Mr. Cole."
Locke shook his head. "That formal stuff doesn't suit me." He faced Sora. "You're a lot stronger then when we first met in Agrabah. Don't stop your journey. And you'd better give that old witch doctor a few good kicks for locking me up in that tarot card."
Sora grasped Locke's hand, squeezing hard. "You bet I will."
Jiminy's Journal
Captain Nathaniel Flint (First Appeared in Treasure Planet, 2002): A pirate legend that traveled around the galaxy stealing all sorts of treasure. His obsession with gold turned out to be his downfall, as he wasted away all alone with his loot, leaving only his skeleton behind to be corrupted by the heartless.
Chapter 27: Chapter 26: The World of the Forgotten
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Author's Note:
This is, without a doubt, the darkest chapter I have written for this story. When I first started this, I honestly didn't think I'd get this far, at least not this soon.
Also shout out to @Mara_Jada101, @ariu_rban, and @TheVrone for the kudos! Thank you!
Chapter 26: The World of the Forgotten
Rain. The scent flowed into him, clearing the tightness in his chest. "Mickey, do you feel it too?"
Mickey stopped walking for a moment, sniffing. Then there was a chuckle.
"Light. It's close! Riku, hurry!"
Mickey jumped onto the series of platforms up ahead. Riku chased him. The light pressed on them like a bit of sunshine shining through thick storm clouds. He felt its warm breeze on his skin, but it was fading quickly. Heartless rose up from the ground, attracted to the new sensation. Raising his keyblade, Mickey sliced through them, and then tumbled through the light.
Riku rushed through a wall of sweet, clear air. The ever present stink of darkness faded, morphing from an atmosphere into concentrated points in the distance. He slammed hard onto a cold floor and breathed in the light all around him. After so long in the same, stale, dusty air, all the smells of the world hit his now overly sensitive nose at once. Marble dust, ash and gravel made him sneeze. His senses of light and dark told him that the room he had fallen into was somewhat broken.
Mickey's footsteps echoed in the large space. "Gosh, what a mess. I wonder happened here?"
Riku ran his hand over the cold, marble walls. There were groves and cracks. Whole sections of the wall and floors were dented, as though crushed by a wrecking ball. He felt a tingle of magic lingering in the dust underneath his feet.
"There was a fight here," Riku said.
"Gee. It looks like it was a tough one too."
Riku walked to the edge of the room. He felt the cool mist of rain, and wrinkled his nose at the scent of concrete. There was a city beyond the battle-scarred room he stood in. Mickey came to stand at his side.
"I sense a lot of darkness up ahead, but there's also-"
"Light," Mickey finished. "And it's a strong one too."
Nodding at each other, the two friends walked out into the storm.
The world beyond the castle was in full view when the trio entered the foyer through the dimensional door. The wall opposite them had vanished. No longer was there a door, just the three walls of Castle Oblivion and the dark, empty city beyond the missing fourth wall. The cold air gave Sora goosebumps. He stood at the border between the city and the castle and was about to take a step but a barrier of green and purple flames slithered up from the ground, obscuring the city outside and barring his path. The foyer's bright, white walls darkened to a gloomy grey.
There was clapping.
Tensing, the trio turned, just in time to see Dr. Facilier bow.
"Bravo. Fine work, gentleman."
Donald and Goofy stood with their feet apart, settling into a fighting stance. Sora crossed his arms in a challenge.
"Aren't you going to thank us for all the hard work by telling us exactly what you want?"
"I'm afraid that would ruin the suspense."
Donald banged his staff on the floor. "Enough mind games."
Goofy pointed to the flames behind him. "We know this castle is a prison and we won't let you escape it."
Dr. Facilier leaned on his cane. He flicked his free hand, and, after a pop of smoke, three tarot cards appeared between his ring and pinky fingers. The cards shuffled on their own, floating around Dr. Facilier's neck and waist.
"I'd wager that there is something y'all want much more then being stuck in this forsaken castle."
The tarot cards floated, growing till they scrapped the ceiling. They tipped forward, squashing Sora, Donald and Goofy flat.
Donald sat up in bed, feeling more energized then he had since he couldn't remember when. A plate full of steaming breakfast sat on top of a silver and gold breakfast tray next to his four poster bed. His silk pajama sleeves slid down his arms when he stretched. Morning light came in through the floor to ceiling windows, shining over the pile of gold in the middle of the room.
The coins gleamed. Donald threw off his satin bedsheets so that he can bellyflop right onto the money pile. He rolled over the coins, waving his arms and legs like he were making a snow angel. Without further ado, he started counting. He had gotten to five thousand when his stomach growled.
His breakfast was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his life. What was he saying, he had breakfast like that all the time! And gourmet lunches, and desserts, private planes, yachts, mansions, anything he could want! Donald changed out of his pajamas and into one of the many tailor made suits in his walk in closet. He was ready to face another day as the richest duck in the world.
He rang for the butler. But no one came. Odd.
Walking down to the first floor, his footsteps echoed on the burgundy carpet. He called out for the servants, but no one answered.
"Huey? Dewey? Louie?" The boys' room was empty.
In the next second, he was standing outside Daisy's home. No one answered when he knocked. Then he was at the castle. King Mickey, Queen Minnie, and Goofy were no where to be found. The gummi hanger was chipmunk less. Not even Pluto ran up to greet him. Desperate, Donald found himself in front of Uncle Ludvig's lab. No one was there.
What nonsense. He was the richest duck in the world, and there was no one around to adore him for his wealth?
Donald found himself back in his lonely mansion with the most painful of headaches. As he walked around the decadent halls, more and more piles of gold and jewels popped up in his path. Donald kicked and punched the piles. All this wealth? For what? Why had ever wanted it in the first place? For respect?
Donald shook his head, the headache burning into the back of his eyeballs. Didn't he already have respect? Wasn't there someone that was his friend even when he didn't have any gold? That was silly. He was always the richest duck in the world? Wasn't he?
The questions swirled like a whirlpool in his head until Donald couldn't take it anymore. He screamed up into the high ceiling. The sounds of his own fury echoed back into his ears. None of it mattered! Not if he was alone! Donald ran through the mansion, the town, the castle, calling for his family, his sweetheart, anyone, but found himself back at his empty mansion.
"Stupid money," he seethed.
"Come on, Donald. We just had the craziest adventure together and you're still upset about the gold?"
Donald growled. "Of course I liked the adventure, Sora!" His beak opened wide. "That's right! I remember! Sora! Where are you?"
The mansion began to crumble around him, but Donald didn't care. A golden door appeared before him. It opened wide and Donald ran into the light.
It was the perfect day. After preparing a picnic basket, Goofy and Max went out to their favorite fishing spot. Max sat at the bank, his feet in the water, watching the lure float over the reflection of the cloudless sky. Goofy put his arm around his son. How much Max had grown! Why, just yesterday he was in diapers! Before he knew it Max would be fifteen and off having adventures in other worlds.
Goofy shook his head at the silly thought. There was no such thing as other worlds. It was just him and his son. That's all that mattered.
"What's wrong, Dad?"
"Just daydreaming, Maxie."
"Can you show me how to do the perfect cast?"
Goody laughed. "But you've already seen it a hundred times."
"I want to see it again. Please?"
Ruffling Max's messy hair, Goofy stood. He lifted his fishing pole. Max mimicked him, holding a keyblade over his head. Goofy blinked. Max was holding a fishing pole, not an oversized key. He must have been seeing things.
"Dad? Are you going to do the perfect cast or not?"
Goofy rolled his shoulders. "Okay now. Watch Carefully. You've got to be loose. Relaxed. With your feet apart, and," Goofy swung the fishing pole over his head. "Ten o'clock!" He swung the pole to the left. "Two o'clock!" He swung the pole to the right. "Quarter to three! Tour Jete! Twist! Over! Pas de deux! I'm a little teapot! And the windup! And let 'er fly!" The lure went flying over Goofy's head, landing perfectly in the middle of the lake.
Max whooped. "Wow! So cool! I can't wait to grow up and be just like you!"
"Ahyuck! What do you mean? You're already a knight. Why, King Mickey says that you're the best swordsman he's ever trained."
Max gave Goofy a funny look. "Who's King Mickey?"
Goofy scratched his head. "Don't tell me you don't remember. You begged me to let you train with him."
"Why would I do that? Aren't swords dangerous?"
"Well yeah, but you insisted. Said ya wanted to prove yourself. Then you started training with two swords, and we had a lecture about safety, and then I had to leave for some reason."
Goofy's dropped his fishing pole and covered his eyes.
"Dad! What's wrong?"
Max's cold, hard hands patted Goofy's back. Each thump sent an image of Max through Goofy's head. Max playing hide and seek in the castle with PJ, Max practicing with a wooden sword in his first training session, Max storming off after arguing that he was old enough to be a guard captain, Max staring off dreamily while doodling a pretty girl on his homework. Then it was Max piloting the gummi ship, fighting monsters from the darkness, searching for his friends.
No. It was all wrong. Goofy's eyes burned. There was another boy. He just knew it, so why couldn't he remember? His chest burned with a loneliness he didn't understand. Why? Max, the person he loved most in the world, was right next to him.
"You have a son?"
"Yup. Ahyuck. He's a real good boy, my Max. You kind of remind me of him, Sora."
Goofy got down on his knees and pulled Max close.
"Dad?"
"Max, I love you for who you are, not who I want you to be. I can't hold on to this memory forever. Right now, my friends need me."
When Goofy opened his eyes, Max was gone. A door of light was opening on the bank of the lake. Without hesitating, Goofy ran through it.
The sand tickled his toes, the water like silk on his legs. He stared out into the clear sky, felt the warmth of the sun on his face. The smell of fresh coconut and ocean mist surrounding him, clearing away the heavy, anxious air from his lungs. There was only one problem. Where was he?
Someone giggled. "Hello? Earth to Sora? Did you fall asleep while standing? Now that takes talent."
A girl came to stand next to him, bonking him on the head.
"Wakey, wakey!"
Sora rolled his eyes. "Give me a break-" He stared at the girl's glossy, red hair. "Who are you?"
The girl shook her head. "It's finally happened. Your laziness has scrambled your brains. Hey Riku! He's finally lost it."
"When did even have 'it' in the first place?"
Sora turned to glare at the silver haired boy standing on the beach behind him. The girl got between them, putting her hands up. "Cool it, you two."
Sora looked from the girl's bright smile, to the smug challenge in the boy's eyes. Recognition sparked in his heart.
"Of course! You're Kairi and Riku!"
His two friends looked at each other and then back at him.
"Gee, thanks for remembering us," they deadpanned.
"How did you guys get here! I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"What are you talking about," said Riku. "We were just together five minutes ago."
Kairi put her hand on Sora's forehead. He started.
"Doesn't feel like you have a fever. Maybe you're hungry?"
Sora stepped back. "This can't be right. I mean, I've been looking for you two forever, and then we met again, but then we were separated and-"
Kairi put her hands on Sora's cheeks, holding him still. "We're together now, everything's fine. Relax."
Her skin was so soft, he couldn't help leaning into her hands. She closed her eyes, and the warmth in her smile melted all of his worries away. He was home.
Riku patted his shoulder. "Are you awake now, or do I have to give you a noogie?"
Sora pushed Riku playfully. "Just try it."
"Here we go again." Kairi fake sighed. She pointed to an round island that popped out of the ocean. "I'll handle this. First one to the paopu tree wins."
Sora and Riku dug their feet into the sand.
Kairi waved her arm. "GO!"
One second the race had started, the next, Sora was standing on the island, raising his fist in the air for his victory. Riku caught up to him. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, gasping. Behind him, Kairi leisurely walked across the bridge that led to the island.
"The score's one to zero," she announced. "Sora's in the lead."
"Since when are you faster then me," Riku complained.
"Since I became keyblade master and beat all kinds of monsters."
Kairi tilted her head. "Keyblade? What's that, some kind of imaginary weapon?"
"How can you not remember? It's," Sora trailed off. "What was I talking about again?"
"Whatever," Riku waved his hand. "Rematch." He picked up a toy sword that had been resting by the paopu tree.
Sora looked down. There was already a wooden sword in his hand. The next moment, he had beaten Riku in a duel. Then he won in a swimming race. Then they played with the other kids on the beach. Wakka and Tidus challenged them to a team battle. The win was effortless for Sora and Riku. Even when Selfie joined, and it was three to two, Sora and Riku won in seconds. At sundown, Wakka, Selfie and Tidus left to sail back to the main island.
Riku, yawning, got in his boat next. "Got to rest up. Tomorrow, I'm going to win."
"Sure you are," Sora drawled.
"Enjoy it while you can!"
Standing on the pier, Sora watched Riku's boat drift away. The farther the boat got, the more Sora imagined a door. A door that was slowly closing with Riku trapped on the other side. Without thinking, Sora dived into the water and began swimming after Riku's boat. A call from the pier made him stop.
Kairi sat at the pier, her legs dangling over the water.
"You're not seriously thinking about swimming back, are you?"
Sora whipped the sea salt off his face. "No."
"Then get out of the water, you doof."
She extended her hand and pulled him up onto the pier.
"You've been acting weird all day," she said as Sora sat down. "Are you sure you're not sick?"
Sora stared out into the golden and white hues of the sunset on the sea. "I've been having these weird thoughts lately," he said. "Like, is any of this for real, or not?"
Kairi leaned put her cheek on Sora's shoulder. Every muscle in Sora's body tensed, like the rush before a battle. The sun must have been shining directly on his face, because his cheeks blazed. Turning his head slowly, to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he looked at Kairi's face. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was deep.
"You think too hard, Sora."
"W-what do you mean?"
She tilted her head, looking up at him. "Why would any of this be fake? Isn't this what you always wanted?"
"Kairi," Sora swallowed, "I-"
She leaned upward. "Yes?"
Sora dug into his pocket. "I promised you something."
Kairi grabbed his hand. "Forget about that. What were you going to say?"
Her nose was almost touching his.
Sora leaned back. "Wait. This isn't right. It's too perfect."
The sun dropped beneath the horizon and the island was cast in shadows of grey and brown. Up above, the stars were swallowed by the blanket of darkness. The wind slammed into Sora's chest, throwing him back, his shoulder scrapping the wood of the pier. He pushed himself to his feet, shielding his face from glass shards in the wind.
Kairi was not on the pier. She was standing on the beach, in front of a white door. Sora heard her empty voice over the storm.
"This world has been connected."
Kairi vanished.
Sora raced to the door. The wind sliced into his arms and legs, forcing him down onto his knees. Dark arms reached out from under the sand, crushing Sora's angles in their fists. His legs sank into the beach. Someone stood before him. Looking up, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of Riku. His skin was charred black, his eyes were a cruel yellow.
Riku held out his hand. "Tied to the darkness. Is this what you truly want? You couldn't be happy with this gift?"
Riku faded into ashes. Sora fought the dark hands that had now reached up to grab his hips and waist. He tried to drag his body toward the door, his hands digging into the sand in a hopeless attempt to pull himself forward. The white door drifted further down the beach. At the shore, the water pulled back. A dark wave rose up from deep within the ocean. The wave grew, taller then the palm trees on the island. It stampeded toward the beach.
Light cut through the storm, shining into Sora's eyes. The door had opened. Donald and Goofy appeared on the other side. They reached out. The tidal wave right over Sora's head. With the last of his strength, he lunged. Donald and Goofy grabbed his wrists and pulled him through the door. The wave swallowed the entire island.
The tarot cards ripped and Sora, Donald and Goofy tumbled out, collapsing onto Castle Oblivion's floor. Still holding hands, the three friends helped each other stand, panting as their memories snapped back into place.
"Impressive. Not even a full minute, and you escaped from the prison of desire."
A grey blob appeared below Sora's feet. Dr. Facilier's shadow laughing silently beneath him. Sora summoned his keyblade and slammed it into the floor, cracking the marble. The shadow slithered away to linger on the wall behind Dr. Facilier.
Pushing himself to his feet, Sora pointed his key at the shadow man. "You think what I want is more important then every one of my friends? Think again! You'll never defeat us."
"Not while we have each other," Goofy added.
Donald rolled up his sleeve. "And together, we will take you down!"
"Oh it's already too late for that. The boundary between Castle Oblivion and the realm of darkness is almost broken. Soon, my friends from the other side will break free, and I will have all the power I could ever want."
"Not if I lock this castle up again. All we need to do is get rid of you."
Dr. Facilier chuckled. "You're welcome to try."
His shadow widened, its arms and fingers lengthening like spider's legs, covering the walls. Sora, Donald and Goofy stood back to back, raising their weapons so that they touched overhead. Red courage, green loyalty and blue passion gathered around their weapons, combining into a fiery white, beam of energy.
"Trinity limit!"
The three friends aimed the beam of light at the shadow. Their attack cracked the walls, making pieces of blackened marble crumble to the floor. The shadow writhed, melting down to a tiny spec. The white beam faded, and Sora flashed forward, right at Dr. Facilier. His keyblade blurred as he delivered several precise slashes in midair.
Dr. Facilier tap-danced out of the way of each attack, his slim figure making it easy for him to slip away, but Sora was not done. At the end of his combo, a twister of colorful lights gathered around the end of his keyblade.
"Ragnarok!"
The twister spiraled out of control. A dozen deadly lights showered on Dr. Facilier, bursting as they hit him one by one. Sora jumped back, watching as his attack completely obscured Dr. Facilier. Behind him, Donald and Goofy smashed the walls by ramming it with a series of ice spells and Goofy's shield. The shadow had no smooth surface to move over, and soon it was trapped on the floor. Goofy jumped on his shield, using it as a sled. Goofy slid over the floor, chasing after the shadow as it moved helplessly around the room.
He pushed it to a corner, where Donald completely obliterated the walls around it by shooting out ten firaga spells at once. Gasping, the friends gathered up, ready for round two. Donald and Sora downed a pair of ethers from Goofy and waited. The smoke cleared from Sora's attack. Dr. Facilier was gone.
The shadow, trembling, reached out toward the trio. They watched as it bucked and thrashed over the floor, raising their weapons when it reached out toward them. Then the shadow collapsed, completely still.
"Now if only it were that easy."
Sora felt the sting of something being plucked from the top of his head. Behind him. Donald and Goofy yelped. He turned to see his friends rubbing their temples. Then he spotted Dr. Facilier by the dimensional door. He removed a necklace from under his purple vest. Sora dashed forward but then his stomach twisted as he was jerked backwards and held up in the air by the ceiling. Donald and Goofy dangled next to him, held up by the shadow's long, thin fingers.
Down below, Dr. Faciliar held up the necklace. A voodoo mask talisman hung off the chain. The mask's mouth open wide, and Dr. Facilier dropped a white feather, a brown hair, and piece of black fur into it. The mask swallowed the items, glowing blood red. The shadow dropped Sora, Donald and Goofy. The moment they hit the floor, they found themselves laying between an enormous pair of suede shoes.
The shoe reeled back and kicked Donald and Goofy. They slammed onto a jagged piece of marble rubble. Before Sora could run to his friends, a cage of fingers appeared around him. The fingers tightened, and Sora only had enough time to wiggle his head and keyblade arm free. He was lifted up in front of Dr. Facilier's massive, dark eyes. The shadow man's lips spread out in a thin smile. He squeezed.
Hot spikes of pain stabbed into every inch of Sora's body. His mouth opened wide in a silent scream. Every muscle and bone in his body blazed, fighting against the inevitable crack and fracture that was seconds away from leaving Sora as nothing more then a piece of mush. Something flew over Sora's shoulder.
Above him, Dr. Facilier growled, blinking as Goofy's shield fell off his face. Down below, Donald threw fire spells at the shadow man's legs. Goofy was climbing up his vest. Dr. Facilier scooped up the duck and dog and held them next to Sora. Donald wriggled, managing to cast a healing spell over Sora before he too was squeezed.
The spell eased Sora's pain, clearing his mind for only a second. Donald and Goofy's eyes were moments away from popping out of their heads. Raising his keyblade, Sora chanted a healing spell on his friends. Dr. Facilier crushed them harder in response.
Sora could barely breathe. All he could do was stare at the talisman swinging from Dr. Facilier's neck. The cure spell was moments away from fading. One more second and the pain would crush Sora. With nothing left to do, and with all the strength he had, Sora hurled his keyblade at the voodoo mask. The keyblade ripped through the talisman, shattering it.
Dr. Facilier dropped Sora and his friends. Hitting the floor hadn't hurt too much since they quickly grew back to their normal size, but the trio were still too bruised to stand. Sora reached for his friends. Trembling, Goofy pulled out a vial of galaxy colored liquid from his pocket. An elixir. Sora was barely able to lift his arm to drink it.
His muscles and bones popped with energy. Instantly, he was back on his feet. On the other side of the room, Dr. Facilier was helplessly trying to piece the talisman back together, his guard down. Sora dug his feet into the ground, gathering up all of his newfound energy. The power amalgamated in his core. His fists and knees burned with the need to move.
Sora flashed forward, sonic power gathering around his keyblade, sharpening it into a spear of light. He sliced through the room, stopping right behind Dr. Facilier, his keyblade still glowing.
A puddle of darkness appeared below the shadow man. Oily, black vines looped around Dr. Facilier's arms, shoulders, and chest, dragging him down into the dark depths below. His shadow stretched like a noodle, trying to escape, but it too sunk into the darkness along with its master. Only Dr. Faciler's top hat remained.
Sora collapsed onto his hands and knees. He crawled back to his friends and used the last of his energy to cast a healing spell. Donald and Goofy rolled over, their breathing easing. They lay on the floor, gasping, barely awake. Out of magic, out of supplies, the only thing they could do now was rest.
"Did we win?" Donald groaned.
Sora leaned up to look around the foyer. The dark puddle was gone. The once pure, white interior of Castle Oblivion was completely trashed. A hooded man stood over Dr. Facilier's hat. Though his face was hidden under the shadows of his hood, Sora knew his smooth and low voice.
"So, the darkness came to collect its debt."
"What debt?"
"The shadow man wanted power. So he turned to the darkness and was granted more power then he could ever handle." The hooded man picked up the hat. "And in the end, he paid the price for the deal he struck."
The top hat burned into cinders.
"Of course, that is what happens when someone leaves their world in search of power. Darkness loves greed."
"I don't understand. Dr. Facilier made a deal with you?"
"I do not make deals with those that are consumed with darkness." The man pulled back his hood. "The shadow man was nothing more then a means to an end."
Sora's stomach turned at the man's face. He must have been handsome once, but now his rose gold hair was faded, like a flower that had long since wilted and died. The fine bones of his face appeared through his thin, chalky complexion. His skin was like cracked wax, the lines of his face scarred by dark purple, touched by darkness. His eyes had sunken into their sockets, the once bright, blue irises now a dim purple.
"Who are you?"
"Ah yes. Now that you've almost freed me, the least I can is offer my name. You may call me, Marluxia. I am the true prisoner of Castle Oblivion."
Sora's stomach bubbled with dread. "And just why were you sealed away?"
Marluxia smiled. He blinked out of existence. Then Sora heard the metal swoosh of a weapon ringing in his ears. He turned. A curved, silver and pink blade hovered over Donald and Goofy's heads. Marluxia lifted the scythe.
"Don't you worry about the cause of my imprisonment. You will come with me, or..."
The scythe flashed downward.
"No! I'll go with you! Just don't hurt them, please!"
The blade stopped.
"Wise choice."
Donald and Goofy tried to stand.
"Wait! Sora!"
"Don't go with 'im!"
But it was too late. The world around Sora completely melted and Donald and Goofy, along with the rest of the castle, went with it. Sora knelt on a rooftop overlooking the dark city below. Though the windows and neon signs were lit with an eerie, murky white, the city was nothing more then a forsaken wasteland of sharp buildings and empty streets. Spikes, dripping with darkness like poisonous briars, jutted out of the black sky beyond, surrounding the city.
"What is this place?"
Marluxia floated above the rooftop. "This is The World of the Forgotten. Once, this city was a vibrant garden of warmth and light, its people happy and prosperous, until the darkness ate away at it, turning into an unnatural realm of nothing."
Marluxia flew over Sora's head. He hovered next to a vortex of darkness. At the center, was a keyhole.
"As long as the realm of darkness exists, every world will meet the same fate. I have waited here, trapped between the boundary of Castle Oblivion and the realm of darkness. Once you unlock this world, I will be free to finish what I couldn't all those years ago. I shall gather all the heroes in the realm of light, and destroy the realm of darkness for eternity. Now," he gestured to the keyhole, "unlock it."
Sora didn't move. "This world sits on the boundary of the realm of darkness, right? So by unlocking this world, and allowing you to go out into the others, I will unlock the realm of darkness too, won't I?"
"A temporary price to pay until the realm of darkness is destroyed."
Sora took a step back, closer to the edge of the building. "I won't flood the worlds in darkness again. You can't force me to unlock it."
"Brave and meaningless words."
Marluxia snapped his fingers.
A needle of ice jammed into Sora's heart. Holding his chest, he bent forward. The keyblade materialized in his hand.
"In all my years of being bound to this place, I had a choice: wait, or learn how to channel the darkness. Which do you think I chose?"
Invisible puppet strings pulled Sora's arms and legs forward. He fought against his own body, pulling back, but each time he took a step backward, Marluxia pulled him two paces forward.
"How can you talk about destroying the darkness and use it at the same time?"
"Fighting fire with fire."
Three more steps and the keyblade would enter the lock. "You're so obsessed with destroying the darkness for good, that you don't even realize that you've been tainted by it."
"Every greater good requires sacrifice. I shall pay my price after the dead is done. You should join me. After all, we fight for the same cause."
"You're wrong."
Two more steps.
One more step.
"I won't be the key bearer that brings ruin." Sora fought against the invisible wires digging into his skin.
Marluxia appeared behind him.
"Heroes must make difficult choices."
He pushed Sora.
The keyblade entered the lock.
Sora felt a surge of darkness, his body weakening like it had back on Treasure Planet. Marluxia turned to look at the lock, and, in that split second, Sora pulled the keyblade back. He aimed a light into the keyhole, locking it up again. Grunting against his invisible shackles, Sora held the keyblade out in front of him.
"You're right. Heroes have to make hard choices. This is my choice!"
He gripped the keyblade's handle with one hand, and the shaft with the other. With all of his willpower, Sora brought the keyblade down on his knee. There was a sickening crunch and the keyblade snapped in half. Marluxia roared. The strings holding Sora in place came undone and he fell to his hands and knees, the two halves of the keyblade clattering to the floor beneath him.
Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, Riku and Kairi flashed through Sora's thoughts. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Kairi's good luck charm. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can keep my promise."
The charm and the two halves of the keyblade vanished, leaving behind only sparkling dust.
Marluxia curled his fingers around Sora's neck, lifting the boy up. "Destroying your greatest weapon? Foolish."
"I haven't lost my greatest weapon. It's right here." Sora pointed to his chest. "You can't force me to open the realm of darkness without a key. And now you'll never find it."
"I've plotted for thousands of years to escape this world, I can wait several more. You will sleep in darkness until I see fit to wake you to complete your final task."
Dried rose petals fluttered down over Sora's eyelids.
A wave of darkness appeared in Sora's thoughts. It thundered toward him.
Only the bonds you have forged can protect you now.
The dark wave drowned Sora and he fell into nothingness.
Queen Minnie stood alone in the castle's audience hall, staring sadly at the king's empty throne. She looked up at the red banner that hung overhead.
"I hope you're safe."
Something twinkled above. A silver star glittered, floating down from the ceiling. Minnie, palms up, moved to catch the star, her heart pounding. A shining letter fluttered down to rest perfectly in her palms. Turning the smooth paper over, Minnie covered her mouth. There was a blue, triangle shaped, wax seal. The seal had yellow stars, resembling a wizard's hat.
Minnie picked up her skirts and raced out of the throne room. In the colonnade outside, she nearly crashed into Daisy. The duck's beak hung open at sight of Minnie's wide eyes and short breaths.
Daisy spotted the letter. "Oh my. I'll summon Kairi."
Minnie moved to the castle library, where she paced back and forth. Pluto rose from his bed and rubbed the top of his head under Minnie's glove, as if to say everything would be all right. Yet Minnie's hands trembled. Several times her fingers moved to break the wax seal and look inside the letter. Then Kairi, her face looking much like Minnie's had mere moments earlier, barged into the room. Before the girl could ask any questions, Minnie raised her hand, asking for silence.
Daisy and Mary entered. Mary closed the door, gracefully folding her hands in front of her waist, waiting. She inclined her head toward Minnie, silently sending support. Daisy came to stand by Minnie's side.
Taking a deep breathe, Minnie lifted the letter, tapping the blue, wax seal.
"Master Yen Sid has replied."
She gave the letter to Kairi. Not wasting any time, Kairi popped the wax seal and looked inside. She read for one second and then lowered the letter, a look of complete confusion on her face.
"Well," Daisy prompted impatiently.
"There's only one sentence."
"What?" Daisy snatched the letter from Kairi and lifted it so that it was level with her beak. There was indeed only one sentence.
To find the answers you seek, you must go back to where your journey began.
"What? That can't be all? What about the heartless machine? What about finding Donald, Goofy and His Majesty?"
Queen Minnie closed her eyes, pressing her hands over her chest. "King Mickey's teacher has always been a little cryptic. Truth be told, I wasn't sure if he would respond at all."
Mary Poppins came to Minnie's side. She took the mouse's hand and guided her to sit down at the king's desk.
"I'm sorry dear."
Minnie smoothed her hands over her forehead, the sadness dropping from her face to be replaced by a soft smile. "Thank you. But we have more important things to be doing, do we not?"
Was that a hint of pride in Mary's smile? Minnie wasn't sure. Mary Poppins could be just as mysterious as Master Yen Sid himself.
"Now then, we must decipher Master Yen Sid's message. What do you think he means by 'where your journey began?'"
Daisy cleared her throat, placing the letter on the desk. "Perhaps it began right here. His Majesty left the castle when he saw the stars blinking out one by one."
"If that were true," Mary said, "then wouldn't we have already found some answers."
"Perhaps there is something we missed?" Minnie suggested. "We still have many mysteries to solve."
Kairi moved toward the desk and stared at the letter. Where her journey began, she thought. Destiny Islands? No, Kairi shook her head. That was where Sora's journey began. Then where, or when, had Kairi's journey began?
Images flashed in her thoughts. A dark, stormy night, a library full of secret passageways, ancient tombs about the heart, her grandmother's soothing bedtime stories. Kairi's chest felt tight. She bit her lip.
"Hollow Bastion. I think, no, I'm sure that's what the letter means. Go back to the start of my journey, my original world, where the heartless first appeared, ten years ago."
Daisy drummed her fingers on the desk. "That's going to be quite a journey. Has the gummi ship been finished?"
Minnie reached out and took Kairi's hand. "Is something the matter, dear?"
Kairi's face stretched into a smile, but her eyes didn't shine. She pulled her hand back.
"I'm fine."
"Now Kairi, it's best to be honest with your feelings," said Mary. "I know exactly what ails you."
Kairi froze. "You do?"
"Yes. You believe that you are have not yet mastered enough magic to handle yourself out there."
Kairi opened her mouth and then closed it. "Well, that's kind of it, but-"
"Not to worry," Mary said, pushing Kairi toward the library doors. "You've more then proved your capability to me, and I'm sure Max will agree that your sword skills are enough to at least defend yourself. Now go find Professor Von Drake and Mr. McDuck, would you?"
"But-"
"Spit spot, we have no time for dilly dally."
Kairi, her brows drawn together, stumbled out of the library. Once the sound of her footsteps had faded, Mary turned back around to face the Queen and Daisy.
Minnie traced the writing on the letter with her finger. "Mary dear, I think she may have been afraid."
"You are correct, Majesty."
Daisy put her hand on her hips. "Then shouldn't we comfort her?"
"Do you truly believe that will help?"
Queen Minnie folded the letter back into its envelope. "No. Sometimes, the only way to conquer a fear is to face it."
Jiminy's Journal
Marluxia (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, 2004) The true prisoner of Castle Oblivion. A powerful man that once tried to destroy the realm of darkness. Years of being alone with his obsession has warped him, turning him into the very thing he despises. It was his scheme that lured Sora, Donald, Goofy and Dr. Facilier to Castle Oblivion.
Chapter 28: Chapter 27: Hollow Bastion
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
@LunalaRose: Thanks so much for your comment! Glad you're enjoying the story! Getting close to the end of KH2. Some big things coming your way. Have you have your popcorn ready, and I hope you enjoy what's to come.
Also special thanks to all the guests that left kudos! You know who you are, you wonderful people! Thank you!
Chapter 27: Hollow Bastion
"Awesome!"
Max and Kairi moved about the bridge of the gummi ship, marveling at all the buttons, the steering wheel, and the dollar sign shaped pilot's chair.
"Totally awesome," Kairi agreed, looking up at the glass domed ceiling.
Huey, Dewey, and Louie bounced up and down by the control panel.
"Finally! It's ready! That was so much work," complained Louie.
"Think of all the adventures we can go on now," said Dewey.
Huey rubbed his eye. "A real rocket ship! Words cannot express how happy I am."
Scrooge stomped into the bridge and pointed his cane at the semicircle of passenger seats behind the pilot's chair. "Sit down and buckle up. Goodness knows, I don't want this thing falling out of the sky because you five had to go and play co-pilot."
Professor Von Drake's head popped out from under the control panel. "I vill have you know that I have created the finest ship! There is no vay it will fall out of the sky!"
Gadget, who had been sitting on the professor's shoulder, jumped onto the control panel. "We've given the ship a complete overhaul. The odds of blowing up are less then ninety nine point eight percent."
She stomped on a blue button. A view screen appeared on the round window in front of the pilot's seat.
"Testing, one, two. Chip? Dale? Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear!" Dale waved his arms on the view screen.
Chip's blurry, black nose obscured the screen for a moment before he leaned back. "We'll keep an eye on the ship's progress from the hanger. Be safe out there!"
Gadget jumped from one button to the next. The screen changed. Chip and Dale vanished, to be replaced by a screen full of numbers and charts. Gadget nodded at each figure.
"All systems ready, Professor."
"Excellent. Ve only need our pilot."
Launchpad entered the bridge. "All right Mr. McD, I'm ready to get this baby space-born."
Kairi cringed.
"Don't worry," Gadget winked, "I've added anti-crash systems attached to the ship."
"Thanks."
Buckling up, Kairi looked out of the glass dome at the red and white wings of the ship. The thrusters lit up with a lavender stream of energy as the ship came to life. Down blow, in the gummi hanger, Queen Minnie, Daisy, Mary, PJ and Bobby stood behind Chip and Dale. The gummi ship's view screen popped up.
Bobby pushed aside everyone else so that he give the passengers a huge wink.
"You got this, bro-oh! We'll keep things good on the home front."
Max waved at his friends. "Make sure he doesn't slack off, Peej."
PJ gripped his hammer with trembling hands. "Please come back safe. I don't think I'm ready to be captain full time."
Someone cleared their throat. Bobby and PJ stiffened, moving so Daisy can take up the screen. "Max, make sure to keep everyone out of harm's way."
Max saluted. "Yes ma'am."
Next came Mary and Minnie. "I've taught you as much as I can. Experience will be your teacher now."
"And Kairi," Queen Minnie curtsied, "good luck on your mission."
Kairi put her hands over her heart, biting her lip. "Majesty Minnie, Daisy, Mary, thank you for everything!"
Minnie, Mary and Daisy chuckled. "Of course dear. Now off you go."
"Launchpad to crew, perimeters set! Ready for blast off."
On the screen, Chip and Dale grinned. "Happy flying!"
The screen turned off. Launchpad pulled a lever. The ship vibrated, lifting from its secured position. It hovered, lighting up the gummi hanger with lavender shadows.
"Blast off!" An arrow appeared right in front of the ship. It pointed downward.
Kairi had one second to realize what was happening before her stomach dropped down into her legs. The triplets screamed. Max held onto this seat for dear life. Professor Von Drake had to grab Gadget before she could go splat against the ceiling. Scrooge merely rolled his eyes as the ship fell down through a long tunnel.
They popped out right underneath the world of Disney Castle. Kairi, upside down and still gasping from the surprise plunge, watched Disney Castle shrink as they flew away. Once Launchpad had the ship right side up again, everyone was allowed to leave their seats. Gadget ordered the triplets around while Scrooge and Professor Von Drake stayed near Launchpad, making sure he was paying attention on their voyage. Max looked out the window into the swirling, tie-die blues, purples, and pinks of interspace. The nebulae and stars reflected in his wide eyes.
"Wow."
Kairi stared out into the stars, wondering if Sora was out there somewhere, looking all the worlds he had worked so hard to save. Now it was her turn. Kairi removed two letters from her waist pouches. The first was the crumbled letter from King Mickey, the one that Pluto had given her on Destiny Islands. The second was from Master Yen Sid.
"Hello? Earth to Kairi?"
Max slumped down in the seat next to her. "What's up? You're never this out of it."
Kairi pinched the letter's corner, wrinkling it more. "Just thinking about all the stuff we're going to do in the new world. What do you plan to do once we get there?"
"Stick to you like glue." Max pointed to the ducks. "Bet Mr. McDuck is going to find a nice place to set up some kind of shop, and he's going to boss around the boys to do his busy work. Gadget, Launchpad and Professor Von Drake aren't going to leave this ship." Max leaned in to whisper. "No matter what Gadget says, I just know Launchpad is going to find some way to damage this thing."
"I heard that!"
Max waved his hand dismissively at Gadget.
"Anyway," he continued, "you have something big you need to do. So, I'm not leaving your side until you do it."
"It may be dangerous."
Max poked Kairi on her forehead. "Who was the person that taught you how to defend yourself?"
Kairi grinned evilly. "Oswald."
"Excuse me? What about all the sweet moves I taught you?"
Kairi put her tongue between her teeth. "I'm kidding, you goof."
"Excuse me, Ms. Kairi," Launchpad called.
"We're far enough from Disney Castle to do a jump," Gadget explained, pointing to a series of buttons. "All we need are the coordinates."
"Give me a second." Kairi closed her eyes, thinking. "Sora punched in the numbers on his last adventure. I think it went something like this."
Automatically, Kairi pressed the right buttons. It was strange how she knew so much simply from being inside Sora's heart, experiencing his adventure with him. In fact, Kairi wondered if her aptitude for sword play was because she had been with Sora during so many of his battles.
Gadget clapped her hands. "Perfect! Everyone sit down! Warping in ten seconds!"
The ship launched through a long tunnel of lights and colors. Kairi was pressed into her seat. Moments later, the tunnel ended and the ship slowed. A red spec appeared in the distance. As they flew closer to it, Kairi felt the itch of dread on her chest.
Memories filled her mind of running through a labyrinth of elevators, forgotten halls, waterways and pipes. And of running away from Ansem, right after losing Sora. A lonely feeling chewed at her heart, reminding her of the pain of when she finally reunited with her friends, only for Sora to vanish in her arms, and for Riku to appear as nothing more then a phantom, warning her to run away from the heartless. They were going back to where it had all happened. The place she had refused to remember for so long.
Her original home.
"All right, it's now or never! Professor, I'm counting on you."
"Right! Ve vill succeed!"
Gadget danced on one of the control panels, pressing buttons with her feet. A slot opened under the panel and tiny lever rose up from under it. On the other side of the bridge, Professor Von Drake did the same. An identical lever appeared.
The professor gripped the lever. "Preparing to pass through the vorld barrier in three."
"Two," said Gadget. "Launchpad, get ready."
"Aye aye!" Launchpad's hand hovered over a red button.
"Von!"
The levers were pulled. Launchpad slammed the button. The ship sprinted forward. For a split second, Kairi's heart flipped when she looked down and saw that she was standing over nothing. There was a golden flash, and the ship reappeared around her. The sky outside changed from the swirling colors and stars of interspace. Instead a gloomy, pink, perpetual sunset appeared overhead.
"It vorks!" Professor Von Drake gave Gadget a high five. "Vell done!"
A decrepit castle stood in the middle of a world of water. Kairi's throat tightened and she took in a shaky breath. Mangled pipes grew out of the castle like an infection growth, twisting this way and that. Steam fizzled out of the pipes' rusted holes. A heart shape, the same symbol that appeared on non pureblood heartless, towered over them. Built into the middle of the castle, half of the heart emblem looked like a layer of skin that had been peeled away, revealing the muscles underneath. The other half looked into the castle's clockwork bowels. Darkness coated the castle like a pesticide. Even from inside the ship, Kairi could feel its poison pounding on her head and its stale scent stinging her nose. Her breathing quickened.
"Hey," Huey pointed at something out of the window. "I see a town."
"A town means people. People means munny! Take us down, Launchpad."
"Yes sir, Mr. Mc.D."
Kairi kept her eyes on the castle as they flew past. Those old, forsaken walls were full of more then just darkness. Memories of Donald and Goofy's betrayal, of losing the keyblade and having to rely on Beast's strength, of fighting Riku, all while forcing herself to go on, to find...Kairi shook her head. Those weren't her memories. They were Sora's. She had been with him as he had climbed the castle. In his heart, she had been helpless, unable to tell him he would be all right, unable to scream at Riku for what he was putting the both of them through, unable to stop Sora from stabbing his own heart to set her free.
As the gummi ship began to descend, Kairi watched the castle move up to loom over them. For a moment, the sky turned dark, and Kairi felt pain rising up from somewhere deep within her. A dark and stormy night, screaming, running away from monsters in the dark, someone's low cackle, and...
Max put his hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
The ship landed in the town, surprisingly without a problem. Gadget jumped onto Max's leg and tapped her foot.
"Told ya. Lauchpad proof."
Just then the ship groaned, leaning to one side. Scrooge and Ludvig Von Drake smacked against the left window.
"Launchpad!" Scrooge growled.
"Oops!" Launchpad turned the steering wheel to the right, making sure ship, and everyone in it, level.
Max raised his eyebrows at Gadget.
"Always room for error," she shrugged.
"Opening the hatch," Launchpad announced. "You may disembark."
Scrooge and the triplets raced out. Following, Max and Kairi entered into a makeshift town square. Sections of the cobblestone roads were not yet lined, revealing the halfway done cement underneath. Several shops were nothing more then a booth and a skeleton of wooden beams. People carried around lumber, roof shingles, and bags of dirt.
In the middle of the town was a hot dog stand, and a line of muddy but excited construction workers. The sweet smell of sizzling sausages made Max's stomach growl. He joined the line while Kairi took in all the busy townsfolk that were hammering, plastering and painting new houses.
She paused by hole in the square. A man and a woman in overalls were down in the dirt, tightening bolts on a set of underground pipes. The workers turned a valve, and then water began flowing through the tiny fountains on the edges of the square. Kairi stared at the fountains. A familiar feeling filled her heart. She remembered flowers, whole patches of them, lovingly grown in flowerbeds all along perfect blue, purple, and grey cobblestone streets.
Max came back, licking his lips. "That was one good hod dog. Want one?"
"No thanks," said Kairi, not taking her eyes off the flower beds.
"What's up?"
"I remember this town. It was covered in flowers, like a garden."
Max looked around. "You sure? It looks like they just started building it."
"Well, maybe not this exact town, but one like it, from a long time ago, I think."
"You think?"
"I was born in this world." Kairi explained. "But I don't remember much. I'm getting bits and pieces here and there."
"Let's take a look around. Maybe you'll get a better picture."
Kairi and Max passed by a shop that looked suspiciously like a giant refrigerator. Scrooge and the triplets were there, setting up an ice cream stand. Scrooge haggled with the shop owner, while the triplets helped the workers pain the shop sign.
Behind the fridge was a set of stairs that led to the residential area. The houses in that part of town were more complete then the ones in the square, as were the roads. A large, red crane hovered over Kairi and Max's heads, making them feel like toys in a claw machine. Workers stood around wooden crates, arguing over blue prints.
A tall, muscular man and a girl were pushing a wheel barrow full of bricks in Kairi's direction.
"Maybe you should take it easy Cid," mocked the petite girl next to him. "This kind of work can't be easy on your bones."
The big, blond man clenched his teeth on the long twig between his lips. He glared at the girl. She back-flipped away. Landing on her feet, she put her hands on her hips.
"Calm down. I'm just worried about you."
"If yer not going to help me work, then go n' bother someone else."
"Ouch. So cold. I swear, you and Leon, so stiff."
The man returned to pushing the wheel barrow. Then he spotted Kairi at the bottom of the stairs. He dropped the wheel barrow on his foot. Wailing, he jumped up and down, holding his leg.
Kairi dashed forward. "Cure!"
The man's pained expression faded. "Thanks." He lowered his leg. "Wait a minute, now is not the time for that. What are you doing here?"
"Nice to see you too Cid," Kairi smiled awkwardly. "Long time."
"You were supposed to go back to yer own world. Don't tell me the heartless are breaking down the walls again."
"Not exactly. My friends and I came here in a special ship that can pass through the world's protective wall."
Cid's eyes lit up. "Did you now?" He rubbed his hand on the stubble on his chin. "A ship that can pass through the walls of worlds. Where's yer vessel?"
"Upstairs, behind the town square."
Cid abandoned his cart, and raced up the stairs. Then it was the girl's turn to appear in front of Kairi's face.
"No way, it is you! And Goofy too? Wait, no. You're not Goofy."
"No. The name's Max. I'm Goofy's son."
"Goofy has a son?"
Max's muzzle wrinkled. "Is that a problem?"
The girl waved her hands. "Not at all. It's just a surprise. Pleased to meet ya, Max. I'm the great ninja Yuffie."
Her intro done, she completely ignored Max in favor of throwing her arms around Kairi and giving her a good squeeze.
"I can't believe you're here!" She leaned back. "Is Sora here too? What happened? Did he defeat Ansem? I mean, we know he must have, how else would all the stars come back to the sky? But I want to know the details!"
Kairi laughed. On Sora's last adventure, she had barely met Yuffie in person and yet it still felt as though she were reuniting with a long time friend after summer vacation. Kairi looked Yuffie over, from her short, black hair to her yellow shorts. She hadn't changed a bit, all spunk and no shame.
"Sora's not here," Kairi explained. "I haven't seen him since he, Donald and Goofy restored the worlds. I came here for a different reason."
Yuffie put a finger to Kairi's lips. "Hold that thought. You've got to explain everything to the others. Come on!"
Yuffie led the way to a cottage. There was a short, round tower, shaped much like a wizard's hat, rising out of the house's red roof. Pushing the heavy door open, Yuffie shoved Max and Kairi into a messy room. Right across from the front door, was a massive computer, with several screens on wall. A young man sat in front of the keyboard, looking up at the screens. Yuffie put her hands on his shoulders.
"Squall! You'll never believe who's here!"
The man swatted her hands as though he were chasing away a fly. "It's Leon. Do you have to be so loud every time you enter a room?"
His voice was smooth and low, completely relaxed despite Yuffie's spastic pointing.
"Whatever! Look!"
Leon turned around and spotted Kairi. His serious features didn't show a hint of surprise. Meanwhile, a young woman with long, braided, chestnut hair stood up from behind a pile of books on the floor. She pressed her palms together, her green eyes dancing with delight.
"Kairi! You're here!"
"Hi Aerith."
Leon waved nonchalantly. "Hey."
Yuffie crossed her arms, curling her lip at him. "That's it? What happened to," her voice got low, "'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other?' Can't you show a little more enthusiasm? We thought we'd never see anyone from the outside world ever again!"
Leon sighed, leaned back in his seat, and rubbed the diagonal scar between his brows. Ignoring him, Aerith greeted Kairi properly.
"How did you get here? Oh! And you must be Goofy's son."
Max bowed.
"Are you here to keep Kairi out of trouble?"
"Keep her out of trouble? Yeah sure. Trouble finds her."
"Don't mind him, Aerith. He's just mad that he can't beat me in a sparring match."
Max shoved Kairi's shoulder. "Pu-lease! Last I checked, you're at seven wins and thirteen losses against me. Plus, you can only beat me by using magic."
"Don't be such a sore loser Max."
"And you've never beaten me when duel wielding."
Now that got Leon's attention.
"You use two swords at once? I'd like to see that in action."
Max grinned. "A duel? I'm down."
Smirking, Leon opened the front door. Outside, Kairi, Yuffie and Aerith leaned against the house, watching Max unsheathe his swords. Leon brandished a silver blade. A picture of a lion was embedded at the base of the blade. The handle resembled a pistol's grip. The hilt of the sword had a trigger guard and trigger, as well as a cylinder, hammer and part of a barrel.
Max pointed. "What is that, some short of blade gun?"
"Gunblade," Leon corrected. "Whenever you're ready."
Max charged.
While the two of them duked it out, Kairi filled Aerith in on everything she knew regarding the end of Sora's journey, how she escaped Destiny Islands, the letter from Yen Sid, and the heartless machine. Aerith listened patiently, without asking questions. That was Yuffie's job.
"Hold up. You're saying that somewhere in this world, there is a machine that's just randomly spitting out heartless?"
"Yes. Has there been a heartless problem in this town?"
"Sometimes," said Aerith, "but we've got it covered. Leon, Cloud, Yuffie and I take turns patrolling the town and destroy any we come across. There haven't been any major incidents."
"Don't jinx it." Yuffie covered her mouth.
"What about the castle? I noticed the town is a little ways off."
Aerith and Yuffie exchanged looks.
"We've been working to restore Hollow Bastion to what it was like before. And we've come a long way in such a short time."
Yuffie winked. "Yeah, everyone has been working super hard! Even Merlin uses his magic to help us out."
"Merlin's here?"
Aerith pointed over her shoulder to the house. "We use his home as a headquarters."
"And Cid's been working on a defense system to help protect the town from heartless."
"That's great, but what about the castle?"
Yuffie deflated, crossing her arms. "You tell her."
Aerith looked up at the sky, in the direction of the castle. "After the stars reappeared in the sky, more heartless then ever swarmed the castle. We had to evacuate. Since then, an impenetrable wall of darkness has kept everyone out."
"So it's been abandoned all this time?"
Aerith nodded.
Yuffie rotated her neck. "I still feel sore thinking about it. I've never seen so many heartless at once. There were thousands of them. They just kept coming. Almost like that night." She shuddered.
"That night." Kairi repeated.
A dark and stormy night, screaming, her home falling apart, someone's low cackle, and monsters that appeared out of the shadows. Kairi shook her head, clearing away the memories. For now.
"The heartless at the castle, were they pureblood heartless? Or did they have the heart shaped emblem on them?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. I haven't seen the little shadowy types around that much."
"The heartless machine must be in the castle. There has to be a way inside."
Max and Leon's duel ended in a draw. Resting his blade on his shoulder, Leon turned to Kairi.
"If you want to get in to the castle, check in with Cloud at the rising falls. He's been going there often. I'll lead the way."
Yuffie walked past Leon. "Great, let's go!"
"Oh no you don't."
He grabbed Yuffie's head, turning her around.
"You're staying in town."
"What? Why?"
"Someone's got to stay and defend this place."
Leon shoved Yuffie. She stumbled, stopping in front of Aerith.
Aerith leaned down, smiling into Yuffie's grumbling face. "Translation: that was an indirect compliment. He wouldn't have asked you stay if he didn't think you would do a good job."
Leon's only response to Aerith's comment was a quick, "hmph" sound.
The rising falls made Kairi dizzy. After following Leon through a series of limestone tunnels on the edge of town, they walked into the misty pit that sat under the castle. Water flowed along the walls of the pit, flowing up instead of down, making Kairi feel as though she were in a wet elevator that was always going down. Except they weren't moving at all.
Stone platforms floated in the air before them. Jumping from platform to platform, Max, Leon and Kairi reached the top of the pit. Standing between two stone pillars, they watched the ocean of still water before them. Though it was a ways away, rising out of the ocean, the castle loomed like a giant watching the insignificant ants at its feet. Kairi could feel the gaze of darkness on her. She pushed down the need to retch.
A young man and woman stood at the water's edge before them. Kairi recognized the young man. Though his outfit had changed from the last time she had seen him, switching out his blue uniform and red cape for a mostly black ensemble, Kairi recognized his spiky, blond hair and the thick, heavy, buster blade on his back. One of Sora's memories flashed in her mind. She remembered fighting the young man in Olympus Colosseum. Cloud.
A young woman that stood next to Cloud. Kairi was drawn in by the gentle smile in the woman's brown eyes. She wore a black, leather outfit and a matching set of gloves. Upon seeing Leon, she walked over.
"Not that often we see you around these parts. Something happen in town?"
Leon shook his head. "Any progress on the castle?"
"Nothing to report," drawled Cloud.
Kairi stepped forward. "Excuse me, Mr. Cloud, has any heartless come out of the castle?"
Cloud gave her a cold gaze.
"How do you know me?"
"You've met my friend, Sora."
His eyes rested on her face for a long second. "I see. So you were the light he was searching for."
Kairi blushed.
Max elbowed her. "Not that much fun when it's you, is it?"
Covering her face with one hand, Kairi pushed Max with the other.
"Cloud," the young woman admonished.
Cloud quickly turned to look back at the castle. Behind him, Leon crossed his arms and tried to act uninterested, but his the corners of his lips curled upward ever so slightly. Sighing, the young woman pulled Kairi's hand away from her face.
"Don't mind him, he's a little insensitive to these kinds of things. My name is Tifa. You were asking about heartless in the castle?"
Kairi could have hugged Tifa. Clearing her throat, she explained about King Mickey's letter and the heartless machine. When she was finished, Cloud and Tifa exchanged looks.
"That would explain why the heartless keep popping up in town," Tifa said.
"But how are they getting out? We've investigated every inch of the rising falls. The entire time we've been here, we haven't encountered a single one," said Cloud.
Max pointed to the water. "Can't we just get a boat and sail across?"
"Negative," said Leon. "The water may be slow here, but the current to the castle is too strong for any boat."
"Bummer." Max kicked one of the stone pillars.
Kairi stared at the spot Max had just kicked. Goosebumps rose on her arms. She pressed her hand on the pillar. The tingle of darkness zipped through her palm. She jumped, stumbling backward toward the edge of the platform. Tifa reached out, caught her arm and pulled her back.
"Are you all right? You're as pale as a sheet."
Kairi pushed away from Tifa's side. "I felt darkness."
Slowly, Kairi approached the pillar and put her hand on it. A cold tingle spread up her arm. She moved her hand down to the ground. The tingle was still there. She took off her boots and socks. Shivering, she felt the unmistakeable cold burn of darkness in her heels.
Leon, Cloud, Tifa and Max followed Kairi down the rising falls. She walked on the water, passing over the walls. The water sprayed on her face and shirt, but she ignored it, concentrating. Directly underneath the platform that faced the castle, she stopped.
"The darkness is strongest here."
"Get clear."
Everyone stepped out Cloud's way. He lifted his broad sword with both hands. After a mighty swing, the wall cracked. The blue stone crumbled away. A draft blew out from behind the water. Kairi put her hand through the waterfall. The other side was hollow.
The party stepped into a dark tunnel. On the other side, Kairi put her boots back on.
"Looks like we've found our entrance," said Cloud, turning to look at Kairi.
"W-what is it?"
"Nothing."
"Really, Cloud? You're going to creep her out. Just go ahead and tell her what's on your mind."
Cloud ignored Tifa, walking ahead.
"That guy," Tifa sighed. "He's like a cat: you have to wait for him to come to you. There's a soft side in there somewhere. He's just too proud to say that he's impressed."
Kairi pressed her lips together. "He reminds me of a certain someone."
"Me?"
"Max, you're a total softie. Like Sora. No, Cloud reminds me of Riku. Hard shell on the outside, soft on the inside."
"What is he, an egg?"
Tifa laughed. "I like that. Yep, a total egghead." Cloud's voice echoed from up ahead. "Are you going to stand around gossiping or are we going to start this mission?"
Leon tapped Kairi's shoulder. She turned to see that he hadn't crossed the waterfall into the tunnel.
"Good luck," said Leon.
"You're not coming?"
"Someone's got to stay in the rising falls, to make sure no heartless come out of this tunnel. Watch out for each other."
"Okay. Thanks."
As they walked through the tunnel, Kairi whispered to Tifa.
"I can see how he and Leon could get along. Mission comes first."
"Workaholics more like," Tifa giggled. "It wouldn't hurt either of them to open up a little."
The tunnel was a narrow, dark line, forcing the party to move single file. It smelled of rain and stone. The scent swirled around Kairi, reminding her of a storm. In her mind, rain fell from the sky in thick sheets, flooding the gardens and the town. People screamed as they were washed away, vanishing under the black water and Kairi watched it all, frozen in place, even though she knew she should be running, but from what? She couldn't remember.
Kairi stopped walking, making Max crash into her. Before he could complain, he looked over her shoulder. Up ahead was a long spiral staircase. The party climbed. At the top of the stairs were a pair of massive double doors. Cloud and Tifa pushed them apart. For the first time in a year, Kairi walked into the great hall of the castle.
Instantly, she remembered protecting Sora from the heartless and returning him to his true form, but then another memory flashed. She was small. She was playing in the great hall. A kind voice called out to her, a voice that Kairi sometimes heard in her dreams.
The memory was interrupted by Cloud, and Tifa's echoing footsteps as they inspected the hall. The only light in the dim, cavernous space came from the massive, ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The room was painted in gloomy, earthy tones, which, to Kairi, felt just wrong. Though hazy, she remembered this room being a lot brighter, full of townspeople and happy researchers, chatting about library books and making requests for the wise man that led them. She remembered someone's soft, wrinkly hand holding hers. She remembered asking so many questions, and having each of them patiently answered by a pair of soft voices. She remembered-
A wolfish face appeared in the middle of the hall. Then a bulgy heartless appeared right behind it. The heartless raised the wolfish face into the air like a shield, letting out a silent roar. More shield baring heartless appeared, along with floating witches and wyverns. They packed the room like sardines, surrounding the party.
Max and Kairi darted forward, to fight, but never got the chance. Cloud flashed from one place to another, stabbing anything that was in his path with his sword's sonic power. While he was busy slicing through whole armies of heartless, several of the flying wyverns appeared over his head. Before Kairi could even think of summoning magic, Tifa jumped and kicked the heartless so hard, that all five of them slammed against a wall, bursting into dust.
Cloud was a heaver hitter, obliterating anything that was dumb enough to gather in one spot, but his speed was nothing compared to Tifa, who sprinted all over the great hall, punching, kicking, somersaulting, stomping and throwing heartless around like baseballs, all while Max and Kairi stared with their jaws on the floor.
"She fights with her bare hands," Max whispered.
"With her bare hands," Kairi repeated.
"Mega cool," they said together.
It took Cloud and Tifa five minutes to get rid of the hordes. Dusting off her hands, Tifa gestured deeper into the castle. "Shall we?"
"Yes, ma'am," Kairi and Max said eagerly.
The party entered the library and spread out, looking for clues. Along the back wall of the library were a set of golden windows. A staircase sat in front of the windows, leading to the second floor. Under the staircase was a reading table and a chair. Kairi stared at the empty seat.
"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of the light."
Kairi closed her eyes. She could hear her grandmother's voice, clear and soft.
"Everyone loved the light," Kairi recited her grandmother's story. "Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts."
A book lay on the table. Kairi opened it. She recognized the words on the first page. She had read them before, on someone's lap, in that very seat.
"What are you reading Kairi?"
"This book is like Grandma's story. What are you reading?"
"It's a complicated book. I don't think you'll understand it. There are no fairy tales in here."
"Is is a book for smart people? If I read all the books in the library, will I be as smart as you are one day?"
There was a loving chuckle. "Perhaps." Then there was a sigh. "Perhaps you are better off not being like me. Knowledge can be a tempting curse."
Kairi dropped the book. Her memory flashed forward, to another time, to another room, a wide room, with books thrown all over the floor, funny looking diagrams on the chalkboards behind the desk, and papers upon papers of notes, all written in his neat handwriting.
She wasn't supposed to be in there. He didn't like it when she entered without permission, but she just couldn't resist looking at all the pretty lights. They floated like glowing jellyfish in the cylindrical tanks all around the room. She sat under one of the tanks, mesmerized by the glowing, heart shaped lights inside. They shined a brilliant pink, gold and silver, making her chest feel warm, almost like-
"Kairi! You know better then to play in here!"
A cane slammed down next to her.
Kairi stood, bowing her head.
"But, Grandpa-"
"No excuses. This is no place for children."
A pair of wrinkled hands pushed her out of the room. Before the door closed behind her, Kairi turned, watching her grandfather sit at his desk. He turned something, and the wall behind him twitched. The door closed before Kairi could see anything else.
The memory faded from Kairi's mind. She snapped back into her body, watching the ceiling getting closer and closer. She was falling, falling, falling until her world completely faded.
A warm hand on her forehead woke her up. Max and Tifa's faces appeared overhead. Kairi pushed their hands away and couldn't hear their questions. The memories pounded on her head, forcing her to remember. She had loved to play in the library, loved to climb the book shelves like she were a gorilla in the jungle. Once, she had been climbing and her foot slipped. On the way down, she had grabbed a pink book and pulled it out. A secret door had opened. The next thing Kairi remembered was walking down a dark passage.
Kairi waved off Max and Tifa's concerns. "I'm okay. I just need to find," she looked around, "there!"
Kairi climbed the bookshelf that faced the stairs. The pink book was exactly where she remembered it. She pulled it out. Down below, there was a groan of wood and metal. Max and Tifa tensed, but relaxed a moment later when Cloud called.
"Over here!"
Following Cloud's voice, they discovered a bookcase that had been pulled away from the wall like a open door. A whistling draft came from the dark passage behind it. Cloud tilted his head at Kairi.
"Nice job," he grunted.
He went on ahead.
Tifa winked at Kairi when she passed by. "He's warming up to you."
The passage was long. This time, the damp smell of earth and mist reached Kairi's nose. She wobbled. Max caught her shoulders, steadying her, and Kairi had no choice but to lean on him for a moment, as another memory banged inside her skull.
Grandpa would be mad if she went down the secret passage again, but for some reason, Kairi couldn't help herself. There were whispers, calls from deep within the passage, like a lullaby that Kairi couldn't help but listen to. She followed the sweet voices, but when she entered her Grandpa's messy office, all the heart shaped lights in the tubes were gone.
Something ducked behind Grandpa's desk. Getting on her hands and knees, Kairi peaked behind the desk. A dark creature, with yellow eyes, peered back at her. Curious, Kairi reached out, to touch it. A mouth opened wide and nearly bit off Kairi's fingers. Yelping, she ran. Out of the tunnel, back into the library, and into her grandmother's arms.
Kairi couldn't breathe. Her heart hammered against her lungs as she gasped. Max fanned her face.
"What's wrong?"
Tifa knelt down and put her hands on Kairi's shoulders. "Breathe in for five seconds, hold your breathe for two, and then breathe out again, five seconds."
Kairi did as she was told, and slowly, her breathing eased, but her heart did not relax.
Cloud crossed his arms. "This is too much for you. Go back and wait in the library, we can go investigate on our own. Max, can you keep her company?"
Kairi let Max hold her arm. He took one step back toward the library and Kairi pulled her hand away. The library was safe, far away from her memories and the horrible truth. She could pretend like nothing happened, go back and be protected till it was over, and let other people pick up her slack.
"No," Kairi bit her lip, facing Cloud. "I'm going."
Cloud smiled for a second. Then he continued on ahead.
"You sure you're okay?" Max asked.
"My memories. Everything's coming back. It makes me sick."
Max looked concerned.
"I want to keep going," Kairi urged him. "I don't want to run away. Not again."
"Again?"
"I've been in this tunnel before."
Max went behind her. "If you feel out of it, let me know so I can catch you before you face plant the floor."
Despite the ice gnawing at her heart, Kairi giggled. "Well, aren't you my knight in shining armor."
"You know it."
Max pushed her down the hall. Now, the smell of ash reached Kairi's nose. Another memory triggered. She had been awakened by a nightmare in the middle of the night. Running to her grandmother's room, Kairi had heard muffled voices from the beyond the door. Then there was shouting, but Kairi couldn't understand the words. She felt the air around her shift, closing in like a tightening fist.
Something was behind her. Turning, Kairi screamed. It was the dark creature from her grandfather's office and there were more of them. Lightning flashed from the windows in the hall, illuminating the creatures' writhing bodies and the thorny hearts on their chests. They pounced.
Kairi ducked. The creature slammed into her grandparent's bedroom door, slashing it. The door openned. Kairi's grandmother appeared. She scooped up Kairi, and ran down the castle's dark corridors to the great hall. There were more monsters there. A dark shadow appeared over her grandmother's shoulder. Kairi sobbed, hiding her face in her grandmother's neck.
Grandmother turned, faced the robed creature, and let out a horrified gasp.
"Ansem, what have you done?"
"I've brought upon the only truth. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end." The sleeve of his brown robe lifted. "Give her to me."
Kairi's eyes were swollen with tears. "Grandpa? Why do you look like that?"
Grandmother ran to a wall and pushed a switch. A passage opened. She pushed Kairi through it. "Run and don't look back!"
The door closed, trapping Kairi in darkness. She stumbled through the torchlit tunnel, the lights flickering off one by one behind her, until she ran out into town. The storm ripped the flowers out of their beds. The townsfolk screamed, running away from the same monsters that had been in the castle. The creatures rained down from the dark clouds above, washing people away in a black flood, tearing out the same glowing, heart shaped lights she had seen in the tubes.
Her grandmother's words echoed in her head. "The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything and the world disappeared."
The creatures surrounded Kairi. Her back banged against the castle gates. The creatures twitched, reaching toward her.
"But small fragments of survived, in the hearts of children."
Something glittered overhead. Shooting stars rained down through the clouds above. "So listen child, even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you."
Kairi reached toward the sky, trying to grab one of the stars. The creatures were closing in.
"Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you."
Kairi closed her eyes, willing a star to shine her way. She could feel the creatures' breathe on her skin. She wished for a safe place, far away from the darkness, someplace with children, someplace she wouldn't be alone. Her feet left the ground, she was blinded by light. The star came down to her hand and Kairi closed her eyes, forgetting everything.
Kairi snapped back to the present. Her eyes stinging, she ran, passing Cloud and Tifa. She got to the end of the tunnel and entered the office she had seen in her memories. The tanks were completely obliterated. Broken glass shined all over the floor. Papers, yellowed and ripped with time, crunched under her boots. The desk lay on its side, the wood splintered and decayed, yet Kairi felt magnetically pulled to it, her hand reaching out with a force she could not stop. An hourglass lay under the desk. Kairi turned the glass over so that the white sand fell into the empty glass on the bottom. As the sands fell, they changed color, from white to dark purple.
Wind whispered on the back of Kairi's neck. The back wall crumbled, piece by piece, like the sands falling into the lower glass. Passing through an archway, Kairi entered a large, round room, and froze. Behind her, Max, Tifa and Cloud entered. She heard them gasp, but she did not need to see the matching sets of horror on their faces for she could not tear her own eyes away from the image before her.
A massive tank was suspended from the ceiling. Hearts glowed inside the glass, packed and smashed against each other, covering every inch of the tank. They were squashed through long, thick, pulsating tubes into metal pods full of darkness. There was a gurgling, bubbling sound, like a predator tearing into a piece of meat. Then, claws scratched at the inside of the pod. A pair of yellow eyes peered through the glass, before they two were pushed down through another set of tubes into the floor.
Kairi watched the heartless move through the tubes with disgust. The ground beneath her feet was crisscrossed with throbbing pipes. She could feel the scratching, struggling monsters moving under her feet like living waste being passed through an intestine.
Fury and shame pulsed in Kairi's veins. "This is the machine. We have to destroy it!" Kairi spread her feet wide. Her anger sizzled through her body. Fire blazed between her fingers. Kairi aimed at the tank. "Firaga!"
The spell zoomed across the room. A black stripe poked out from between the pipes on the floor. It swiped at the spell, evaporating it into smoke. Then the stripe curved, flashing forward. Kairi and Max jumped back just before the stripe stabbed into the ground they had been standing on mere moments before. The stripe bugled and pulsed, the hard edges rounding out. The tip popped out from the ground, revealing a stinger that was dripping with dark venom. Another stinger poked out of the pipes, and then another, and another, until there were thirteen. Black claws sliced through the tubes below.
Countless emblem heartless rose up from the floor. Kairi raised her arm and roared.
"Thundaga!"
The lightning slashed through the heartless, but between the strikes, the stingers moved forward, nearly poking into Kairi's neck. A giant sword appeared before her eyes, shielding her. Cloud pushed the stingers back with his buster blade, slicing through a tail as he did so.
More heartless came out of the pipes. Max sprung into action, cutting the heartless into quarters with his swords. Tifa charged, waving through the stinger tails. She got close to the machine and smashed one of the dark pods with her fist before the stringer whacked her across the stomach, throwing her back. She skid back, still standing, her hand covering her stomach.
"The tank! We have to destroy the source!"
Heartless burst through the floor, grabbing Tifa's legs, jumping on her arms and shoulders. Tifa spun, round house kicking the heartless off. She pummeled one group of heartless, and then the next, and the next. Max and Cloud cross slashed through the heartless but were unable to move toward the tank. Kairi ran around the room, ducking, dodging and frying heartless with fire spells to get close to Max.
"I need to get closer to that machine! Turn me into a pinball!"
Max froze in the middle of stabbing a heartless. "What?"
"Good reflexes, remember?"
Max's ears shot up.
"Got it. Get ready!"
Max swung his swords at her.
"Reflect!"
Max's swords slammed onto Kairi's protective sphere. She rocketed across the room, trampling heartless. The stingers slammed down onto her shield, but Kairi rolled close to the machine, and let the shield drop.
"Kairi!"
Max's sword flew through the air. Catching it, Kairi stabbed into one of the pipes the hearts were pushed through, but then something jammed into her arm. Burning magma pumped into Kairi's veins. Yelping, she pulled the stinger out, stumbling back. A purple bruise sent fire into her arm.
Seven stingers appeared over her head, only to crash onto Cloud's sword. While he pushed the tails back, a heartless swiped Kairi from behind when she wasn't looking. Turning around, she slashed it with Max's sword. Down below, the giant claws reappeared, snapping more pipes, releasing more heartless.
The tails swept Cloud and Kairi back, away from the machine and right into the swarm of heartless. Kairi threw up a shield around herself and Cloud.
"We can't keep this up forever," she panted, casting a healing spell on her arm. The black mark faded from her skin, but her energy drained from the healing magic.
"You're right," said Cloud, handing Kairi an ether. "Tifa and I will distract the foot soldiers. You and Max focus on the leader."
Kairi downed the ether. The shield fell. Cloud jumped onto the heartless, sawing through their ranks with his blade. Just ahead of him, Tifa kicked a whole section his way, and he flipped in the air, bringing his sword down hard on their heads. Meanwhile, Kairi threw her arm in the air and chanted.
"Thundaga!"
Her spell cleared the area around her, obliterating the small fry heartless and letting Max run to her side. Without saying a single word, both Max and Kairi flashed forward, cutting off each stinger until only one remained. A claw appeared below Kairi's feet.
"Reflect!"
The giant claw clamped down around her glass, squeezing, cracking the shield. Max ran forward and sliced the claw off. There was a roar from under the pipes. Max had to jump back just as the floor exploded and a giant, black and purple scorpion climbed out. The heartless emblem glowed between its multiple eyes. Its last remaining stinger slammed into the tank, drawing in the hearts. The scorpion's body throbbed, its claws and stingers regenerating.
Then all thirteen stingers, from every angle, flew at Max and Kairi. Quickly, Kairi threw a shield around herself and Max. The scorpion grabbed the magic ball and lifted it, holding it in front of its many stingers, ready to strike the second it went down. The claws squeezed through the glass. Max stabbed the pincers the moment the glass broke and the creature pulled back.
Kairi took the chance.
"Waterga!"
A tidal wave pushed the scorpion back. It banged against the tank.
Max jumped forward and stabbed the heartless emblem between the creature's eyes. It thrashed, one of its claws clamping down on Max's leg. It threw Max across the room, flattening him against the wall. Kairi then yelped when she felt something on her wrist. The heartless lifted her up and splattered her back down onto the pipes. She felt her lungs slam into her spine. She hacked, pulling her arms and legs close.
Turning on her back, Kairi summoned all her energy and directed it at the heartless.
"Firaga!"
The spell hit the scorpion's eyes, and it rolled, trying to rub the fire off.
"Reflect!"
As the heartless flailed about, it kicked Kairi's ball. She rolled, getting close to Max. Pushing away the pain, Kairi healed the both of them. The last of Kairi's magic faded away like a candle being blown out. Ahead of them, the scorpion regenerated again and stalked forward.
More heartless burst out of the pipes. All around her, the darkness' pressure pulled down on her muscles and bones like weighted sand bags. Kairi trembled, barely able to stand and lift her sword. She pointed it at the creeping heartless and scorpion.
"I won't give up. I will put an end to my grandfather's mistakes right here, right now!"
Trembling, Max stood back to back with her, aiming his sword as well.
"I'm with you. All or nothing!"
Max tapped her sword with his. Fiery energy slammed into Kairi from their combined blades. Max's courage mixed with a pulsing, electric power in Kairi's heart. She imagined their training room back at Disney Castle, taking down Julius together, all their sparring and bantering, Max's jokes, his loyalty, his trust in her.
"Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away."
Max and Kairi raised their swords and screamed their spell.
"HOLY!"
A silver blade of light glowed above them. They brought the blade down on the scorpion, burning through it, the tank, the smaller heartless, and the pods on the machine. The heartless roared back, its claws and stingers sliced off. Holding hands, Max and Kairi vanished from one end of the room only to reappear in another. They separated, vanishing and reappearing, cutting the heartless from every angle before they reunited again to deliver the final blow from above.
A massive blast of light grew out from their attack, smashing the pipes and the heartless below. The light grew, melting away any heartless that was still in the room, freeing the trapped hearts inside the tank, and completely disintegrating the remains of the machine into dust. When the whiteness faded, Max and Kairi lay on the floor, gasping.
"Ah-yuck! That was awesome! I've never done anything like that! It was like I passed a limit I didn't know I had! What did you do? What did I do?"
Kairi could barely lift her hands. She stared at her shaking palms. "I have no idea. It was like when Oswald and I blasted a hole through the realm of darkness. Is this my power as a princess of heart?"
"Who cares? We did it! Mission accomplished! Great work, partner!"
Max held up his sword. Kairi tapped it with hers.
"Not your student anymore?"
"You got the moves, just need to master them."
Kairi laughed. "Finally! Some actual praise!"
Cloud and Tifa carried Kairi and Max back to town. They regrouped with Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith in front of Merlin's house. After a few intensely powerful healing spells from Aerith, Kairi and Max were able to stand.
"Should have seen the two of them," Cloud nodded at Max and Kairi, "pretty impressive."
"Wow. Cloud, you actually gave a compliment," giggled Aerith.
Tifa snorted. "You missed his protective, big brother routine. Poor Kairi, she so confused."
While the two ladies surrounded Cloud on either side, teasing him, making his fidget, Leon spoke to Kairi.
"So, the machine was completely destroyed?"
"Yes. There shouldn't be any more new heartless and I'm sure you can keep the infestation at bay until the keyblade master gets here. What about in town? "
"No heartless whatsoever," chimed in Yuffie. "Thanks to me. I made sure to ninja slice any that popped up."
"Good work," said Leon.
Yuffie's eyes widened. With a grin, she waved at Aerith and said, "Hey, I think the direct compliment thing is catching on."
Cloud sighed and Leon covered his eyes in annoyance. All the girls giggled. When the laughter faded, Kairi turned to stare at the castle in the distance. The touch of darkness was still there, but it was weaker, a spark compared to the wildfire before.
Aerith came to stand next to her. "What will you do now?"
Kairi shrugged. "My mission here is over, but I still have to find my friends."
"And after?"
Aerith offered a comforting smile and then bowed to Kairi.
"Tifa said you mentioned a grandfather during the battle. That man wouldn't be Ansem, now would it?"
"So you figured it out." Kairi looked out at the town. "Things should be easier to rebuild now that there's less darkness around. You could even return the castle to the way it was before."
"If we do, will you come back to lead us?"
Kairi looked down at the floor. "I need time to think."
Something shined in Kairi's pocket. She reached in and pulled out Yen Sid's letter. It glowed, melting into a silver star that zoomed up from between her fingertips. The star shot through the air like a comet, leading into town. Kairi moved to chase after it but then paused to look back at Aerith.
Holding out an ether, Aerith winked. "Go. I'm sure Leon and the others can take care of things here until you make up your mind."
Kairi threw her arms around Aerith, squeezing her tight. "Thank you!"
Taking the ether, she raced after the comet. It floated between the houses and stopped in an alley. Turning the corner, Kairi skid to a stop and then all the warmth she had felt moments ago fluttered away. Slowly, she stepped forward and knelt down, her hand trembling as she reached for something on the floor.
Max stumbled into the alley behind her. "Why'd you run off? What's going-"
He looked over Kairi's shoulder.
"Where did that door come from?"
Kairi looked up. A pristine, white door gleamed in front of her. Standing, she faced Max. He stared quizzically at the broken weapon in her arms.
Kairi displayed the broken halves of the weapon, and then showed Max a star shaped charm. "This is my lucky charm. I gave this to Sora. And this is his keyblade!"
Max paled. "Why is it broken?"
Kairi wasn't listening. Her fingers tightened around her star shaped charm." Sora would never willingly let go of this. Something has happened to him!"
Max pointed. "The door is fading away."
Kairi turned sharply. The white door was fading in and out, like a dying heartbeat. Pressing her lucky charm and Sora's broken keyblade to her chest, she gave Max a tearful look.
"I'm sorry."
Kairi lunged at the door, threw it open and ran into the light.
Jiminy's Journal
Cid (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997): Grumpy but kindhearted, Cid is a scientist that lives in Hollow Bastion. A self-proclaimed expert on gummi ships and inter space travel, he's absolutely enthralled by the idea of a gummi ship that can pass through worlds. Wonder what kind of crazy contraptions he would come up with if he works with Gadget and Professor Von Drake.
Yuffie (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997):A confident, hardworking, and energetic girl that has no problem making new friends. At times though, her cheerful nature annoys the more serious members of the Hollow Bastion team, especially Leon and Cid. Nevertheless, you can always count on her to come through in a pinch with her ninja skills.
Leon (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VIII, 1999): Weider of the gunblade, Leon leads the Hollow Bastion team in restoring the town. He's a withdrawn, serious man that shoulders a lot of responsibility. Though he may be quiet and introspective, he cares for and respects his team greatly.
Aerith (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997): A young woman with a strong will and a lot of patience. She serves as Leon's counsel and acts as the emotional core of the team, holding them together and cheering them on. She is skillful at reading people and uses her intuition to tease or guide them.
Cloud (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997): Though he can be as serious as Leon, Cloud is more the "go out there and get things done" type than the leader type. He has a strong sense of focus, especially on missions, but has a hard time showing affection for those he respects. However, he will protect and care for others in his own way, which leads to a lot of teasing from both Tifa and Aerith.
Tifa (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997): A brave yet gentle woman that seems to know Cloud rather well. Her nurturing nature draws people to her. Don't be fooled though, she is a fierce warrior that is not afraid to throw down if it means protecting her friends.
Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Deep Dive
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
A/N: This may be my favorite chapter so far. Out of everything I had written for this story, this was my first idea, years ago, when I was still a kid waiting for KH2 to drop. Hope you enjoy, because I loved writing this one.
Chapter 28: Deep Dive
Kairi crashed onto a cracked, marble floor. Sitting on the cold surface, she waved her hands to ease the stinging in her palms. Looking around revealed a few things. First, she sat at the top of a staircase in a white and grey room that looked as though someone had released a raging hurricane inside it. Second, the room only had three walls. The missing wall opened out into a dark city, letting in a breeze of wet concrete, rain and, Kairi stiffened, darkness. It wasn't just outside. The darkness coated the cracks, craters, and dents all over the room like the residual stink of an oil spill.
Kairi stared at the two halves of the keyblade. Resting on the floor right in front of her knees, the two pieces looked grey and worn. Pocketing her good luck charm, she picked up the two halves of Sora's weapon and held them close to her chest. They burned, white hot. Hissing, Kairi dropped the two halves, watching them float upward. They glimmered, and vanished. Kairi panicked. Then she froze.
A soft, buttery warmth lit up in her heart. She sat still, letting the feeling spread from her chest to her head and down to her toes. The weapon, or was it weapons, rested in her heart.
Kairi walked to the missing fourth wall. Standing on the border between the white, damaged room and the city beyond, she reached out to put her hand under the rain. Her fingers pressed onto something cold and hard. There was a magical spark, like one of her reflect spells. Stepping back, Kairi threw several fire spells at the barrier. They bounced off the invisible wall.
Silver words appeared in the air before her eyes.
Only those that don the garb of the prisoner may pass.
Something black appeared overhead. A leather coat fluttered down from the ceiling to land perfectly in Kairi's outstretched hands. She put on the cloak, pulling the dark hood over her head.
"Here goes."
Carefully, she extended her leg. Her boot splashed into the puddle on the other side of the barrier. After taking several steps in the rain, Kairi turned. The white room was gone. Only the silent city streets were behind her. There was no going back.
Lonely, hollow buildings towered over her. Flashes of lightning glared off the windows. The flickering neon signs blurred through the storm haze, reflecting in the puddles on the concrete. Kairi pulled her hood lower, down over her eyebrowns. The city lights glared into her eyes, an unnatural, a sad imitation to lure one in and destroy them, like moths to a flame. The wind felt like a warning as it whispered in her ears. Even with her cloak, Kairi's skin prickled. In the ripples below her feet was the sizzle of darkness. An echo followed her footsteps. She felt the breathe of darkness on her back.
Kairi turned sharply. The misty streets were empty, and yet she still felt a evil gaze directed her way, as though the abandoned buildings were watching her. There was darkness everywhere, but it wasn't concentrated yet. It was waiting, for the right moment. Careful not to let her guard down, Kairi walked as though suspecting nothing, yet her hand clutched her lucky charm, and she felt the keyblade inside her glowing, ready.
She paused in a square. The sound of static caught her attention, and she looked up. A skyscraper watched her. The top of the building had screens. A shadow moved over the roof. Kairi narrowed her eyes. An aura of loneliness and regret floated down from above, as well as a feeling of...hope?
The echo was back. Kairi returned her attention to the water on the concrete. All around her, black ink spread under the puddles. Wide, unblinking, yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. Writhing neoshadows rose up from the ground. The army of heartless surrounded her, waiting, hungry.
It was now or never.
Kairi took a deep breathe, reaching into the light of her own heart. Like unleashing a pair of swords, Kairi summoned a pair a keyblades, one silver, one black. One a keeper of oaths, the other an invitation to oblivion. She twirled and crossed the two blades against each other, resting them next to her hips.
"Where's Sora," she growled.
The heartless did not answer. The raindrops slowed, the storm clouds above parted to reveal comets flying through the dark sky. Fueled by her fury, a glowing, heart shape appeared on the ground around Kairi's feet. The light woke the heartless. They pounced.
Kairi swung the two keyblades, slicing the first heartless into quarters. Just as it burst into nothing, the other heartless charged at her from all sides. Kairi spun, rotating each blade in her hands. Basics, just as Max had taught her, but it was absolutely devastating for the heartless as she minced and diced them one by one. For every neoshadow she felled, another melted off the building walls, rose up from the floor, fell down from above, surrounding her.
Kairi jumped away, falling back. Her back hit the glass doors of the sky scrapper. She raised the keyblades, getting ready for the next round. The neoshadows crept closer, blending together like a black avalanche that was ready to bury her alive.
The sound of ocean waves at sunset.
Kairi stilled, looking up.
The heartless charged. Kairi ducked, jumping onto a pillar near the building's entrance. Before she lost her momentum, she ran up the side of the building. Heartless appeared overhead, and Kairi threw the dark keyblade, watching at it razor sliced through the heartless. Someone appeared behind the slain creatures.
A cloaked person fell from the top of the roof. He caught the keyblade on his way down. When he passed her, Kairi's heart leapt up into her throat. Surprised, she lost her momentum and her feet slipped. She landed behind the stranger. Back to back, they raised their half of the keyblade. Without a word, her new, or was it old, companion fought the heartless at her side.
Riku's hands and knees splashed into a puddle. His new cloak felt heavy, and he gasped. The air felt thin, barely rejuvenating his lungs with each sharp inhale. Behind his blindfold, his eyes widened so much that they stung.
Mickey's hands were on his shoulder.
"Are you all right?"
Riku shook his head, trying to clear away his shock, but his racing thoughts were as loud as the thunderstorm overhead.
"It can't be. There's just no way." Riku stood. "Mickey, go ahead without me."
"But-"
"Don't worry, I'll find you, I promise. There's just something important I have to check."
Mickey squeezed Riku's arm. "Be careful."
"I will."
He raced back through the city, jumping from roof to roof until he stopped on a skyscraper that overlooked a square below. There was a light in the square, one so powerful and familiar that Riku's chest ached with longing.
Through the rain and mist, a scent reached Riku's nose. The salty, crisp air of the sea filled his mind. Everything around him slowed. Riku pulled the blindfold away from his eyes, unable to believe it, or dare to hope it was true. But the light was indeed below him, and she was slicing through the darkness one by one.
He could feel her jumping and dodging, swinging a light weapon in one hand and a dark weapon in the other. How? Was this a trick? A phantom created by his memories and hopes? Footsteps reached his ears. She was rushing up the building. A heartless appeared between them. She threw her weapon and the heartless burst into dust.
Riku jumped off the roof. He grabbed her weapon in midair. As he passed her on his way down, her light collided with his. It was her!
Landing on his feet, Riku raised his new weapon and was greeted with another surprise. A keyblade? She landed behind him, and he found that he didn't have time for questions. The heartless clawed and kicked at him. Riku fought beside her, cleaving through heartless, until there was utter silence. Except for his thoughts, which raced with questions, excitement, and fear.
The sound of her footsteps stopped right behind him.
Turning around, Riku heard the shuffling of fabric. She had pulled her hood down. He didn't need to see in order to know who stood before him.
"Kairi? How are you here? I thought I told Sora to take care of you. Don't tell me he-"
She flashed forward and jabbed him hard in the chest with her finger.
"I don't need anyone to 'take care' of me! You. Big. Dumb. MORON!"
Riku stumbled backward, putting up his hands. "Whoa! I didn't mean it like that! J-just calm down for a second!"
"No, I will not calm down!"
Poke.
"Ow!"
"I have so many things to say about all the stupid," poke, "stupid," poke, "stuff you did on Sora's last adventure!"
"Y-you know about all that?"
She stomped forward and he felt her face right in front of his.
"Of course I knew, you idiot!" She hissed. "I was in Sora's heart the whole time!"
"Kairi, I'm sorr-"
"Did you really think that fighting Sora was a good idea? Huh? Did you seriously believe that everything you did 'to save me' would make me happy? Huh? You did the exact opposite of helping, you jerk!"
Riku bowed his head. "You're right. I let my jealousy and fear control me. I really messed up. I don't even know if I deserve-"
She slammed into his chest. Riku, winced. Kairi threw her arms around his waist, sobbing.
"I though I'd never see you again, you dummy! Do you know how worried I've been? The last time I saw you, you were nothing but a ghost keeping Ansem away! How was I supposed to know what happened to you? I thought you lost your heart!"
She squeezed him as though she couldn't believe he was real. Riku stiffened. Anger he had been prepared for, but this was way worse. How long had he wandered the darkness, hoping that someday, just once, he'd get to see his friends again? He had practiced apologizing a thousand times, had wondered how he would show his face again to the people on the islands, had questioned if he even wanted his friends to find him, and now that they had, he had no idea what to do. So he settled on patting Kairi's head while she cried.
She had grown since the last time they had met. Her hair was longer, down to her shoulders. Her voice had lost its giggly ring, and she now carried a power that rivaled his. Even standing there, feeling her warmth, being surrounded by her light, and thrown by her fiery temper, he couldn't believe she was there, and, better yet, that she still cared about him after everything that had happened.
Kairi let him go.
She cleaned her nose with her sleeve, clearing her throat. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Well, more or less," Riku said.
"What do you mean?"
She learned toward him. He heard a gasp and then felt her hands on his cheeks.
"You're eyes have been touched by darkness."
Riku nodded. "I can't see anything anymore."
"Why?"
"It's the price I paid for using the darkness."
He felt a tingle of light from under Kairi's fingertips. She grunted.
"I can't fix this. It's permanent."
"It's okay," Riku said, gently pushing away her hands. "I'm okay. I knew what I was getting into. I've accepted it."
"But wait, how were you able to fight?"
"I'm in complete control of my own darkness now."
Kairi stepped back. "I thought I felt a hint of it in your attacks."
Riku clenched his teeth. Cold fingers squeezed his heart. "Don't worry. I'm not using any darkness except my own."
"Not controlling the heartless anymore?"
"No. Never again."
"Good."
"I'm sorry."
"For?"
"Giving in. I had a choice. I could either let my fear of the darkness control me forever, or I use it, but without letting it take over me and affect my judgement. I know that's probably not something you'd be proud of."
Kairi walked around him. He held his breathe, waiting for a lecture, disappointment, more pokes, anything. Finally, she patted him on the shoulder.
"It it seems like you've changed a bit since leaving the islands."
The ice around Riku heart melted, just a little. "You think?"
"Yeah, you're less focused."
"Oh."
Kairi huffed. "It's a compliment. You've always been like that, the responsible one. Always setting a goal and doing everything to get it. Maybe now, after you've made all those stupid mistakes, you can be more flexible." There was a smile in her voice. "More balanced. That's how you found me, isn't it? You use the darkness, and the light to sense things, right?"
"Right. Darkness has increased my senses. I caught your scent on the breeze and followed it. I don't know how you got here but I'm really happy to 'see' you."
Kairi giggled.
"Though I'm probably going to have a permanent fingerprint on my chest now."
"Oh, I could do way worse then a few pokes," Kairi warned, twirling her weapon in her hand.
"But the way," Riku said as he ran his fingers over his own keyblade, "why do you have a keyblade." He held up the dark weapon in front of him. "Scratch that, how did you get two keyblades?"
Kairi reached out and tapped his keyblade with hers. A rush of energy zipped up Riku's arm just as she did so. The dark keyblade in his hands burned. A blast of warm wind threw him to the floor. Kairi yelped as she too was knocked down. Even though he couldn't see the light flash, he felt its heat on his face. Then it was gone and a familiar shape landed in Riku's lap. Still reeling from the sudden attack, Riku could only move his hands over the object on his thighs. He gasped.
"This is Sora's keyblade! How did you get this?"
Kairi crawled over to him. "No way? We fixed it? How? Oh, who cares! It's fixed!"
"Wait. It was broken? How do you break a keyblade?"
Kairi didn't answer. She took the keyblade, and then helped Riku to his feet.
"Again, who cares?" She danced around. "We just have to get this back to Sora."
"He's here?"
"He is." Kairi held the keyblade close to her chest. "He has to be."
Riku's vertigo passed, and the distant, ever lingering feeling of darkness returned. "Well, if you don't mind the company, can I help you find that lazy bum?"
Kairi bumped his shoulder with hers. "You can serve as my backup."
"Wow, aren't you confident. Also, since when did you learn how to fight? That was amazing!"
"What? You really think I stayed on the islands, patiently waiting this whole time?"
Riku chuckled. "Clearly not. Those were some sweet moves. And you've gotten taller."
"Still not as tall as you," she retorted. "And nice try, but I'm still mad at you."
"Can you at least tell me who taught you how to duel wield?"
"Goofy's son."
Riku's forehead wrinkled. "Goofy has a son?"
"Yes. His name is Max. He's pretty cool, actually." Kairi sighed. "And I owe him a huge apology. Okay, you're completely forgiven, Riku."
Riku's heart flipped, warmth tingling in his chest. If he had pixie dust, he would have flown. He pulled his hood over his face, but he was sure that Kairi already saw the glimmering in his eyes.
"T-thank you."
The rain stopped. Mickey looked up at the clouds, watching the shooting stars fly over the rooftops. He stood at an intersection of alleyways. The stars pointed toward the path to his left. Gripping his keyblade tight in his hand, he entered the alley. The air shivered behind him and his sensitive ears picked up a rumble from deep within the earth. Mickey jumped, flipping in midair as a giant, thorny, decayed, spike ripped out of the ground, nearly skewering him.
"Triple firaga!"
The spell charred the dark vines, but more broke through the buildings all around him. Mickey flipped in midair. The vine flew underneath him. Landing on it, he jumped to the next vine when it attacked, climbing higher and higher as more thorns broke through the windows. Mickey weaved through the glass and thorns, reaching the roof.
Darkball and shadow heartless were ready and waiting for him when his feet touched down. Spikes burst out from the walls of the building, trapping him in a thorny cage. The heartless surrounded him. Mickey ground his foot on the roof, concentrating on the light within himself. The heartless flashed forward to try and swallow that light.
Mickey stabbed the first heartless and easily sliced through the next three. Jumping back from a barrage of claws and teeth, Mickey raised his keyblade. Seven shining orbs of light zoomed out, smashing into the heartless, turning them into dust. More shadows and darkballs appeared. Mickey prepared for the next round, when, suddenly, the heartless behind him were smacked up into the air.
Turning around, Mickey spotted a shield ramming through the dark bodies. There was a furious yowl and then lightning crashed down on the darkballs. Mickey swore he saw a familiar mage's staff. The shield drew his attention. It barreled toward Mickey, then spun around, like a tornado, knocking heartless away.
Mickey couldn't help but laugh.
The shield stopped spinning, and then Goofy, his eyes still rolling in their sockets, collapsed at Mickey's feet.
"Oh, hey there, Your Majesty," Goofy moaned from the ground. Then his eyes focused and he did a double take. "Your Majesty!"
Before Mickey could react, Goofy picked him up, squeezing him. A second later, Donald jumped onto Goofy's back, quacking happily as Goofy jumped up and down.
"It's you! It's really you!"
Mickey reached over Goofy's shoulder and clasped Donald's hand. "Hot dog! I missed ya, fellas!"
Goofy, still bouncing, sobbed. "I knew it! Ahyuck! I just knew we'd see each other again!"
Donald couldn't contain himself. He vigorously shook Mickey's hand, bawling.
"Your Majesty! You're safe! You're here! I can't believe it! I was worried we'd lost you to the realm of darkness forever!"
Mickey, grinning stupidly from ear to ear, lifted his keyblade in the air. "All for one."
"And one for all!" Donald and Goofy echoed, banging their weapons against his.
The heartless scratched at Goofy's legs, as though annoyed that they were being ignored. Not missing a beat, Goofy threw Donald and Mickey up into the air. Lifting his shield, Goofy bulldozed through the heartless while Mickey and Donald bludgeoned the heartless in the air with light and thunder magic.
Donald was the first to land back on his feet. His threw up his fists.
"Confounded heartless! Always ruining the moment!"
He turned into a bowling ball of unbridled rage, trampling down the heartless with his staff and magic, while Mickey and Goofy watched with matching grins. Donald's rampage cleared a path, and soon the trio found themselves at the thorny barrier. Mickey and Donald held out their arms and Goofy flopped to lie horizontally between them, holding his shield above his head.
"CHARGE!"
Using Goofy like a battering ram, Donald and Mickey smashed through the thorns, slipping off the side of the building. Up above, the heartless jumped off the roof, falling after them.
Perfect.
Goofy threw his shield. It pin-balled between the heartless, bursting several at once and confusing the others. Then Donald and Mickey aimed and shouted.
"Thundaga!"
The lightning shot upward like a thousand harpoons, zapping the heartless into pieces. The trio were several feet away from the splatting against the concrete. Just as Goofy caught his shield, Donald turned in midair, aiming at the ground.
"Aeroga!"
A sphere of wind cushioned their fall. Landing safely on the ground, Mickey, Donald and Goofy jumped, giving each other a high five, which was quickly ruined a second later when a group of neoshadows melted out of the walls. Before the party could fight, a series of dark firaga spells burst through the neoshadows, destroying those closest to Mickey, Donald and Goofy. A moment later, a magic, glass ball rolled past them.
Kairi popped out of the glass, raised her arm, and shouted. "Waterga!"
A tidal wave washed away the heartless. They flowed down the alleyway toward Riku, who dispatched them easily with quick keyblade slashes. Mickey's jaw dropped at the sight of the weapon, but grunts from Donald and Goofy made him turn back around. Instantly, he forget all the questions he had. Kairi had gathered up both Donald and Goofy for a fierce hug.
"It's been so long! It's great to see you!"
Donald, his beak smushed against Kairi's arm, flapped his arms. "Put me down! Put me down!"
Kairi let him go in favor of grabbing Goofy's hands and jumping up and down. "You're okay! Max will be so happy!"
"You know Maxie? How is he?"
"Only the best sword instructor ever! He's been worried sick about you, even if he won't admit it. And he finally got a date!"
Goofy teared up. "Gee."
Kairi let him go, looking around. "Where's Sora? He's not with you?"
Donald and Goofy hung their heads. Sensing their pain, Mickey put his hands on Donald's shoulder and Goofy's arm.
"What happen to him?"
"An evil man named Marluxia took 'im. We've been searching the city, but there's no sign of him."
"Stupid Sora! He just had to go play hero!" Donald crossed his arms and tapped the floor with his flipper, yet his eyes were full on concern.
Riku leaned against the building, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Yeah, that sounds like him."
"Say Riku," Mickey said, "where did you get that keyblade?"
"This is Sora's," Riku explained.
Kairi raised her hand. "I found it. Max and I also destroyed the heartless machine you wrote about in your letter."
Mickey blinked. "Wait a minute. I wrote that letter for Donald and Goofy. How did you-" Mickey smiled, rubbing his forehead. "That Pluto, always wanting to play and wondering off. He found you?"
Kairi nodded.
Mickey bowed. "From a king to a princess, you have my humblest thanks."
Kairi stumbled back, awkwardly bending her knees in a rushed curtsy. "No, no, I don't deserve all the credit. Queen Minnie, Daisy, Max, Mr. McDuck, and Mary all helped too."
"Uncle Scrooge helped you? For free?" Donald hid his hands behind his back. "And Daisy, how is she?"
Kairi bit her lip. "I think you might have some apologizing to do."
Donald shuddered.
"It sounds like you've all had quite the adventure," Riku said. "But can we talk about it later? We've got to find my best friend and Kairi's crush."
Kairi pouted at Riku. "What? He's not my-okay fine, you meanie, you're right. He totally is."
Donald, Goofy, and Mickey looked at each other, covered their mouths, and giggled.
"Sora is a lucky guy," said Goofy, "to have such good friends."
"And such a nice sweetheart," Donald winked.
Kairi glared at Riku. "Is it too late to un-forgive you?"
Riku burst out laughing.
"Man I miss messing with Sora," Riku wheezed. "If he were here, he'd be turning all kinds of red."
"Yeah, ahyuck, he'd be stammering all over the place."
Donald snickered. "And getting that dreamy look in his eye."
Mickey sighed. "Gosh, I miss Minnie."
Kairi pulled her hood down over her face. "Oh hush, all of you!"
She only made them giggle harder. She opened her mouth to say something but then felt a tingle of warmth. Leaning forward, she pointed at the rocket shaped pin that was on Donald's shirt.
"I can feel the light."
Donald took off the pin. "From this?"
"Say, isn't that the pin that Cornelius gave us? Didn't Sora have one too?"
The pin shined. The party huddled around Donald, watching as the pin floated up from between his fingers. It glowed in the air for one second before it zoomed off.
Mickey ran. "Quick! After it!
The party chased the tiny rocket through the city. Heartless poured out of the buildings, getting in their way.
"Everyone, get close," Kairi commanded.
She threw a reflect spell around them. They spun in the class ball, running over heartless. The glass popped after one too many heartless speed bumps, but the party didn't stop running. The further they ran, the more the world around them fell apart. The buildings crackled and crumbled. Chunks of concrete, hot, electrical wiring, and metal beams rained down from overhead, slamming into the ground, nearly slicing, tripping, or flattening the party into pancakes. Mickey and Donald blasted away the debris with magic. Kairi and Goofy defended the party from the glass knives that stabbed into the ground.
The buildings bent forward. Like trees tipping over, they thundered onto the ground. The ground cracked and then broke apart. The party sprinted, running from the deep hole that was growing behind them. The heartless chasing them vanished into the darkness below. Breathless, they did not stop, running through the deadly rain, reaching out toward the pin's light.
Up ahead was a tangle of thorns. The pin flew right through it. Riku used the darkness to flash forward ahead of everyone. With a dark fire spell, he blasted a hole through the horns. The atmosphere popped and sizzled, the buildings burst apart, the floor slipped away from their feet. The party dove through the tangle of thorns, ignoring all the scratches on their arms and legs.
There was nothing on the other side. The pin stopped glowing and fell into a great, dark, chasm. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku and Kairi fell after it.
Icy water licked Kairi's cheek. Whipping sand off her face, she sat up. Alone on a dark beach, she watched the waves lap peacefully, too peacefully, onto the obsidian sand. Black boulders, with shining white veins, poked out of the dirt. Kairi sat down on one of the rocks, staring out into the moon that hovered over the dark water. Stone arches rose out of the endless sea, curving over the waves, framing the moon like a star trapped in a thorny cage. The sea mist smelled like nothing, but try as she might, Kairi could not stop staring out into the water. There was a tiny flicker of light out there. It was so small that she could barely sense it. But there was also a darkness so powerful, that Kairi felt the weight of a thousand bricks pressing down on her spine.
She heard footsteps coming her way, but she didn't turn. The light out in the water was getting weaker. Someone came to stand at her side, watching the sea with her.
"Do you sense it too?"
Riku's voice.
Kairi went to the shore and stepped onto the water. She walked over the bottomless sea toward the moon, listening to the splash of her footsteps, the howling wind, and her own quickening heartbeat. Riku walked silently at her side. Up ahead, under the sharp, stone arches, was a sphere of swirling darkness. There was a figure inside.
"Sora!"
Kairi and Riku ran.
The sphere of darkness shuddered. Black oil dripped off of it and into the ocean. Arms burst out of the depths below. Neoshadows rose up between Riku, Kairi, and the dark sphere.
"A princess of heart," said a smooth voice,
A man in a dark coat floated down in front of the moon. His shadow loomed like an evil curtain over the water, hovering over Kairi and Riku.
"I'm guessing that you're Marluxia," Riku said.
The man ignored him, his eyes not moving away from Kairi's face. "So it is possible after all. If the princesses of heart can enter the realm of darkness, then it really can be destroyed." He extended his hand. "Come."
Kairi wrapped her arms around her stomach. "You. Oswald told me about you. A great man that once tried to destroy the realm of darkness, but failed and was sealed away."
"You are correct."
"How? That was a long time ago."
"It matters not. You will join me, or," he snapped his fingers. The dark sphere collapsed, tightening around Sora's body.
"Stop!"
Riku growled. He flashed forward, slicing through the neoshadows. He lunged at Marluxia. A weapon flashed in Marluxia's hands, slashing Riku across the chest. He fell. Catching Riku, Kairi fell onto her knees.
"Cura!"
Riku opened his eyes.
Marluxia's cruel laughter hovered over their heads.
"Why resist, princess? Do we not want the same thing? To rid the worlds of all darkness."
"No. Messing with things that are out of our control is the very thing that destroyed my grandpa. I won't make the same mistake."
"Force it is then."
Marluxia snapped his fingers. The neoshadows lunged. Kairi pulled Riku to his feet, but they weren't fast enough to counterattack. The neoshadows blended together over them, creating a dome of darkness that was quickly getting smaller and tighter. Kairi closed her eyes.
Lightning flashed above. It slammed down onto the neoshadows, bursting them one by one. Goofy and Donald ran to Kairi and Riku's side, waving their arms.
"Hey, you big palooka! Didn't anyone tell you that nobody messes with my friends!"
Goofy clenched his fists, glaring. "You call yourself a great man and yet you prey on other people's feelings? You're a coward!"
Marluxia gave the pair of them a look of cool contempt. He raised his arm.
"Such foolishness."
Mickey materialized behind Marluxia. He swung his keyblade. Marluxia vanished, reappearing further into the sea. His eyes narrowed, focusing on Mickey's keyblade.
Landing in front of Kairi and Riku, Mickey pointed to the dark sphere.
"Get Sora. We'll hold him back."
Donald raised his staff. "Blizzaga!"
Icicles stabbed the neoshadows from above. Those that remained were quickly squashed by Goofy's as he stomped around with his shield under his feet. The knight and mage joined their king while Kairi and Riku raced to the sphere holding Sora captive.
Kairi reached into the dark smoke, crying out as the darkness stabbed her skin like a million icy needles. She refused to pull her hands back, pushing deeper into the sphere until her fingers curled around Sora's pinky. Riku reached into the sphere next to her, grunting as the darkness slid up his arms. Lines of back ink appeared on his face.
"Riku, stop! We don't know what more darkness will do to you!"
"You think this is bad, just think of what it's doing to him!" Riku grabbed Sora's wrist. "Come on Sora! I know you're stronger then some lame dark spell! Wake up!"
The sphere expanded, creeping up to Riku and Kairi's chests.
"You promised me you'd come back to me." Kairi reached deeper, grabbing Sora's arm. "Don't you dare break your promise!"
The darkness had now reached their necks. Kairi and Riku screamed as its cold touch stole their breathe. Grunting, Kairi grabbed Riku's hand.
"Do you trust me?"
"One hundred percent."
"Good, because I have no idea what I'm doing!"
The darkness choked her. Riku squeezed her hand back. He coughed, his eyes fluttering. Calling on her light was like swimming through a frozen lake. She fought against a dark current that threatened to push her down into the depths. Even as her legs numbed, her skin burned, and her lungs filled with water, Kairi broke through the ice, and took a deep breathe of light. She reached toward Riku heart. He pushed through the ice as well. His faith, unbreakable will, and loyalty collided with hers. The light overtook them.
Chapter 30: Chapter 29: Friends in My Heart
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Author's Notes:
Getting close to the end of the KH2 portion of this rewrite. Final Battle inbound...Anyway, I've always loved this chapter, but it was a pain to write. Here's hoping it's everything my readers wanted it to be.
@DiscordsAdvocate: I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. Hope this one meets your expectations as well.
Chapter 29: Friends In My Heart
White light engulfed the entire ocean. Donald, Goofy and Mickey covered their eyes. When the flash ended, Riku and Kairi were gone. Sora floated helplessly in his dark sphere, ash consuming his body little by little, as though he were being cooked from the inside by a rotting disease.
Goofy and Donald made a move toward him but quickly skid to a stop. Mickey's keyblade was in their way. Facing their king with pleading eyes, they were met with a somber shake of Mickey's head.
"We have to trust Riku and Kairi. Besides, we have something important to do."
Donald and Goofy cast a mournful look at the sphere, but turned, facing their enemy alongside Mickey. Marluxia descended, his boots touching down silently on the water. Not even a ripple appeared below him. It was as though he were nothing more then a spirit, one tethered to that world by the darkness that had long since festered in his soul.
Palm up, Marluxia extended his hand. "This is the World of the Forgotten in its true form. This," he gestured to the dark sea, the spikes, the starless sky, "was what was hidden under the light of this world. When the darkness stripped away every last spec of warmth and hope, all that was left of this once pure ocean is the dark meridian you see before you. Nothing grows, nothing changes."
Mickey stared sadly into the water. "It's true. It's too late to save this world. Sure it may not have been destroyed by the heartless completely, but it's warped beyond repair."
"So you see the folly in not protecting the other worlds from the same fate."
Mickey pointed his keyblade at Marluxia. "That's where you're wrong. We will protect the realm of light from the heartless, no matter how long we have to fight."
"There was a time when darkness did not exist, where the worlds were pure. Do you not want to return to that peace?"
Mickey stood tall. "If we try too hard to fix our mistakes instead of accepting 'em, we'll only make more heartache in the future."
"Right. Ya can't return what is already gone," Goofy said. "You can only move on and learn from your losses."
"And build a better tomorrow," Donald added.
Petals fluttered down from the empty sky, sinking into the water. Dull, pink and singed with a crumbling, grey crust, the petals burst deep beneath the surface of the ocean. An enormous, dark shadow slithered below the still waves.
"There will be no tomorrow if you ignore what needs to be done. I would do anything to ensure the worlds are completely free from darkness."
In the depths below, the shadow twitched, bulged, spreading out like a toxic gas cloud.
"If your heart so weak, so fearful, that you would shirk your duty, then you shall fall to the darkness here."
Barbs ripped through the surface of the sea. Mickey, Donald and Goofy jumped back. The barbs curved like wriggling snakes, melting together, the spikes rounding out into a grey, waxy mass. It was so large that half of it loomed over the surface while the other half sunk deep into the sea.
Long, black fingernails grew out of the blob, followed by ashen, skeletal arms. The wax solidified. A pair of slimy legs appeared below the water. A head, waist and shoulders formed above the surface. Mickey, Donald and Goofy couldn't see the creature's face. Only its long, wiry, silver hair could be seen from under its tattered, moth eaten, black cloak.
The smell of bitter, acrid meat, like a predator's forsaken kill, filled the atmosphere. Donald held his beak shut, his face turning red as he fought against the need to breathe. Goofy lowered his head beneath his shield, unable to look into the black void where the creature's face should be. Even Mickey trembled at the sight of it of it. Looming over them, the creature, a wraith of wrinkled skin and bones, stretched out its arms and shuddered in a silent scream. Though they couldn't hear it, a high pitched tone stung crept into their thoughts. Mickey flattened his ears onto his head, wincing. That was when the wraith attacked.
Its fingernails flashed toward Mickey. He managed to dodge, but his black cloak was caught by the wraith's forefinger. Mickey threw off the cloak before he could be pulled in. With a speed that was unexpected for its size, the robed creature clawed and slammed down its palms, narrowly missing the trio as they dove out of its way.
The wraith's giant, grey hand nearly squashed Donald. He lunged out of the way, throwing magic at the wraith's torso, but fire simply blinked out, ice did not slow it down, and lightning didn't spark through the creature's robes. Mickey and Goofy flanked it, bashing and slashing at the creature's waist. With a sweep of its massive arms, the creature smacked Mickey and Goofy. They bounced on the water like a pair of skipping stones, landing face down.
Dashing toward his friends, Donald fell over when a hand slammed down behind him, narrowly missing his tail feathers. An ocean wave threw him off his feet, and he rolled in icy water, skidding to a stop in front of Goofy and Mickey. The wraith's hands came down around the three friends, caging them in its long, bony fingers. Slowly, the creature closed its fists around the trio.
Standing, Goofy pounded his shield against the wraith's palms, wrists, and fingers. The wraith stopped, only for a fraction of a second, but it was just enough time for Mickey and Donald to raise their weapons. Magical energy flowed between the two of them. The light from Mickey's keyblade and the magic from Donald's staff melted together, forming a luminescent orb that sparked with energy.
"Fantasia!"
Hundreds of rockets appeared around Mickey and Donald's bodies. They exploded in the wraith's palms, forcing it to pull its hands back, freeing the trio. No longer bound by the creature's hands, the rockets careened out of control, swarming the wraith's head, shoulders and waist like angry hornets. Bursting into fireworks, the rockets charred whole sections of the creature's skin and cloak.
The wraith patted down the burns on its robes, convulsing as the sparks from the fireworks exploded all around its body. While it was busy, Goofy threw his shield down on the water. Jumping on the shield, Mickey concentrated, pulling light from within him, tensing his muscles for an attack. Propelled forward by powerful push from Goofy, and a blizzard spell from Donald, Mickey zoomed toward the creature, his speed only boosted by the ice trail below the shield. With a mighty slice of light, Mickey cut through the wraith, stopping behind it, leaving a massive, steaming hole on its abdomen.
The creature writhed, throwing up its hands, curling its fingers. It thrashed its arms blindly, slapping the water, grasping for anything in its reach. It caught Donald by his foot. It raised him over its head.
The creature may not have had a face, but it had teeth. A jaw of yellowed, sharp, fangs with black, oozing cavities, opened up under its hood. Donald wriggled, his feathers sticking straight up from fear. He threw back his staff and roared.
"Firaga!"
The fireball flew down the creature's throat.
The creature's mouth opened wider, smoke bursting out of its throat. Letting go of Donald, the wraith grabbed its neck, doubling over as though it were about to spill its guts. Donald fell and would have splattered into the ocean's surface if Goofy hadn't been there to catch him.
Regrouping with his friends, Mickey watched as the creature clawed at its own body in an attempt to free the fire from inside it. Something crimson and shiny appeared under its neck. A heart. Mickey pointed at it, and his friends instantly new what to do. Goofy recovered his shield and threw it toward Donald.
"Firaga!"
The spell slammed against the shield, turning it red hot with flames. Mickey dashed in front of Donald. With one powerful swing of the keyblade, he knocked the burning saucer at the wraith's heart. The shield cleaved through the creature's neck. The heart shattered. The wraith stilled. Its robes and gray arms turned write, crumbling away like burnt paper. Beneath the surface of the water, its legs faded away.
But it wasn't over.
Rising up from where the creature had been moments before, his scythe spinning in his hand, was Marluxia. He flashed forward, the scythe curving in a deadly arc, nearly gutting Mickey, Donald and Goofy. The three friends split apart. Goofy picked up his shield, still steaming from their last attack. Together, they formed a triangle with Marluxia in the center and prepared for the next battle.
Riku and Kairi floated in a black void was so vast, they couldn't tell which way was up or down. Holding each other's hands to avoid getting separated, they flew endlessly, the seconds stretching out into hours. Though it was silent, the darkness exerted pressure on their skulls. They fought back against the daze, concentrating despite the heaviness of their hearts and the spinning vertigo that pounded inside their heads. Finally, their feet touched a cool surface.
One step and the floor below came to life as thousands of white doves flew up and out into the empty space, vanishing just as quickly as they had appeared. Kairi covered her face until the fluttering passed. When she opened her eyes, she noticed the light beneath her feet. They stood on a circular platform of stained glass. The brilliant colors glowed, a lone lantern in a sea of endless blackness. Somehow, the light made her dizziness fade away. Looking down at the disk of stained glass, her heart brightened as well.
Kairi saw her own face, younger, with shorter hair, depicted in the glass. Above her, was an image of Riku, back when he still had his sight. Donald and Goofy also appeared. Resting peacefully over all of his friends, the keyblade in his hand, was Sora's image. Kairi stepped over Sora's picture. She kneeled to put her palm on his cheek.
The closer you get to the light, the bigger your shadow becomes.
Kairi jumped back as though the glass had burned her fingers. Behind her, Riku summoned his soul eater. A puddle of tar erupted at the center of the glass disk. Calling forth Sora's keyblade, Kairi stood next to Riku, watching the tar bubble and rise. Pustules of viscous, black liquid spread out over the stained glass, obscuring Sora's image, as well as that of his friends.
But don't be afraid.
A bubble rose up from the tar.
And don't forget.
The rattling of rusted chains met Riku's ears. The smell of darkness prickled his skin. Next to him, Kairi's light burned brighter in response.
You hold the mightiest weapon of all.
Thirteen bubbles of tar popped. Sooty, black hands reached out, followed by legs. Thirteen shadows walked out onto the platform, ticking like possessed marionettes. Thirteen pairs of yellow, lifeless eyes locked on to Riku and Kairi.
She struggled to breathe, her chest heaving with short, nervous gasps.
Riku put his hand on her shoulder.
"What do you see?"
Kairi swallowed. "Shadows. They all look like Sora."
The shadows summoned black keyblades, settling into Sora's familiar fighting stance. They charged. Kairi blocked their strikes. Riku spun, slashing in a circle, pushing the shadows back. One of the shadows burst apart, leaving nothing but ashy smoke behind.
A pinch of ice tingled in Kairi's heart. She winced. Next to her, Riku stilled for a second, his eyes narrowing. The moment the shadow had vanished, there had been a crunch, like the sound of a glass cup shattering as it hit the ground.
The other shadows charged. Kairi ducked, parrying each black keyblade until she found an opening. One of the shadows had his back to her. Kairi sliced and the shadow fell forward, its back bursting open from her cut. Just as it vanished, Kairi staggered backward as a cold punch hit her right in the stomach. A chorus of shattering glass met her ears. The layer of tar beneath her feet thinned.
Riku pressed his palm to his throbbing forehead. "What is this?"
The shadows didn't relent. With two of their numbers taken out, they gathered together and raised their dark weapons. Raging missiles of dark fire and lightning rained down from above. Riku and Kairi ran and ducked. In between the lightning strikes and fireballs, four shadows raced toward Kairi while the other seven surrounded Riku. Kairi threw a reflect spell over herself, her heart racing as the shadows slammed their dark keyblade on her glass shield. The lightning and fire continued to fall between each of their strikes, crashing down on her spell, breaking the protective glass. For a moment, the attacks slowed, and Kairi saw Riku falling down to his knees as the seven other shadows banged their keyblades over his head and back.
The reflect spell shattered. A keyblade smashed into Kairi's thigh, knocking her over. As she fell, pain drilled into her leg, but she grit her teeth and chanted.
"Waterga!"
A flash flood pushed the shadows back toward the edges of the platform. Panting, Kairi cast a healing spell on her leg. Across from her, Riku threw off all seven shadows with a powerful dark slash of his soul eater. One of the shadows was cut to pieces.
Though Kairi's leg had just healed, she wasn't able to stand. The shrill sound of crunching glass wormed its way into her ears. The frost that had settled in her stomach now spread up to her chest. Across from her, Riku was on his hands and knees.
"Why? Why does it hurt so much when one of them goes down?"
The dark lightning and fire stopped raining down, and the water from Kairi's spell faded. The remaining ten shadows were instantly back on the offensive. Kairi shuffled backward as five keyblades stabbed at her like knives being poked into dead carcass. Regaining her feet, she ran to Riku, casting a healing spell on him. He was able to stand, but his hand didn't leave his chest.
All ten shadows surrounded them.
"Reflect!"
Slice, slice, slice. The shadows pounded on Kairi's shield. She stumbled till she was back to back with Riku. She could feel him trembling.
"This is isn't right, that scent, it's-"
"Don't say it!"
Kairi gathered magic. When all ten shadows pulled their weapons back, she let her shield drop and screamed.
"Thundaga!"
The lightning came down on each of shadow's head. While they were stunned, Riku took the chance to slice through three shadows before the remaining seven jumped back.
Crack, crack, crack. The sound of broken glass hammered on Kairi's forehead, stinging the back of her eyes.
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
The seven remaining shadows gathered, melting into one. The platform shook as a giant Sora shadow stood up straight. Its feet absorbed all the tar, revealing the broken stained glass underneath. Six, deep, jagged cuts were criss crossed over the images. A slice across Kairi's cheek, a cut across Riku's forehead, gashes over Donald and Goofy's images.
Kairi covered her mouth in horror. The shadow pulled back its dark keyblade. The weapon came down like an executioner's ax. Kairi watched it getting closer and closer, unable to move, unable to think. Riku jumped in front of her. The shadow's weapon slammed down on his soul eater. He fell to his knees, pushing the giant weapon back with all his strength.
"Kairi," he grunted, "what are you doing? Move!"
"I can't." Kairi cried. "I can't hurt him!" The keyblade slipped from her hand. It banged on Sora's image in the stained glass, disappearing.
"What are you talking about?"
"That shadow. It IS Sora. We're destroying him!"
Riku's roared, shoving the shadow's keyblade to the side. The teeth of the key slammed into the glass, cracking it, but the shadow recovered quickly. It picked up the weapon and brought it down on Riku and Kairi's heads.
Riku shoved Kairi before jumping back himself. The blade stabbed into the glass, breaking off a third of the platform. The glass shards fell into the abyss below.
Kairi wailed.
"Snap out of it!"
Riku pushed Kairi again, getting her out of the way before the shadow's keyblade could knock her off the platform. He blocked the next strike, then the next, and the next.
"I thought you said you don't need anyone to take care of you. I thought you were stronger then this!"
The shadow threw its keyblade over its head, but didn't bring the weapon back down. Instead, it pulled back its leg and kicked. Riku shifted into the darkness, vanishing, dodging, but the shadow predicted his movements. It kicked seconds before Riku reappeared, catching him, hitting him hard in the ribs. Riku flew toward the edge of the platform. In the last second, he stabbed his soul eater into the stained glass. His legs dangled over nothing.
"Riku!" Squeezing her eyes shut, Kairi threw a spell over her shoulder. "Firaga!"
The fireball exploded on the shadow's face. It staggered back, rubbing its eyes. Kairi skid to the edge of the platform, grabbed Riku's free arm and hauled him back up. He collapsed onto the cracked glass, his breathing ragged.
"Don't you dare apologize," he rasped. "You want to make me feel better, think of something that will drive the darkness away from Sora."
Biting her lip and chanting a healing spell, Kairi's thoughts raced. Magic wouldn't work, weapons wouldn't work, she had used every bit of light she had control over just get to Sora. There was nothing. The only thing she could remember was the last time she and Sora had had a real conversation, back in the waterways beneath Traverse Town.
That's it! Our hearts are connected. And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness, I saw that light. I think that's what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I guess it's more then just a fairytale.
Kairi gasped, pulling Riku to his feet.
"I have an idea."
"Let's hear it."
"It's risky. I don't even know if it will work."
"Won't know till we try."
Kairi leaned up to whisper in his ear.
Riku's mouth opened wide. "You want me to do what? Are you crazy?"
"The light has to come from somewhere and you're the only one that can do it!"
The shadow had recovered. It stomped toward Riku and Kairi.
"Reflect!"
Casting the spell around herself and Riku, Kairi rolled the magic glass ball between the shadows feet. The spell popped when they were right behind it. Riku took the chance, and aimed a dark firaga spell at the shadow's back. It stumbled forward, stunned, for now.
"Even if this works, we don't know what will happen to you!"
"I trust you, Riku. I know I'll be okay if it's you."
He sucked in air from between his teeth. "You're just like Sora."
Kairi let out a nervous laugh. "Thank you."
Riku smirked, holding out his hands. "We'd better do this fast."
Kairi summoned the keyblade and handed it over. Then she stood with her arms outstretched.
Riku flinched. "I hope this works."
"Me too."
Kairi squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the words she had once heard deep in her heart.
The closer you get to the darkness, the stronger your light must be to pierce through it.
She wouldn't need to reach into her heart's light this time. Instead, she focused on her memories. Racing with Sora and Riku on the beach. Watching the sunset with Sora and Riku by the paopu tree. Bossing Sora and Riku around when the three of them made their raft. Watching the sea at the pier with Sora. Going on his adventure with him. Letting him go at the End Of The World. Exploring the realm of darkness with Oswald and Pluto, learning magic and swordsmanship at Disney Castle, babysitting and bickering with Max. She had made so many new friends. She had reunited with Donald, Goofy, and Riku. Now she had to rescue the person that meant the most to her.
"Do it!"
Riku's hands channeled darkness. The power coated the keyblade, blackening it. He aimed the keyblade at Kiari. A beam of light and darkness burst from the keyblade, vanishing into Kairi's body. She doubled over, pressing her hands to her chest. Brilliant beams of light shined from between her fingers. Pink, radiant, like a sunrise after a storm, Kairi's heart glimmered, floating in front of her chest. Trembling, her body stinging with icy needles, Kairi grasped her own heart. It warmed her fingers and palms, fluttering like a hummingbird in a cage.
"Riku." Her voice was hollow, growing weaker with each breathe, her head swayed back and forth, her irises vanished, leaving her eyes as nothing but empty, blue pools. "You know what to do."
She didn't feel, see, nor hear him move. The world around her slowed, as though she were in a dream. Kairi faced the shadow, her heart shining in her hands. Its purity was so bright that the dark horizon all around them shifted from black to grey to white.
The growing light blinded Kairi. She couldn't feel hot, nor cold, nor pain, nor pleasure. Instead, a white void of emptiness and peace spread through her thoughts, lulling her to close her eyes, to give in to sweet, calm sleep. And why didn't she just relax? What was the harm in forgetting everything? Why was she still even standing? She could fade away, right then and there. Who needed memories anyway? A sweet, endless dream beckoned and Kairi fell herself falling backward into it.
"Kairi! Don't lose focus!"
Something appeared through the void. A silver haired boy. His reached out to her, his body coated in a mixture of light and darkness. His emotions washed over her. Resilience, determination, fear, hope. Darkness. Kairi's memories snapped back into place. She narrowed her eyes, squinting through the light, focusing on Sora's shadow. She took a step.
The shadow stumbled backward, shielding its eyes from the light of the heart. Kairi's body buzzed with so much raw, untamed energy that her muscles could barely move. She felt as though she were walking through waist deep cement that was hardening by the second. Each time she put her foot down, the light beckoned again, whispering sweetly to her, asking her to come back, to accept its touch and vanish, but Kairi ignored its ever tightening pull with each step. Concentrate, step forward, be the light in the darkness, one more step, don't stop, don't forget.
She was right under the shadow. Across from her, Riku crept closer to the shadow's back, holding out his arm. A rope of darkness floated off the shadow, gathering into Riku's palm.
Kairi's light flashed, covering the shadow's entire body. The shadow began to melt. Riku gathered up the dark droplets that fell off it, hissing as more and more dark energy burned his palm. The oily mass in his hand thrashed like a fish caught on a line, but Riku didn't stop, pulling more and more darkness toward him.
The shadow was the almost the size of a regular person. Writhing under Kairi's light but unable to escape as Riku gathered its darkness, it lost its shape, turning into a ball of sludge. It collapsed into the stained glass.
"Kairi! Now!"
Kairi let go of her own heart. If floated away from her, taking everything with it. Her hopes, her dreams, her memories, her voice, all of it floated up in front of her vacant eyes. Completely free from her body, there was nothing to hold the light back now. The whiteness engulfed everything, burning away the darkness in Riku's hands as well as the sludge on the glass.
In the midst of it all, Riku picked up the purified keyblade and dashed forward, pointing the keyblade at Kairi's chest. The weapon pushed her heart back inside her. Instantly, a gasp, she snapped back to normal. The white light faded, and the sky became a starless black once more. Sora lay on the glass.
The keyblade fell from Riku's hand, clattering onto the stained glass where it vanished a moment later. Panting, the two friends fell to their knees, gathering Sora up in their arms. Sandwiched between the two of them, Sora slept, completely oblivious to the presence of his friends, a silly smile on his face.
All Riku and Kairi could do was laugh so loud and uncontrollably that their cheeks and stomachs ached. Light gathered around the three friends, spreading out over the stained glass, healing the cracks, dents and broken pieces until the platform was whole again. But the light didn't stop there. It grew and grew, covering the trio completely.
Mickey ducked. Marluxia's scythe cut through the air above him. The king aimed a swing of his keyblade at Marluxia's legs. The man jumped back, not seeing Goofy come up behind him. Spinning like a tornado, Goofy nearly clocked Marluxia with his shield. Like throwing a wrench into a gear, Marluxia swung his scythe at Goofy, banging against the knight's shield and throwing him off balance. Then, a barrage of fire, ice and lightning spells rained down on Marluxia's head.
Gliding away from each attack, Marluxia flew up and threw down his scythe at Donald. The weapon spun, resembling a razor sharp galaxy. Donald threw a fire spell at it, throwing it off its trajectory. Then it was Goofy's turn. He jumped, slamming his shield down on top of the scythe to stop it from spinning. Meanwhile, Mickey leaped up into the air and nearly sliced Marluxia across the back of the head with his keyblade.
Marluxia blinked out of existence before Mickey could land a hit. The scythe under Goofy's shield bucked, throwing Goofy off. It zigzagged across the sea like it had a mind of its own. Donald and Goofy ran, panicking as the scythe chased after them.
Mickey aimed his keyblade at his friends. "Reflect!"
A sphere of magic gathered around Donald and Goofy. The scythe bounced off the protective glass. Mickey watched the scythe carefully. It moved slightly to the left. Flashing forward, Mickey swung his keyblade and whacked Marluxia on his side the second he had reappeared to gather his weapon.
Marluxia stumbled back. Charging forward with his shield raised, Goofy rammed his weapon into Marluxia's gut. Grunting, Marluxia had no defense against Donald, who jumped up onto Goofy's shoulders and summoned a bolt of lightning so powerful that it practically fried Marluxia from head to toe.
Growling, Marluxia's retaliated. A series of high velocity slashes surrounded his body. Donald and Goofy got caught in the attack, flying back. Mickey lunged toward his friends, stepping between them and Marluxia. The man flew at him, the dark cracks in his face pulsing with deranged fury.
A light exploded behind Donald and Goofy. Completely forgetting Marluxia, the two friends turned around, staring at the dark sphere over the water. Only it wasn't dark anymore. It shined like a moon, its light spreading outward, engulfing the sea, the sky, everything.
Marluxia flinched away from the light and it was then that Mickey slid under the scythe and slashed his keyblade across Marluxia's legs, waist, shoulders, arms, and face. Mickey's deadly swords dance left open cuts. Darkness oozed out of Marluxia's body. As the light around them grew brighter, Marluxia fell back, fading into nothing.
Mickey turned to heal his Donald and Goofy, but found that he didn't have to. Like the touch of an old friend, the light had pulled Donald and Goofy to their feet, taking away their exhaustion as well as their injuries. When it touched Mickey, he felt a surge of energy and realized that his magic had recharged.
The light dissipated. Kairi and Riku sat on the sea, leaning over Sora's body. Mickey, Donald and Goofy raced toward them.
Who was crying? Or was that laughing? A heaviness on his chest made him gasp. His eyes popped open and he sucked in air so fast that his throat burned, but that was the least of his concerns. There a heartbeat next to his own.
Sora's entire body froze over. Except for his face, which felt as though someone had taken a whole volcano and stuffed it into his cheeks. Sitting up, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around the weight on his chest.
"K-Kairi?"
He was pushed back down into something wet. Seawater sprayed into his nose and wide open mouth. Sora spluttered and hacked. The weight on his chest lifted, and Kairi, panting, crying, laughing, looked down into his eyes.
"Finally! I found you! I can't believe it! This isn't a dream! This is real!"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him, giggling into his ear. Sora melted against her, pressing his cheek into her shoulder, holding her just as tight. All kinds of questions could have swirled in his head, but none of them mattered in that moment. His head spun in Kairi's embrace, her voice warmed his heart, he was so giddy that he would have kicked his feet if he weren't afraid she would let go. If he could stop time right now, he'd never want to restart it. Kairi nuzzled his ear and Sora felt tingles going up his spine.
"H-how are you here? How did you find me?"
"I didn't do it alone."
Sitting up with Kairi still in his arms, Sora spotted Donald and Goofy looking down at him.
"Guys! You're okay!"
Letting Sora go, Kairi helped him stand and let his friends have a turn. Before anyone could do anything, Donald twirled his staff over his head and then whacked Sora hard in the shin.
Sora howled, his scream drowning out Kairi's giggles. Jumping up and down, he snapped at Donald.
"YOW! What was that for?"
"Don't you ever pull a stunt like this again! Leaving us behind after you said you wouldn't! Y-you, b-big d-dumb-whaaaa!"
Donald threw his arms around Sora's injured leg, wailing.
"C-c-cure," Donald sobbed.
Sora pain faded away only to be replaced by the wet feeling of Donald's tears. Unsure if Donald was angry or happy, Sora could only awkwardly pat his friend's head. He looked at Goofy, hoping to get some support, but was surprised to see Goofy's wide, watery, and pleading eyes.
"I was so worried. I don't know what I would have done if something happened to ya."
Sora reached out and put his arm around Goofy. "I'm sorry. Thank you for coming after me."
"Always, pal."
Jiminy hoped out of Sora's hood, yawning. "Gosh. That was a doozy. I'm so glad we're all back together."
"But wait," Sora looked around, "Kairi, how did she-"
Rather then finding Kairi, Sora noticed Mickey.
"Y-your Majesty?"
"Glad to see you're okay, Sora. You've sure been doing a swell job keeping the realm of light safe."
"T-thank you, sir. Wait a minute! If you're here, then that must mean-"
"Gee, how nice of you to finally remember me, Sora."
Sora's heart skipped a beat. And here he was thinking that there was absolutely nothing that could make the moment any sweeter. Looking around, he spotted Riku. De-tangling himself from Donald and Goofy, Sora tackled Riku, making the older boy stumble backward to keep himself from falling over.
"Riku! It's you! You're here! I can't believe it! I looked everywhere for you! Jasmine and Alice said I shouldn't open the realm of darkness to go after you, and then you showed up as a wisp, and there was no way I could ever find you in space, and-and-dang it, who cares! You're safe, Riku!"
"Space? What the-" Riku coughed, barely able to breathe with Sora's arms around his neck. "And I'm safe? Look who's talking! I can't leave you alone for one second before you go running off and get caught by the bad guy."
Sora leaned back. Even with tears streaming down his face, his grin so wide and bright that there was a chance his face might get stuck that way. "Talk all you want. You're not taking this moment away from me!"
Sora's legs gave out. Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's shoulders, leaning back to keep his friend from crumbling to the floor.
"Geez, get it together!"
"I'm sorry," Sora sniffled. "I was just starting to worry, starting to give up, and now I don't know what to do."
Riku chuckled. "Join the club."
Stepping back, Sora rubbed his eyes, heaving a long sigh for good measure.
"Something's different about you? Also, what's wrong? Can't look me in the eye?"
"I would if I could," Riku smiled, "but I'm blind."
"And he's back. Very funny."
"He's serious, Sora," Kairi chimed in.
"WHAT?" Sora put his hands on Riku's face. With his thumbs on Riku's cheeks and his forefingers above the eyelids, he stretched Riku's skin, widening the poor boy's eyes.
"Hey! Cut it out!"
Riku shook Sora off him.
"You really can't see?"
"Don't worry about it. I can still run circles around you."
"But, what about-"
Kairi popped up between them. "He can fight no problem. The darkness has enhanced his senses, especially his nose. I call it smell-o-vision."
"Really? Wow. That's amazing."
Riku snorted. "You two." Unable to contain it, he let out a series of deep, breathless laughs. "Nothing's changed! Two seconds and already you two dorks are at it with the bad puns."
"And you still have no sense of humor."
"What are you talking about, Kairi? He never had a sense of humor."
"Oh please, you two couldn't tell a good joke even if you were slapped in the face with a gag book."
The three friends frowned. Then, without having ever practiced it, as though each of them could read each other's hearts, they gathered together for a group hug. Donald, Goofy and Mickey joined in, and their circle got bigger. For five glorious minutes, there was a chorus of laughter and questions as everyone spoke over one another, trying to squeeze in as many stories, comments, and jokes as possible.
When they pulled away, Sora had to rub his belly. Never had he laughed with so much joy. When he could breathe normally again, he faced Kairi.
This wasn't the same exact girl he had left on the islands. Her hair was longer, her voice was smoother, and there was an experienced air about her. Sora could practically feel her confidence tingling his cheeks. Yet, her eyes were still the same cheeky, night-ocean blue. Riku, on the other hand, had gotten taller. His silver hair ended on his mid back. Bangs covered his sea green eyes, giving him a mysterious look. Even though he could no longer see, his eyes were gentler, worlds away from the steely, harsh gaze Sora had seen on his last adventure.
"Say, how did you guys get here?"
"Oh right! You big doof. You said you would come back to me. I didn't expect you to take months!"
Sora pointed at Riku. "I had to find him!"
"Don't blame me," Riku said. "You should have considered her feelings."
"Aw, you're just trying to get on my good side after what happened earlier."
"That is completely true."
Sora looked at his two friends, frowning. "Wait, what happened earlier?"
Kairi chuckled. "It's our secret." She elbowed Riku. "Don't you have something to say?"
Riku scratched his nose.
Kairi cleared her throat. "Don't make me poke you."
"Sora, I owe you an apol-"
"A race."
Riku blinked.
"When we get back to the islands, I'm going to run circles around you. Beating you fair and square will be all the apology I need."
"Really? Even though I had given in to the darkness?"
"Darkness or not, you're still Riku to me."
Sora extended his hand. Shaking his head despite the smile on his face, Riku grasped Sora's hand tightly. Sora grinned, three empty spaces in his heart filling, making him feel wonderfully whole. Then a cold wind entered his chest, snapping up all his mirth and carrying it away on the breeze.
"How touching."
The still, silent surface of the dark ocean rippled. The sea was furious. Harsh waves rolled over everyone's feet. Up ahead, a corridor of darkness rose up from the water. Marluxia floated out of the black smoke. He hurled his scythe at the party and it flashed toward them like a bolt of lightning, so fast that there was barely time to utter a single word.
Sora jerked, reaching for Kairi. "Look-"
"Reflect!"
The scythe bounced off a shield of magical glass.
"-out?" Sora tilted his head. "You know magic?"
Kairi winked.
"Get ready," Mickey said. "As soon as the spell goes down, we're giving it all we've got."
"Right," said Kairi, Donald and Goofy.
Riku summoned his soul eater and threw off his cloak, revealing his new jeans, yellow and white vest, and black undershirt.
"But, wait," Jiminy popped up, "Sora doesn't have a keyblade anymore."
"You mean this?" Kairi held the keyblade under Sora's nose.
She dropped it into Sora's hands while he was still busy stammering.
"What? How? I broke it!"
"I'll explain later." Kairi removed her own black cloak, and then slammed her fist into her palm. "I'm going to punch him right in his stupid nose."
"I'll hold him down," Donald growled.
Sora and Riku took a step away from Kairi and Donald. Goofy and Mickey raised their weapons. Jiminy hid back in Sora's hood. The reflect spell faded, but Marluxia didn't charge. He extended his arm, flexed his fingers and then clamped his fist shut.
There was a rumble under Sora's legs. Dark, sinewy vines ripped out of the water, wrapping around Sora's body, lifting him up. He wriggled, managing to get his arms out as the muscled vines looped around his torso. His friends' cries met his ears, and his heart twisted when he saw them below. The vines tightened around his companions. Pulsing and thick like disembodied intestines, their struggles and magic was useless. Soon the vines had left nothing but their heads bare.
Marluxia stalked toward them all. The blade of his weapon blackened with hatred.
Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Door to the Light
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.
Chapter 30: Door to the Light
The muscled vine around Sora's body constricted. Thorns poked into his clothes, their sharp tips scratching his skin, moments away from becoming unbearable pain. Somehow, before he had no more room to move, Sora was able to angle his keyblade so that it pointed at himself.
"Aeroga!"
A sphere of powerful wind currents pushed the thorns inches away from his flesh, yet every slight movement made him scratch up against the sharp points. Sora knew that the instant the aero spell faded, the thorns would crush him, but he did not have time to focus on that. He looked down.
Marluxia was floating toward Riku and Kairi. They were cocooned in the same vine, only their heads were free. With neither magic nor weapons to defend themselves, Sora's friends were nothing more then condemned prisoners. And Marluxia was the executioner. Without hesitating, he plunged his scythe down, the sharp blade reflected in Kairi's wide eyes.
Sora wriggled his arm past the wind spell and out from between the vines, wincing as the thorns bit into his elbow. He threw his keyblade. Without even turning his head, Marluxia blocked Sora's attack. Then his scythe swung again, the blade moving toward Riku's cheek. Not wasting any time, Sora called the keyblade back, and threw it once more. He followed up with a quick fire spell. Marluxia phased away from the fire spell and the keyblade, taking his scythe with him. Riku and Kairi were safe, for now.
As if sensing his defiance, the vines around Sora trembled with fury, pressing harder on his spell. Like a shell being crushed by a fist, Sora's aero spell broke. Yelping, he spread out his arms and legs, pushing the vines back with all of his strength. The muscles on the vines throbbed with pure malice, pressing on Sora's palms and feet, the thorns creeping closer to his body.
Something flashed in the corner of his eye and he turned his head to see Marluxia looming over him. The scythe gleamed as it flashed toward Sora's forehead. Instinct kicking in, Sora threw out his arm, calling his keyblade to his hand, barely blocking the scythe from sinking into his brain. But, with his arm fight against the scythe, there was nothing to prevent the vine from tightening. Thorns jabbed into Sora's side, icy needles of anguish exploded in Sora's ribs. His grip on the keyblade weakened and the scythe slid closer to his eyes.
Sora's entire arm popped as though his muscles were snapping one by one. He couldn't keep his weapon straight. The keyblade slanted diagonally. Sparks flew as the scythe ground against the shaft of the keyblade, sliding down toward Sora's shoulder.
Without thinking, he lunged to the side, grunting as the thorns bit into the entire right half of his body. The scythe whooshed, inches over his left shoulder, hip and thigh. It cut through the vines, and Sora slipped out, falling onto the cold water below.
The sea water burned his bruises and cuts, but there was no time to hiss at the pain. Marluxia fell toward him. Sora rolled, just in time to avoid getting sliced. Marluxia sliced into the water, leaving a crescent shaped cut in the ocean. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, Sora quickly found himself on his feet, blocking Marluxia's next strike. He pushed Marluxia back, giving himself only a second to cast a healing spell before the scythe came flying at his waist.
Sora jumped over the blade, aiming a swing at Marluxia's head. His keyblade hit nothing. Marluxia vanished. The air behind Sora shifted, and he rolled forward, narrowly avoiding getting his spine cut open by Marluxia's scythe.
Back on his feet, Sora blocked Marluxia when he came at him from the left, then from the right, then from above. Block, vanish, strike, block, vanish, strike. Sora counted the seconds between each attack, searching his surroundings, keeping his senses open in case Marluxia reappeared in his blind spot. He could come from anywhere, and one wrong move could leave Sora in pieces. Then it happened. Sora made the mistake of blinking just when Marluxia appeared behind him.
Sora lunged forward, but wasn't fast enough to dodge, and the scythe bit into his leg. The shock took the wind out of him and he collapsed onto the water. Once again, there was no time for pain, or thought, as Marluxia loomed over him, his scythe flashing down. Sora managed to block again, but the disadvantage of being on the ground, with no where to escape, forced his arms to bend. At least Marluxia wasn't going to vanish when he had the upper hand, which gave Sora a ricky idea.
The tip of the keyblade buzzed with lightning.
"Thundaga!"
The spell came crashing down on Marluxia's head. He drew backward, grunting as electricity sizzled through his body.
Sora bolted, limping toward another vine. He cast a healing spell on his leg, but it didn't matter. His injury had slowed him down too much, and Marluxia was already flying after him, spinning madly in midair, his scythe blurring into a deadly disk.
Sora thrusted his keyblade. The teeth of the key caught the a corner of the scythe, where the blade met the staff. It was the perfect angle, as the tip of the keyblade was pointing directly at Marluxia's face.
"Blizzaga!"
Unable to escape with his scythe tapped by Sora's key, Marluxia could only lunge to the side. A spear of ice missed his nose, but jabbed into his shoulder instead. Doubling over, Marluxia tried to pull the icicle out. That was his first mistake. Sora reached over, grabbed the scythe and pulled it our of Marluxia's weakened grip. He looped the scythe around Marluxia's waist, and spun, throwing Marluxia up in the air. Then he hurled his keyblade, and it banged against the icicle in Marluxia's shoulder, driving it deeper.
While Marluxia writhed in the air, pulling the icicle out, Sora dashed to the nearest vine. Raising the scythe over his head, he sliced the vine at the base. Mickey tumbled out of the drying brambles.
"Are you okay, Your Majesty?"
Mickey sucked in a quick, deep breathe. "Thanks pal!"
Without wasting another second, the King jumped right into battle. He lifted his keyblade and shot out a pearl of light that went flying up into the air and punching Marluxia right in the gut.
Furious, Marluxia pulled out the ice shard from his shoulder. He opened his palm, and then closed his fingers, tightening his fist. The scythe flew out of Sora's hand. As though it had a mind of its own, the blade tipped toward Sora and Mickey. The two keyblade wielders jumped back. From above, Marluxia maneuvered the scythe with invisible puppet strings. He watched Sora and Mickey scrambled away from the weapon as it spun and sliced after them. Mickey managed to block the blade, and Sora aimed a lightning spell at Marluxia.
Slipping into the darkness, Marluxia avoided the attack yet again. He appeared behind Sora. Before he could hurt the boy, Mickey charged at Marluxia. The two of them entered a lightning fast dance of parries and cuts, as the King's expert fencing skills forced Marluxia to back away.
With Marluxia busy, Sora ran to another cluster of vines. He tried attacking it with his keyblade, and then with magic, but the vines didn't bend, snap, or burn. Growling, Sora charged his keyblade with lightning, dashing back toward Mickey and Marluxia.
"Your Majesty, incoming!"
Mickey got out of the way by sliding between Marluxia's legs. The lightning spell flew at Marluxia. With a sigh, Marluxia faded away yet again. Sora reached Mickey's side.
"We need that scythe," he whispered. "Any ideas?"
Mickey nodded. "He can't attack and fade away at the same time."
"Then we have to keep him on the offensive." Sora grinned. "I've got it. Follow my lead."
"Right," Mickey agreed.
Carefully, the two of them walked about the battlefield, weapons raised, waiting for the next attack. Marluxia's laughter echoed from overhead.
"Two keyblade wielders, side by side, lost in the darkness."
The scythe came flying at them from straight ahead. Mickey and Sora casted fire spells, knocking the weapon off its trajectory. It vanished.
"Two destroyers shirking their duty. Did you ever wonder why the legends say that the keyblade brings ruin?"
Like a snake ready to bite, the scythe appeared by Sora's calves. He and Mickey jumped over the blade before it could slice off their feet. They tried to grab the scythe, but it slipped away, back into the darkness.
"The wielders of the past abandoned the worlds they had sworn to protect. They did not destroy the darkness at its roots. Hundreds of worlds payed the price. The few survivors that remained cursed the keyblade."
Sora ground his teeth together. "Hey Marluxia, I'm over here! Come and get me! Or are you too chicken to face us head on?"
Marluxia materialized right in front of Sora. His scythe spun in his hand, whirling into a hurricane of deadly slashes that gave Mickey and Sora no choice but block, duck, jump and lunge away from each attack.
Trying not to get cut into strips, Sora stuck his tongue out at Marluxia.
"Hey, you sad sack of rotten potatoes! You'll never defeat the darkness by obsessing over it!"
Marluxia's brow twitched. He lunged, his sharp whirlwind forcing Sora and Mickey apart.
"Sora's right! You keep talking about how the darkness will win if we don't do something about it. Yet you don't realize that the darkness has already beaten you!"
Marluxia flashed toward Mickey. The king didn't move. The hurricane around Marluxia vanished as he lifted his scythe to slice through Mickey.
"Sora, now!"
In seconds, Sora snuck up behind Marluxia, grabbed the scythe's staff and pulled. Marluxia jerked back, which gave Mickey enough time to smack his hands with the keyblade. His fingers throbbing, Marluxia dropped the scythe. Then he was met with an unpleasant surprise as Sora's keyblade smashed against his back. Before Sora could land another hit, Marluxia blinked out of existence, leaving his scythe behind.
The two keyblade wielders grabbed the scythe together, and spun, faster and faster, before letting the scythe go. Like a razor sharp boomerang, the scythe flew, cutting off each of the vines at the base. Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy fell out of the vines. Gasping, exhausted, covered in bruises from the thorns, they collapsed.
Behind them, the scythe stopped mid-spin. It flew backward, straight toward Kairi and the others. Mickey and Sora rushed to stand between the scythe and their friends. Spinning wildly, the scythe became a razor sharp twister that doubled in size within seconds. Marluxia appeared within in the wind storm, laughing as he hovered every closer to the keyblade wielders, watching with spite, knowing that as none of Mickey or Sora's attacks could cut through his spell.
Yet he never saw the flash of healing magic below, nor the spark of darkness that followed. By the time Marluxia looked up it was too late. Riku fell from the darkness above, slicing Marluxia on his way down with his soul eater. The twister fell apart. Hovering in the air, holding his shoulder, Marluxia roared at Riku.
Then there was an annoying scream, and something landed on Marluxia's back. His hair was pulled back as Donald yanked on his head. Growling, Marluxia reached up and grabbed the duck. He never got the chance to throw him. Launched upward by Goofy and Riku, Kairi appeared right before Marluxia's eyes. She smashed her fist into his nose.
Yowling, Marluxia dropped Donald. He landed on the ocean next to Kairi, who was busy shaking her hand.
"Ow! What's his face made out of? Bricks?"
"Cure!" Donald bellowed.
No sooner had he cast the spell when Marluxia's scythe came spinning his way. The battle was on. Goofy blocked the scythe with his shield. Riku and Mickey flashed toward Marluxia, bombarding him with light and dark magic. He flashed away from their attacks, but didn't catch the tidal wave that Kairi threw at him from across the battlefield.
Sora stood, completely frozen, watching his friends fight. Donald sat on Goofy's shoulders, throwing boatloads of spells at Marluxia while Goofy protected the both of them with his shield. Mickey and Riku's looked as though they could read each other's mind, as the two of them kept Marluxia on the ropes with quick, deadly slashes of their weapons. But it was Kairi that caught Sora's attention the most. She rolled and flipped away form attacks, all the while retaliated with magic that rivaled both his and Donald's.
"What? How? When? Wow."
Sora was stuck there until Riku flashed over by his side. He knocked away the scythe that had nearly stabbed into Sora's back.
"Hey lover-boy! Pay attention!"
Reddening, Sora charged into battle, shouting at Riku over his shoulder.
"You pay attention!"
"Oh nice comeback." Riku chased after him. "Is that all you got?"
Sora turned around, running backwards, grinning. "No, but you should duck!"
He threw his keyblade over Riku's head, watching as it knocked Marluxia's scythe away before it could turn his friend into swiss cheese.
Straightening, Riku whistled. "Nice!"
The two joined the battle alongside their friends. Their combined teamwork kept Marluxia on the defensive. Donald bombarded Marluxia with magic. Mickey, Riku and Sora parried attacks, slashing and thrusting their weapons. Goofy and Kairi ran around the battleground, defending everyone from sneak attacks. But even their combined power couldn't land a single, solid hit as Marluxia kept slipping into the darkness.
"That's so is annoying," Sora growled.
"Would it be too much to ask for him to hold still for two seconds," Donald agreed.
"Then think of an attack that he can't dodge," Riku panted.
Marluxia flew upward, pink petals gathering around his scythe. "Even attacking the darkness head on couldn't erase me from the world. What makes you think the six of you have a chance?"
He came down like a black lightning bolt, slamming into the ocean. A shockwave of sea water knocked everyone off their feet. A black whirlpool spread over the water. Pink brambles of electricity zapped up from darkness, shocking everyone, pulling them toward the center of the vortex, where Marluxia's scythe blurred into chainsaw of darkness.
The brambles looped around Sora's wrists and legs, tying him down. He was pulled, closer and closer to the scythe chainsaw, to be chopped up like piece of meat. All around him, his friends fired magic and threw their weapons at the chainsaw, but Marluxia pushed their attacks back with a storm of petals. The petals radiated out of the center of the whirlpool, and Sora felt paper cuts criss-crossing his skin. Bitter, acid pain throbbed in Sora's wounds, evaporating his concentration. He struggled, but couldn't resist the gravitational pull toward the center of the vortex.
The chainsaw sparked inches below his feet. Sora felt its heat burning the soles of his shoes. He clawed at the dark whirlpool below him, fighting the current that pushed him down. The chainsaw razored the bottom of his shoe.
He bent his knees in a vain attempt to keep himself from being sanded down into nothing. A cry caught his attention. To Sora's left, Goofy nearly lost his toes to the chainsaw. He put his feet on his shield, but even it couldn't withstand the might of Marluxia's attack, and the shield was breaking apart piece by piece.
With his legs, Goofy pushed off the shield, sacrificing it in order to move away from the vortex. The vines holding him snapped. He rolled in Sora's direction and, somehow, the two of them were able to grab hands. Across from them, Donald casted three fire spells, using the energy to rocket his way toward his friends. When the trio joined hands, instinctively their combined magic burst from their bodies.
"Trinity limit!"
The tri-colored spell smashed against the whirling scythe, slowing it and the vortex down, just enough for their other friends to escape. Riku slipped into the darkness, reappearing at Sora's side. Mickey summoned several orbs of light, using them like stepping stones, jumping toward his friends. Kairi summoned a water spell, and the wave pushed her their way.
When the six of them collided, every nerve ending, blood vessel, bone, and muscle in Sora's body sizzled with an unspeakable, unbreakable, intense force. It traveled down his arm to Donald, to Goofy, to Riku, to Kairi, and King Mickey.
All six friends glowed. White light traveled outwards from their bodies, blinding Marluxia. His vortex and twister weakened. Time slowed down.
Casting a reflect spell, Kairi trapped Riku, Mickey and Sora in it. She and Goofy grabbed Donald's shoulders, giving him strength. A miniature sun exploded from Donald's staff, smashing against the reflect spell, propelling Sora, Riku and Mickey forward like shooting stars. The magic glass broke in midair, but it no longer mattered as all three attackers flew at their enemy.
Riku sliced Marluxia's legs, Mickey thrashed Marluxia's waist, and Sora, his keyblade razor sharp with light, delivered the final blow right across Marluxia's forehead.
Like a comet, the light from Sora's last attack kept flying. It was like he had cut a hole right through the atmosphere. As Marluxia crumbled to the ground, a white crack appeared in the air above him. It widened, light bleeding out of the cut, molding into a familiar shape.
Marluxia coughed. His hand over his chest, he turned away from the light.
"Such strength. If only you would use it to destroy this realm. We could have covered all the worlds in that light."
Sora looked down at his key. "The realm of darkness is a terrible place, and it may be eternal." He looked at Mickey. "But I can't put the rest of the worlds in danger to destroy it."
Mickey smiled, nodding proudly at Sora.
"We have to make hard choices," Sora continued, "but it's never too late to change, to try and make thing better, even with darkness in our hearts. Isn't that worth more then destroying something you hate?"
Marluxia was silent.
Kairi held Sora's hand. "There's always a light. The worlds will be safe as long as one person believes in it, no matter how small."
Riku closed his eyes. "Darkness exists in every heart. Even if the realm is destroyed, people's darkness will still linger. Destroying it is impossible. You can only accept it and try not to let it rule you, to be one with the light as much as you can."
Donald and Goofy beamed at the three friends, unspoken words of pride in their smiles.
Marluxia looked at each face blankly. His cloak and face became transparent, his fingertips and toes disintegrating.
"If only the worlds were that simple."
Then he was gone. All that remained was the light behind him. It stretched, turning into a doorway. A sweet breeze fluttered out from the light. The tropical smell of coconuts met Riku's nose.
He stiffened. "Home."
The dark ocean around them shook. The still water trembled, the waves rising angrily. Sora turned. From the dark beach, a wave of shadow heartless stampeded their way, lured by the doorway and of a promise of defenseless prey on the other side.
Mickey waved everyone toward the door. "Quick! Get through!"
Donald and Goofy chased after their king, disappearing into the light. Grabbing Sora and Riku's wrists, Kairi dragged them toward the door. She ran into the light first, but the moment she had taken a step, the light flickered around her. Turning, Kairi tried to get back to her friends, but it was too late. Instead, her lucky charm fell out of her pocket, vanishing on the other side of the door with Sora and Riku.
The boys stood there, staring at the empty space where the door and Kairi had been moments before. Sora picked up Kairi's good luck charm. The moment he put the charm in his pocket, the ocean split open beneath him.
Sora and Riku sank into a deep chasm. The heartless swarmed down after them. As he fell, Sora felt whispers tingling his ear. He couldn't understand the words, yet he felt malice choking his neck. The number thirteen appeared in front of his eyes. Transparent and glowing a sickening pink and black, the number floated above his head. Turning, Sora saw the same number floating on Riku's crown.
The heartless fell on them like acid rain. Riku and Sora cleaved through them, and the cloud of heartless dispersed, fading back into the darkness. A moment later, the boys crashed onto a dark surface. Sora raised his keyblade, healing himself. He got on his hands and knees.
The platform below his fingers was flat and cold, a thin membrane of obsidian. Yellow eyes stared at him from below the surface. Sora scrambled backward. A horde of darkside heartless scratched the glass he was sitting on. They reached up, their giant palms rubbing the glass, trying to get through.
"The darkness is strong here," Riku grunted.
Sora was about to heal his best friend, but then he froze. The number above Riku's head was now a twelve, not a thirteen. Sora he didn't know how, but he was sure that number spelled doom for the both of them.
"Curaga!"
The darkside heartless below their feet stopped moving, as though they were frozen in time. Then they turned, turning their gaze to the center of the platform, where a cluster of black vines appeared.
Rising out of the thorns was Marluxia. His cloak was tattered with holes and burns. The deep, purple gashes on his face glowed, overflowing with sinister smoke. His eyes had blackened completely. Soot fell off the tips of his hair. He floated toward them like a puppet on a string. No more hiding in the shadows, no more vanishing and reappearing. Marluxia chased and slashed at the boys.
Though his attacks were quick and ruthless, his voice was calm, low, hoarse.
"Your friend has already given in to the darkness. See how quickly his time runs out."
Riku's number was now eleven.
Marluxia's scythe blurred into a black arc. Sora jumped back from the shadowy attack, looking down at his reflection in the dark glass below. His number was down to twelve. The darksides drummed their fingers on the back of their wrists, like one would do for a watch. Tick-tock.
Riku charged at Marluxia, slicing with his soul eater. He cut through Marluxia's shoulder, but the man simply laughed. Marluxia counterattacked with a flurry of quick strikes and jabs. Riku cartwheeled away, landing by Sora's side.
Ten.
There didn't need to be any words between the two boys. The moment they stood shoulder to shoulder, their bond blazed into an unstoppable drive to fight. Riku and Sora flashed toward Marluxia, their movements so quick that they floated in the air. Sora devastated Marluxia with powerful slices from the front while Riku delivered equally powerful blows from above. The boys gathered together for a second, throwing several, silver energy attacks that bombarded Marluxia's body. He flew back from the spells, limp as a ragdoll, but the boys were not done.
Nine.
They charged forward, back to back, summoning blades of light and darkness that cut through anything and everything. Then they threw their weapons in the air. The keyblade and soul eater floated, pointing at each other. Surrounded by an aura of light and darkness, a crushing blast exploded from the two weapons. Like an eternal session of opposing forces, the concussive energy from the explosion burned away Marluxia's black robes. After the flash, Marluxia lay in a heap on the floor.
Sora turned to smile at Riku for their victory, but then his face melted int into a look of terror. The number above Riku's head was down to five.
Marluxia laughed, rising into the air, floating above the boys. His was body blackened with soot from the neck down. His scythe rotated above his head, like a propeller. The area around their arena hummed with lethal intent. Sora and Riku pressed their hands on their temples as the pressure in the atmosphere closed in. They dove out of the way just as a harpoon of thorns stabbed into the glass between them.
A crack spread over the dark glass. The darksides below writhed, waiting for their prey to fall through, but they were the farthest things from Sora's and Riku's minds. An endless attack of sword-like thorns came at them. From every angle, a javelin of thorns nearly skewered them. The boys jumped and flipped, defending each other and themselves from the unrelenting thorns.
Four.
"A doomed keyblade master that ignores his true mission."
Sora ignored Marluxia's voice.
Three.
"A sinner of the darkness. There will be no forgiveness for you."
Riku did not head Marluxia's words. His senses buzzed with warnings, and he blocked the endless spikes one by one.
Two.
"Sora. I've seen your journey. All your attempts to help others. But there were failures, weren't there? Agrabah destroyed, the king of Atlantis and the first mate of the Legacy lost forever. What do you say to that, hero?"
That was Sora's undoing. The pit of his stomach filled with ice. A thorn got through his defenses, slicing into his leg. Another thorn followed and Sora wasn't fast enough to stop it. Riku pushed him. Sora fell away from the spike. His throat was too dry from panting and he couldn't cry out when Riku's side got split open by the thorn. Marluxia appeared behind his stunned friend.
The blade of his weapon swung toward Riku's heart.
One.
Fear. Panic. Pain. All the emotions that swirled in Sora's mind were trampled down, pushed aside to make room for only one thought.
My friends are my power.
Sora flew. Riku reached out. Grasping his hand, Sora swung Riku away from Marluxia's weapon. As they roated, Sora smashed his keyblade into Marluxia's neck. Riku circled back around to face Marluxia. With all his energy, Riku blasted Marluxia with a dark fire spell. The bombardment of their attacks threw Marluxia back. He hunched over, gasping, raising his scythe with a trembling arm.
It was too late.
Zero.
Whatever dark spell that was chasing after Sora and Riku, now that their time was up, was not fast enough to catch them. They rocketed toward Marluxia, and, like the thorns they had spent so long defending against, Sora and Riku cut and slashed at Marluxia from every angle.
A final X-slice of dark and light attacks completely obliterated Marluxia. He crumbled into dust, fading away forever. A ghost left from ages past, now nothing but a bad memory that was doomed to be forgotten.
The number zero faded away from atop Sora and Riku's heads. The glass under their feet broke. They fell into the horde of darksides below. Exhausted from their battle, but refusing to give up, the boys fought yet again. The last of the darksides faded, but they still fell.
Floating down in an abyss of darkness, Riku was one blink away from losing consciousness.
"Don't you dare give up now!"
Riku turned toward Sora's voice. "Look where we are. What more can we do?"
"We'll find a way out. No matter what."
"How can you be so positive?" Riku rasped. "The realm of darkness is endless."
"So is the realm of light."
"So what do we do?"
"You got out of the darkness once."
Despite the emptiness around him, despite the last of his strength fading away, Riku chuckled. "So did you."
"I didn't escape without help."
"Neither did I. If we're together, we'll find a way out."
"That's the spirit." Sora's grin was weak, pulled down by exhaustion, yet his eyes held unwavering strength.
"Sora."
"What is it?"
"You've really grown, but I'm glad that you haven't changed that much."
"What do you mean?"
Riku closed his eyes. "You're stronger, but still the same dork. Following your heart no matter what. I always admired that about you. I wish I was like that. Maybe that's why I always try to one up you."
Sora took a deep breathe. "Funny. I always wanted to be like you. Dependable, cool."
Riku couldn't help but snort.
"I'm serious."
Riku let out a trembling sigh, his lips curving upward. "You know what, Sora?"
"What?"
Riku's grin reached his eyes. "You don't need to change. Having you as a friend, just the way you are, is one of the best parts of being me."
And just like that, in that vast, horrible world of nothing, Sora felt a joy so rich and warm that all he could do was breathe and let the feeling wash over his entire body. When he could form words again, his voice broke.
"Aw, why'd you have to go and say something so cool? How am I supposed to respond to that?"
"Don't need to. I already know what's going on in your head?"
"Oh really? What?"
"You're thinking, 'right back at ya.'"
Now it was Sora's turn to snort. "We're just two big, dumb pieces of the same puzzle."
"Yeah. I hope we can reunite with our missing pieces someday."
"No."
Warm, smooth water covered Kairi's legs and waist. The sun shined over the calm, azure sea, the soft breeze tickled her lashes, yet she felt colder then she had ever felt in her entire life.
"No! No! No!"
Kairi's fists plunged through the water, her knuckles hitting the sandy depths. She didn't know if the salt on her cheeks was from the sea or from her eyes.
Hands on her shoulders and arms made her still for a moment. She turned to face Mickey, Donald and Goofy's gazes.
"It can't be over! Not now! Not after all this!"
Donald sniffled, looking at King Mickey. "What should we do?"
Mickey's eyes were bright and puffy, but not a single tear escaped. "Let's go back to the shore and calm down for a moment."
"No! I'm not going anywhere but back to my friends!"
Kairi grabbed Donald and Goofy's hands. She tried to concentrate on the light, but all she could see in front of her eyes were Sora and Riku's faces. They reached out toward from the darkness, but then they faded away, leaving her alone once again. All that Kairi could feel inside her was fear and despair. The light didn't respond.
"Come on! Holy! Why isn't it working?"
Letting go of Donald and Goofy, Kairi began to swim deeper into the sea, searching for the door she had passed through.
"Wait," Mickey called after her. "You'll only tire yourself out!"
Stopping, Kairi wrung her hands. "I'm not giving up!"
"She's right, Your Majesty," said Goofy. "There has to be something we can do."
"Yeah! We have to try," Donald begged.
Kairi swam back. She bent down so that she could look into Mickey's eyes, interlocking her fingers tightly in front of her.
"Please, Your Majesty, help me! The longer we wait, the more they slip away!"
Mickey covered her hands with his. "You're absolutely right. The light will connect us, somehow."
"Tell me what to do."
"Concentrate on your friends. That's what we will all do. If our bonds are strong, then we'll surely find them."
Mickey gathered everyone close. Closing their eyes and holding hands, the four of them blocked out the beautiful world around them. The ocean, the sky, the islands all faded away. Memories of Sora and Riku swirled through their thoughts. In their minds, they heard the boys' voices, saw their smiles, and imagined them standing on the beach by their side. The world grew silent, and the only sound the four friends could hear was that of their twinkling wish.
A velvety wind touched the back of Kairi's neck. Her eyes snapped open. She turned, breathing in so deeply that all of her sadness and pain melted away. A sphere of light floated above the water, a song of hope fluttered to her ears.
Kairi moved toward the light, but stopped when she felt the others let her go. Mickey, Donald and Goofy knelt in the water, their bodies shining with a golden aura.
"Go," they rasped, "we can't hold it open forever! Hurry! Bring out friends home!"
Nodding, Kairi dove into the light.
Someone said his name. Opening his eyes, Sora saw nothing but blackness, yet he felt a surge of giddiness, like the zing of laughter that was just begging to be released. But he did not have the strength to laugh.
Something warm buzzed by his hip. He was barely able to wrap his fingers around Kairi's good luck charm. Pulling it out of his pocket, he watched in wonder as the star shaped charm glimmered.
Stretching his arm toward Riku, Sora felt his friend grasp his hand, the lucky charm trapped between their palms. They could almost feel Kairi's presence.
No. It wasn't "almost." She was with them, in their hearts. Always.
Far above, a tiny star was shining. It broke through the darkness. Sprinkles of light fluttered down onto the boys' chests. Their descent slowed. The star brightened, growing. It fell toward the boys, the light blinding them.
Kairi burst out the white star. She fell, holding out her arms, reaching for her friends. Sora and Riku lifted their hands, interlocking their fingers with Kairi's.
She fell backward, back toward the star, pulling the boys through with her. For a few unending seconds, they floated in a world of white. Then, like brushstrokes on a canvas, color began to appear. A blue sky welcomed them. A moment later, they splashed into a crystal clear sea. Bursting through the surface of water, taking a deep breathe of fresh air, they heard calls from the shore.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy were running toward them from the beach. Flashing each other a grin, Kairi, Sora and Riku swam toward the shore. Just a few feet away from the sand, a happy scream came down on Riku's head. Mickey cannonballed over him. Donald and Goofy pounced on Sora, throwing him back in the water. Sitting up, they squeezed the boy between them, and then pulled Kairi into their group hug. A moment later, Sora bent forward as Riku and Mickey joined in. Closing his eyes, Sora felt a brilliance in his heart unlike any he had ever felt before.
"We did it," Kairi cried. "We're together again!"
Riku sat in the water, letting the warm, clear liquid pass over his palm. "We're back."
"We're home," Sora whispered.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy jumped up in the air, whooping. "Yeah! We did it!"
Sora held up Kairi's good luck charm. She watched as he put it in her hand.
"I told you I'd keep my promise."
"Oh no you don't."
Kairi closed Sora's finger's around the charm, pushing it back toward him.
"You're holding on to this. I need something to help me find you in case you go wondering off again."
Sora gave her a sneaky smile. "Does that mean you'll come rescue me again?"
"Someone has to protect you."
"Look who's talking."
Riku slapped a hand on his forehead. "Oh no!"
Sora and Kairi broke apart, blushing. "What?"
"I just realized I haven't seen my parents in forever! What am I supposed to say when I go back home? 'Hi Mom, hi Dad. I'm back. Oh, by the way, I'm blind.' They're never going to let me out of their sight again!"
Sora paled. "I'm a year late for dinner! My mom is going to kill me!"
A twitchy, wide eyed smile spread over Kairi's face. Trembling giggles burst from her lips. "We're in so much trouble."
Mickey, Donald and Goofy snickered. Huffing, Kairi bent down and splashed water in their faces. Donald and Goofy smirked, accepting her challenge and splashing her back. She dodged, and a wave of water slapped Sora and Riku right in the nose. Mickey snorted until Riku dumped a mini tidal wave on his ears. Then it was an all out war of water and laughter. No weapons, no magic, just pure, simple fun. No matter what warnings were coming their way, no matter what happened after they said goodbye, the future did not scare them at all.
Epilogue
There was a wedding in the Enchanted Bayou. Mama Odie happily pronounced Naveen and Tiana as husband and wife. When the two frogs kissed, a golden ribbon of light whirled around them, glimmering out over the lily pads and ancient trees of the swamp. Stepping out of the light, Naveen and Tiana pulled away from each other, and were surprised to see that they were both human again.
In Little London, inside Basil's home, Dr. Dawson rested in a cushioned chair with his fingers interlocked over his round belly. As he snored, Basil worked tirelessly, haunched over his work desk, reading three books at once. He must have discovered something amazing because he jumped up and exclaimed so loudly that Dr. Dawson fell out of his seat. Without bothering to explain, Basil rushed to the door and pulled on his coat and hat. He ran out while Dr. Dawson scrambled to catch up with him. Outside, Freya watched the two mice excitedly running down the street. With a smile, she hefted her lance over her shoulder and followed them, eager to join their next caper.
On Big Ben, in the balcony above the clock, Alice sat, enjoying the view. Her admiration of London was interrupted when a golden pixie fluttered over her head. Before Alice could jump back in surprise, an upside down face appeared before her eyes. A red headed boy was hovering-no, flying-right in front of Big Ben. He winked at Alice, and the golden pixie by his side crossed her arms petulantly.
One wouldn't believe how hot the desert heat was in Agrabah, not with all of its citizens out and about, working tirelessly to put the city back together. Razoul fussed about Jasmine, not letting her lift a single finger to help. She gave the captain annoyed looks, and was just about to scold him for snapping at Aladdin, who happened to be working nearly. The only thing that saved Razoul from a rather embarrassing talking to from the princess, was Carpet. Completely fixed, and waving its tassels, Carpet flew around Jasmine happily. Excited, Aladdin and Jasmine looked around. A moment later, a blue genie came down from the sky and scooped the couple up in his arms, giving the pair of them a big hug.
In Todayland, Cornelius and Franny sat together on their lawn, having a picnic with their family. Uncle Art set down a tower of pizza boxes. As the Robinson family ate, there was a sudden stampede of terrified frogs. They jumped on the pizza boxes, tipping them over, splattering the family and the picnic blanket with cheese, pepperoni and sauce. Wilbur ran after the frogs, holding one of his father's newest inventions in his hand. When he noticed the mess the frogs had made, Wilbur turned around, whistled and casually walked back toward house with his hands in his pockets. Too bad the frogs told Franny exactly what had happened and she threw a pizza slice at the back of her son's head. Before she could punish him however, Wilbur peeled the slice off and chucked it at Grandpa Bud. The entire family broke out into a happy food fight.
At their camp, in the Forest of Spirits, Merida was trying to teach Queen Eleanor how to shoot an arrow. Eleanor concentrated on the target, the bow shaking in her hand. It was just then that Hubert, Hamish and Harris popped up behind their mother, startling her. She yelped, firing the arrow. Bullseye. Merida chortled while both her mother and father chased after their prankster sons, happy to not be the one in trouble for once.
Milo and Kida held hands. Standing high on the head of a stone golem, the new king and queen of Atlantis looked at the bright star shining above their city. The heart of Atlantis glowed in the sky, the face of Kida's father carved onto one of the stones that encircled it. Down below, the city was vibrant and alive. No longer crumbling, Atlantis was covered in roads and polished buildings. Vehicles flew in the sky above the city, admiring the view below.
Litwak's Arcade was about to open for the day. The surge protecter at Game Central Station received a very unpleasant surprise when Vanellope glitched right behind him and let out a loud belch. Falling over in shock, the surge protector couldn't stop Ralph. He ran out of Sugar Rush and into Fix-it Felix Jr, all while ignoring the alarms that went off as he passed from one game to the next. Before he went into his game, Ralph shouted a thank you at Vanellope. She gave him a wink and a thumbs up before scampering back into her own game, leaving the surge protector to shake his head in annoyance.
Toontown was as crazy as ever when Eddie Valiant and Dolores visited. Benny the taxi drove them through the rolling, bouncy hills, dropping them off in the town square where they met Roger and Jessica. All the toons gathered around a new monument that was covered by a sheet. Roger gave a dramatic speech. Jessica lifted him up, and he pulled the sheet off the monument, revealing a statue of Eddie Valiant and his bother, Teddy. A plaque below the statue read, "Toontown's defenders."
Somewhere in space, Captain Amelia barked orders to her new crew. The RLS Legacy's deck was shined and polished. The crew members scrubbed, complaining about the work. When the first mate of the Legacy walked by, the men straightened, and saluted. Wearing a white uniform, first mate Jim Hawkins put his hands behind his back and gave the crew a once over. Then he gave his own series of orders, making the crew flinch. At the helm, Captain Amelia gave Jim an approving nod.
Somewhere, on another new planet, Locke was busy pulling bagfuls of gold out of a hole in the ground. He paused for a moment and pulled the magicite out of his pocket. The gem shined with a pink glow, and Locke smiled as he kept exploring.
In the garden at Disney Castle, Roxanne and Max sat at a table, chatting over some tea, all the while blushing as the two of them attempted to flirt. Bobby and PJ came running into the garden, panting, trying to say something with their hands. A second later, they stood straight, snapping to attention. Max was about to ask what was wrong, but then a pair of hands covered his eyes. Pushing the hands off him, Max turned around. His jaw dropped when his eyes met Goofy's. Jumping out of his seat, Max hugged his dad tight, and then introduced him to Roxanne.
Down in the gummi hanger, Chip, Dale, Launchpad and Gadget did some maintenance on the gummi ship. Professor Von Drake supervised, leaning over a new set of blueprints. Scrooge McDuck, meanwhile, was busy counting all the munny he had made back in Hollow Bastion. That was, until Pluto snuck up next to him and swiped the munny pouch out of Scrooge's hand.
While Scrooge chased after the dog, Donald walked into the castle library, waving nervously at Daisy. She tapped her foot, glaring at him. Donald turned away, rubbing his neck. Before he could say sorry, Daisy threw herself at him. The two ducks were about to kiss, but then Huey, Dewey and Louie burst into the library and dog piled on top of Daisy and Donald. He about to scold his nephews, but stopped when Daisy started giggling. Her laugher was infectious, and soon, all five ducks lay on the floor, happily quaking up.
High above the castle, Mary Poppins sat on a cloud, powdering her nose. Jut then, a sparkling letter floated down in front of her. The wax seal of a wizard's hat gleamed on the letter. Raising an eyebrow, Mary opened the envelope.
In the castle's audience hall, Queen Minnie sat in the throne, reading a book. She was so focused that she did not notice someone walking over to stand beside her. She started when Mickey leaned over and kissed her temple. The book fell from her hands, landing on an open page about a lucky, rabbit, master mage. Minnie leaped into Mickey's arms. The two of them pressed their noses together, closing their eyes, together at last.
Deep within the realm of darkness, Oswald kept wondering. Light gleamed at the end of his wand, pointing downward. Jumping into a deep chasm, Oswald crept closer and closer to a galaxy of darkness down below.
In Hollow Bastion, Cid was busy building a new ship right in front of Merlin's house. Yuffie and Aerith stood next to him, handing him tools and reading over the blueprints Cid had placed on the floor. There was a puff of blue, magical smoke, and Merlin appeared in front of his house. He gave Aerith an envelope. Popping open the wizard-hat wax seal, Aerith read.
Leon and Cloud stood in the rising falls, strategizing about what to do about the castle. Behind them, Tifa sighed. She bonked both men on the back of the head, getting their attention. The three of them met up with Cid's group back in town, where Yuffie excitedly showed them a picture she had drawn. Leon squinted at the picture, confused. Yuffie puffed up her cheeks, irritated. Aerith explained the picture, pointing at the ship Cid was building, and then to the castle in the distance. Understanding, the group looked up a the castle, thinking of new possibilities.
Back at Destiny Islands, Riku and Kairi played a ball game with Selphie, Wakka and Tidus on the beach. Sora, feeling lazy, went to the secret place so that he could nap. He walked into the cave, looking at the scribbles on the walls, moving toward the picture he and Kairi had drawn when they were little. Pressing his hand over the stone wall, he froze when he saw the picture. Before leaving the islands, Sora had drawn a himself giving a paopu fruit to Kairi. He was surprised, and delighted, to see that Kairi had added to the picture. She was now giving him a paopu fruit as well.
Destinies intertwined.
A part of each other's lives, no matter what.
Secret Ending
The worlds settled into a blissful peace for a while. Even though he couldn't see it, Riku could feel it. Light shined all around him. On the islands, he sat on the paopu tree. How long had he spent dreaming of other worlds, wanting so badly to leave his home? To think that now, after everything that had happened, the warmth of the sunset at home was still unlike any other he had felt in the outside worlds. The ocean waves hummed in his ears and reverberated in his heart.
Nothing had changed, and yet home felt brand new. Like learning an exciting new secret about someone he loved, his home was fresh and welcoming. How ironic that he couldn't stand being on that island before. He had been willing to destroy his home to be set free, only for it to be the one place in the whole universe he had wanted more then anything to return to. It was truly wonderful that he was allowed to return.
Footsteps reached Riku's ears. Sora jumped over the paopu tree and leaned against the trunk, relaxing, watching the sun set with his best friend.
"What a small world," Riku said.
"Yup. But part of one that's much bigger."
"Hey, Sora, I've been meaning to ask."
"Yeah?"
"How did you break the keyblade?"
"Snapped it in half, right over my knee," Sora said nonchalantly.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Riku laughed. "That's right, you've got a weapon that's stronger."
"My knee?"
Riku pointed at Sora's chest.
"Yeah, I know," said Sora. "You have the same weapon."
Riku leaned back on the tree, breathing in deep. "So, where's Kairi?"
"She went to the secret place. Said she had some stuff to think about, but she promised to meet us here later."
The two boys settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying the tropical breeze and the sunset, until Kairi's urgent cry made Riku jump off the paopu tree. She ran across the bridge to the little island. The boys walked up to her.
"What's wrong?"
"Sora, Riku, it's-I can't explain! Just come, quick!"
Sora and Riku stumbled as she pulled them across the bridge. They ran to the other side of the island, the side that held the race course and the harbor that had once housed their raft. Kairi led them to the beach by the coconut trees. A new scent reached Riku's nose, one he didn't know. Someone was there, collapsed on the shore.
Sora gasped. "Ariel?"
End of Kingdom Hearts 2.
Author's Note:
Phew. Part one is DONE! It's been some tough writing! I will say, though, that KH3 will be part of this fanfic, and not a fanfic on its own. Basically, the next part of the story will be added to this fanfiction. Updates may slow down a bit as I'm still trying to wrap my head around the TOTAL CRAZY I have planned for KH3.
Thank to all the people that have left kudos and stuck with me on this wild ride. Thank you to all the people that have bookmarked my fic, and to all the people that have left comments. The fact that you've read this project, gave it a chance, and left comments or kudos means the world to me.
Thank you @LunalaRose for enjoying the Sora, Riku, Kairi reunion and always reminding me to stay hydraded. I hope all the readers enjoyed the finale. See you in the next one!
Chapter 32: KH3 Chapter 1: The Raft
Chapter Text
Authors notes:
Warning: DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER AND BEYOND IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE CHAPTERS THAT LEAD UP TO IT.
Major spoilers ahead. This is the second half/sequel of the story. Every chapter leading up to this point has been KH2. From here on is KH3. If you have not read the earlier chapters, you will have no context for most of the story elements that are to come. Please make sure to read chapters 1 through 30 for the full experience.
If you do not care about spoilers and just want to dive in, or if you're a returning reader (welcome back and thank you!) go right ahead. I hope you all enjoy part 2! Or KH3 if you prefer.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Kingdom Hearts Route B Part Two
Kingdom Hearts Three
Prologue: The Meeting
Tethered to others by the bonds in your heart,
You stand on the crossroad, where your next journey will start.
Gone are the days of weakness and doubts,
Yet the corrupted will ask,
"Are you truly devout?"
In the deepest darkness, the true light sleeps.
Forget not your faith, or your heart it will reap.
Mary Poppins was never late. Although an exact appointment time hadn't been set, it was impolite to ignore a summons of such magnitude. The letter that contained said summons was resting perfectly in her silk glove, not moving an inch as Mary floated downward. Holding her black umbrella overhead, Mary gazed at the town where her fated meeting was to take place.
The setting sun painted the buildings in orange and red shadows. Though it was the end of summer, the twilight brought a cool breeze that fluttered through the alleys and along the leaves of the many flower beds decorating the building walls. Trams pushed the air toward Mary, and she felt the soft wind hover along her ankles as her feet touched down on a brick road.
Closing her umbrella and setting it properly under her arm, Mary straightened, facing a restaurant beyond the tram station. The eatery's golden windows flickered, silhouettes of busy wait staff and excited patrons moving behind the glass. The sound of jazz could be heard, along with the clatter of forks and the humming of voices as people excitedly talked over their meals. Outside the restaurant was a small plaza with rows of round coffee tables. The patio of the restaurant was just as busy as the inside, with waiters running around, handing out menus and refilling drinks to the happy customers.
Ignoring the regular citizens of that world, Mary strode to a table at the edge of the plaza and sat across from her target. The old man at her table didn't look up, but didn't ask why she had suddenly taken a seat. Instead, he took a long, delicate sip of his tea, making sure the hot liquid didn't run down his white mustache and long beard. Only when his cup was placed back in its porcelain saucer, and his round spectacles adjusted, did the old man speak.
"Good of you to come, my dear. And on time too."
"Of course," said Mary. "I wouldn't dream of keeping the great wizard Merlin waiting."
The wrinkles around the old man's eyes deepened as he smiled. He placed a purple bag onto the table. Opening it with a click, he pulled out a ridiculously huge scroll that was much too big to have reasonably fit into his tiny bag. A few nearby children caught the magic trick. They tried to get their parents attention, but the adults were too interested in their meals to look up.
Opening the scroll, Merlin cleared his throat.
"This is quite serious. I must admit, I did not believe it when I learned what was happening, not until I saw it myself. I've been running all over, charting as much as I could of this strange phenomenon. Yet, just when I think I have mapped out all the connections, yet another surprise pops up right under my magic wand."
Mary leaned forward, peering at the scroll. If she were surprised by the secrets revealed on the paper, she would not be so foolish as to show it on her face, especially around ordinary townsfolk. Mary Poppins never exclaimed. However, scanning Merlin's work revealed some troublesome facts that made even her feel slightly anxious. Just a touch. She quickly quieted her concerns. Mary always kept a cool head.
"Sir Merlin, you have gone above and beyond what was asked of you. Then again, what did I expect for a wizard that has the foresight of a grandfather clock."
At this, Merlin, let out a frustrated, "hmph!"
"Must you start with that 'old' nonsense? I'm still as spry as I was a hundred years ago!"
Mary didn't even twitch at the wizard's outburst. "Fit as a squirrel and as wise as ever. Just as you say."
She placed a letter on the table, pointing to the broken wax seal. If one were to look closely, they'd notice that the blue wax was in the shape of a pointy wizard's hat with white stars.
"I trust that the master is somewhere in this town?"
Merlin nodded. It was impossible to be angry with Mary for too long, especially when her lovely smile could melt a candle faster then the sun.
"You are correct," Merlin stated. "We are to meet with the master shortly. However, he has requested that we keep these events to ourselves, at least until a course of action is decided upon."
Mary placed the letter in her coat pocket. "Very well. Shall we be off?"
Placing some munny on the table, Merlin rolled up the scroll and stuffed it back into his bag. This time, the surrounding children screamed and pointed, which resulted in some gentle scolding from their parents. Still, the odd event went unnoticed as Mary and Merlin walked away. Once they had turned into an alley, the two of them magically vanished, leaving behind nothing but a sparkling, blue cloud.
The realm of darkness was somehow...different. Vast, constantly changing, full to bursting with hungry creatures that skulked, waiting to ambush exhausted prey, one would have to be lost or crazy to stay in such a place. Oswald felt as though he were both. Countless years he had wondered that wasteland of darkness, searching for his beloved Ortensia. In all that time, not once did the realm of darkness do something new. Between wandering and fighting heartless, he had settled into a predictable dance of survival and searching. But now...
"Something's not right," he said as he tapped his wand against his temple.
Standing in a thorny maze of darkness, Oswald's long, rabbit ears stood straight and stiff on top of his head, listening for the signs of an incoming attack. His wand glowed a brilliant silver color. It had been shimmering since Oswald had casted a holy spell with Kairi. Whenever an attack came, the wand buzzed with light, a final, unintentional gift left to him from his friend.
After a few long seconds, he realized no attack was coming.
Oswald lowered his weapon. "Did the realm of darkness open up? No, I would have felt or heard a change if it did."
Any time there was a tear in the realm of darkness, the stale, motionless atmosphere shifted, bringing with it a fresh breeze, a touch from the realm of light that momentarily pushed away the timeless, endless nothing of the darkness. But Oswald hadn't felt anything like that since Kairi had left.
He paced, tapping his wand in his palm. "If the heartless aren't attacking," he looked up into the dark void above, "then what are they waiting for?"
Chapter One: The Raft
If someone were to walk along the shore of Destiny Islands, watching the seashells being pushed along the sand under the shimmering, gentle waves, they would feel nothing but an overwhelming sense of peace. The sky was clear, the air warm and silky. Falling asleep by the shore would be as simple as lying down and closing one's eyes. Normally, a passerby would spot children playing on the beach, right under the sun.
But for one boy, relaxing was the furthest thing from his mind. Holding a large log under his arm, his other hand clutching a basket, the boy ran across the beach, heading toward the wooden door that led to the other side of the island. Just a few feet away from the door, something stringy looped around his ankle, tripping him. Landing face first onto the ground, the boy spat the warm sand out of his mouth, and then rolled over.
A girl in a yellow dress glared down at him. She pulled her jump rope from his leg, and put her hands on her hips.
"You're not escaping today, Sora. Tidus and Wakka are getting the nets ready. You promised you'd be my partner! We've still got a score to settle!"
Rising up to his feet, Sora shook the sand from his spiky, brown hair. "Selphie, I'm sorry. I don't have time for blitzball today."
"That's what you said yesterday!" She threw her jump rope and it looped around Sora's waist like a lasso. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's so important that you're ditching me and our game. If I'd known you were going to bail on me, I would have asked Riku to be my partner. At least he's reliable. Speaking of which, where is he? I haven't seen him or Kairi since yesterday. Are you guys still grounded or something?"
Sora really wanted to say, "or something." Groaning like a horse that was just too tired to be wrangled, Sora tried to come up with a good enough excuse for Selphie to let him go. Too bad he wasn't very good at lying under pressure.
"I've got something important to do."
Selphie tapped her foot. "Like?"
Something in the ocean shined, catching Sora's eye. He resisted the urge to turn and look at it, but he couldn't stop the tiny twitch in his cheeks, nor did he have the self control not to turn his head slightly. Selphie noticed this. She was about to look out into the sea and search for the distraction, when Sora quickly waved his arms, bringing her attention back to him.
"Trust me, it's super important," he said breathlessly.
There was a splash. Sora wasn't fast enough to stop Selphie from looking out into the waves. When she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, he took a second to relax. He may as well tell Selphie what she wanted to hear, before she noticed things she wasn't supposed to.
"If you let me go take care of it now, I can hurry and be back before the ball game."
Selphie pulled back her jump rope, her green eyes dancing. "Really? Booyaka! Hurry it up then. Tidus and Wakka are going to wish they never took on the two of us!"
Sora quickly picked up his log and the basket before Selphie could change her mind. He ran toward the door. Once he passed through the wooden wall that separated the back of the island from the main beach, he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out into the sea.
"Ariel, are you there? It's safe to come out."
A head popped out from under the water. Sora got closer to the cliff of the small, sandy hill he stood on. He grinned down at the mermaid below him. She returned his smile, pushing her long, red bangs away from her blue eyes.
When she spoke, her voice quivered with excitement and curiosity. "Sora, what's a blitzball?"
"It's a game that my friends made up. You play in the water, trying to punch or kick the ball into the other team's net to score points."
"That sounds like fun. I'd love to see you play." The mermaid swam out to the sea, her silky, long hair floating behind her. "There's so much to discover here, so many things to see. If only we had the time."
She swam in a circle much the same way that someone would pace on land. Then she came back around and pointed to the log under Sora's arm.
"Throw that into the water. I can bring it to the shore."
"Thanks." Putting the log down, Sora kicked it, watching it splash into the water below. "How are Riku and Kairi doing?"
"Working hard." Ariel said as she wrapped her arms around the floating piece of wood. "It's really fun to watch. I wish I could be more help."
Sora walked to a wooden bridge, treading carefully over the poorly constructed walkway. Arial swam by his side in the sea below.
"I still can't believe you were actually human all this time." She watched his legs move with fascination. "You can jump, and run, and dance, or stroll along down a-what's the word-street. It's amazing!" Her smile faded, to be replaced by a distant expression. "I wish I could visit under better circumstances."
A pandemonium of unanswered questions swirled in Sora's mind, but he would have to wait before he could ask them. He could only imagine what Ariel had been though and he didn't want to remind her. Still, he caught Ariel looking out into sea, lost in thought. Then she quickly shook her head, her usual curiosity returning.
"The girl in yellow," Ariel spoke, referring to Sephie. "What was that long thingamabob she was using to keep you trapped. Is it a net for humans?"
Sora nearly choked, forcing down a laugh. Since coming to the Destiny Islands, Ariel had been one big ball of questions. She explored his world with the excitement of a child opening presents on Christmas morning. One simple explanation from Sora was all it took for her to beam with delight.
"No. Her name is Selphie," Sora explained. "And she was using a jump rope. It's for exercising, playing, or, in Selphie's case, fighting."
"Fighting?"
"Yeah, the kids on the island love to compete. We play fight sometimes. Selphie uses a jump rope. Riku and I use toy swords. Tidus, the boy in the shorts, he uses a red stick, and Wakka, that guy with the pointy red hair, uses a ball."
"You don't fight with your keyblade?"
"Not when we're playing. Believe me, I hit way harder when I'm not underwater. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to the kids on the beach."
Sora made it across the bridge. Ariel swam out further into the sea, going around a little cliff and then pulling herself up onto a small beach on the other side. By the time Sora caught up to her, Ariel was already resting on the shore, pushing the log up on the sand. Just a little ways away from Ariel, a boy and a girl worked, tying logs together. Sora met up with them, handing the girl the basket.
"Here you go. One hammer, nails, and some ropes, as ordered."
Rising from her task of lining up logs on the sand, the girl stretched, taking the basket from Sora.
"Thanks," she winked.
Like Ariel, she had red hair and blue eyes, except her hair was shorter and darker then the mermaid's vibrant locks.
"Did you bring the cloth too?"
Sora flinched. "I may have forgotten that. Sorry, Kairi."
She wiped some sweat from her forehead, the silver gauntlet on her arm gleaming as she did so. "What about the last log you promised to get?"
"It's over here." Ariel waved at them from the shore.
The silver haired boy that had been roping the logs together stopped. He picked up the heavy piece of wood that Ariel had pushed ashore.
"Nice job," he said.
"No problem, Riku. It's the least I could do."
"Uh huh. And it wasn't just Sora being lazy?"
"Hey," Sora huffed. "I brought it halfway here."
Ariel covered her mouth, but the shining in her eyes gave away her quiet laughter.
"Okay, okay." Riku placed the log on his shoulder. "Now go get that cloth you forgot."
Sora scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to go back to the main beach right now."
Kairi put her hands on her hips. Despite her rather disapproving stance, her smile was quite relaxed. "What did you do?"
"Selphie. She's on the war path. I promised her we'd take on Tidus and Wakka in a blitzball match. That was way before Ariel got here. I've been putting the match off, but Selphie's getting pushy."
Kairi clicked her teeth. "She's going to keep pestering you till you get it done. You'd better go do it before we finish the raft."
"Watch out for Tidus' trick shots," said Riku.
"What's a trick shot?" Ariel asked.
"It's-I'm not sure how to explain. It's better to see it. Hey, why don't we take a break and get Selphie's thing done? Ariel can watch the game from behind the paopu island."
Ariel clapped her hands. "Really? A game played with feet instead of fins? I can't wait to see it!"
She waded back into the water, giggling as she sunk under the waves.
Kairi tapped Riku's shoulder.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? We've already made her wait a few days while we get the raft ready. Can we really stop working to go watch Sora's game?"
Riku shook his head. "Ariel's home got attacked by darkness, and she doesn't know what happened to her family or friends. She could use a little fun. Besides, if the three of us work together, we should be ready to sail by tomorrow morning."
Sora cracked his back. "With Ariel watching, I'd better give this game my all."
"Show off." Though his words were snappy, Riku's tone was more playful then annoyed.
Kairi smirked. "Wakka and Tidus are going to wipe the floor with you. This will be fun to watch."
Sora raised his eyebrows. "I thought you were supposed to on my side?"
"I'll cheer for you, but there's no way you and Selphie are beating Tidus and Wakka."
"You two haven't beaten them either," Sora retorted.
Riku clicked his teeth. "We could have won last time if Tidus hadn't hit us with his trick shots."
Kairi crossed her arms, pressing her lips together in an attempt to push back a giggle. "Oh sure, we can take on heartless and save the worlds from destruction, but a ball game is the thing we consistently lose at? I'd be embarrassed if it weren't so funny."
The three friends walked to the other side of the island, where Sora met with Selphie on the pier. Across from the pier, was small island that rose up from the sea, in the shape of a wide cylinder. It was the perfect spot to watch the game since it overlooked the beach down below. Riku and Kairi sat on top of the cylinder shaped island, right under the a tree with star shaped fruit. From her spot, Kairi could see Ariel floating behind the island. The mermaid watched the players gather on the beach.
Standing on the sand, across from Sora and Selphie, were a pair of boys. One of them was tall, with a cowlick of spiky, red hair sticking straight up from behind the blue bandana on his forehead. He rolled a ball on his finger, his accent making his taunts sound even more cheeky.
"You're goin' down, brudda."
Sora clicked his teeth. "You wish, Wakka."
Standing next to Wakka, was a blond boy. He wore a pair of jeans, with one pant leg that was longer then the other, and a yellow vest. He stretched, rotating his neck. "This is going to be so easy," he said.
Now it was Selphie's turn to back talk. "You're so annoying, Tidus! Don't go claiming victory before you even play the game!"
The two boys ignored Selphie and Sora. They waded into the sea, setting up a pair of nets that floated on the water thanks to the driftwood attached at the ends. When all four players were in the water, Riku and Kairi cheered from their seat on the paopu island.
Kairi threw her fist in the air. "You can do it, Sora and Selphie!"
"Break their winning streak!" Riku called.
Ariel muttered a tiny "good luck," that no one, except Riku, could hear.
Selphie and Sora stepped into the water.
"Goalies to your spots!" Tidus shouted.
Selphie and Wakka got in front of their team's nets. Meanwhile, Sora and Tidus swam to the middle of the playing field and shook hands. Then, they tossed a ball into the air.
Game on.
Tidus grabbed the ball first, swimming around Sora, and tossing it toward Selphie's net. She punched the ball, sending it careening back toward the shore. Sora managed to swipe the ball before Tidus could catch it. He swam toward Wakka, with Tidus chasing after him. Dunking the ball underwater, Sora kicked it, and it sailed right into Wakka's net.
"One to zero!" Kairi screamed from overhead.
"Keep it up," came Riku's voice.
Grumbling, Wakka threw the ball back into the game. Tidus caught it. Sora swam to steal the ball, but missed when Tidus threw the ball over his head. Sinking into the water, Tidus swam under Sora. The ball came down, but Sora wasn't able to catch it. Tidus burst through the surface of the ocean, distracting Sora with a splash of saltwater, and reclaiming the ball. He feigned right when he neared Selphie. She moved to the wrong side, and wasn't able to block the ball.
Goal!
And so it went. Tidus scored. Sora scored. Rinse and repeat until Selphie whacked the ball so hard that it went sailing right into Wakka's goal. Riku and Kairi roared. Wakka sank below the waves and threw the ball at Tidus, who then snuck a goal right below Selphie's feet while she was too busy celebrating. One minute left and Sora was able to get one more goal in. All he and Selphie had to do was play defense and they could at least walk away with a tie. Sora floated near Selphie, protecting their net.
Wakka and Tidus didn't move. They stayed on their side of the water, watching. For a moment Sora thought they were giving up. There was only fifteen seconds left. Tidus sank below the waves. He came rushing back up to the surface like a breaching shark. He and the ball flew upward. In midair, Tidus flipped, kicking the ball down with such force that neither Selphie nor Sora could stop it. It crashed into their net.
"Time's up!" Kairi called from the paopu tree. "Tidus' team wins!"
Riku leaned forward, shaking his head. "Beaten by another trick shot."
Selphie pointed at the winning team and growled low under her breath. "Next time, we'll get those two for sure!"
"Yeah!"
Grinning, the two losers shook hands, resolving to get even next time.
Meanwhile, Tidus and Wakka were all high fives and chest bumps!
"You and Riku may be the best fighters on the island," said Tidus.
Wakka threw his head back, laughing. "But when it comes to sports, me n' Tidus got no match!"
Despite the loss, Ariel couldn't stop talking about the game when the four of them went back to working on the raft. As Riku, Sora and Kairi put the finishing touches on their vessel, they patiently and happily answered all the mermaid's questions about the game, their home, the raft, what humans did for fun, and what certain "gadgets, whose-its and what-its" were used for in the human world. Time flew by, and the raft was finished just before sunset.
Setting up a campfire, the three friends shared an evening meal with Ariel. When their bellies were full, the serious conversation began.
Sora spoke through a mouthful of cucumber sandwich. "So, Ariel's home is out there somewhere?"
"I think so," Ariel answered. "I swam here after," she swallowed, "after the heartless attacked."
Kairi got up from the campfire and sat down next to Ariel by the shore, putting her hand on the mermaid's shoulder.
"I'm sorry we made you wait until the raft is ready."
Ariel wrapped her arms around her tail. "It's okay. I'm sure Daddy, Flounder, Sebastian and the others are all right." She stared out into the sea, her eyes closing. "They have to be."
"I know you said the heartless attacked your home, but can you tell us the full story? It has to be hard to talk about, but the more we know, the better we can help you."
Ariel rubbed her hands over her tail. Sora and Riku left the fire, sitting down by her. Surrounded by support, Ariel began her story.
"Everything was peaceful one moment, and then heartless poured into my grotto. I've never seen so many. It was like swimming through a sea of octopus ink. Flounder and I made it to the castle, but I couldn't find Daddy, or Sebastian, or anyone really." Ariel paused, staring up into the stars overhead. "I lost Flounder in the chaos. There were too many heartless for me to face by myself. I kept swimming, as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was going. The heartless that swam after me, they were different then the ones Sora and I had fought before. There were these human like creatures, with swords."
"Invisibles," Kairi whispered. "I've seen those in the realm of darkness."
"That's not all. There were those round ones with faces. And some more new ones. There were these spiky ones that dug through the sand, and heartless that looked as though they were made out of water."
"Did they have emblems on them?" Sora asked. "You know, those heart shapes with the thorns."
"No. I have no idea where they came from. I managed to escape. I just kept swimming until I was exhausted. The next thing I knew, I woke up on the beach you three standing over me."
Riku spoke. "Is our ocean connected to Ariel's somehow?"
Kairi fidgeted with her fingers. "The worlds are divided from each other. This shouldn't be possible, unless the heartless are destroying worlds again and Ariel came here because Atlantica disappeared."
Sora shook his head. "I locked the keyhole in Atlantica, so there's no way the heartless can destroy Ariel's world. Remember when our islands were destroyed on my first journey?"
No one saw it, but Riku cringed.
"If our homes are connected, then Atlantica should have disappeared at the same time the islands did back then. There was no way I could have gone there on my first journey, if that were the case."
Riku scratched her temple. "But then how did Ariel get here? Are our worlds colliding or something?"
Sora turned to Ariel. "Are you sure there was nothing else you saw? Nothing out of the ordinary."
Ariel stretched out her tail, letting the sea water wash over her fins. "There was one thing I thought was strange. When I was swimming away, I looked up. There were shooting stars in the sky."
Kairi gasped. "Like a meteor shower?"
Ariel nodded.
Sora and Riku leaned toward Kairi. "Got something?"
"When I was little, the night my world was attacked by heartless, there were shooting stars in the sky. I remember reaching out to one and wishing to go someplace safe. I ended up here."
Sora looked up, scanning for shooting stars. "So, Ariel was brought here the same way you were when you were little?"
"It can't be that simple," Riku surmised. "Why was there such a large outpour of pureblood heartless in Ariel's world?"
"That's what we're going to have to find out. We'd be dumb not to investigate," Kairi said.
"Besides," Sora nudged Ariel's shoulder with his own, "our friend needs our help."
Ariel smiled. "Thanks."
The next morning, the three friends pushed their raft into the water. They watched the Destiny Islands getting smaller as they sailed away. Ariel swam nearby, occasionally pulling herself onto the raft for breaks and snacks. The sea waves were soft, the temperature a perfect blend of warm and breezy, filling the sail and pushing the raft further out into the ocean. Slowly, the islands vanished, and soon they were surrounded by nothing but clear, calm seawater.
Kairi took off her boots and socks, soaking her feet, watching the fish swimming deep below. Occasionally, she would spot a sea shell she liked, and Ariel would swim down to grab it for her. Sora lay down on the raft, staring at the clouds overhead, trying hard not to doze off. Riku stayed by the mast, keeping his senses open.
They drifted without issue for a while. Then, Kairi pulled her feet from the water. She stood up so fast, she nearly tipped the raft over. "Riku, furl the sail."
"What is it?" asked Sora as Riku folded the cloth on the mast.
Ariel surfaced nearby, tilting her head. "Why'd we stop?"
Kairi squinted. "I feel something nearby."
"Darkness?" Sora and Riku asked.
"No, but it's not completely light either. Whatever it is, it's powerful."
Ariel's eyes widened. "Can you pinpoint it?"
"Under the raft. At the bottom of the sea, I think." Kairi jumped off the raft. In midair, she spread her arms and shouted. "Reflect!"
A bubble of magical glass surrounded her. She slammed into the water. Ariel swam around Kairi, poking the magic glass.
"Wow. That's a neat spell."
Kairi grinned as her magic ball began to sink. "Ready to go down there and see what we find?"
"Be careful," said Sora and Riku.
"We got this. Right?" Kairi asked Ariel.
With an excited nod, Ariel dived. Kairi sank. Sora watched her glass ball as it slowly descended into the water, disappearing into the blue depths. He paced on the raft, waiting. Fifteen minutes later, the girls broke through the surface of the water. Kairi, breathless and dripping wet, was pulled back onto the raft by Sora. She looked up at him, an expression of concern on her face. It wasn't until Sora looked at Ariel that he realized why.
She floated by the raft, staring down at the golden trident in her hands. "Daddy," she whispered.
Sora bit his lip. Ariel's father, King Triton, would never let go of his powerful trident. He was about to speak, to comfort Ariel, but something beyond her made his stomach fill with fear. Far away, on the horizon, a wave was swelling, growing wider and taller until it was a rounded hill of water that was set on a collision course with their raft.
Riku reached out his hand. "Ariel!"
As Riku pulled the mermaid onto the raft, Kairi unfurled the sail. Once the cloth was free, Sora pointed his keyblade at it.
"Aeroga!"
A sphere of wind hit the sail, the blast filling the fabric and sending them rocketing out over the waves like a speed boat. They weren't fast enough. The wave was catching up. A round shadow appeared below the blue surface. A moment later, the wave burst. Something grey and massive appeared out of the splash.
Every bone in Sora's body felt as though it had frosted over. "No way."
Riku's eyes widened. "I know that scent, it's-"
Kairi's stumbled backward, her back hitting the mast. "Monstro!"
The beady eyes of a giant whale locked on to the tiny raft. Its bulbous, grey head rose up from under the water, its mouth opening wide, revealing a powerful jaw of rounded, white teeth, and a massive tongue that curled, ready to taste its prey. It swam like a torpedo, the shadow of its head casting shade over the raft as its jaws opened wide.
"Firaga!"
Kairi's fire spell hit the whale right in the eye. Grimacing in pain, Monstro closed his mouth, sinking under the water. The wave from his dive washed over the raft, pushing Ariel off its wooden surface. She vanished into the depths below. Riku gripped the mast, his nails digging into the wood. Sora reached out, grabbing Kairi's arm before she could slip off. The three friends tried to regain their balance as their raft bounced and hurled over the agitated water. Rubbing salt off their faces, they didn't notice the massive blob of darkness that had moved under their raft. Seconds later, a fin slapped the bottom of the raft, breaking it into splinters, and sending all of its passengers up into the air.
The wind screeched in Sora's ears as he tumbled upward, spinning in midair. With his head whirling, he couldn't notice Monstro breach the water below him. Monstro's mouth opened and Sora, Riku and Kairi felt his damp, smelly breathe surround them as they fell toward his throat. Something yellow and hot flashed beneath them. A beam of golden light hit Monster right in his underbelly. Sora saw a glimpse of red hair as Ariel swam forward, the trident raised over her head. The golden weapon glowed and a second later, Ariel threw another powerful beam of light at Monstro, hitting him in his other eye. The whale fell to the side, swimming away. Sora, Riku, and Kairi fell into the tidal waves it left behind.
Sora rolled in an azure storm of bubbles, not knowing which way was up or down. The sea water stung his eyes, but he managed to spot a patch of light. He swam up toward it, breaking through the surface of the sea, drinking in the air. On his third breath, he called out.
"Riku! Kairi!"
"Over here!"
Across the waves, Kairi was using a broken piece of their raft to keep herself afloat. Riku was swimming to catch up to her. She waved at Sora, and then her mouth opened wide in a terrified scream.
"Sora, look out!"
He didn't see the wave that hit him, all he knew was that he was sinking downward, and fast. Pressure beat down on his head, and it took all of his strength to reach the surface one more time. In the midst of the confusion, Sora heard Kairi scream something before another wave slammed him back under the sea. He sank, replaying Kairi's last words in his mind until he lost consciousness.
"Guys, meet back up at Disney Castle!"
Jiminy's Journal
Ariel (First appeared in The Little Mermaid, 1989): A curious mermaid that has always been fascinated by other worlds. She loves to explore and gather human items to add to her collection. Ariel escaped her home after the darkness attacked her underwater city, finding safety at the Destiny Islands. She hopes that, with Sora's help, she is able to find out what happened to friends and family.
Monstro (First appeared in Pinocchio, 1940): A whale of a whale and vicious besides. Sora was swallowed by Monstro on his first adventure. He should be back in Pinocchio's world. Why was he out in the seas near Destiny Islands?
Chapter 33: KH3 Chapter 2: Under The Sea
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Two: Under the Sea
Sora was sinking, sinking, sinking, through an endless black void. Finally, after countless hours of sleep, he landed softly on top of a large disk. The round platform beneath his feet was covered in shimmering, stained glass. Images of his friends were etched into the colorful surface. A peaceful, silver haired boy with closed eyes, a redheaded girl with a smile full of happy tears, a dog with silly, yet kind face, a duck with a sneaky smirk, and a king with a noble spirit. Hovering over all of them was Sora's image, a sleeping boy with a key.
He had never seen this image before, but he had known it in his heart. The echos of his last adventure, the lingering touch of Kairi's and Riku's light, the pictures of his friends in the glass, all filled him with a sugary-sweet warmth. But something was wrong. Something was heading his way. Something cold. Something sad. Something...ancient.
You are being pulled toward your destiny.
Sora shivered, watching as a tiny spout of ink burst up from under the glass. The glass didn't crack, or break, but soon, the comforting images were covered in splotches of messy, black paint.
But it is not the right time. It is too soon.
The paint spread, covering his friends one by one. Sora got on his hands and knees, trying to rub the paint away from the image of the boy with the silver hair, then the girl, then the duck, the dog, and the king. But the paint moved quickly and soon, each one of his friends had vanished. Sora flinched, looking down at his palms. The ink burned, stabbing his skin like shards of broken glass.
It may destroy you.
The ink was moving over his stained glass image now. It had started at his shoes and was rising up to his legs, inching, quickly, toward his heart.
Will you still fight?
Despite the pain and the despair of watching the glass fade into nothing, the answer echoed from within his heart, long before the word even came out of his mouth.
"Yes."
The glass shifted below his feet, rumbling like a current of powerful waves under a pier.
The door will open soon.
The platform was completely covered. He stood on a dais of oil and filth. The smell of mold reached his nose, boiling the acid in his stomach. The black void around him closed in, and he fell to his hands and knees, watching as the ink moved over his hands, rising up to his wrists, then his arms, then his shoulders. Struggling was like trying to break out of tar. The ink pulled him down, and soon, only his neck was untouched from the darkness. As the cold moved up to his chin, he heard one final warning from a soundless voice.
Do not be tempted by the light.
Most people will tell you that the need to go to the bathroom is the most annoying way to wake up. Others will say that the sound of the alarm clock is the worst. But no. The worst way to wake up, is with an itch that won't go away no matter how many times you groggily scratch it. Whatever bug was dumb enough to land on Sora's nose was going to deal with a keyblade fly swatter if they actually succeeded in waking him up. Sora waved his hands in front of his face, but the itching only got worse.
"Come on. Let me sleep!"
"Hey, buddy, I was swimming here! You don't have to be rude," said a gruff voice.
"Swimming?"
Consciousness slowly crept in, bringing with it an even more frustrating sense of discomfort. Wherever he was, it felt cold, like he had been soaking in a bath that had stopped being warm hours ago. The blubbling of water met his ears, and he felt the liquid entering his nose and mouth. Odd though, there wasn't any need to breathe, and that thought finally made Sora open his eyes.
Blurry, rainbow inkblots slowly came into focus. A manta ray flew over head, grumbling something about rude fish people. Surprised, Sora's hand balled into a fist, his fingers sliding over something gooey and rough. It stung. Pulling his hand back, he looked down, and realized three things. First, he was sitting on a large brain coral, with sea anemones all around him. That explained the sting. Second, his legs had been replaced by a long, navy-blue dolphin tail. Third, the underwater garden he found himself in was too breathtaking to look away from. A great reef, alive with fish, crabs, seals, stingrays, eels, and even clams, filled his eyes.
"Wow!"
The only thing that forced Sora's eyes away from his first person aquarium experience was Ariel. She floated in front of him, a breathe of relief escaping her lips.
"You're okay. Thank goodness."
"Where are we," Sora pointed to his tail, "and how did I get this?"
With a sheepish smile, Ariel tucked the trident behind her. "I know I shouldn't use Daddy's trident without permission, but..."
"You saved me?"
"I couldn't let my friend drown, now could I?"
"Thanks Ariel."
"Any time."
Sora gave her his trademark, toothy grin. Moving his face gave him a slight headache though and he grimaced, rubbing his forehead.
"What happened before I blacked out?"
"That giant whale swam off and I dove to save you." Ariel looked away. "I don't know what happened to Riku and Kairi. By the time I was sure you were okay, I lost track of them. I'm sorry."
Sora closed his eyes, replaying Kairi's words in his mind. "Don't worry. I'll take more then a few waves and a giant whale to get rid of those two. I'm sure they're all right, just like I'm sure King Triton, Flounder and Sebastian are all right."
Ariel's eyes softened. "Oh Sora, you nearly drowned and you're worried about me?"
"Of course. And now that I can swim with no problem, finding out what happened to Atlantica and your dad should be way easier."
Just then, a blue fish darted right in front of Ariel's nose. The mermaid leaned back, squinting as the fish waved its fins to get her attention.
"Excuse me," said the fish, "I couldn't help overhearing that you're looking for your father? Maybe you can give us a fin. You see this little guy here," she pointed to a nearby orange fish with white stripes.
"I'm not little," the orange fish huffed. "And don't talk to the weird fish people. What if they're humans in disguise?"
"He's looking for his son," continued the blue fish. "Have you guys seen a little clownfish with one tiny fin? What's his name again? Chico?"
"Nemo," the orange fish rolled his eyes. "For the tenth time, my son's name is Nemo."
"Okay, Mr. Grumpy Gills," the blue fish giggled, not an ounce of sarcasm in her cheerful tone. "Cheer up! Things will work out, you'll see."
"Uh huh," Mr. Orange responded dryly, his eyes narrowing in a mix of annoyance and hopelessness.
Ariel covered her mouth. "You lost your son?"
Mr. Orange's eyes widened when she spoke, and he shivered so harshly it looked as though he were vibrating.
"Y-yes."
"What happened to him?"
Mr. Orange covered his eyes with his fins. He swam in circles, muttering, his three white stripes blurring into one as he swam faster and faster.
"I told him not to swim off without me. I promised to protect him, and now he's gone! This is all my fault! I never should have let him go to school. How am I going to find him? What will he do without me? What if he forgets how to swim with his lucky fin? What if I never find him?"
"Oh no," gasped the blue fish, "you lost your son?" Then she turned around and pointed to Sora and Ariel. "Oh! Maybe these nice fish people have seen him. Excuse me, have you seen his son? What's his name again?"
Sora and Ariel exchanged a confused look.
Mr. Orange stopped mid swim and snapped. "Nemo! His name is Nemo!"
Carefully, Ariel put her hands around the angry fish, guiding him closer so that he floated between her and Sora. When she pulled her hands away from him, he nearly went belly up from terror.
"It's okay, just take a moment to calm down. Deep breaths."
Mr. Orange looked from Ariel to Sora, and then to the blue fish, who had her eyes closed and was happily meditating with relaxed, deep breathing exercises. Sucking in water through his trembling lips, Mr. Orange was able to at least stop shaking.
"Okay. Okay. I'm calm."
Sora wasn't convinced, as Mr. Orange still looked as though he would lose consciousness if someone so much as sneezed in his direction. It was a good thing Ariel was around. Her fearless curiosity and relaxed nature pushed the conversation forward.
"Why don't we start by introducing ourselves. My name is Ariel. This is my friend, Sora."
It took a few seconds for the Mr. Orange to stop panting long enough to introduce himself. "I'm Marlin." He pointed to the blue fish. "And that's Dory."
"Hi!" She put out her fin.
Gently, using only his thumb and forefinger, Sora gave Dory a handshake. Fin shake? Or was it hand-fin shake? Whatever, thought Sora as he shook his head.
"Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine. So, what are you two doing on this fine underwater day? And what's with the golden thingy?" Dory pointed to Ariel's trident.
The two merfolk shrugged. "It's a long story," they said.
"Oh! I love stories!" Dory darted excitedly in font of Sora's face. "Tell me, tell me!"
Marlin sighed. "Listen folks, thanks for humoring us, but I've really got to get going. I've got to find clues on Nemo and the longer I wait, the further he gets. Nice meeting you."
"Wait!" Ariel darted forward, getting in Marlin's way. "Maybe we can look for Nemo together?"
"That's really nice of you, but I think I'll be better off on my own."
"Aw come on," Dory swam around Marlin. "Let them come, the more the merrier!"
Marlin groaned. "Funny, I don't remember asking you to come with me either."
"Don't be like that. Teamwork makes the dream work, ya know."
"She's right," said Sora, catching up with the rest of the fish folk. "Ariel and I have to explore the sea anyway. Why don't we come along and help look for Nemo at the same time?"
"What are you exploring the sea for?" asked Dory. "Wait, don't tell me, let me guess." She pointed at Sora, speaking in a low voice. "You are searching for the clues to a strange phenomenon you can't explain."
Sora wrinkled his nose. "How did you-"
"And you," Dory continued, moving on to Ariel, "want the freedom to explore a world outside your own but are held back by a responsibility you never saw coming."
Ariel's mouth opened. Leaning toward Marlin, she whispered, "Is Dory able to read thoughts?"
"No," Marlin groaned, "she has an overactive mind as well as short term memory loss."
"Oh, so that's why she keeps forgetting Nemo's name."
"Yup," Marlin continued. "Don't take anything she says too seriously. She'll forget about it in a few minutes anyway."
"Forget what?" asked Dory.
Marlin gasped, pointing at something overhead. "Look! A boat!"
"Where?" said Sora, Ariel and Dory, looking around excitedly.
"Beyond the reef, let's go!"
Marlin led the way, swimming away from the reef. It was about five minutes of swimming before Sora and Ariel realized that Marlin hadn't seen a boat at all. By then, Dory had forgotten all about Marlin's fib and was content to float after the sourly fish. As they swam away from the bustling reef and into the quiet, calm sea ahead of them, Sora thought about Dory's oddly specific words. He leaned toward Ariel and whispered.
"Now that I think about it, I've never seen fish like Dory and Marlin on my islands."
Ariel nodded, matching Sora's lowered voice.
"And I've never seen a whale like Monstro before. At least not in my father's oceans. I'm not sure how other worlds work. Daddy refused to talk to me about it when I asked him last time."
"I've been to a bunch of different oceans," Sora explained. "And each one has been separate. My islands, Atlantica, Atlantis, even Neverland and Hollow Bastion had their own seas. The fish in Atlantis were different then the ones in Atlantica. Neverland had a crocodile that I haven't seen anywhere else. Monstro should be in Pinocchio and Jiminy's world. And was it just me or did it seem like Marlin had never seen merfolk before?"
Ariel leaned her head on her trident. "When I helped you down safely to the bottom of the reef, I had gotten some weird looks from the fish and crustaceans. I thought it was just because I had turned a human into a merman, but, now that you mention it, Marlin was seriously afraid of me before."
"Either my islands, Atlantica, Monstro's and Marlin's worlds are somehow melting together, or people and animals are getting thrown out of their worlds into others."
Ariel squeezed her trident to her chest. "If it's true that the oceans are connecting, then my search has gotten even harder. I would have loved to explore all the people and things of other worlds, but I have to make sure Daddy and the others are safe first."
"And we have to help Marlin and Dory," Sora added. "Speaking of, hey Marlin!"
The clownfish turned around.
"Can you tell us exactly what happened to Nemo? How did he get lost?"
Marlin slumped, floating downward. "He swam out to touch a boat. I told him not to! And then, the boat turned all dark, like it was covered in ink or toxic sludge. Nemo disappeared with it."
Ariel bit her lip, whispering in Sora's ear. "The ink. That sounds like the heartless that attacked Atlantica."
"So the boat must have been covered in darkness," Sora whispered back.
Marlin narrowed his eyes at Sora and Ariel. "You two know something."
"Are you guys sharing secrets?" Dory swam to Sora's ear. "You can tell me! I'm great at keeping secrets!"
"Yeah, out with it! It might help me find Nemo."
Not for the first time in months, Sora dearly missed Donald and Goofy. Their presence would have helped him wrap his head around the big mess he found himself in. He could already imagine Goody's kind words of reassurance. If he were there, Goofy would have placated Marlin without giving too much away. And Donald's angry commentary would have sparked some idea in Sora about how to deal with the situation. Even Jiminy's insight would have set Sora straight. But he was on his own, so he had to think fast.
Lucky for him, Dory picked that moment to be distracted by something.
"Hey! I bet there are loads of neat stuff in there."
Before anyone could stop her, Dory darted straight ahead. They had crossed into a deeper section of the sea. Down below was a great chasm of grey and blue shadows. Dory swam down toward it without a care in the world, swimming through the field of metal balloons that were tethered to the sand by rusted chains. On the sea floor, there was a long, metal oval. Marlin swallowed at the sight of it.
Ariel pointed at the oval wreckage. "Sora, I've never seen anything like it. Isn't it fantastic? What is it?"
"Cool, a submarine! Humans use it to explore under the sea."
Ariel's eyes widened and she swam after Dory exclaiming. "A ship that can explore below the waves! Is there anything humans can't think up?"
Marlin cringed. "Does your friend have short term memory loss too?"
"No," Sora laughed. "She just loves to explore anything related to humans."
Marlin glared at Sora. "Why would she want to do that? Humans are dangerous! Those two are going to hurt themselves! Dory, Ariel! Wait for me!"
"Relax Marlin," Sora said as he swam down, "there's nothing in there that Ariel and I can't handle."
"Oh sure, you say that now, but none of you know just how dangerous the sea actually is! If Nemo had just listened to me, we never would have come to such a gloomy place! Dory, Ariel, where are you?"
Sora was about to comfort Marlin, but his patented "don't worry" speech was stopped by a scream that echoed up from the submarine down below. The next thing Sora knew, he was kicking his tail as hard as he could. He burst into the sub through a broken porthole. Marlin darted in behind him, bumping into Sora's back. When he recovered from his slight crash, he covered his mouth at the sight of the tiny space they found themselves in.
In the murky, mossy, corroded innards of the submarine, there were round creatures. Yellow eyes swiveled about, searching for prey. Like burnt meatballs with teeth, the creatures flashed forward, chewing on the water, ready to turn Sora and Marlin into minced tuna.
Marlin yowled, darting about in absolute panic. His tiny shape made it easy for him to slip though the open spaces between the heartless. Once he was out of the way, Sora stabbed his keyblade into the mouth of the nearest heartless. The creature burst, the dark dust it left behind dissipating into the water.
Marlin, still screaming, ducked and weaved away from black teeth and frayed tentacles. It was the perfect distraction. While the heartless tried to take a bite out of the slippery clownfish, Sora swam forward, slicing through the dark spheres one by one.
Marlin stopped for a few seconds to catch his breathe. Now that the space had less heartless in it, he was able to spot something blue and yellow.
"Dory! Get away from those things! Swim away!"
But Dory wasn't listening. She was "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" at the light show that was erupting from Ariel's trident as the little mermaid blasted the heartless one by one. Maneuvering around Ariel's attacks, Marlin got to Dory. He grabbed her fin and tried to pull her up through the sunken staircase overhead.
"Aw, I wanted to watch," Dory complained, pulling her fin back.
"Are you crazy? We have to get out of here!"
With the two fish over Ariel's head, arguing but otherwise out of danger, the mermaid was able to knock a few heartless at Sora, swinging the trident like a baseball bat. Sora sliced through the heartless that were thrown his way. Then, one of the darkballs thrashed in the water, darting back and forth, seemingly in random directions, but it moved in just the right way to avoid Ariel's blasts, getting dangerously close to her. Ariel flipped in the water, whacking the heartless back with her tail. It spun toward the floor of the submarine corridor. A second later, it was stabbed through by an icicle, courtesy of Sora's blizzard spell. He used that opening to swim to Ariel's side.
"Can I take the trident for a spin?"
Ariel winked, understanding dancing in her eyes. Grabbing the end of the weapon with Ariel, the two of them spun, kicking their fins so hard and fast that they blurred into a miniature whirlpool. Whatever heartless was unlucky enough to be too close got cleaved in half by the edge of the trident. The rest were smacked into the barnacles that had long since invaded the walls of the forgotten sub. Sora broke the whirlpool, dispatching the rest of the heartless with a few blizzard spells.
Once the heartless were gone, the tiny submarine corridor felt less like a can of sardines, the extra breathing room giving Sora and Ariel enough space to high five their victory. Now that the danger had passed, they looked up the stairs to find Dory clapping her fins.
"Fantastic! Bravo!"
Marlin slumped against the top stair. "Oh man, I thought we were goners. Thanks for protecting us."
"Ooh, what's up here?"
Now that the show was over, Dory was finally interested in going up the staircase that Marlin had tried to yank her through earlier. Marlin was the first to follow, grumbling at Dory for being easily distracted. As Ariel and Sora entered the upstairs control room, they shared a knowing laugh.
The room above was full of broken dials and rusted buttons. Dory and Ariel swam around, pressing the switches while Marlin complained that they shouldn't touch anything.
"Come on, let them have a little fun," said Sora.
"What if more of those chewy ball things appear? We should get out of here."
Ariel huffed at Marlin. "Don't be such a guppy."
"I'm not a guppy, I'm a clownfish. And I'm also careful, something this group could use a lot more of."
"You sound like my father. Not everything is dangerous, you know. Sometimes you need to take a little risk to find something amazing."
Marlin turned on his side, as though he were lying down in the water. He sank. Sora threw out his hands, catching Marlin before he could smack the cold, rusty, submarine floor. Lying down in Sora's palms, Marlin hiccuped. All of the adrenaline and bluster from earlier had turned his muscles into jelly.
"Oh my stomach."
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just give me a second. Taking care of these-"
Marlin flipped back upright, staring at something over Sora's head. Just as the boy turned to look up, Marlin's exhaustion was suddenly forgotten as he zipped up toward the broken ceiling. Outside, Marlin swam around a green diver's mask that was stuck on a twisted metal piece of the submarine's outer wall.
"I know this mask! The boat that took Nemo had it hanging off the side!" He squinted at the letters on the mask's headband. "What do these markings mean? Shoot, I can't read human!"
The word "human" caught Ariel's attention. She swam up to stare at the mask, her eyes as wide as her smile.
"What's this gizmo? Sora, have you ever see something so amazing? What do humans use this for?"
"It's a diving mask. Humans can't see through water very well, so they wear those when they swim."
"Wow, you sure are knowledgeable," said Dory, giving Sora a light smack on his arm.
Ariel picked up the mask, turning it over. She put the goggles over her eyes, marveling at the distorted images she saw through the plastic.
"Wow, is this how humans see? How are you able to stay standing, Sora?"
"I want to try," Dory said.
She swam under the googles, balancing them on top of her head.
"Dory, that's not a toy."
The moment Marlin's fins got on it, Dory tried to pull it back.
"Hey, wait your turn! I had it first!"
"Just give it here, before your hurt yourself."
"No, it's mine! Gimme!"
Dory and Marlin stretched the mask between them, each pulling it in a fishy tug of war until the rubber headband reached its maximum limit for stretching and snapped back into place. The two fish flew backward into Sora and Ariel's hands. Marlin shook his head, gasping, pointed downward.
The goggles were sinking and fast, straight toward a dark abyss right under the submarine. Sora and Ariel dove after it, but stopped when a wall of heartless appeared in their way. These weren't darkballs. Instead, they looked like demonic umbrellas with two, small, bat-like wings coming out of their backs. Blue tentacles with swirling blue veins, grew out from under their round, open, umbrella-shaped heads.
Forgetting about the mask for a second, Sora lunged to the left, barley avoiding getting rammed by the heartless. Within seconds, the heartless surrounded the swimmers, trapping them in a whirlpool. Marlin and Dory heaved, getting sick as the heartless manipulated the water around them to make them spin faster. Sora felt as though he were being flushed down a toilet and he couldn't stop the feeling of his brain somersaulting in his own skull.
Turning like a top, Ariel raised the trident over her head.
"Aeroga!"
A sphere of wind surrounded the group, fighting back against the current and allowing Sora to stay still just long enough to throw his keyblade out of the whirlpool. It flew in an arc, slicing through the circle of water core heartless and breaking the whirlpool.
"Now I'm really going to hurl," Marlin groaned.
Ariel pressed her forehead on the cool surface of the trident. Sora raised his keyblade and chanted a healing spell. As the green petals of the spell came over them, Dory was the first to recover. She looked at the tired faces and swam around them to catch their attention, completely forgetting the spiraling trap that had put them in that state in the first place.
"Hey, what's with all the mopey faces, people?"
"Are you kidding me?" Marlin snapped. The dizziness may have faded thanks to Sora's healing spell, but there was no magic that could cure a sour mood. Still, it seemed as though Marlin's intensity had lessened a bit, as he sounded more tired then furious. "We get attacked by water monsters and to top it all off, we lose the mask. What now?"
Marlin covered his eyes, letting out yet another long suffering sigh.
Dory puckered her lips, swimming close to Marlin. "You know what you do when life gets ya down?"
"What?" Marlin barked, not uncovering his eyes.
"Just keep swimming." Dory bounced, waving her fins, singing. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming."
Holding Marlin's fin, Dory began to pull him down below the submarine. Marlin grit his teeth at the sight of the underwater cliff they were about to dive into. Complete blackness waited for them down below. Still, Dory had absolutely no fear, and soon Sora and Ariel were singing along with her song.
Marlin turned around to glare at the two merfolk as if to say "you too?" Before he got the chance to bluster, darkness descended around them, and he was completely blind in the black void at the bottom of the sea. The trident began to glow in Arial's hand, illuminating their surroundings like an underwater flashlight.
Finding the mask turned out to be easy, thanks to teamwork, just as Dory had said. It had been stuck on a wayward coral all the way at the bottom of the sea.
"Great, we found it." Marlin said. "But I still can't read human."
"Don't worry," Sora said, picking up the goggles and turning them over so that he could take a look at the writing on the rubber headband. "I can read it."
Dory floated over the mask in Sora's hands. "It's a good thing we've got someone like you on our side. Gee, I wish I could read 'P. Sherman, Forty Two, Wallaby Way, Sidney.'"
Marlin gave Dory a wide eyed, twitchy stare. "Did you just read the mask? You can read?"
Dory blinked, and then gasped. "Oh! I guess I can! Hey, I can read!"
Ariel and Sora shared a laugh, both at Dory's cluelessness and at Marlin's rather exasperated expression.
"What was it?" Marlin repeated. "P. Herman, something."
"P. Sherman, forty two, Wallaby Way, Sidney." Dory gasped, putting her fins around her mouth. "I remembered it! I usually have a hard time remembering things, but I remembered it this time!"
"Sidney," Marlin repeated. "That's where we need to go."
Arial took the goggles and tied them under the three spikes of her trident. "Well, what are waiting for?"
Traveling with Marlin and Dory was like watching a grumpy grandpa trying in vain to reign in his hyperactive grandchild. It didn't help that Sora and Ariel meshed a little too well with Dory's excitement. Swimming through an endless ocean, Dory, Sora and Ariel messed around, while Marlin, trying his best to ignore them, led the way, letting out a loud, tired sigh every so often.
"Where are we going," giggled Ariel.
"I'll tell ya where we're going. Straight to P. Sherman," Dory pointed at Sora. "Take it away!"
"Forty two," Sora sang.
Ariel flipped. "Wallaby way!"
Dory, Ariel and Sora clapped. "SIDNEY!"
Dory swam, belly up, chanting. "I can say it all day. P. Sherman..."
Marlin rubbed his temples with his fins, trying to block out the rather repetitive cheers his three companions had been saying for the last two hours. Lucky for him, there were several schools of fish in the reefs up ahead.
Leaving Sora, Dory and Ariel behind him, Marlin swam up to the other fish, waving. "Excuse me? Can someone give me directions, please?"
A school of fish moved toward him.
"Ah, thank you. I need-"
The fish swam around Marlin, going past him and past Sora, Ariel and Dory, who where still working on their coordinated cheers.
Sighing, Marlin tried to ask a passing moorish idol for help, but the black, white and yellow fish swam right past him.
"Can someone help me please?"
A yellowtail corris swam by, then a zebra lionfish, and even a tumpetfish, but none of them stopped to give poor Marlin the time of day.
"Excuse me...can someone just...and no one's listening. Great."
By this time, Sora, Ariel and Dory had caught up.
"Hey buddy! What's got you down?" said Dory.
"You really have to ask? All I want to do is find my son, and no one here," he raised his voice, screaming, "has a single bit of courtesy to stop for five seconds and give me some stupid directions!"
"Whoa there! I'm sensing a lot of frustration. Relax. Someone will give us a fin, right? Ooh, how about those guys!"
Whole crowds of fish were rushing through the reef, straight toward Marlin.
Dory smiled, waving at the oncoming underwater stampede. "Hi there! Would one of you fine gentlefish give us some-"
Marlin reached out, grabbed Dory's fin and pulled her behind a brain coral. Sora and Ariel ducked, watching as the fish swam overhead.
"Wow, you weren't kidding, they really are rude," said Dory as she stared at the retreating tail-fins.
More fish flashed by, and Sora spotted a series of panicked expressions on their scaly faces.
"Something feels off."
"Look there!"
Ariel pointed up. The underside of a boat appeared by the surface of the ocean. Something was being dragged underneath it. Slowly, Ariel moved up, unable to tear her eyes away from the long, black net under the boat.
The crisscrossed ropes were smoking. Black flakes crumbled off the nets, spreading into the surrounding water, making it hotter. The net was empty, except for one fish. Sora's gut twisted, but it was Ariel that swam out toward the net first.
"Flounder!"
The yellow and blue fish in the net, turned around, his eyes filling with joy for one second before he frantically waved his fins in warning.
"No! Ariel, don't come near it! You won't be able to get out once you're caught!"
Ariel froze, inches away from the net. She raised her trident.
"Flounder, head to the top of the net. I'm going to blast the bottom."
"Don't!"
But Ariel didn't listen. A golden bolt of lightning slammed into the bottom of the net. The energy fizzled out along the interwoven strands. The net trembled, growing wider. Like an a series of tentacles, the net split open, and wrapping around Ariel, pulling her inside. The trident slipped from her fingers as she struggled.
Sora kicked his fin as hard as he could, but he wasn't able to reach her before she was pulled into the net with Flounder. Catching the trident before it landed on the sea floor, Sora swam toward the net, careful not to get too close.
Inside the dark trap, Ariel and Flounder reunited. She hugged the pudgy, yellow fish.
"I'm so glad you're all right."
Flounder sniffed, burying his face into Ariel's shoulder.
"Hold on, you guys," Sora called, "I'll get you out."
He neared the net, but was stopped when Marlin popped up right in front of his face.
"Are you crazy? You can't just swim up to a boat!"
"We can't just leave Ariel and Flounder in there!"
"But you saw what that net did! If you try attacking it, it could swallow us up next!"
"Ooh, shiny!"
Sora and Marlin cringed, turning toward Dory's voice. While they had been busy arguing, she had gone up to the underside of the boat, where something pink and purple was glowing.
"I want to touch it."
"DORY, NO!"
Marlin swam, crashing into Dory and knocking her away from the boat's underbelly. With Dory out of the way, Sora was able to get a good look at the sparkling thing that had distracted her. Under the boat was a giant, black barnacle. Something glimmered from inside it. Shades of white, pink, and gold sparkled, almost like...
"A heart! That barnacle has been taken over by darkness!"
From the central hole of the barnacle came out several tentacles that looked a lot like the net lines that Ariel and Flounder were trapped in. The tentacles wiggled, stretching, chasing after Dory and Marlin. The two fish let out into a pair of terrified screams as they swam over and under the attacking tentacles.
Nearing the underside of the boat, Sora threw his keyblade at the barnacle, cracking its outer shell. Realizing it couldn't capture its prey with Sora posing as a threat, the tentacles turned around, flashing toward Sora.
"Blizzaga!"
Spears of ice surrounded Sora, providing cover, allowing him to swim far enough not to be caught by the net tentacles. One of the spears got through, crashing into the barnacle. A piece of the outer shell fell off the barnacle, and through the hole, Sora could see the cloud of darkness inside. The black smoke swirled around a captured heart. For one second, the net around Ariel and Flounder slacked. Then the strings tightened again, pulsing angrily. The net began to shrink.
Ariel and Flounder moved away from the sides of the net, but soon they would have no room to maneuver, and Sora didn't want to guess what the dark netting would do once the two of them were out of wiggle room.
Marlin and Dory swam around Sora's head. Marlin, panicked, chanting, "what do we do, what do we do, what do we do" while Dory swam after him singing, "Ring Around the Rosy." The whiplash of anxiety and obliviousness was giving Sora a massive headache and he felt as though his skull was going to crack open any second! If only the net would bust open instead, at least it would solve one of his problems.
"That's it! Marlin, Dory, swim toward the net."
"Okay," said Dory.
"What? No! Don't you dare!"
Too late, Dory was halfway to the net. Marlin hesitated, unsure if he should go after her or scream at Sora.
"Trust me," Sora winked. "I got this! Teamwork, remember? But if we don't hurry, we'll lose our chance."
Marlin pressed his lips together, looked at the net, back at Sora, and back at the net again. Though it felt like hours, when it was really less then a second, Marlin finally moved toward the net, muttering under his breath.
"Okay, okay. This is crazy, but I'll be okay. I can't believe I'm doing this! This is so stupid!"
Dory was inches away from the net, and Marlin was right behind her. Sora swam back toward the boat as quickly as he could, raising Ariel's trident. The moment the two little fish got near the dark edges of the net, Sora fired a blast of energy from the trident. The second the spell hit the net, it opened up, ready to swallow Dory and Marlin. The two fish screamed, their disorganized swimming somehow too random to be caught by the tentacles. The net struggled to close around the pair of them, especially Marlin. He darted back and forth between the dark strings so fast that he started to tie the lines into knots. Dory was caught, but Marlin was still zigzagging through the strings.
The net opened up as it tried to add more tentacles to catch Marlin. Ariel, Flounder and Dory finally had space to move, but couldn't escape the net as the bottom was still violently trying to catch Marlin.
Sora ignored the net entirely, swimming toward the top, near the barnacle. The net swallowed Marlin a second later, but it didn't matter. Sora slammed his keyblade into the barnacle's shell, shattering it, and slicing through the darkness inside. The heart popped out of the darkness, floating up toward the surface of the water, vanishing.
With nothing to sustain it, the barnacle heartless faded away. The remaining pieces of the shell, the tentacles and the netting disintegrated. Ariel, Flounder, Dory and Marlin swam out.
Marlin whooped, singing. "We did it! We did it! Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! I won't be caught today! I am free, hooray! Look out Nemo, I am on my way!"
Dory followed his zigzagging swim pattern, joining in, "P. Sherman Forty two, Wallaby way, is what I say!"
The boat, now that it wasn't weighed down by the heartless underneath it, sailed away. Even Ariel ignored it as she happily reunited with Sora and Flounder, giving the pair of them a hug. Dory, not wanting to be left out, hugged Sora's shoulder.
"Come on," she waved at Marlin.
"Oh all right," Marlin smiled, squeezing Sora's other shoulder.
"That was awesome," said Flounder. "How you zip zapped through those tentacles so fast that they got all tangled! You're so brave!"
For the first time since meeting him, Marlin wore a grin that didn't have a hint of nervousness in it. While he was enjoying the compliments, Ariel took the trident back from Sora.
"Thank you for saving us," she said.
"Of course. We're even now."
Something green floated down from overhead, swimming around Sora and Marlin.
"That was gnarly, dudes!"
A sea turtle flew through the water, winking at Sora.
"Yo, that was awesome, dude! First you were like, 'Oh no! How do I save my bros?' And then you, mini man," the turtle pointed his fin at Marlin, "you were like, 'WHOA!'"
Marlin tilted his head to the side. "Sorry, I'm kind of confused. We did what now?"
"You and dolphin boy here! Takin' on the dark barnacle net. Sick moves bro. Respect."
Sora bowed. "Thanks, Mr. Turtle."
The turtle snorted. "Naw, dude. Mr. Turtle is my father. Name's Crush."
"Really? Crush?" Marlin shook his head. "Okay, Crush. Maybe you can help us out."
"After that spectacular show, for sure. What do you need, dude?"
"We need to get to Sidney."
Crush slapped his fins on his head. "Yo! I got ya! We'll surf on the EAC! It'll take you straight there."
"EAC?" Sora, Ariel, Dory and Flounder repeated.
"The East Australian Current, man. It's not that far. Come. Follow, my dudes."
Sora relaxed, for once, letting the water move him. He floated in a long, wide, underwater tube that was made entirely out of fast moving water. The East Australian current was stronger then the rest of the ocean and it pushed him along under Crush, Marlin and Dory. He barely had to kick his tail to be propelled forward. Ariel and Flounder swam at Sora's side, catching up.
"I'm so glad you are all right," said Ariel. "When I couldn't find you in Atlantica, I was so worried."
Flounder looped around Ariel's shoulders, delighted to be moving about freely. "I was worried too! I got blown around by a huge dark current! Next thing I knew, I woke up on a reef I didn't recognize. While I was looking for you, I got caught by that net!"
"Do you know what happened to Daddy? Or Sebastian?"
Flounder shook his head. "I thought I was the only one that escaped."
Sora waved, catching Flounder's attention. "Did you notice anything weird about the ocean, the darkness, or the heartless?"
Flounder pressed his lips and tapped his fin on his temple, giving him a look that was equal parts nervous and introspective. "Those chewy ball things-"
"Darkballs."
"Right, those. I did notice a few of them heading to the surface, leaving the water. I don't know where they were going though."
"You're talking about those burnt looking ball monsters, right dude?"
Flounder, Ariel and Sora looked up. Crush nodded down at them.
"Seeing a lot of those weirdos in the sea. They're a total bummer man, along with the darkening."
"Darkening?" Sora repeated.
"Yeah, dude! Rumors from all over about coral going all black and acting all possessed."
"Like the barnacle I fought earlier?"
"That's the one. Even the seagulls got the nerves, bro. Been hearing stories of about weird stuff going down in Sydney too."
Marlin paled. "But Nemo is there. This is all my fault. I promised I'd never let anything happen to him and now those weird creatures..." he shuddered.
"You've got to have a little more faith, mini man," said Crush.
"What do you mean?"
"You're looking for your son, right? Your lil dude's going to have to face the world sooner or later. See, we sea turtles let your little guys fly solo, try things out for themselves, so when it's their turn to shred the waves, they know what to do, ya know?"
Marlin shook his head. "But Nemo is different. He has a little fin, and if something happens to him, I..."
"I can understand why you're worried," said Sora. "It's because you care. So much that it hurts sometimes. But if I hadn't believed in you before, I never would have taken down that barnacle heartless. You just have to be brave enough to give Nemo a chance. If you've got it in you, then I'm sure Nemo has it too."
"Righteous," nodded Crush. "I like the way you think, dude."
Marlin shook his head. "But what if I let him try, and he messes up? Or gets hurt?"
"My father is a lot like you," said Ariel. "He wants to protect me, so he never lets me do anything." Ariel crossed her arms. "I wish he didn't treat me like a child. I can take care of myself just fine."
Marlin expression saddened. "Do you wish he would leave you alone? Did you run away?"
Ariel shook her head. "No. We got separated. So, whether Daddy likes it or not, I have to do things on my own. I still miss Daddy, and I know in my heart that he's all right. I want to believe in him. I'm sure Nemo believes in you too."
Marlin turned away, but he wasn't very good at hiding the shuddering hiccups that made his body bounce up and down. Ariel and Sora exchanged grins. Dory burst into obnoxious tears.
"That's so touching! I love family stories!"
"Chya," Crush agreed.
Jiminy's Journal
Marlin (First appeared in Finding Nemo, 2003): An overprotective and impatient clownfish that is looking for his son, Nemo. Although he's a bit too cautious, Marlin didn't run away when Dory and his friends are in danger. He will do everything in his power to find Nemo, even if it means traveling through the very same ocean he's terrified of.
Dory (First appeared in Finding Nemo, 2003): A surgeonfish that suffers from short term memory loss. This doesn't seem to bother Dory much, especially since her natural optimism gets her through the toughest of situations. It's a good thing too because it seems as though Marlin could use a lot of cheering up on his journey.
Crush (First Appeared in Finding Nemo, 2003): Even though he's one hundred and fifty years old, Crush has the exuberance and relaxed attitude of someone much younger. Thanks to his guidance, in both life and in directions, it seems as though Marlin and the others are on the right path.
Flounder (First Appeared in The Little Mermaid, 1989): Ariel's best friend. Flounder is a pudgy, yellow fish with blue stripes. Although he's not as fearless as Ariel, he is loyal and always willing to join her on her adventures.
Chapter 34: KH3 Chapter 3: Sydney
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Three: Sidney
"All right dudes! Here comes your exit!"
Crush pointed straight ahead. There was an upcoming split in the current, like a road getting divided into two separate paths. The East Australian current continued on the left. The right path, on the other hand, looped into a spiral shape that faded into the rest of the ocean.
"Ready?" asked Crush.
Sora and Ariel, and Dory saluted. "Ready!"
Marlin took one look at the curling vortex of terror that was their stop, and gulped. He and Flounder gave Crush hesitant looks.
"Are you sure this is safe?" asked Marlin.
"For sure, dude! Alright bros, grab your exit buddy!"
Dory grabbed Marlin tight. Ariel held Flounder's fin and Sora's hand.
"Remember dudes, rip it, roll it and punch it."
"Huh?"
Just as Marlin opened his mouth, Crush took an abrupt stop, and both he and Dory fell straight forward, toward the spiraling current.
"Good luck, dudes!"
Wearing matching, pumped grins, Sora and Ariel dived straight into the current right after Marlin and Dory. Flounder clutched Ariel's arm, eyes closed, gritting his teeth. The current looped and bounced like a water-slide. Ariel and Sora threw up their arms and whooped. Up ahead, Marlin and Dory exited out of the current and into calmer waters. Their screams had turned into laughter.
"That was fun," gasped Marlin. "I actually enjoyed that."
"I want to go again," said Dory.
"No! Let's never do that again!" Flounder cried when he and Ariel came out of the current.
"Most excellent!"
Crush's voice echoed from overhead and the party looked up. He was swimming against the current, waving.
"Now turn your fishy tails around and swim straight on through to Sydney."
Marlin waved back. "Thanks dude! Oh! Wait! How old you?"
"A hundred and fifty dude!"
Sora's jaw dropped. "No way."
"And still young! Rock on" Crush called before the current pushed him away.
After a round of quiet giggles, the party turned around in the direction of Sydney. Blue, murky water was all that lay ahead. There were no coral, no boats, no fish, just the vast void of the sea.
"Wow," said Dory, staring out into the water. "We're going in there?"
"Yup," said Marlin. "Everyone ready?"
"You bet," said Sora.
"Sure," said Flounder, shivering. He stuck close to Ariel's side. "Let's go."
They swam endlessly through the thick murk. Dory entertained herself, with "I spy" games, which got old really quick since Dory kept "spying" Marlin over and over. It got so bad that Flounder lost his patience decided to "I spy" something else, which was enough to distract Dory until she forgot the game entirely. Eventually Dory settled on humming while the party moved through the water in relative silence, though Sora and Ariel did catch themselves occasionally singing, "just keep swimming" under their breathe when Dory's hums needled into their minds.
With nothing else to do, Sora couldn't help but think about Riku and Kairi. The pair of them were great swimmers, and he was sure they were all right, but if he was having this much trouble under the ocean, he couldn't imagine what kinds of crazy was going on above the surface. Sora shook his head. If there was one thing he learned from Goofy, it was that these stupid worries weren't going to do anything except make him panic. Everything would be all right, it always worked out somehow.
But, said a tiny voice in Sora's mind, that was before the worlds were possibly melting together, before new, pureblood heartless were showing up. An icy touch of dread caressed his ears. He felt the familiar warnings of a dark place with colorful glass. Whatever was happening, it was all...
"Too soon," Sora whispered.
Ariel, who had been swimming quietly at his side, tilted her head.
"What's too soon?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing."
"Um, is it just me," whimpered Flounder, "or is the water getting darker?"
Sora looked around. The ocean had dimmed. Looking up, he couldn't spot the sparkling of the sun on the surface. He couldn't see the undulating, white reflections of daylight on his skin. In fact, he could barely see his hands in front of his face.
Marlin huffed. "Have we been swimming downward this whole time?"
"I don't think so," said Flounder. "I was sure I was going straight."
"Then we've been going in circles! I knew I swam by the same spec three times!"
"Oh relax," said Dory. "The sun probably just went down."
"But this doesn't feel like the ocean at night," whispered Ariel. "Let's just head up to the surface and try to get an idea of where we are."
Marlin was already heading up. "Great idea."
Dory and Flounder chased after the clownfish while Ariel hung back with Sora. She rubbed her shoulder with her free hand.
"This reminds me of what happened in Atlantica."
"Do you think this is what Crush was talking about. The weird stuff that's going on around Sydney." Sora's eyes narrowed. "The darkening."
"Could be." Ariel's hand tightened around the trident.
The closer they swam toward the surface, the more water shifted. It pounded on Sora, pushing him down. The more he tried to swim upward, the harsher the pressure became. Dory, Marlin and Flounder were plunged downward when a wave from the surface crashed into them. Ariel called the party in close. With her trident, she chanted a wind spell. Protected by a sphere of air, the party finally broke through the surface.
Irritable waves slapped against the party's barrier, pushing them back and forth in an undulating pattern that somehow made Sora seasick despite the fact that he was already in the water. Though he was protected by a current of air, the outside wind still scratched at his face, freezing his wet skin with its cold touch. Flounder, Marlin and Dory had to repeatedly dive below the surface to take a breathe, but every time they resurfaced, they looked back up, wide eyed at the flashing, purple clouds overhead.
A ceiling of thunderous clouds glared down at them, stretching so far in either direction that the sky was stained dark in dangerous indigo and wine colors. Flashes of silver lightning buzzed through the rounded curves of the clouds reminding Sora of another night, long ago. He resisted the rising shiver of panic, forcing himself to remember that this was not the night that the Destiny Islands were destroyed, even if the storm above above his head looked exactly the same.
"Duck!" Marlin screamed, pointing over Sora's head.
Sora only had a second to turn and see the bow of a fishing boat heading straight toward him. He popped back underwater with Ariel and the others, watching the boat bounce overhead as it passed. Resurfacing, Sora spotted the word "Sydney" on the boat's stern.
"Quick! After it!"
Diving, the party followed the small vessel as it struggled to get through the ten foot waves. Dory squinted at the underbelly of the boat.
"Wow. They must be really brave to sail in the middle of a storm. Oh, hey look! The water's getting shallower."
Sora looked down. Sure enough they had moved so far from deeper waters that he could now see the sand several feet below. A tree trunk of a pipe rose up from under the sand. Crabs scuttled over the rusty, orange metal, snapping their claws at the tiny bubbles that escaped from the pipe's cracks and creases.
The boat above stopped by the long, wooden legs of a pier. Then, an anchor plunged into the sand below. Sora and Ariel resurfaced and marveled at the harbor ahead of them. In the distance, cars were rushing along the roads by the harbor as the people rushed to get back to their homes. Jagged clusters of tall buildings decorated the city beyond, but it was the people at the piers that caught their attention.
Sailboats, cargo vessels and yachts crowded around the long wooden walkways of the piers. Sailors rushed from boat to boat, screaming at each other over the wind as they tied down ropes, closed sails, and threw anchors into the sea.
The sailors quickly decided they had done as much as they could. Moments later, they ran down the piers into the city. The men and women squeezed into cars, and were soon driving away from the harbor.
"They're evacuating," realized Sora.
"Yes," screamed a voice from overhead, "and you should too before the wind blows you out of the water!"
A pelican flew down from the sky. He landed on the deck of the closest ship and glared hard at Sora's party.
"Are you out of your mind, mates? The humans may think this is just another hurricane that's been banging against the harbor for the last few weeks by my instincts tell me something bigger is coming. Swim back below the surface and get out of here."
"But we can't leave!" Marlin growled. "I have to find my son, Nemo!"
"Well you're going to have to wait until after the sea calms down. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be out in these waves! Get safe while you still got the chance."
"No!" Marlin darted toward the harbor. "I didn't come this far just to run away from a little rain! Nemo is here, and I'm not leaving until I find him!"
"That's the spirit," cheered Dory, following him.
"Wait, you guys! It's dangerous!"
Flounder followed the two smaller fish, and Ariel, not wanting to be separated from her friend, chased him. Sora was about to move, when the pelican's wail reached his ears.
Turning back around, he saw the pelican's beak quivering. Following the bird's line of sight, he spotted it. A mountain of a wave had risen up from the sea. It towered as high as the skyscrapers in the city beyond. Darkness swirled around the edges of the water. A mass of purple, and dark energy appeared under the wave's crest. Billions of yellow spots appeared below the surface of the waves. Sora felt the tingle of those yellow eyes, felt the chill of them looking out into the city, hungry to devour and swallow all. The tip of the wave twitched, searching for the target it was going to crash on, as it moved toward the harbor from the horizon.
The pelican watched the wave, his feather's ruffling in despair. "There's no way I can fly over that thing before it hits!"
"What's your name," Sora shouted.
The bird's beak twitched.
"You're asking me for that? Now?"
"Just tell me."
He all but spat his name. "Nigel!"
"Okay, Nigel. Get ready. I'm going to send you up! Spread those wings!"
The bird spread his wings, but only in exasperation. "Send me up? Are you kidding? There's no way you can-"
"Aeroga!"
Nigel went flying, blasted up toward the clouds seconds after the wind sphere burst below his wings. Once he was sure the bird was high enough to fly over the waves, Sora kicked his tail, reuniting with Ariel, Flounder, Marlin and Dory. They had been swimming between the boats, screaming Nemo's name. Not even Dory could calm Marlin down, and when heartless popped out of the water, surrounding them, Marlin's rage only doubled.
"Get out of my way," he splashed water on the darkballs.
"Guys! Duck!" Catching up to them, Sora threw his keyblade, slicing through the line of heartless.
Reaching the group, Sora pointed at the tidal wave heading their way.
"We'll get washed into the city and stranded at this rate," panicked Flounder, his teeth chattering at the sight of massive wall of water.
They had minutes, if they were lucky.
Ariel's face paled. Clutching the trident tight, she dove down underwater, swimming away from the harbor, toward the wave.
Sora swam after her. "Where are you going?"
"Daddy's trident controls all the power of the sea! I have to hold it back Sora!"
"There's water heartless inside that wave. There's no way you can hold back so many by yourself."
"If I don't hold that wave back, the human city, everyone in it, they'll all drown! I can't let that happen! I'll try to buy you some time. Swim into the wave and take down as many heartless as you can. We can beat it, I know we can."
"Okay! Flounder, get Dory and Marlin someplace safe."
Sora dove down after Ariel, swimming as fast as he could to keep pace with her. With her trident, she summoned a current of water that pushed her tail, making her torpedo toward the wave.
Marlin popped up in front of Sora's face. Sora waved his arms and flailed his fin, managing to stop himself before he barreled into Marlin.
"What the-what you doing? You need to get someplace safe!"
"No," Marlin gasped, his voice hoarse. After three full breaths, he glared hard into Sora's eyes. "I'm helping you take down the monsters in that wave!"
"Marlin, I know I relied on you before, but this is nothing like taking down one sea barnacle. Thanks for the offer, really, but this is no joke. Those heartless will eat a little fish like you alive."
"SO WHAT?" Marlin roared. "There is nothing that will keep me from finding Nemo. Not you, not those creatures, nothing!"
"Yeah! You tell him!"
Sora turned around. Behind him, Dory was catching up, a surprisingly fierce look in her grin.
Sora looked back and forth between the two fish. "I can't put you in danger."
Marlin smacked Sora's nose with his fin. It didn't hurt, but Sora leaned back as though he had been backhanded across the face.
"You told me to have a little bit more faith. Well, now I'm asking you to have some faith in me! I'm not letting you take down those things alone."
"But what can you possibly do?"
"I don't know." Marlin winked. "We'll just keep swimming and figure it out."
Sora's lips lifted in spite of himself. No matter how many worlds he visited, no matter how many people he met, with every friend he made, he was constantly surprised by their spirit, from the truest, toughest hero of them all, to the tiniest fish.
Nodding at Marlin, Sora pointed after Ariel.
"Then we'd better catch up to her!"
Dory darted past them. "Come on, slowpokes! We've got a big ol' wave to take down!"
Up ahead, Ariel was swimming upward. Breaking through the surface right behind her, Sora spotted the wave. It was coming in fast. Just a few more seconds and it would reach the suspension bridge at the edge of the harbor, and then there would be nothing in its way, nothing to stop it from washing away the city and all the people inside it.
The trident began to glow in Ariel's hands. Gripping the staff tightly, she raised it into the air. From the storm clouds above, a bolt of lightning struck. Sora covered his eyes. A blast of wind blew him backward, away from Ariel. When the flash faded, a bubble of water surrounded Ariel, lifting her out of the water. The golden light of her trident sprinkled toward the tidal wave that was thundering their way.
The wave stampeded forward for several more seconds, and then froze, as though the hands of time were holding it back. Pushed upward into the air, floating in her the sphere of water, Ariel shivered as she pointed the glowing trident at the wave. She spoke through gritted teeth, but her eyes were wide with concentration.
"Sora! Go!"
Sora dove. Marlin and Dory grabbed his spiky hair, holding on as Sora bulleted through the water. The surface of the ocean rose up as they neared the wave. The first group of heartless swam out of the bottom of the wave, spinning like tops, toward Sora. With Marlin and Dory still holding onto his head, blasting his way through the first set of heartless was as simple as chanting a single blizzard spell.
The heartless exploded, and Sora swam up, making a b-line toward the swarm of water heartless inside the wave. He tore through the thinner groups near the bottom of the wave, but as he swam up toward the wave's summit, whole armies of heartless descended down on him.
Sora only had a second to summon an aero spell to protect himself, Dory and Marlin before the heartless tackled him, surrounding him so tightly that all he saw was a sea of yellow eyes blending together. Unable to break through Sora's spell, the heartless manipulated the water around him, summoning a current of water, trapping him in a spinning vortex. Sora flipped over and over so fast, he lost track of what was up or down, his head pounding as though a thousand invisible fists were grinding their knuckles along his scalp.
Dory and Marlin were thrown off him. Finding themselves suddenly surrounded by heartless at every turn, neither Dory nor Marlin cowered. Raising his fins high, Marlin wriggled, trying to catch the heartless' attention.
"Hey! Over here, you weird wannabe umbrella squids! I'm much more interesting then dolphin boy! Come get a taste!"
"A taste? Oh! Are we trying free samples? I'll have some monster stew please," Dory giggled.
If there was one thing the heartless loved, it was an easy target. Turning away from Sora, the water core heartless darted toward Marlin and Dory, their zigzag shaped mouths opening wide. Screaming, Marlin and Dory quickly darted through the narrow gaps between heartless, making the bigger creatures crash into and take bites out of each other.
They did not stop, calling the heartless over, wiggling like bait on a fishing line, and then darting away fast. By this time, Sora had stopped spinning, casting a healing spell on himself. One by one, he destroyed the heartless that had been disoriented by Marlin and Dory, but more of the creatures swam down from the top of the wave, crowding around Sora, Marlin and Dory, making it harder and harder for the two fish to find wiggle room to swim.
Too busy taking down a group of water cores straight ahead, Sora didn't sense the heartless that darted forward behind him, until it bit hard into his shoulder. The shock of sudden pain made Sora freeze for two seconds, and that's when the rest of the heartless came down on him. Sora tried to move, but the water core that had bit into his shoulder held him in place. Marlin and Dory's calls were not nearly as tempting as devouring a keyblade master and Sora couldn't reach over his shoulder to push the heartless off his back.
Something yellow flashed in the corner of his eye. Sora felt a thump on his back. The yellow thing tackled the heartless holding him down, pushing it off. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Sora pointed his keyblade and screamed out three ice spells. Just as the shards of ice froze the heartless that had been inches away from tearing him to shreds, Sora chanted a healing spell on himself, using the last of his magic to push his pain away.
Just then a yellow fish swam up over his shoulder. He pin-balled his pudgy body against the frozen heartless, making them crash into each other and explode.
Holding his hands around his mouth, Sora bellowed. "Flounder, you're the best!"
Flounder turned around and winked at Sora.
"Did you think I would hang back and not help! I'm not afraid of some stupid monsters! Besides, there's no way I was going to let Ariel face this thing alone! Come on!"
He joined Marlin and Dory, distracting the heartless, and forcing them toward Sora, who cut through one swarm after another. The wave started to shrink, sinking lower and lower as they took down the heartless controlling it. Sora was able to break through the surface of the wave, catching Ariel's eye.
Even from a distance, he could see her shaking, her face covered in a shiny layer of sweat, but she refused to give up. The trident glowed brighter. Now that the scales had been tipped in her favor, she gathered more energy and forced the wave down into a smaller and smaller hill of water.
There was a cry from above. Looking up, Sora spotted Nigel flying below the clouds, a flock of seagulls chasing him. A chorus of seagull cries met Sora's ears.
"Mine? Mine? Mine? Mine? Mine? Mine? Mine?" cried the seagulls.
"That's right, ya rats with wings! It's all yours!" Nigel roared. "Go and give those ugly monsters a good pecking!"
"Way to go, Nigel," Sora chuckled.
The sea gulls dove. They landed on the heartless that had been close to the surface of the water. They pecked and clawed, making the heartless easy pickings for Sora to destroy. As the heartless fell, the clouds above began to spread out, pieces of blue sky poking through the purple darkness. Soon, only ten heartless were left in the tiny wave. It took Sora mere seconds to get rid of them all.
The seagulls flew away, off to chase another meal. Ariel's strength gave out. She lowered the trident, letting her sphere of water collapse. She sank into the water, her energy spent, but her heart filled with accomplishment. As she fell deeper into the sea, she saw the last of the dark clouds vanish, and the sky was a brilliant blue once more. Ariel rested on the sand at the bottom of the ocean, waiting until Sora, Marlin, Flounder and Dory found her moments later, celebrating their victory as they lifted her up back up toward the surface.
"Ariel, you did great," said Flounder, giving Ariel a high five.
The harbor was calm once again, and, in the city beyond, people walked out of their homes. Townsfolk stood on the suspension bridge, the piers, and the roads beside the water, watching the sea in awe, staring at the calm surface where there had been a tidal wave mere minutes before.
Ariel could barely hold on to her trident, and was happy lean on Sora. He pulled her arm over his shoulder, helping her to float next to him. Then, there was a cry from above. Nigel was circling the group of fish. He landed on the ocean's surface, and, winking at Marlin, dipped his beak into the water.
A tiny clownfish swam out of Nigel's beak.
Marlin cried. "Nemo!"
"Daddy!"
The smaller fish collided with his father. Dory cheered, swimming in a spiral, so happy she wasn't sure what to do with herself. Flounder splashed in and out of the water. Sora and Ariel watched the reunion with matching smiles.
Suddenly, Nigel flew upward. "Look out, mates!"
There was a rush of cold water against Sora's back. Before he could turn around, sharp fangs appeared before his eyes. He and Ariel swam backward, away from the teeth, and straight into the gut of a giant anglerfish heartless. Trapped in its stomach, the two of them were dragged down below the waves, away from Sydney, and out to sea.
Sora looked around the fleshy, orange bubble he was trapped in. When he smashed his weapon into the muscular walls, the teeth of his key sank into a thick mucous, softening his blow. Sora tried again, but soon his keyblade, and his hands, were covered by the burning goo. Ariel, too exhausted from her earlier attack, had no energy to fight back. Worse, the sac they were trapped in was starting to shrink, the gooey walls creeping closer.
Air bubbles sprinkled down on Sora's head. Looking up, he spotted a tiny tube along the inner membrane of the heartless' stomach. Strangely enough, the tunnel didn't have any mucous coating its walls. At the end of the fleshy tunnel, Sora saw a pink and golden glow.
"Sora! Ariel! Can you hear me?"
Sora spotted Marlin's shadow through the orange membrane of the heartless' stomach.
"We're okay," Ariel called.
Just as she spoke, the sac collapsed inward, forcing Sora and Ariel closer together.
"Oh no," panicked Dory.
"Ariel, what do we do," came Flounder's desperate voice.
Sora tried to aim a blast of light into the fleshy tunnel above him, but the opening was much too small and he was too distracted by the burning mucous on his hands to concentrate.
"It only I were smaller," he roared out of frustration.
"How small?" said a young voice.
"Who's that?"
"It's Nemo! What are you talking about?"
"There's a opening right above me. If I could just attack the core that's inside it, I may be able to break through this thing."
"How small is it?"
"I'd guess it's a little smaller then Marlin."
"Daddy, I know what to do! Look down there!"
Through the sac, Sora spotted the shape of a tiny clownfish, swimming around to the front of the heartless fish. A moment later, there was an argument.
"No! You are NOT getting eaten by this thing! I didn't come all this way just to lose you again!"
"Dad, there's no time! We have to save Sora and Ariel. Just trust me, please! I know I can do this."
There was a pause. Ariel and Sora looked at each other, holding their breaths. Then Marlin spoke, his tone much more relaxed.
"You're right. You can do this son. I know you can. How do we help you?"
"Distract the fish! Make it mad, lead it down there! Taking it down will be easier if it can't concentrate on me."
"Okay!"
"You got this, Bingo," said Dory.
"His name is Nemo! And you heard my son! Flounder, Dory, come on! We've got a fish to distract!"
The fish suddenly lurched downward, possibly chasing Dory, Marlin and Flounder. Sora and Ariel almost slammed into the walls of the angler fish's stomach. The only thing that had protected them from hitting the burning, mucous covered walls was the trident. Ariel held it out horizontally in front of her. The tip and base of the weapon stuck to the heartless' stomach walls, acting like a bar for Ariel and Sora to hold onto, as well as slowing the walls from collapsing.
Seconds later, a tiny fish popped out of the heartless' throat and into its stomach. One of his front fins was smaller then the other, and it fluttered at his side like a hummingbird's wing. Still, the little fish was swam fast, hovering in font of Sora's eyes.
"What do you need me to do," he asked.
"Nemo, was it?" Sora pointed to the tunnel overhead. "I need you to squeeze through that tunnel. If you can get to the pink and gold heart inside, try to attack it as hard as you can."
"Got it!"
Nemo swam into the tunnel. At first, it didn't seem like he would fit as he simply plugged up the hole, but then he began wiggling his tiny fin and tail, and slowly, he got through.
Sora still felt the thrust of movement. The angler fish was swimming faster, down and down, after Marlin and the others. Sora's palms burned as he held onto the trident with Ariel. Needles of pain attacked his fingers, and it felt as though his thumbs were about to fall off, but he refused to let go and be thrown against the heartless' disgusting stomach wall.
The angler fish darted side to side, making Sora and Ariel swing left and right. From outside came Marlin, Dory and Flounder's cries. Suddenly, the angler fish stopped. The stomach walls twitched, stretching, as though the fish were heaving.
Sora looked up at the tube overhead. He saw orange flashes in front of the pink glow inside. Nemo grunted as he slammed his tiny body against the heart. The mucous on the walls thinned. Sora summoned his keyblade. Ariel pulled the trident back. Gathering what little energy they had left, the pair of put their weapons side by side, their magic converging.
"Thundaza!"
A red bolt of lightning ripped through the muscular sac of the heartless' stomach.
"Nemo! Get down here, quick!"
The moment the tiny fish popped out of the tunnel above, Ariel put her hands around the little fish. Sora grabbed Ariel's arm and pulled her out of the heartless' stomach. Swimming out into clearer water, they turned to look back at the giant angler fish that had swallowed them.
The sac that was once its stomach was nothing more then shredded, blue skin. It was impaled on a sunken anchor on the the seafloor, the metal poking through the heartless emblem on its head. Within moments, the heartless burst apart, disappearing into nothing.
Marlin, Flounder and Dory swam up from beside the sunken anchor. Ariel let Nemo go, and moments later, he hugged Marlin, whooping.
"Did you see that! We did it!"
"No, son, you did it! I'm so proud of you!"
Flounder tackled Ariel, rubbing his nose in her shoulder. Meanwhile, Dory swam by Sora and patted his shoulder.
"Boy, I'm pooped. That was a wild ride."
Sora leaned back till he was floating horizontally in the water. Looking up at the beams of sunlight shining through the surface of the ocean, Sora relaxed. "Sure was. So, what do you plan to do now, Dory?"
She shrugged. "No idea. But who cares! I'm with my friends. As long as I'm with them, I'm home. Oh! That gives me an idea."
Sora flipped back upright, watching as Dory swam toward Marlin and Nemo. The father and son pair were busy talking about their respective journeys when she came between them.
"Say, you two, that was a fun trip huh?"
"Well I wouldn't say fun," said Marlin, "but it was quite the adventure. Now we can go home and never worry about it again."
"Oh no you don't, Mr. Grumpy Gills. We've still got something to do." Dory pointed to Flounder and Ariel. "They worked so hard to help us. It's only right that we return the favor."
Before Marlin could even think of a reply, Dory was already in front of Ariel's nose.
"Next, we're going to help you find your dad and this sea-bass guy."
Ariel chuckled. "Sea bass? I think you mean 'Sebastian.' Are you sure you want to help me search? The ocean is a big place."
Dory turned around and gave Marlin a look. "Well?"
"Come on Dad," said Nemo. "It's only fair."
"Oh don't look at me like that." Marlin smiled, shaking his head. "Of course I was going to say yes. Let me help you find your father, Ariel."
Sora was sure that the only reason he couldn't see Ariel's tears were because they were already underwater. Though her eyes were puffy and red, the joy in her grin was infectious, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny," said Dory. "Oh no. Did I miss a joke?"
Everyone, except for a very confused Nemo, joined in on Sora's laughter. After a few seconds, Dory and Nemo joined in, easily swept up by warm current of happiness surrounding them all.
When the laughter stopped, Nemo swam up to Sora.
"By the way, I have a message for you," he said.
"You don't have to thank me or anything," Sora said. "I would have helped Marlin look for you no matter what."
"Not that." Nemo shook his head. "Do you know someone named Kairi?"
The sound of her name was like an arrow straight to his heart.
"Kairi? I sure do! Wait, you met her? How?"
Nemo showed Sora his tiny fin. "She helped me when I was lost in the ocean. Told me to believe in myself, even with my bad fin. She's really nice."
If Sora wasn't careful, he would accidentally burp out one of the butterflies in his stomach. His chest was beating with so much excitement, he could barely breathe.
"What did she want to tell me?"
"She wanted me to tell you that she's okay, and that she has to help out some friends before she can meet up with you at a castle somewhere. She said you'd know what that means."
Sora nodded. "Sure do. Thanks, Nemo. That means a lot to me."
Dory must have gotten tired of sitting still because she began swimming around the group, clapping her fins. "Come on, people! What are we standing around for? Let's kick those tail fins and get moving."
Without another word, she swam back out into the sea.
As the party followed Dory, Ariel leaned toward Sora and whispered something in his ear.
"Is this what its like when you go from world to world. Do you just pick up more friends along the way?"
Sora nodded. "That's exactly what it's like."
Ariel looked over her shoulder. Sora had guessed that she was looking back in the direction the harbor at Sydney, even though they had been dragged so far out to sea by the angler fish that there was no way she could could see any of the boats.
"I've seen so many places in such a short amount of time. To think that I'd get to see so many new things and make new friends. Adventuring really is something."
Sora ginned. "Yup. Nothing like it."
After reuniting with Crush and surfing the EAC, Sora and his group were only a few hours away from reaching the reef that was Marlin and Nemo's home. They still hadn't seen any clues about Sebastian and King Triton on their journey, but neither Ariel nor Flounder seemed bothered by it. Even when the occasional heartless popped up, traveling still remained joyful now that Nemo had been found.
Marlin entertained Dory, Flounder, and Ariel by retelling their adventure to his son. Sora swam leisurely at the rear of their party, listening to the tale while his eyes roamed lazily over the sea floor below. At first, he noticed a few bumps in the sand, but the further they swam, the more he noticed strange items littering the sea floor.
Curious, Sora swam down. Ariel followed him. She spotted a fork and picked it up, squealing with delight.
"A dinglehopper! Sora, look!"
Any other time, Sora would have been happy to enjoy Ariel's find, but he was too distracted by a glimmer in the sand. Reaching in, Sora pulled out a diamond the size of a baseball. The jewel's many facets shined over the water, its reflections dotting Sora's skin and the sand below, filling him with a familiar filling. He remembered a bayou, the chirping of crickets. He remembered entering a cave near the sea to look for the very diamond he held in his hand.
"The Devil's Eye," Sora whispered. "How did it get here?"
"Hey, what's the hold up," asked Marlin. "We're almost to the reef."
Ariel looked from Sora to Marlin. "Why don't you all go ahead of us? We're going to check out this human stuff for a bit. Flounder, can you go with them?"
Marlin was a little peeved to be dismissed, but Dory was able to make him come around.
"Come on buddy, let's give them some privacy."
Once the fish were gone, Sora showed Ariel the gem.
"I found this in another world once," he explained. "I lost it in the swamp when I was fighting a crazy lady with two crocodiles."
Ariel looked around at all the debris sticking out from the sand. "Let's look around. Maybe we can find some clues."
She dug through the sand with the end of her trident, unearthing a cork puller, and all kinds of human junk that she happily collected. Sora dug and dug. He pulled out a globe, a spoon, a butter knife, a music box with a statue of a dancing couple on top of it, a pocket watch, and a perfume bottle. Ariel loved each of the discoveries and soon her hands were so full, she kept dropping the items back into the sand.
Sora left the Devil's Eye on the ocean floor and kept looking. He had no use for a pretty gem. A clue, or something functional would be more helpful on his journey. Then, he noticed a red square poking out of the sand. A tingle of excitement spread through Sora's thoughts. He pulled on the smooth square but it was too heavy to free from the sand. Or, perhaps, too big.
"What do you have there?" Ariel asked when she caught up to him. Sometime during their search, she had found a little, red bag and filled it with her favorite treasures.
"I think this red block is attached to something deeper under the sand. I can't pull it out."
"Move back a bit."
Sora swam upward. Ariel aimed the trident at the red block. A current of water swirled, like an underwater tornado. It stripped the sand away from around the block, digging a hole. When the sand had cleared away, Sora swallowed at the sight before him.
"No way!"
A gummi ship, his gummi ship, lay on its side, still half sunken in the sand. The yellow, gold, and red blocks making up the rocket were exactly as he had remembered them. He swam down and pressed his nose to the glass dome of the cockpit. There was air inside, as well as the three chairs he, Donald and Goofy would sit in as they traveled between worlds. Sora looked at the switches, the steering wheel, and all the dials on the ship's dashboard. They were completely untouched.
"How did the gummi ship get here? The last time I saw it, me, Donald and Goofy had gone to fight Ansem at the End of the World!"
"This is yours?" Ariel asked, pressing her face on the dome right next to him.
"Yes! Well, sort of. That's one problem solved, at least."
"Which is?"
"I was wondering how I would meet up with Kairi and Riku after we found your dad. This ship is my ticket to other worlds. And it looks like it still has some juice!"
"You should go, Sora."
"I will. After I help you find King Triton."
Ariel giggled. "You're a really good friend. But, we both know you have something more important to do. Take a deep breathe."
"Why?"
Sora had barely said the word when Ariel pointed her trident at him. A golden glow lit up the water around him, and Sora felt his tail tingling, as though his muscles had fallen asleep. The tingling feeling turned into stretching and pulling, and his body felt warmer, as though he were covered in...clothes?
"Wait! Ariel!"
Sora closed his mouth before the water rushed in. His tail was gone. His legs had returned and so had his need to breathe air. Sora swam to the gummi ship, opened the doom and entered the cockpit. As the water drained from inside the cockpit, Sora took a deep breathe and looked back out into the sea. Ariel swam by.
Sora called to her from behind the glass. "Ariel, what are you doing?"
Her voice was muffled, the water and the glass drowning her out. She placed her hand on the glass and Sora heard her words clearly.
"You've helped me so much, more then I can ever really repay you for, but I think the worlds need you more. Whether the worlds are crashing into each other or combining into one, the heartless have gotten stronger. You need to go and learn why this is happening."
"But I made a promise," Sora argued. "I still don't know what happened to Atlantica!"
"Let me worry about my home. And don't worry. I'll find Daddy and Sebastian, I know I will. If Marlin and Nemo can find each other, I can find them. Plus, I'm not alone anymore."
"But-"
Ariel put up a hand. "Listen. I think the wave of darkness that forced me out of Atlantica may be what connected my world to yours. Those watery heartless appeared in my world too. Now that I have the trident, I can defend the oceans from those heartless, hold my ground while you find a more permanent fix. If Daddy were here, it's what he'd want me to do. So believe in me, okay?"
"Don't be silly. After everything we've been through, how can I not believe in you?"
"The same goes for me. Now hold on. I'm going to send you up to the surface!"
Sora jumped into the pilot's seat, and strapped on his seatbelt. Ariel swam around the gummi ship, powering up the trident. A current of water pushed the ship out of the sand. With another powerful push from the trident, Sora blasted off toward the surface of the sea. He popped out of the ocean.
In the air, Sora powered up the ship, waking up the thrusters and getting the ship to hover before it could crash back into the sea. Looking down, he saw Ariel waving at him from the surface of the water.
"Go on, keyblade master. Fix the problem at the source. We'll see each other again."
"You bet we will," Sora called back.
Winking, Ariel dove into the water just as Sora grabbed the steering wheel of the gummi ship. He pulled Kairi's good luck charm from his pocket, closing his eyes. The star shaped charm pulsated in his hand, warming his fingers. He visualized Donald and Goofy, hoping his heart would guide him to Disney Castle. Then he kicked the gummi ship into gear and flew up into the sky.
Jiminy's Journal
Nigel (First Appeared in Finding Nemo, 2003): A friendly pelican that lives in Sydney. He likes to help out others when he can, whether its by warning them about an incoming storm, fighting alongside the seagulls he doesn't like, or by reuniting a father and son.
Nemo (First Appeared in Finding Nemo, 2003): Marlin's son. One of his front fins is smaller then the other. Marlin calls it Nemo's "Lucky Fin." Although he's young, Nemo is just as brave and loyal as his father. He also seems to be good friends with Kairi.
Chapter 35: KH3 Chapter 4: The Voyager's Oceans
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Four: The Voyager's Ocean
The cold, damp air licked her face. A distant clicking, like the calls of a cricket far out in the night, reached her ears, making her open her eyes. The world swayed back and forth in front of her, and Kairi had to cover her mouth or risk losing her lunch. Dangling, upside down, like a fish on a hook, she squinted at the bright, neon colors of the world she found herself in.
Something hot and moist constricted around her belly and hips. Looking up, Kairi stared at the thick, pink rope around her waist, following it with her eyes, up to the wide mouth it came from. A mouth that was slowly getting bigger as she was being pulled in.
Yelping, she pointed at the mouth and screamed.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning zipped over the thick, muscled tongue. A green, lizard-like creature with long, thin fangs snapped its mouth closed out of surprise as the electricity coursed through its body. Its teeth closed over its own tongue, slicing it off. Kairi fell hard onto a cold, rocky floor. The slimy tongue around her waist cushioned her fall.
"Gross, gross, gross!"
She wriggled out of the tongue, scrambling backward, looking around. Corals grew up from the ground, in all shapes and sizes. Some looked like lush brushes, while others loomed over her head like neon colored palm trees. Anemones grew out of the ground like wildflowers, lighting up her surroundings in bright blues, pinks, oranges and purples. Water reflections danced over the stony ground she stood on. Patches of sand covered the porous ground beneath her feet. Giant shells and barnacles created walls and cliffs all around her. Bioluminescent algae covered patches of rock like moss.
The floor rumbled beneath her. Seconds later, water burst from a round crater mere inches from her feet. She stepped away, watching as the pillar of water shot up into the...Kairi's jaw dropped. She stared as the shadow of a massive blue whale moved far above her head. The entire ocean loomed above, as though she were standing under the glass of the universe's biggest aquarium. Through the thick membrane of water, she could see the silhouettes of fish as they moved around above her head like clouds in the evening sky.
Looking back down in the nautical forest she found herself in, she quickly ducked behind a huge, glowing brain coral when she spotted a weird, four legged creature wearing the mask. The creature growled a low, clicking sound, getting closer to her hiding spot. Gathering magic, Kairi prepared to fry the weird tribal mask right off that monster. She never got the chance.
Her throat ached with pain. The tingle of despair scratched at her arms. The masked creature yowled. Peeking around the brain coral, Kairi saw the masked monster fighting a swarm of darkball heartless. She took her chance to run. Jumping over oversized clams, she climbed a wall of mushroom corals. Up above was a giant, spiral sea shell. Kairi ran straight into the cave like opening of the shell, looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't followed.
Wham!
Her shoulder hit something cold. Bouncing off the hard surface, Kairi rubbed her arm and turned to glare at the culprit that had caused her pain. Her glare turned into an opened mouthed stare. A mound stood before her, made entirely out of shiny, sparkly treasure. Solid gold seashells, scales, and sunken ship pieces glittered along the edges of the small hill. Giant, rose gold pearls and jewels sparkled on the mound and along the floors of the purple cave Kairi stood in. All around her, the reflections of the gold glittered on the violet walls of the cave, creating miniature nebulae alongside the water glow, making Kairi feel as though she were in an underwater planetarium.
Kairi leaned against the gold hill for a second, trying to catch her breath. Too bad she couldn't catch a break. The floor rumbled again. A giant claw rose up from under the sand and clamped down around Kairi's waist. She was lucky the claw didn't squeeze her till she popped. Too afraid to move, lest the creature decided to squash her like a grape, she was lifted off her feet. Moments later, she found herself floating in front of a face.
A lipless mouth opened wide in front of her eyes. The nauseating smell of fish breathe blew against Kairi's face and she stared at the barnacles on the creature's blunt teeth. She gathered magic for an attack, but when the mouth spoke, all of her concentration evaporated.
"Another human? What is this? Free admission to the realm of monsters day? What are you doing down here?"
Looking up from the mouth, Kairi stared at a pair of bug eyes. At least she thought they were a pair. They were so far apart, popping out of the crab creature's head like lollipops on either side of its pointy nose. One eye moved up while the other moved down and Kairi's attention snapped from one eye to the other, not sure which one to look at.
The crab snapped. "Just pick one!"
Squeaking, Kairi settled on the right eye.
The crab leaned closer, sniffing. "You know what happened to the last human that came down here?"
Kairi gulped. "They got out of here following a nice musical number?"
The crab's eyes actually synced when they narrowed. He lifted her over his head. Thinking quick, Kairi said. "Wow, you're so shiny!"
The crustacean bared his teeth in a smile. "I'm beautiful baby! There isn't a single decapod out there that's as shiny as me." His right eye narrowed again. "Though you're not here for that, are you? I won't fall for that trick twice."
"You're right. I'm not here for that. Actually, I'm kind of lost."
"Oh no, you're lost? You poor thing," said the crab in a high-pitched voice. He lifted Kairi higher, opening his mouth right beneath her. "Lucky for you, you won't have to worry about that problem much longer."
Kairi pointed into the crab's mouth.
"Firaga!"
A burning ball of heat went down the crab's gizzard. The crab clenched his teeth, steam escaping from the corners of his mouth. He dropped Kairi. She landed on the mossy sand just as the crab wrapped his claw around his neck. He hacked.
"Whoa! That's some spicy stuff!" He coughed out a cloud of black smoke, his eyes turning red, tearing up. "Why you little brat!"
Kairi bolted. Seconds before she reached the cave entrance, a crab claw slammed into the ground before her. Jumping backward, Kairi ran under the crab's torso. One of the crab's legs was shorter then the others. Kairi got under the stumpy leg and pointed straight up.
"Thundaga!"
Electricity zapped through the crab, immobilizing him just long enough for Kairi to dash out of the cave. She had only taken a few steps when the spiral shell behind her burst, shards of shell raining down on her head as the crab stormed after her.
"You can't outrun me, girl! Come back here!"
Kairi jumped from coral to coral until she landed onto a patch of sand. Something slithered below her boots. Then the sand burst as something black popped up from underground. Yellow eyes looked up at her from the sand. Kairi froze, staring down at the round, spiky back of a heartless she had never seen before. The heartless' teeth opened, ready to bite. Jumping to the side, Kairi managed to avoid losing her foot.
The giant crab was still on her tail, but she was too focused on the heartless that was lunging after her. Kairi jumped over the heartless. It chased her, burrowing through the sand, its spikes sticking out like shark fins that were itching to stab her if she made the mistaking of tripping or stopping. The heartless threw its body at her. Screaming a reflect spell, Kairi watched the heartless bounce off her magical glass. It burrowed back into the sand, vanishing.
Just when she thought she had avoided one, a whole battalion of heartless popped out of sand. Even worse, darkballs appeared all around her. And if all that wasn't bad enough, before Kairi could even think to counterattack, there was a bone chilling voice from behind her.
"There you are!"
Thinking fast, Kairi ran back toward the crab.
"That's right! I love food that comes to me!"
The crab reached for her.
"Reflect!"
Kairi's magic glass bubble was too smooth and fast for the crab to get a good grip on. She rolled under the crab's belly, her spell popping right as she put a few feet between them. As the crab turned around to chase her, it was buffeted by the darkball and burrowing heartless. Kairi ignored the crab's battle cry as it began fighting back its new attackers. She ran blindly through the undersea forest, until she had to skid to a stop, narrowly avoiding falling off the side of a cliff. Gasping, she looked down at a vast underwater plain.
There were bat-like creatures flying in the great chasm below. But worse then that, there was darkness. Kairi felt its cold, dead touch on her skin, sensed it seeping out of the canyons on the sea floor. A force of sorrow and fury slammed into her, making her feel sick. There was so much that, for a moment, she wondered if she were back in the realm of darkness. Then a swarm of heartless burst out of the canyons below. Kairi could only watch, horrified as teams of darkballs, neoshadows, shadows, invisibles, and burrowing, earth core, heartless flew up from below. They soared up into the sea above her head.
"What's going on? How is this happening?"
A roar was her only answer. Kairi dared to turn around and face the reef she had just escaped from. The giant, shiny crab was still fighting the heartless, and he was losing. The burrowing heartless made the sand swirl below the crab's legs like a whirlpool. The crab was sinking, snapping his claws in vain at the darkballs as he went down.
Kairi bit her thumb, watching as darkness rose up the crab's legs. His shiny shell and back were beginning to dim.
"I can't believe I'm doing this!"
She ran back toward the giant crab. Lightning gathered in one hand, and a water spell gathered in the other. She neared the crab's legs and went all out offensive.
"Waterga!"
A tidal wave washed away the burrowing heartless, freeing the crab's legs. Now that he could move around, the crab began slicing through the darkballs with his claws. Meanwhile, Kairi attacked the burrowing heartless. Still disoriented from her water spell, the spiked heartless were defenseless. Kairi zapped them with lightning before she turned to face the crab, blasting heartless away from him with fire spells. Meanwhile, the crab slammed, sliced, and squashed the heartless into pieces. When the last heartless went down, both Kairi and the crab were gasping.
"Well," the crab huffed and puffed, "why'd you come back, eh?"
"You're," Kairi heaved, "welcome."
"You didn't answer my question."
Kairi swallowed, trying to put some moisture into her dry throat. "Couldn't let you be taken over by heartless. Didn't feel right. What are you staring at?"
The crab's beady eyes flicked away from her. Clearing his throat, he said, "You totally helped me out. And for that, I will do you the honor of not eating you."
"Wow, that's really," Kairi cleared her throat, "gracious of you. Now if only I knew how to get out of here."
The crab grinned. Before Kairi could blink, he had snapped his claw down on the hood of her shirt. He lifted her up and stomped toward a crater in the floor.
"Wait!" Kairi panicked, flailing her arms and legs. She's used up all her magic in the fight. She was sunk! The crab stuffed her into the crater, peering down at her with an evil smile in his purple and pink face.
"You said you wouldn't eat meeeeeeeeeee!"
Cold water had erupted under Kairi's legs. She popped out of the crater, shooting upward like a rocket, straight into the membrane of water overhead. The force from the waterspout torpedoed her through the ocean, making her burst through the surface within seconds. She flew high, into the blue, sunny sky. Kairi marveled at the clouds she floated in, until she began to plummet back down into the ocean.
The roar of the wind was so loud in her ears that she couldn't even scream as she fell toward the sea. Soon there was nothing but the surface of the water in her eyes and she spared a moment to wonder if hitting the surface was going to hurt as much as she thought it was.
Her back jerked in pain as something clamped down hard on her upper arms. Flapping reached her ears and she saw the edges of large, brown wings moving up and down on either side of her. Tilting her head back, Kairi stared at the sight of a giant hawk. She wasn't sure which was worse, getting smashed into the ocean or being eaten by a oversized bird.
Thankfully the hawk lowered her down and dropped her safely into the water. Swimming up to the surface, Kairi spotted a canoe with a red spiral on its sail. The small boat came to a stop a few feet away from her. A brown skinned girl with flowing, dark hair leaned down from the canoe, extending her hand to Kairi. As Kairi grabbed the girl's hand, she stared, mesmerized, at the necklace the girl wore. A grey, oval seashell had been carved to that the top half looked like a wave. The bottom half of the pendant have been shaved so that the mother of pearl under the shell shined bright and blue, like the ocean itself.
The girl easily pulled Kairi up onto her canoe. Stumbling onto the deck and landing hard on her behind, Kairi sat and began wringing the water out of her hair. She froze when she felt a tapping on her foot.
A rooster was pecking at her boot. The sun reflected off the chicken's brilliant blue-green tail feathers and body. His neck and face were covered in rich orange. The comb on his head was a deep red. His colors were so vibrant, yet he was the silliest looking bird Kairi had ever seen. Big, bug eyes, a tiny beak and a skinny body made the chicken look as though someone had taken some googly eyes and feathers and attached them to a stick.
The rooster twitched, giving Kairi a cross-eyed look. Then it continued to peck at her shoe.
"Stop that, Hei Hei."
The pretty girl with the pendant grabbed the chicken around the neck and placed him in a little box that was dug into the canoe's deck. "Stay."
The chicken, Hei Hei, didn't seem bothered to be put in a box. He walked in the tiny compartment. Two steps and he hit the wall of the box. Then he turned around, walked two more steps and hit the other wall. Kairi would have laughed if the canoe hadn't suddenly bounced as something heavy thumped onto the deck behind her.
Turning around, she looked up at the giant hawk that had caught her in midair.
The hawk winked. "You're welcome."
See, the thing about Kairi was that two of her best friends were a magic using rabbit and a dual wielding dog knight. Plus the fact that she had just fought with a giant, shiny crab. Thus, she was in no way surprised when a giant hawk spoke human words. Heck, her best friends were teammates with a mouse king, a duck mage, and a dog captain of the guard. Despite all these facts, at that moment, all her brain could produce were the words, "Cool! Talking Hawk!"
"Close, but no," said the hawk. In a flash, he changed shape. The brilliant, brown feathered creature morphed into a tall, burly, brown skinned man with silky, curly, black hair and a barrel chest covered entirely by intricate tattoos. In his hand was a giant, white, fishhook covered in detailed, tribal patterns.
The man bowed. "I am Maui." He stood, flexing his muscles. "Shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, and hero to all. Impressed?"
The girl with the necklace cleared her throat, making Kairi turn around. With a single eyebrow raised, necklace girl pointed her oar at Maui. The "demigod of the wind and sea" sighed, and gestured to her.
"And this is my friend, Moana," he said halfheartedly.
"Of?" Moana prompted.
"Motunui," Maui huffed.
"Hey, you got to say your whole title, the least you can do is say mine," the girl laughed.
Kairi opened her mouth to introduce herself, but just then, Hei Hei jumped out of his little box, walked along the deck of the boat and flopped right off the edge. He floated by, feet up, with his head underwater. Sighing, Maui reached down and snatched Hei Hei out of the ocean, tossing him at Moana.
"Did you have to bring the drumstick?"
Moana put Hei Hei back in his box. "He's good luck."
"Really?" Kairi squinted at the dumb looking chicken.
"Yes. There's more to Hei Hei then meets the eye," said Moana. She turned to Kairi. "Are you all right?"
"Yes. Thanks for catching me and pulling me out of the water." Kairi crossed her arms. "Stupid, shiny crab! He could have at least warned me before he popped me into that geyser! He's lucky I'm so nice, otherwise I would have left him to be heartless dinner."
Moana and Maui stared.
Kairi fidgeted. "What?"
"You took on Tomatoa? By yourself?"
"And you survived?" Maui walked around Kairi. "A little purple girl like you? Get out of here."
"Hey!" Still sitting, Kairi poked Maui's foot. "This little purple girl can take care of herself, thank you very much."
Maui's look was dubious. "I don't buy it."
Kairi didn't have enough energy to blast him with a water spell, and she was about to stand to give him a few well deserved pokes, when her stomach let out the loudest, angriest growl she'd ever heard. She barely had time to blush before Moana reached into the compartment under the canoe's deck. She pulled out a mango and tossed it at Kairi.
Catching it, Kairi snapped at Maui. "You got lucky."
Maui shrugged, walking around to the canoe's sail and fully opening it. As Kairi munched, she watched as Moana leaned to the side of the boat and put her hand in the sea. Moana then jumped onto the back end triangle of the canoe and put her oar into the water, using it like a wooden lever to steer. Moving the oar slightly, Moana angled the boat, making it sail a little ways due north.
Kairi watched Moana work. The girl knelt on one knee, with one hand on the oar, and the other holding the rope that was tied to the sail. She tugged on the rope and the sail curved, catching the wind. The canoe cut through the water. Kairi whistled.
Moana's boat blew the raft Kairi had made out of the water. All she, Riku and Sora could manage was a measly wooden deck with a single sail. Moana's canoe was long and sleek. Shaped like a thrombus with smooth edges, the canoe had a single outrigger coming out of the left side. The wooden framework of the outrigger balanced the boat. In the middle of the canoe was a single mast. A triangle shaped sail was attached to it. Kairi sat on the small, square, wooden deck behind the sail, watching Maui climb the mast, balancing himself on the pole with one hand holding the mast and the other shielding his eyes from the sun.
"I have got to get me one of these," Kairi said as she stood on the deck.
Maui turned on the mast so that he looked down at her. "So, what were you doing in Lalotai?"
"Lalo-what?"
"Lalotai," Moana repeated. "The realm of monsters, where Tomatoa lives."
Kairi shrugged. "I have no idea how I got there. I was just sailing and then I got wiped out by a big wave. Next think I know, I wake up next to Tomatoa's shiny cave."
"Waking up in a random place right after getting wrecked by a giant wave. I know how that feels." Moana stared at the sea with an almost judgmental expression, as if she were disappointed in the ocean for being itself.
Maui raised an eyebrow, smirking at Moana. "Was that back when you were still a 'self-taught' wayfinder? And you still don't wipe out now, even though you're a seasoned pro?"
Moana pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes.
Maui put up his hand. "I'm just saying."
Moana's annoyed expression morphed into an evil grin. Kairi recognized that look. She loved using that look. This was going to fun.
"We both had to start somewhere. Right, Mr. Shark Head? Plus, wasn't it my self-taught sailing skills that got you off that island you were trapped on for a thousand years?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Kairi waved her hands, her face scrunching. "Shark head?"
Maui glared at Moana, and she responded in kind with the cheekiest smile.
"Well? Bring on the shark head."
"No," Maui barked.
"Please?"
Maui flopped off the mast, landing hard onto the deck of the canoe. He crossed his arms, giving the girls his back. "Not going to happen."
"Come on," Moana cheered. "I'm just going to keep asking."
Kairi began clapping. "Yeah. Do it! Do it! Do it!"
Maui groaned, peering over his shoulder, glancing from Kairi to Moana. "Oh great. There's two of you now."
"What?" said Kairi and Moana, at the same time.
"See? Two of you."
Moana blew a raspberry. "We're not that alike. I mean her hair is red and my clothes are," she frowned, "red."
"Very compelling argument. I'm totally convinced."
"We just met." Kairi huffed. "You barely know enough about me to make a fair comparison. We're two different people."
"Let's see." Maui began counting off his fingers. "Tiny girl out on an adventure all by herself. Took on Tomatoa, and won. Reckless. Constantly pestering me to do something I don't want to do. I swear, you're like her soul twin or something. I'm just going to call you Moana Two."
Moana didn't comment. In a quick motion, she pulled her oar, making the boat jerk to the right suddenly. Maui lost his balance and fell to the side.
Kairi reached out and pinched Maui's ear. "Hey, I am Purple Girl, thank you very much."
Maui gave Moana a look. "Well, look at that. She even grabs my ear the same way you do."
Maui put his big paw of a hand on Kairi's head. Her feet dangled over the deck as Maui held her up like an overgrown radish.
"Hey, wait a minute. You changed the subject. I still want to see a shark head!"
"That's a hard 'no,' Purple Girl."
"You know I was only kidding about the 'Purple Girl' thing. I have an actual name. It's Kairi."
"If I call you that, will you drop the shark head thing?"
"Nope."
Moana pouted like a manipulative toddler. "Don't you want to show off for us mere mortals?"
"Forget it."
Maui plopped Kairi back onto the deck and turned around.
Landing back on her feet sparked an idea in Kairi's mind. She clasped her hands together and heaved a long, miserable sigh.
"Moana! I see what's going on here! It's so sad!"
The girl in red blinked, confused.
"Don't you get it?" Kairi sniffled. "Maui doesn't want to shape shift into a shark head because he forgot how!"
"What? I didn't forget."
Kairi ignored him, wagging her finger at Moana. "You really shouldn't tease someone like that."
"Okay, now we're starting to make sense! Thank you, Purple Girl."
"Especially when they've lost their sense of humor," Kairi continued.
Moana's confused, and slightly annoyed expression, brightened as she grinned evilly.
"Yes, exactly what I-" Maui did a double take, glaring at Kairi. "WHAT? No sense of humor?"
"As the 'demigod of the wind and sea,'" Kairi began, "you must have a reputation to keep. You poor thing! I can't imagine how boring life must be when you have no choice but to be so professional. He probably forgot how to have fun!"
Moana nodded, closing her eyes. "She's right. I am so sorry I ever teased you, Maui. A hero truly has to make sacrifices. Can you ever forgive me?"
"All right, that's enough, you two!" Maui stomped over until he was standing over Kairi. She didn't even flinch, looking up at him with unabashed pity in her eyes.
"I'll have you know that I am funnier then the two of you combined."
Kairi patted Maui's arm sympathetically, her voice shaky. "Of course. Of course. I so believe you."
Moana whipped a fake tear. "How tragic! He's forgotten how to laugh!"
Maui growled, taking a step back from Kairi and lifting the fish hook over his head. "You want a shark head? I'll give you a shark head!"
A quick flash later and Kairi had to take a step back as a row of sharp teeth nearly bit off her nose. Blinking, she stared at Maui. From the waist up, his skin was grey. His nose had been flattened, replaced by a wide set of nostrils. His eyes were now deeply set into his fishy face. Triangle shaped teeth poked out from under his wide, lipless mouth.
"There," snapped Maui, crossing his shark fin arms. "Happy?"
"That is so cool!" Kairi moved around Maui, poking the dorsal fin on his back and standing on her tiptoes to get a good look at the gills on the sides of rounded head. "I wish Sora were here. He would love this! It's like a reverse mermaid! What else can you turn into?"
Maui's mouth expanded to show all of his sharp teeth. He winked at Moana before he dived into the sea. A moment later, Kairi spotted a flash. Then the shadow of a giant whale moved beneath the boat. There was a mark on the whale's back, in the shape of a fishhook. The whale breached the surface of the water, spraying Kairi with a face full of seawater.
In midair, the whale changed shape, turning into a tiny beetle. It buzzed toward the raft, flying around Kairi and Moana's heads. Hei Hei tried to peck at it when it flew by him, but he missed, pecking his own foot instead. Maui fluttered around Moana's ears for a moment before he dashed upward and turned into a green iguana. He landed right on top of Moana's head.
"Who has no sense of humor now?"
Moana swatted Maui off her head and he transformed back into his usual form before he hit the deck. Kairi clapped. Maui bent down in a glorious bow, but when he straightened he wasn't wearing his usual arrogant smile. Instead, he squinted, looking at something out in the sea, beyond the canoe. Kairi looked over her shoulder.
The canoe had sailed into a blanket of fog so thick that the only way Kairi knew they were still on the sea was because of the taste of salt in the mist and the swaying of the boat as it bounced on agitated waves. The atmosphere dimmed, and the sprinkle of cold, wet unknowns made goosebumps rise on Kairi's arms. Through the blurry fog, a feeling fluttered over. Despair and confusion tingled along her skin, and Kairi only had an instant to realize what was coming before she pulled Moana forward, making the girl stumble onto the deck.
"Look out!"
A darkball heartless flew over the end of the boat. Had Kairi not reacted, the heartless would have smashed into Moana's head. Said girl was now holding her oar in front of her defensively, searching the fog.
"Maui! It's those creatures we ran into before."
Settling into a wide stance, Maui twirled his hook. "Don't lose you heads, ladies. I got this!"
"No, wait, there's-"
Before Kairi could finish her warning, a darkball heartless flashed down from above, slamming Maui down onto the deck. The canoe bucked like an enraged bull. Kairi flew up and backward, her shoulder slamming into the mast. The entire boat slanted, about to flip over. Moana, having just regained her balance, leaped into the canoe's outrigger, using her body weight to slam it back down onto the ocean, rebalancing the boat.
Maui, meanwhile, turned out to be made of sturdier stuff. He grabbed the darkball on top of him, and squeezed it till it popped like a balloon. Another darkball came flying out of the now purple fog. It crashed into Maui's back. He swung his hook, but missed when the darkball twitched to the side. Maui tried to swing again, but then another heartless came at him from his blind spot, biting into his shoulder. Yelping, Maui reached to pry the heartless off, but then a third darkball came down from the sky, opened up its mouth and swallowed Maui's head.
Moana cried out. Leaping forward from the outrigger, she landed on the deck and swung her oar so hard that she pummeled the heartless into dust. Too bad the oar kept going into it slapped Maui in the face. He glared at Moana, his eye twitching.
"Ow?" He said as he punched the heartless still chewing his shoulder. It burst into nothing.
Moana hid her oar behind her back. "Sorry! I was trying to destroy the thing and set you free but now I see that that was stupid idea, and I should have thought-"
Maui thrust out his hand. "Let the demigod take care of this mess, Princess. Last thing I need you to do is to ruin my beautiful mug."
"What? No! I'm not just going to stand here! I want to help!"
Maui looked as though he were about to say something but then another darkball whizzed between him and Moana, barely missing them when they jumped back in surprise. Maui swung his fishhook when the heartless came back, cleaving it in half, without noticing another heartless sneak up behind him. Moana jumped behind Maui and swung her oar down like an ax, smashing the heartless into the boat and cleaving it into dust.
Maui turned around to give her a surprised look.
"Yeah, that's right," Moana quipped, "I just did that."
Kairi pointed into the mist. "Nice job but here comes some more!"
Seven more heartless rushed out of the fog, surrounding the boat. Maui and Moana smashed and sliced through the attack. All Kairi could do was hold on to the mast and scream warnings as to which direction the heartless were coming from. She barely had recovered enough magic for one spell and if there was one thing she knew about heartless, it was that there was always a chance something worse would be coming her way.
A darkball heartless nearly bit into Moana's face. She took a quick step back, and the heartless' teeth chomped down on her shell pendant instead. Moana wrapped her arms around the chain, trying to pull her necklace out of the heartless' mouth. While she was distracted, another darkball slammed into her back. The necklace snapped off and the darkball swallowed it.
"No!" Moana jumped onto the darkball. It thrashed, throwing Moana off. She landed hard onto the deck of the canoe. The same time that Moana regained her feet, Kairi felt the tingling of darkness from every direction. There were too many dark points for Kairi to count and soon, dozens of heartless attacked their tiny boat at once.
Moana and Maui had no time to think about anything except keeping the heartless off the boat. Then several darkballs appeared below the water. They smashed their heads into the underbelly of the canoe, sending Maui, Moana, Hei Hei, and Kairi flying. Moana caught the chicken, and Maui, after changing into a hawk, caught her and Kairi.
The canoe flipped upside down below them, but that was not a concern. In midair, darkball heartless surrounded them from above, from below, from the left, from the right, like a swarm of poisonous meteors that were a mere twitch away from pummeling them into jelly.
Kairi looked up over her shoulder. "Maui, I only have enough for one magic spell, so don't waste this shot. Look for an opening and go all out!"
"Magic? What are you talking about? You're a mortal!"
The heartless flew closer, a hoard of open mouths and empty, lifeless eyes blocking out the sea and the mist until Kairi and the others were surrounded in an artificial night made entirely of hungry monsters. Moana squeezed her eyes shut. Kairi felt the stale breathe of darkness on her cheeks. She gathered up what little energy she had and screamed.
"Reflect!"
The heartless smashed into her protective sphere, bouncing off. They were pushed so far back that a gap had opened below Kairi and Moana's legs, allowing them to see the ocean below. Kairi's magical glass vanished.
"Maui, now!"
The claws around Moana and Kairi's arms loosened. The girls fell down into the water. Above, Maui flashed, changing shape from a bird into a man, into a bird, and into a man again, as he flew and sliced, flew and sliced, through heartless. Below, Moana resurfaced from the water. She swam to her canoe, grabbed the rope, swam under the boat, and looped it around the outrigger. Jumping onto the outrigger, Moana clenched her teeth as she pulled the rope, finally flipping the boat back right side up.
Kairi spluttered as she surfaced for air. She spotted Hei Hei floating by and grabbed him by his tail feathers. She had managed to pull herself back onto the canoe just as Maui cut through the last darkball overhead. Kairi put Hei Hei back into his box before she collapsed onto the deck of the canoe. When Maui landed back on the boat, he leaned over Kairi, looking down at her with actual awe instead of disbelief.
"I've got to hand it to you, Purple. That was incredible. Never seen a mortal do such a thing."
"Do you believe this little purple girl can take care of herself now?"
"Sure do. Yet another thing you and Moana have in common. Full of surprises. Oh, and speaking of which. I think this is yours."
Maui extended his fist to Moana. He opened up his fingers, revealing Moana's pendant.
"Maui, you're my hero!" Moana threw the necklace around her neck and then jumped on Maui, hugging him.
Letting him go, Moana covered the shell pendant with both hands. "Thank you!"
"What can I say. Except, you're welcome."
"Oh, and thanks for protecting us. That was-" Moana closed her mouth. Now that her necklace had returned, she realized that Kairi was still lying flat on the canoe's deck. She leaned down and gently tapped Kairi's shoulder. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. I just fought a giant crab, and then used up all the last of my energy to help take down a bunch of heartless. Just give me a second."
Maui dug into the compartment under the boat, pulled out a banana and then dropped it on Kairi's stomach.
"Nothing like a snack to get your strength back."
He found himself a coconut next and sliced it in half, giving one half to Moana.
She sat down next to Kairi's head and drank the coconut water.
"You said, 'heartless.' Is that what those dark things are called?"
Kairi, having taken a bite of her banana, was only able to answer in one word. "Yup."
"I've battled at lot of nasties on the oceans," said Maui, "but nothing like those creatures."
Kairi swallowed a bite of her banana, sitting up. "Heartless are attracted to the darkness in people's hearts."
"And what do they do with the hearts if they find them?"
"Swallow them, corrupt them, pull them into the darkness." Kairi rubbed her arms. "They pretty much eat and destroy."
Moana and Maui gave each other worried looks.
"You don't think Te Fiti could be in danger again, do you?" Moana asked.
"I haven't seen any darkness like the kind we had back when Te Ka was around," Maui replied. "So it's fair to say that Te Fiti still has her heart, but it would be a good idea to go there just to make sure." Maui leaned back, looked up to the sky and sighed. "All I wanted was a nice fishing voyage with my old buddy, and I get roped into another 'save the world' trip. You mortals. Never satisfied. Well, let's get going so that I can say 'you're welcome.' Again."
"So is anyone going to tell who Te Fiti and Te Ka are?" Kairi asked.
"Te Fiti and Te Ka are the same person. Te Fiti is the mother island," Moana explained. "Her heart has the power of creation, to create life itself. Without her heart, she is a demon of earth and fire."
Kairi gulped. "A heart that has the power of creation? I would hate for the heartless to get their hands on something like that."
"Does that mean you're coming with us, Purple? Or do you have another thing to do?"
Kairi looked out into the ocean. The mist was slowly fading. As they passed through the last of the fog, the sun shined on the water. The breeze was soft, yet strong enough to push the canoe's sail forward. She looked out into the shining waves, hoping to see a raft with a pair of boys on it. No such luck.
"I got separated from my friends, and I don't think I'll be able to find them that easily. Besides, I can't help but feel I should travel with you two for a while."
"Maybe Te Fiti can point you in the right direction," Moana suggested. "After all, she is a goddess."
"That would solve one of my problems."
"What's the other one?"
Kairi shrugged. "Let's just say that the world just got a lot bigger, and who knows what kinds of problems that would cause."
Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi caught Maui glaring at her. His frown was so intense, that, for a moment, she thought he was going to bang her over the head with his hook. In a blink, his expression changed, back to his usual relaxed smirk. He flopped onto the deck, putting his hands behind his head.
"Well, good to have you along, Purple. Moana, you know the way."
"So you're just going to lay there and make me do all the work?"
"Pretty much."
Moana leaned her cheek in her hand, her expression tired.
"Don't worry," said Kairi, standing up to go to the back of the canoe. "I'll keep you company. Now, teach me how to sail."
Moana's happy expression morphed into one of annoyance when Maui said, "Asking for sailing lessons. See? What did I tell you? Moana Two."
"You sure learn quick."
Moana lounged on the deck of the canoe, looking up at the stars. Kairi sat at the end of the canoe, steering the boat with an oar in one hand while pulling the rope to open the sail in the other. A few lessons was all it took for Kairi to get the hang of sailing. She had taken the first shift of the night, allowing Moana to rest on the deck for a while.
Silver lines shined in the water, reflecting the stars above. At the front of the canoe, Maui stood, holding up his hand to the sky as though he were measuring the stars. Kairi's mind was too full of questions, keeping her wide awake, which was perfect since she needed to focus on sailing. Her mind wandered to the heartless she had seen above the ocean and in the realm of monsters. She swallowed a lump in her thought as she remembered all the heartless bursting out of the dark chasm at the bottom of the sea.
Trying not to think too hard, Kairi waved at Moana.
"Tell me about your island. What's it like?"
Moana closed her eyes. "The people in my village live off the island. We harvest coconuts, we weave our nets from their fibers, we use the leaves to make fires, we cook up the meat inside, we weave baskets, we practice dances and sing in choirs."
"It sounds like paradise."
Moana nodded. "It is."
Maui turned around, pointing at Kairi. "So what about you? What's your island like?"
"We have two islands, actually." Kairi replied. "The main island is where the town is. My school is there too. Then there's a smaller island where the kids go to play. It's where I used to hang out with my friends."
"Used to?"
Kairi blinked. Why had she said that? She knew in her heart that she would run into Sora and Riku again. After everything they had been through, there was no way those two would give up on finding her, or each other, again. So why did she suddenly feel as though her days on Destiny Islands were numbered.
"I mean, I still hang out with my friends and everything. It's just that we've, you know, started a new adventure out in the sea."
"Uh huh." Maui went back to looking at the stars. "We'll get to Te Fiti by sunrise." Maui stiffened, the muscles on his back tightening.
Moana sat up, "Something wrong?"
"The stars."
The girls looked up. The night sky had no moon, so the stars were able to shine bright and bold. Or at least, they should have. Instead of billions of glittering lights, sections of the sky were completely black, as though a painter had taken a splotch of ink and painted over of the stars. A lump of cold, bitter coal settled in the pit of Kairi's stomach. Something was indeed going on in the worlds. For the first time since being separated from them, she dearly hoped that Sora, Riku, and Ariel were safe. Then, an image of a lucky rabbit popped into her mind. Whatever was going in the realm of light could have had an impact on the realm of darkness as well. Kairi hoped that Oswald was all right.
"Is it the darkness," Moana asked.
"No," replied Maui, "I have a feeling this is something worse, something," he gave Kairi a look, "beyond our understanding."
Moana followed his line of sight. "You think it has something to do with Kairi?"
Maui shook his head. "What? With Purple? Naw. I was just being dramatic. You're so serious."
Moana rolled her eyes. When neither of them were looking, Kairi puffed up her cheeks and let out a sigh of relief.
"Still," Moana frowned at the sky, "those dark patches can't be a good sign, right?"
"Been seeing some of weird stuff happening lately," Maui said. "Heartless popping up in the sea, making sailing too dangerous for your people. I even saw a giant, monster whale swimming in the sea when I was flying around a few weeks ago."
Monstro, Kairi thought.
"Whatever is going on can't be good," Maui continued, "let's just hope that Te Fiti has some answers."
The group settled into an introspective silence. Only Hei Hei's clucking interrupted the sound of the waves and the wind. Kairi caught herself staring at the sky. Back on Sora's first adventure, as the heartless destroyed worlds, stars would vanish from the sky. The patches of dark sky overhead were nothing like back then. Whole sections of the sky were cleared away, the black voids in their place reminded Kairi of the stale, vast abyss that was the realm of darkness. If the worlds were somehow melting together, Kairi wondered, did that mean there was a chance that the realm of darkness could be added into the mix? It was a scary thought.
Her turn at sailing ended. Maui took over, allowing Kairi to sit down by the mast. She tried not to think, to focus on her task until she could find a way to reunite with Sora and Riku back at Disney Castle. Kairi shook her head, trying to knock out the annoying thoughts from her mind. Whatever was happening, she would find a way to solve it. She was sure of it. They had saved the worlds twice before. A third time shouldn't be a problem.
Besides, this was the easy stuff. It wasn't like Kairi had to decide whether or not she had to leave her friends behind for good to accept the responsibility of-Kairi smacked the side of her head with her palm. No! She would not think about that. Not now. Even if they saved the realm of light for a third time, she still had one more thing to do, one more friend to find, so that day, the day she refused to think about, had to wait until at least after that.
Maybe it was because of the sound of the waves, or caress of the wind against her neck, but Kairi somehow drifted off to sleep, only to wake up minutes later when the sun shined in her eyes. In front of her, Moana sat up and stretched. The patchy night sky had been replaced by a clear blue day.
"Morning, Moana," said Maui, pointing to the back of the boat. "Your turn is up."
Moana jumped onto the back of the boat and grabbed the oar. "How close are we to Te Fiti?"
"Can't be long now, till we see the island over the horizon," Maui replied, digging into the compartment under the deck for something to eat. He accidentally picked up Hei Hei. The chicken turned around to look at them, and then let out a shrill scream. Kairi covered her ears, and Maui wrapped his hand around the chicken's beak. The screaming didn't stop. And it was no longer coming from Hei Hei.
"Maui! Look!" Moana pointed to the horizon.
Turning around, Kairi and Maui echoed Moana's frightened cry.
A swarm of darkball and invisible heartless flew around a lush, green island that was shaped like a sleeping woman. Darkball heartless dive bombed into the tropical forests of the islands, while the invisible heartless sliced through trees with their swords and set sections of the island ablaze with their dark fire spells.
Moana pulled the sail tight, and the boat sped toward the island. Maui turned into a hawk, flying ahead. As he neared the attack, the island suddenly moved. From the hills that greatly resembled a woman's shoulder, a green arm reached up and started to swat away the heartless.
Kairi gasped, watching as the island changed shape. The mountains bent and shifted, and then a massive, beautiful woman sat up in the ocean. Her skin, her long, flowing hair, her dress, matched the brilliant, emerald green that had been on the islands only a second before. A crown of flowers adorned her head. If it weren't for the fact that she was swatting desperately at the heartless that were relentlessly attacking her, Kairi would have been absolutely speechless.
"Moana! Get ready!"
"Whatever you're going to do, do it!"
Kairi jumped onto the end of the boat, right behind Moana, and put her hands in the water.
"Waterga!"
A blast of magical water pounded into the sea, creating a miniature tidal wave that gave the canoe an extra push. Moana pulled the sail tight and the two girls rushed forward like a speedboat, catching up to Maui. Up in the air, he shifted from hawk to human, cleaving through heartless. From her place on the boat, Kairi threw fire and lightning spells up into the sky, careful not to hit Maui. Realizing that new opponents had arrived, the heartless dive-bombed onto the canoe.
Moana smashed the heartless back with her oar. The three of them destroyed countless heartless, but still they could not protect Te Fiti from the monsters that attacked her body. Not even Maui could maneuver around the endless hordes and soon, much like the sky at night, Te Fiti's body was covered in dark splotches as the heartless swarmed over her torso and chest.
Kairi's lungs seized. Dark pressure pounded in the atmosphere, making the very air too painful to swallow. She stumbled, barely able to hold onto the mast and lift her head to see her worst fears come true. Te Fiti's forests blackened as clouds of darkness seeped into her chest. Her eyes filled with smoke, shifting from lovely green to a sickly yellow that was soon the only brightness in her face. Her frightened expression hardened into one of emptiness. Every patch of green on her body turned into ash, her forests razzed by a smokeless fire that left her as nothing more then an empty husk.
The heartless stopped attacking, holding still in the air. Slowly, all their eyes, as well as Te Fiti's turned to Kairi and Moana's boat. Lifting her giant arm, Te Fiti swung at the canoe.
"Kairi! Moana!"
Maui landed on the front of the canoe, his hook shining. He lifted his weapon up. Te Fiti's palm slammed against it. A shockwave of energy knocked Kairi out. She didn't hear Maui and Moana's screams, didn't feel the boat thunder under her as the three of them flew over the waves. All she heard was a voice from deep within her heart.
One light alone will not stop the deepest darkness.
Jiminy's Journal
Tomatoa (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A giant, shiny crab that lives in Lalotai, the realm of monsters. He likes to collect things, especially anything sparkly, because he believes it makes him look beautiful. For someone that's so narcissistic and selfish, it was a surprise he actually didn't eat Kairi, choosing to throw her out of the realm of monsters instead.
Moana (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A girl that loves to sail the seas in search of new islands and adventures. Moana may be clumsy and stammer a lot whenever she's nervous, but she's also headstrong, fearless, and kind. She has a lot in common with Kairi (though Kairi has a bigger temper), which would explain why it's so easy for the pair of them to team up when they're teasing Maui.
Maui (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A boisterous, shapeshifting demigod that loves to show off and be the hero. Despite his arrogance, Maui is actually is quite good at defending others. He may have a hard time believing in mortals, but once they've proven themselves, he gives them the necessary respect. He and Moana butt heads at times, but it's obvious that their bickering is really just two best friends showing affection for one another.
Hei Hei (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A rooster that serves as Moana's sidekick. He's rather oblivious to his surroundings and doesn't seem to be very smart. He's also severely uncoordinated as he often misses the target of whatever he's pecking at. Still, his silliness is endearing enough that everyone on Moana's boat watches out for him.
Chapter 36: KH3 Chapter 5: Te Fiti
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Five: Te Fiti
A toothpick poked Kairi's forehead. Yelping, she sat up so quick, she launched into a coughing fit as sand went up into her nose and mouth. Spitting, she felt another toothpick sink into her knee, and looked up to find Hei Hei pecking away at her leg. He froze, stared at her, squawked, and then continued pecking. Kairi pushed the rooster off and stood so that she could shake her arms and legs. The most annoying thing about sand was that it just had to get everywhere. Even after she shook the stuff out of her boots and turned her socks inside out, she could still feel a layer of it scratching against her heels.
Hei Hei wondered the beach and then jumped onto a mound of sand. He started pecking again. Two seconds later, Moana reached up from under the sand and grabbed the chicken around his neck. She sat up, still clutching Hei Hei, who seemed to have no idea he was caught and moved his legs as though he were still walking.
Moana shook the sand out of her long hair. "I knew the ocean was dangerous, but I am getting real tired of being wrecked by waves and sea monsters."
Moana stood, shaking her grass skirt. She dropped Hei Hei into the sand and looked around. Gentle waves lapped at the beach they found themselves on. Behind them was a tropical island with palm trees that swayed in the soft breeze. The scent of coconuts and fresh grass mixed with the salty sea air made Kairi feel a little homesick. It would have been a perfect view, if it weren't for the fact that Moana's canoe was laying half submerged by the shore.
The canoe was collapsed on its side. The sail poked into the sand while the outrigger was submerged underwater. The mast was still standing, but the sail had been ripped, and the wooden beams supporting the outrigger poked out at odd angles, like broken bones. There was a tiny, orange fish flopping on sail of the canoe.
Moana and Kairi ran forward. Moana picked up the little fish, and Kairi chanted a reflect spell. Magical glass surrounded the little guy. Then his makeshift fish tank was filled with magical liquid as Kairi cast a water spell. Holding the magic bubble as carefully as they could, Moana and Kairi waded into the water.
"There you are!"
The ground thundered as Maui's pounding footsteps caught up to the girls. The magic bubble cracked.
"Maui, stop moving!" Moana ordered.
He froze, balancing on one foot.
Kairi watched the little fish swim around in desperate circles. "Aw, poor little guy. Just hold on. We're not deep enough into the water yet." The fish stopped swimming long enough for Kairi to notice that one of his front fins was smaller then the other. If fluttered up and down, like a hummingbird's wing. Instantly, Kairi's heart melted and a name popped into her head.
"Nemo. Hey, that fits. I'm going to call you, Nemo. Don't worry, Nemo. When you're in the water, I'll pop the bubble and set you free."
The fish turned to face Kairi, its eyes wide.
"How did you know my name?"
Moana twitched, her mouth opening wide, her foot taking a step back as though she were about to bolt. She must have reigned in her surprise because she pressed her lips together tight and held on to the bubble more carefully. Maui, on the other hand, completely lost his balance and splashed face first into the water. He surfaced, yelling.
"It talks? That's it. Te Fiti's last hit has officially scrambled my brains."
Kairi pinned him with a glare. "Shh! You're going to scare him!" Then, slowly, she faced the magic bubble. "Hi, Nemo. My name is Kairi. Just try to relax, we're going to lower you down soon."
"Girl, you're talking to a fish."
"Is it really that much weirder then a shark head?"
Now that completely snapped Moana out of her stupor. "Huh. She has a point."
Maui's mouth opened to retort, but no counterpoint came. With a defeated sigh, he watched as the girls moved deeper into the lagoon. Once they were knee deep in water, they slowly lowered Nemo down. When the bubble was completely submerged, Kairi released the reflect spell and Nemo swam out into the coral. He surfaced and waved his tiny fin at Kairi and Moana.
"Thanks!"
Kairi knelt into the water, letting Nemo swim around her palm. "Are you out here all alone?"
Nemo floated on Kairi's fingers. "Yes. I got separated from my Dad. I've been swimming and swimming, trying to find him, but the ocean is huge! And there all these monsters under the waves. I was running away from some black ball things and then..."
"I get it," said Moana, looking at her canoe. "You must have been near Te Fiti when she hit us. I'm sorry you got washed up ashore with us."
"Okay, now she's doing it too." Maui moved back to the shore. "I think I've had enough crazy for one day."
Back on the beach, Maui lifted Moana's canoe using only one arm. He set the boat back down so that it was right side up in sand. Walking around the canoe, he clicked his teeth at the scuffs and scratches.
"Looks like we've got some fixing to do."
While Maui fussed over the boat, Moana talked to Nemo.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Nemo looked down at the coral. "I have to find my Dad but I don't want to be all alone."
"It's hard to be separated from your family." Moana rubbed her shell necklace. "I know."
"Nemo, could you hold on for a second? Moana, can we talk?"
Standing, the girls faced each other, and spoke the same words.
"We have to take him with us."
Kairi and Moana blinked at each other, wearing a matching set of amused expressions.
"Hey, I just said that. Wait, no, stop talking at the same time!"
Kairi put her hands together and took a deep breath. She stared at Moana's puffy cheeks and tried not to laugh first. After a few seconds, it looked as though Moana wasn't going to talk, so Kairi took her chance.
"We can't just let him go out there alone. There are heartless everywhere. What if he gets hurt?"
"I don't know if he'll be able to swim fast enough to keep up with my canoe." Moana snapped her fingers. "We're going to need a coconut. A big one."
"I'll help you look."
"Great."
Giving Kairi a high five, Moana snorted. "Don't tell Maui I said this, but he's right. We really are alike."
"What's wrong with that? I think we're pretty stellar, don't you?"
Moana grinned. The two girls faced Nemo.
"We're going to go back to the island for a little bit before we head back out to sea," Moana explained.
"Come with us when we head out," said Kairi. "We'll look for your dad together."
Nemo backflipped. "Really? That sounds great! Okay, I'll be waiting."
Kairi put her hands over her heart and had to stop herself from cooing. As she walked back to the shore with Moana, she put her hands on her cheeks and giggled.
"He's so cute!"
Back on the shore, Maui was busy tying ropes around the outrigger's network of wooden beams. "Hey there, fish friends. You done with your meeting?"
Kairi and Moana crossed their arms. "We're taking him with us."
Maui threw his head back as though his neck didn't have the strength to support it. "Of course. You do realize that there's no way Tiny over there will be able to keep up with our boat."
"Let me worry about that," said Kairi. "How's the canoe?"
"Needs some work." Maui nodded at the sail. "But nothing I can't fix. I'm more worried about the provisions we lost."
"Well, we are on an island," said Moana. "Kairi and I can go hunting for fruit while you put the canoe back together."
"Fine." Maui grunted, tightening ropes around the canoe's sail. "Bring me a banana, will ya?"
It took about an hour for Moana and Kairi to find a coconut they deemed big enough for Nemo. By the time they returned with handfuls of fresh, wild fruit, Maui had already patched up the canoe. After the girls deposited the the food into the canoe's under-deck storage compartment, Maui pushed the canoe back into the water. Just before they sailed beyond the reef, Kairi spotted Nemo and guided him into the coconut that she and Moana had cleaned out for him.
Kairi made sure to keep Nemo safe, and away from Hei Hei, as Moana sailed. Things were quiet for a while, until an hour before sundown when Maui spoke the thing that was on everyone's mind.
"So we're not going to talk about how those heartless changed Te Fiti into some kind of dark monster?"
Moana let go of the rope and the canoe's sail closed, letting them stop for a moment. Kairi put Nemo into the sea. He swam around the boat, happy to be in a bigger space, at least for a little while. Gloom set over the deck as everyone tried to come up with words to express how they felt. Finally, Moana took off her necklace, staring as the azure shell glinted in the sunlight.
"Obviously we can't let Te Fiti stay the way she is." She pointed at Maui. "And don't tell me this mission is cursed."
"Wasn't gonna." Maui replied. "Don't worry. I got your back on this one."
He was rewarded with a warm smile.
"The question is," Maui went on, "how are we going to save Te Fiti? You saw what those creatures did. This isn't a simple matter of returning her heart to her. How do we drive away the darkness when it has already taken a hold of her heart?"
"I think I know how," Kairi said. "It won't be easy, and I can't do it alone, but it might work," she pressed her lips together, "that is, if we can get it just right."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have a special power. If I'm near my friends, and we combine our strength, I can use it to push the darkness away."
"So, what's the worry? You got a demigod pal right here."
Moana raised her hand. "And a soul twin."
"Thanks, but it'll still be tricky. Te Fiti is huge, and I'll only have enough energy for one big blast of light. We'll need a plan. A really, good plan."
"Kairi!"
Nemo was splashing up and down, his tiny fin waving desperately. When he caught Kairi's attention, he pointed to something in the distance. Kairi squinted, looking out into the horizon. A moment later, she grabbed Nemo's coconut and put in the water. Nemo swam in and Kairi pulled the coconut safely onboard just as the seawater darkened beneath them. The ocean's color was corrupted by an undercurrent of thick, dark purple. Like an oil spill that washed away all life, the ocean stilled, the murky water clinging to the canoe like a poisonous film.
A moment later, something sharp flew through the air, digging into the wood by Kairi's foot. Reaching down, Kairi pulled out what looked like a thick needle with pink feathers attached to the end. Moana and Maui paled when they caught sight of the dart in Kairi's hand.
"Oh no," Moana grit her teeth. "Kakamora."
"Ka-what," Kairi repeated.
"Murdering little pirates," Maui hissed, raising his hook. "How much you want to bet they're here for revenge?"
"Bring 'em on. I'm ready to bash some coconuts," Moana quipped.
Another dart sunk into the mast, missing Maui's cheek by a few inches. He pulled out the dart and tossed it into the ocean. Kairi looked around, searching for where the dart had come from. But, other then the oily darkness they were floating in, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then she started to feel sick. The water beneath them didn't have a stench, but the atmosphere was thinner, as though it had been robbed of moisture, spice, stink, or life giving oxygen. Like the air in the realm of darkness.
Before Kairi realized what was happening, the oily sludge beneath them shifted, moving to gather directly ahead of their canoe. It coalesced into three points and then rose out of the water, molding into massive pyramids that were so high, they casted shadows over Moana's boat. The oily edges hardened, and black bubbles popped. The distant sound of war drums filled the air, the beating getting louder and louder the more the darkness took shape. Small shadows moved over the slowly forming vessels, darting out of sight just as Kairi noticed movement and turned to look.
The darkness burst, spraying in the air like mist. The canoe was surrounded by three enormous floating fortresses. Massive purple sails poked out of the sides and tops of the wooden ships. The fortresses were layered with deck upon deck upon deck, like the floors of a building that had not yet had the walls put in. The ships were so tall that palm trees could be spotted growing from the bottom floors, their tops just a little bit shorter then the topmost platforms. Giant drums were attached to the lower tiers of the boats, and small creatures, with darkness oozing off their bodies, were banging against them. Huge, tusk like spikes stuck out from the decks and bottoms of the boats.
Harpoons sailed through the air from the giant ships, thunking hard into Moana's canoe. There were ropes attacked to the harpoons and soon the boat was being pulled toward the floating monstrosities. Kairi, Moana and Maui tried to pull the harpoons out. Then, Maui was suddenly tackled by a group of coconuts with purple arms, legs, and horns poking out their brown shells. The coconuts had angry mouths painted on them, and holes for where their eyes should have been. Some, armed with blow pipes and darts, had holes for their mouths as well. They fought with spears, harpoons, and knives, all made out of sea shells or whale bone.
The kakamora pulled at Maui's hair, punched his feet, tried to stab him with their tiny spears, but Maui put up a good fight, smacking the little pirates away with his hook. But when the kakamora raised a pipe and blew a few blow darts at the hand holding the fish hook, Maui made the mistake of letting his weapon go in order to keep his hand from getting skewered.
Before he could grab it, more kakamora flew down onto their boat, using the rope attached to the ends of the harpoons like zip-lines. Soon it was all Kairi could do to duck and kick the little coconuts, all the while trying to keep Nemo out of harm's way. One of the kakamora jumped and got a hold of her hood, pulling her backward. As Kairi jerked back, another kakamora grabbed Nemo's coconut out her hands.
"No! Nemo!"
"My hook!"
"Hei Hei!"
Having gotten their loot, the kakamora climbed back onto their ship. It was just then that Moana's canoe was pulled in, crashing onto the lowest deck of one of the kakamora's fortresses. Kairi jumped into the deck, chasing after the kakamora that had Nemo's coconut. She heard his terrified cries for help as he bounced in what little water was still left in his shell.
Meanwhile, Maui barreled his way through whole leagues of kakamora, chasing after his magic hook, while Moana chased after Hei Hei, who was clucking cluelessly even though the kakamora had a tight grip on his neck.
Kairi climbed up the second deck, where she spotted the kakamora looking into Nemo's coconut shell. He tossed out the water, and Nemo along with it. The little fish flailed in midair before falling into the ocean, out of Kairi's sight.
"Nemo!"
She was about to dive into the ocean, but then a whole team of kakamora got her way. The little pirates pointed their weapons at Kairi, advancing on her. She stood her ground, her face reddening, her lips peeling back to show teeth, and the light inside her burning.
"That's it! I'm turning all of your into fruit punch! Bring it!"
One of the braver, or stupider, coconut pirates ran forward, his tiny spear raised over his head. He met a boot to the face as Kairi kicked him like football. Ignoring the kakamora as it went flying, Kairi picked up the spear that had fallen from his hand and charged at the rest of his buddies. Under any other circumstance, Kairi would have laughed at the fact that she was having a sword, or spear, fight with a bunch of pint sized coconut pirates, but at that moment she was too enraged to care.
She parried and thrust with the spear, not at all bothered that it was too imbalanced to be used properly like a sword. Max's expert training made it so that Kairi cleaved through whole groups of Kakamora. She cleared an entire deck by herself, making it so much easier for Maui to climb up to the top, where he confronted the kakamora leader.
A dozen more coconuts surrounded their captain, all raising swords, axes, knives and spears into the air. The leader held Maui's hook tight.
"Hand it over quietly, and no one gets hurt," Maui warned.
The kakamora came at him. Maui stomped so hard on the deck that the shaking made the coconuts clatter, banging their heads together. He charged forward, picking up Captain Kakamora and his hook, and banging the coconut shell hard against his weapon. The captain and his cronies went down. Maui shifted into a hawk and flew down toward Kairi, grabbing her while she was still busy slicing and dicing through another set of kakamora.
She kicked her feet when he pulled her up into the air.
"Put me down, Maui! Right now!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down, feisty pants! We've got to get out of here!"
"NO! They hurt Nemo! I'm not leaving until I pummel every one of those stupid shells!"
"Not to self, don't make her angry. Wait, what? What happened to Nemo?"
"They threw him into the sea! What if he's hurt? Let me at 'em, Maui! Or do I have to clobber you too?"
"Nope, you go do your thing, Purple. I'll go after Nemo."
Maui dropped Kairi onto the nearest deck. He then dive-bombed into the sea, shouting.
"Cheehoo!"
Just before Maui hit the water, he shifted into a fish.
Now free, the first thing Kairi did was search for Moana. On the deck below Kairi, Moana was using her oar to smack around Kakamora like she were playing deranged game of whack-a-mole. Hei Hei clucked around her legs, avoiding getting hit by the oar, and the pirates, either by sheer, dumb luck, or some form of crazy talent. Kairi jumped from the deck toward Moana. In midair she shouted.
"Reflect!"
Her ball of magical glass smashed the kakamora that had been directly underneath her landing spot. Letting the shield drop, she picked up the nearest, dizzy kakamora at her feet.
"Hey, Moana! Incoming!"
"What?"
Kairi didn't wait for Moana to fully turn around. She chucked the kakamora with all her strength and it flew at Moana like an oversized baseball. Reacting quickly, Moana smashed her oar against the coconut and it went sailing through the air, plopping pathetically in the sea several leagues away.
"Going, going, GONE!" Kairi cheered.
"Yeah!"
Moana reached over and gave Kairi a high five.
The celebration was interrupted when a thunderous stampede headed their way. Turning around, both girls saw that the entire crew was now jumping from ship to ship, making a b-line toward them.
"That's right! Come to me, you jerks!"
Several kakamora placed blowdarts in front of their mouths.
"Nope!" Moana grabbed Kairi's arm. "Climb!"
Picking up Hei Hei by the neck, Moana scurried up the nearest ladder with Kairi right behind her. On the next platform, Moana pounded her way through kakamora, smashing them off the ship or into the floors. Kairi covered Moana's rear, throwing fire spells at their pursuers.
"Feel the burn, you wannabe bowling balls!"
Her spells burned coconuts, as well as set fire to whole sections of the ship. Some of the kakamora stopped to put out the fires, but a larger number of them relentlessly chased the girls until they reached the top level. Standing back to back, Moana and Kairi were quickly surrounded by hordes of coconut pirates. For the first time since the fight began, darkness smoked out of their coconut shells. They piled on top of each other, turning into a massive flyswatter that was quickly coming down on the girls' heads.
"Jump!"
Moana and Kairi dived off the top platform. Splashing into the water, Kairi quickly turned to swim back up to the surface. The breath she was holding nearly came out as a scream when she saw the three kakamora swimming after them. Underwater, she wasn't able to chant any spells! Kairi tried to swim faster, but the coconuts were stupidly fast swimmers. They thrusted out their spears.
The weapons stopped inches away from Kairi and Moana's noses. The kakamora sank. Behind them, holding darts in their mouths were Maui, still in fish form, and Nemo. The smaller fish spit out the blow dart and pointed up. Maui changed into a shark, darting toward the surface. When Moana, Nemo and Kairi surfaced, they spotted Maui doing his patented bird-to-man trick. He sliced off the masts supporting the sails to the kakamora's ships.
From her place in the water, Kairi threw fire spells at the crumbling fortresses. As the kakamora scrambled to repair their ships, Maui landed on Moana's canoe, pulling out the harpoons that were holding it down. Moana grabbed Hei Hei and her oar, which were both floating nearby. She reached her boat first, and immediately prepared the ship to sail.
Kairi pulled herself onto the boat. "Wait! What about Nemo?"
"I'll stay with him," said Maui. "Moana, get this ship moving!"
"Got it!"
Maui pushed the boat back into the water and Moana pulled the sail open. The canoe caught the wind, and the girls flew forward on the waves. Kairi looked back. Maui turned into a fish and jumped into the water. She spared a second to feel some sweet relief, but then had to turn her attention back to the boats surrounding hers. The kakamora, now in a panic, no longer radiated darkness as their focus was more on repairing their ships then giving in to their hatred. Pieces of the boats flew off, huge planks of wood and tusks falling into the ocean, narrowly missing the canoe.
Kairi jumped onto the back with Moana, threw her hands into the water and shouted.
"Waterga!"
The magical water made them speed under the falling debris. Moana expertly balanced the boat, weaving through the thin opening between the two kakamora ships. Soon they were safely floating away, leaving the crumbling boats and scrambling pirates behind. Moana and Kairi cheered.
"Maybe taking down Te Fiti won't be so hard after all," Kairi said.
"We won't take her down, we'll restore her back to the light," Moana corrected.
The girls sailed for a little while. After sundown, Moana felt safe enough to stop. She let the boat rest on the water and shared a snack of fruit with Kairi while looking at the stars. There were still patches of complete blackness in the sky, and Moana rubbed her neckless, a faraway look on her face.
"Looks like the darkness took over more then just Te Fiti," she said. "Why is it in the sky too?"
"I don't know," Kairi admitted. "Darkness is a mysterious thing, and, to be honest, so is the light. I do know that feelings of hatred, angry, rage, jealousy, greed," Kairi paused, "or the type of curiosity that doesn't care about the well being of others is what pulls the darkness toward you. Heartless prey on the darkness in people's hearts. And there's darkness in every heart." Kairi put her hand on her chest. "Except mine."
"Why is that?"
"I don't really know," Kairi took off her boots and socks, and put her feet in the water. "For the longest time, I was just happy to stay on my island with my best friends. Then, a great darkness attacked my home, and I was out on my first adventure."
Moana came to sit next to her, putting her feet in the water as well. "I've been through the same. Left my home all alone, to save my island, and my people."
She put her hands over her shell pendant.
"That necklace is really important to you, isn't it?"
"It was my grandma's," Moana explained. "And my ancestor's. My people are voyagers. We sail the seas, looking for new islands, but we stopped when those creatures appeared. I forbade traveling along the oceans until I could find out how to stop these monsters."
"Forbade? You lead your people?"
"I'm the daughter of the chief. I haven't yet taken command from my dad, but I will someday."
Kairi lifted her legs, bringing her knees to her chest. "How do you know you're making the right decisions for your people?"
"Well, my people guide me as much as I guide them. We build our future together."
Kairi closed her eyes, remembering her own grandmother, remembering the night she lost her. Her grandfather had plunged the home he was supposed to lead into darkness and decay, all to satisfy his own selfish need for knowledge. The night he brought heartless into their world, Kairi had been so little, so afraid. Wishing to be someplace safe, she ended up on Destiny Islands, with Sora, and forgot the truth about who she was. Twice she had returned to the place she was born, once as a prisoner to open the door to darkness, and once as a visitor, where she had destroyed the heartless machine.
If Ariel and Moana's worlds were somehow connected to the Destiny Islands, did that mean that Hollow Bastion was out there somewhere too? Since destroying the heartless machine, since talking to Aerith, Kairi found herself thinking about her old home more and more. What would the people in the town think if they knew her grandfather had been Ansem, the so called wise man whose research had destroyed their home. Aerith seemed to think that Kairi should lead, but Kairi wasn't so sure the other people would agree. Plus, Hollow Bastion didn't feel like her home anymore. In her heart, Destiny Islands was where she was truly happy. There she could run on the beach with her friends and not be trapped inside some lonely castle, leading a group of researchers. Besides, did Hollow Bastion really need her? Leon and the others seemed to be doing just fine on their own.
Still, late at night, when she tried to sleep, when she wasn't fighting, or hanging out with Sora, a feeling nagged at her heart. The ever looming image of Hollow Bastion wouldn't leave her mind, but Kairi refused to face it. At least, not yet. She still had things to do, still had friends to save, and there was no way she was going to make any decisions until she dived back into the darkness and pulled those friends out.
"I wish I had your confidence," Kairi told Moana, "I lost my grandma when I was small. I'm sure that, if nothing bad had happened, she would have prepared me to lead my home as well."
"Confidence? You absolutely destroyed in that battle back there."
"But that's fighting. Not leading. I have no experience in that."
"And I had no experience in sailing, and I still managed to go at it alone for a while before Maui taught me how."
"But I'm not ready to leave my friends!"
Moana leaned back, surprised by Kairi's sudden intensity. Embarrassed, Kairi turned around, and tried hard not to sniffle.
"I'm sorry."
Moana put a hand on Kairi's shoulder.
"I don't know what you're journeying for but maybe if you keep going you'll get the guidance you need. Maybe the real reason you were put on this journey is to get more clarity, so that when the time comes, you can answer the question, 'who am I meant to be?'"
Kairi turned around. "What if I'm meant to be the next great wise woman of my people? What if I have to give up my friends to fulfill that role?"
Moana put her hand in the water and threw a splash at Kairi's face.
"There's no reason you can't have both."
Kairi whipped the water from her cheeks. "You don't understand. I can't tell you why, but no matter what choice I make, I can only have one or the other."
Moana splashed her again. "If I can sail across the sea and restore the heart of Te Fiti, then you can find a way to have both."
She said it with such finality that, despite everything, Kairi felt her spirits lifting. She kicked, splashing Moana's skirt with water.
"You know, you're pretty smart."
Moana splashed her back. "Don't give me all the credit. I had the best grandma in the world. She taught me all that."
Kairi stared into the sky. "Do you miss her?"
"Sometimes, but there's no where I can go where she won't be with me."
Kairi giggled. "You're right. Our hearts are connected. Even long after our loved ones are gone. Thanks for reminding me."
"Your welcome," Moana sang.
Maui caught up early the next day. He swam up to the boat in his shark form, shifted into a man, and then climbed up onto the deck. When Moana and Kairi asked him where Nemo was, Maui pulled out a coconut from the sea, shaking his head. Icy needles tingled in Kairi's stomach. She looked into the coconut and nearly swore.
Nemo's head was stuck in one of the blow pipes the Kakamora had used to attack them. The tiny fish wiggled his tail, his cries reaching Kairi's ears.
"Help! I'm stuck!"
Moana glared at Maui. "You left him stuck like this?"
"I can't just push him out. I might hurt him. I tried to catch up to you guys as fast as I could, hoping you two would have some ideas. Come on, you guys are planning types."
Kairi reached into the coconut, and put her finger into the small tube. The blow pipe was far to long for her to try and push Nemo out, but she did realize that it was just a little bit wider then he was.
"Nemo, it's up to you. You have to wiggle yourself out."
"I can't!"
"Yes you can! You're a tough little guy! You survived being thrown into the sea! You've been doing your best on your own even though you're scared! You saved me from that kakmora!"
"But I have a bad fin."
"So what? There was a time I didn't know any magic. I was helpless. I didn't let that stop me."
Moana joined in. "I couldn't sail at one point, I couldn't even make it past the reef on my island."
"Even me, the great Maui, couldn't shape shift to save my life when I got my hook back after a thousand years."
Nemo was quiet for a second. Kairi, Moana and Maui held their breaths. Finally, Nemo said, "O-okay. I'll try."
"Hey, your tiny fin will help you! Alternate wiggling your fins and tail," said Kairi.
Nemo grunted, his tiny tail shaking back and forth. Then his tail disappeared as he went further into the tube. He yelped.
"Don't give up," cheered Kairi and Moana. "Keep going! You can make it out out the other side."
Maui grit his teeth. "Come on, kid."
They stared at the blowdart without blinking, listening to Nemo's grunts, hoping he was moving forward. Finally, Nemo popped out of the blow dart. He floated for a few moments, his eyes wide, and then he twirled in the water, screaming, "I did it! I did it!"
The laugher and excitement that erupted was so loud and happy that even Hei Hei joined in, cawing loud and proud. Gently, Kairi reached into the coconut, pulled out the blowpipe and threw it into the sea. When the group finally settled down, Nemo spoke.
"Um, I have a question," he said.
Maui put the coconut down on the deck. Moana and Kairi knelt down, looking inside. Nemo looked nervous, but there was also a newfound hope in his eyes.
"Do you really think I'm that strong," he asked Kairi.
"Of course."
Nemo smiled. "Then, put me back in the sea."
Moana frowned. "You're leaving?"
"You guys are really good friends, but my dad is somewhere deep in the ocean. I was able to dodge those coconut monsters underwater. I'm sure I can take care of myself now. Besides, I know Dad is looking for me. I'll find him."
Kairi swallowed. "But-"
"Let him go, kid." Maui looked at Moana. "Sometimes, the smallest little thing can surprise you."
Moana smiled. "He's got a point."
Kairi looked at Nemo.
He nodded. "I'll be okay."
Gently, Kairi put the coconut into the water and tipped it over so that Nemo could swim out safely. He swam alongside the boat. "Thank you for everything."
"Hey Nemo, can I ask one more favor before you go."
"Sure!"
"In case you run into a boy named Sora, can you give him a message? Tell him that I'm okay and I will meet up with him at the castle after I'm done helping my friends. He'll know what it means."
"Right, I can do that. Good luck on your journey."
"I hope you find your dad, kid!"
"Try not to go near any other boats," said Moana. "Be careful!"
"I will!" Nemo swam down, vanishing underwater.
The closer they got to Te Fiti, the darker the sky became. At first, there was the occasional grey storm cloud, but then the entire sky was covered in a thick layer of black smoke. Kairi saw flashes of violet lightning overhead. A shockwave of darkness slammed into her body. The pressure forced her down to her knees. The waves grew harsher, rising ten feet. With Maui's help, Moana was able to keep the boat right side up as they sailed on.
Te Fiti appeared in the distance. Sitting in the sea, her body was charred, as though she had toiled under demonic wildfires. Her skin was decayed, ashy, her yellow eyes stared vacantly at the canoe as it drew closer. Blue veins pulsed along her arms, shoulders and face. Darkball and invisible heartless appeared. The hovered around Te Fiti's head, like guards protected their corrupted prisoner. They had the strong heart they wanted, and they weren't going to release her without a fight.
On the tiny boat, Moana, Kairi, and Maui stared at the army of heartless ahead.
Kairi gathered energy inside herself. "Remember the plan."
Maui cracked his neck. "Yep. Ready for this, ladies?"
Moana pulled her hair into a small bun on top of her head. Standing on the back of her canoe, she gripped the sail's rope tight in her hand. "Let's save Te Fiti."
Changing into a hawk, Maui flew toward the island goddess. She slowly lifted her arm, pointing at Maui. The heartless stormed forward. Maui shifted to a man in midair, smacking whole groups of the heartless with his hook, sending them down into the sea, near Moana's boat.
"Thundaga!"
Kairi's lightning magic surged through the water, frying the hordes that Maui sent down. A group of darkballs managed to recover from Maui's attack, avoiding the water. They charged at the boat. Moana leapt onto the front of the canoe, the force from her jump making the boat turn sharply. The heartless missed, slamming into the water. As Moana jumped on the outrigger to pull the rope and rebalance the boat, Kairi obliterated the heartless with more thunder magic.
Up above, Maui changed into a whale, slamming down heartless with his massive body. The wave he created pushed Moana's canoe, moving it closer to Te Fiti. When the heartless resurfaced from the water, they were met by a nasty surprise as Maui came down as a whale a second time, creating a wave that wiped them out.
Moana pulled the sail, opening it wide. "Almost there!"
Up above, Maui cut through another battalion of heartless, sending a few more down for Kairi to destroy.
"Come on Maui," Kairi said.
He flew closer to Te Fiti's eyes. She swatted at him, and he flew around her arms, shifting into an iguana to escape from between her fingers. He landed on her shoulder, and Te Fiti tried to squash him with her palm. The heartless all turned toward Maui, allowing Kairi and Moana to sail so close that they were able to jump onto Te Fiti's shores. Hei Hei chased the girls as they ran onto the Te Fiti's charred surface.
"Ready?" Kairi extended her arm.
Moana grasped Kairi's hand, and closed her eyes. "Let's do it!"
Kairi reached into Moana's heart and nearly fell over with the amount of light that came her way. Passion for the sea, a great love for her people, unafraid of new challenges, tolerance, a stubbornness to stand her ground no matter what, Moana's will was powerful and easily to combined with Kairi's own light. Joined by a mutual hope, the girls raised their hands, energy zipping along their bodies, ready to come out as they breathed in deep to shout out the incoming spell.
There was a terrible crack, followed by a weak cry that broke Kairi's heart. Moana let go of her hand, looking up. Te Fiti squeezed Maui in her fist, and then hurled him into the ocean. Without thinking, Kairi and Moana jumped back on the canoe, sailing toward Maui, who was sinking, fast. The heartless chased after them, and Moana swerved to try and outrun them while Kairi threw fire spells in the air.
Te Fiti let out a roar, the high pitch of her cry needling into Kairi's ears like a painful tinnitus that wanted to worm its way into her brain. She pressed her ears to her head. Looking back, her eyes widened in horror when she saw that Te Fiti's fist was about to slam down onto the ship.
"Reflect!"
Te Fiti's hand hit the little boat. The spell protected Kairi and Moana, but the canoe broke into pieces. The girls crashed into the sea, but refused to be taken down. Resurfacing, Kairi and Moana swam to Maui, pulling him up to the surface and turning him over. Putting her hand on his shoulder, Kairi chanted a healing spell, and then sighed as the last of her magic faded away.
Maui gasped, opening his eyes. The heartless above them dived, getting closer by the second. Maui coughed and tried to lift his hook, but he was too weak to do anything other then keep himself floating.
"Get out of here you two. Swim as fast you can. I'll try to hold them off."
"Don't try to act tough now. You're in no condition to fight."
"Don't argue with me, Purple. Just get out of here."
"You're crazy if you think I'm leaving you here," Moana hissed. "Come on, Kairi, kick your legs."
"They're coming." Maui pushed Moana and Kairi away. "Just go."
"NO!" Moana and Kairi shouted together. They each grabbed one of Maui's arms, dragging him through the water.
"You two," Maui coughed, "are the most stubborn people I've ever met!"
The invisible heartless above pointed their swords down, the darkballs opened their mouths wide. There was no way Kairi and Moana could out swim them. Maui clutched his hook, shifting into a hawk. He managed to pull the girls out of the water and up in to the air, but he could barely flap his wings. His movements were clumsy and slow, and the soon the heartless surrounded them again. A giant fist was heading their way, as Te Fiti was ready to destroy them with one final blow. If the heartless didn't get them first, then Te Fiti would.
Moana put her hand on Maui's talon and then reached out to grab Kairi's shoulder.
"I am Moana of Motonui! Boat or no boat, nothing is going to stop me from restoring Te Fiti!"
Despite the fact that Maui could barely fly, he whooped. "Cheehoo! Let's do this! It's not over till it's over!"
"It's not over until it's over," Kairi whispered, reaching to grab Moana's hand one more time. "Let's save her."
Moana nodded. Maui's talon squeezed Kairi's shoulder gently. A blast of power collided with Kairi's heart. She wanted to kick her legs, jump, sing, dance, anything to get rid of the extreme hyperactive energy that was gathering in her chest. All of Moana's spirit flowed into her, along with Maui's loyalty, wit, strength, gregariousness, and a need for acceptance that pushed him to do good deeds. Their combined trust in each other, as well as their new found faith in Kairi surged through the three of them, the magic begging to be released.
Time slowed as they breathed as one. Te Fiti's arm was mere feet away, the heartless came at them from every angle. One more flap of Maui's powerful wings, and it was over.
Together, they whispered the spell. "Tsunami!"
Deep beneath the ocean, there was a mighty pulse. The sea floor vibrated. The ocean pulled back from Te Fiti, leaving a dry valley of sand as the water retreated far behind Maui, Kairi and Moana. The three of them floated in the air, glowing a pearly white. A mountain of water rose up from behind them, climbing so high it almost touched the clouds. The wave crashed forward, moving harmlessly through the three that had summoned it, but devastating the heartless caught in its wake. The pressurized water cleaved the darkballs and invisible heartless, crashing into Te Fiti, pushing her arm and body backward.
The burst of magical energy from their attack gave Maui the strength he needed to zip over to Te Fiti. The goddess lay on her back, momentarily stunned.
"Go take care of business!"
Maui dropped Moana and Kairi, and, as they fell, the girls gathered energy.
Images flashed through Kairi's mind. She saw Moana's memories. Saw her placing Te Fiti's heart back in her chest, saving the goddess on her first adventure. Kairi felt Moana's joy, the compassion she gave Te Fiti when she reminded the goddess of her true nature. The wave had passed over Te Fiti, and the girls landed on the goddesses chest. They put their hands over the black smoke of darkness that coated Te Fiti's heart, and whispered.
"Holy."
Soft ripples of light fluttered all over Te Fiti's body. The darkness crumbled away. Grass grew, flowers bloomed, trees rose up from Te Fiti's surface as her body pulsed with the vibration of life and hope. Kairi and Moana, exhausted, tumbled backward, falling. Green ground rose up to meet them, and they landed on soft grass. Above them, the storm clouds faded and sunlight tingled along their skin.
Giant, concerned, green eyes looked down at them. Kairi tried not to gasp at the sight of Te Fiti's giant, beautiful face. If her muscles hadn't felt as though she had stretched them out to their limit and then snapped them back again, Kairi would have bowed, or least sat up. All she could do was move her neck. She noticed that she was lying down in Te Fiti's massive palm. Moana at least had the energy to raise her upper body up onto her elbows. Maui crashed on to Te Fiti's fingers behind Kairi and Moana. Equally tired, he fell to his knees.
"Glad to have you back, Te Fiti," he rasped, before he fell forward to lie flat in the goddess' hand.
Te Fiti's smile was kind and sweet. She raised her other hand and opened her palm. A breeze of flower petals fluttered over Kairi's skin, breathing energy into her. She stretched as though she had just woken up from the most rejuvenating of naps. As Moana and Maui stood alongside her, Te Fifi closed her eyes and leaned forward. Moana pressed her forehead to Te Fiti's.
"I'm so glad that you're all right."
Te Fiti leaned back and then opened her free hand a second time. Hei Hei clucked out of her fingers, walking awkwardly to join his companions.
"Told you the chicken was lucky," said Moana.
Maui shrugged. "Fine, fine."
Kairi giggled. She caught Te Fiti staring at her. Though the goddess spoke no words, Kairi felt something familiar, like the joy of reuniting with a long lost friend.
Te Fiti pointed out into the horizon.
"Is that where I need to go?" Kairi asked.
Te Fiti nodded.
"Thank you."
Smiling, Te Fiti safely lowered them down to her shores. She let out a deep breathe, and a breeze swept over her island body. On the beach before Moana, Kairi and Maui, the breeze kicked up the sand, making it swirl in a gentle cyclone. When the sand faded, Moana's canoe sat on the beach, completely restored. Next to it was another canoe. This was was smaller, and had a star on its sail.
Kairi turned around, and sent a silent thank you to Te Fiti. The goddess leaned to the side, lying down in the sea. When she closed her eyes to rest, she was no longer a tall, green goddess in the sea, but the mother island once again.
Kairi jumped onto her new canoe and found her oar. Maui pushed her boat into the water. The two boats sailed away from the island. Once they were far out in the sea, Kairi made her boat face the direction Te Fiti had told her to go. She turned to wave at Moana and Maui.
"Thanks for everything!"
"I hope you find your friends," said Moana.
Maui jumped from Moana's boat to Kairi's. She opened her arms, expecting a hug, but Maui shook his head.
"Listen, Kairi."
"Oh? I'm not 'Purple' anymore? Or Moana Two?"
"Naw. You're you, and Moana is Moana. She's the daughter of a chief, but she's not a princess of heart, is she?"
Kairi took a step back. "How did you know?"
"When you're a demigod that's lived for over a thousand years, you pick up a thing or two. I'm guessing that whatever is going on with that 'other problem' you mentioned is bigger then just this world, isn't it?"
"Wait a minute. Did you know what the heartless were this whole time too?"
"I may have heard a few ancient legends about creatures of darkness that eat people's hearts, yes, but that's not important." Maui held out his hand. "My gut tells me this is going to be huge. Just know that if you ever need a shape shifting warrior to fight the upcoming battle, I'm there."
Speechless, Kairi shook Maui's hand. Before she could say anything, he winked.
"You're welcome."
Moana jumped onto Kairi's canoe. She hit Maui's shoulder with the back of her hand.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Maui turned his head away as though he couldn't see her. "Maybe. When you're ready for it."
Still shaking her head in exasperation, Moana hugged Kairi.
"Wherever you go, whatever you do, no matter what you choose, don't forget that you can always find happiness right where you are."
"Thanks Moana. If I ever need leadership advice, I'll know who to call."
Kairi yawned. Sailing through the ocean blue was a lot more boring when she was doing it alone. After saying goodbye to Moana and Maui, she sailed on in silence for two whole hours before she quickly got tired of listening to the waves and the wind. Singing barely made the voyage tolerable.
"When you walk away, you don't hear me say, please, oh baby, don't go."
But even that got old quick. The sun was high, and it was hot, and all Kairi wanted to do was lie down on the deck of her canoe and sleep. The wind picked up, and suddenly her little boat lurched. Kairi nearly face planted the deck. She only managed to regain her balance by hugging the mast to her chest.
Another blast of air pounded down on Kairi's head. She looked up. Her jaw dropped. A gummi ship was moving through the skies. Kairi grabbed her canoe's halyard, tightening it, making the sail open wide. Pointing into the ocean behind her, she bellowed.
"Waterga!"
A swell of water pushed the boat, and she rocketed forward, chasing after the gummi ship. When she was close enough, she threw a fire spell into the sky. The fireball sailed up, passing the gummi ship. The ship paused in midair, turning around. It flew downward, stopping to hover mere feet above the ocean. There was movement in the glass cockpit. Kairi looked inside, and spotted a broad shouldered, blond man waving at her.
A moment later, he spoke, his voice echoing out of the gummi ship's speakers.
"Hey there, kid. Bout time we found ya."
"Cid? Wait, what do you mean by 'about time?'"
"Hope aboard. I'll explain on the way."
Jiminy's Journal
Te Fiti (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A goddess with a heart so powerful that she can create life itself. She and Moana seem to share a special connection, which must have been the reason Moana, with Kairi's help, was able to free her from the darkness.
The Kakamora (First Appeared in Moana, 2016): A tribe of greedy, coconut pirates that sail the seas. Easily corrupted by darkness, they tried to attack Moana and Maui for revenge. If they hadn't made the mistake of hurting Nemo and inviting Kairi's wrath, they might have stood a chance.
Chapter 37: KH3 Chapter 6: Neverland
Chapter Text
Author's Notes:
So this chapter was tricky to write, not because of the subject matter, but because of all the hidden plot details that had to be carefully placed here and there, as to not spoil anything. Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Six: Neverland
"Ouch!"
Riku sat up. Groggy, and with an ear that pounded from a thousand tiny needles, he was too disoriented to sense his surroundings. Scents reached his nose, but his concentration was too haywire to process them. He was a sitting duck, too confused to feel for what, or who, was nearby. Then a tiny foot kicked his nose.
Riku's hand went from rubbing his injured ear to his covering his face. Through the confusion and pain, he could somehow heard muffled voices in the distance. There was no way to tell if they were friend or foe.
A low, nasally voice spoke over what sounded like ringing bell.
"Calm down, Tink. I can't understand a word you're saying."
Another voice, this one higher, more excitable, spoke next. "Who's that guy? A pirate?"
The ringing bell became louder.
"Tink says that he's an enemy! Come on, Cubby! Let's get him!"
A pair of soft, fluffy bodies slammed down on top of Riku's chest, pushing him down onto the rocky ground. Still too focused on breathing and pain, he had no idea what was going on, and couldn't fight back as what felt like two pint sized kids wrestling him to the ground. Before he knew it, the two fur covered kids coiled a rope around his chest, pinning his arms to his sides.
"PULL!"
The ropes tightened, pulling him up to his feet. More ringing sounded in the air. Frustration bubbled in Riku's stomach. He dug his heels into the ground, resisting.
"He's strong," cried the high pitched voice.
The nasal voice grunted. "Don't give up! Pull!"
"Tink! Help!"
More ringing. Then a soft, silky dust showered on Riku's head and shoulders. He sneezed, and his whole body felt weightless. Wait. No. He didn't feel weightless. He was weightless! He was a balloon, floating in the air, tethered to the ground by the ropes around his chest. And if that weren't bad enough, the soft dust tingled on his skin, making him giggly, which was a weird emotion to have while kicking one's feet in total panic.
"What's going on? Why am I floating?"
The nasal voice squeaked. "He can talk!"
"Don't let your guard down! Remember, he's with the pirates!"
"Sorry, Slighty."
Footsteps. Riku dipped his chin downward. Someone was standing below him.
"Listen here, pirate! You are now a prisoner of the Lost Boys. Don't try anything funny."
"Yeah," agreed the nasal voice, Cubby. "We're taking you to Pan! He'll know what to do with you."
For the first time since his feet had left the ground, Riku stopped struggling. "Pan?"
"That's right. The one and only Peter Pan. The boy that never grows up. He'll teach ya what for."
"I'm in Neverland?"
"That's right, prisoner," barked the high pitched voice, Slighty, trying to sound tough but his voice, even lowered a pitch, was still too boyish to be taken seriously.
The ropes tightened as Riku was tugged forward. He wriggled in the air, trying to reactivate gravity on his body. No luck. Worse yet, the two peewees that had captured him had somehow wound the rope around his body so that it tightened the more he struggled. Eventually he had no choice but to stop moving or risk cutting off his air supply.
That left him with nothing to do but be pulled like a kite toward wherever they were going. Riku closed his eyes. Taking several deep breaths, he tried to get a feel for his surroundings. It wasn't easy. The dust all over his body made his sense of touch useless. Floating in midair muddled his thoughts. It was like trying to spot a penny on the ground while spinning in a tornado in the middle of a sandstorm. Slowly, ever so slowly, his ears, nose, and head stopped pounding long enough for him to concentrate on the light and darkness around him.
There was sea salt on the breeze, but the scent was distant. Lush green scents of a jungle rejuvenated his lungs. Pushing his senses out farther, Riku heart the rustling of leaves, the blades of grass swaying in the wind, and the breathing of his two would be captors. Then, he heard a bell ringing.
Something jingled by his ear. Riku focused on it, and felt a glimmer of sparkling light. A sweet and sour scent reached his nose. It matched the tingly dust on his head and shoulders. He sparkling light flitted about him. It was small and fast, like...a pixie?
There hadn't been a jungle or a beach on Riku's first trip to Neverland. Back then, the only part of this world he had seen had been the sea and Captain Hook's pirate ship, where he had listened to the old coot harangue on and on about Peter Pan this, Peter Pan that, blast that Peter Pan, bla bla bla. Back then, all Riku cared about was the blinding, all consuming jealousy he had felt toward Sora, Donald and Goofy. That was back when he been on a power high from being given the ability to control the heartless from Maleficent. He hadn't cared who had lived on Neverland. So, the pixie and the so called "Lost Boys" were a total surprise.
The two boys finally stopped. One of them, Riku sniffed, was wearing a bear skin. The other boy wore a fox's pelt. The musky smell of fur made the two of them feel more like oversized pups then Lost Boys.
The fox one, Slighty, sneered. "See that sign, Pirate?"
Riku forced down a snide remark. No one would believe it if they saw how confidently he walked, but he truly was blind. Abusing the darkness had cost him his sight. Yet, even though his eyes no longer functioned, Riku still had some form of vision. He couldn't see patterns, colors, details, or faces, but he knew where things were and how they moved. Everything in the worlds had an aura of light and darkness. He used those waves of energy to create a mental landscape of his surroundings, as well as sense who was nearby. Add to that the fact that Riku's mastery over his own darkness gave him heightened senses of sound, touch, and especially smell, and Riku was in now way hindered by his loss. Still, if you asked him to read something, you were sorely out of luck.
"Uh, no. I don't see the sign," Riku said lamely.
"It says 'no pirates, allowed!'" Slighty walked around Riku. "So, what are you doing on our island, pirate?"
"I'm not a pirate."
"Tinker Bell says ya are!"
The pixie flew around Riku's head, jingling shrilly. Riku had no idea what the ringing meant, but it sounded furious.
"I can hear you for miles, Tink," said a new voice. A voice that was coming from the sky. "What are you going crazy about?"
Riku tilted his head up, toward the voice. The scent of feathers reached his nose, along with the light of youthful confidence. A boy was floating down from the sky. Then, there was a gasp, and the sound of a weapon being removed from a belt. The point of a knife tapped under Riku's chin.
"You," the floating boy hissed.
"You know him, Pan?"
"Sure do, Cubby. This codfish is Sora's enemy."
Riku kicked his feet. "No I'm not! Sora is my best friend. Just let me explain."
"Liar! I saw it with my own two eyes. You attacked Sora with some kind of shadow creature that looked exactly like him, back on Hook's ship. Plus, you're an adult. Not trustworthy at all."
"Uh, Pan?"
Riku bristled. "An adult? I'm only-" He shut his mouth. Ozone tickled his nose. The bright light around him weakened, making the air feel colder. The oily stink of darkness moved along the floors beneath him. "Uh oh."
A shriek, followed by stomping footsteps, and the scratching of claws. Riku heard the sounds of slicing and smelled moist dirt flying in the air as Slighty and Cubby ran around like panicked ants. He felt pressure points of darkness all around them. Neoshadow and shadow heartless footsteps thundered along the ground, surrounding the boys, biting, scratching, and shuffling closer to get a piece of them.
Peter Pan turned around, and swooped down toward the heartless. "It's those creatures again!"
He raised his knife, ready to attack, but then a new trio of heartless came down from the sky. Bigger, muscular, winged, with a white hot sword in their hands, the new heartless sliced at Peter, forcing him to twitch targets in order to defend himself, leaving Slighty and Cubby completely open for attack. Riku flinched. Slighty and Cubby grunted, going down, buried under shadow and neoshadow heartless. They pulled at the boys' arms and legs. Peter was panting, barely able to keep up against the three invisibles he was facing.
Tinker Bell jingled near Riku's ear. She zipped off but stopped in midair when Riku called her name.
"Tinker Bell! Hey! If you can get me out of these ropes, I can help them!"
She faced him, poking his nose in an accusatory way.
"I know you don't trust me. But I also know a thing or two about heartless. Please. I don't want anyone else to fall to darkness like I did."
Tinker Bell poked his nose one last time. A warning. Then she fluttered over his back and pulled on the knot that had been jabbing into his spine. The ropes loosened, falling off. Summoning his soul eater, Riku tried to charge into battle. Except he was still stuck in midair, waving his arms and legs around like a fly caught in a spiderweb.
"Come on! Move! How do you stere this thing?"
Tinker Bell rang angrily in his ear.
"I have no idea what you're saying. Just get me down down from here!"
Tink flew up to his face, tugging hard on his bangs.
"Ouch! Okay, okay!" He flapped his arms, trying to fly like a bird, but all that did was made him feel like a floppy idiot as he didn't move a single inch. Frustrated, Riku could do nothing, other then extend his senses. They were in a forest clearing. There wasn't anyone behind him. He had an idea. Pointing his soul eater over his shoulder, he bellowed.
"Firaga!"
The force from the spell propelled him forward and he flew, like a comet, toward the invisible heartless that were attacking Peter. Riku sliced through two heartless. He couldn't control his flying however, and he kept careening forward until he crashed into a tree. Groaning, Riku floated in the air, listening. Peter, now that he wasn't under the pressure of fighting three opponents at once, took down the last invisible. Then he flew toward the heartless that had dog-piled on top of the Lost Boys. In seconds, Slighty and Cubby were free.
The last spec of darkness had cleared. Riku would have sighed in relief, if it weren't for the fact that he was hanging, upside down in the air. He tried not to feel sick as Tinker Bell's excited jingling overloaded his sensitive ears. She flew in front of his face, her light darting back and forth, too excited to be still.
"You're welcome, I think?"
Tinker Bell must have noticed the strain in his face, because she quieted down and rubbed his cheek. She moved away when Peter flew by.
"That was a surprise. I thought you would attack us the first chance you got."
Riku crossed his arms. "Yeah well, a lot has changed since the last time I was here. Are you all right?"
"Better then you. You're turning green."
"I don't think I'm very good at flying." Riku swallowed, pushing down a lump in his throat. He flapped his arms, trying to get back right side up. His forehead and cheeks were starting to ache. "I used to dream about flying when I was little. This isn't as fun as I thought it would be. Am I going to stay stuck like this?"
Peter chuckled. "You look like a chicken. Come on, it's easy. Anyone can fly. Just think happy thoughts."
"That's it? How do I stere?"
"Lean right, fly fight. Lean left, fly left."
Riku wrinkled his nose, feeling stupid. Of course it would be that simple. Focusing, he thought about Sora and Kairi, and how he had found them even after he had been lost in the realm of darkness. He remembered King Mickey's reassuring words after he had mastered his own darkness. He remembered going home and seeing his parents again and playing on the beach again with his two best friends. So many good things had happened, even after all of his mistakes.
His body began to slowly turn in the air. Finally, right side up, he leaned forward, trying to get his feet to the ground. He spared a moment to wonder if flying wold be easier if he could see. Then he shrugged off the idea. The blindness was permanent, there was no point in what-ifs. He leaned too far. Suddenly he was jerked forward, crashing face first into the ground with a loud, "oof!"
Peter, Slighty and Cubby, laughed.
"Wow, you really are bad at this," said Peter as he came to stand next to Riku. Helping the other boy stand, Peter clapped Riku on the back. "You'll get the hang of it. Eventually."
Riku rubbed his sore nose. "Thanks."
Peter put his hands around his mouth. "Attention!"
Slighty and Cubby lined up, saluting.
Peter stood straight, feet apart, hands behind his back. "All right men. We're putting our rounds on hold. For now, we're guiding our guest back to the hideout. Move out."
Riku was happy to walk on the ground behind Peter, Tinker Bell and the Lost Boys. While the rest of the party flew slowly ahead of him, he took in his surroundings. He breathed in the rich, earthy scents and the slight tang of the distant sea. When he asked Slighty and Cubby about it, the two boys began bragging, telling Riku about Neverland's jungle, the lagoons, the mountains, the coves, cliffs, and even Skull Rock, a cranium shaped cave that sat out in the sea. The Lost Boys took turns telling stories about their treasure hunts, their fights with Captain Hook and his pirates. When Peter asked what Riku did after his last run with the old captain, Riku explained how he and Sora were back on good terms.
"That's a relief and a shame," said Peter. "I would have loved to cross swords with someone other then Hook for a change."
"Let's not," said Riku.
Peter huffed. "What's with you? What kind of man turns down a challenge?"
"I wouldn't want to put you in danger."
Peter pulled out his knife. "Me? In danger? I'll have you know I can beat you man-to-man, with one hand behind my back!"
Riku raised an eyebrow. "You sure are confident."
"I'm Peter Pan. I never lose."
"Okay, okay, I'll take your word for it, but let's not talk about that right now. I want to know if the heartless have been a problem on the island before?"
Peter grunted. "So serious. Fine. They only started popping up on the island a few days ago, some time before we found you. Before, they would only appear on Hook's pirate ship."
"Hook's ship? Are there still heartless there now?"
"Haven't checked. Why? Is there another girl on that ship you want to see?"
"Girl? Oh. Do you mean Kairi?"
Peter must have been talking about the last time Riku had visited Neverland. Back then, Kairi had lost her heart. Her unconscious body had been on Hook's ship. Riku and Hook had also captured Wendy, Peter's friend. It didn't surprise Riku that Peter didn't trust him much. After all, Riku had used the power of darkness back them to turn Sora's shadow against him. Then he took Kairi with him to Hollow Bastion, leaving a confused and hurt Sora behind to fight his own shadow.
"Kairi's fine," Riku explained. "I was traveling with her and Sora just before I came here. I don't sense them nearby, but it might be a good idea to keep an eye out, just in case."
Peter's aura lit up.
"Wait, wait, wait! So Sora found her after all? That's fantastic."
Riku smirked. "More like she found us."
"She sounds like a tough girl."
Tinker Bell buzzed angrily by Peter.
"Aw come on, Tink. Calm down."
A series of complicated jingles reached Riku's ears. Whatever Tink said made Peter shrug. Though, when he spoke, his tone had a level of sternness in it.
"What does Wendy have to do with any of this? I told you, I'm just showing her around the island."
Riku stopped walking. "Wendy's here?"
Slighty scratched the fox ear on his hood. "Wait a minute, Pan. I thought she said her name was Alice."
Cubby shoved Slighty.
"Naw! That's Wendy!"
"NO! Her name is ALICE!"
Cubby pounced on Slighty. The two boys fell from midair, rolling on the floor as they tried to pound their point into each other. Tinker Bell pointed and laughed. Riku reached down, grabbed the boys by their hoods and pulled them apart. Even though they were held back, they still swung at each other, struggling in Riku's hold.
"Knock it off, blockheads!" Peter barked.
Slighty and Cubby froze, standing to attention right after Riku let them go.
"We'll just ask Wendy what she prefers to be called. Let's hurry to the hideout. It's rude to keep her waiting."
Tinker Bell pulled on Peter's ear. He swatter her away.
"Relax, Tink. Wendy isn't going to cause us any harm."
Tinker Belle jingled shrilly. As if she'd enough of Peter, she fluttered down onto Riku's shoulder, crossing her arms and legs in a huff. Riku frowned, his shoulder felt warm for a moment, as Tink reddened with anger. She cooled down quick, before her fiery tempter could burn a hole through Riku's white and yellow shirt.
Riku suppressed a sigh. Why did it feel like he was always around the dumb couples? Still, watching Sora and Kairi fumble about, awkwardly flirting when it was so obvious that they were into each other was a lot easier then listening to Peter densely ignoring Tinker Bell's ridiculously clear jealousy.
"There it is," said Peter, pointing at something. "Hang Man's Tree. Our one and only hideout."
The oaky scent and the shifting of light and darkness told Riku that the tree in front of them was not like the others. Withered, the tree was hollow, its branches cut off, leaving stumps that were, in fact, secret openings that led into the tree. The Lost Boys opened the wooden flaps on the stumps and slide down into the underground base beneath the roots. Peter went down after them.
Riku paused before he followed them down.
"Hey," he said to Tinker Bell. "Peter cares about you, no matter who he is spending time with. Take it from someone that knows. Jealousy is not a good feeling. It's easier to make mistakes when it's there. I hope he realizes how important you are to him."
There was a small peck on his cheek. Trying to ignore the rushing heat in his face, Riku entered the hole behind the biggest tree stump. He whooshed down a slide, skidding onto the earthy hideout floor. Riku sat on the ground for a moment. He steadied himself by putting his hand on the dirt wall. The rough surface of a tree root met his fingertips. All around him, roots from the withered tree above decorated the walls of the base. Furs covered the floors like mats and blankets. There was single, king sized bed, which Riku guessed belonged to Peter. A girl was sitting on it.
Just then, Riku wished he could slide back up the tree. Unfortunately for him, Slighty and Cubby grabbed his arms, hauled him to his feet, and pushed him toward the girl.
"Here he is," said Peter. "Wendy, you'll never believe who's here."
The little girl stood, putting her hands on her hips. "Oh dear. Must we go over this every time, Peter? My name is Alice."
"I told you," said Slighty to Cubby.
"And I am very sorry, but I am tired of waiting beneath this tree," continued Alice. "If you would be so kind as to-"
Peter interrupted Alice so that he could shove Riku before her. Having no idea what to do, all Riku could think to say was a weak, "hi."
Alice tapped her finger on her jaw. "My, how curious. You are somehow familiar to me. Now when was it." She sighed. "Goodness. I can't seem to remember things as I used to."
"It'll come to ya, I'm sure," Peter offered.
Cubby lifted a wooden club from off the ground. "How about a bonk on the head? That gets me going."
Slightly waved his hand dismissively. "That's dumb! What she needs is a good flick on the nose."
Alice clapped her hands. "Oh! Now I remember! I thought I felt a familiar touch of darkness! Ansem was his name and-oh my!"
Riku pushed Alice. He jerked her away from the others so quickly that Tinker Bell flew off his shoulder.
"Excuse us, please," Riku said hastily at a bemused Peter, Slighty, Cubby and Tinker Belle.
Across the room, he leaned down to whisper to Alice. "I'm not under Ansem's control anymore." A rush of hot fear filled Riku's chest. He wished he could have looked in Alice's eyes. "W-wait, you said you sensed a familiar darkness? Is it Ansem's darkness? Is it still lingering on me?"
Alice patted down her dress. "My, I didn't mean to frighten you. I did feel a faint pinprick of darkness that reminded me of my time in Hollow Bastion, but it is nothing compared to the overwhelming pressure I felt back when I was taken prisoner there. What I feel now is no more the darkness of any other regular person."
Riku let out a breath that had been swelling painfully in his neck. "Oh good."
"I don't believe I've ever seen your face before, and yet it seems you know me. How curious."
"You're one of the seven princesses of heart," Riku explained. "So you've met my friend, Sora."
"Indeed I have! Tell me, is he still a mouse?"
Riku brows came together and the corners of his mouth twitched upward. "What? A mouse?"
Alice waved her hand as though chasing away a stray thought. "Oh, never mind. I'm terribly sorry, Riku, but I simply must get to the bottom of something that has been troubling me for quite a while."
She moved around him, walking with purpose until she was in front of Peter. "Now, about that armor-"
"Ah yes!" Peter flew up toward the ceiling. "The armor! We've got some investigating to do men! And now that we've cleared the path of heartless, we are more then ready to begin our 'expetition.'"
"'Expedition,' Peter," Alice corrected.
"That's what I said. Now then, the map!"
Cubby ran to one of the many shelves that had been dug into the walls. He pulled something out and handed it Pan. Riku heard the sound of paper unfolding. A moment later, Peter snapped his fingers.
"Crocodile Creek and Rainbow Falls. These are the only areas around the island that we have not yet explored."
"But that will take all day," the Lost Boys whined.
"Then we better get started. Riku! I hereby appoint you as Wendy's escort."
"Okay, but her name is Alice."
"No back talk. Men!" Peter pointed to Slighty and Cubby, "Let's move out!"
With Peter leading the way, the group quickly found themselves back outside. Single file, they walked through the forest. Riku brought up the rear, right behind Alice. She marveled at every new discovery on the island, occasionally breaking formation to stare at some new rock, flower, or bird, leaving Riku to go get her and direct her back.
"What a strange place I've found myself. First Wonderland and now this. I never knew there were so many worlds connected to my own."
"Why are you here?" Riku asked. "Were you blown around to a different world too?"
"Oh no," said Alice. "You see I ran into Peter in my own world, and I just had to see a place where children never grow up, so I flew with him here. I've been here for quite some time, and I can't seem to find that strange suit of armor."
"You mentioned that before. Just what is this suit of armor?"
"While exploring the island with Peter, you see, I spotted it. I've never seen such armor before, and why on earth would someone be wearing such a thing in such a hot place? What's even more curious is that Peter had never seen armor of that kind either. I simply must find out who is underneath that helmet. Peter, the Lost Boys and I searched Blindman's Bluff, Pegleg Point, and Mermaid Lagoon, but there was no sign of it. Then those troublesome heartless appeared."
Alice turned to face Riku, her light shining. Even though Riku couldn't see, her aura was so bright that he had blink from the intensity of it.
"The keyblade master is your friend, yes? I have noticed something bizarre. Perhaps you can give Sora a message for me."
"What is it?"
"Well, there have been some items washing up on Neverland's shores. Slighty and Cubby have been collecting them. I have the strangest notion that none of these items belong in Neverland."
"So things from other worlds are getting blown around?"
"It seems so. But how can that be? Sora's efforts should have kept the worlds separate from one another. And yet, I am here. You are here. The heartless are here, up to something wicked, no doubt."
"No kidding. There's something else you should know."
He explained to Alice about Ariel, the raft, Monstro, losing his friends, and Kairi's last words to him before he woke up in Neverland.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Alice mused. "Well, as soon as I find that suit of armor, it might be good advise for me to join to you on your quest. Besides, I do enjoy exploring new worlds. Do you think I would enjoy this Disney Castle you spoke of?"
"Definitely."
Crocodile Creek had no crocodile to speak of, or suit of armor for that matter. Alice wasn't too upset by it, hustling the party to inspect Rainbow Falls next. Peter led them to a series of cliffs that overlooked the cove. Cubby ran to stand at the edges of the cliffs.
"Look, Pan! The pirates!"
Cubby leaned too far forward, and tipped over the edge of the cliff he was standing on. Riku yelped, diving forward to catch him. Tink zipped by, and then, a moment later, Cubby flew back up, completely unharmed.
Peter rested on his back in the air. "So, the pirates have moved the ship closer to the island. Keep an eye out men!"
"You should keep an eye on your men! Cubby almost fell into the sea!"
"Don't worry about it," Peter waved Riku off. "My men can take care of themselves."
Before Riku could retort, Alice came to stand at his side.
"The ship is quite close, isn't it?"
Riku extended his senses, but couldn't make out the shape of a ship in his mental landscape. His senses had a certain range. If something were too far out of his radius, he couldn't feel, smell, hear or sense its darkness.
"Oh my!" Alice exclaimed.
"What is it?" Peter pulled his knife from his belt. He turned in the air, searching for an attack.
"I could have sworn I just saw a canoe out in the sea, beyond the ship."
"You sure?" Peter pressed his hand on his forehead, looking out into the horizon. "I don't see anything out there."
"That's odd," said Alice. "It was such a small canoe, and it sailed by so quickly." Alice shrugged. "Well, perhaps it was indeed my imagination. I mean it is silly. No canoe has a light that powerful."
Alice wondered off, but Riku stood, facing the sea, imagining Hook's ship out there. He wondered about the canoe that Alice had mentioned, but shrugged it off. It wasn't like he could feel its presence anyway and thinking about meeting Hook again made Riku nauseous. So he focused on what he could sense nearby.
They stood under a series of cliffs. The rock wall was so high that Riku couldn't really get a feel for the top. The smell of freshwater reached his nose, the distant swish of waterfalls tingling in his ears, the light of rainbows caressing his heart.
"Ready of fly, men? And gentle lady."
Alice giggled, curtsying to Peter. "Oh course. Oh, I do enjoy flying."
Riku grimaced. Tink moved around the party, sprinkling pixie dust on the Lost Boys and Alice. When she got near Riku, he stepped away. She flew in front of his face, stomping her foot in midair.
"Sorry. I'll just climb the old fashioned way."
"Goodness, are you sure?" Alice fluttered by. Her dress flared out like an open umbrella. Riku felt the hem brush by his arm. "Those cliffs look terribly bleak."
"I'll be fine," Riku assured her, walking up to the rock wall.
"Well, if you insist," said Alice. She waved at the Lost Boys. "Come now. We have armor to find!"
Peter, Slighty, Cubby and Tink began their leisurely flight up Rainbow Falls. Down below, Riku touched the rock wall, breathing in the cool scent of sturdy stone. He felt the sprinkle of the waterfalls rumbling over the rocks overhead and realized that the water had carved a relatively easy trail up the mountains. There was the occasional long jump, but nothing Riku couldn't handle, especially after the perilous, ever shifting layout of the realm of darkness. Making careful note of where each platform was, and keeping his senses open, he began his climb, quickly catching up to Peter and the others.
"Come on, Wendy," called Peter, "race you to the top!"
"My name is Alice. And do remember that we're searching for the armor, not racing."
"I'm in the lead, Wendy!"
Alice shook her head. "How much repeating is required for one to learn another's name? I suppose it might be difficult for some more then others, but I learned Peter's name rather quickly. Oh, I'm being silly again. Here I am, flying up the side of a mountain and I'm pondering about learning names."
Alice continued muttering to herself as she flew upward. Riku kept his mouth shut, unsure about how Alice would feel if he told her that Peter was mixing her up with some other girl. He was about to jump to another platform when something landed on his head. Riku stilled for a moment, but then Tinker Bell's annoyed ringing reached his ears.
Riku chuckled. "Keeping me company? I don't think Peter will be jealous of me much."
Tink patted his head roughly, as if to say, "be quiet and climb!"
Slighty and Cubby roared. "PAN! LOOK!"
Alice gasped, quickening her flight. "The armor! Peter, hurry!"
Riku chased after the party, trying to pinpoint the armor Alice and the Lost Boys had seen. He breathed in deep and focused his hearing. He didn't hear any clanging, nor did he smell metal. As he climbed higher, he didn't feel any tingle of light and darkness from said suit of armor. Eventually he had to shift his attention back to climbing before he could slip off the cliffside. Still, it was weird. Why couldn't he sense what everyone else could see?
The next thing he knew, he had reached the top of the falls. There was still no suit of armor nearby, but he did catch up to Alice and the others. The summit of Rainbow Falls was a winding path that towered high over the cove. Because of the way the road meandered, certain angles of the summit were hidden behind tall, rounded boulders. If a seeing person were to round a corner, they may have been surprised by what they would have run into on the other side. But Riku's senses warned him. When the dark stink of obsessive vengeance reached his nose, he ducked behind a boulder.
"Quick! Hide!"
Peter, Alice and the Lost Boys took cover next to Riku. Tinker Bell hunkered down on Riku's head, using his silver hair for cover. A second later, Captain Hook rounded the corner of the trail just ahead. Peter peeked over the boulder, spying on the pirate captain. Riku listened as Hook ranted to the short, round pirate that was scampering after him.
"I know it's here somewhere, Smee." Hook's voice was gruff, low, angry. "I'll have that helmet on me trophy wall, I will."
The portly man following Hook shivered, wrinkling his pointed hat in his hands so harshly, it was a wonder that the fabric didn't rip. "B-b-but Cap'n, you saw the way that metal monster moved. It's a spirit is what it is! A ghost!"
Hook stopped walking and turned to face Smee, his voice smooth, like honey. "What was that, Mr. Smee?"
"I was just saying, sir, that perhaps we shouldn't mess with such a creature?"
Hook spread his arms wide. The smell of silver reached Riku's nose. He sensed the anger in Hook's body. It vibrated along the pirate's left arm, collecting into the sharp, silver hook that had taken the place of his left hand.
"Why, Mr. Smee, perhaps we should head back to the ship and simply forget this matter."
Mr. Smee bounced excitedly. "Grand idea, Cap'n. Let's head down to the harbor."
The captain swung at Mr. Smee, his hook barely missing the shorter man by an inch.
"WE'RE NOT LEAVING, YOU BLATHERING IMBECILE!"
"B-but, Cap'n, you just said-"
"We're staying the course and destroying that thing! Blasted suit of armor! Making a fool of me on me own ship! No one mocks James Bartholomew Hook and gets away with it! Now, make yourself useful and scout ahead!"
Mr. Smee scampered down the trail of the summit, away from both Hook, and Peter's party. Behind the boulder, Peter turned toward the Lost Boys and snickered.
"Did you hear that? The armor got Hook!"
"Maybe it's on our side," said Slightly.
"I don't know," said Cubby. "What if Smee is right and it really is a ghost."
"Don't be ridiculous men! This is our chance to make an ally. Anyone that humiliates Hook is a friend of mine."
Riku listened as Peter described all manor of mischievous pranks to the Lost Boys, but his attention quickly shifted to Tinker Bell. She was getting oddly comfortable in his hair, lying down on her tummy, with her feet kicking in the air, as though she were having the time of her life. It wasn't until Riku heard Alice's voice, that he realized just why Tink was so happy.
"Excuse me, Mr. Captain, sir."
Riku's stomach dropped into his knees. Peter covered the Lost Boys' mouths before they could scream. Meanwhile, Hook whirled around, stiffening in response to the little girl that had shuck up behind him.
"What on earth?"
Alice curtsied. "You mentioned a suit of armor. You see, I am also searching for such a thing. Isn't it curious? I can't imagine why one would be wearing armor, on this island of all places. Would you kindly point me in the direction you last saw it?"
Riku knotted his fingers in his hair. "What is she doing?"
He was about to run around the boulder, but Peter jerked him back.
"Wait. She might get information out of him."
"Are you crazy? This is Captain Hook!"
"And I'm Peter Pan. Let him try to hurt her. I'll cut off his other hand before he gets the chance."
Before Riku could snap back at Peter, Captain Hook's darkness flared, sizzling like a rock in the desert.
"My dear girl, where did you come from?"
"From London."
"Ah, I see. And you've come here by flying, have you?"
"Why yes."
The hook snagged on the bow on the back of Alice's dress, lifting her up.
"Then you've met Pan! Where is that bilge rat, girl?"
Alice kicked her legs. "Oh dear! Mr. Captain sir, would you please put me down?"
"Answer the question, girl!" Hook roared directly into Alice's face.
There was no way Peter was going to stop Riku now. Summoning his soul eater, Riku charged at Hook, but Peter was faster. He swooped down over Hook, plucking the captain's hat right off his head. Floating above Hook's head, Peter waved the hat around like an owner dangling a treat over their cat.
Hook shook his fist at Peter. "Scurvy brat! Give that back!"
"Aw, what's the matter, Captain? Is your head feeling cold?"
"I'll make you neck feel cold if you come back down here!"
Peter tsked. "Why Captain, what a vulgar thing to say in front of the little lady."
"Quite." Alice agreed, putting her chin in her hand, swaying back and forth on the hook. "Seems to me like he could learn a thing or two about manners."
"You want your hat back, ya codfish? Come and get it!"
Peter held the hat inches above Hook's head. The pirate tried to swipe the hat back, only for Peter to pull it out of his reach.
"You blasted flying buffoon! When I get my hands on you-"
While Hook's attention was on Pan, Riku got close to Alice, and snatched her away. The captain twirled around, unleashing the rapier at his hip.
He froze. "What? You?"
Riku put Alice back on her feet and then turned to face Hook.
"Hey there Captain," Riku drawled. "Miss me?"
"Indeed." Hook thrusted his rapier at Riku. "I've been waiting for a chance to get revenge on Maleficient's brat! Have at you, boy!"
Riku jumped back, away from Hook's sword. Pan took that moment to attack. Hook had no choice but to turn around and block Peter's knife before he lost his head.
Alice gasped. "Look! The armor!"
Everyone faced the direction Alice had indicated. Except Riku. A sudden, cold evil pinched his skin. He sensed a tall, slender, metal shell nearby, but was quickly distracted by a gut punching darkness. The scent of loneliness and despair hit him. His muscles seized, rooting him in place. He couldn't hear the sound of Alice's retreating footsteps, couldn't chase after Hook and Peter as both of them moved after Alice. All he could do was stand in place and gasp for air. The atmosphere was thick with misery. His lungs burned, the darkness pressed down on his chest. Then, light. The stench of darkness was pushed back by a touch of...hope? The feeling was so powerful that the whiplash of the two opposing forces had stupefied Riku long enough for Alice to escape!
He sucked in air, his muscles waking up, the darkness fading away almost as quickly as it had come. Slapping his hands on his cheeks to get a hold of himself, Riku moved to chase after Peter and Alice. He had only taken a few steps when something tugged on the back of his shirt. Slighty and Cubby's grunts met Riku's ears. He turned around.
"What?"
"We have to go back down Rainbow Falls," panted Slighty.
"Why?"
"Tink," whimpered Cubby. "She got mad when Peter ran after Alice so she flew down the cliffs. We went down after her but more of those monsters appeared!"
"WHAT?"
Slighty and Cubby flinched, flying backward.
Riku pushed down another cry of frustration. He rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Just, give me a second."
Breathing slower, he tried to think. For such a logical little girl, Alice's unending curiosity pulled her in every direction. She was a princess of heart, and the idea of her being hurt by the heartless, or Hook, filled Riku's chest with icicles of dread. However, Peter had also chased after Hook and Alice. He could sense them all going the same direction. There was no way Peter wouldn't protect Alice, Riku was sure. Sora didn't make friends with people that wouldn't come through in a pinch. Tinker Bell, on the other hand, had no one, and if he didn't help soon, she was going to be heartless dinner!
"You two stay here! Don't move!"
"But-"
"DON'T MOVE!"
There was no time to make sure that the Lost Boys listened. Riku raced back toward the cliffs, skidding to a stop before he fell off the edge. He felt darkness below. A whole swarm of darkballs were darting about, trying to swallow a tiny spec of light that was desperately zipping around in the air, trying to escape. The heartless moved close together, turning into a tightly packed sphere, trapping the spec of light inside.
Riku jumped off the cliff. The air whistled in his ears. Straight ahead, the darkball sphere tightened. Through the globe of heartless, Riku heard Tinker Bell's terrified jingling. He concentrated on Tink's fiery light, readying his soul eater. The darkballs began chewing. Tinker Bell shrieked. The darkness pressed on Riku's skin.
He sliced. The sphere of darkballs cracked down the middle. Reaching out, Riku grabbed Tinker Bell and held her close to his chest. He cut through the bottom bowl of heartless.
He fell.
Stabbing his weapon into the side of the cliffs, Riku felt his soul eater grind through the stone. Then, he jerked as the soul eater snagged on a harder section of rock, leaving him hanging in midair.
Releasing Tink from his fist, Riku took a moment to catch his breath. She grabbed his hand and lifted it, making him point his finger upward. Growls reached his ears from above. The surviving heartless were diving down toward them. Riku lifted his arm, opening his palm.
"Thundaga!"
Bolts of lightning shot up from his hand. The heartless exploded, leaving nothing but dust to sprinkle down onto Riku's shoulders. Tinker Bell did a backflip. She landed in Riku's palm, hugging his forefinger.
"Thanks for the warning." Riku panted. "Now if only I could figure out how to get down safely."
Tink huffed. She flew in circles over his head and Riku felt the warm tingle of pixie dust on his hair. He pulled his soul eater from the cliff and nervously floated in the air.
"I'm really not good at flying."
Tink tugged on his hair, pulling him upward.
"Okay, okay. I'll try. Happy thoughts, right?"
He tried imagining Sora and Kairi again and slowly, he rose upward. Then his thoughts shifted, worrying about Alice and the strange darkness he had felt. Suddenly, he bulleted through the air, tumbling upward, spinning like a baseball until he crashed onto the summit of Rainbow Falls.
"Ow!" Riku growled. "I really don't like flying!"
Slighty and Cubby surrounded him. Each boy took an arm and hauled Riku to his feet.
"You okay," they asked.
"Yeah. But this is so dumb! Why can't I fly? It shouldn't be this hard. If Sora can do it, why can't I?" Riku slumped. "Maybe I'll never get it."
"You'll get it," Cubby laughed. "Just remember: faith-"
"Trust," said Slighty.
"And pixie dust," the Lost Boys said together.
Riku rubbed his behind. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Right now though, I want to go after Peter and Alice. The two of you should head back to the hide out."
Slight and Cubby stomped their feet. "We want to help Pan too!"
As if to say, "there's no way you're getting rid of me that easily," Tinker Bell slammed her feet down in Riku's hair, crossing her arms.
Riku was starting to get a headache. The longer he tried to convince the Lost Boys to head home, the farther away Alice was getting. Then again, if he didn't babysit the Lost Boys, who knew what trouble they could get into?
"All right, all right. You can come. But you have to listen to everything I say. Got it?"
Slighty and Cubby saluted. "Yes sir!"
Alice often gave herself very good advice. However, she very seldom followed it. She should have waited for Riku, Peter and the Lost Boys to catch up. Instead, she had chased the armor from the gully back into Neverland's jungles, right cross the clearing in front of Hang Man's tree, and quickly found herself back in Mermaid Lagoon with no suit of armor to be found.
"Oh dear," Alice sighed, looking around. "I was so sure I saw the armor coming this way. What a pity."
"Did you say something about armor, m'dear?"
Alice looked down. She was standing atop a cylinder shaped boulder overlooking the lagoon. Pink cliffs created the crescent shaped rock formation that housed the lagoon. A waterfall cascaded down one side of the cliffs, splashing gently into the saltwater below. In the middle of the semi-circle, there were boulders rising out of Neverland's crystal clear ocean. Normally, there would be mermaids sitting on those rocks, preening themselves. However, at that moment, the only person there was Mr. Smee. He was sitting in a row boat, directly underneath Alice.
Leaning down over her cliff, Alice waved at Mr. Smee.
"Do you know where the armor went, sir?"
Mr. Smee nodded. "It's just terrible, miss! It flew toward the ship! Oh, the Cap'n will not be happy for the trespassing, that's for sure!"
Alice looked toward the ship and then back at Smee.
"Are you certain?"
"I saw it with me own eyes, miss."
"The suit of armor can also fly? How very curious."
Without wasting another moment, Alice flew upward from her rock, sailing through the sky, straight to Captain Hook's ship.
Mr. Smee, grabbed his oars. "Wait! Miss! Oh, the Cap'n is not going to like this."
Smee rowed after Alice like his life depended on it, which, considering Captain Hook's temper, it may as well have. Not once did he look back. If he had, he would have spotted the suite of armor he was so worried about. It stood on the rock Alice had just vacated, watching the girl and the pirate return to the ship. Then, slowly, it lifted its head, as if sensing something nearby. Turning toward the jungle, the armor vanished into the trees.
Jiminy's Journal
Peter Pan (First Appeared in Peter Pan, 1953): The boy that never grows up and the daring leader of the Lost Boys of Neverland. On one of his many trips to London, Peter ran into Alice. Believing her to be Wendy, he brought Alice to Neverland so that they could go on new adventures together, much to Tinker Bell's annoyance. His favorite pastimes are pranking Captain Hook, and leading the Lost Boys on "expetitions."
Slighty and Cubby (First Appeared in Peter Pan, 1953): The Lost Boys. Slighty wears a fox skin while Cubby walks around in bear fur. The two boys idealize and respect Peter Pan. Always willing to go on an adventure, both boys have a penchant for getting into trouble.
Tinker Bell (First Appeared in Peter Pan, 1953): A small pixie that is Peter Pan's best friend and sidekick. Her pixie dust gives people the ability to fly. She has a fiery and jealous streak, getting annoyed at Peter whenever he gives any other girl attention. However, it seems that Alice and Peter are completely oblivious of her feelings. Tinker Bell has taken a liking to Riku, though she does get annoyed that flying doesn't come too naturally to him.
Captain Hook (First Appeared in Peter Pan, 1953): Peter Pan's emotionally volatile and cunning sworn enemy. Hook has had it out for Peter since the boy cut off his left land. Replacing his lost hand with a hook, this pirate captain is constantly challenging Peter, trying to get revenge. His grudges extend to Riku as well. Back on Sora's first adventure, Hook had no choice but to follow Riku's commands. Now that Maleficient is gone, Hook's is out to get Riku for ordering him around on his own ship.
Mr. Smee (First Appeared in Peter Pan, 1953): For a pirate, Mr. Smee is surprisingly polite. Bumbling and always eager to please, even though Hook bullies him more then anyone else, he is ever loyal to his captain. He's also rather superstitious, fearing that the armor Peter and Captain Hook are looking for is possessed by an evil spirit. Could he be right?
Chapter 38: KH3 Chapter 7: You Can Fly
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Seven: You Can Fly
Riku tried his best not to be annoyed that Slighty and Cubby were happily floating above his head, competing with each other to see who can do the biggest midair loop-the-loop, not a care in the world despite the fact that Alice had run off to who knew were, and Peter was off somewhere duking it out with Hook. Oh, and he couldn't forget the fact that the worlds were melting together. Sora, Ariel and Kairi were out there somewhere, no doubt getting into all sorts of trouble, while he was here trying to keep all these flying kids from becoming heartless chow!
There was a soft pat on his head. Tinker Bell, who had been sitting in his hair, reached over and rubbed his forehead.
"You're worried about me? Pat twice for yes."
Pat. Pat.
"I've got a lot on my mind," Riku admitted.
Alice was first priority. The worlds melting together were bad enough; he didn't know what he would do if something happened to a princess of heart as well. Riku tried not to cringe when he remembered what he had done under Maleficent's influence. Kidnapping Jasmine, holding Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Show White, and Alice hostage. He had believed his actions were justified, if it meant that he could bring Kairi's heart back. But instead, he had been playing right into Maleficient and Ansem's hands. If he didn't find Alice, finish her suit of armor thing, and get back to Disney Castle as soon as possible, then...
Slighty floated down in front of Riku's face. "Wow, you look mad. Is it an enemy?"
Cubby put up his fists, turning in the air, looking around. "Bring 'em on! I'll clobber them!"
"No," Riku scolded. "You two will stay out of danger while I do all the work."
The Lost boys whined.
"Aw come on," Slighty huffed. "We can fight! We've been with Pan through tons of battles!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm sure you can, but as long as I'm in charge, you two, and Tink, are staying out of danger. Peter would hate for something to happen to you. So, for his sake, listen to me. Okay?"
"Fine," Slighty grumbled, floating upward. "Pan never treats us like little kids."
Riku bit his tongue, stopping himself from saying, "but you are little kids." If he were alone, he would have let Peter handle Hook. If he could fly, he would have scoured the entire island for Alice. Sora and Kairi were strong. They could take care of themselves. But Slighty, Cubby, Tinker Bell, and Alice were another story. Someone had to watch out for them, and without Peter around, Riku was the only one up to the task.
The distant clangs of battle reached Riku's ears, pulling him out of his thoughts. He raced through the clear air of Neverland's jungles, stopping in the clearing near Hang Man's Tree. Slighty and Cubby halted in the air behind him. Before they could join in the fight, Riku put up his hand, making the boys stay in place. Ahead of them, were Hook and Peter. The pirate and the leader of the Lost Boys were enthralled, blocking out everything but their duel. Captain Hook roared and growled, fury driving his lunges and slashes. Peter snickered and joked, his relaxed dodges and parries fueled entirely by the joy of egging on his opponent.
Slighty and Cubby cheered. "Get him, Pan!"
Riku ignored the fight and the kids. He stretched his senses, searching for Alice. He didn't hear her curious musings, or feel the boundless inquisitiveness of her light nearby. Instead, the distant pounding of explosions met his ears.
"Cannon fire."
Slighty and Cubby shrugged. "We don't hear nothing."
"No. I'm sure of it." Riku pointed. "That way."
"That way leads to the cove," Slighty explained.
Cubby snorted. "Dumb pirates. There's no way a cannon ball can get Peter from all the way over here."
"I don't think Peter is what they're aiming for."
Riku waved his hand in front of his hair, getting Tinker Bell's attention. She fluttered down in front of his face.
"I need a favor. Think you'll be okay to fly toward the cove and see what the pirates are up to?"
Tink's jingling sounded half annoyed, half worried.
"She says she can do it. But she's worried about Peter getting hurt," Cubby translated.
"Hook can't take on the two of at the same time." Riku smirked. "At least, not for long."
"What about us?" Slighty balled his hands into fists. "We'll help him too, Tink. Whether Riku likes it or not."
Tinker Bell must have accepted the answers, because she flew like a comet toward the cove. Slighty and Cubby landed on the ground, and Riku could only guess, by the flaring of their auras, that they were both glaring at him.
"We're helping," they said. "Pan is our leader!"
Hook and Peter's duel didn't seem like it was slowing down. If Riku didn't jump in soon, he wondered if the two arch enemies would be at it forever. Hook's sword and Peter's knife flashed through the air, so fast that Riku worried they would cut through Hang Man's tree. He didn't have time to waste!
"Find someplace to hide until this is over," he told Slighty and Cubby.
But when he took a step forward, the Lost boys moved around him and stopped him in his tacks.
Slighty stomped his foot. "We've faced Hook before you came here. We can do it again."
"Aw, forget him, Slighty. Let's just go."
"Hold on!" Riku reached out and grabbed the boys' hoods. "Nothing I say is going to stop, is it?"
"That's right!"
"Okay. You win. Just give me a second."
"Well, hurry up," whined Cubby.
Riku groaned, his mind racing to come with a good strategy, but all he could think about was how it was impossible to let the two kids fight without them somehow getting hurt. Those two couldn't even take on the heartless before! What made them think they could take on Hook? If Riku hadn't been so tied up back then...an evil smile spread on his face. There was one talent he knew the two boys had.
"How about we catch ourselves a codfish?"
Now that was exactly what the Lost Boys had wanted to hear. Snickering, they huddled, listening to Riku whisper the plan in their ears.
"Got it?"
"Yes sir!"
The jungle foliage rustled as Slighty and Cubby flew into the bushes. A normal person would not be able to feel them moving about, nor could they hear the sounds of their breathing and footsteps as they inched closer to Peter and Hook, but Riku knew exactly where Slighty and Cubby were. Now all he needed to do, was wait for the right opportunity.
Summoning his soul eater, Riku walked around Hook and Peter, waiting for the captain to move in close enough. The second the old pirate's back was to him, Riku launched forward. The tip of the soul eater poked into Hook's behind and the pirate screeched, jumping an impressive fifteen feet into the air. Peter tipped backward till his feet pointed toward the sky, laughing at Hook's expense. By the time Captain Hook came back down to the ground, his face was boiling hot. He shook his hook at Riku.
"Scurvy brat! I'll teach you to sneak up on old Hook!"
"Old? Yeah that sounds about right."
Hook roared, slicing his metal hand through the air. Riku jumped back before the hook could skewer his neck. From behind Hook, Peter lunged.
"Don't forget about me, you old codfish!"
Peter swung his knife over Hook's shoulder. Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Captain Hook caught Peter's knife. He shoved the boy back. Riku took the opening, charging. The captain threw out his hook, catching Riku's soul eater. He threw both boys back. Then he lunged at Riku, his sword blurring into a cyclone of quick jabs and thrusts. Peter and Riku were on the ropes, dodging and ducking away from Hook's sword hurricane in an attempt not to get hacked to pieces. Hook's attacks were so fast that they nearly took off Peter's head. The boy somehow ducked, and the rapier poked into his hat instead.
Riku cartwheeled away, avoiding a deadly sword strike to his abdomen. He ran, putting distance between himself and the enraged captain that was charging toward him. Peter got in Hook's way, his expert knife skills parrying Hook's relentless attack. Riku was about to back up Peter, but then he heard a pair of sneaky giggles, felt rustling nearby, just a few feet away, in the bushes.
Standing straight, Riku put his hands around his mouth.
"Hey! Captain Crook!"
"It's Hook, boy! Or are ya blind?"
Riku pressed his lips together, trying to force down the snort that begging to escape from his mouth. In the split second it took him to grit his teeth so that he wouldn't keel over in laughter, the captain's hook sung down toward his head. Riku jumped back, feeling the hook swoosh through the air before him. He slipped into a pocket of nearby darkness, flashing to Hook's side, taking a swing at the pirate's legs. Hook stumbled backward, hopping on one foot, inching closer to the tree line. Peter took advantage of the pirate's off balance pose. He swooped down from above, knife slicing down toward Hook's head. The captain blocked the attack, but he was still pushed every so slightly toward the jungle trees. The rustling behind him was louder now, but the captain was too distracted by Peter to turn around and face it.
Riku put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth, whistling.
The bushes behind Hook roared.
"Let's get him!"
Cubby came rolling out from the underbrush. He grabbed Hook's trousers, sliding them down the pirate's legs. With his pants wrinkling around his ankles and the force of Peter's attack from above, Hook completely lost his balance, falling to the floor.
"Charge!"
Slightly jumped down from a tree, landing on Hook's shoulders. Hook struggled, resisting being pulled back, but when Peter clobbered him on the forehead with the handle of his knife, Hook's tongue flopped out of his mouth. His eyes rolling in his head, Hook collapsed, and the Lost Boys wasted no time in tying him up. By the time the old man came back to his senses, he was bound up to tight he could only wriggle like a caterpillar. Too bad he didn't get very far as a pair of scurvy brats sat down on his back, grinning ear to ear.
Riku reached out and patted Slighty and Cubby's heads.
"Nice job!"
"Indeed men," Peter saluted. "You've made me proud. So, what are we going to do with this here codfish?"
Hook thrashed. "I'll get you for this, Pan! Get off me, you brats! And you," he snarled at Riku. "You've not had the last laugh, boy! The next time we fight, I'll have your head as a trophy."
Riku shrugged. "There's a lot of stuff I regret doing when I was under Maleficent's influence. Messing with you, on your own ship, is not one of them."
"WHY YOU!"
"Yeah, yeah, revenge and all that. Put a sock in it, Hook."
Slightly and Cubby giggled. "Now that's what we want to hear!"
Hook wouldn't shut up though, shouting curses even as the four boys laughed at his distress. The only thing that succeeded in silencing him, was when Tinker Bell flew down into the clearing. She buzzed around Peter's head, waving her arms and legs.
"Whoa! I can barely understand what you're saying, calm down!"
Tinker Bell grew hot, her light brightening.
Peter twitched in the air. "Wendy's on the pirate ship? How did she get there?"
A chunk of ice surrounded Riku's heart, but Tinker Bell wasn't done talking.
This time, Peter growled. "Heartless are attacking the ship!"
"THEY'RE WHAT," bellowed Hook.
"Having trouble hearing, old man," mocked Peter. "Monsters have taken over your ship. And you call yourself a captain."
"Silence boy! Those slobbery fools dare to attack my vessel? I'll turn them into soup!"
Slighty and Cubby pulled on the captain's ropes. They forced him to lean against Hang Man's tree, looping his ropes around the trunk, making Hook's face press into the bark.
"That aught ta hold ya," said Slighty, giving Cubby a high five.
"No time to waste! We've got to rescue Wendy! To the ship!"
Riku was too slow to stop Slighty and Cubby from flying into the air. Peter zoomed off with his team. For a second, Riku was alone. He ran toward the road that led to the cove. Then Tinker Bell flew next to his ear, jingling angrily.
Riku froze. Flying to the ship would a lot faster, but... "Faith, trust, pixie dust," he whispered. "I can do this. Happy thoughts."
He closed his eyes, thinking of how funny it was to watch Slightly and Cubby tie up Hook like a hog. His feet left the ground. He thought about Peter and how exhilarating it was to flight at his side. He hovered up.
"Lean right, fly right."
Holding his breathe, Riku felt the floor move further and further away from his feet. He rose higher, slowly, without tipping forward like a knocked over bowling pin. A smile spread over his face. He was doing it! He was actually flying over the jungle below. For one glorious moment, he closed his eyes and let the wind caress his face. Up ahead, he could sense Peter and the Lost Boys passing over Neverland, flying over the water.
Pain gripped Riku's heart. He dropped in the air. Chains of darkness burst out of the jungle below, wrapping around his ankles. The darkness pulled on his legs, dragging him back down. All thoughts were whipped from his mind, all except for the terror from the surprise attack. He crashed through the trees, the only things breaking his fall, and landed in a heap onto the jungle floor. Tinker Bell flew down after him, pulling on his shoulder, trying to help him stand.
"I can't move," Riku croaked.
His cheek was pressed to the ground as dark, invisible chains pulled him into the dirt. Light faded around him. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure that he was now sitting in a pit of darkness so deep, that even a seeing person would feel blind. The only light nearby, was Tinker Bell's frightened glow. Shivering, she jingled weakly next to his ear.
"Go," Riku whispered.
She refused, tugging on his hood, trying to pull him back up to his feet.
Then, someone, something, spoke. The sounds weren't human. Tinker Bell covered her ears, flying under Riku's hair, hiding. What came next, wasn't a voice. It was as though words were being etched into Riku's head. There was a distorted echo in the air, like machinery grinding on metal.
I've seen you before. Once. In the darkness.
He didn't sense anyone nearby. A cloud of darkness pressed down on him from all sides. The pressure pounded on him, the air closing in, trying to crush him into a freshly block.
You were like me then. Lost. Anguished. What did you trade for your power?
Riku couldn't answer. Then, he heard, what he thought, was a laugh. An empty, sad, gurgling sound.
It doesn't matter. I've traded much worse. But it will be over soon.
Riku forced his vocal cords to move, but all he could do was whisper. "Enough with the creepy words. Who are you? How did you escape from the realm of darkness? What do you want?"
The voice, sound, feeling, whatever it was, faded, but the darkness stayed. It jack-hammered into Riku's back, crushing him. The same darkness that had rooted him in place, allowing Alice to escape, was now sucking the air out of the atmosphere, shutting down Riku's mind.
He couldn't hear, he couldn't smell. All he could do was feel. Something warm cut through the pain, tingling his ear. It was distant, like an echo, but Riku concentrated on it. The light shined brighter, its sweet breathe in his hair. It brightened, creating a pocket of air all around him. Riku gasped, feeling his lungs expand. The pressure around him eased as the light refused to burn out. Raising his hand, Riku opened his palm and spread his fingers wide. The darkness resisted him. It was like pulling tar off him bones.
The warm light around him jingled, waking up Riku's ears. The air became hot with faith and trust. Tinker Bell shined, flying near Riku's shoulder. She glowed like a lantern, pushing away the shadows. The darkness skirted away from her, and that one moment of hesitation was all Riku needed to force it under his control. He pulled at the darkness, forcing the inky atmosphere to collapse and gather in his hand. The energy floated down toward him, turning into a dense black hole in his palm.
Riku's eyes burned. He hadn't handled that much dark power since rescuing Sora. This was different. This darkness, was more vile, and it took all of his concentration not to let it escape. The smells, tastes, and breezes of Neverland returned as the darkness faded away. Riku raised his arm to the sky.
"Dark Firaga!"
The black hole in his hand burst, flying toward the sun, where it exploded into dust, diffusing back into the world, rather then concentrating in one spot, completely harmless.
Riku collapsed. As he panted, a raindrop of light fell onto his head. It spread through his hair, easing his chest, pushing away his pain. Tinker Bell patted his nose. Another raindrop of light spread through his cheeks, pushing away his exhaustion.
"Thanks Tink. You really saved me."
She patted his nose twice.
"I guess that makes us even." Riku stood straight, stretching. "Thanks for healing me too."
Tinker Bell sat down on his shoulder, crossing her arms.
"You're worried about that...thing that spoke to us?"
Pat. Pat.
"Me too. But we don't have time to think about it. Peter and Alice need our help."
Tink flew around his head, sprinkling him with pixie dust.
Riku jumped up. And then fell to the ground.
"Not again. Why can't I fly?"
Tink shook her head. She shot across the sky, leaving Riku alone. He sat there for a second, stunned. Standing, he tried flying one more time, but his shoes were stuck to the ground. So he ran. Through the jungle and out toward the cove, guided by the scent of the sea. The bangs and shouts from the battle at the pirate ship thundered through the sky. Riku skid to a stop. He could run no more.
He was standing at the edge of a cliff. The ship, and the heartless surrounding it, were straight ahead, across a whole league of the sea. Riku focused, but no happy thoughts came. There was no way he could swim across the sea fast enough! The longer he stood there, the more danger Alice was in, especially now that he knew there was some dark thing on the island.
Frustrated, Riku stomped his foot. He stepped on something. A rock? No. It wasn't smooth, cold, or earthy. Bending down, Riku picked something off the cliff floor. He ran his hands over it, realizing he was holding some kind charm. It was shaped like a star. The topmost corner of the star had a hole in it, in which a leather string went through. The end of the string had another star shaped charm. This one was much smaller, the size of a coin, compared to its palm sized glass and metal, star counterpart.
Riku held up the charm by its string, letting the star dangle in front of his eyes. The charm felt both familiar and foreign, like a long lost memory from childhood. One that he could only remember in dreams. A faint feeling of light fluttered to him from the charm. Determination, loyalty, but there was a sting of darkness as well, a rage that was begging to be released. Whoever the charm belongs to, Riku guessed, must be powerful.
"Why are you just standing around?"
Slighty's voice.
Riku nearly dropped the charm. He managed to catch it before it fell off the cliff and disappeared into the ocean. Pocketing the star, he waved at Slighty and Cubby. The two boys floated down from the sky.
"Come on," Cubby waved his arms. "We have to get to the ship. Peter can't take on all those monsters alone."
"But I can't fly," Riku said.
Cubby crossed his arms. "That's all? Faith, trust and pixie dust. You got one already. What about the other two?"
A spec of light flashed by Riku's ear. Tink put her hand on his cheek.
"I can't," Riku sighed. "Whenever I try, I keep falling."
Tinker Bell stomped her feet on his shoulder.
"Ouch!" Riku wrung his hands. "I tried, okay! I thought happy thoughts and then some dark thing pulled me back down! You think I want to be on this cliff? That I don't want to get to that ship and help Peter? Or Alice? Or my friends that are out there somewhere?"
The Lost Boys groaned.
"Gross! You sound like an adult," huffed Slighty.
"You'll never fly at this rate. You gotta relax," added Cubby.
"How can I relax? You just said Peter needed my help."
Slighty reached out and flicked Riku's nose. "Are you a Lost Boy or not?"
Still rubbing his nose, all Riku could say was, "Huh?"
"You said you're not an adult yet. Prove it! Act like a kid! Or did you forget how?"
Cubby shook his head, tsking. "If you can't then you really are a grown up after all."
"Act like a kid? You make it sound so easy."
"It is!" The Lost Boys all but screamed.
Riku suddenly remembered Alice's words. Neverland. A place where children never grew up. Alice may be a clever little girl, she was still, very much, a little girl. Only a child would walk up to a pirate captain and ask him a question without a single care for her own safety. Only a child would have the boundless confidence and not notice the romantic feelings of his pixie partner. Only a Lost Boy could fly. A boy like Sora, who still had the endless wonder and faith of a child.
Had he spent so long in the darkness, that he forgot what it felt like to goof off without worrying about worlds smashing together, the darkness, or all the other crazy stuff that had happened since he left Destiny Island for the first time. If it were Sora, he would be excited just to be in another world, with new friends. Maybe it was time to let go, and follow Sora's lead.
Riku didn't bother concentrating on happy thoughts. Kids didn't think. They acted. No more Mr. Responsible. Riku lifted his leg, and took a single step off the cliff. He tipped forward, falling headfirst toward the water below.
Tinker Bell shrieked and dove down next to him.
"You know, Tink," Riku shouted over the wind. "Sora doesn't always pick the brightest friends."
She tilted her head. Even though he couldn't see her face, he was sure she was looking at him like he had gone crazy.
"I really am just a bid, dumb, moron. Here I am trying to find a logical way to fly, when really I should be thinking," Riku spread his arms wide, "holy cow! I can fly!"
The ocean was a second away from pulverizing him, but Riku wasn't afraid. Instead, he laughed. And just like that, as though he had always known how, he floating above the water. He reached down, put his hand in the sea, feeling the fingers slice through the water as he flew through the air like a jet. The wind pressed against his face, the sky welcomed him as he flew upward. Tinker Bell rang like a church bell. She fluttered around Riku's chest, waving her arms.
Whooping met Riku's ears. He stopped in the air, letting Slighty and Cubby catch up to him. The boys cheered, screaming. "You did it!"
Riku pointed out into the sea, toward the pirate ship. "Ready to take down some monsters?"
Cubby hoisted a heavy, wooden club over his shoulder. Slighty raised his slingshot.
"You bet," they said.
Leading the charge, Riku shot across the sky. The closer he got to the ship, the more he felt the darkness itch on his cheeks. Just below them, there was a terrified snivel, and Riku smelled wood and desperation as Mr. Smee rowed away from the pirate ship.
"Oh, this is just terrible! Those creatures will destroy the ship, they will! I better find the Cap'n quick!"
If Peter and Alice hadn't needed his help, Riku would have turned around and stopped Smee, but there was no time for hesitation now. He could taste the bitter darkness in the air ahead. The crunching of a darkball, as it smacked its teeth, was getting louder. Riku flew toward it, head on. The darkball thrashed, moving out of his way. Riku felt pressure in the air, felt the darkness beating down on him. To his left! He made a quick turn in the air, just in time to let the darkball dive bomb past him. Not wasting any time, Riku zoomed toward it while it still had its back turned. He sliced it in half.
More pressurized points of darkness sizzled on his skin, a whole wave of darkballs were heading his way, rising out of Hook's ship in the distance, flying toward Riku like an army of wrecking balls. Riku pointed his soul eater ahead of him, and fired a volley of thunder spells. Sections of the incoming army were fried into nothing, but a few survivors got past Riku, flying toward the Lost Boys. Before Riku could turn around, Slighty aimed with his slingshot and hit a few of the heartless between the eyes. In the few seconds that the heartless halted, confused, Cubby flew up from below and smashed them into nothing with his heavy club.
Cheering, Riku regrouped with the boys, letting them handle the few stragglers that got past his defenses. Drilling through the army of heartless, Riku and the boys got closer to the ship. Just before they could land on the deck, another swarm of darkballs attacked and Riku had to swerve quickly in the air before he could be pin-balled between thrashing heartless. Thousands of dark pressure points tingled on his skin. There were more heartless then his mental landscape could count. Worse, the darkballs went after easy prey.
Riku reached out, grabbed Slighty and Cubby's arms, pulling them out of the way, seconds before a darkball barreled through the air, nearly biting off the boys' feet. Another attacker came from in front, and Riku swung Cubby toward it. The boy roared, using Riku's momentum, and his longer reach, to bonk the heartless right on its head, sending it down to crash into the ocean below.
Riku let Cubby go, and he sailed forward, barreling through heartless with childish excitement. His attack created a break in the heartless, and Slighty sailed into the free space, shooting stones left and right, keeping the heartless away, if only for a few seconds. Riku and Tinker Bell followed behind. The fairy fluttered near Riku, healing him periodically, pushing away his fatigue, while he cut through the heartless that got too close.
"It's worse then before!" Slighty called from ahead. "There's even more of them. Where are they coming from?"
When Riku neared the main mast, he nearly felt sick. The darkness was thick, like the smoke of a wildfire. He tried not to choke on the air as the dark pressure from all the heartless squeezed his lungs. The entire ship was coated in shadow and darkball heartless. They swarmed over the haul, the mizzen ropes, the rudder, the figurehead, the keel, like wasps on a hive. A whole wave of darkness was crawling up the crow's nest and Riku instantly knew why. A powerful light shined there, one of curiosity and wonder.
Alice stood in the crow's nest. Peter flew around her, deflecting heartless with his knife, cawing like a rooster at dawn as he gleefully watched the heartless pop with each quick jab. Riku dove, slicing through the darkballs until his feet stomped onto the wooden railing behind Alice. Up above, Slighty and Cubby flew down, providing Peter with backup and giving Riku enough time to reach out and grab Alice's shoulder.
When she turned around, the scent of camomile reached Riku's nose, and, in complete and utter confusion, he said, "Are you having tea?"
After taking a sip, Alice lowered her china cup back on its saucer. "Well, the captain's stateroom was open you see, and I was quite thirsty."
A darkball flew at Alice's shoulder. Riku twitched, but wasn't as fast as Alice. Shrieking, she flung her teacup. Scalding liquid sprayed over the darkball's face. It reared back, trying to shake off the hot water, but Riku quickly stabbed it with his soul eater, making it disappear.
Alice huffed, crossing her arms. "Oh, I am getting rather tired of all this nonsense! The armor wasn't here and now I have to deal with this ridiculous infestation!" Suddenly, she gasped. "Riku! Behind you!"
Something sharp crashed into his back, knocking him off the crow's nest. He fell toward the deck. Quickly correcting himself before he could splat into a pancake, Riku flipped right side up. In the moment it had taken to stop himself, a shadow heartless had jumped onto his leg, clawing into his calf. Hissing, Riku sliced the small creature. But the heartless had done what it was supposed to. With his focus on the shadow and his pain, he wasn't able to feel for the darkball that had been zooming toward him from above.
A thick, heavy body slammed him down into the deck. Only his quick reflexes made him slap his hands down on the wood, stopping his face from smashing into the floor. His leg and back roared in pain as the heartless bounced on his spine. Worse, now that he was no longer airborne, he was at the mercy of all the shadow heartless on the ground.
Before the heartless could dog pile on top of him, Tinker Bell flew down and dropped a small glimmer of light on his leg. Riku's pain evaporated, and the darkball heartless hopped off his back, distracted by the buzzing pixie light that flew in front of its face. No time to thank Tink, Riku pushed himself back up into the air, zooming forward, cutting through whole squads of shadow heartless on the ground, before turning back around to get rid of the darkball that was chasing Tink. She high-fived his nose, keeping close to his side.
Riku moved to fly up the main mast, to get to the crow's nest, but wave after wave of darkballs kept getting in his way. He kept fighting, slicing through hundreds of darkball and shadow heartless alike. Even Tink's constant healing ability couldn't protect him from too much exhaustion. If only the stupid heartless swarm would stop for one second so he could catch his breathe! As if things weren't bad enough, there was a furious roar from below, accompanied by the sharp scent of metal. Riku ducked seconds before a hook nearly cracked into his skull.
"Bilge rat! Come to bring more of these blasted heartless on me ship, eh?"
Riku flew backward as Hook barreled toward him, slicing his rapier through the air, cutting through heartless, his jabs so fast that he created a sphere of deadly cuts all around his body. If Riku got too close, he'd be sliced by the razor sharp tornado surrounding Hook. Between ducking away from Hook's sword and trying not to get chewed up by heartless, Riku had no time to quip, fight back, or do anything other then try to keep his body in one piece.
"I've had enough of these filthy creatures! I've had enough of Pan! I've had enough trespassers on me ship! And I've especially had it with you!"
Tink flashed in front of Hook's face, shining so bright that the Captain yelped, squeezing his eyes shut. He swatted at Tink with his hook. Riku lunged forward, reaching for Tink. The hook was about to pierce through Tinker Bell's wings.
A metal clang, followed by an angry grunt from Peter made Riku stop in his tracks. Peter ground his knife against the hook, pushing it away from Tink. He pulled the pixie close to his chest, sparing a moment to ask her if she was all right. She jingled, signaling that she was okay.
"You've gone too far this time, Hook," Peter seethed. "Nobody hurts Tinker Bell as long as I'm around!"
With a light no longer blinding him, Hook was how free to raise his sword. "Then I'll just have to get rid of you first, boy!"
Peter ducked, avoiding the swing of Hook's sword. The two swordsmen froze for one moment, staring each other down. The surrounding heartless and chaos were completely ignored. In a split second, Peter flashed forward, re-starting his deadly duel with Hook. With Peter taking care of Hook, Riku was able to shift his attention to the heartless. Yet, try as he might, no amount of thunder magic, or cuts from his soul eater would thin their ranks. It was like the ship was sitting right on top of an invisible geyser that was spewing an endless stream of the monsters!
Peter's grunts reached Riku's ears. A darkball whizzed by Peter's ear, distracting him. There was a thump against the wall that led to the captain's cabin and Riku realized that Hook had used his metal hand to slam Peter to the wall. He raised his sword. Slicing through heartless, Riku ran toward the Peter, but a yelp from above made him pause. Darkballs had surrounded the mast, surrounding Slighty and Cubby. Both boys had lost their weapons during the fight and Riku's distraction had cost his dearly.
In that single moment, the shadow heartless on the ground had grabbed his legs and were pulling him down. Riku tried slicing through them, but there were too many, and soon, more of them were piling up on top of his head. Trapped under dozens of biting, scratching, writhing shadows, Riku felt the darkness entering his lungs. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't sense anything, except for the sudden burst of warm air that came down from the sky. Light shined down on him, burning through the heartless.
A small hand reached in through the swarm, and Riku grasped the warm fingers without even thinking about it. A light so exciting and electric zinged up Riku's arm and tingled down his spine. All of his pain, his fear, and confusion melted as he held on to the small hand. He was pulled out of the heartless, up to stand next to Alice's side. He stood next to the princess of heart, reeling, as some unstoppable, wonderful bit of lightning moved through his body. He wanted to fly, to scream, to run, to jump, to dance, anything to release the excitable potential within him.
Completely stunned by Alice's power, Riku didn't even sense the shadow heartless that were jumping at Alice. With her other hand, Alice threw her teacup, smashing it onto the heartless' head, stunning it.
"Oh poo! I'm not afraid of you! And I've quite enough of all this nonsense!"
The energy inside Riku's body intensified, reacting to Alice's spirit.
"Sir Captain! You will release Peter at once!"
"Oh, will I now?" Hook shouted back.
"Yes, you pompous, bad tempered old tyrant!"
Hot fury poured off Hook. He pulled back his rapier. "WELL THIS OLD TYRANT IS GOING TO HAVE PAN STEW TONIGHT!"
The rapier flew toward Peter's face. Tinker Bell jumped in front of Hook's eyes, shining, kicking him right in the eye. The captain fell back, roaring. Peter wasted no time, picking up his knife. But he was bombarded with heartless so quickly that he had no time to counterattack Hook.
Slighty and Cubby's whimpers fluttered down from above. The boys were trapped by darkballs. In the midst of all the chaos, Riku felt a righteous fury building up in his chest. Alice's light was building, hot and loud, like a solar flare. An invisible wind blew her hair away from her shoulders. The energy inside Riku swelled. He lifted his soul eater, pointing it upward. Alice lifted her free hand, pointing to the sky. The energy between the pair of them was boiling over, forcing them to shout.
"MINI!"
Rose scented wind fluttered around Riku's body. The current of air washed over the ship, the sky, the sea, any and all nearby heartless and those with ill intent. The heartless shrank, smaller and smaller, until the burn of darkness became an almost imperceptible itch. Alice's combined magic spell with Riku shrunk the heartless down to microscopic levels. It was over in second. All Riku could sense was a clean ship, and a pirate captain that was a lot smaller then before.
Above, Slighty and Cubby roared with laugher.
A tiny, high pitched voice shouted back at them. "Shut up, you fools! Blasted brats! When I get back to my real size I'll-"
Hook's voice was cut off as Cubby flew down and plucked the captain's tiny body off the floor. "Look what I got, Pan."
Peter snorted. "Why Cubby, that's the smallest codfish I've ever seen."
Tinker Bell hovered next to Hook, measuring him. He barely reached he shoulder. She kicked her legs, giggling.
Slighty raised his slingshot. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"No! Don't you dare," came Hook's whimpering voice.
Riku leaned against the mast, smirking as he listened to Hook scream revenge on Slighty. The boy didn't pay him any attention as he put the pirate in his slingshot. Twang. Hook shot through the sky, skipping on the water like a stone, vanishing into the horizon.
"And he's out of here!" Peter shouted.
A round of applause and whoops followed. Riku couldn't resist snickering with Alice. When her giggles subsided, she lowered her hands from her mouth.
"Well, I've had an adventure." She curtsied. "Thank you, Riku. I certainly couldn't have taken care of all the darkness without your help."
Riku opened and closed his palms. "Exactly, what did we do? I haven't felt that kind of power since Kairi unleashed her own heart to save Sora. Just what kind of power do princesses of heart have?"
Alice tapped a finger against her jaw. "Curious. I haven't the faintest idea. I simply wanted to rescue Peter and the Lost Boys is all. I thought you were the one supplying the strength I needed." Alice shook her head. "Well no matter. I say we find a way out of Neverland."
Riku blinked. "What about the armor you were looking for?"
"It seems to be more trouble then it is worth. And I seem to be attacking heartless like a garden attracts weeds."
"No kidding." Riku rotated his neck, stretching his sore muscles. "I haven't felt so many in one place before, not since the realm of darkness. Something must have happened there, something big."
"Then it would be wise to head to Disney Castle. But how to get there."
Peter walked by, blowing a raspberry. "What are you two whispering about?"
"Well, Peter, Riku and I need to head out to another world. The only problem is how." Peter clicked his teeth. "What are you talking about? We've got our own ship right here. Just tell Captain Pan where you want to go." He turned toward the Lost Boys. "All right, ya swabs! Hoist the sails! Raise the anchor!"
"Aye, sir!" Slightly and Cubby flew up the masts.
Peter whistled and Tinker Bell appeared by his shoulder. "Pixie dust. On the double!"
Tinker Bell saluted. Faster then a eagle, she raced around the ship. Magical mist sprinkled over the sails. Pixie dust covered the ship from rudder to keel, shining on the helm, making the entire ship twinkle with pixie light. The floor rumbled and the ship rose up, out of Neverland's oceans. The wind picked up, filling the sails, pushing the ship higher into the sky.
Riku ran to the helm, where Peter was already turning the wheel.
"Wait a minute," Riku reached out, grabbing the helm. "Do you even know where you're going? Or what you're doing?"
"Don't need to," Peter answered, taking control of the wheel again. "Have some faith. We willl get you to where you need to go."
Riku opened his mouth to protest and then thought better of it. He had gotten this far by going with the flow. That just seemed to be the way of things in Neverland. And he liked it better that way, if he were being honest with himself. It was much more fun to be a kid, then the over-inflated jerk he was the last time he was there, or the worrywart, responsible "adult" Slight and Cubby had accused him of being.
Alice walked up to the helm behind Riku. "Pardon me, Captain Pan, but would you mind if I rested in your ship's cabin? That last attack has left me quite tired."
"Of course, miss."
Alice curtsied. "Thank you."
"Oh, and Alice, do help yourself to some tea."
Alice jumped. She hovered in the air for a moment, clapping her hands, before she gently floated back down, her heels tapping the floor. "Why Peter, you finally learned my name."
Riku grinned. "Took you long enough."
Peter kicked Riku's leg.
"Hey! No mutiny on my ship, or I'll have ya walk the plank!"
Riku stopped rubbing his leg so he could summon his soul eater. When he spoke, his voice was low, gruff. "Argh, this be how you treat your crew, Captain?"
Peter let go of the helm, facing Riku, knife out. "Aye. You want to test me, boy?"
Riku made a slow, deliberate swing at Peter, one that the boy easily dodged.
"If I remember correctly, Captain, you stated that you wanted to cross blades with a new opponent."
"So," came Peter's excited response, "it's a duel you want, nay?"
Riku tsked. "We both know it won't be much of a duel, Captain. Over in a few seconds."
Peter threw his knife from one hand to the other. "Aye! It's about time I teach ya some proper respect!"
He lunged.
Sidestepping Peter's attack, Riku swung his soul eater at his opponent's head. "Then it's time for a new captain to take to the high sees! Have at ye, 'Captain' Peter!"
Peter's light brightened as he engaged Riku in their much awaited sparing match. The boys flew up toward the sails, happily grunting and throwing back and forth snide insults as they fought. Slighty, Cubby, and Tinker Bell cheered from the crow's nest, watching Riku and Peter fly around the mizzen and main mast.
Down blow, Alice waved from the door that led to the captain's quarters. "Do play nicely, you two!"
She entered the captain's cabin. Stretching, she sat down on the captain's bed and reached for the tea kettle on the nightstand. She was about to pour tea into the nearby china cup when something glimmered in the corner of the room. Alice's tea cup fell to the floor, shattering.
She stood. Her hand rose without any conscious thought put behind it, reaching out toward a bright mass that hovered across the room from her. She moved toward the light, her eyes wide, her smile full of wonder. The light shined on her face and dress. The room brightened, a white light engulfing everything. When the flash faded, Alice was gone.
Chapter 39: KH3 Chapter 8: Reunion
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Author's Notes
So... This chapter is my favorite so far...of the KH3 section of this project...for all you SoKai shippers: enjoy. ;) Though, for those of you that are really paying attention, this is only a snippet of what I have planned way down the line...
Chapter 8: Reunion
Kairi walked around on the bridge of Cid's new ship, whistling at all the controls and gadgets. It seemed as though every engineer she met was determined to one up each other. Cid's ship was nothing like the one Professor Von Drake and Gadget had built. Cid's bridge was roomier, with metal floors, three large, computer control panels on each corner of the room, and all kinds of pipes that extended into the wall, no doubt connecting to the engine room below. A massive half, sphere of glass served as the ship's viewpoint, letting in natural light from the outside as well as providing an extensive view of their surroundings.
"Welcome to the Highwind," Cid announced as he entered the cockpit behind Kairi. "My pride and joy. Took a while to get this baby all the new gear she needed to be able to travel between worlds." Cid pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now imagine how great I felt when all my hard work turned out to be for nothing. Made a ship that can pass through walls, only for the worlds themselves to come together."
Kairi turned, opening her mouth to speak, but her question died on her lips. A tall, fair skinned woman, with gentle brown eyes, long, dark brown hair, and a leather outfit, entered the bridge. She walked over to Kairi and gave the shorter girl a hug.
"Hi Tifa," said Kairi, after letting the older woman go.
"It's great to see you," said Tifa. "Did you find your friends?"
"Found them, punched the bad guy in the nose, went home, got grounded, took a raft ride, and lost them again." Kairi shrugged. "Feels like that's a thing lately, especially when all this crazy stuff started happening."
"No kidding," Tifa agreed.
Just then, a young man climbed the steps that led to the bridge. He was tall, with a strong set of muscular shoulders. His spiky blond hair, ice blue eyes and serious expression made Kairi feel as though he were about to give her some grave news. Instead, he leaned against a nearby wall and crossed his arms. He didn't bother saying hello, greeting Kairi with a simple, quiet wave.
Kairi shrugged. "Nice to see you too, Cloud."
"Looks like you've gotten stronger since I saw you last," he said.
"You bet I have," replied Kairi, putting her hands on her hips.
Cloud gave her a tiny, half smile. "Tough kid."
"See, I told you we'd find her," Tifa teased. "And you were so worried."
Cloud looked away, pressing his lips together.
"Just how did you find me?" asked Kairi. "I don't even know where I am. Everything is one big mess." She looked at Tifa. "Has something happened to Hollow Bastion?"
Cloud left his wall. He reached out and put his hand on Tifa's shoulder. "You'd better tell her."
Reaching into the pocket of her shorts, Tifa pulled out a pair of letters. She held one out to Kairi. The young girl gasped, recognizing the letter's wax sea. It was shaped like a wizard's hat, a blue triangle with white, wax stars. The letter's seal was broken. Kairi looked at Tifa, waiting for her to explain.
"Merlin gave this to us. It has instructions on what to do with the remainder of Ansem's research and his lab."
Kairi swallowed. "Which was?"
"Seal it off, for now," Cloud answered. "Don't want anyone else getting that knowledge. Cid put all the remaining notes and information in a confidential place. We destroyed the remnants of the heartless machine, and cleared out the lab as well."
"That's good."
"The letter also told us where to look for you," Tifa continued. She reached out and place the second letter, unopened letter in Kairi's hand. "This one is for you."
Kairi saw her own name, written in neat cursive, on the letter's surface. She turned the envelope over, and popped the wax seal. The parchment inside was smooth and light, like silk, but to Kairi, it might as well have weighed a thousand pounds. Her hands shook as she unfolded the letter and read.
To the princess of heart on the Destiny Islands. I thank you for destroying your grandfather's abominable machine. Yet now, a new, more daunting task awaits us. Find His Majesty, gather your comrades in arms. Meet me where the sun never sets.
Kairi swallowed. Yen Sid knew about her grandfather. And he wanted to meet her. Questions pounded around in her head. What else did the great wizard know? Could he know why the worlds were smashing together?
Placing the letter back in its envelope, Kairi tucked it into the pouch at her belt, facing Tifa.
"Hollow Bastion. Is it safe? Are the heartless still a problem?"
"Only pure bloods appear now," Cloud answered. "The emblem ones are rarer. The team takes care of them."
Tifa nodded. "They're easier to handle now that there isn't a machine spewing out an endless supply of artificial monsters. The world's keyhole is locked, so the only danger the pure blood heartless pose is to the regular citizens, but we've got a pretty good security team to take care of them."
Cid rubbed his thumb on the corner of mouth, grinding his teeth on the twig between lips. "Not to mention the town's got itself a brand new defense system, specifically designed to target heartless. Built by yours truly."
"The real problem," said Cloud, "is the ocean."
"Check this out, kid."
Cid waved Kairi over to one of the ship's computers. On the screen was a map of Hollow Bastion. She noticed how the castle on the map looked more like the Hollow Bastion of her childhood, not the twisted pipe monstrosity it had been when Maleficent was in control of it. Briefly, she made a mental note to ask Tifa and Cloud how the world's restoration was going.
"See, normally," Cid explained, gesturing to the map, "there's an ocean around the castle." His finger circled the perimeter of water on the map. Hollow Bastion and its nearby town, sat in the center of a massive disk of water. The circumference of the disk had a border of mountains, depicting the edges of the world. "Up until ten years ago, no one questioned what was out there, beyond those mountains. Hollow Bastion sits in an endless sea. It was the only world in existence, the only one we knew back then."
Until her grandfather brought the heartless to their world, thought Kairi, destroying it and forcing the survivors to escape to other worlds.
"Now, look at this."
Cid pressed a button on the computer keypad. Hollow Bastion's map widened. Unnamed islands appeared in the seas beyond the mountain.
"Our world has expanded," said Cid, "and people are popping up where they shouldn't be."
"Just like how Ariel had appeared on our island," Kairi mumbled. She began to pace. "So every world that has an ocean is somehow being connected to each other. But why? How? The worlds have been separate since, well, forever."
There was a burst of pain in her heart. Thought it was small, nothing uncomfortable, just sudden, Kairi still put her hand on her chest. If this had been a year ago, when she was still alone on the island, she would have jumped for joy at the idea. If the worlds were becoming one, that meant she would never be separated from Sora and Riku again. She could take over her role in Hollow Bastion and still have her friends. But, for some reason, her heart screamed that this was wrong.
Something, a voice from far away called her then. In that second of time that stretched endlessly, Kairi could almost understand its words, its warnings. Only one thing could reunite the worlds. Only one-it was gone as the moment sped up, passing quickly. When Cid spoke, the thought had vanished from Kairi's mind as though it had never been there in the first place.
"We're just as lost as you kid. Not even Ansem, our so called, great wise man leader, had any notes on something like this happening."
Cid walked over to another computer, pressing buttons. The hum of the engine morphed into a low growl as the ship prepared to speed up it's flight. The clouds beyond the viewport moved faster.
"The sooner we get you to where you need to go, the sooner we can be on our own way. Ya got coordinates?"
"Yes, actually, I do." Kairi walked over to Cid's panel and punched in the numbers. "What do you three plan to do."
"Recon mission, from Merlin," said Cloud. "Going to see how far the connected worlds go."
"Can you check in with me from time to time, if you get new clues?"
Cloud nodded.
Tifa sat in the seat in front of the third computer terminal. She waved Kairi over. When she stopped to stand next to Tifa, the older woman leaned close, whispering.
"I'm worried about Cloud."
"How come?"
"Leon was going to come on this mission. Cloud told him to say behind with Aerith and Yuffie, to protect the town."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
Tifa cast a sad look down at her shoes. "Cloud didn't want me to come along either. I feel as though he might want more on this mission then he's letting on."
Her words reminded Kairi of a memory, one that belonged to Sora. When she had been in his heart, she had first met cloud at Olympus Coliseum. Sora had dueled with him. Afterward, she remembered Sora talking to Cloud.
"Cloud once told Sora, that he's looking for someone."
Tifa's eyes darkened. "So, he still hasn't let that go."
Kairi looked over her shoulder. Cloud wasn't paying attention to them. He kept an eye on a nearby computer screen, helping Cid navigate to Disney Castle.
"Is something bad going to happen to Cloud?"
Tifa smiled. "Don't worry about him. I came along for a reason. Someone has to keep him from sinking too far into the dark."
Peter had dropped off Riku in a noisy, busy world. The constant movement around him distracted him from his worries. He quickly forgot about how Alice had vanished from Hook's pirate ship, or all the other concerns her disappearance brought to the forefront of his mind. Sensory overload had completely taken over his brain. Clip-clip-clop. Hooves pounded down on the cobblestone street. Wagon wheels squealed, making Riku cringe, but not nearly as much as the series of meows that reached his ears.
Riku reacted, dashing out into the busy street, his arms outstretched in front of him. No longer in Neverland, no longer covered in pixie dust, he could only rely on his feet. The horse drawn carriage sped closer and closer, its panting, screaming driver, getting louder in Riku's ears. But Riku wouldn't stop, running out into the street, seconds away from being pummeled by the horse.
A girl screamed. "No! Marie, Berlioz, Toulouse! Stop!"
Dust from the horse's hooves scratched against Riku's skin. The driver pulled on the wagon's reins. The horse reared back, the wheels screeched, but the wagon was still coming at him. Woodsmoke from the wheels stung Riku's nose. One more second and he would be trampled. His reached out, his arms closing around three shivering kittens. Pulling the cats close to his chest, he rolled, barely missing the carriage as the horse's hooves stomped on the ground mere inches away from his back.
The wagon roared to a stop. The driver leaned forward in his seat, gasping. Then, an angry shout reached Riku's ears.
"Crazy boy! Stupid cats! Stay out of the road!"
Riku stood, panting, listening as the wagon restarted its journey. Something soft patted his cheek. Two of the kittens had jumped on his shoulders, nuzzling his jaw as thanks. Purring rumbled on Riku's chest as the softest kitten rubbed its cheeks into his shirt. He couldn't help chuckling as the kittens meowed happily.
Someone ran up to him. A girl. He sensed her leaning forward, hands on her knees, gasping.
"You're my hero! Thank you so much! I don't know what I would say to Duchess if something happened to those three!"
Riku recognized the girl's voice. It was the same girl that had screamed when the cats had walked out into the street.
He offered his hand, helping her stand up. Her palm was covered by a soft layer of downy fur. He sniffed. She smelled like dandelions. Her aura was different then regular humans, reminding him of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. He guessed that she was some sort of animal.
"It's no bid deal," said Riku, handing two of the kittens over. The last kitten, the one on his chest, sunk its claws into the fabric of his shirt, not letting go.
"Marie," the girl scolded, trying to pull the kitten off. "Let him go. This is no way for a lady to behave. What would your mother say?"
The kitten wouldn't listen, and the girl had no choice but to let her go before she ripped holes in Riku's shirt. The little furball curled up in Riku's arm, purring.
"Looks like she likes you. There's no way I pull her off now. She's way more stubborn then her brothers. Would you mind bringing her back to her owner with me?"
Riku nodded. "Good thing I'm not allergic."
He was rewarded with a giggle. "My name's Roxanne, by the way."
"I'm Riku," he said as he followed her through the town.
"You're new here, aren't you? I haven't seen you in town before."
"Actually, I'm kind of lost. Can you tell me exactly where I am."
"This is Disney Town."
"King Mickey's home?"
"Yes."
Riku smiled wryly. Peter was either extremely lucky, or his optimism had a magical property to it.
"Think you can lead me to the castle after we drop these three fluffs at home?"
The kittens meowed angrily, as though annoyed at not being taken along.
Roxanne huffed. "You three have caused enough trouble for one day. I'd better get you back to your mother and Madam Adelaide before you go running off to the countryside. Hey!"
Riku felt more paws on his shoulders. There were some annoyed hissing, and the one of the kittens settled into the crook of his neck. The other patted his jaw.
"Toulouse! Stop that."
The cat ignored Roxanne, rubbing his head on Riku's cheek.
"Guess I'm a cat person," Riku quipped.
Roxanne let out a half sigh, half snort. "Well, as long as they're comfortable, they should be easier to transport."
"Then lead the way, Roxanne."
"Thanks, Riku. It's a good thing those three are so cute, otherwise I would never volunteer to cat-sit again."
She led the way through the town. Riku extended his senses, taking in the shape of things. He didn't know what colors and patterns there were, but he had a feeling that the town was ridiculously colorful. The buildings were askew, with rounded corners. The town smelled like flower bouquets and churros. He and Roxanne passed by a race track, a tennis field where everyone was throwing around what smelled like giant fruit, and even a small stage that smelled faintly of ice cream.
Roxanne was pretty popular. Walking through the town, tons of citizens called her, saying hello or thanking her for working some odd job, or doing someone a small favor. Eventually, they reached a tall house where Riku met a genteel, elderly woman at the gate. The kittens were sad to let Riku go. An adult cat rubbed against Riku's legs. Her meows were soft and elegant, and the kittens obediently jumped off Riku, following their mother and owner into the house.
Roxanne clapped. "And that's that. Thanks again Riku."
"Any time. Should we head to the castle?"
"Yup. I owe you. I'm sure Max will let you in if I ask him."
"Max?"
Roxanne tilted her head. "You know him?"
"Goofy's son, right? I know of him. He taught my best friend how to fight." Riku rubbed his chest, remembering how hard Kairi had poked him when they had reunited in the World of the Forgotten.
Just then, Riku felt the rush of a familiar light. Sea salt and clear ocean air reached his nose, followed by a shriek and pounding footsteps. Speak of the devil.
"RIKUUUUU!"
The light pounced on him, making him stumble backward. He would have fallen over if he hadn't grabbed his sudden attacker around the waist, swinging her around. Finally stopping, he squeezed her back before letting go.
"Kairi! You're okay."
"So are you! That's good. Hi Roxanne."
"Hey Kairi."
She stepped back, pointing from Riku to Roxanne. "Wait, you two know each other?"
"Riku helped me with my kitten problem."
Kairi squealed. "Kittens? Where?"
"We just gave them back to their owner."
"Bummer. I wanted to pet some kittens."
She sounded as disappointed as a kindergartner that was denied ice cream. Riku pressed his lips together, and had to taken a moment to smooth over his features into a serious expression before he could let the chuckle escape from his mouth. Careful not to betray his amusement, he cleared his throat. Too bad his attempt at seriousness completely evaporated when Kairi turned around, faced him and spoke the exact same words that came out of his mouth, at the exact same time.
"Is Sora with you? No. He's not with you? Jinx! Hey, I said it first!"
Riku raised his eyebrows. He could practically feel Kairi glaring at him. Finally, he said, "Call it a draw?"
"For now."
"Oh, bring it on," Riku lowered his voice. "I could think of several sodas you owe me for all the time I spent helping you with all the catch-up homework Instructor Trepe gave us when we got back to the islands, little miss 'I'm grounded but I'm going to sneak out and to get Riku's tutoring.' If it weren't for me, both you and Sora would be remedial classes right now."
Kairi's light sparkled. She knew when to admit defeat. "Okay, you win. I'll drop it. But if Sora's not with you, then where is he?"
Riku shrugged. "Don't know. He'll be fine though. I'm sure he'll find his way here. For now, we should head to the castle and let Mickey know what's going on."
Once again, Riku followed Roxanne through the town. As they walked, Riku and Kairi exchanged stories, reviewing all the strange phenomenon they had experienced on their journeys. When Riku told Kairi about Alice's disappearance, Kairi's heart sped up. She quieted for a moment. Before she could speak again, shouting came from further up the road.
Roxanne shifted her weight nervously. "What's going on?"
A crowd of citizens were gathered around the castle gates. Angry energy vibrated from the crowd, voices melting together as people spoke over each other. Riku sensed three guards standing in front of a set of tall, metal gates. Though the guards weren't roughing people up or pushing them back, their weapons were raised. One of them was nervously holding a warhammer to his chest. The other guard held his spear up horizontally before him, as though setting up a line the people couldn't cross. The final guard, standing between the other two, didn't have his weapons drawn. His hands were raised in a placating gesture. Even as the people shouted at him, he didn't tense nor move from his position.
"We demand to see the king!"
"What's going on? Why are people popping up everywhere?"
"Some stranger appeared on the race track yesterday! They nearly caused an accident!"
Roxanne dove into the crowd, wiggling through until she was standing in front of the gates. She reached out and held the hand of the guard that had been addressing the people. When she waved at the crowd, a few voices quieted down, allowing Roxanne to speak. Her tone was calm, but firm.
"Please, shouting at each other is not going to solve anything. I'm sure there's a reason for what's happening. If you'll calm down, I can start taking notes of everyone's worries. I'll make sure all your concerns get to the king. Right, Max?"
The young guard that was holding Roxanne's hand stood up straight. "Yes. Exactly. Great idea, Roxanne."
There were murmurs among the people now. The electric anger dissipated a bit, allowing Kairi and Riku to move through the crowd. One of the citizens, a horse with that wore a thick wooden collar around his neck, raised his hand.
"But this is an emergency, Ms. Roxanne. I thank ya for all the kind work you do fer us round town, but the longer we stay here waitin', the worse it's getting."
"I hear you, Horace," said Max, "but I can't let any more people into the castle right now. The king and queen are doing everything they can. So please wait until they're ready to speak to you."
Roxanne pulled a pencil and notepad out of her pocket. "If you would all come with me, I'm sure we can make an organized list of concerns together. Follow me to the square."
Before she left, Max gave her a tiny "thanks" that only Riku was able to hear.
"Sure thing, handsome." Roxanne kissed Max on the cheek before she led the crowd away.
Next to Riku, Kairi giggled, whispering, "I called it."
The people slowly dispersed, leaving only Max, his two guards, Riku, and Kairi at the gates. The skinner guard, came forward and gave Kairi a high five.
"Yo, Kairi, my lady! What's happening?"
He lengthened the words "lady" and "happening," as though it were meant to be sung and not spoken.
"Hi Bobby," Kairi responded. "How have you been?"
"Terrible," said the chubby guard next to Bobby. "The town is full to bursting. People just keep popping up all the time! We're so busy stopping fights and trying to figure out who's who."
"Like PJ says," Bobby sighed, "total buuuuuum-mer."
"Can you take us to Mickey?" Riku asked. "We have something important to tell him."
Max stepped in front of Riku. His head moved up and down, as though he were trying to get a good look at the tall, silver haired boy.
"Haven't seen you before."
"This is Riku," Kairi explained.
"Oh. Well come on then. Peej, Bobby, guard the gates."
PJ snapped to attention. Bobby sang. "Yes sir!"
Max pushed open the gates. As Riku stepped into the courtyard before the castle, the scent of clean marble and freshly mowed grass refreshed him. Passing under the cool shade of the castle, Riku almost had to jog to keep with Max's brisk pace. Even Kairi's words were a little breathless as she tried to stay by his side.
"What kind of people have been showing up in town? Is the fighting really as bad and PJ says?"
"King Mickey will tell you," came Max's curt reply.
"Oh, okay." Kairi cleared her throat. "I see you and Roxanne are doing well. So, how did your tea date go?"
"It went fine," Max snapped.
"That's," Kairi lowered her voice, "good."
She slowed down, putting distance between herself and Max. They entered a large foyer and walked up a long set of steps in total silence. Kairi sighed. A few times she reached out to Max, about to say something but then she pulled her hand back and continued walking. Max didn't bother talking to either of them until they walked down a long colonnade. He stopped in front of a pair of doors at the end of the hall.
"The king's inside. I have to get back to my post."
"It was nice to see you," said Kairi weakly as he passed by.
"Yeah," said Max.
When Riku could no longer smell the scent of Max's silver armor, he turned to Kairi and said, "Boy, he's real mad at you. Want to tell me what that was all about?"
Kairi rubbed her shoulder. "Remember when I said that owe Max a huge apology?"
"Yeah?"
Kairi looked down at her shoes. "I found Sora's broken keyblade and I just jumped right through the door that led to the World of the Forgotten. I didn't even think about it. The door was fading away, and I couldn't take the chance of not rescuing Sora if he was in trouble. I left Max behind."
"A friend mad at Kairi. I never thought I'd see the day."
Riku waited for her to hit him, but when she didn't move, he grew concerned.
"When you and Sora left me on the island, all by myself, I was so sad. I hated being left behind. I can't believe I did the same thing to Max."
"But you had to make a quick decision to help Sora, right? I'm sure he'll forgive you, though something tells me he's not the 'poke you in the chest and rant at you until he accepts your apology' type."
Kairi giggled. "Thanks Riku. Say, when did you get so smart?"
"Please. I've always been the brains of our group."
"What about me?"
"The heart."
"And Sora?"
Riku smirked. "The mascot."
"Come on. Give me a serious answer."
"You mean you haven't already figured it out?"
Kairi tilted her head.
"Never mind. I'll tell you later." Riku pointed at the door they stood next to. "Where does this lead?"
"The library," said Kairi. "Ready to meet our friends?"
"Lead the way."
Stepping into a clean, spacious room, Riku took in the smell of soot and paper. A dog barked. Riku felt the animal's exuberant, loyal light as it ran past him. It jumped on Kairi's legs.
"Pluto! How have you been boy?"
The dog whined happily as Kairi rubbed behind his ears.
"Sit."
He sat.
"Shake?"
Pluto placed his paw in Kairi's palm. She fell to her knees to give the dog some much deserved belly rubs. "Who's a good boy? I missed you so much!"
Riku smiled as he listened to Pluto's happy panting. His attention quickly shifted however, as Mickey pushed himself away from the desk he had been sitting at and came to stand at his side. Reaching down, Riku shook his old friend's hand.
"Long time," he said.
"It's good to see ya, pal," replied Mickey.
Another mouse came to stand at Mickey's side. She smelled of sweet, cherry pie, and the cool breeze at sunset. If the king's light was full of courage and guidance, hers shined with grace and understanding.
"Minnie, this is Riku."
"My, he's a lot taller then I imagined." The mouse curtsied. "Pleased to meet you, Riku. I am Queen Minnie. Thank you for helping Mickey in the realm of darkness."
Bowing, Riku said, "The pleasure is all mine, Majesty. And I really, I should be thanking him. I don't think I could have escaped without him."
Her Majesty gave Riku an approving nod. "My, what a polite young man."
"Yep," said Mickey proudly. "He's really grown a lot."
Queen Minnie gave him a delighted giggle before she turned to Kairi. "It's wonderful to have you back. Max and Mickey told me all about your adventures. I'm glad you were able to face your fears and destroy that terrible machine."
"Can't keep anything secret from you, can I, Majesty?"
"Not all all." Minnie reached out to hold Kairi's hands. "You're an open book."
"I wish I could catch up with you and Daisy over tea. I have so much to tell you. But-"
"Yes I know," sighed Minnie. "I'm sure you've noticed the crowd at the castle gates."
Kairi nodded. "I hear that people are appearing where they shouldn't be?"
Mickey and Minnie sighed.
"It's been total chaos here over the last few days," Minnie began.
"At first," Mickey continued, "there were a few newcomers in town. People that don't belong in this world. Like Madam Adelaide and her cats."
"The poor dears were lost and confused, so naturally that led to a few small incidents. We were able to find a few homes for them, at first. Then..." Minnie trailed off, folding her hands in front of her gown. Riku felt her light dim for a moment.
"Then more and more people started popping up, which led to misunderstandings, which led to fighting," Mickey explained. "Goofy, Max's team, and Donald have been working to keep the peace. They patrol, talk to the newcomers, and try help the people in town adjust to the sudden change. Some people panic and need to be removed from the town for their own safety. Even Scrooge has been having trouble maintaining the peace in Duckberg."
"Not only that," said Minnie, putting a hand on her cheek, "but these poor people have no homes, and we can't accommodate them all. We've converted the castle throne room into a shelter for now. Daisy has taken over making sure everyone there is cared for, while Mickey and I try to figure out why this is happening."
Riku reached out, putting his hand on Kairi's shoulder. She took a deep breathe and began explaining.
"We've had someone show up in our world too. Someone that doesn't belong there."
As Riku and Kairi shared their stories, the queen sat at the desk and took careful notes. King Mickey paced, listening without interrupting. Finally, when everything was finished, he stood in front of the fireplace, his eyes closed and his arms crossed.
"Oceans from different worlds connecting together, black blots in the sky at night, a massive outpour of pureblood heartless, a princess of heart disappearing into thin air," he mumbled into the fire. "And to top it all off, Master Yen Sid has summoned us."
"That's not all," Riku said. "The darkness sort of...spoke to me."
Kairi stiffened at his side. "Did it sound like Ansem?"
"No," Riku replied. "It didn't really have a voice, more like, a feeling? I don't know how to describe it."
"What did it say?"
"It recognized me, asked me what I traded for my power, and said that it had traded much worse." Riku grit his teeth. Frost tingled on his skin from the memory of the formless creature that spoke to him. "Then it said that this will all be over soon."
"Does the darkness have a...consciousness?" Kairi swallowed. "What's going on in the realm of darkness then? What will happen to anyone that's trapped inside it?"
At that moment, Queen Minnie left the desk. She stood in front of the bookshelf, pointing upward. "Kairi dear, would you get that book for me?"
As Kairi reached for Minnie's book, Riku went to stand by the fireplace next to Mickey.
"I don't want to leave Minnie to handle this mess alone, but Master Yen Sid may have some answers," Mickey said.
"Don't worry. I'll help you figure out what to do. We'll go to the master after everything here is handled."
Mickey chuckled. "Thanks, pal."
"Nothing like this has ever happened before," said Minnie. "There aren't that many clues in the books I've searched through so far. However, this book might be of some use to you, Kairi. Look at the bookmarked page."
Kairi tapped her fingers on an old tomb. The book smelled sour to Riku's nose, as though time had pickled it. When Kairi opened the pages, a faint cloud of dust spread throughout the room. The page she read made her gasp. Suddenly she knelt down, and hugged Queen Minnie.
"Is this really him?" came Kairi's breathless voice.
"Yes," said Queen Minnie, softly. "This is a book of every powerful mage in Disney Castle's history. It's old, and it's the only record we have of him. Master Yen Sid may know more. Take the book with you."
"Thank you! So much! I can't wait to find him." Kairi sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"Who are you talking about?" This question was spoken by both Riku and Mickey.
Minnie straightened her dress. "I'm sorry. I don't know if I should tell you just yet. Leave it for when you meet with the master."
"But, Minnie. I can't leave."
She shook her head. "I can handle our kingdom. You should meet with Master Yen Sid. The worlds may need you."
There was a hesitant moan in Mickey's throat. Before he could say anything, a duck suddenly burst into the library. Lifting her skirts, she panted as she stopped in the middle of the room.
"Daisy? What's wrong?"
"Majesty Minnie, it's the gummi ship!"
"Has something gone wrong in the hanger?"
"No! It's the gummi ship! The one that Donald and Goofy took on their first journey! It's landing in the topiary garden!"
Riku extended his senses. Sure enough, he felt a powerful vessel moving through the sky nearby. Its thrusters vibrated in the air, and he could hear the distant screaming of two familiar voices, but what surprised him the most was the light of laziness and optimism nearby. He was about to bolt out of the library, and run down the colonnade, but Kairi beat him to it.
She raced out of the room, screaming, "It's Sora!"
The wind in the topiary garden was so strong that the only reason Donald hadn't gone off flying was because he was holding on to Goofy's shoulders. Goofy's height, helmet, and shoulder armor provided enough weight for him to stay in place, but he wore the same nervous look as Donald. Waving his arms at the gummi ship that was slowly descending from the sky, Goofy cried out.
"Look out! You're going the wrong way!"
Donald wailed, shaking his fist at the ship. "Veer left, dummy! Left! You're going to crash into the hedge animals!"
Somehow, Donald's screams reached the gummi ship's pilot and the vessel changed course. The rocket's shadow moved as the ship hovered down over a clear patch of the lawn grass. The thrusters powered down, and peaceful air settled over the garden. Donald's flippers met the floor. Now that he was no longer being pushed upward by angry winds, he ran with Goofy toward the gummi ship.
The glass dome of the ship popped open and Sora jumped out. Landing in the grass, he ran toward Goofy. The two of them collided into a big bear hug.
Goofy stepped back, ruffling Sora's hair. "Ahyuck! It's so good to see you!"
Donald came forward, hands on his hips, his beak set in a disapproving frown. "You big palooka! You nearly squashed the topiary castle. Who taught you how to drive?"
"You did." Sora snorted.
Donald ground his teeth. "I, well, yeah I did. A-and I taught you better then that! Yes, that's right. I would have done a much better landing then you."
Sora, grinning, put his hands on the back of his head. "Sorry?"
"I guess I can forgive you, this time." With his hands on his hips, Donald leaned toward Soar, mumbling. "I'm happy to see you too."
"Aw, come here you old sourpuss!"
Sora grabbed Donald in a tight hug, giving him a noogie.
Donald flapped his arms and kicked his legs, his feathers sticking up. "Hey! Put me down! Stop that!"
A scream came down from the sky. Sora dropped Donald, looking up at topiary pig above him. His jaw dropped at the sight of Kairi leaping up from the top of the pig's head. In midair, she turned, outstretching her arms.
"SORAAAAAA!"
Gritting his teeth in shock, Sora ran backward, waving his arms like a panicked fireman trying to catch a falling baby. Kairi landed in his arms, and the force of catching her made Sora stumble backward. Huffing and puffing, with one arm around her back and the other under he knees, he nearly lost his balance, barely standing on one leg, careful not to drop Kairi as he focused on planting his feet back down firmly on the ground.
Kairi, on the other hand, didn't care that he had almost dropped her on the lawn grass. She threw her arms around his neck, the sound of her happy giggles tingling his ear. Kicking her feet, she leaned back to smile at him. In response, Sora's flashed his teeth in a wide, ecstatic grin.
"Nice catch!"
"That was crazy!"
"Yeah, but I knew you would catch me."
"Really?" Sora's stupid grin was starting to hurt his cheeks, but the pain was nothing compared to the way his heart lit up at the sight of her. "I mean, of course I would. There's no way I wouldn't."
"Are you alone? What happened to Ariel? Did she find her family?"
"She found Flounder. Oh, and Nemo found his dad."
"He did? That's wonderful! I'm so happy! That'll teach those stupid coconuts!"
Sora's put his tongue between his teeth, snorting. "What? Coconuts?"
"Yeah, I fought some coconut pirates."
"Me and my fish friends took down a heartless tidal wave."
"I fought a giant crab."
"I explored a sunken submarine!"
"Cool! I learned how to sail!"
"Nice! I made friends with a sea turtle! He was a hundred and fifty years old."
"Awesome! I love sea turtles! Oh! I met a goddess!"
"No way. For real?"
"For real!"
Sora stood there, looking down at the girl in his arms, not wanting to say anything, or do anything, other then look into her bright, blue eyes.
"I missed you," he said.
"I missed you too, lazy bum. You need to work on your landing skills."
"I haven't driven a gummi ship in, like, a year. Give me a break, Kairi."
"Okay," she tapped his nose, "since you did such a good job catching me, I'll let it go."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
The pair of them started laughing. Sora could care less that his arms were starting to ache. He never wanted the moment to end.
Someone cleared their throat. Sora and Kairi's little bubble popped. Their eyes widening, they turned to look out into the garden, and realized they had gathered an audience. Riku, King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy watched them. Every single one of them wore a bright smile.
"Ahyuck, it sure is nice to meet back up with someone ya care so much about."
"Yeah, don't mind us."
Donald's beak was curved into a sneaky snicker. Daisy, who had been standing next to him, put her head on his shoulder.
Minnie put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her giggles. She reached out to hold Mickey's hand. The king winked at Sora.
Kairi wriggled and Sora put her down. The two of them stepped apart. Not even the sun could burn as hotly as their faces had then. As if their display wasn't embarrassing enough, Riku had the gall to reach into his pocket and pull out a small paopu fruit.
"Do you two need one of these? I brought it with me, just in case."
"No!" Sora and Kairi snapped.
They're faces blazed twice as bright when Riku laughed with his whole chest. Donald, Goofy and the others joined in. Sora and Kairi exchanged a look, and then snorted, joining in the laughter. For a few glorious seconds, they forgot about the overcrowding in Disney Castle, about the worlds melting together, and just bathed in the joy of being surrounded by trusted friends. Finally, Kairi led Sora forward, introducing him to Queen Minnie and Daisy.
"Well met, keyblade master," said Minnie, curtsying. "You've come at just the right time."
Daisy gave Sora a more critical look. He stood straight, trying his best not to twitch under her watchful eye. Finally, she crossed her arms and said, "Yes, I suppose he'll do."
Before Sora could ask her what she meant, there was a clamoring of armor. Bobby and PJ ran into the clearing.
"Captain! Your Majesty! We've got trouble!"
"Yeah, King Bro! It's, like, total bum-age out there!"
Minnie clapped her hands, and the two guards halted, snapping to attention.
"Now what's all the fuss about," she demanded calmly.
"There's a riot in the town square," PJ gasped, "and Max went down there to try and calm things down."
Goofy bolted, running out of the topiary garden, screaming, "I'm coming, Maxie!"
Sora and Donald were hot on his heels. Riku and Kairi were about to run when PJ got in their way.
"Wait!" PJ called. "We've got another problem!"
"Which is," Mickey pressed.
PJ swallowed as though the news was enough to give him a death sentence. "A whole castle has appeared near the edges of the town."
"A whole castle?" Mickey repeated slowly. For a moment he stood there, stunned. Then he quickly shook his head, his mouse ears flopping as he did so. "Where?"
"It dropped right onto the racetrack," said PJ. "The spectators are in total panic."
Minnie picked up her skirts. "Daisy, we'd better get down there fast and make sure no one is injured."
"Right behind you!"
Just as the queen and duchess ran out of the topiary garden, Mickey pointed at PJ and Bobby.
"Patrol the town before things get worse. There may be people that are confused and need help."
PJ and Bobby saluted. "Yes sir!"
"Riku, Kairi, we're going to check out that castle."
Jiminy's Journal
Marie, Berlioz, & Toulouse (First appeared in The Aristocats, 1970): Three cute kittens that now live in Disney Town with their mother, Dutchess, and owner, Madam Adelaide. Marie, the smallest, is a white fluffball, while Berlioz is black, and Toulouse is a tabby, tough kitten. They really endeared to Riku after he rescued them from oncoming traffic.
Chapter 40: KH3 Chapter 9: Castle Rumble
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
A/N: Wow, thanks @Aundielen, khaylav, EjElecFlameTails, and Spartandestroyr for the kudos!
@Aundielen: Thanks for all the comments! I am so happy that you enjoyed the Treasure Planet chapters because writing those space/treasure hoard battle scenes were a real challenge! I'm also super happy someone finally liked the trinity limit between Sora, Merida and Eleanor! Also, I figured that since Sora and Riku have so many friendships with Disney Characters, why couldn't Kairi make some bonds as well, hence the whole Mary Poppins mentor thing. You really notice such small details. Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Chapter 9: Castle Rumble
Down by the racetrack, Minnie and Daisy had gathered up all the spectators in front of the ticket booths. The people were shivering, and it didn't take Riku, Mickey, and Kairi long to understand why. A whole castle, appearing right out of nowhere and dropping onto a race track should have been terrifying enough, but the knee deep layer of snow that came with it, only added to the shock. White puffs covered what remained of the racetrack and part of the town, near the ticket booth. A massive castle sat right over part of the track. Pine forests that surrounded the castle, spread out over the nearby farmlands and plains of Disney Town. It was though the castle had been pasted right over Mickey's territory.
The snow wasn't the only surprise. The sky looked as though it had been split in half. One side was the sky of Disney Town, bright, blue, sunny, cloudless, and the other side, was a dark, midnight sky. The moon hung over the dark castle's tallest tower, bathing the baroque towers and gargoyles in a silvery glow. Snow clouds hung in the air.
"Look!" Kairi pointed to the night sky above the castle. "Those are the same black patches I saw in Moana's world."
Mickey looked up. Above, splotches of darkness covered sections of the sky, making it look like a painting with drops of black ink on it.
Riku sniffed. "There's a lot of darkness overhead."
Mickey went to the crowd of people by the ticket booths, calling Minnie and Daisy over.
"Is everyone all right?"
Minnie put her hands on her chest. "Yes. Thank goodness. A few colds and some minor injuries, but nothing Daisy and I couldn't heal."
"What about the racers?"
"Safe," said Minnie.
"We got lucky," said Daisy. "No one had been in the section of the race track when castle suddenly dropped in. The real problems are the people's concerns."
Minnie looked out into the town, her gaze solemn. "Everyone's worried that something like this may happen again. What will they do if another large building appears in the town, or in their homes?"
Mickey tapped his temple. "Gosh. That is a problem." With a sigh, he turned to Riku and Kairi. "Looks like I can't go into the castle with you," he said.
"This isn't like the worlds melting together, like the oceans," mused Riku. "This is like if someone were to drop a whole world into another."
"Right. That's why I'm going to find Professor Von Drake. Ask him if he can research a way to predict these sudden appearances. Then at least we can warn the people if something like this were to happen again."
"That's a good idea," said Minnie.
Mickey held her hands, his face concerned. "You got this?"
"Of course," giggled Minnie. "Don't you have any faith in me."
"Always." Mickey's ears dropped a little. "But I still worry."
Minnie closed her eyes, shaking her head. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"
Nodding, Mickey turned to Riku and Kairi. "Be careful."
When he was gone, it was Minnie's turn to address the two friends.
"Daisy and I will evacuate this area. Keep your wits about you, Kairi, Riku."
Minnie gave Kairi an ether before she began leading the civilians somewhere safe. As Kairi and Riku walked through the ticket booths and onto the broken racetrack, Kairi rubbed her arms. It wasn't just because her boots sank into the snow. It wasn't because they passed from the sunny day of Disney Town in the dark, winter night of the mysterious castle. It was because a tingle of light had reached her. One so powerful that it made her spine tingle.
They passed through the pine forest surrounding the castle, eventually stopping in front of a stone wall. A gate was embedded into the middle of the wall. Through the intricate metal work, Kairi could see a bridge that was covered in a sparkling layer of sleet. She carefully pushed the gate open and stepped onto the bridge, looking up at the castle straight ahead. There were lights moving behind the castle's stained glass windows. Massive, reinforced wooden doors rested at the end of the bridge.
Riku came to stand beside Kairi. Suddenly, he tensed.
"Oh no."
Across the bridge, the wooden doors banged opened, slamming into the castle walls. A large creature appeared in the doorway. Haunched over, stream puffed from the creature's wide nostrils. The creature snarled at Kairi and Riku, revealing two rows of straight, sharp, white teeth. Its furry, wide chest and bear like upper half stood on long, thin, wolf legs. His wolf tail swept the ground angrily. He was gritting his teeth so tightly that the horns on his head looked as though they were trembling. The only sign of intelligence in that brutish face was the deep, blue eyes that stared across the bridge, right into Riku's face.
With a roar, the creature leaned forward and galloped across the bridge.
"You," the creature hissed. "Leave my castle now!"
Kairi skid in front of Riku, her arms spread wide. Her reflect spell went up, and the creature banged his huge paws against it. From inside the bubble, Kairi cried out.
"Calm down, Beast! Can you hear me out? Please?"
The creature growled at her, stepping back to charge at her protective spell once again.
There was a cry from the castle doors.
"Beast! Stop!"
The soft voice made the creature halt his attacks. He haunched down low, his hackles raised, not taking his eyes off Riku. A lovely young woman ran across the bridge. She put her hand on Beast's back and the creature visibly relaxed. Turning, the young woman faced Kairi.
"I feel the light. You're one of the seven princess of heart."
Kairi let the reflect spell drop. She fidgeted under the young woman's hazel eyes. She had seen the princesses of heart, had known of them, but this was the first time she had every spoken to one face to face.
"You're Belle, right?"
The young woman nodded. Then she faced Riku. "I recognize that darkness. I felt it in Hollow Bastion. Who are you?"
"That boy," the Beast hissed.
Riku put up his hands. "I'm not the same as I was back then. Please, let me explain."
The Beast reared back on his hind legs. Belle grabbed his arm. Kairi stood in front of Riku, her hands up.
"Easy! If you don't want to listen to him, then listen to me! I'm Sora's friend too! You know him, don't you? Do you remember me? You helped me and Sora escape from Hollow Bastion."
The beast blinked at her. His upper body lowered, relaxing. Slightly. Taking that as permission to explain, Kairi began pace.
"Okay. Here are the facts. Riku was the one that fought you in Hollow Bastion. That is true. And he was in league with the people that kidnapped Belle. At least, at the time."
The Beast's growls were slowly rising.
"Uh Kairi, you're not really painting me in a very good light here."
"Shush, let me finish!" Kairi held up her finger. "But! It was because of Riku that we were able to restore the worlds. Without his help, your world wouldn't have come back. He's already learned his lesson, and paid the price for it. And he's really, really sorry for all the things he did." Kairi looked over her shoulder, glaring at Riku. "Right?"
Riku bowed his head. "I'm truly sorry for how I treated you back in Hollow Bastion, Beast. And Belle, I'm sorry too, for everything I did while under Maleficient and Ansem's influence."
Belle's smile was soft and knowing. She stepped away from Beast and held out her hand. "It takes a lot of courage to take responsibility for your mistakes."
Beast growled. "How can you forgive him for all that he's done?"
Belle put a hand on her hip, looking cooly over her shoulder, back at the beast. "I forgave you, didn't I?"
Beast sat down, his paws resting between his hind legs, his lips sealed shut. He hummed from deep within his throat, his tail tapping the floor. While Belle and Riku shook hands, Kairi walked up to Beast and gave him a pat on the head. He started, glaring at her with wide eyes as though she had lost her mind.
"I never got to thank you for helping Sora. If you weren't there for him when he was all alone in Hollow Bastion, I wouldn't be here either. So thank you, Beast."
His blue eyes softened, the frown falling from his face. Looking away, he grumbled, "You're welcome."
Belle wrapped her arms around herself. "We should probably continue this inside the castle."
Beast stood, looking out beyond the bridge, into the split sky, into the distant plains and city scape of Disney Town.
"What about the town? Those other outsiders?"
"If they come to the castle, then we'll just have to greet them graciously, like good hosts," Belle scolded.
"I don't think anyone will come here," said Riku. "The people outside are too frightened to risk it. I'm sure you're just as surprised that you suddenly appeared in another world."
Beast looked at him, his eyes narrowed. "How do I know this isn't any of your doing?"
Once again, Kairi to the rescue. "My friends at Hollow Bastion looked at Ansem's old notes. Not even he reported on something like this happening. Even if I didn't trust Riku, I doubt he would know anything about what's going on. If Ansem had no idea something like this could happen, then how could Riku cause it?"
Her logic won Beast over, though he did let out a low, annoyed growl. He stood and began walking toward the castle, waving his arm at them.
"Come inside, before you all freeze."
As soon as Kairi and Riku walked through the massive doors, a blast of warm air surrounded them. The entrance hall was not nearly as huge as the audience chamber in Disney Castle, but it was still a cavernous room with vaulted ceilings and massive, stone pillars. Made of dark blue stones, rich earthy tones in the carpet and antique furniture, the castle felt old, distinguished yet forgotten at the same time.
Beast gestured for them to walk into a small room on the right side of the foyer. They entered into a parlor. A single, tall, cushioned, red and gold chair sat in front of the fireplace. Beast collapsed into it. Taking off her metal gauntlets, Kairi went to the fire and rubbed her palms together. Belle went to stand by Beast. Riku was the last to enter, and he shut the door behind him.
"So," he began carefully, "can you tell us what was going on in your world, before the castle just somehow came here?"
Belle looked at Beast and then back at Riku. "I was reading in my room when I felt something. By the time I got down to warn Beast, the castle just," Belle snapped her fingers, "popped up right here."
Kairi frowned. "What exactly did you feel?"
Belle interlocked her fingers, bringing her joined hands close to her chest. "It's hard to explain. You would think that this," she gestured to the castle, "would be caused by darkness, right? But that not what I felt."
"Well, I'd say we've had quite a scare dears," said a kindly old voice. "Perhaps we should just discuss it after a spot of tea?"
Riku stumbled backward, away from the door. A tea cart, which was wheeling itself, had rolled in, nearly running over his foot. The cart stopped between Belle and Beast. On top of the cart was a white, china tea pot with a frilled, pink cover. Dainty, white tea cups with golden handles surrounded the pot.
Riku gripped the door, his brows furrowing. "Kairi, are my senses going crazy, or is there actually a talking teapot in the room?"
"Don't be rude," Kairi snapped, ignoring the fact that she had been just as surprised back when she had met the walking broomsticks at Disney Castle.
"It's quite all right," said the tea pot. She bent forward, pouring tea out of her spout nose. "Have some lavender blend. It will soothe your soul on such a cold night."
"Thank you, Mrs. Potts," said Belle as she took a cup.
The surprises didn't end there. There was a dog bark. A second later, a footstool ran into the room. Its four legs moved like a canine, its golden tassel waving like a dog tail. The stool's front legs pawed at Kairi. After a series of pets, the stool moved around her, and barked.
"Oh, you want me to sit," Kairi realized. "Thanks."
Just as she sat down, a golden candelabra hopped into the room, followed by a miniature grandfather clock. Riku would have stared if his eyes worked. Instead, he stood very still, waiting for someone else to acknowledge the situation.
Beast waved the candelabra and clock over.
"Well?"
The candelabra bowed his head low, making the fire atop his waxy head flicker. "We've checked the east wing, master."
The clock pulled at his mustache, which was really just the clock hands on his face. "Not a single monster in sight, courtesy of yours truly."
The fire on candelabra's head and hands brightened. "Excuse me? What about my contribution."
The clock waved his partner off dismissively. "Lumière helped, a little."
The wax melted faster as the flame atop the candelabra's head blazed. "Why you overgrown pocket watch!"
The candle holder reached out and spun the clock hands on the clock's face ,so quickly that the clock's eyes spun. The clock fell on his behind. He quickly stood, handlebars peeling away from his sides, turning into tiny hands.
"En garde, you parrafin-headed pea brain!"
The two living pieces of furniture wrestled on the ground. Atop the tea table, the tea pot jumped up and down, snapping. "Cogsworth! Lumière! We have guests!"
Riku stepped above the two and picked them up, pulling them apart. The candle holder and clock continued slapping the air between them. Beast growled and the two servants froze, finally behaving. Putting them back down, Riku asked Cogsworth, "What did you mean by monsters?"
The little clock cleared his throat. "Well, you see, our grand castle has been having an infestation as of late."
"Heartless?"
Cogsworth stumbled a bit. "Why, yes."
"Since when?"
Lumière tapped his golden base like a foot. "Let's see, in the past few days, perhaps?"
Belle nodded. "Usually, my light keeps them away, but now they've infested the west wing."
Cogsworth wailed. "The poor master! He can't even go to his own room now without having to fight through a horde of flying, sword wielding monsters to get there."
"Riku, did you hear that," asked Kairi.
"Invisibles," Riku mumbled. "Are those the only ones that appear here? Are there any other kind of heartless?"
Cogsworth jumped up and down. "Yes! Foul beasts! As if we didn't have enough problems! If it weren't for the fact that we must protect the rose, we would have sectioned off the west wing by now."
Suddenly, Beast rose from his chair and barked. "Cogsworth!"
The little clock covered his mouth. "Forgive me, master. I misspoke."
Kairi eyed the little clock and then Beast. She repeated Cogsworth's last sentence in her mind. What kind of rose needed protecting? Curiosity begged her to ask the question out loud, but with Riku on thin ice, she didn't want to upset Beast when he was already on edge. She tried to speak to Belle instead, but the moment she opened her mouth, she froze, and had to turn around to compose herself.
"You don't have to be so afraid of me," Belle chuckled.
Kairi blushed. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've never met another princess of heart. I mean, I did see the others through Sora's eyes, but I never got the chance to actually talk. This is, a little weird."
"It's all right," said Belle. "I remember how I frightened I felt when I awoke at Hollow Bastion. It was truly a terrible place."
Kairi looked down at her shoes. To think that her old home had become nothing more then a nightmare for so many. Could Leon and the others really return it to the garden of hopes she remembered when she dreamed at night? Or was it doomed to be stigmatized as Maleficient's headquarters forever. Kairi bit her lip. Was her presence the only thing that could return Hollow Bastion to its former glory?
"But the other princesses gave me strength," Belle continued. "And so did he."
She gazed at Beast. There was a glimmer in her eyes, a gentle curve of her cheeks, and Kairi couldn't help thinking about Sora and how he had wrapped his arms around her after she had changed him back from being a heartless.
"Maybe you can help me with something, Belle."
Kairi explained what had happened on the islands, the patchy sky at night, and the hordes of heartless she saw rising out the realm of monsters. When she explained how the heartless had corrupted an entire island, she paused.
"How can there be so many pureblood heartless about? The realm of darkness was closed and I destroyed the heartless machine. We haven't seen too many emblem heartless since then, but still, there really shouldn't be this many purebloods around."
Belle nodded. "I've wanted to go to the castle library, to see if I can find some clues."
Beast walked over. "No. It's too dangerous. I forbid you from going into the west wing."
Belle crossed her arms. "If you were to walk alongside me, the danger shouldn't be a problem."
Beast stomped his foot, as if that was that. "And don't go sneaking off in there again. If you would only listen to me-"
Belle held up a finger. "If you would only trust me-"
"The answer is no!"
Kairi raised her hand. "Might I make a suggestion?"
Beast's growl made Mrs. Potts, Lumière, and Cogsworth shiver. Even Riku swallowed. Kairi, on the other hand, didn't even blink.
"I can walk beside Belle and help her get to the library safely. We could hunt for clues together."
"I agree," said Riku. "Plus, both Kairi and I can sense heartless when they're coming. If Beast and I lead the way and Kairi guards Belle, there shouldn't be too much trouble."
Belle didn't wait for Beast to agree. She simply walked to the door and out into the foyer. "I'm going, whether you like it or not. So let's move."
A cacophony of bangs, crashes and screams reached Sora's ears as he followed Donald and Goofy into the square. Disney Town citizens were running around, flailing their arms, ducking and hiding from oily, weirdly flat heartless that stretched like rubber bands. Max stood between a group of heartless and a frightened lady cow. He slashed at the heartless, but his might as well have been trying to dig through a mountain with a toothpick. Rather then damage the creatures, he was simply stretching them this way and that with his swords.
Goofy raised his shield and charged, bulldozing into the heartless in front of Max, sending them flying like bowling pins.
"Are ya all right, son?"
Max nodded and then turned to the older woman he had been protecting. "Find some cover, Ms. Clarabelle."
The cow pinched Max's cheek. "Oh thank you, Max. I'll make sure to put in a good word for you in the next town meeting."
As the cow scampered off, several more rubbery heartless fell from the sky. Goofy defended his son from the attack. Back to back with Max, the father and son duo took turns, slicing and pushing the heartless back, making openings for the civilians to escape. The heartless caught on, stretching their oily, weasel bodies, getting in the way of the civilians, biting and swiping at anyone that tried to step one foot outside of the square. Max tried to cut through the elongated torsos and arms of the heartless, but his swords did no damage. Goofy, still struggling to keep civilians out of harm's way, spared a moment to shout at Sora and Donald.
"Fellars! These are the same heartless from Roger Rabbit's world! Quick, Max! Tell a joke!"
Max x-sliced through a heartless, watching as it stretched back into shape after his attack. "Now is not the time for jokes, Dad!"
A heartless slithered down from above, about to jump on Max's head. Sora leapt forward, to defend him, but Max whirled around, hitting the heartless with both of his swords and throwing it back. The heartless smashed into a nearby mailbox.
Sora let out an appreciative whistle. "Cool! You use two swords! Just like Kairi said."
Max turned around and blinked. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sora."
Donald wailed, raising his staff. "Aeroga!"
A sphere of protective winds surrounded the group, sheilding them from an onslaught of rubber toon heartless. They washed over the spell like a wave, clawing and kicking at the protective sphere.
"Save the introductions for later," Donald snapped, "we need jokes and we need them fast!"
Max's lip curled. "Intro's are out but jokes are totally okay? Have you lost it?"
"The spell's going to break! Get ready!"
Sora raised his keyblade over his head. Donald's staff buzzed with electricity. Max and Goofy got behind the shield. The protective winds around them dissipated, unable to take anymore of the heartless' beat-down.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning came down from the sky, frying the heartless surrounding them. Sora threw his keyblade, making it fly around them in a circle, pushing the heartless back. Next, Max and Goofy charged, slicing and thrashing back heartless, clearing a path to the other side of the square. But nowhere was safe. No matter how many paths the father and son opened up, the people couldn't escape, and the heartless wouldn't go down.
"Sora, over there!"
Donald suddenly took off, running toward a wheeled cart that was stacked with pies. Raising his staff, Donald threw fire spells at the rubbery heartless that been attacking the pie cart. The spells did little to destroy the heartless, but they did blow them back, or confuse them long enough for Sora to send them flying. A few powerful keyblade swings did the job. Soon the pie cart, and the old duck that had been in front of it, were heartless free.
Donald stomped his foot, glaring at the old, spectacled duck. "What are you doing here, Uncle Scrooge? Go find someplace safe!"
Uncle Scrooge tapped his cane on the ground. "And leave me pie cart to be destroyed? Why would I throw munny like that away, eh?"
"But this place is dangerous!"
"I can see that. Blasted heartless. I came here, bringing some pies and ice cream to calm down the concerned townsfolk, and maybe make a profit while doing it, and then these creatures arrive! No one is going to buy a pie if they're busy running for their lives."
Sora pushed back another rubbery heartless, watching as his fire spell did nothing but make it mad. Time to bring out the funny.
"How much for three pies?" he asked Scrooge.
"Oh about a three hundred munny should do it."
Donald quacked. "That's so expensive!"
Sora threw his money pouch at Scrooge and then picked up a pie. Max ran by with Huey, Dewey and Louie right behind him. Sora aimed and fired.
"Hey Max, have some pie!"
By the time Max had turned his head around to ask Sora what he was talking about, the pie slammed into his face, covering his muzzle and ears with pieces of flaky crust and sweet, red, syrupy cherries which slide down his neck and onto his armor. Huey, Dewey and Louie pointed, laughing.
Max growled, shaking the pie off his head. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Ya gotta be funny, Max," screamed Goofy from across the square. "It's the only way to beat 'em!"
"Speaking of." Sora picked up another pie, reached over and smashed Donald's face into it. Donald, his face covered in blueberry, jumped up in the air waving his arms and legs.
"Why you!" He chased Sora around the cart, quacking furiously.
"Come on, Donald, we all know blue is your favorite color!"
Huey, Dewey, Louie, even Uncle Scrooge, screamed with laughter. Nearby heartless doubled over and began writing in pain. Seeing this, Max reached over and grabbed a pie. He waiting until Sora had his back turned, sill running away from an enraged Donald.
"Hey, Sora. I hope you like pumpkin!"
Max smashed the pie into the back of Sora's head. Yelping, Sora shook as pumpkin pulp went down the back of his shirt.
Scrooge growled at Max. "Hey! You'd better pay for that!"
Donald fell over, laughing as Sora danced around, desperately scratching his back.
"Ew! Talk about a sticky situation!"
A few civilians that had been hiding nearby began chuckling, adding to the ducklings and Scrooge's laugher. This time, the heartless fell to the floor, convulsing. One by one they began popping like popcorn, bursting into nothing.
"Bringing some more yer way!" Goofy charged, banging heartless into the air with his shield, sending them toward the pie stand.
Sora finally gave up on trying to get the pie out of his shirt. He pointed at Max. "This means war!"
Max picked up a pie in each hand, grinning. "I only have pies for you!"
The ducklings ran up to the cart and picked up all manner of sweet treats. They screamed.
"FOOD FIGHT!"
Nothing could stop Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They pelted heartless with ice cream, pies, and cobblers. Civilians left their hiding spots and joined in, tossing so many pies into the air that soon Scrooge had more munny pouches then he knew what to do with.
"Hey, heartless! You should split," said Dewey, throwing a banana pie, which the heartless promptly stepped in, causing its foot to slip, making it land flat on its back. Max and Sora roared, gripping their stomachs.
The heartless writhed and then, pop! It was gone.
Huey picked up a pie and tapped his brother on the shoulder. "Hey Louie, what is a ghost's favorite dessert?"
Louie cringed. "Oh no. Don't-"
Huey smashed a blueberry pie into Louie's face screaming, "Boo-berry pie with I scream!"
Louie, pie falling off his face, glared at Huey. "Really? You want a piece of this?"
He smashed a raspberry pie in Huey's face in revenge.
Max fell over, kicking his feet, his laughter turning into a series of "ahyucks."
More heartless exploded. With the civilians, the ducklings, Max, Sora, and Donald engaged in the pie brawl, Goofy didn't see all the slippery jam and melted ice cream on the floor. He slipped and slid toward the heartless he had just gathered up, sending them flying. Up in the air, the heartless were defenseless as cannon balls of pies splattered them in the face. The food fight had reached its fever pitch! The laughter was so loud that no one heard or noticed PJ and Bobby running into the square. The pair of them quickly got splattered in pie slices. The joy from the fight quickly took over and soon Booby and PJ were pelting Max and Sora with so many sugary sweets that Sora was sure he was going to have a toothache by the time it was over.
"Incoming, bro-oh! Awooooo!"
Max and Sora turned to face their new opponents, shouting, "you're going to get creamed!"
PJ and Booby ducked, whipped cream pie sailing over their heads, smacking Goofy in the face instead.
"Oops! Sorry Dad!"
With whipped cream covering his face, Goofy wasn't able to see. He slipped again, this time on a scoop of ice cream. He slide over the floor, crashing into PJ, Bobby, Donald, the ducklings, even Scrooge. The five of them careened out of control, knocking the pie cart over. The civilians stepped back, eyes wide as a bunch of peach pies went sailing into the air. The rolling ball of dogs and ducks were sliding straight toward a mailbox! Breaking out into a run, Max and Sora got in their way.
Pointing his keyblade at the incoming wrecking ball of ducks and dogs, Sora shouted, "Aeroga!"
A sphere of wind protected the group, but wasn't stopping them from slamming into Sora and Max. The two boys put up their hands, catching the wind sphere and pushing Goofy and the others back, away from the mailbox. The wind sphere slid backward, popping. Goofy, Donald, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Scrooge, PJ ,and Bobby lay on the floor, confused. Then the peach pies they had knocked over came raining down on their heads.
Max ran over, his eyes wide. "Dad, Peej, Bobby, are you okay?"
"Yup," said Goofy, giving him a thumps up. "Just peachy."
Sora snorted, sending each and every one of the food fighters into a frenzy of delighted screams. The remaining heartless couldn't take two steps without having their heads assaulted with the light of laughter. One by one, they vanished and when the last one was gone, everyone in the square threw up their arms, howling at the top of their lungs.
The square was a total mess, splotches of ice cream, fruit and pie crusts hung off the buildings and the banners that were strung between them. Scrooge's cart was destroyed, leaving him with no choice but to hire Huey, Dewey, and Louie to help him carry his profits away.
Max and Sora shook hands, finally able to properly introduce each other.
"So, you're Max!" Sora grinned, his teeth pink from all the strawberry pie that had been thrown in his face. "Too bad these heartless are invincible, except for laughter. I would have loved to watch you fight. Kairi talks about it all the time. She says that as good as she is at dual wielding, you're ten times better."
Max blinked. "She really said that?"
"Yeah, she talks about you a lot, says you're the best sword instructor ever."
Max smirked. "She talks about you too. Says you're loyal, brave, and kind."
Sora stood up proudly.
Next to him, Donald and Goofy snickered.
"Do you two have something to say?"
"Just noticing how your face is all red," said Donald.
Sora slapped his hands on his cheeks. "It is not!"
Goofy covered his mouth. "Ahyuck! You should just be more honest with your feelings, Sora. Be like Max. He and Roxanne-"
"DAD!"
"What?" Goofy innocently replied.
Clearing his throat, Max faced Sora "Thanks for helping us take down the heartless."
"No problem." Sora pointed to the pie mess. "It was pretty sweet."
Max snorted at the pun. "You know, the way my Dad talks about you, I was expecting some well behaved, traditional hero. Man, am I glad I was wrong."
Goofy tilted his head. "Whatever gave you that idea, Max? All I said was that Sora was a real good boy."
"For you, 'real good boy' means he likes mambo, the world's biggest yarn house, or fishing."
"I do like fishing," said Sora. "The world's biggest yarn house sounds awesome. What's a mambo?"
Max's eyes got wide. Quickly he turned around and stepped in front of his father. "Don't even think about it!"
Goofy slumped. "Aw, why not? It's fun!"
Donald smacked Goofy's leg. "Save it for the next ball."
Goofy hung his head, but quickly recovered. He put his hand on Max's shoulder. "We'd better make sure no one is hurt. Donald, Sora, ya got some magic to spare?"
Sora and Donald nodded. Just as they had finished curing the civilians' injuries, there was a series of claps. Turning toward the source of the noise, Max cringed. Two, rather distinguished, looking men that had entered the square. PJ jumped behind Max. His body was too big for Max's thinner frame to reasonably hide him, but PJ still cowered behind his friend, gulping. Sora looked from PJ to one of the men that had entered the square, realizing there was a slight resemblance.
Like PJ, one of the men was tall and fat, his fur as black at PJ's. The only difference was that PJ was a dog, and the fat man was a cat. He wore a navy blue suit that would have looked refined, if it weren't for fact that his chest was covered in all manner of ridiculous medals. Even his top hat and cane seemed a little too much. The man next to the cat was a tall, lanky mouse, who's arms and legs were way too long. His outfit was just as aristocratic, except, instead of medals, he wore a beige ruff around his neck that was so huge, it nearly took over his entire dress shirt.
"Well, well, well."
When the fat cat smiled, his bulbous chin and two lower buck teeth made him look more sneaky then inviting. "Look at this mess." He threw out his arms, gesturing to the remains of the pie fight. "First people appearing in town where they shouldn't be, and now we have monsters? And where is our noble king?" Squinting, the cat put his hand over his forehead and looked around, clicking his teeth. "Why Mortimer, I do believe our famed Majesty is no where to be found."
The tall, lanky mouse crossed his arms and shook his head. "Ha cha cha, you're absolutely right, Lord Pete. The king is nowhere to be found. Where is he in his people's time of need?"
The civilians quickly gathered around the gazebo to hear the big cat talk. Goofy and Max had to push their way through the crowd. Once Max had reached the bottom step of the gazebo, he pointed at the fat cat.
"I told you before, Lord Pete," Max snapped, speaking the title as though it were an insult. "King Mickey is doing something about all this! And you're one to talk! You rallied all the people here and got them rioting, and then, as soon and those heartless showed up, you were out of here!"
Lord Pete smirked, crossing his arms. "Yes, I was on my way to gather my troops. But by the time we got back, those creatures were gone. At least I was doing something. Just how long is His Majesty going to let us wait? Hmm?" He waved his arm, gesturing to the civilians. "Seems to me, a more capable leader should be takin' care of business. Why, look at all these poor people. Confused, covered in filth."
Mortimer Mouse shook his head. "Tis a real shame."
Max pulled out his swords. "That's it. I'm arresting him."
Goofy grabbed his son around the shoulders. "Max, that's not how we do things."
"But-"
"Put those away. We can't arrest someone that hasn't broken the law."
Seething, Max sheathed his weapons. By this time, Sora and Donald caught up. Donald joined Goofy at the bottom of the stairs and the two of them began talking to Lord Pete and Mortimer. Sora leaned toward Max and whispered.
"Who are they?"
Max narrowed his eyes. "That's Lord Pete, PJ's dad, and his right hand man, Mortimer Mouse. The two of them are nobles here, but they're more like crooks to me."
"Come on, Pete," said Goofy. "Ya aughta be working with us, not against us. We're all in the same boat."
"And I am, Goof." Pete reached over and poked Goofy in the nose so harshly that Goofy's muzzle wiggled up and down.
Donald stomped his foot. "Hey! Watch it."
Pete ignored the little duck. Instead he addressed the people. "I'm just takin' action while His Mousiness sits around. Who's with me? Give me your support and I'll have these monsters under control sooner then you can say, 'Sayonara darkness.'"
There were murmurs among the crowd now.
Max crossed his arms, glaring at Mortimer. "And what's your excuse? I didn't see you helping out in the battle earlier."
Mortimer cleared his throat. "Lords such as ourselves don't engage in such fivelity."
"Fivelity?"
"He means, 'frivolity,'" grouched Donald.
"Whatever." Max pointed to the other end of the square. "If you have nothing else to say, then kindly vacate the premises. We've got civilians to sort out. Better yet, why don't you practice what you preach and see if anyone needs a hand."
"Very well." Pete adjusted his top hat. "But mark my words. When His Mousiness doesn't live up to his words, you fine people," he gestured to the crowd, "will know who to call."
Pete and Mortimer left the gazebo. Max watched them work through the crowd, asking for donations as they offered their form of "help." Still, the people were willing to donate in order for an escort to Pete's estate and to have someone listen to their woes. There was nothing Max could do, other then grit his teeth. Pete barked for his son, and PJ, after giving Max a hesitant look, followed his father.
"I can't understand how Pete and Mortimer are lords. I wish King Mickey would revoke their noble status."
Goofy put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Now Max, that's not nice. Pete is only trying to protect the town in his own way."
"By stirring up trouble. I don't trust those two."
Bobby walked up to stand next to Max's side. He shook his head, clicking his teeth.
"Bro, quit the attitude. PJ's old man may be totes lame, but he's still our buddy's old man, man."
Max shrugged. "Come on, we've got civilians to take care of."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy helped clean up the mess while Max and Bobby took care of the civilians that hadn't gone to Lord Pete and Lord Mortimer for help. Once everyone was cleared out, and the square was empty, Sora asked Goofy what they should do next. It was Bobby that answered.
"Her Queenliness and the duchess went down to the race track. Huge castle just downright dropped in there. Might want to check it out, my dudes."
"I'll stick around," said Max. "With PJ helping his dad, I might need to take over his patrol."
"Good idea," Goofy agreed.
"Wish you could come with us," said Sora. "I would have loved to watch you fight. Man, if I had two keyblades, I'd be unstoppable, like," Sora pressed his tongue to his teeth, looking for the right word. "like a drive form or something. Do you think we can have a fight later? Kairi said she was never able to beat you while dual wielding. I'd like to give it my best shot."
Max shrugged. "Sure, if you're ready to lose."
Sora put his hands on his hips. "You haven't even seen what I can do."
"If Kairi couldn't beat me, what makes you think you can? I'm the one that taught her. And you've seen how crazy strong she is."
"Then I'll ask her to tag team with me," Sora grinned. "The two of us working together will take you down for sure."
Donald groaned. "Oh brother, there he goes again."
Goofy giggled. "I think it's great that Sora can make friends with anyone he meets. Besides, he and Max aren't that different."
"True," Donald's eyes narrowed, his grin cheeky. "They both can't talk to their crushes without blushing."
At this, both Max and Sora turned, their eyes wide. "What's that supposed to mean?" they barked.
Laughing loudly, Donald turned his heel and ran. Bobby and Goofy watched, grinning as the little duck used his short stature, as well as an ice spell, to trip both boys, and escape scot free.
Donald ran out of the square. By then Max had stopped giving chase. Goofy took his place, following Sora and Donald. By the time they reached the race track, all thoughts of giving Donald the biggest, most annoying noogie ever, were completely erased from Sora's thoughts.
The first thing he noticed was the split sky, one half daylight, and the other, midnight blue. Below the night sky stood a castle with architecture that was much more elegant then the surrounding buildings of Disney Town. Donald and Goofy stared at the castle, mouths open for a moment. Then they spotted the crowd, running to give Queen Minnie and Daisy some backup.
Entering the west wing was like walking into starless night. Their footsteps echoed as they walked through the silent, black void. Riku and Beast led the party while Kairi hung back, walking beside Belle, who was holding up Lumière to light their way. Kairi wondered if this was what Riku saw whenever he opened his eyes. A world of black ink. If it weren't for Lumière's candle glow, none of them would be able to see where they were going.
"To your right," Riku warned.
Beast threw out his claws, slashing through an invisible heartless before the creature could so much as try to thrust out its sword.
"Kairi! Behind you!"
"Belle!"
Beast jerked toward Belle, his eyes wide. A moment later, he relaxed as Kairi blasted the incoming darkball with fire magic. He grunted at Kairi and then turned back around.
As the party resume their walk, Belle sighed. "He's been overprotective since I returned from Hollow Bastion."
"Can you blame the master?" Lumière asked. "Losing the world was hard enough, losing you must have been devastating."
"I just wish he would start trusting me. I'm not going to break like some china doll."
Kairi crossed her arms. "I know how that feels."
Just then, something moved out of the corner of her eye. Kairi faced the thing, charging up a lightning spell. Belle raised Lumière, shining his light on something along the wall. All that stood there was an empty suit of armor.
Kairi let out a breathe of relief. "Just my imagination."
As they passed by the armor, Kairi, for some reason, couldn't help looking back over her shoulder at it. The armor stood against the wall, motionless. She quickly forgot about it as they moved, deeper into the darkness. The party finally made it to the stairs. Beast opened a set of double doors, and they entered into a spacious library. Unlike the rest of the west wing, this room was lit. Kairi let out a gasp.
Belle's library put her grandparents' collection to shame. Hollow Bastion couldn't hold a candle to the large space before them. The ceiling stretched high over their heads. Each wall was inlaid with shelves upon shelves of books. They bookshelves stretched all the way up to the ceiling. Spiral staircases with golden handrails led to the library's second and third floors. The entire room was painted in a rich cyan color, with golden accents and tile work that matched the walls. A fireplace lit the room up with a golden glow. Beast went to the floor to ceiling windows and opened the curtains, letting moonlight into the room. Kairi had never seen so many books. There were more then she could read in an entire lifetime.
"Before the heartless appeared, before the castle changed locations," said Belle, "I noticed books appearing in the library. Books that didn't belong. Books that told stories and talked about histories from other other worlds." Belle placed Lumière on an oak desk and began searching for books. "Each one has a," Belle waved her hands, searching for the word, "a tingle of light. Like it's calling for me."
Kairi ran to the nearest wall and closed her eyes.
"I sure hope we find something," she said.
"Never underestimate the power of books," replied Belle, flipping through the pages of an emerald colored tomb.
At the library doors, Beast shoved Riku's shoulder.
"Why don't you help your friend instead of standing around?"
Riku rubbed his shoulder. "I would, but I wouldn't be much help here."
"You're content to just let her do all the work?"
"That's not it." Riku waved his hand in front of his eyes. "I'm blind. I lost my sight because of abusing the darkness. I can't read anything, and I haven't gotten used to braille just yet."
Snorting at Riku, Beast lumbered off to help Belle with the stack of books she was carrying. As he picked up her burden and deposited the books next to Lumière, the candelabra waved at Beast.
"Master, perhaps you should forgive the boy. It seems as though he has learned his lesson. Perhaps he's not so different from a certain young prince that also made mistakes?"
A low rumble came from Beast's throat. He collapsed into a nearby arm chair and began rifling through the books Belle had picked out, ignoring Lumière. Across the room, Riku went to stand at the shelf Kairi was searching through.
"Boy," he sighed, "now I know how you feel. Beast's cold shoulder could give Max a run for his money."
Kairi snapped her book shut, pouting. "I hope he and Sora are having better luck then we are. So far, the only thing on different worlds I've found is metaphorical."
"That's a big word for you," Riku teased.
Kairi smacked his arm.
"I'm kidding," he chuckled. "If Sora were here, he'd find the cushiest chair to nap in, instead of looking through books."
"Yeah," Kairi sighed, her eyes dreamy. "I'd probably thump some books on his head to wake him up." She climbed a nearby ladder, reaching for a book on the top shelf. "Catch!"
The book landed in Riku's outstretched hands. His grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, leaning as far away from the book as possible.
"This one stinks!"
Hopping off the ladder, Kairi took the book away from Riku, opening it.
"I can see why. It's covered in flour and," Kairi covered her mouth, "is that crusty stuff...cheese? 'Sweet bread ala Gusteau? ' Who would want to use any of the recipes in this smelly old thing?"
"Don't know. Don't care. Just get that thing as far away from me as possible."
Riku stumbled backward, covering his nose. His back hit a nearby shelf. Several books came loose, and Kairi, gritting her teeth, sprinted forward to catch them before they could bombard her friend's head. Riku thrust out his hands, juggling and kicking books back up into the air. Kairi ran around, stacking books up in her hand like a tower of pizza boxes. Just as Kairi caught the last book and set her load down on the ground, Belle called to her from the other side of the room.
"I found something."
As Kairi moved toward Belle, she felt a feathery soft tingle on her skin. Belle placed a book on the desk next to Lumière. On the leather cover was a heart symbol that Kairi had never seen before. Yet, she felt an eerie familiarity to it.
The heart was jagged, with sharp corners. The bottom point of the heart was stretched out into three points. It vaguely reminded Kairi of the symbol that each emblem heartless had on its body, except this symbol wasn't red, with black vines. It was painted in a metallic, silver color.
Opening the book and flipping through the pages, Kairi stared at ancient letters she didn't understand. The pages were yellowed with time, the edges decorated with tiny circles, as though bookworms had made artwork out of each corner.
Belle turned a page, and Kairi blinked, running her hands over the picture. Two keyblades were depicted on the page. The two weapons crossed, making an X. They had the same color and design as Sora and King Mickey's keyblades.
Flipping another page, Kairi stiffened. From corner to corner, the pages were painted. Detailed and masterfully colored, Kairi couldn't help leaning forward, mesmerized by the images in front of her eyes. She stared at a disk of stained glass with a seven pointed star in the center. At each point of the star was a heart, each a different color: pink, silver, yellow, baby blue, turquoise, gold, and red. The center of the star had a strange symbol. Though the paint was faded, it looked faintly like a pair of doors. Doors that were opening to let light through.
But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness.
Belle turned one more page. This time, there wasn't a painting. Instead, there was only one passage, written in golden letters on the center of the page. Belle read aloud.
"'When all hearts have returned from the light from whence they came, the true Kingdom Hearts shall open. Then...' The rest is too faded to read."
From somewhere deep within Kairi's heart, came a question. A wash of cold emptiness swept through her as the words were strung together in her mind.
Pat.
Kairi screamed, dropping the book, scrambling backward until her back hit the bookshelves. Beast rose up, growling as he looked around, searching for a threat. Belle yelped, putting her hand on her chest. Riku froze, the hand that he had put on Kairi's shoulder still in the air.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Are you okay?"
Kairi heaved. "I-I'm," she exhaled, "fine."
"You and Belle were so quiet while staring at this book, I thought you two had zoned out."
Riku picked up the book she had dropped. Then he flung the book onto the ground, waving his hand back and forth as though it had given him a static shock.
"Ouch."
Kairi grabbed his hand, looking it over. She didn't see any injury, but Riku still hissed when she touched him.
"What happened? Did you get a paper cut?"
"No." Riku nodded toward the book. "It burned me when I touched it."
Belle picked up the book and set it back on the table. "Strange. I wonder why."
Beast lumbered over. "What harm could an old tomb do?"
Yet, the instant he placed his paw on the book's open page, Beast roared, stumbling backward. He bared his teeth, snarling.
"What is that thing?"
Belle reached out and held Beast's paw, rubbing his fur gently.
"Are you all right?"
Beast turned his face away, his teeth grinding together. "B-Better now," he stammered.
Belle spared a moment to smile before she turned to face the book on the desk. "How interesting," she mused. "It seems as though only Kairi and I can touch it."
"Or maybe only a princess of heart can touch it." Kairi tucked the book under her arm. "I think I should take this with me, show it to King Mickey or Master Yen Sid. Maybe they can decipher it."
Riku walked toward the doors, holding them open. "So we're done with the library then."
"Yeah," said Kairi, following him. "We should go back to King Mickey, and tell him about Belle and the Beast, so that he knows that the castle isn't a threat."
As Beast neared the exit, he narrowed his eyes. "What about all the heartless in my castle? Will this king be so gracious if he knows about the infestation here?"
Belle tapped her foot. "Let's at least introduce ourselves to the people outside. Working together is better then being locked up in here."
A low growl hummed in Beast's throat.
"Sora is here too," Kairi added. "I bet he'd be happy to see you."
Beast blinked at her, and then cast a look at Belle.
"Fine. Lumière."
The candelabra hopped, facing Beast.
"Yes Master?"
"Keep an eye on Belle."
Picking up the candle holder, Belle got into formation next to Kairi. As they exited the library, Beast and Riku took the lead, with the girls following close behind. The book felt heavy under Kairi's arm as she passed through the dark hallways. As she walked, she wondered about the book. Where had it come from?
A lump formed her throat, and as Kairi pushed it down, she remembered the question she had asked herself in the library, seconds before Riku put his hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her line of thought. Her grandmother's story. How had she known that fairy tale?
Since destroying the heartless machine, Kairi had recovered a few more memories of her childhood. She remembered walking through the flower fields with her grandmother. She remembered how her grandfather would read her bedtime stories, before his research consumed him. And she remembered the researchers in the castle.
How had her grandparents known about the heart? How had her grandfather known about the darkness when the worlds were still sealed off from each other? What had happened to all the researchers when her world was destroyed eleven years ago? Had they vanished? Was there more that the rulers of Hollow Bastion knew then she remembered? Even if her grandfather hadn't known that worlds could collide, was there knowledge that he didn't record? Was there knowledge, that died with her grandmother as well?
Kairi was jerked out her thoughts as every hair on her body stood on end. Next to her, Belle's grip Lumière tightened. Riku stopped for a moment.
"What is it?" asked Beast, flexing his claws.
"We're not alone in here," said Riku. "There are heartless watching us, but they're not moving. Something's waiting, just ahead."
"Something big," whispered Kairi.
Beast turned around, pointing at Kairi. "Take Belle back to the library."
"Incoming!"
Riku pushed Beast with all his strength, somehow managing to push the big creature out of the way, as something came rushing toward them from the darkness. At the same time, Kairi threw a reflect spell around herself and Belle. Throwing her shoulder against the magical glass, Kairi forced her spherical shield to roll, barely avoiding a set of clawed, muscular arms that reached out to grab her and Belle.
The shield bubble popped when the two girls hit a nearby wall. Kairi quickly stood, every inch of her skin itching as she felt shadows and neoshadows closing in.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning lit her surroundings for a second, frying the heartless that had surrounded her and Belle, as well as giving Kairi a brief, horrifying glimpse of some kind of giant, manacled monster several feet away.
The rattling of chains reached her ears. The monster thundered toward her. Even from a distance, Kairi could feel its stale, cold breathe against her cheeks. It entered the region of light that surrounded her and Belle, the light that came from Lumière's candlesticks. It only took a moment for the creature's hideous appearance to be seared into Kairi's mind.
Rising up on its long, thin, hind legs, the creature threw its head back. The mane of blood red tendrils, that flowed out of the back of its horned head, touched the floor. Blue veins pulsed on its body, the broken chains on its wrists scratching against the floor as it spread its lean, muscular arms wide. From out of its sharp maw, came a stream of smoking darkness as it howled. Small fry heartless came running, beckoned by the creature's call. Through the heart shaped hole in the giant monster's chest, Kairi saw neoshadows rushing toward them.
The creature, and all the heartless around them, rushed her. Kairi threw up a reflect spell, and then quickly summoned another when it inevitably broke under the heartless' combined attacked. The thorny, maned monster's claws poked through her class, cracking it.
The shield went down. Kairi barely had enough time to throw a fire spell at the monster heartless. She managed to push back the big one, but she had no way to defend herself, or Belle, from the dozens of shadow and neoshadow heartless that had quickly attacked in that same second.
Beast leapt out of the shadows, pouncing onto the large heartless' back, slashing at it with his claws. With Beast distracting the chained monster, Riku rushed forward, slicing through a line of heartless right in front of Kairi, giving her an opening to wash away the heartless surrounding her with water magic.
A neoshadow dodged her attack, rushing past her. Desperate, Kairi reached out, to grab the heartless' antennae, anything to keep it away from Belle.
"En garde! You vile creature!"
Lumière jumped in front of Belle, the flames on his head and hands growing high, burning bright, searing the neoshadow. As the creature writhed, Belle took off her white apron. She held it above Lumière, watching as the fabric caught fire. A shadow heartless lunged at Belle from the side.
Twirling, Belle smacked the creature with the burning end of her apron. The flames were quickly moving higher. Belle tossed the flaming fabric onto a incoming horde of heartless, managing to catch two shadows on fire. If Kairi weren't busy pushing back all the heartless around them, she would have spared a moment to whoop at Belle's quick thinking.
The distraction had worked long enough for her to fry whole sections of shadow and neoshadow heartless all around them. Riku moved his attention to attacking the giant heartless, slicing at its legs while the creature was still trying to pry Beast off its back. He suddenly stopped, turning around to block an invisible that came down from the ceiling.
Kairi moved back, closer to Belle, but every bit of her wanted to jump into battle and help Beast and Riku. More invisibles flew downward. They ignored Riku and Beast, rushing toward Kairi. A few fire spells, and help from Lumière, kept them on the ropes until Riku got an opening to take them down one by one.
Thud.
The large heartless had grabbed Beast, and slammed him down onto the floor. It lifted its foot, and was about to stomp on the dizzy Beast. Riku flashed forward, catching the creature's leg with his soul eater. But the creature was smart. It lifted its leg, ready to kick. Reacting, Riku used his own darkness to flash away, but he wasn't the only one that could use the darkness to maneuver. In a blink of an eye, the thorny heartless shifted into the darkness, appearing right behind Riku. It took advantage of the boy's surprise, smashing its massive, closed fist into Riku's chest.
Riku went flying. While helpless in the air, the invisible heartless lifted their swords, and succeeded in slashing Riku twice. He fell in a heap on the floor. Kairi screamed, running forward, frying the invisible heartless. She took a single step toward her friend, and Riku lifted his head from the floor, shouting at her.
"Don't you dare! Run! You and Belle are more important."
Fury bubbled in Kairi's gut. "That's stupid!"
"Beast!" Belle's cry was the only thing that stopped Kairi in her tracks. She turned and gasped, watching as the large heartless threw Beast. His back smashed against a stone column nearby. Landing in a heap on the ground, Beast could barely lift his head, his eyes fluttering closed. Belle ran.
Kairi reached out, to grab her, but a grunt from Riku made her turn. He was surrounded by the remaining invisible heartless. For one, single second, Kairi's fingers encircled around Belle's wrist.
Everything slowed down.
Kairi reached out, her fingers interlocking with Belle's. An ancient, eternal force collided with her heart. Her eyes glassed over, her irises vanishing. Before her, Belle closed her eyes, her feet rising from the ground. The two young women floated in the air, shining like single star in a black night. Slowly, they lifted their free hands, interlocking their fingers once more.
Riku and Beast stilled, watching as a red light shimmered on Kairi's chest. From Belle's heart, came a golden glimmer that was just as dazzling. The two lights came together, and then, the entire world was engulfed in sweet, soothing silence.
Riku froze, not fully believing what his senses were telling him. He was awash in light so powerful, he couldn't feel any darkness. It was a familiar touch, much like the excited energy he had felt when he had combined his powers with Alice's. But this was different. This was as soft as a breathe of spring, and as beautiful and deadly as a poisonous butterfly. Before his mind went completely blank, soothed by the pure white light all around him, he wondered. What happens when two princesses of heart combine their powers?
Jiminy's Journal
Beast (First appeared in Beauty and the Beast, 1992): The master of the mysterious castle that dropped into Disney Town. Though Beast may be irritable, and stubborn, he softens whenever Belle is nearby. Beast would do anything to protect Belle and his castle. He is at odds with Riku, as their last encounter had been very hostile. It's a good thing that he respects Belle and Kairi enough to let Riku into his castle, albeit reluctantly.
Belle (First appeared in Beauty and the Beast, 1992): Another princess of heart. Free spirited, intelligent, and adventurous, Belle is not the type to let anyone order her around. She has a forgiving nature, and the uncanny ability to bring out the best in others. If she isn't spending time with Beast, she'll often be in her library, reading for hours at a time.
Mrs. Potts (First appeared in Beauty and the Beast, 1992): An enchanted tea pot that lives in Beast's castle. Nurturing and mature, you can always count on Mrs. Potts to soothe others, whether it is by lending an ear or preparing a pot of tea.
Lumière (First appeared in Beauty and the Beast, 1992): Though he is relaxed and more fun loving then his rival, Cogsworth, Lumière is rather insightful, often offering sound advice to the grumpy Beast.
Cogsworth (First appeared in Beauty and the Beast, 1992): Ever loyal and eager to please his master, Cogsworth is an old clock that takes his role of managing the castle very seriously. His stuffy nature puts him at odds with Lumière at times, which often annoys the Beast.
Pete (First appeared in Alice Solves the Puzzle, 1925): A Lord that lives in Disney Town. Pompous and self-important, Pete feels more like a crook then a noblemen, especially when he calls King Mickey and Queen Minnie's leadership into question. Nevertheless, he is willing to help others, provided he has the right incentive.
Mortimer Mouse (First appeared in Mickey's Rival, 1936): Lord Pete's right hand man and another Lord that lives in Disney Town. While Pete feels like a con artist at times, Mortimer feels more slimy and underhanded.
Dark Thorn (First appeared in Kingdom Hearts 2, 2005): A vicious pure blood heartless that relentlessly attacked Beast, Riku, and Kairi. Although its legs are manacled and chained, it has surprising speed, lashing out at anything with its sharp claws. It seems as though it can command the lesser heartless, making them focus their attacks.
Chapter 41: KH3 Chapter 10: Disney Town Crashers
Chapter Text
A/N: This maaay just be my favorite fight...and it maaay have something to do with sneaking in my favorite character in there somewhere, but it has more to do with just how well I managed to write all the insane stuff that was going on in my head. This was HARD to do, but worth it.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter 10: Disney Town Crashers
Sora tried not to think about the whiplash of crazy he had just gone through. Thinking about the massive pie fight, and the fact that King Mickey's world had literally blended with another, would only distract him from the important task of helping Queen Minnie evacuate her people from the area. While Donald and Goofy patrolled around the large group, Sora stuck close to Queen Minnie in the center, helping her comfort a distraught old chicken.
"Riku and Kairi are in the castle, right?"
Sora nudged his head in the direction of the sleek, sophisticated structure that loomed behind them. It didn't match Disney Town's bright, wacky esthetic at all. In fact, it looked as though someone had taken a bunch of photographs and taped them together into a massive art project that somehow had taken over reality as he knew it.
Minnie nodded. "Mickey trusted them to handle what was on the inside."
"I'm sure they're okay. But I'm also a little worried, especially after those tricky heartless we fought in the square."
Minnie paused mid step. "Heartless? Here?"
"They've never been a problem before?"
The queen shook her head. "Mickey's powers and my light protect our world. We work hard to keep our people happy, to keep the darkness at bay. The people must be stressed indeed if heartless are getting through."
Daisy, who had been walking close behind Sora, spoke. "We're going to need more patrols."
"We'll have to collaborate with reinforcements from Duckberg," agreed Minnie.
"And long term?" asked Daisy. She lowered her voice so that people around them wouldn't hear, waving Minnie and Sora closer so that she could whisper. "We can't care for everyone that keeps popping up. Not forever. We don't have enough resources."
Minnie responded confidently, her voice a reasonable volume. "The sooner Mickey and his team meet with the master, the better. Whatever is happening, we have to stop it at the source."
For the first time, the chicken that had been walking closely at Minnie's side, spoke. "Majesty, is it really a good idea to let the king leave?"
Minnie gave the chicken a tender smile. "Yes, Ms. Cluck. King Mickey is a keyblade master. Only he and Sora, the young man beside you, can solve this problem."
The old chicken snapped her beak closed, giving Sora a sideways glance. Then, carefully, she spoke in a more measured tone. "I trust you, Majesty. I'm just scared about what will happen at home without the king."
"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to make sure my people, and any new refugees that appear, are safe."
The old chicken's cheeks flushed. She inclined her head respectfully and was silent for the rest of the walk.
Teamwork made evacuating the race track easier. Sora, and Minnie guided the elderly to their homes, while Donald and Daisy took turns healing and guarding the remaining civilians. Goofy patrolled, keeping an eye out for heartless. Once the children and elderly was taken care of, the rest of the group was able to enter the town proper. Then they could-
The ground shook.
Bending his knees to keep himself standing, Sora felt his teeth rattle as he looked around, over the frightened expressions of the crowd beside him, searching for the source of the shaking. Something black shot through the sky. Sora's eyes barely caught the dark comet, watching it vanish above the castle by the racetrack. Before he had time to worry about what Riku and Kairi were dealing with inside the castle, another quake threw him to the ground.
While lying on the floor, he saw a pair of armored feet. The boots moved over the shuddering ground, unhindered by the unsteady terrain. Sora barely managed to lift his head. He saw, what seemed like, a suit of armor moving behind a nearby building. Another shake completely removed the strange sight from his mind.
Stabbing his keyblade into the ground, Sora pushed himself to his feet. There was a shout. Then magical glass appeared in the air before him. The ground stilled. Sora turned around, watching Minnie and Daisy. The two women had their hands raised, the glittery pressure of magic flowing out from their palms.
The glass around them shuddered, but Queen Minnie and Daisy concentrated.
"Reflectga!"
A massive ball of glass shaped itself around Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the civilians. The people sighed as they were able to stand on steady ground. Their relief quickly turned into fear. Beyond the magic glass, something huge, midnight black and purple, gripped the roof of a nearby building. A muscular hand, with long, clawed fingers. Sora swallowed hard,watching as a darkside heartless raised its enormous, tentacled heard above the roof. Its yellow eyes locked on him.
Queen Minnie covered her mouth. Then, clenching her fists in front of her cheeks, taking in a breathe so deep that her eyes squeezed shut, she composed herself. When she exhaled, she opened her eyes, pinning Sora, Donald, and Goofy with an expression so fierce that the three friends immediately stood to attention.
"Get that monster out of my kingdom."
"Yes Ma'am!"
Minnie dropped the reflect spell for no more then a second, allowing the trio out of her protective sphere.
"Daisy! We have people to defend."
"Right!"
Knowing the queen and duchess could handle themselves, Sora dashed toward the building the heartless had its hand on. He leapt onto the fire escape, running up to the roof. The darkside turned its face, staring at him when he reached the top. The next second, Sora had to jump to the side as the heartless swiped its hand through the air, trying to grab him. The darkside's other hand came down. It missed Sora, cracking the roof bricks instead. When Donald and Goofy finally made it to the roof, they had to shield their eyes from the dust cloud that had resulted from the heartless' attack.
Calling his friends over, Sora jumped onto the adjacent building.
"We have to get this thing away from Queen Minnie and the others!"
Once his friends joined him on the next building, Sora waved his arms.
"Hey! Over here, blockhead! You want this?" Sora waved his keyblade, using his other hand to point at his chest. "Come and get it!"
The darkside was fast, slamming its hand on the roof, inches behind Sora's heels. He only managed to dodge by jumping to the next building, rolling when he landed. Before the heartless could recover, Donald threw fire spells at its face. Goofy threw his shield and it collided the fireballs in midair, turning into a whirling, fiery saucer that smacked the heartless right between the eyes. Face burning, the heartless stumbled back.
Sora took his chance, leaping onto one of the darkside's massive arms. The giant heartless shook its forearm, trying to buck Sora off. Instead, it threw Sora up into the air. Big mistake. From above, Sora shot another fire spell that crashed atop the heartless' head. Before the heartless could look up at him. Goofy's shield whizzed by, distracting the heartless, which gave Sora the perfect opening. Using his downward momentum, he pulled his keyblade over his head. Then he spun. Rotating like a buzzsaw, Sora sliced through the top of the heartless head, cutting right through its body. Just before he hit the ground, he stopped spinning to throw an aero spell around himself, to break his fall. Back on the ground, he watched as the heartless crumbled above him.
But the earthquake hadn't stopped. Another darkside was walking toward Sora from further down the road. Before Sora could challenge it, a yelp from above drew his attention. A second darkside had appeared behind the rooftop Donald and Goofy had been on. It held his friends in its fist.
Donald's face reddened, his feathers flying off. "I've had it up to here with being grabbed today! Thundaga!"
The lightning sizzled along the heartless' arms. The shock made it drop Donald and Goofy, but as the two of them fell, the heartless also pulled back its leg. It kicked and Sora cringed as his friends flew, crunching into a nearby building.
Hurling his keyblade at the darkside, Sora didn't wait to see if his attack hit. He ran toward his friends, listening to the smack of his keyblade hitting the heartless behind him. Shockwaves in the ground told him that the second darkside, the one further up the road, was already coming his way. Sora summoned his keyblade back, screaming an aero spell a second before the darkside's fist nearly pummeled him and his friends.
Donald managed to cast a healing spell while Sora defended them and just in time too, because the darkside's claws were breaking through the aero spell's protective sphere. Donald and Goofy got close to Sora, searching for an opening to counterattack as soon as the wind spell broke. The darkside's claw inched closer to Sora's forehead.
The darkside that had kicked Donald and Goofy fell to its knees. It spread its arms, fists clenched. From the heart shaped hole in its chest, dark energy gathered. Too focused on the kneeling heartless, Sora had completely forgotten about the other darkside. Its claws broke through the wind sphere. Black shadows surrounded Sora as the heartless enclosed its fingers around him.
Donald and Goofy turned to free Sora, but they had to quickly shift their attention. The kneeling heartless threw blasts of darkness out from the heart shaped hole in its torso. Missiles of pressurized darkness rained down on Donald and Goofy and it was all the two of them could do to dodge and block.
Sora kicked in the darkside's hold, but the heartless only tightened its fingers. It brought Sora close to its chest, where it too was gathering dark energy. The energy burst. Sora squeezed his eyes shut. The cold touch of darkness fluttered over his face. He heard something that sounded a lot like shattering glass, but he felt no pain. Something warm flew by his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw a sphere of light smash into the darkside's wrist. The darkside swayed side to side, surprised by the sudden attack. Sora tried not to feel sick as his swerved left and right in the darkside's fist. Luckily, the darkside let him go and Sora plummeted down toward the street. Just before he hit the ground, a sphere of magical glass appeared around him. The spell took the impact, protecting Sora from splattering into the floor, but quickly broke when he rolled right after.
Laying on the ground, Sora pointed his keyblade at the stunned heartless above him. His blizzard spell stabbed into the darkside's chest, making it reel backward. Another sphere of light joined his attack, pushing the heartless away from him. Then, a gloved hand was on his shoulder.
Sora blinked, staring up at Queen Minnie.
"What about the civilians?" he asked as he got to his feet.
"Daisy is taking them to Max in the square. Are you all right?"
"Never better."
"Good."
Queen Minnie slammed her wand into her open palm. Light magic buzzed like a firecracker at the end of her wand. "I'll give you cover. Go take it down."
Saluting, Sora dashed toward the heartless. Behind him, Minnie's skirts fluttered around her as she gathered magic. A volley of light spheres surrounded her. Like a conductor passionately commanding an roaring orchestra, Minnie waved her wand, watching as her light spheres sailed of in every direction, bombarding the darkside's face, its arms, its legs.
Weaving between the darkside's legs, Sora summoned sonic energy from within him, gathering the razor sharp power in his keyblade. Minnie's light spheres lined above him, creating platforms. Jumping on top a sphere was like bouncing on a metal coil. Sora flew. The sonic energy at the tip of his keyblade sharped his weapon and he sliced straight up through the heartless' neck, stopping only when he was floating several feet above its head. Below him, the heartless began to disintegrate. In the air, Sora waved happily at Queen Minnie below.
His smile quickly melted into a look of terror.
A darkside stood behind Minnie, its huge hand about to squash her like a fly. Sora aimed his keyblade at her, desperate to cast an aero spell, but he was not fast enough. The darkside's hand slammed down. Concrete cracked. Dust obscured the street. Sora landed in a brown cloud, screaming for Queen Minnie.
A mouse shaped outline appeared before him. Then came King Mickey's voice.
"That was close! I'm so glad I made it back in time."
King Mickey dashed out of the dust cloud, holding Minnie in his arms. The Queen carefully opened one eye, gasping when she realized who was holding her. She threw her arms around Mickey's neck, giggling.
"Oh Mickey! My hero!"
Winking, Mickey put her down. Then he pointed to the stunned heartless behind them.
"Minnie and I will take care of that one," Mickey told Sora. "The other darkside had moved toward the square. Go find Donald and Goofy and take it down."
"Right!"
Sora raced passed the two mice. Before he was out of earshot, he heard Mickey say.
"Do you remember the last time we fought side by side?"
"Why yes. Can we go out for a picnic after, just like last time?"
Mickey chuckled, facing the incoming darkside with his queen. "Of course. I'd do anything for you."
Sora couldn't help but grin as he ran toward the square. His good mood faded quickly. Three more darksides were in the square. Sora saw Goofy, Max, PJ, and Bobby running around, slashing and pummeling the heartless' feet. Donald and Daisy stood side by side, protecting the civilians with a combined reflect and aero spell.
The ducks couldn't cover the frightened citizens forever. Sora waited a few more precious seconds. Once the three darksides were distracted by the knights, Sora charged. Gathering energy from deep within him, he willed his stamina into his keyblade. Just a few feet away from the darkside's, Sora raised his keyblade. Using all his gathered energy, with a mighty leap, Sora rose up behind the heartless' head. Several powerful slashes later, he grit his teeth, funneling more energy into the end of his keyblade.
"Ragnarok!"
A rainbow flower of deadly lasers bloomed at the end of his keyblade. The colorful beams burst, raining down on the darkside's face and neck, exploding on impact. The darkside faded away. Sora landed on his feet and joined Max, Goofy, PJ, and Bobby in taking down the other two.
Howling like a wolf, Bobby stabbed his spear through the darkside's calves. PJ smashed his massive hammer into the heartless' foot, stunning it. Max jumped on his father's shield and was launched up to the darkside's face. His swords blurred as Max rotated in the air, helicopter slicing through the heartless' head.
Only one left.
Sora and Goofy grabbed each other's arms and whirled into a tornado, the force from their rotation sending them up. They spin sliced up the side of the heartless, and once they were in front of its face, Goofy let Sora go and the boy fell toward the heartless, slicing it across its eyes.
When Sora's feet touched the ground, his spine rattled as the floor shook yet again. Looking up, his stomach filled with ice as he spotted four more darksides stomping toward the square.
"Aw come on!" PJ shouted. "Where are they coming from?"
Regrouping with the other knights, Sora struggled to keep his keyblade steady. Goofy reached into his pocket and handed the boy an ether. Drinking it, Sora felt it replenishing his magical energy, but it did nothing for his exhaustion. Casting a cure spell over himself and his friends, he looked over his shoulder. Beads of sweat were coating Donald and Daisy's feathers. Some the civilians in their protective spell had tears in their eyes.
"No way we can give up now," Sora growled. "Max, you and your group take the two on the right. Goofy and I can take the two on the left."
Though they trembled with fatigue, his friends raised their weapons, ready to jump right back into battle. A second later they froze as an obnoxious voice boomed from the sky.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the magnificent, animated reboot, that was cancelled too soon!"
Sora spotted the speaker.
On a roof, behind the two heartless on the right, a dark figure sat atop a red motorcycle. With the sun right behind him, his features were cast in a shadow. All Sora could see was the figure's deep purple cape flaring out dramatically behind him, despite the fact that there was no breeze. The speaker's wide brimmed hat covered his eyes, but, when he turned his head, Sora could see a confident smirk on the man's beak.
The duck revved his motorcycle, lifting his head, revealing the purple mask around his eyes.
"I am DARKWING DUCK!"
"Who is that?" asked Bobby, PJ, and Max as this so called Darkwing Duck drove his motorcycle off the roof.
The vehicle rammed its front tires into the face of a nearby darkside. Darkwing jumped off the motorcycle, pulling out a grappling hook from under his cape. The hook flew, looping around the heartless' neck. Darkwing landed on the floor, hopping back onto his motorcycle when it dropped right behind him. He laughed as the heartless tried to free its neck from the grappling hook's wire.
"Struggling is futile! None can resist the perilous plight of my power! Now watch as I, Darkwing Duck, pull this creature to its doom!"
Holding the grappling hook tight, Darkwing kicked the motorcycle into reverse, using its horsepower, and the metal wire, to pull the darkside down on its knees. While Darkwing was busy with one heartless, he didn't see the other darkside creep up behind him and aim a fist at his head.
Suddenly, from out of the sky, a red sea plane flew down, buzzing around the heartless' head, distracting it. A muscular duck in an aviator's uniform waved from the pilot's window.
"I got your back DW!" Launchpad roared from the window from the plane. Then his plane collided with the heartless' back, and several pieces of red shrapnel fell off the heartless, smoke rising up from the point of impact.
Sora jerked, about to run and help, but he was stopped when Max grabbed his arm.
"That guy just crashed," Sora protested.
"He'll be fine. He crashes all the time," said Max. He pointed over Sora's shoulder, to the darksides that had been slowly creeping up on them from the left. "We've got to deal with those two."
Turning, Sora noticed that the other two darksides had reached Donald and Daisy's protective sphere. Sora charged with the knights. ready to defend his friends. The ground thundered beneath him, and the entire team stumbled.
"Oh no! What now?" PJ groaned.
Sora searched for yet another darkside. Instead, he spotted what looked like a giant, Frankenstein cat, thundering toward them from another avenue that led into the square. An old duck wearing a lab coat stood on the cat's shoulder. He pointed at the heartless.
"Vat a good boy, Julius! You've come a long vay! Now," the professor adjusted his glasses, "sick 'em!"
Spit dangling from his massive lips, the giant cat roared, pouncing on one of the darksides, pummeling it.
Max's jaw dopped, watching as the giant cat started a wrestling match with the heartless. "He did it. Professor Von Drake actually trained Julius."
Goofy nodded approvingly. "Well, there really isn't much the Professor can't do once he sets his mind to it."
There was a triumphant howl coming from behind them. Sora turned around to see that Darkwing Duck had somehow tied up the last two darksides in his grappling hook, much the same way the way a hunter would hogtie a wild boar. He was standing atop his captives, hands on his hip, shouting to the sky.
"You fiends made the mistake of taking on a true hero! Nothing can stop Darkwing Duck! Let's get dangerous!" Without warning, Darkwing began punching the heartless below his feet. Right behind him, was the pilot, Launchpad, completely fine despite his plane exploding just a few minutes earlier. Launchpad cheered.
"Yeah, you tell 'em, DW!"
Sora smiled as he lowered his stance. Taking a deep breath, he charged at the tied up darksides. With Max, Goofy, Bobby and PJ right behind him, the team absolutely wrecked the heartless Darkwing had wrangled. By the time they finished the heartless off, Julius had completely obliterated the other heartless.
It still was not over. Several more darksides joined the battle, and even with Darkwing and Julius' help, they couldn't hold back the attack forever. Donald and Daisy's strength finally gave out. The fighters gathered around the citizens, defending them from five more darksides.
Sora was gasping, barely able to stand on his feet. Minnie and Mickey even joined the battle, but the army of darksides didn't seem to slow down. Sora couldn't remember the last time he had fought this many at once, not even when he and Riku had been trapped in the realm of darkness after defeating Marluxia.
Seven more darksides appeared, and, after taking them all down, Sora's keyblade nearly slipped from his hands. And there were still more heartless on the way. Sora counted up to thirteen more darksides before he gave up. All around him, Max, Bobby, Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and PJ could barely stand. The civilians' hearts were as good as lost.
Something soft, like a snowflake fluttered down onto Sora's nose.
The heartless stopped. Slowly, they turned, facing away from the square, toward the racetrack. An explosion of bright, white light burst up from the ground, piercing the sky. The light stretched into a dome, its radius spreading wider and wider, covering the roads, the town, the sky, in a sweet, spring breeze. Red and gold rose petals danced in the air.
Sora felt the light wash over him, and all of his exhaustion and pain were swept away. The heartless fell apart like burning paper as soon as the light touched them. The powerful, soothing energy fluttered over everything, bathing the world in glittering light for a few glorious seconds. Sora stood still, feeling a familiar feeling, hearing a cheeky giggle ring in his ears. He couldn't help closing his eyes and smiling.
The light faded.
Everyone in the square stood in utter silence for a few moments, waiting for another darkside to appear. None came, and, slowly, a chorus of rowdy cheers erupted in the square. Mickey lifted up Minnie, spinning her around. Civilians ran around, thanking their defenders, the royals, each other, screaming at the top of their lungs, happy to be alive. Darkwing Duck absorbed all the praise thrown his way, his smug grin widening with every compliment. A few nervous civilians even tried to give Julius their thanks. Professor Von Drake nodded at Julius, and, using a singer finger, the big cat gave a gentle pat on the head for those few people that dared to come near him.
Once the joy had passed, the royals took care of the people, while Sora and the knights patrolled the perimeter, just in case. Donald and Daisy recovered after a few ethers, and took on the task of healing the civilians. Once everyone was settled, Minnie and Mickey gave thanks to Launchpad, Darkwing, Professor Von Drake, and Julius.
"All in a day's work for a hero," boasted Darkwing.
"I really owe ya," said Mickey. "You didn't have to come with me and the professor. Don't you have your own town to defend?"
"When trouble calls," Darkwing held his cape over his beak, "I will be there."
"Is that true, Mr. Darkwing?" asked Minnie, coming forward from behind Mickey.
Darkwing bowed. "Just Darkwing, Majesty. And yes. I fear no danger." He chuckled. "It's in my catchphrase." He twirled, letting his cape flare out. When he stopped, he put his hands on his hips and proclaimed proudly, "Let's get dangerous!"
Queen Minnie rewarded him with a polite giggle. "If that's the case, would you temporarily make your base in Disney Town? I could use some extra defense, especially since the king and his team will be leaving soon."
Darkwing snapped his fingers. "No doubt to solve this insidious infestation of monsters at its source. You have made a wise choice, Majesty. I, Darkwing Duck, shall lend you my considerable services in your time of need."
Launchpad came to stand at Darkwing's side. "Yeah, and I'll join ya, DW."
"What about Mr. McDuck and Duckberg?" Mickey questioned.
"Naw. Mr. McD has the best security money can buy. Besides, the monsters only seem to be showing up here."
The ground thundered as Julius came to sit by Queen Minnie and King Mickey. The big cat put his paw on the ground. Using Julius' massive arm like a slide, Professor Von Drake slide down to the ground, fixing up his lab coat when he landed. He bowed to Queen Minnie.
"Mr. Launchpad's observation is correct. Ve must gather more data before ve can be sure, but so far, heartless have only shown up in the area around the castle."
Mickey crossed his arms. "They must be attracted to all the light here. Professor, is there any way to predict the heartless' appearance as well as that of new people or worlds?"
"Certainly," Professor Von Drake proclaimed. "Vat a fascinating area of study. Ven you told me that the vorlds are crashing together, I couldn't begin to hold in my excitement. It vill take time and research, but I believe I can come up vith a system to detect if any new people or vorlds are going to crash into ours."
Minnie curtsied. "Thank you so much Professor. Knowing that you'll be looking into this will surely help Mickey feel more at ease on his quest."
Mickey looked out over the damage. Some the buildings had crumbled under the heartess' attacks, other had managed to scrape by with a few holes. There were pot holes all over the roads, and steaming piles of rubble all around him.
Mickey faced his wife. "Are you sure about this? There so much to do here. Those heartless really did a number on the town. I don't want to leave you."
"I'm sure Professor Von Drake, Darkwing, Bobby, and PJ can make up the difference."
"But we barely took down the heartless. If it weren't for that blast of light," Mickey paused. "Say, did that light come from the fields? By the race track?"
Sora walked across the bridge of the dark castle. He stared up at the high towers, rubbing his arms from the winter-night chill. To think that, just a few minutes ago, he had been walking in spring sunshine. Ariel's oceans combining with the seas at Destiny Islands was one thing, but a whole castle, with a completely different time of day, and season, crashing into King Mickey's world was a whole other level of, "what is going on?"
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed Sora as he walked up to the double doors that led into the castle. A low, forbidden groan escaped the door as Sora pushed it open. Entering into a spacious and luxurious foyer, Sora had only taken two steps indoors when angry barking reached his ears. Something small and fast came to nip at his ankles. Sora hoped from one foot to another as a small dog-no, a footstool?-ran around his feet, jumping like an enraged terrier barking at the mailman. Summoning his keyblade, Sora used it to guard his legs from the dog, somehow managing to deter its attack, making it switch targets.
Donald yowled when the footstool stomped on his flipper. He hopped up and down, while Goofy backed away from the little dog. Mickey grabbed one of the the footstool's tassels and tried to pull the dog away, but the footstool would not be stopped, barking furiously at the trio.
"Intruders!"
Sora's jaw dropped when he spotted a tiny grandfather clock running in his direction. Hopping right behind the clock, was a porcelain, tea kettle with a face!
The grandfather clock pointed harshly at Sora, his clock-hand mustache sticking straight up. "Young man! Explain yourself! You trespass in my master's castle without so much as a knock?"
Sora put up his hands, but his gesture of peace was ruined when he couldn't wipe the excited smile off his face. "I didn't mean to enter without being invited. Also, cool, are you really a talking clock?"
Said clock's eyes widened, and he stomped his foot. "My name is Cogsworth, young man!"
Mickey, having finally given up on calming down dog-footstool, come forward.
"Excuse me, Mr. Cogsworth, I am King Mickey. The world outside your castle is my home. I only want to find out what happened to my friends. I sent them here to investigate."
Cogsworth cleared his throat, giving Mickey a once over.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
By this time, the tea kettle finally caught up to them. She nudged Cogsworth with her handle, scoffing.
"There's no need to be rude to our new guests."
She whistled, and the footstool dog finally stopped chasing Donald and Goofy around the foyer. With a low growl, the footstool went to stand by the teapot's side.
"Now then, dears," began the teapot, "these friends of yours, would you mean Riku and Kairi?"
Sora nodded. "Are they deeper in the castle?"
Cogsworth turned to the teapot, waving his handle arms in annoyance. "Mrs. Potts! We can't just trust every wayward intruder?"
"They seem like nice boys to me. Besides, didn't the master mention a young man with a key, that helped him when he was searching for Belle?"
Cogsworth turned to Sora, raising an eyebrow at the keyblade in the boy's hand.
"Now then," Mrs. Potts continued, "to answer your question, yes. Riku and Kairi went with Master and Belle into the west wing, to investigate the library."
"Belle?" Sora felt his chest light up. "The Beast lives here? Awesome! I can't wait to-" Sora slammed his palms into his temples, his mouth stretching into a wide frown. "Wait a minute, the last time Riku met the Beast, they were enemies."
Mrs. Potts giggled. "Oh, I think your friend Kairi managed to smooth things over." Her expression saddened. She nodded at Mickey. "I have a favor to ask, Your Majesty."
"Yes?"
"The Master forbade us from following him into the west wing, but he and the others have been gone quite a while. And just a few minutes ago, a blast of white light lit up every room in the castle. Would you please go check on them?"
"Of course. That was our objective from the start. Which way do we go?"
Mrs. Potts led them to the set of stairs at the end of the entrance hall. They climbed to the top landing, which split into two sets of stairs, one to the left and one to the right. Mrs. Potts pointed, with her spout nose, to the left.
"Just quick warning," Ms. Potts said. "The last time anyone entered the west wing, it was covered in darkness. We weren't able to see anything when we entered."
"We'll be careful," Sora assured her.
As the party entered the hall, weapons raised, they waited to cross into a void of blackness. Yet, the further they walked, no sign of heartless or darkness greeted them. An immaculate, high vaulted ceiling with bronze and golden accents, hovered high above them. The walls were painted in gold, with intricate trims and framework to add a dramatic flair to the castle's baroque style.
Sora's feet padded over a deep, red carpet. Normally, silence would fill him with unease, but for some reason, he didn't feel the incoming threat of heartless, nor did he even want to hold on to his keyblade anymore. The atmosphere was relaxed and oddly familiar, like the lazy days he'd spend on the beach at Destiny Islands. Even his teammates, including King Mickey, put away their weapons.
Turning a corner, all of Sora's good vibes fled him, to be replaced by hot fear. He ran across the room, stopping in front of a set of stairs. Riku stood there, carrying an unconscious Kairi in his arms. Sora grit his teeth at the sight of her ghost white face.
"What happened? Is she okay?"
"Relax," Riku let out a low chuckle. "She's fine. Just tired. Her last attack drained all her energy."
"What attack?" Sora looked around the brightly lit room, searching for residual signs of heartless.
"Beast and I were attacked by a big heartless and an army of smaller ones. Belle and Kairi combined their powers to protect us, and the resulting blast somehow burned away all the heartless in the castle."
"So," said Mickey, coming closer, "that's where that powerful blast of light came from."
Riku wobbled.
"You okay?"
"Just a little tired," Riku told Mickey. "Seems as though even small fry heartless are getting stronger. Beast and I were completely blindsided right before Kairi and Belle protected us."
Sora looped his arms under Kairi's knees and across her back, carefully lifting her from Riku's hold. He stepped back, allowing King Mickey to come forward and cast a healing spell on Riku. Looking down at the slumbering girl in his arms, Sora wondered about her powers as a princess of heart. Back in Hollow Bastion, the six other princesses were able to keep whole legions of darkness back. He shivered as he remembered the intensely strong spell Jasmine had helped him cast back when the two of them had obliterated Jafar in order to save Aladdin.
So, when two princesses of heart combined their strength, the light pulse they created was strong enough to wipe out the heartless in this world and the one nearest to it? Just like the darkness, there was so much about the light that Sora didn't understand.
Do not be tempted by the light.
Sora stiffened. Where had that thought come from? Not only that, he had the strangest feeling he had heard that warning before. Somewhere, in his dreams. Donald and Goofy jolted him out of his thoughts. The duck patted Sora's thigh, while Goofy put a hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be okay after a nice long nap. Look, she's smiling."
In her sleep, Kairi snuggled her cheek against Sora's arm.
Donald chuckled. "You two are so adorable."
With his hands too full to cover his face, Sora could only look away from Donald. "Would you knock that off?"
"Shh!" Donald clicked his teeth. "You'll wake her up."
Too late. Kairi's eyes twitched. Squinting, she tilted her head back, looking up into Sora's red face. Groggily she said, "Sora? If this is a dream, please don't wake me up."
If Sora's face was red before, it was absolutely on fire then. Trying not to look at Donald and Goofy's knowing expressions, Sora moved closer to Mickey and Riku, listening as the pair of them exchanged stories of what had happened. When Mickey described how Belle and Kairi's light had obliterated all the heartless out in Disney Town, Riku's didn't seem surprised.
Gesturing to the hall around them, Riku said, "This place was filled with a thick darkness before. All kinds of heartless were lurking in here, using the blackness as a cover for ambushes. Even the weakest shadow seemed more powerful in here."
Mickey nodded. "They are getting stronger. The darksides in the town gave us such a hard time, we had to call for backup."
"When Kairi and I were trying to save Sora," Riku continued, "we used the keyblade to unleash her own heart. The entire space around us lit up with her light. It doesn't surprise me that her combined power with Belle could extend all the way outside of this castle."
Sora's mouth opened. "Wait. She pulled out her own heart to save me? You never told me that."
Riku shrugged. "I know. I told her it was crazy, but she was that determined to save you."
Looking down into Kairi's sleeping face, Sora felt a mix of concern and an even more intense respect then he had ever had before.
"I didn't do anything," said Kairi, slowly opening her eyes, "that you didn't also do for me."
The group surrounded her.
"Don't talk," said Riku. "You should take it easy."
Kairi yawned. "I'll be okay. Put me down. I can walk."
Slowly, Sora lowered Kairi's legs. She leaned against him for a moment, but was able to keep herself standing.
"You sure you don't need more rest?"
Kairi glared. "Do I have to poke you?"
Riku stepped back, hands up. "No ma'am."
"I saw your attack form the outside," said Sora. "That was amazing. What did you do?"
"Holy spell," Kairi croaked. She swallowed, trying to get water into her dry throat. "Happens when my friends and I combine powers." She rubbed her eyes, trying to rub away the sleepiness in them. "But I've never done one that powerful before, and I can't control it by myself. Belle and I were so worried about Beast and Riku, that it just sort of happened."
Finally standing straight, Kairi looked around. "Speaking of, where is Belle?"
Riku pointed up the stairs behind him. "Beast took her up there."
Walking over to pick up an old book from the floor, Kairi said, "Then let's go talk to her."
"Ahyuck! It's so nice to see ya. Even if the castle fell on the race track, I'm still grateful to meet old friends."
Belle smiled as she shook Goofy's hands. She then bent down to give Donald a big hug. The duck flailed his arms for a second before giving up and letting the embrace happen.
Sora and Kairi hung back by the door that led back into the hallway. They stood in the Beast's room. The entire area was one big mess. A broken bed sat in one corner of the room, ripped up furniture was thrown about all over the floors, and slashed paintings decorated the walls. The only unharmed item was the single, marble table that sat right in front of a pair of glass doors that led out to Beast's balcony. On top the marble table was a glass dome. Floating inside the dome, was an ethereal rose. Its pink glow would have been the only thing that lit up the dark room, if it weren't for the fact that Lumière stood in the center of the space, nervously watching his master negotiate with King Mickey.
Beast and King Mickey stood before the rose, having a meeting, one ruler of a castle to another. Riku stood close by, behind Mickey, silently giving him support. Belle, having finally caught up with Goofy and Donald, made her way toward Sora and Kairi.
"It's been a while, Sora."
Sora bowed. "Sure has. I'm glad you got back to your world safe. Though," he shrugged, "looks like things got a little crazy again, huh?"
Belle touched the back of her hand to her lips, hiding her smile. "Yes, but I'm always up for adventure in the great, wide somewhere." She reached out to hold Sora's hand. "I never got the chance to thank you for helping Beast back in Hollow Bastion."
"Are you kidding?" Sora rigorously shook Belle's hand. "He was the one that helped me. I should be thanking him."
Belle turned to look over her shoulder, giving Beast a secret smile. "There is something sweet, almost kind in him, at times."
Mickey and Beast nodded to each other. They turned, facing the rest of the room's inhabitants.
"Beast has agreed to open his castle to all the new residents that pop up in Disney Town from here on out," Mickey explained.
Belle beamed at Beast. "That's wonderful!"
The big creature rubbed the back of his neck. Clearing his throat he said, "It's the least I could do." Beast looked past Mickey, nodding at Riku. "I don't like being indebted to others, least of all you, but you defended me from that large heartless. I owe you this much at least."
Riku shrugged. "I guess that's as close to forgiveness as I'm going to get. I'll take it. Thanks Beast."
As Beast inclined his head, Mickey raised his hand, catching the big creature's attention.
"We can talk more about the details later. For right now, I'd like to go inform my people that the castle isn't a threat."
Slowly, the party exited Beast's room. Sora and Kairi hung by the exit, waiting until Riku joined them. Mickey, Donald and Goofy walked out, and Sora, Riku and Kairi were about to follow, but were stopped when Belle called out.
"Kairi, may I talk to you for a moment?"
The three friends stopped, and Kairi came forward, tilting her head curiously. "What is it?"
"I thought you should know this. Remember back in the parlor? I mentioned that I had a strange feeling right before my world crashed into King Mickey's."
Kairi nodded. "Right. You said the feeling wasn't darkness."
"It wasn't. It was light."
Unconsciously, Sora, Riku and Kairi stepped closer together.
"That can't be right," Sora whispered.
"It makes no sense," Riku added.
Belle stood tall, determination shining in her brown eyes. "At first, I thought I had made a mistake, but, after Kairi and I combined our powers, I was sure. I don't understand what that means, but it might be useful on your journey."
"Thank you."
Carefully, Kairi extended her hand. When Belle grasped it, the tingle of light passing through them made her realize that Belle was telling the truth. Still, she couldn't help but wonder. If Belle had felt a surge of light, where had it come from?
Beast's aid only solved one of Mickey's problems. As he led the party back to the square in Disney Town, Mickey mumbled to himself. Riku was able to make out a few words. He quickly figured out that Mickey was making contingency plans for his kingdom. Something about doubling security, and how he hated to ask them for help. Still, it sounded as though Mickey was finally giving in, to leave Disney Town, but he wasn't happy about it, grouching about what could happen to Minnie, now that heartless had, for the first time ever, entered his kingdom.
Entering the square brought a few surprises. Queen Minnie, Daisy, and Max stood under the gazebo, speaking to a fat cat and an old duck. Riku wrinkled his nose. Even from where he was, the could feel a slight tingle of darkness coming off that old cat. Everyone had some darkness in them, except the seven princesses of heart. Normally, it was easy to ignore, but that cat had more then the average Joe. Riku instantly disliked him. As they got closer, he heard bits and pieces of the cat and duck's conversation.
"Listen here, Scrooge. Of course I will give Her Majesty the private security she wants, but, you more then anyone should know such services come with a price," the cat was saying.
"And I hear you, Lord Pete," the old duck snapped back. "And I'm saying that my security can do a better and more affordable job then your guards!"
"Do not listen to this old fool, Majesty. He's not a noble. Just your run of the mill business man. What good could his security do?"
"Aye, I am a business man. I started from nothing and now I am the richest duck in the world. You were born with a silver spoon in your fat mouth and you barely do anything lordly except be served by servants. How much of your security follows the same lax efforts?"
Lord Pete sneered, bending down so that he looked into the duck's eyes. "My men know real loyalty, unlike some hired fools."
"Gentleman," Daisy's tone may have been light, but the warning in her voice wasn't.
Both debaters quieted, allowing the duchess to speak.
"I believe Her Majesty requested both of your help?"
The old duck growled. "Majesty, I will provide all the security for free! You deserve so much better then a lord that will demand payment for shoddy work."
"Don't listen to him. I'm prepared to give you a ten percent discount for all my guards. I'll even add Lord Mortimer's private force among them."
Max, who had been silently watching the argument, finally spoke. "So we're paying ninety percent? You're being cheaper then Scrooge, and that's saying something. Queen Minnie, we should just take Mr. McDuck up on his offer and be done with it."
Queen Minnie made a show of thinking, letting out a long, quiet, "hmmm." Finally, she said, "Well, logically it makes sense to take Scrooge's offer. After all, there are no drawbacks."
Lord Pete put up his hands. "Now hold on there, Majesty."
"I would hate to deprive you of your much loved guards, Lord Pete. But you've made your point clear. You are under no obligation to help me, of course."
"Aye, tis a shame a noble can't be trusted to do what's expected of him," added Scrooge McDuck.
"Why you!" Lord Pete leaned back, straightening his tie. "No one doubts my nobility. Majesty, take my guards, free of charge. And you." He growled at the duck. "One day, I'll add all your businesses to my collection. Good day."
The big cat lumbered off. When he had left the square, Queen Minnie, Daisy, Max, and Mr. McDuck all laughed.
"Thank you, Mr. McDuck. I would have never convinced him without your help."
Scrooge leaned forward and kissed the back of the queen's gloved hand. "Of course. I always enjoy roughing up that ruffian. Now then, you can expect my guards here by tomorrow morning. And about our deal?"
"I'll have the royal funds delivered to you by tonight," said Daisy. "Only forty percent of the full price. Are you sure that's all you want? We were planning on giving you the full fee if you could help us trick Pete into giving us his army at a lower cost. And you got him to agree without a payment plan." Daisy leaned her head back. "You really are a business tycoon."
Scrooge bowed at her compliment. "It's a small thing I can do for Her Majesty. She did let me use the gummi hanger last year."
"Then it's settled," said Minnie cheerfully. She turned to Max. "I'll have Scrooge and Mr. Darkwing take over. You should be free to head out with Mickey on his mission now."
"R-really?"
"Yes. And I'll speak to Jiminy Cricket when I return to the castle, so that he can prepare to join Donald and Goofy."
By now Mickey and the others had reached the gazebo. When Minnie told him that she had negotiated some extra security, Mickey's aura relaxed. He held his wife's hands. "You are amazing!"
Donald came forward, snickering. "That'll show that old cheapskate."
Goofy shrugged. "Well, at least the town gets extra protection."
"Yes," said Mickey, "and now we can prepare to go meet Master Yen Sid."
Donald quacked. "The master summoned us? When?"
Mickey explained about Kairi's letter. Riku, Sora, and Kairi took turns explaining all they had seen and done. Once everyone was up to speed, Mickey gave Donald and Goofy orders to go prepare the gummi ship and get provisions. Max was told to prepare himself for his journey. Minnie, Daisy, and Scrooge McDuck went back to the castle to finalize their business deal. Mickey's last orders to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, were to patrol the town, just in case.
"And make sure to take in the sights while doing it," Mickey laughed. "You three could use a break."
"Um, Your Majesty," Kairi began, "do you even know where we are going? Master Yen Sid's letter didn't specify a location."
"'Meet me where the sun never sets,'" Mickey recited. "I know which world he's referring to. Better go tell Chip and Dale to get the gummi ships ready."
Mickey walked off. The second he was gone, Riku turned his heel and walked toward a road that led out of the square.
"Where are you going?" Sora and Kairi asked.
"To get a churro."
His friends chased him. "I want a churro! Riku, wait up!"
"Hold it," Riku reached out and put his hands on Kairi's shoulders.
He turned her around, pointing, beyond the gazebo. Max hadn't left the square just yet. He was leaning against one of the buildings, talking to Bobby and PJ. From a distance, Riku could hear them saying their goodbyes.
"Wasn't expecting to take down giants right after the world's biggest food fight," said Max. "Wonder what else is out there."
"Yeah, bro-oh! It was mag-nif-i-cent!" Bobby howled.
"I'm going to miss you, Max," said PJ.
"I'll be back. Hold down the fort until I do."
After a round of secret high-fives, Bobby and PJ walked off. Max was finally alone. Riku started to push Kairi across the square. She dug her heels in the ground, resisting.
"No churros for you. Not until you're done apologizing."
"But it's hard," Kairi whined.
"Trust me, I know that more then anyone. But we're going on a mission together. You'll have to do this sooner or later," Riku replied.
"What if he's still mad at me?"
Sora grabbed Kairi's hand. "Don't worry. We'll be right beside you."
"You won't ditch me to get some bro churros while I'm busy begging for forgiveness?"
"Not a chance," said Sora.
Kairi finally stopped resisting. Riku let go of her shoulders. When they reached Max, Kairi let go of Sora's hand. She cast a nervous look over her shoulder, to make sure her Sora and Riku hadn't left. The boys gave her a thumbs up.
Kairi waved at Max. "Uh, hi. Can I talk to you?"
Max nodded, facing Kairi. "I need to talk to you too."
Kairi blurted out one word after another, so fast that Riku had to tilt his head to make sure he was hearing her right.
"I'm so sorry! I never should have left you behind in Hollow Bastion! I was so worried about Sora, I didn't think, but it still wasn't fair, and I could have pulled you in with me, or at least told you where I was going before I found that door or-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Max put up his hands, interrupting her. "Okay, stop! You don't have to apologize. I should be the one saying sorry for giving you the cold shoulder. If it were my dad or Roxanne on the other side of that door, I would have done the same thing. Sure I was a little hurt and worried when I was left behind, but I can't be mad at you for wanting to protect your friends."
Kairi sniffed. "So, we're okay?"
"Of course we are." Max unhooked one of the swords at his belt. "Here," he held out the scabbard before him. "I had this made for you. I've been carrying it around, testing it out. I did plan to give it to you once you finished your training, but, well, you know the rest."
Kairi grabbed the weapon. "This is mine? Really?"
"You're going to need something other then magic to help you fight."
"What about you? Don't you need two?"
"I have a spare."
Kairi threw her arms around Max. When they broke apart, Sora took a step forward to inspect Kairi's new weapon. She pulled the blade out of its scabbard, breathing out a sigh of awe when the sword was finally free.
"Cool," said Sora. "It has stars carved into the steel."
"Not steel," said Max. "Specially made alloy from Chip and Dale. I don't really know what's in that metal, but it's durable and light weight."
"Nice," said Sora, giving Kairi a friendly tap with his elbow. "I can't wait to see you fight. Oh, and also, we've got to team up to take Max on."
Kairi was quiet for a second, and then she giggled. "You mean break his duel wielding winning streak? I'm game."
"You'll lose." Max's tone was bored, but it didn't match the excitement dancing in his aura.
"I'd like to take up that challenge too, but can we do that later?" asked Riku. "I really want a churro."
Jiminy's Journal
Darkwing Duck (First Appeared in Darkwing Duck, 1991): A self-proclaimed superhero that lives in Disney Town. Though he's arrogant and loves attention, Darkwing is not afraid of danger, hence his famous catchphrase. He and Launchpad have a bumbling partnership that oddly works out perfectly when taking on the baddies.
Chapter 42: KH3 Chapter 11: Twilight Town
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Eleven: Twilight Town
As the team walked out of the massive train station, they found themselves gaping at the new world. The red and orange shadows of the sun bathed the city in a peaceful, late afternoon glow. Just beyond the wide, elevated plaza they stood in, was the view of the town. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Max and Kairi ran toward the railing at the end of the plaza, leaning over to to stare at the railways, roofs, streets, and lit lanterns of the town below. Standing next to King Mickey, Riku stretched, breathing in the scents of salty ice cream, and listening to the exited chatter of the town's residents as they passed by.
Mickey called for a huddle, and the team lined up in a circle so that they could all face each other.
"It looks as though," Mickey began, "this world hasn't crashed into any others yet, so we will have to be careful not to let anything slip."
Donald elbowed Sora. "You hear that?"
"What? Why me?"
Riku and Kairi tried, and failed, to hide their snorts.
Goofy cleared his throat, before his two friends could start an argument. "So, Master Yen Sid is somewhere in this here town?"
Mickey nodded. "Twilight Town is the only world I know of where the sun never sets."
Max looked over his shoulder, glancing at the town. "So where do we meet with him?"
Mickey wore a guilty grin, scratching the back of his head. "I have no clue."
Donald and Goofy hung their heads.
"Um, excuse me, Your Majesty," said Sora, tentatively, "isn't Yen Sid your old master? Wouldn't you know exactly where he is?"
Donald glared. "Sora! Show some respect."
This time, it was Jiminy that stopped the two friends from arguing. The cricket hopped out of Sora's hood, landing on the boy's shoulder. "If the master is here, then there must some clues to his location. We should split up and search. We don't have time to waste, right?"
Riku raised his hand. "Good idea. Seconded."
Mickey gave each of his teammates a look. "Everyone agree?"
A round of nods were his answer.
"Okay. Meet back here in two hours."
"I was thinking about something," said Riku as he followed Mickey through the town. "Even though this world hasn't attached itself to another one, like Beast's castle, or how the oceans were blending together-"
"There was no un-passable wall around it," Mickey completed Riku's thought. "I asked Professor Von Drake and Gadget to upgrade the gummi ship with a new wall piercing system, just in case. We may need it later."
"Does that mean that, there may be people in this world, that don't belong here?" Riku wondered. "Hope the master has some answers."
The two friends resumed their search through the rather relaxed town. Worries about the state of the world quickly faded from Riku's mind, as he was caught up in the excitement of summertime. He smelled fresh herbs and flowers on every street. Flowerbeds and trees were lovingly placed here and there, no doubt to make the town feel a little more rustic. The back alleys had a cool, evening breeze, and whispers from teenagers hiding out or lazing off in their secret meeting spots.
Riku and Mickey were either walking up and down hills or passing through bustling streets with trams, restaurants that smelled of gumbo, outdoor movie theaters, and even an arena where a crowd had gathered, cheering for two combatants that were fighting with foam swords. Eventually, they came up to a place called "Market Street." Unfortunately, they had no time to ask around the venders for clues, as a little girl charged up to Riku and shouted.
"You!"
Riku froze. "M-me?"
"Yes, you. Tall, serious face. You look like the dependable type."
Mickey chuckled.
The little girl ignored Riku's scrunched up face. She grabbed his hand and began dragging him into the street.
"Wait a minute." Riku pulled his hand back. "What's going on?"
The girl's light flared and despite the fact that she was shorter then Mickey, Riku found himself taking a step back.
"Is this how you treat a lady? Are you a hero or not? I have a problem and you can't be bothered to take time out of your day to help me?"
Mickey stepped between the girl and Riku, bowing.
"Gosh, I'm sorry about my friend's rudeness, miss. What can we help you with?"
Riku snorted. "Really Mickey?"
"Well at least someone has some manners," the girl huffed.
Smiling in defeat, Riku shrugged. "All right, I'll bite. Why don't you start by telling us your name."
"Eiko," said the girl. "Eiko Carol. And I can't find my moogles!"
"Moogles?" The word rung a bell. Briefly, imagines of Traverse Town ran through Riku's mind. His visit there had been short, and he had spent most of his time searching for and antagonizing Sora, but he did remember walking past small, white creatures that looked a lot like teddy bears, except with smaller, cat like ears, a big, round, red nose, bat wings, and a little pom pom resting at the end of an antennae that grew out of the moogles' crowns.
"Yes moogles. You know, cute creatures that fly around saying 'kupo' all the time."
"Did something happen to them?"
Eiko huffed, pacing back and forth. "They've been gone all day, without checking in with me. That's not like them, especially Mog. She would have come back by now. What if they're in trouble? I can't find them anywhere!"
Her outburst seemed to take all her spunk with it. She stilled, hiccuping silently, the lowest, almost imperceptible sound of sniffling escaping her nose.
Mickey tugged on Riku's sleeve. "We can look for them, can't we?"
"Yeah, we'll help. Please don't cry."
Eiko growled. Riku swallowed. Now what had he done?
"I'm not crying, dummy. Crying won't solve anything. I'm just worried about my friends, that's all."
Riku held up his hands. "Okay. Let's move on then. Can you give us more information?"
Eiko took a quick, relaxing breathe, lowering her hands from her hips. "I sent my moogles out this morning to pick up supplies for a big delivery we have to get done by the end of the day. It's for a really important client. But no one came back, and they always let me know if they're going to be late. What if they were eaten by those dark monsters?"
Mickey's ears twitched. "Monsters."
"Weird stuff has been happening around town. There are all these rumors about 'seven wonders' or whatever." Eiko huffed. "But this is real. I've seen those monsters in the sewers and around town." Eiko pressed her hands on her head. "Oh no! What if they ate Mog?"
"Now, now, I'm sure Mog and the rest of the moogles are all right," said Mickey. "We'll go bring her back."
Eiko stomped her feet. "Not without me you won't. Mog is a scardey-cat, and she won't come out of her hiding place if I'm not there."
Mickey didn't even bother saying no. He simply nodded and said, "Well then, lead the way."
As Riku followed Eiko and Mickey, he spared a moment to grin. School by children, yet again.
Sora yawned, for the third time in fifteen minutes. The leisurely way the trams moved about the neighborhood made him want to flop down onto the cobblestone streets and take a nap. Even though the town was full of people celebrating the zenith of summer, the noise felt more like a soft, jazzy hum then the hustle and bustle of a busy city, almost as though everyone and everything in Twilight Town was on the same relaxed wavelength.
Shaking himself in an attempt to stay awake, Sora moved about a section of the town called the "Tram Common," asking residents if they had seen anything out of the ordinary. Other then learning about a haunted mansion somewhere, Sora wasn't able to get any useful information on Yen Sid's location. He hoped his friends were having better luck. Donald and Goofy appeared in and out of Sora's line of sight, as they tried to gather clues. Max and Kairi, who had decided to tag along with Sora's team for now, walked by, munching on a pair of light blue popsicles.
"I thought we were searching for clues, not getting ice cream," said Sora.
Kairi licked the blue syrup off her lower lip before grinning guiltily. "His Majesty didn't say we couldn't do both. Plus, it felt rude not to buy from the merchant after chatting him up for information."
"Did you get anything?"
Max, who had just finished his popsicle, chewed on the stick between his teeth. "Nope. The only weird thing around town so far is the watermelon waiting list."
"Apparently everyone's going to the beach and there's a shortage," Kairi explained.
"Well, maybe Donald and Goofy found something."
No sooner were the words out of Sora's mouth, when his two friends came to stand near him. Goofy's expression was a little down, while Donald's eye was twitching with annoyance.
Sora pressed his lips together. "Let me guess, no luck?"
Donald tapped his foot. "Nope."
"Come on." Sora patted Donald's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll figure it out. Sometimes we've just got to wait for the right moment."
Either the universe had heard Sora's statement, or he had really bad luck because something thumped him so hard on the back that he stumbled forward, nearly crashing into Kairi. She was quick to react, grabbing his shoulders before he could hit her head with his own. While Sora was trying to gather his wits, Kairi shouted over his shoulder at someone.
"Hey, be careful!"
"Sorry babe," came the cheeky reply.
Kairi's face reddened. "Excuse me?"
"Gotta run!"
Sora stood, turning around just in time to spot the blond culprit that had nearly knocked him over. The boy jumped onto a passing trolly bus. This wouldn't have been so shocking to Sora, if the blond boy hadn't waved his hand. There was a familiar star shaped charm in his palm.
Frantically, Sora searched the pockets of his cargo pants. When he could not find the object he was looking for, he waved his fist at the blond boy and the retreating tram.
"Hey! You no good thief!"
The thief responded with a cheeky wink of his blue eyes. "The sly eagle hides its claws."
"What does that mean?" Sora growled. He was about to chase after the tram, but stopped when Kairi grabbed his hand.
"What just happened?"
"That jerk just stole your lucky charm."
Kairi's hair puffed up. "WHAT? I'll clobber him!"
And then she was off, bolting after the tram at top speed. Max reacted the fastest, chasing after Kairi, quickly disappearing around a nearby building. Sora, Donald and Goofy followed, but lost sight of Kairi and Max after a few more blocks. Stopping, they were too busy trying to catch their breaths to notice the busy plaza full of excited Twilight Town citizens right behind them, or the young woman that perked up at the sight of them. Before the trio could try and pick up Max and Kairi's trail, a familiar voice called out.
"Sora? Donald? Goofy?"
Sora turned, facing the restaurant that was the focal point of the plaza. A young woman in a green dress ran from between the restaurant's outdoor seating area, reaching out to grab Sora's cheeks.
"It is you! You've gotten taller! Oh, and I like the new black outfit."
Sora squinted at the woman through squished cheeks, staring into her deep, brown eyes. She had lovely, dark brown skin. When she smiled, dimples appeared in her rosy cheeks.
Goofy bowed. "Hello ma'am. Do ya know Sora?"
Letting him go, the young woman laughed. "Of course you don't recognize me. I was green and slimy the last time we met."
Donald and Sora stared for two more seconds, before the pair of them jumped. Mouths opening wide, they said, "Tiana?"
She curtsied, lifting up her green, flapper skirt.
"Is is you! And you're so beautiful!"
Tiana pinched Sora's cheek. "Since when did you become such a sweet talker? Taking notes from Naveen?"
"Is he here too? But wait, how are you here? This isn't your world, is it?"
Neither Sora nor Tiana saw Donald's angry twitch. "Order," he grumbled.
"No," said Tiana, "but Naveen and I have made a good home here." She gestured to the busy restaurant right behind her.
Sora looked up at the lavish building. The smell of sweet and spicy Creole cooking wafted to his nose, making his drool. He hadn't eaten anything since calming down the riot in Disney Town.
Tiana laughed. "I know a hungry look when I see one, and I still owe you a favor."
Grabbing Sora's wrist, Tiana led him to the restaurant, which Sora now realized had the words "Tiana's Palace" written in bright, green neon over the top balcony. Lit up like the fourth of July, string-lights shining along the roof edges and balcony rails, Tiana's restaurant truly was an inviting sight.
"Come inside. Say hi to Naveen!"
She pulled Sora through the outer seating area and into the main room of the restaurant. Donald and Goofy gawked at the elegant interior. The first thing that caught their eye was the golden chandelier that hung over the large, main room of the restaurant. Round tables, each covered with green, lilly pad table clothes, were set up in neat rows. Golden columns, railings and lacy accents decorated the walls and ceiling. At the end of the long room was a stage, where a band, playing a trumpet, trombone, clarinet, piano, tuba and drums filled the room with exciting jazz.
Sora watched as waiters, dressed in white suits and black trousers, went from table to table, setting down silver cloches in front of excited patrons, all dressed to the nines and bouncing along with the music. One of the waiters, a tall, handsome man with a chiseled jaw, placed a bowl of gumbo in front of a young couple. When he smiled, he displayed a row of perfect, pearly-white teeth. Tiana waved to the young waiter, and he ran across the room, grabbing Sora in a hug, lifting the boy off his feet.
"Ashidanza! Sora, you are here!"
All Sora could manage, as he was squeezed too tight to speak, was a happy, albeit choked, chuckle. "Naveen! It's great to see you."
Letting the boy go, Naveen leaned forward to, rather over-enthusiastically, shake Donald and Goofy's hands.
"What are you doing here? Are you still searching for your friends?"
"Actually, we found our king," said Goofy.
"And Sora found his friends. But now we've got a different mission."
Naveen guided the trio to an empty table. The second they sat down, Tiana put a plate of steamy, crispy, golden-brown squares in front of them. A snowy layer of powdered sugar sat atop the squares.
"My famous beignets." Tiana winked. "On the house. Dig in. Tell us about this new mission."
"Don't mind if I do!" Donald picked up a beignet and took a big bite. Then his face melted as he settled in his seat and chewed, his eyes rolling into the head. "Yum!"
Seeing his reaction, Sora took a bite out of his own sweet pillow. His teeth went right through the soft, airy dough. The combination of melty pastry and punching-your-taste buds-with-flavor sugar made him forget everything for one glorious second.
"Okay, your cooking has only gotten even more delicious since the last time I saw you," said Sora though a mouthful of dough.
Naveen put his arm around Tiana proudly. "That's my wife!"
"Ahyuck! I remember now. You said kissing a princess would reverse the spell you two were under. So now that you and Tiana are married, she's a princess. Congratulations!"
"Thas wondorfu!" came Donald and Sora's muffled responses. Two mouthfuls of sweet dough wasn't very good for articulation.
Finally swallowing his beignet, Sora rubbed his belly. "Say, how long have you been in this town?"
"For a few months now," Tiana answered.
Donald gestured to the full to bursting restaurant around him. "Business is booming."
Naveen's wide grin grew along with his pride. "The townsfolk can't get enough of my wife's cooking. It's delicious, no?"
"Uh huh," said Goofy, finally taking a bite of his beignet.
"Oh stop." Tiana pushed Naveen playfully.
"So this world hasn't been connected to the others yet, but people still show up here, people that don't belong." Sora looked at Donald and Goofy. "I hope this means that we don't crash into another world any time soon."
Donald glared at Sora, while Goofy gave him a saddened look.
"What?"
Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hood. He landed on the boy's shoulder and poked his cheek. "Sora, even though Naveen and Tiana aren't from this world, you can't just spill mission secrets like this out in the open. What if someone is listening? Naveen and Tiana might know about other worlds, but the citizens around us don't. Remember King Mickey's warning?"
Donald crossed his arms. "He held out for half an hour at least."
Jiminy hopped off Sora's shoulder, landing in the middle of the table. He bowed and said hello to Naveen and Tiana. Then, carefully, he filled Naveen and Tiana, reciting their last adventure and the current situation they found themselves in.
"So that's why we were thrown out of our world and found ourselves here," said Tiana.
Naveen reached over and ruffled Sora's hair. "You took care of that villainous shadow man? Incredible."
"It wasn't easy," grouched Donald. "Dr. Faciliar was really tricky."
"Well I'm just glad he's not something we have to worry about anymore," said Tiana. "So why are you here in this town?"
"We're looking for someone that can give us some guidance on how to solve the world crashing problem, but so far we haven't found any clues on how to find him," Jiminy explained. "But before that, Ms. Tiana. I have a question. When you first arrived in this town, did you notice anything strange during the transition?"
Tiana shook her head. "It was so quick that I don't remember much. One moment we were in our world, then, poof. We were here."
"Speak for yourself," Naveen shuddered. "I felt strange, like I was about to be turned back into the frog by the shadow man's dark magic."
"Dark magic," Jiminy repeated as he took notes in his journal. "Well, that's something to ask the master."
"Anything else I can help with?"
"You're a savvy business woman. Have your customers said anything strange?"
"Well, some of my youngest regulars love talking about this man they once saw drinking tea in the outdoor area."
Naveen waved his hands in front of his eyes, like a storyteller about to describe a dramatic scene. "It's mysterious, no? The children say an old man, pulled out a huge scroll from a teeny weeny bag, right outside the restaurant."
Donald and Goofy shared a look.
"Old man? Tiny bag?"
Goofy pointed to his hat. "Did the hat he wore have white stars on it?"
Tiana shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know what he looked like."
Jiminy flipped through his journal. "There's only one man I know that can take big things out of a tiny bag."
Donald and Goofy exchanged a look. "Merlin."
Sora pushed his chair back from the table, standing. "Do you know if we can talk to one of those kids?"
"I sure do. Jenny would be your best bet. She's usually at the sandlot right about now."
"Then we've got a lead. Thanks Tiana."
Kairi was quickly realizing that Twilight Town was Sora's kind of town: lazy, tranquil, with a warm breeze and cotton candy clouds rolling across the dusk sky. And nowhere exemplified that feeling more then the part of the town that was called the "Sunset Terrace."
Kairi walked alongside Max through a neighborhood three times more cozy then the downtown area she had been before. Ivy grew along the peach, pink, and brown buildings. A tram ran down the single road of the neighborhood. If one were to look up, they could see the train track hovering over the edge of the neighborhood like a halo. If she were to look down, she could see the green hills far below, and the countryside that marked the edges of the world. It would have been a beautiful place to enjoy the sunset, if she weren't so dang frustrated!
"Where did he go?"
Kairi leaned against one of the buildings, trying to think of what to do next. She and Max had chased the blond, monkey-tailed boy all the way to Market Street, through the back alleys, finally making it out into the sleepy neighborhood they had found themselves in, with no thief in sight.
Kairi seethed. Stupid blond thief, with his stupid blue jeans, white dress shirt, and boots. Couldn't he be wearing something that would be easier to spot, like a suit of armor? Thinking of armor made Kairi turn to look at Max. He leaned against the wall, by her side. He'd changed out of his armor into civvies, now wearing a red hoodie, a pair of cargo jeans, and boots, which made him blend in better when visiting other worlds.
"So much for finding clues about Master Yen Sid," Max grouched. "All we've managed to do is eat ice cream and get robbed. That charm the thief stole is the same one you found in Hollow Bastion, isn't it?"
Kairi nodded.
Pushing off the wall, Max waved at Kairi over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go clobber that thief. We haven't explored down this way yet."
Smiling, Kairi jumped onto a passing tram with Max. They rode it all the way across the neighborhood, getting off on a small square on the left side of the tram's last stop. A man stood in front of a waterfall that trickled down along a wall. Max waved at him.
"Can you help us? We're looking for someone."
The man's expression lit up when Max described the thief's appearance.
"Boy with a monkey tail. Yeah, I saw him. He went up to Sunset Hill." The man pointed to a balcony above the square, where an archway marked the end of the neighborhood. "Head up the other side of the street and climb those stairs. Big, beautiful vista point. Can't miss it."
Thanking the man, Max and Kairi did as they were told. Sunset Hill really lived up to its name. A dirt road led up to a small summit that overlooked the cloudy, dusk sky surrounding the town. At the bottom of the hill, Kairi felt a tingle of excitement when she looked up at vista point above. Then screams reached her ears.
People raced down the road, passing by Max and Kairi, their faces white with terror. Max and Kairi were up the trail in seconds. At the summit, standing on a small, round vista point surrounded by green bushes, was the thief. He stood in front of a terrified little girl, protecting her from the row of shadow heartless clawing at him.
Kairi summoned her new sword. Charging, she cleaved through the line of heartless. She heard steps from behind her and felt the itch of darkness on her back. When she turned around to attack an incoming heartless, Kairi was surprised to come face to face with the thief instead. He held a dagger in each hand, the heartless he had just defeated bursting into dust.
The thief shouted at the girl he had been protecting. "Run!"
She raced down the trail, out of harm's way. Now there was nothing to hold Max, Kairi and the thief back. Shadow heartless peeled off the floor in waves. Max, Kairi and the thief sliced and slashed, devastating heartless round two, round six, round fourteen, round thirty.
Standing back to back with Max and the thief, Kairi threw a reflect spell around them. The heartless smashed into the magical class, and the second the shield went down, Max and the thief flashed in a circle, their duel wielding cutting the heartless into chunks.
Round forty. Round fifty. Round seventy.
"Why are there so many?" Kairi gasped. She sliced through round ninety six, and the heartless showed no signs of slowing down.
Max stopped for one moment to take a deep breathe. The thief charged him, knocking Max out of the way before slicing through all the heartless that had almost swarmed the young knight.
Round one hundred and one.
The heartless twitched, gathering close together, standing on top of each other like a totem pole. Max, Kairi and the thief didn't give up, even as their breaths came out in exhausted coughs. Even a curaga spell, the last of Kairi's magic, barely gave them any energy.
The heartless rose up, higher and higher, spewing from the ground like a geyser of darkness. A tube like swarm burst up into the air, swimming through the sky. Max and Kairi raised their swords, trying to cut through through the wriggling swarm as it flew over their heads. The thief cartwheeled out of the way before the swarm could crash into him.
The swarm thinned for a moment, the heartless spreading out. Kairi, Max and the blond boy hacked through any heartless that were out on their own. Then the swarm collected again, turning into a ball of writhing arms and legs as the heartless came together into a tight sphere. The fighters lowered their stance, ready to defend.
Then something strange happened. Rather then thrash and fight back, the ball of heartless flew up into the air, avoiding the swords and daggers aimed its way. It burst off the vista point, swimming through the sky like a dark eel, vanishing into the town, leaving a trio of utterly confused combatants behind.
There was silence, except for the huffing and puffing of the fighters. Kairi, her arm shaking, lifted her sword, pointing it at the thief. Haunched over, her sword was more like a gesture to gain his attention then to strike fear.
"Why didn't you run?"
The thief swallowed, trying to get moisture into his dry throat. "Can't just walk away. Goes against my nature."
His voice was raspy, but it had a chipper, cheeky ring to it.
Putting away her sword, Kairi stomped over to the thief. Still breathless, she could only speak one word at a time. Poking the thief, hard, in the chest, she said, "Give. Me. My. Lucky. Charm. Jerk!"
The boy stumbled backward, his blue eyes wide. "Wait, that was yours? Then why did that boy have it?"
"Take a wild guess," Max huffed, putting away his own swords.
The thief blinked. "Oh." He exhaled, slowly. "Oooh. Well so much for asking you out on a date."
Pulling the star charm out of his pocket, he held it out to Kairi.
Snatching her charm back, Kairi glared. "Like I would have said yes to a flirty creep!"
The boy's body bent at the waist, hanging. "Ouch."
"Brutal." Max agreed, putting a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "Nicely done."
Kairi looked down at her charm. "You did help us fight those heartless though. So thanks for that. Do all thieves protect kids and fight monsters, or is it just you?"
Straightening, the blond boy grinned. "Call me Zidane."
"Only if you apologize."
"Huh?"
Max rolled his eyes. "For stealing, idiot."
Zidane shrugged, putting up his hands. "All right. I'm sorry."
"Why'd you do it anyway? It's not like my lucky charm is valuable."
"I was supposed to get that boy to come up here." Zidane put his chin in the space between his thumb and forefinger. "Geez, I messed up this delivery. Big time. I guess I should track down that boy again."
Getting angry, Kairi pulled her arm back to give Zidane another mighty poke, but before she could hit him, he backflipped, leaping over the hedges behind him, and landing, as gracefully as a trained actor, on the trail below the vista point. Before he ran back into town, he shouted.
"Take a look around up there, Max, Kairi! Might find some clues! I have some damage control to do. See ya!"
Kairi started to run down the trail, but was suddenly jerked backward when Max caught her arm. He pulled her toward the fence along the edge of the cliff that Sunset Hill stood on. Then he pointed into the horizon. They were so high up, it was like they were standing in sea of orange clouds. And something was sailing above the orange puffs. Riding on thin air, a single train car moved across the sky.
"Look! At the front of the train!"
Kairi gasped. "I see it! It looks just like Master Yen Sid's seal!"
The train car was blue, with golden accents. Sitting right in front of the locomotive's engine chimney, was a blue cone with a silver star pattern. The train car got close to Sunset Hill, close enough that, had they thought to do so, Max and Kairi could have jumped on it. The train passed, vanishing into the clouds.
Someone was clapping.
Surprised, Max and Kairi turned. Standing right in the middle of Sunset Hill, her umbrella tucked neatly under her arm, was none other then Mary Poppins. She nodded her head approvingly and then pointed back into the town.
"Well done, you two. You've passed the test. Now then, please head back to the station and wait for the others to complete their tasks."
Max and Kairi looked at each other and then back at Mary. "Wait. Test? What test?"
"The test to find Master Yen Sid, of course."
"Wait a minute, was Zidane a part of the test? Was that why he had to lure Sora up here?"
Mary gave Kairi a rather cool look. "Let me make something quite clear."
Max and Kairi leaned forward, waiting.
Mary's smile was sweet. "I never explain anything. Now, off you go. His Majesty and Sora's group should join you at the train station shortly."
"Is that her?"
The Sandlot, as Tiana had called it, turned out to be a big empty space, with a lot of park benches. A massive dirt square was at the center of the area. There were posters on the buildings that housed the square, describing a game called "struggle." Across from Sora, Donald, and Goofy, was a little girl that matched Tiana's description. She was on her hands and knees, looking under a park bench. Sora made his way across the square, careful not to surprise the brown haired girl.
"Excuse me. Are you Jenny?"
When the little girl stood and faced Sora, he was surprised to see that her blue eyes were full of tears.
"Yes?" She sobbed, whipping her eyes with the sleeve of her blue, turtleneck sweater.
Donald and Goofy ducked their heads, eyes filling with concern.
Sora bent forward, hands on his knees. "Is everything okay?"
The girl blinked, tears running down her cheeks. "I can't find Oliver anywhere."
"Oliver?" Donald repeated.
"My kitty." Jenny held out her hand. In her palm was a blue collar. The collar was ripped, the edges covered in black ash. "We were playing hide and seek. This is all I found." Jenny squeaked, her puffy cheeks trembling.
Sora reached out and put a hand on Jenny's head. "Hey. Everything will be okay. I'm sure Oliver is all right. In fact," Sora stood, "we're going to find him." He nodded to his friends. "Any objections?"
Donald and Goofy grinned. "Nope."
Jenny's looked from face to face. "You will? Really?"
Sora held out his pinky. "Yeah. I promise."
Half sniffling, half giggling, Jenny looped her pinky around Sora's.
"What does Oliver look like?" Goofy asked.
Jenny handed the collar to Goofy. "He's orange, with three stripes on his back, and a white muzzle."
"Okay. Please go wait for us at Tiana's place, Ms. Jenny. We'll be back with Oliver before ya know it."
A tiny smile appeared in Jenny's face. She curtsied and the trio bowed in turn, which seemed to lift her spirits just a bit more. Once she walked off toward the road that led to Tiana's restaurant, the trio spread out, searching the sandlot. No luck. Moving to the alleys behind the playground, the trio looked around the trashcans and crates staked along the walls.
They were about to call it quits and move on when Donald quacked, pointing into the mouth of the alley. Someone stood there, wearing a tan, steeple crowned hat that was so long, it bent in the middle, the top half hanging down behind the boy's head. From the back, he looked like a child, who couldn't have been older then nine years old, wearing a blue tailcoat, and stripped, green trousers.
When the boy turned around, when Sora saw the glowing, yellow eyes and the dark face, Sora growled, summoning his keyblade.
"A heartless," he hissed.
The heartless tilted its head. It took a step back, as though afraid, bringing its gloved hands up to its chest. Something orange moved in its palms. A kitten.
Goofy covered his mouth. "Oh no! Is that Oliver?"
Sora and Donald charged.
"Let go of that kitten right now!"
The heartless dashed out of the alley. The trio chased it all across the sandlot and into the Tram Common, getting some odd looks from the citizens as they passed. The heartless ran into a back lot behind a few buildings, stopping in front of a wall. There was no way out except for the way it had come in, and Sora, Donald and Goofy stood in front of its escape route. Old forgotten scrap decorated the large lot. The pointy hatted heartless cowered in a corner as the trio closed in around it.
The cat in the heartless' hands hissed at Sora, Donald and Goofy, making the trio pause for just a second, enough time for the heartless to scream.
"L-leave me alone!"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy nearly fell over.
"IT TALKS!"
The heartless held up a trembling hand, its fingers spreading wide, red light glimmering in its palm. "Firaga!"
Goofy jumped in front of the burning fireball, stumbling backward as the spell hit his shield.
Donald actually fell over, his beak and eyes wide. "A heartless that knows fire spells?"
Sora, his keyblade still in his hand, but no longer raised, inched closer to the heartless. Instead of attacking, the heatless took a step back, its upper body stiffening. Was it, Sora wondered, actually afraid?
"Hey!"
A shadow flashed over Sora. Looking up, he only had a second to bring up his keyblade and block the pair of daggers that were coming down toward his head. Stumbling backward, pushing back against the two blades, Sora glared straight into the eyes of the thief that had stolen Kairi's good luck charm. Grunting, the boy gave a mighty push, shoving Sora several steps backward.
"Back off!"
Thief barked at Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they three of them stepped closer, weapons at the ready once more. Rather then be intimidated, the thief looked over his shoulder, at the heartless behind him.
"You okay, Vivi?"
The heartless nodded. "I'm okay. Thanks Zidane."
Turning his attention back to Sora, who was still in an attack stance, the thief lowered his weapons, shaking his head.
"Aren't you supposed to be the good guys?"
Goofy lowered his shield. "I'm confused. Ain't you a thief?"
"I have a name. It's Zidane."
Sora stomped forward, arm outstretched. "Give me back what you stole."
"Kairi has it." Zidane waved his hand dismissively. "But forget about that. Why are you guys bullying little kids?"
Donald stomped his foot. "We're not bullying anyone!"
The heartless, no, Vivi, tilted his head, peaking out from behind Zidane. "Then why were you chasing me?"
"Because you have that kitten. We've been looking for him."
"Then why didn't you just ask?"
"We thought you were," Donald's voice slowed down, getting weaker, "a heartless?"
Vivi pulled down his pointy hat so that the rim covered his face.
Zidane glared at Donald. "Wow. Really?"
Donald covered his eyes, his feathers reddening. "Well, he looks like a heartless."
Vivi let out a little squeak.
"Vivi's not a heartless." Zidane nodded at his friend. "You could search the entire universe and you wouldn't find anyone with more heart then him."
Vivi lifted his head, and it was then that Sora realized. Even though Vivi's eyes were yellow, and his face dark, much like the heartless, his eyes were more oval shaped, and there was a certain childlike wonder in them. Goofy realized it too, as he came forward, extending his hand.
"Gosh. We made a big mistake, fellars." Goofy waved at Vivi. "I'm sorry. I guess we still need to learn not to jump to conclusions."
Donald and Sora flinched, bowing their heads. "Yeah. Sorry."
Zidane stepped out of Goofy's way, allowing Vivi to come forward. The boy shook hands with Goofy, and then lifted the little kitten to Goofy's eyes.
"Oliver?"
The kitten looked at Goofy. Suddenly, he leapt out of Vivi's hands, landing on Goofy's shoulder, purring as he rubbed his white muzzle into Goofy's cheek.
"Ahyuck! This is him, fellars. Thanks for finding 'im, Vivi. Jenny will be so happy."
The boy pulled down his hat again.
Putting away his daggers, Zidane extended his hand to Sora. "Sorry about taking Kairi's lucky charm. Let bygones by bygones?"
Sora crossed his arms, tapping his finger on his bicep, smirking. "Kairi really let you have it, didn't she?"
Zidane rubbed his chest. "Your girl does not pull any punches."
"You're darn right, she doesn't."
"I can see why likes you."
Grinning wider, Sora shook hands with Zidane. Meanwhile, Donald made his way over to Vivi.
"I'm sorry I called you a heartless," he mumbled.
Vivi shrugged. "It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes right?"
Donald rubbed the back of his neck. "That was some nice magic earlier. Are you a mage?"
"Yes," said Vivi. "I'm a black mage."
"What other spells do you know?"
While Vivi and Donald talked magic and Goofy happily paced back and forth with Oliver in his hands, Sora asked Zidane why he had stolen Kairi's lucky charm.
"I was supposed to get the three of you to a certain place by five o' clock. Didn't work out."
Vivi looked at Zidane, laughing. "You messed up on your delivery? Eiko's going to be mad."
"She'll forgive me." Zidane shrugged. "Where is she anyway? I haven't seen her since this morning."
"Eiko? Delivery?" Sora repeated.
"Zidane, Eiko, and I. We run a delivery service," Vivi explained.
"Yup. Tantalus Delivery Service." Zidane reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. On it was his name, the delivery store's location, and the name of the company. "We do all kind of jobs around town. Someone left payment in our drop-box this morning, along with instructions to guide a spiky haired boy, a duck, and a dog to Sunset Hill at exactly five o' clock."
Donald tapped his foot. "You couldn't have just asked us to go there? Was stealing really necessary?"
Zidane winked. "Where's the fun in that? Besides, I was in a hurry."
Donald's feathers ruffled.
"I also had a weird message for a delivery," said Vivi. "I had just finished, and I was heading back when I found Oliver."
"Where was he?" asked Goofy.
"Behind a trashcan near the stairs that lead down to the underground tunnels. He was really scared. It took me a little while to get him to come out."
Sora wrinkled his nose. "I wonder what scared him. And why would someone give instructions to Tantalus to get us up on Sunset Hill? Unless."
He shared a look with Donald and Goofy. The pair of them put their thumbs and forefingers together, making a triangle shape that reminded Sora of Master Yen Sid's wizard's hat. Turning back to Zidane and Vivi, Sora said, "Why don't you guys stick around for a little longer? See, we're looking for someone, and I have the funniest feeling that all these things are connected."
"Fine by me. The more the merrier. How about you, Vivi?"
"I do like making new friends."
Donald glared at Zidane. "Just no more stealing okay?"
Zidane's hand flashed above Donald's head. He waved his hand around. Donald's eyes tracked the blue blur in Zidane's fingertips, focusing so hard on it, he didn't notice the grin on Zidane's face.
"Scout's honor, No more stealing. Starting now."
Zidane placed the blue thing on the duck's head. It wasn't until Zidane had bolted out of the back alley, until Sora, Vivi, and Goofy's stifled snorts turned into chuckles, that Donald, his temper rising, finally figured it out. Zidane had snatched Donald's hat, waved it around in front of his eyes, and put it back before Donald had even known what was happening.
Jiminy's Journal
Eiko Carol (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): Though she's only six years old, Eiko is a savvy little girl that can take care of herself just fine, thank you very much. She runs a shop in Twilight Town that delivers special, magical items. Though she may be a bossy, Eiko is also fiercely protective of her moogle friends.
Zidane Tribal (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): A laid back boy that runs the Tantalus delivery company with his friends, Eiko and Vivi, though it's obvious that Eiko is the one that makes sure the work gets done. Zidane is a gifted acrobat with quick feet, which helps when jumping around town making deliveries, or fighting with his dual daggers. Zidane may be flirty and a bit of a prankster, but he isn't one to run away if other people need help.
Vivi Ornitier (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): A shy and curious little boy that works for the Tantalus Delivery Company in Twilight Town. Though a little clumsy, Vivi has a talent for black magic. His honest, hard working nature stands out in stark contrast to Zidane's easygoing style, but the two seem to balance each other rather well. Maybe that's why they have such a close, brotherly friendship.
Jenny Foxworth (First Appeared in Oliver & Company, 1988): A polite little girl that loves to visit Tiana's restaurant and play with her kitten, Oliver. She may know a thing or two about Merlin.
Oliver (First Appeared in Oliver & Company, 1988): An orange, tabby kitty that lives in Twilight Town with his best friend, Jenny. Oliver seems to gravitate toward kind people.
Chapter 43: KH3 Chapter 12: The Swarm
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twelve: The Swarm
"Oliver!"
Leaping out of Goofy's hands, Oliver landed in Jenny's arms. The kitten purred into his owner's shoulder, rubbing his nose into her blue shirt. Jenny swayed side to side, happy to be reunited with her cat. Her tearful smile made Sora, Donald and Goofy give each other ridiculously sweet, congratulatory smiles. Next to Zidane, Vivi jumped up and down in response to Jenny's relief.
Jenny reached out, extending her pinky to Sora. Promise kept. Sora lifted his pinky as well.
"Thank you so much! I don't know what I would have done if Oliver was hurt."
"You're welcome. Oh! Just a second." Sora turned and grabbed Vivi's hand, pulling the boy forward until he was standing awkwardly in front of Jenny. "You should also thank Vivi here. He's the one that really found Oliver."
With Oliver resting on her shoulder, Jenny pitched forward and wrapped her arms around Vivi's shoulders. The shorter boy froze, blinking his oval, yellow eyes when Jenny pulled away.
"Thank you, Vivi."
Ducking his head, fidgeting with his fingers, Vivi let out a tiny, "s-sure."
"Say, Ms. Jenny," said Goofy, waving to get the little girl's attention. "Do you think you can do us a little favor?"
"Of course."
"Well, Ms. Tiana told us that you saw a funny old man pull all kinds o' stuff from his bag. Can you tell us about that?"
Jenny snapped her fingers. "Oh! I know who you're talking about! I was having dinner with Winston a few weeks ago and there was this old man on the table next to us. He was having tea until a pretty lady with a black umbrella came to speak to him."
Oliver let out a sad meow when Jenny stopped absentmindedly petting him in favor of gesturing wildly. "He had a purple hinge bag," Jenny explained, holding up her hand as though she were holding an invisible briefcase. "It was like magic! He pulled out a map that was way too big. Bigger then the bag!"
Donald leaned forward, his fists clenched excitedly in front of his beak. "What did he look like?"
"He had a white beard that almost reached the floor, glasses, and a pointy blue hat, I think. Oh! And a wand."
Vivi tilted his head, making the long, dangling, pointy part of his hat swing back and forth. "Are you talking about Merlin?"
Donald, Goofy, and Sora turned to stare at Vivi, with wide, unblinking eyes. The boy shrank away from the sudden attention, unconsciously going to stand at Zidane's side.
"W-what?"
Donald tapped his foot. "You know Merlin?"
"Y-yes. He was in the underground concourse. My delivery was for him."
"And why didn't you say so earlier?"
Zidane stepped protectively in front of Vivi. "Come on. Relax. We didn't know you three and Merlin knew each other. Keep yelling like that and you'll start molting."
Sora pressed his lips together, but wasn't able to stop the slight chuckle that escaped his mouth.
"What?" Donald barked.
"Just imagining you without feathers."
Jenny and Goofy giggled.
Donald's face reddened. Sora picked up the duck just as steam began to waft off his feathered head. He walked away from the outdoor seating area of Tiana's restaurant, holding a struggling duck in his arms. Just before they rounded a corner, Sora called back to Jenny.
"Thanks for your help!"
Jenny held Oliver's paw, making the kitten wave. "Bye! I hope you find the magic man!"
Several blocks away from the restaurant, Donald's anger finally ran dry, allowing Sora to put him back down. With a destination in mind, the trio followed Zidane and Vivi into the tunnels that led underground. Stepping into the orange tunnel, Sora felt a chill as the summer air was swept away to be replaced by the cool, underground breeze. The moist smell of brick and concrete met his nose.
Vivi led the way, pointing up to the built in lights in the ceiling.
"See? It's really bright in here. That's what makes my delivery so weird. Merlin wanted me to bring him an oil lamp. But why would he need an old lamp when there's already lots of light?"
"Say, Vivi," said Goofy, "how do ya know Merlin exactly?"
"We talk magic when he comes to the town for tea."
"And always with a weird request," added Zidane. "Last time he was here, he made me run around searching for his books."
Vivi laughed. "We found them all over the place. In a tree, on a park bench, under a rock. One flew down from the sky and nearly hit Zidane on the head."
"Ahyuck, that sure sounds like Merlin."
Donald hung his head. "But why is he down here?"
"I'm more curious about why he needs an old oil lamp and-whoa!"
Sora ducked as a flying teapot nearly smashed into his face. It crashed into wall right behind him, bursting into pieces. Something white, thin and sharp flew through the air, and Zidane cartwheeled to the side before a tea saucer nearly cut his cheek. Then heavy pots and pans, soared through the tunnels. Donald and Vivi hit the deck. Goody covered his head with his shield. Zidane easily sidestepped the flying kitchenware while Sora jumped and dodged, until a literal kitchen sink came flying his way.
Yelping, Sora smashed his keyblade against the sink, sending it flying into the wall, where it cracked the tile and burrowed into the earth.
"Oh hang it all!" A voice shouted from further into the tunnels. "Infernal creature! When I get my hands on you!"
Donald jumped back to his feet. "It is Merlin!"
Ignoring the smashed pieces of china and the flying silverware, the party ran down the tunnel, coming out into an open space. In the center of the room, an old man was leaning forward, hands on his knees. A purple hinge bag sat on the floor next to his feet. It was open, and all sorts of house-ware was being stuffed back into it. Floating around Merlin were plates, books, chairs, tables, armoires, all shrinking down and being stuffed into his magical bag. Merlin waved his wand, spurring the kitchenware to enter the bag faster.
"Hockety, pockety, wockety, wack, so much to pack!"
The hairs in Merlin's floor length beard stuck out at odd angles, his mustache bristling, his half-circle spectacles fogging up as he chanted his magic. His head perked up at the sound of the party's footsteps. Straightening, he pulled out a round, golden watch from the pocket of his blue robes.
"Ah, Sora. You're quite late, you know. I was expecting you five minutes earlier."
The last of the furniture entered Merlin's bag. The only thing that remained was a single, old, rusty lantern, resting by Merlin's foot.
"Late? You knew we were coming?"
"Of course." Merlin sat down, using his hinge bag like a stool. "I left plenty of clues around town."
Donald waved his fists. "What's the big idea sending all that kitchen stuff flying?"
"Well, I needed something to distract that heartless swarm while I gathered magic."
Zidane stepped forward. "A swarm? You saw it? It was here?"
"Did you say heartless swarm?" Goofy asked. "That's sounds awful."
"Yes." Merlin waved his wand in frustration. His long beard got caught, twisting around the wand. Huffing as he separated his facial hair from his hand, Merlin said, "Confounded creature! It jumps around more then a squirrel. I finally lured it down here, only for you three to come late. Now we have to track it down again."
"Okay, hold on." Sora waved his hands. "Let me get this straight. There is a heartless swarm in this town somewhere?"
Zidane leaned against a wall, crossing his arms. "I was ambushed by a bunch of monsters on Sunset Hill. Kairi, Max, and I fought hundreds of those things before they gathered into a swarm. If flew off before we could defeat it."
Sora turned toward Donald and Goofy. "Well then let's go find that heartless swarm and beat the snot out of it. Easy-peasy, especially with Zidane and Vivi along."
"Silly boy."
Merlin whacked Sora upside the head with his wand.
"Ow!"
"All muscle and no mentality. Why, if it were that easy, we would have already solved the problem. How do you expect to defeat a creature that runs away the moment it is attacked?"
Sora, still rubbing his crown, said, "Then what do we do?"
"I'm not going to give you the answer this time, lad. Use your mind. Here." Picking up the old oil lamp on the floor, Merlin practically shoved the thing into Sora's hands. "I've enchanted it. It should have enough magic to lure out that creature one more time. Make sure to plan for the fight accordingly, because if you lose your chance, you'll be running around town blinder then a bird in a lightning storm."
"Mog? Are you here? Please come out."
Riku and Mickey followed Eiko through the forests outside of town. After searching through the train station, the underground tunnels, the alleys, Eiko had led them to the wall that bordered the town. There was a hole in the wall. As soon as Riku passed under the broken bricks, he smelled the crisp, forest air around him. He hoped that they found the moogles soon, not just so that he could resume his search for Master Yen Sid, but also because Eiko was getting more and more impatient.
Riku could feel her light dimming every time she felt disappointment at not finding her friends. He knew exactly how she felt, and he also knew that it was not fun to hide all those emotions, but every time he asked her about it, Eiko had blown up at him as though he had insulted her favorite thing. Only Mickey's oddly patient words seemed to calm her down.
"You sound like your enjoying this," Riku huffed after Eiko had yelled at him for the umpteenth time.
"Not all at," chuckled Mickey. "It just reminds me of the past."
"The past?"
"She reminds me of you. Putting up a strong front, having a lot to prove."
"Yeah, but I wasn't nearly this bossy."
Mickey's aura flared and Riku squinted at his friend.
"Was I?"
"Well, you did refuse to be taken care of and demanded to take part in fighting. Eiko is like that too."
Riku let out a chuckle. "You really can see right through me, can't you, Mickey?"
"On most things." Mickey looked around some bushes, searching for moogles. No luck. "But I feel like I have to remind you: it's okay to talk to your friends when something bothers you."
"What makes you think something is bothering me?"
"I can see right through you, remember?"
Riku bit his lip before he blurted out things that Eiko shouldn't know about. Alice's disappearance concerned him the most, as did all the other events happening around them. But there was something else, something he wasn't quite ready to acknowledge yet. And this was one thing King Mickey couldn't understand. King Mickey, who had a queen waiting for him back at home, two other friends that will always be there for him. This was something he couldn't even tell Sora and Kairi, because they were the ones that...
Riku pressed his hands on his temples. Those thoughts were not something he needed to worry about. He had to help Eiko. Focusing, extending his senses, he tried to feel around for any moogles hiding in the surrounding forest. There were some birds in the tree above his head, a few squirrels ran over the mossy floors, and beams of sunlight warmed his skin from between the branches above. But there were no moogles. Again.
"Eiko, I don't think they're here."
The little girl came to stand next to him. Holding her hands behind her back, she swayed back and forth.
"But this is the last place we've looked. They can't have just disappeared." She looked up at Riku. "Are you sure?"
Pointing to his temple, Riku said, "Positive. I don't sense any in my range."
Eiko sat down on the floor, letting out a morose little sob.
"But we haven't searched the whole forest," Riku said quickly. "So we can't give up just yet. I'm sure they're around here somewhere."
Eiko nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Riku, getting an idea, grinned. "But if you want to give up, I totally understand."
Eiko's face snapped up to him, fire creeping into her somber aura. "What did you say?"
"I mean, if they were my friends, I would swim through the endless darkness just to find them. But, you know, you're not me, so..."
Eiko flashed to her feet. She pulled back her leg, and kick Riku in the shin. Though he could have easily dodged, Riku took the hit. Yowling, he jumped up and down while Eiko snapped at him.
"I'll never give up! You big meanie! Come on!" She turned her heel, running into the forest, shouting. "Mog! Mocha! Momatose! Where are you?"
Riku, though still wincing from the throbbing in his leg, smiled after Eiko. He was only able to put his leg down when Mickey came to cast a quick cure spell.
"You'd make a good dad one day," chuckled Mickey.
"More like a babysitter. Between watching out for Sora and Kairi, taking care of Slighty and Cubby, and now Eiko, I'm up to my ears in kids."
Mickey put his hand in his chin. "I don't know. I think you're still a kid yourself. I think you still have just a little bit of growing to do before you're an actual adult."
Amused, Riku tsked. "I am so confused right now. First the Lost Boys tell me to be a kid, and now you're telling me to grow up."
"I'm not saying that." Mickey waved his hands. "I just think that everyone has their own path, that even grownups need to remember what it's like to be a child, every once in a while. I was saying that, your journey isn't over yet, that you're almost there, to being a fully realized version of yourself."
Riku smiled for a moment, but then he quickly turned away as another thought crept into his mind. "That's good to hear."
"You don't sound too happy."
"I just-"
If Mickey hadn't had a set of overly sensitive mouse ears, he wouldn't have heard what Riku said next. The boy had lowered his voice to a whisper so low, one wouldn't have known he had spoken unless they had seen his mouth move.
"Is it worth it? If I get to where I need to be, but I'm all alone?"
Mickey shuffled closer. Riku could sense that he was about to say something, but then, the same time that Mickey's hand had touched Riku's leg, the air around them thinned. Needles of ice tingled in Riku's arms. He summoned his soul eater, and Mickey, trusting his friend's instincts, lowered his stance, ready for attack. There were shockwaves of pressure pounding deep beneath Riku's feet, moving toward...
He sprinted forward, plucking Eiko off the floor and rolling away just as a spout of darkness burst from the ground where she had been standing only seconds before. Hundreds of wiggling bodies melted together in the fountain of darkness that was gushing upward from the ground. They flew up into the trees.
The swarm turned in the air, rushing toward Riku and Eiko. The attack was so fast that Riku barely had time to duck. Wriggling her arm free, still in Riku's hold, Eiko shouted.
"Protect!"
Energy lit up Riku's skin. Though not as powerful as the giddy, electric rush of Alice's light, Eiko's magic gave him a burst of strength, one that made it easy for him to withstand the hit that the heartless swarm got on his hip when it rushed by. The swarm made a u-turn when its entire length had passed Riku. Before it could rush the boy, Mickey jumped in the swarm's way, shouting.
"Thundaga!"
The lightning charged through the incoming swarm. Riku felt the sparks traveling through the bodies, felt the magic banging through the heartless and barely missing a speck of light that-
"Kupo!"
Riku shouted. "Mickey! Don't attack it with magic!"
The King jumped back before the heartless could smash him against a tree. He didn't ask Riku why he shouldn't use magic. He simply began slashing at the swarm. Meanwhile, Riku rolled as the swarm's tail dove toward him.
"Hold on tight," he told Eiko when he was back right side up.
"Okay."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. With one hand under her knees, and his soul eater clutched tight in his other hand, Riku stabbed the swarm. He managed to pop a few heartless, but the swarm quickly reared back from his attack. It bent and looped around the trees, forcing the Riku and Mickey to curve and swerve as they tried to chase and attack it.
Riku couldn't vanish and move through the darkness to attack, not with Eiko on his arm. Even if he could teleport, he couldn't afford hitting the swarm when he reappeared. If he attacked in the wrong place, he could harm the lights he felt inside it.
The swarm rushed Mickey. The King shielded himself with a reflect spell, but was thrown up into the air like a ball. In midair, King Mickey popped his reflect spell and began diving back toward the swarm, his keyblade held out before him. The swarm wriggled out of the way, easily avoiding Mickey's attack, but when Mickey landed, his back was hit by the swarm's thick tail. It slammed him to the ground, and head of the swarm was already turning around, rushing toward Mickey, who was strangely not getting back up.
Jumping in front of the king, Riku threw out his soul eater before him. He felt the swarm part, like a river separating into two streams. Heartless clawed and bit as they flew past. Riku wobbled as a claw sank into his leg. A haze swept over his thoughts, and he nearly buckled, his eyes fluttering closed, his mind inches from sleep.
Eiko pressed her palm into Riku's shoulder, shouting. "Esuna!"
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. Riku was shocked awake just in time to feel Eiko hop off his arm. She ran to Mickey and put her hand on the mouse's head.
"Esuna!"
Mickey shook his head, standing.
"Are you okay?"
The king tilted his head at Eiko. "What? I feel asleep?"
Still defending Mickey, Riku felt the swarm press against his soul eater. His arm was barely able to withstand the constant pressure of thousands of shadows grinding against his blade. Mickey stood, summoning a reflect spell around them, protecting his team from the heartless. The swarm flew by, and somewhere in the dark cloud of heartless, Riku felt three, soft, fuzzy lights. He tried to reach out, to grab them, but the swarm flew up above the trees, vanishing in the direction that led back to town.
There was silence for a few seconds while everyone caught their breaths. Turning around, Riku gave Eiko a round of applause.
"Nice magic. Thanks for the assist. You okay?"
"A million bucks. You?"
"I'm good."
"Gosh, Ms. Eiko, if it weren't for you, Riku and I would have happily stayed asleep. Then who knows what the heartless would have done."
Riku ran his hand over his face. "A heartless swarm that can force people to fall asleep. What next? Weird creatures that eat your nightmares? We really do owe you, Eiko."
There was a smug, little laugh. "What would you do without me? Still, you do have some fancy moves. Thanks for protecting me. Maybe you're good for something after all."
Riku snorted. "Give me more credit. I know where your moogles are now."
Eiko grabbed his pant leg, tugging hard. "Where?"
"They're trapped in that swarm."
Eiko jumped, stomping the ground when she landed. "Let's get back to town and find my friends. We're going to squash that swarm!"
"Everyone ready?"
Sora set down the lantern down in the middle of the sewers. It took some searching, but they finally found an area in the underground concourse that was just big enough for a fight, but had few exit points for escape. Donald and Vivi stood on two sides of the square room, in the tall, wide archways that led out of the space.
"I'm not so sure this is the best plan, Sora," said Jiminy, sitting on the boy's shoulder.
"Why not? Donald and Vivi can block the exits with magic, while Zidane, Goofy and I fight the heartless in the center."
"It sounds like a good idea, on paper," Jiminy agreed. "But we don't know what this heartless is capable of, and if it could elude Merlin..."
"Come on. We've taken on hoards of heartless before. Taking down a swarm should be easy. I mean, it's only one target now."
Jiminy jumped back into Sora's hood. "I'll be taking notes, just in case."
Zidane walked around the room with his hands behind his head, eyes roaming the brick walls, his monkey tail tapping the floor in anticipation. "We'll have to do this quick. Vivi and Donald can't provide cover forever."
Sora pressed his thumb to his chest. "Leave it to me. I'm all charged up and ready to go."
Goofy stretched. "Looks like I'm bringing my A-game too!"
Zidane pulled out a pair of daggers from the sheaths at his hips. Holding the two blades backhanded, he lowered his stance, getting ready for battle. "I've been looking for an excuse to strut my stuff."
Sora waved to Donald and Vivi. "Ready?"
Vivi raised an oak staff, his yellow eyes closing. A wall of ice shot up behind him, blocking off the exit point. Donald did the same, though, as soon as his ice wall was in place, he tapped his foot impatiently
"Get a move on!"
Sora pointed his keyblade against Merlin's lantern, mumbling a small fire spell. The lantern came to life with a bright, orange light. It gleamed like a beacon in the middle of the room. Slowly, Zidane, Sora and Goofy walked away from it. The ground rumbled, and then a geyser of heartless burst up from underneath the lantern.
The swarm splattered against the ceiling, spreading out. Heartless crawled along the walls like a million spiders. Donald and Vivi deflected heartless from the exit points, throwing them back with thunder magic. With nowhere to go, the swarm recombined. It thrashed about the room like a thick tentacle, smacking the walls, the floor, the ceiling, all in an attempt to find a way out. The swarm's attack worked as a stupidly good defense, as both Sora and Goofy had to dodge and duck to avoid getting smashed, like flies avoiding a flyswatter.
Zidane front flipped over an incoming heartless tube. He charged toward a nearby wall and bounced off it with a well timed kick, using his momentum to zip toward the thrashing swarm, succeeding in slicing it in half. Zidane rolled along the floor when he landed, but when he stood back on his feet, he squinted back at the swarm, eyes scanning it for something no one else could see. It wasn't long before he had to focus on avoiding getting squished himself, as the swarm turned its attention on him.
With Zidane distracting the swarm, Sora and Goofy employed an alternating sword and shield strategy. Goofy stuck close to the boy's back, deflecting attacks while Sora swung his keyblade, cleaving through layers of heartless. He was about to swing his weapon again, when the swarm suddenly shifted, and something white, cute, and fluffy appeared before his eyes.
Sora's keyblade stopped in midair as he started into the frightened eyes of a moogle. Before he could react, the moogle was once again swallowed up by the swarm, and it wasn't long before he paid dearly for his hesitation. Behind him, Goofy grunted as he tried to push back the swarm's thick trunk. Because Sora had stopped his attack midway through, his feet had lost his balance, so when Goofy was quickly overpowered, Sora could not brace his friend. The two of them crashed into the swarm. The tube bucked beneath them, sending them flying toward the ceiling.
Instinct kicking in, Sora shouted an aero spell before he and Goofy could be smashed against the bricks. Down below, the swarm spread out like a trampoline, ready to swallow them up as soon as they fell. As Sora came down, he spotted three, cream colored, fluffy faces struggling in the swarm. But he couldn't focus on the three moogles for long, as he quickly inching toward a blanket of heartless. Lucky for him, a pair of daggers tore through the center of the swarm, creating a hole big enough for Sora and Goofy to fall through. Landing on the floor next to Zidane, Sora looked back up, trying to spot the three moogles he had just seen.
The swarm didn't give him the chance. It condensed into a ball, bouncing around the room so fast, that none of the fighters could even think about attacking as they ran around in a panic, trying not to get pummeled. The ball of heartless smashed against Vivi and Donald's ice walls. With both mages too busy running for their lives, they couldn't stop the swarm from breaking through the ice barrier and slithering away, out of the tunnel.
The team raced after the heartless. Running out of the tunnel they found themselves on Sunset Hill, with no heartless in sight, through there were a few frightened and surprised expressions on the townspeople nearby.
It was Donald that spoke first. "Now what do we do? We used up all of Merlin's magic."
"Can't we just go back to plan A? Finding and defeating it?"
Jiminy hopped back onto Sora's shoulder. "Not with it constantly slithering away whenever we get near it. We can't chase after it forever. There has to be another way to trap it."
Sora shoved his hands into his pockets. "It thrashes around so much, I wish we had a giant bag to hold it-hey!"
"Got an idea?" asked Zidane.
"You bet. Come on."
A few minutes later, Sora's team had reunited with Kairi and Max in front of the train station. Sora explained his plan, and was met with a mixed response. Some asked if the plan would work, others rolled their eyes at Sora because of course he would come up with such a silly plan.
Kairi tapped her fingers to her lips, thinking. "I mean, it is possible, but I wouldn't be able to do it alone. At least, not for too long."
"Then we'll ask for King Mickey's help. Oh! And Donald, and Vivi too."
Zidane smirked. "If you need someone to keep your stamina up, I know just the sassy, white mage to help."
"Really? Who?" asked Sora.
"My friend. Eiko. Her light magic has a real kick to it."
Just then, a voice shrieked, coming from street that led further into town.
"ZIDANE! Where the heck are you?"
The boy in question shrugged his shoulders, grining at Vivi.
"Talk about lucky. Looks like we don't have to track down Eiko after all."
"She sounds awful mad," Vivi giggled.
Riku, King Mickey, and a little girl with short, blue hair and yellow overalls, came into the square in front of the station. The girl ran up to Zidane, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"Where have you been all day?" She grabbed his tail and began pulling. "Oh whatever, just come with me. We have a swarm to squish."
"So you know about it."
"Of course I know about it!" Eiko stopped yanking on Zidane's tail, turning to glare at him. "Wait. How do you know about it?"
"We've been trying to catch and defeat it," Vivi explained.
Eiko looked from Vivi's face and then to Sora, Kairi, and the rest of the group. Each member of the party were staring at her curiously, except Kairi who was squinting intently at Eiko's forehead. Before anyone could say anything, Kairi walked forward.
"Is that real?"
She reached down and pinched the little horn growing out of Eiko's forehead.
"No way! It is real! Sora! Look! She has a horn!"
"Cool!"
Eiko shook her head, freeing her horn from Kairi's grip. "Hey! Watch it!"
"Sorry," Kairi giggled. "I've just never seen a little girl with a horn before."
"And I've never met a girl your age without manners."
Every boy in the group held their breaths as Kairi, hands on her hips, bent at the waist, so that she could glare into Eiko's narrowed eyes.
"Hey, I apologized didn't I?"
"You didn't say it right. The proper way to apologize to your rival is to say, 'I'm sorry, Lady Eiko. Please forgive me.'"
"What? Rival?"
"We're two, pretty girls with magic power. That makes us rivals."
"How do you know I have magic power?"
Eiko pointed to her horn. "I have a sense for these things."
"Okay." Kairi clasped her hands in front of her face. "Oh Lady Eiko, I'm so not sorry." She grinned. "I'd do it again if given the chance. I'm just that curious."
The boys tensed as the two girls glared at each other. Then, each pointing at the other they said, "Oh, I like her."
There was a breath of relief, followed by a round of nervous laughter that was only broken when Mickey cleared his throat. Seriousness settled over the group again as everyone explained what they knew regarding the heartless swarm. Once they were all up to speed, Sora explained his plan.
Riku rubbed a hand on his forehead. "Of course you would come up with such a crazy idea. You do realize that we'll be trapped as well, if it works."
"Hey." Sora punched his friend lightly on the shoulder. "It'll work! Besides, we've done crazier."
"You know, he's not wrong," said Kairi.
"We've got five mages to trap it, and five fighters to take it down from inside the trap."
"You mean six fighters," said Eiko. "I'm going in with you."
"I'm not sure-"
Zidane and Riku thrust out their hands. "Sora, don't-"
Too late. Eiko's nostrils flared as she took in a breathe through clenched teeth. "I am a master of light magic! That swarm is going to wear you down fast, and unless you know anyone else that can cast one healing spell after another without getting tired, then there's no way you're stopping me from fighting."
Sora leaned backward, staring at the girl as though she could explode any second.
Zidane put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "I tried to warn you." Then, winking at Eiko he said, "Keep us safe."
"You got it."
Shrugging in defeat, Sora looked at his teammates. "Everyone know the plan?"
The team nodded.
"Let's go trap a swarm."
Kairi and Eiko walked around the underground concourse listening to their voices echo through the tunnels as they spoke in the loudest, most annoying tone.
"Oh no! We're just two girls out for a stroll, full of light, all alone, with absolutely no one to protect us."
Eiko put her fists on her cheeks, her eyes as big and shiny as a puppy's. "Look at what a cute little girl I am. It would be just terrible if a big, ugly monster decided to gobble me up."
Kairi pressed the back of her hand on her forehead, like a victorian noblewoman about the faint. "And I am a princess of heart. I don't even have a weapon, magic, or a keyblade master to protect me. Oh my, whatever will I do if I'm kidnapped again?"
The ground rumbled. Eiko and Kairi held each other's hands. "Oh no! Is it a big, ugly monster, come to catch us delicate maidens?"
The words seemed to summon the heartless. They burst out of the walls, wriggling toward Kairi and Eiko, outstretching thousands of tiny arms at their seemingly weak prey.
"Finally," Kairi and Eiko whispered. Then, louder, raising their voices to a shrill pitch, they pointed and screamed. "OH NO! IT'S A BIG, UGLY, MONSTER! RUN!"
The girls bolted out of the underground concourse, listening to the heartless slam against the walls as its long, thrashing body chased after them.
"Do you think the boys heard us?" Eiko asked as she chased after Kairi.
"They better have! Because our exit is coming up!"
Kairi and Eiko rushed toward the light in the mouth of the tunnel, running out of the underground concourse. The heartless swarm followed its easy targets but, just as it exited out into the alley, Kairi, Eiko, Vivi, Zidane, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Max, Riku, and Mickey leapt onto its body. The heartless, once it realized that it had passengers, thrashed upward into the sky, trying to buck off its attackers.
Kairi, Donald, Mickey, and Vivi were the first to let go, but not because the heartless had succeeded in throwing them off. Kairi flew above the heartless, Mickey below, and Vivi and Donald on either side of it.
"Reflectga!" Mickey and Kairi shouted.
A giant ball of glass surrounded the entire swarm. Mickey and Kairi grabbed on to the magic glass, powering it. From in front of and behind the heartless, Donald and Vivi raised their staffs.
"Aeroga!"
A wind sphere formed itself inside Kairi and Mickey's reflect spell, providing a barrier between the spell-casters and the swarm. If the swarm tried to thrash against Kairi and Mickey's spell, it would only rub up against the sharp wind sphere that Donald and Vivi were powering.
The giant, magic sphere fell, crashing onto one of Twilight Town's roofs. The ball of glass rolled and the mages inside it grit their teeth, keeping the reflect and aero spells in place.
Donald shouted to the fighters.
"Your turn! Hurry it up!"
Eiko sat on Riko's shoulders. The two of them charged the swarm. Rather then raise his soul eater, Riku gathered up darkness in his hand. A ball of vicious, icy energy flew out from between his fingers. In midair the dark firaga spell burst apart, the smaller projectiles hitting the swarm on different parts of its body. The swarm turned toward Riku, rushing him.
Eiko pressed her hands on top of Riku's head. "Protect!"
A golden aura settled over Riku and Eiko's bodies. When the swarm came at them, they didn't run or block. Rather, Riku and Eiko dove in. There were bursts of white, green, and golden light as Eiko alternated between protection and healing spells, supporting Riku as he worked through the swarm like a deadly virus.
Finally, Eiko and Riku burst out of the swarm. Eiko was holding a tiny moogle in her arms, while Riku held on to the other two. They landed next to Goofy, who raised his shield to protect the moogles.
Zidane, Max and Sora, who had been hanging back, waiting for the rescue mission to be completed, leapt into action. The boys flew toward the swarm, slashing it from different angles as they bounced around the sphere, cutting up the swarm into pieces.
Now that the moogles were safe, Eiko and Riku rejoined the battle. Riku, burned the swarm pieces Sora and Zidane had cut off, while Eiko raised her arm, pointing first at Zidane and then at Sora and Max, shouting, "might!"
A red aura lit up around Zidane and Sora. When the boys' next attack hit, the heartless swarm shuddered, its pieces disintegrating as Eiko's spell increased its enemies' attack power.
The heartless swarm shrank as its pieces were picked off one by one. More room opened up in the sphere, and Eiko and Goofy worked together to heal Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Vivi, both with ethers, and with magic.
Soon, only one section of the heartless swarm remained. Max, Sora, Riku, and Zidane lined up side by side. The small ball of heartless rolled toward them. Max and Zidane charged, scissoring through the heartless at the edges of the sphere. Standing side by side, Sora and Riku put their blades together. Sonic and dark energy gathered around their weapons. They charged at the same time, cleaving through every heartless that remained.
Only one shadow managed to survive, but it was squashed a moment later when Goofy pounced on it with his shield. Kairi, Mickey, Vivi, and Donald dropped their protective spells. Because of Eiko's constant healing magic, the mages weren't tired when they landed on the roof. But they were loud. Whooping, jumping, and high-fiving took over everyone in the party. Even the moogles, happy to finally be free, flew around the group before landing near Eiko, hugging her tight.
Eiko grabbed the smallest Moogle. "Mog! I've missed you so much!"
The moogle lovingly responded, tears forming in her eyes as she nuzzled Eiko back.
"Mocha, Momatose! I'm so glad you're okay."
The moogle named Momatone ducked his head. "We're sorry. We couldn't make our delivery, kupo."
The other moogle, Mocha, sniffled. "That big monster ate us up when we went to get the supplies, kupo!"
Eiko patted the head of each moogle. "Who cares? So the delivery to Master Yen Sid will be a little late. Big deal. I'm just glad you are okay."
"Did you just say Master Yen Sid?" Sora repeated incredulously.
Eiko raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Our delivery was for him."
Sora leaned forward and gawked at Eiko. "Where's the delivery going?"
Eiko blinked, realizing that she was surrounded by an audience that was staring at her with overeager expressions. For the first time, she looked slightly nervous. Slowly, as though she were addressing an angry mob that could riot at any second, she spoke.
"The delivery will be made to the train that goes to Yen Sid's home, which will arrive at the station, at seven o'clock, on the dot."
Goofy put his hand over his eyes, looking over Twilight Town's rooftops to the clock tower at the train station.
"Seven o'clock is only twenty minutes away."
"We have to get that delivery ready. And fast. We have to catch that train." Turning to Eiko, Sora said, "What do we need to get?"
Tantalus Delivery knew the ins and outs of Twilight Town best. Zidane joined Sora's group, Vivi teamed up with Max and Kairi, while Eiko and the moogles helped Riku and King Mickey. Everyone ran around town, gathering up parchment paper, ink, quills, ethers, and some strange, luminescent gem the moogles found called an orichalcum plus. Gasping, sweating, everyone made it back to the station square with five minutes to spare.
Waiting by the train platform, Sora looked over all the materials they had gathered. He watched as Zidane and Vivi stacked three perfectly wrapped boxes into a neat little tower.
"I wonder what Master Yen Sid needs all this stuff for," Max said.
"Maybe he's thinking about writin' some more letters," Goofy offered.
"I don't know," said Mickey. "I get the feeling it's more complicated then that."
Donald stared at the glittering, blue-green gem in Kairi's hands, his eyes wide.
"Don't even think about it," laughed Sora. "That orichalcum is for the master."
"What?" asked Donald innocently. "I wasn't going to take it. I'm passed all that now."
While Goofy and Mickey gave Donald a dubious look, which prompted the duck to angrily demand what the big idea was. While the King and Goofy playfully teased Donald, Kairi grabbed Sora's hand. She placed her lucky charm in his palm.
Sora wrapped his fingers around the star, holding it to his chest. "Thanks for getting it back, but are you sure I still need to hold on to this?"
Kairi squinted one eye. "What do you mean?"
Sora scratched the back of his head. "I mean, you've changed so much since the you gave this to me back in Traverse Town. I'm sorry I said you'd be in my way back then."
Kairi looked down at the floor. "Well, back then, you were right. I wasn't much of a fighter."
Max glared at Sora, giving him a look that said, "Really?"
Backpedalling, Sora quickly said, "But that's not true anymore. You've gotten so strong that we can travel together, which makes me so much happier then just having you wait around for me. What I'm asking is, now that we're on a mission together, do I still need this?"
A rosy color spread over Kairi's cheeks. Her eyes didn't lift from the floor. "I like knowing that you have something of mine, so that we'll keep finding each other, even if we have to split up again."
Now it was Sora's turn to stare at his shoes. "Oh. Okay. Then I'll be sure to keep this safe then."
Across from Sora and Kairi, Zidane sighed. "Man, I'm envious."
Vivi, who had been standing next to Zidane, tilted his head. "Of what?"
Zidane shrugged. "Never had a relationship like theirs. They're lucky."
Sora opened his mouth, but Kairi stopped him by raising her hand.
Facing Zidane, she said, "You know, if you drop the flirty attitude and just be yourself, I'm sure you'd find a nice girl that appreciates who you are one day."
Zidane tried to shrug nonchalantly, but the nervous twitch of his lips and the hopeful look in his eyes gave him away.
Max patted the delivery boy's shoulder. "I would take her advice if I were you. She's got a pretty good track record so far."
Zidane put up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "All right. All right."
The chuckles that followed took up everyone's attention. No one noticed that Riku stepped away from the group, walking off to lean on one of the station walls, alone. He stood there, eyes closed and jaw tight, until Mickey and Eiko came to stand before him.
"Something wrong?" asked Mickey.
Riku twitched, blinking. "Huh? Oh. It's nothing. Just a little tired."
Eiko raised a brow, looking at Riku, and then back at Sora, Kairi, and the others. They stood at the train platform, joking around. The thing about most little girls is that, compared to most boys, they're much more interested in romance. Eiko didn't miss how Sora and Kairi sometimes brushed their shoulders against each other, or looked up whenever one of them laughed.
"I won't ask what's bothering you," Mickey said to Riku. "I just hope that, whenever you're ready, you'll tell me."
Eiko groaned. "Oh brother! It's SO obvious, Your Majesty."
Mickey cast a confused look at the little girl, but she didn't share his gaze. Her eyes were fixed on Riku.
"I know exactly what's going through your mind."
Riku gave her a skeptical look. "Really?"
"Yes. I'm not going to spill the beans, but I will tell you that it's stupid."
"How could you know what I'm thinking?"
"Please," Eiko crossed her arms, tapping her finger on her forearm. "I know what it's like to feel lonely."
"Lonely? Like what you said in the forest?" Mickey tilted his head at Riku. "But, Riku, aren't we pals?"
Smiling slightly, Riku patted Mickey's head. "Of course."
"It's not about not having friends," said Eiko. "He's worried about something else."
"Okay, so how do we help him?"
Eiko shook her head. "Let him think about it. Like you said, he'll probably tell you when he's ready."
Riku snorted. "Why am I always learning from people younger then me?"
King Mickey extended his hand to Eiko. "You know, you're the smartest little girl I've ever met."
Eiko grinned, shaking the King's hand. She looked up at Riku, about to say something, but then a screeching noise made her turn. A train had entered the station. It was a blue car that was decorated with yellow accents and stars.
"Master Yen Sid's ride is here," said Eiko.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi, and Max said their goodbyes to Zidane and Vivi. Each member of the Sora's team picked up one delivery package and entered the car. Kairi picked up two heavy books. Tucking them them under her arm, she stepped onto the train. When everyone was aboard, Sora popped his head out of a window and waved at Riku and Mickey.
"Hey you two! Better hop on or we'll leave you behind!"
"That's our cue," said Mickey. "Goodbye Eiko."
Mickey ran up to the train, hopping on after giving Zidane and Vivi a quick thanks. Before Riku could follow him, he felt Eiko tug on his pants.
"Thanks for helping me find Mog and the others. You really are dependable." Her voice was quiet, and there was a twinge of sadness in it. "Can you do me one more favor?" Eiko let go of Riku's pant leg. "Don't choose to be alone."
"I won't," Riku promised. He patted Eiko's head, not seeing the worried look she gave him. "See you round, Eiko."
She watched Riku enter the train, and waved goodbye to him and the others when they leaned out of the windows to scream their farewells. When the train rolled out of the station, Eiko, Zidane, and Vivi saluted each other for a job well done. They left the train station. To celebrate their delivery, recovering the moogles, and defeating the heartless swarm, the three friends happily talked about having dinner at Tiana's resturant. Not once did any of them look up. If they had, they would have seen the suit of armor standing high above them, right in front of Twilight Town's clock tower.
Jiminy's Journal
Merlin (First Appeared in The Sword And The Stone, 1963): Merlin may be clumsy, and a bit strict, but have no doubt, he is a wise, seasoned wizard that knows much more about the world then he lets on. In the past, he helped Sora hone his magical skills. Merlin greatly encourages education and brains over brawn, reminding Sora to flex his mental muscles instead of his physical ones.
Moogles (First Appeared in Final Fantasy III, 1990): Mocha, Mog, and Momatose are three of Eiko's best friends. They help her make deliveries around town. Mog is the same age as Eiko, and the two are almost inseparable.
Chapter 44: KH3 Chapter 13: Master Yen Sid
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Thirteen: Master Yen Sid
The train stopped. Stepping out onto a vibrant lawn, Sora spared a moment to turn around. The blue train car he had just stepped out of vanished, as did the golden, ethereal railways that had brought them to their new destination. Sora lagged behind Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. The king and his two friends ignored the space around them, focusing instead on carrying the supplies that they had gathered with Tantalus Delivery. Riku, Max, and Kairi lingered by Sora, taking in their surroundings.
The train had dropped them off on an island that was floating, somewhere, in the sky. Above them was a midnight blue canvas that glittered with stars, and below was a golden cloud blanket. A few green mountaintops poked out of the clouds, reminding them of how high up they were. Along the edges of their little island were pine trees, their scent mixing with the cool night air. Though high up in an unknown sky, Sora was still able to hear the chatter of birds, and the flutter of wind moving through tree branches.
On the train ride he had been talking with his friends about what Master Yen Sid might be like, what he knew, how powerful he was, all while feeling his heart rate steadily increase from excitement. King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had been rather secretive, telling Sora and the others to "wait and see." Now, standing on an island in the sky, feeling the distant buzz of powerful, ever-present magic in the air, and the quiet, mysterious expectations ahead, Sora felt slightly nervous.
Someone cleared their throat. Turning, Sora spotted Mary Poppins and Merlin standing on the grass before him.
"About time you all figured out how to get here." Merlin looked at his pocket watch. "And only fifteen minutes late."
Max clicked his teeth. "If you knew where Master Yen Sid was, then why didn't you just tell us?"
"Yeah. Why did we have to figure it out on our own?" Sora added.
Merlin twisted one end of his mustache, a sly glint in his eye. "Telling you where to find the master would have been simple, but nothing in your quest is going to be that easy. You must learn to rely on your mental strength."
"So, gathering clues and finding Master Yen Sid's location was all one big test," concluded Riku.
Mary spoke. "Yes. Very well done. And Sora, impressive strategy in that last battle."
Sora scratched his jaw, looking much like a kindergartner that had just been given the highest praise from his lovely teacher.
With her umbrella, Mary pointed to a tall, lopsided building that loomed in the distance. "Best to head to the tower now."
Just above the treetops, Sora saw a golden brown tower. The structure was curved and crooked, with several smaller towers jutting out of the thick cylinder. Blue, cone-shaped turrets sat atop each tower. The biggest and topmost cone had blue and silver shingles that were set up to resemble a sky with a moon and stars.
"We mustn't keep the master waiting," said Mary as she glided by. "There is much to discuss."
After a blink, Sora realized that he was standing alone, as Riku, Max, and Kairi had gone ahead to join the rest of their party. Regrouping with the others, Sora stopped in front of a set of stairs that led up to the entrance of the tower. Mickey stood at the top of the stairs, pushing open the double doors. He turned, nodding respectfully to Mary and Merlin, before addressing his team.
"Everyone ready?"
A series of determined nods answered Mickey's question. Stepping into the tower, Mickey led the team into a circular room with a single, wide staircase along the wall. As the party climbed the staircase, Sora looked down, hardly able to believe that the entire tower was hollow. The stairs they climbed hovered over nothing, except the glittering magical dust that filled the empty space.
Mickey finally stopped in front of a door. A door that was floating over nothing. Plus, there were no walls on either side of the doorframe. It stood, a lone doorframe with nothing behind it. Mickey pushed open the door, and walked into the light beyond with any hesitation.
Swallowing, Sora followed his friends, and ended up stepping into a spacious room. While Sora looked with his mouth open, Merlin walked by, waving his wand. Suddenly, all the delivery boxes lifted out of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy's hands. They piled neatly, one on top of the other, on the left corner of the room, before an uneven looking bookcase.
Mary came in next, passing by a wooden desk in center of the room, and stopping to stand by the back wall. A man stood next to her, with blue robes that were so long that they covered his feet. A cone shaped hat with stars rested atop his grey hair. He looked out of the moon shaped window, into the starry sky beyond. When Mary gave him a quiet, delicate curtsy, he turned around.
Standing straight, hands behind his back, the great wizard's piercing gaze swept over the entire party, making everyone, except Sora stand straight. Stroking his long beard thoughtfully, the man with the cone shaped hat sat down in the tall, throne like chair behind the desk. When he finally spoke, his voice was deep and calm, with a wizened vibration that could make even the most distracted students focus.
"Welcome Mickey. How long has it been?"
Stepping forward, Mickey bowed. "It's an honor to see you again, Master."
Behind Mickey, the entire party moved to stand in a neat, semicircle. Merlin and Mary stood on either side of Master Yen Sid's chair, quietly observing the meeting.
"Before we begin," said the Master, "I wish to thank Mary and Merlin for guiding you here. Forgive the vagueness of my summons. I wished to test your ability to think around a problem. The struggles ahead will test more then your strength. I am pleased to say that you all passed."
There were a series of proud smiles in the party, which quickly halted when Yen Sid addressed Max and Kairi.
"That machine you two destroyed has greatly lessened the amount of artificial heartless in the worlds. I thank you."
Max beamed while Kairi pressed her hands to her cheeks, unsure of how to react to such praise. When Yen Sid's gaze traveled to Sora and Riku, the two friends stiffened.
"I have also been told that you two defeated the prisoner in Castle Oblivion. That is no small feat."
"Marluxia was no push over, that's for sure," Riku agreed.
"Who was he anyway?" asked Sora. "And what was that world inside the castle?"
Master Yen Sid's gaze was distant. "Marluxia was once a great man. While not the leader of his world, he was well known. A kind soul that loved nothing more then to watch the flowers bloom in the fields outside of his home. He sought to protect the worlds and the light within. Thus, he gathered warriors from many worlds and attempted to destroy the realm of darkness." Yen Sid's voice lowered, his words grave. "You saw the result. Even a good man can fall to darkness. Marluxia lost his way when he stopped caring about the safety of the worlds and let his obsession cloud his judgement. Often the most noble of intentions can lead to the most unimaginable of tragedies." He glanced at Kairi. "As I'm sure you are aware."
"You're talking about my grandpa-no-you mean Ansem. He was willing to let the worlds be destroyed too, all for knowledge."
Riku was as stiff and cold as an icicle as he turned to face Kairi. His fingers opened and closed in the air between them, as though he were trying desperately to grasp for some sort of explanation.
"What? Grandpa? Ansem?"
Sora smacked his hands on his head, his heart doing three whole flips in his chest. "No way!"
Everyone in the room, except for Mary, Merlin, and Max, gawked at Kairi.
"It's true," she said, turning away from her friends. "I didn't remember that little fact until Max and I went to destroy the heartless machine."
Sora and Riku, palms up, fingers spread wide, waved their hands. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I was embarrassed," Kairi admitted.
Sora slapped a hand on Riku's shoulder, using the older boy's height to balance himself. He leaned forward, as though he were about to hurl. "Wait a minute, that means-"
Riku paled. "That we-"
Mary tapped the tip of her umbrella on the ground. The resulting tap was not too loud, but strong enough to quiet the boys, albeit for a short moment.
"Gentlemen, we do not raise our voices in front of our elders. I believe Master Yen Sid still has much to say."
Sora and Riku turned toward Mary. "W-wait a minute," they spoke together, "this is important."
"I quite agree," said Mary firmly.
She had spoken with such gentle conviction that Sora and Riku's passion completely evaporated. Both boys had prepared a counterargument. When Mary had agreed with their sentiment, they felt rather, well, childish. Sora cast his eyes down to his shoes when he realized everyone was watching him. Meanwhile, Riku cleared his throat.
"S-sorry. You're right. Let's continue."
"Why, thank you." Mary inclined her head toward the master. "If you would?"
Yen Sid spared a moment to smile at Mary before he spoke.
"Now where was I? Ah, yes. Marluxia wished to eradicate the darkness, yet he never considered what the loss could do to the rest of the worlds."
Goofy tilted his head. "I don't get it. Ain't darkness a bad thing? Now I don't agree with Marluxia's plans since they would have unleashed many heartless. Bue if he did destroy the realm of darkness, wouldn't that mean that there would be no more heartless or darkness to worry about?"
Yen Sid shook his head. "With the exception of the seven princesses, there will always be darkness in people's hearts. Thus, there is no way of knowing for certain what would have happened if Marluxia had succeeded in destroying the realm of darkness. The worlds we live in now were born of that same darkness. The two realms, one light, one dark, have existed side by side for eons, until Ansem broke through the divide between the two, by bringing forth the heartless eleven years ago."
Kairi covered her eyes, turning away from everyone else one more.
"When Marluxia made me open the realm of darkness," Sora trailed off, swallowing. "All these pureblood heartless about, did they escape because of what I did?"
"Fear not," replied Master Yen Sid. "These heartless are a recent phenomenon, brought about by the situation we find ourselves in."
Mickey raised a hand. "Master, do you know what is causing the worlds to crash together."
"I may indeed. But first," he pointed, "that book."
Everyone followed the master's gaze to Kairi. Under her arm, was the old text she had found in Belle's library. Stepping forward, Kairi placed the heavy book on the master's desk. He glanced down at the jagged, heart shaped symbol on the cover, eyes narrowing.
"Do you recognize it?" asked Mickey.
"No. Yet I feel a familiarity to this shape, as though I have seen it in another lifetime." Master Yen Sid reached toward the book. His fingers stopped, hovering inches above the cover.
"What's wrong?" asked Mickey, standing on his tip toes to get a good look at the book.
"This book is enchanted."
Merlin leaned forward, adjusting his spectacles as he looked down at the old tomb. "Enchanted indeed, and ancient to boot. I feel old, forgotten magicks in place."
He tapped the book with his wand. Everyone held their breaths, expecting the book to burst into flames, talk, explode, anything. Nothing happened.
"What crockery!" Merlin waved his wand angrily. "None but those with a pure heart can touch it!"
Kairi leaned forward, opening the book to the painted page she had seen in Belle's library.
"I found this book somewhere it didn't belong," Kairi explained. "And I can't read any of the writing inside it. Except for this page." Kairi took a breathe, reciting. "'When all hearts have returned to the light from whence they came, the true Kingdom Hearts shall open.' I can't read the rest."
Mickey's ears twitched. "Is the book giving us a clue that Kindgom Hearts is in danger?"
Master Yen Sid leaned forward. His eyes closed, as though reminiscing about a forgotten memory from ages past.
"Some believe Kingdom Hearts is located in the deepest darkness, but not even I know what awaits inside that fated place. Yet this does confirm one of my suspicions."
"Which is?"
"The world crashing phenomenon is due to a sudden influx of light."
There was a series of surprised gasps, but Yen Sid focused on Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
"You three do not seem too surprised."
"Belle said something similar," Riku explained. "There was a sudden rush of light before her world crashed into Mickey's."
"But where did that light come from?" Kairi wondered.
"And if there is all this extra light, then why are there so many heartless around?" Sora added.
Donald stomped a flipper. "What about all the people popping up where they shouldn't be? Is that caused by the light too?"
Goofy tapped a finger to his temple. "And the dark patches in the sky."
"Everything is out of order," said Max. "And light is what's causing it? That doesn't make any sense."
Yen Sid looked down at the book Kairi had placed on his desk. "I know not where all this light has come from. As for the heartless and the dark patches in the sky," Master Yen Sid trailed off.
He waved his hand over the book, watching as the pages flipped. The book opened onto another page. Old writing appeared on the left page, and there was a painting on the right. The image depicted light and darkness melting together, like two different oceans, one dark purple, and one white, meeting and mixing at the center.
Mickey cringed. "Master, you can't mean-"
"I'm afraid it is true. If the worlds are blending together, then the realm of darkness is also combining with our world. Those dark patches in the sky, are pieces of the realm of darkness shining through."
"If you keep this up, you'll be too tired to do what comes next. Relax. I'm sure Master Yen Sid knows what he's doing."
Sora stopped pacing to glance at Riku. They stood in the field outside of the tower. Yen Sid had dismissed part of the group, both in order to let them deal with the new revelation, and to devise a plan with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.
"It doesn't bother you? The worlds crashing together is bad enough, and now the realm of darkness is combining with our realm too? And all this, because of light? I just don't get it. We came here for answers, not more questions."
Riku shrugged. "I don't think anyone, even a great wizard, can know everything there is to know about the universe. Personally, I think that's a good thing."
Sora squinted at his friend. "You're telling me, that straight-A student Riku actually thinks it's okay not to know everything?"
Riku grinned. "I'm not a know-it-all."
"This is just an excuse not to help me and Kairi with our homework, isn't it?"
"You'd be just fine if you'd just study."
"But I can't read all those textbooks without falling asleep."
Sora ducked when Riku aimed a light slap at his forehead.
"I meant," Riku spoke, playfulness leaving his tone, "that knowing everything ruins the fun of it all. There would be no more new mysteries, or the knowledge might be a burden, or," Riku pointed, "pursuing knowledge might lead to big mistakes."
Sora looked where Riku was pointing. Across the floating island, standing between two trees, her back turned, was Kairi. Max came to stand at her side for a moment. She spoke to him, a weak smile on her face. When Max left, Kairi turned again, her head hanging.
"I think the two of us have some more apologizing to do," Riku said.
Sora swallowed a painful lump in his throat. "I can't believe Kairi's grandpa was Ansem. This is crazy."
"Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you."
"You think she needs us? She looks sad."
"Us?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you could make her smile just by appearing in her line of sight."
Now it was Sora's turn to aim a light smack in Riku's direction, one the older boy accepted without complaint.
Riku laughed, rubbing his arm. "What? You know it's true."
Sora stomped ahead. "Just come on."
Kairi turned when she heard the boys approach. She was holding another book in her hands. This one was also old, but it wasn't the same book she had placed on Yen Sid's table. She smiled when Sora neared, and he couldn't help answering her with a grin. Riku shoved Sora with his shoulder.
"Told you."
"Would you knock that off?" Sora grouched.
"Am I missing something?" Kairi asked when the boys were in hearing distance.
"Actually, Sora-oof!"
Riku stumbled forward as something thumped him, hard, on the back. He managed to regain his balance before he could knock Kairi over.
"Sorry." Sora wore an innocent smirk. "There was a fly on your back."
Straightening, Riku shook his head. "Oh really?"
With one eye squinted in suspicion, Kairi looked from one face to another. "I'd say that you two are weird, but then again, when do you two act normal for more then five seconds. It's a good thing I'm around, otherwise you'll be at each other's necks again."
At this, both Sora and Riku grinned. Sadly, their good humor evaporated just as quickly as it had appeared.
"Is it true what you said about Ansem. Was he really your grandfather?"
Kairi turned away from Sora.
"I'm sorry," he said hastily. "I didn't know. I-"
"It's not like I knew it either," Kairi interrupted. "Besides, what could you have done if you had known?"
"I would have at least tried to talk to him," Sora defended. "Or tried to find another way."
Kairi looked up, her eyes firm. "He had to be stopped. You don't have to apologize for defeating him."
Sora rubbed the silver crown on his necklace. "But still, he was your family."
"It did hurt a bit when I remembered who my grandpa was. In my memories, he's an old man. He was kind, before he gave his heart to darkness. The person I saw in Hollow Bastion last year, the person you fought, was no longer my family."
"Is it weird if I say that I don't regret everything your grandpa did?"
Kairi tilted her head, looking at Sora in total shock. "What?"
"If your grandpa hadn't made that mess eleven years ago, then we never would have met. Plus," he gave her a playful shove, "I don't care who you're related to. You'll always be Kairi to me."
Kairi giggled as she gently shoved Sora back. "You always know how to cheer me up." She cast a nervous look at Riku. "Um, I-"
"If you start apologizing, I'm going to be sick."
"But my grandfather was the one that possessed you."
"Yeah? And? I was the one that let myself be manipulated in the first place. I'm done letting others take responsibility for my mistakes." Riku put his hand on Kairi's head. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
Kairi let out a chocked, "thanks."
Riku let his hand drop from her hair. "Got anything else on your mind?"
Kairi fidgeted. "It's related to what Master Yen Sid said. I was thinking about my grandmother's story again."
Sora snapped his fingers. "I get it. 'The true light within the darkness,' right? You think that's what all this extra light is?"
Kairi nodded. "Right. Grandma said that the worlds are scattered and divided from each other because the true light sleeps in the deepest darkness. If that light is coming back, then that could be why the worlds are crashing together."
"Mind filling me in," said Riku.
"Oh right." Sora grinned guiltily. "We never did tell you that story."
A strange look passed over Riku's features. His eyelids fluttered for a moment, his lips curving downward, his expression faraway. Even though it was an instant, Sora's heart ached for his friend. There was pain in that sad smile, but before Sora could ask him if he was all right, Riku spoke.
"Slipped your mind huh? Well, I'm here now. What's the story?"
Kairi recited her grandmother's fairy tale, and Riku listened without interrupting, his expression back to normal.
"When the door to the innermost darkness is opened, the true light shall return," Riku repeated Kairi's words.
She nodded. "I think that's why there's so much light, and more heartless about." She lifted the book she had under her arm. "I have to get to the realm of darkness. I have to know if my grandma's story is true."
Sora stepped closer to Kairi.
"Don't look at me like that," she huffed. "It's not like I haven't been to the realm of darkness before. How do you think I got off the island?"
Sora wrinkled his forehead. "Uh..."
"Let me guess," Riku drawled, "you never thought about it? What? Did you think she just princess-of-hearted herself to Disney Castle?"
The left side of Kairi's lip lifted. "Princess-of-hearted? Is that what you call my powers when I'm not around?"
Sora snorted. "That's so lame. Couldn't you come up with something cooler?"
Riku rolled his eyes, even though he wore a smile. "Is this really important right now?"
"Yes," Sora groaned. "What are we going to do with him, Kairi? He still has no sense of humor. I can come up with a better name then that. Something like: star power!"
Kairi made a face. "No way. I like warrior of light better."
Sora put his hands together, making a shape. "Holy heart!"
"That's so dorky!" Kairi laughed. "Rainbow light punch!"
Sora raised a finger to the air as though he had a grand idea. "Oathkeeper form!"
Copying him, Kairi shouted. "White mage!"
"Keyblade princess!"
"Holy lancer!"
"Seven wishes!"
Kairi snapped her fingers, pointing at Sora. "I like that one. I'm keeping it."
"Bummer. I thought you'd like keyblade princess better."
"I don't have a keyblade." A slow smile spread over Kairi's cheeks. "Ohhhh."
"What?"
"You wanted me to pick that one because you have a keyblade. Are you saying that I'm your princess?"
Sora froze. "Uh..."
"I'm just kidding," Kairi giggled. "Riku, can you believe thus g-what's with the face?"
Sora turned, catching Riku wearing the same distant expression as before. Riku blinked at Kairi, as though she had caught him having a daydream.
"Huh? What face?"
"You look like you just heard some terrible news," said Sora, leaning to the side to get a good look at his friend.
"It's nothing." Riku shook his head, as though trying to shake the expression off. "Just wondering how you two can go from worried to fun so quickly."
"That's because we're not worry warts like you," said Sora. "Come on, think positive. We'll figure out whatever is happening. Together. Like we always do."
"Together. Right."
Kairi narrowed her eyes. "Why do you sound so upset?"
"I'm just annoyed that we got so off topic, that's all."
"Suuuure." Kairi bit her lip. "Fine. I'll drop it. What were we talking about?"
"The realm of darkness and exactly how you got to Disney Town," Riku reminded her.
"Oh right. The realm of darkness just randomly spat me out there."
"That reminds me of how I woke up in Traverse Town after the darkness destroyed our world." Sora clapped his hands. "I think I get it. The light might be the thing forcing worlds to crash into each other, but darkness is what's blowing people around. Remember how Ariel said that there was a lot of darkness in her world before she came to the islands?"
Riku's ruffled Sora's hair. "I'm impressed. Good thinking."
Sora winked.
"There must be an entrance to the actual realm of darkness somewhere," said Kairi.
"Okay, seriously," drawled Riku. "Why are you so eager to go to the realm of darkness?"
"There's one more thing I haven't told you guys." Kairi opened the book in her hands, flipping to a bookmarked page. "When I went to the realm of darkness the first time, I wasn't alone. Pluto was with me, but there was also someone else."
She raised the book in front of Sora's eyes. He gazed at a picture of a rabbit with black fur. Wand raised, the rabbit was running forward, charging into battle, magic flowing around him, pushing up his blue shorts and white, dress shirt.
"I know him," said Kairi. "His name is Oswald. He was the first person to teach me magic. I wouldn't have survived the realm of darkness without his help. He's still trapped in there. I have to find him, no matter what."
Kairi looked at the boys' faces, waiting for their reactions. Sora spoke first.
"Come on, Kairi. Did you think I would against it? I would do the same thing if it meant finding you or Riku."
"The only problem is Master Yen Sid," said Riku. "Would he approve?"
"Who better then Kairi to investigate the realm of darkness?"
"You have a point. She's a princess of heart, so there's no chance she could be affected by darkness while she's down there."
"Plus, she can reduce the heartless from that side."
The boys were suddenly pushed backward. Stumbling, they managed to regain their balance, as well as let out a breathe when they realized what had charged into them. Kairi embraced them both, wrapping one arm around Sora's shoulders and the other around Riku's waist. She gave both boys a happy, little squeeze.
"I love you guys!" she sniffled.
The boys chuckled, returning her hug.
"Just promise to be careful. I don't want you to disappear like Alice did."
"Come on, Riku. She's totally got this. Right?"
"Right," Kairi giggled.
Someone cleared their throat. The three friends broke apart. Mary and Merlin stood between them and the tower.
"The master's ready to see you," said Merlin. His message given, Merlin burst into magical dust, disappearing.
Sora looked around. "Where did he go?"
"Back to Hollow Bastion," said Mary. "To begin deciphering that old book that only Kairi can touch. I'll be on my way too. But before that," Mary turned to Riku, "I believe you have something that does not belong to you."
"Doesn't belong to me? Oh!" Riku reached into his pocket. "Do you mean this?"
Sora and Kairi gathered around Riku's hand, watching as his fingers opened. In his palm was a star shaped charm. Almost automatically, Sora pulled out Kairi's good luck charm and held it out, comparing the two. Kairi's charm was made out of thalassa sea shells, but the star charm in Riku's hand was made out of stained glass. The tips of the glass star were pointed, making it resemble an orange flower, with crown shaped tips at each petal. In the center of the star charm was a jagged heart shape, one that Kairi recognized.
She pointed at the heart. "That's the same symbol that's on the book I gave to Master Yen Sid. Where did you find this?"
"I stepped on it when I was in Neverland," Riku answered. "It's weird. It felt familiar, almost like I should know the person it belonged to. I was going to ask you about it, but it looks like you've never seen this before."
"Nope," Kairi confirmed. "Weird that looks a lot like mine, though."
Mary held out her hand, and Riku placed the strange charm in her fingers. She brought the star up to her eyes.
"There was a picture of this charm in the book," said Mary, giving the charm back to Riku. "It is part of a set. There are two more. Try to find its blue and green counterparts. Perhaps they may reveal some unknown secrets."
As Riku put the charm back into his pocket, Mary turned and poked a nearby tree with her umbrella.
"Max, it's not polite to eavesdrop on your friends."
The tree shuddered and then Max tumbled out from behind it, landing hard on his rear. He dusted the leaves off his hoodie, a blush settling over his muzzle.
"I was only worried about Kairi."
"Aw, you're so sweet." Kairi reached out and poked Max's black nose. "But don't do that again."
"Indeed. A gentleman respects others' privacy," said Mary.
Max's blush deepened. Sora, Riku, and Kairi tried not to laugh, especially when Mary gave each of them a stern look.
"Now off you go. The master is waiting."
Master Yen Sid had patiently listened to everyone's story. He did not react, nor interrupt, except when Riku had shared the story of how the darkness had spoken to him. When asked, Master Yen Sid admitted that he had never heard of such a thing, that the darkness was a force, not a consciousness. Nevertheless, he did assure the team that he would have Merlin and Mary investigate the ancient book to see if such phenomena had been recorded before. When the stories were finished, Yen Sid addressed Sora, Donald, and Goofy first.
"I am giving you three a specific task. Should you come across any disconnected, or new worlds, that are unlocked, and not attached to any other, find the keyhole and seal that world. Even if the worlds are melting together, we cannot allow the heartless to destroy them."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy saluted."Yes sir!"
Kairi slowly raised her hand. "If I may, Master, I have a request?" She gulped when Yen Sid gestured for her to continue. "I want to find a way into the realm of darkness."
Master Yen Sid raised his eyebrow.
Sora and Riku suddenly spoke, one over the other.
"She can investigate."
"Yeah, and she's a princess of heart so she has a natural defense against the darkness."
"And she-"
Yen Sid silenced the Sora with a look. "Please let the young lady speak for herself."
The boys bowed their heads. Facing Kairi again, the master asked her to continue.
"I can investigate, as Sora said, but I have a more selfish reason for going. I have a friend down there. Not only do I want to find him, but I know that if anyone knows more about the realm of darkness and how it has changed, it's him. He's been in the realm of darkness for many years."
Master Yen Sid folded his hands behind his back. "That is quite a claim. The realm of darkness is an inhospitable place. It gnaws away at the heart. Your friend must have some focus to stay down there for such a long time."
"He is focused, and he's strong too."
"May I ask his name?"
"Oswald."
Yen Sid jerked backward as though Kairi had just slapped him. He swayed, and Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, darted forward, hands outstretched, to try and catch him before he fell over. The master quickly righted himself and waved them back. Straitening, his voice was a breathless growl when he spoke next.
"Describe him."
Rather then speak, Kairi opened the book Queen Minnie had given her back in Disney Castle's library. When Master Yen Sid looked at the picture, he had to put a hand on his desk, to steady himself once more.
"Impossible," Yen Sid whispered. "He's alive?"
Mickey came to stand at his master's side, peering at the picture in Kairi's book. "Wasn't Oswald one of your pupils, Master?"
Slowly, the old wizard moved around his desk and sat back down. "I have had many apprentices over the years, and each one has made me proud in their own way. However, there was a period of time when I refused to teach anyone."
Mickey ducked his head. "I remember. When I first came to you for guidance, you sent me away until I proved myself."
"Yes. I never told you why. Before I became your master, Oswald was my last apprentice. He and his love had a rare gift for channeling magic."
"His love?" Kairi blurted. Everyone else tensed at her outburst, but her eyes were too shiny and excited to care about the surprised stares that were directed her way. "You mean Ortensia?"
Another smile touched the corner of Yen Sid's lips. "Yes."
"I knew it!" She pumped her fist. Then, she sobered. "Wait. What happened to them?"
"They joined Marluxia's crusade against the darkness. I was against it. I knew that no good would come from Marluxia's ideals, but Oswald could not understand why one would refuse to use their skills to stand against the darkness. I never saw him, or Ortensia, again. I had assumed he was lost, just like all those that had aided Marluxia's quest."
"Master," Mickey looked down at the floor, hands on his head, pulling down his ears. "So that's why you never talked about him when I asked."
"Forgive me, Mickey. I felt ashamed. I should have tried harder to stop him."
Mickey looked up. "I can't believe that Oswald is still alive. We can't leave him in the realm of darkness."
"You are right." Yen Sid met Kairi's eyes again. "Please, bring my old friend back home."
Kairi looked as though she were about to jump, but she somehow managed to keep her feet on the ground, though an excited twitch did cross her face.
"Thank you, Master."
"I know not where you can find an opening in the realm of darkness, but sine that realm is melting into ours, you should find an opening on your quest. A warning, however. There is much risk to what you are attempting to do. The realm of darkness is an ever shifting labyrinth, and you may not find your way out for some time, even if you do find Oswald and Ortensia."
"Don't worry." Kairi put her arm around Max's shoulders. "As long as as I'm not alone, I can tear my way out. I've done it before."
Max shrugged Kairi off. "The only problem is: how do we get there?"
Goofy gave Max a pleading look. "I know I can't stop you, but please be careful, Maxie."
"Come on, Dad. Kairi and I can handle anything."
"I know, but no matter how strong you get, you'll always be my son. I just wish there was a way to keep track of ya, in case you get lost."
"I have something that may ease those concerns."
Master Yen Sid snapped his fingers. Three leather pouches appeared on the table. With a wave of his hand, the pouches lifted to float before Sora, Riku, and Kairi.
Plucking the pouch from midair, Sora pulled out a thick stack of parchment paper from within. There was a silvery, blue shine that appeared in the paper when he moved it around under the light.
"Thank you for bringing the materials from Twilight Town. Merlin and I have enchanted those letters. Simply use your fingers to write. You do not need ink. Once you've signed the name of the recipient at the bottom of the letter, roll up the parchment and tap it twice. It will find where it needs to go, no matter the distance or the location."
Riku handed his pouch to Mickey for safekeeping, while Sora and Kairi, thanking the master, pocketed theirs.
"Now then, your assignments, Sora and Mickey-"
A blue puff of smoke stopped Master Yen Sid's words. Merlin appeared, waving his wand desperately, his mustache bristling as he stepped out from the smoke.
"Oh, it's just dreadful!" Merlin pointed his wand at Sora. "Lad, you must come to Hollow Bastion, immediately!"
"What's going on?"
"Hollow Bastion! The world has been split in half!"
Jiminy's Journal
Master Yen Sid (First Appeared in Fantasia, 1940): Wise yet stern, Master Yen Sid is one of the most powerful and knowledgeable magicians in the universe. He serves and Mickey's master and council in times of need. Though he became rather reclusive after losing his last apprentice, Oswald, the old master knows much about events happening in the universe, and will offer guidance if the worlds are in danger.
Chapter 45: KH3 Chapter 14: Black Feathers
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Author's Note: Boy this chapter was a doozy! If it weren't for this, I would have updated sooner Also, thanks to @Littlemissmermaid (Cute username BTW!) for the kudos, in case I haven't already thanked you. Plus, thanks to @ThePaganSun, @Aundielen, and @CarbyneCanyne for all their comments. I'm SO busy right now (so much going on, ugh!) that I can't reply to the comments, but I am grateful for each one, no matter how small. Thank you so much!
Chapter Fourteen: Black Feathers
Hollow Bastion appeared through the white haze of the clouds. Sora's grip on the steering wheel tightened as he looked down through the gummi ship's viewport. Late at night, when his dreams would wonder to his time spent in Hollow Bastion, to the lonely, dead silent castle he had explored on his first journey, he'd always feel a lingering note of dread when he woke up. Now, looking down at the place where his friendships had once been tested, he couldn't believe how he had once feared such a pathetic sight.
The castle looked like a log that had been cleaved in two by an ax. The two halves leaned away from each other, creating a giant V so unbalanced, it was a wonder it hadn't collapse into the ocean below. Old pipes and metal wiring smoked and sparked from the cut edges of the castle. As Sora flew toward the castle, he noticed that sections the broken building came lose, crumbling off and falling into the oceans below.
The town was worse then the castle. Running right through the center of the town was a great, black chasm. Buildings and roads curved downward into the pit. Smoke rose up from homes and businesses, and red dots of fires sprang up all over the city.
Kairi gasped, covering her mouth. She moved away from the glass dome of the gummi ship, and bumped into Max. He steadied her, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Everything will be okay," he whispered.
Donald quacked, pointing to the sky right outside the ship's viewport. "Does anyone else see that?"
Black particles fluttered down from the sky, swarming the front of the ship.
Goofy put his hand over his eyes, squinting at the black raindrops. "Gawrsh, those look like feathers."
"Do you sense any darkness from them?" Mickey asked Riku.
Riku closed his eyes. Wrinkles appeared between his brows as he frowned. "I don't sense anything, except darkness from the castle and far below us." Riku hissed, clenching his teeth. He ran forward, extending his hand to Sora. "Veer right, quick! Something's coming right at-"
A silver flash appeared in the corner of Sora's eye. Then he couldn't think or do anything. He was thrown out of his chair, flailing about in the bridge with the rest of the ship's passengers. Reality became a whirling kaleidoscope of the sky, glimpses of his friends' confused and terrified faces, and flashes of buildings getting closer and closer. At some point, Sora collided with Donald and Goofy, and the three friends held on to each other. Somehow, in all the confusion, Donald was able to raise his bare hand, and shout, on instinct.
"Aeroga!"
His cry was echoed by King Mickey, who casted his own reflect spell. In the next agonizing second, the ship jerked, smashing through something. What little had remained of the ship's glass dome burst apart, and Sora tumbled out into dust and fire. Eyes moist with tears, either from the smoke, pain, or swirling vertigo in his head, Sora was barely awake. Through the ringing in his ears, he heard distant voices, and the scratching of wood and metal on concrete.
Something black fluttered down over his outstretched arm, and it took several blinks for the blurry image to come into focus. Feathers. Sora stared at the black feathers until they vanished. Had his mind not been too focused on the pain, he might have sparred the energy to wonder what these feathers meant, or think about the nagging feeling that he had seen them somewhere before.
The distant voices were clearer now. Sora could actually make out the words.
"The house is going to collapse! There are people inside!"
"Someone get Aerith! Quick!"
"She's on the other half of the town! We won't make it in time!"
"Is someone injured?" asked a gentle voice. "Please, let me through!"
It may have been only seconds, but with him blinking in and out of consciousness, Sora thought it had been days. The third time he woke up, there was a pair of silver sandals in front of his face.
"Curaja."
The spell was soft, like a whisper of summer rain. Its warm raindrops soothed his skin, lifting all of the pain, exhaustion, and confusion away. Sora still felt groggy, but he was finally able to pull himself up to his hands and knees. A hand appeared before his eyes. Sora looked up. A beautiful, blond woman, in a lacy, white dress was hovering over him. A Lady in White.
"Can you stand?"
Before Sora could answer, he spotted the beam above the woman's head. It let out a sad, loud moan before it ripped free from its nearby supports. Sora grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her forward. Then he quickly rose up to his feet. Summoning his keyblade, he smashed it against the beam, knocking it away. It landed in a heap among he burning rubble that surrounded them. Sora looked around, realizing that the wooden beams around them were shivering as they lost the battle against the roof's crushing weight. He turned toward the woman.
"No time," he grunted. "My friends."
The blond woman had already regained her feet. She nodded her understanding to Sora, before moving toward Max and Kairi. While the blond woman lifted a strange, black trident over his friends, Sora carefully moved around the broken pieces of the gummi ship. Donald was sprawled over an unconscious Goofy. Sora's healing spell wasn't as strong as the Lady in White, but it was enough to get his friends up on wobbly knees. Luckily, a fully healed Kairi and Max were there second later to help haul Donald and Goofy out of the burning building.
The Lady and White came around to Sora's side. With her trident and Sora's keyblade, they were able to move a slab of concrete to free Riku and Mickey. Once his friends were out, the Lady in White healed them as well. Riku stood on weak legs, coughing.
Putting his arm under his friend's shoulder, Sora lifted Riku up.
"You okay?"
"The smoke," Riku coughed. "Can't concentrate."
Sora lifted his keyblade, casting an aero spell around them. The pocket of air the spell generated was enough for Riku to stand under his own power. Mickey was finally up on his feet as well. He led the way out of the burning building. The moment they were all out, the building came down, burying what was left of the gummi ship under a pile of hot rubble. The party took several steps away from the broken house, watching it pop and fizzle as the embers continued to burn.
Donald's upper half bent forward, his arms dangling sadly over his flippers. "There does the ship."
Goofy took off his hat and pressed it to his chest, as though he were at a funeral. "And we had just gotten it back too."
"The important thing is that everyone is safe and okay," said Mickey, looking from one dirty face to another.
Riku, who was still leaning on Sora, exchanged a smile with his friend. Carefully, testing his legs, leaning away from Sora, and giving him a short "thanks."
Sora pointed his thumb at the Lady in White. "We really should be thanking her. We would have been toast if it weren't for her crazy strong healing magic."
Several eyes turned to stare at the Lady in White. She must have been used to such attention, because her steadfast and calm demeanor did not change. Even though the hem of her knee-length dress was damaged by dust and singe marks, she stood strong and confident, with her trident at her side.
"I am relieved that you are all safe and sound," she said.
Mickey bowed. "We really do owe you our lives, miss. You sure were brave to enter that fire."
"I do not fear danger. I fear doing nothing to ease the suffering of others."
Her statement gave Mickey pause. "Are there a lot of injured in town?"
The Lady in White nodded. "In the short time that I've been here, there has been no shortage of people that require aid."
Sora gulped, feeling a chunk of magma that was turning in his stomach. He forced down the burning sensation, waving at the Lady in White. She turned toward him.
"Did you happen to see what cut the world in half?" Sora asked.
The Lady in White shook her head. "This world was already in this state when I appeared here."
"Appeared," Kairi repeated. "You're not from Hollow Bastion?"
"I am not," said the Lady in White. "Yet I sense I was called here for a reason. Perhaps this world is in need of an oracle." She tilted her head. "You look as though you have something to say."
Everyone turned to Riku, who had been squinting hard at the Lady in White. Realizing he was being watched, Riku stammered.
"N-not really. It's just that I sense-"
Riku didn't get the chance to complete his sentence, because one second the Lady in White was there, the next she was gone, vanishing before everyones eyes. The party didn't have time to be surprised, because the same second that the Lady in White had disappeared, a confused Yuffie appeared in her place. The young girl wore an expression of annoyance as she leaned her head back and groaned.
"Come on! Again? I am SO done with all these stupid, random switcheroos."
Sora reached out and poked Yuffie's shoulder, confirming that she was indeed real and not a lingering hallucination caused by smoke inhalation.
Yuffie smacked Sora's hand. "Hey, watch it!"
"Yuffie? How did you get here? What just happened? Where did the pretty lady go?"
Yuffie squinted at Sora for a second. Then she grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.
"Sora! Thank goodness you're here! You won't believe the level of crazy we've been dealing with for the last hour!"
"What kind of crazy?" Goofy asked.
Yuffie stopped shaking Sora in order to take in the group of confused allies surrounding her.
"Great! Everyone's here. I happy to see you and all, but we really don't have time to waste on reunions. Hollow Bastion has gone totally nuts!"
"Yeah," Donald raised his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the castle. "We can see that."
"On that note, can we walk and talk?" Sora asked. "What do you need help with?"
Yuffie pointed at Kairi. "Take everyone to Merlin's house. We've got a lot of cover. See you in five."
A puff of smoke appeared around Yuffie. When the grey mist cleared, she was gone. Kairi took this as her cue, leading the team to Merlin's home. Sora tried to ignore the state of the town as he followed her, yet he still caught glimpses of collapsed homes, broken roads, and downtrodden citizens.
Turning a corner, they spotted Merlin standing in front of his home. Flicking his wand, Merlin watched as his house stretched upward, becoming a long rectangle, before it squished back into its proper shape. There was a gurgling sound, and then the front door opened. Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie ran out from within the house. Each of them were covering their eyes and mouth, coughing on blue, magical dust.
"Is the inside to your liking?" Merlin asked. "I added some hammocks, in case the beds are not enough."
Yuffie was the first stop coughing. She glared hard at Merlin. "Couldn't you have warned us you were going to do that? Or at least asked us to leave the house. I nearly choked on all that magic."
Merlin tapped his wand in his palm. "The bigger the magic, the more the residue. There was no danger, not to worry."
Leon cleared his throat. "The inside is perfect, but a little warning would be nice next time. Thanks for making the shelter."
"And just in time," said Aerith, pointing over Merlin's shoulder.
Turning, Merlin spread his arms, as though ready to hug Mickey's party.
"Ah! Your Majesty. Right on time!"
Mickey dashed between Merlin and Leon, peering at the house. Through the open door, one could see rows and rows of beds. Each bed had a nightstand next to it, and on the nightstand was a basket of bread, fruit and cheese.
"That's a lot of space," said Mickey, turning to Leon. "Is it for the townspeople?"
Leon nodded.
"No time to waste then." Mickey put his hands on his hips. "Can you tell us what happened?"
Yuffie let out yet another exhausted groan. "We were on a roll! The whole town has been it, day and night, trying to bring Hollow Bastion back to normal. Just an hour ago, something came down from the sky and sliced all of our hard work right down the middle!"
"You saw the huge fissure in the middle of town, right?" Aerith asked.
"Yup. Someone told us that a lot of people were hurt," Mickey said.
Yuffie cringed. "Some much worse then that."
There was a pause as her words sank in. Sora's thoughts returned to all the miserable faces he had seen earlier, and the burning feeling in his gut returned. There was a little moan at his side, and Sora looked at Kairi. She was staring at her shoes, her eyes wide, her lips trembling. The burning feeling in Sora's gut spread up to his chest. This was Kairi's original home. Even if she hadn't lived here in years, he couldn't imagine how terrible she must feel with the knowledge of what her grandfather had done ten years ago. He tried not to think about how all of Kairi's people were still suffering. Instead, he focused his attentions on doing what came next.
Waving at Yuffie, Sora said, "Let's help the people. But before that, you mentioned some 'switcheroo' thing earlier. What's up with that?"
Yuffie huffed. "Right. That thing. Just after the world got split, we started having this problem with people switching places with each other. Like what happened earlier. One second I was helping some civvies, the next I was in front of you. It's completely random and super annoying."
Goofy covered his muzzle. "Is it the darkness again?"
"We don't know." Yuffie put her hands on her hips. "But don't be surprised if you suddenly pop up somewhere you weren't before."
Sora made a mental note to be ready to jump into another section of the town at any time. He could only hope that he didn't switch places with a civilian, especially not in the middle of a battle.
Mickey pointed to his team. "Let's split up. Help in the rescue efforts and send anyone that needs shelter to Merlin's." He glanced at Leon. "Is that okay?"
"Yes," said Leon. "The town's security system is down, so take down any heartless if they threaten any civilians. Remember: rescues and the safety of the people is our number one priority. Any questions?"
No one spoke.
"Good. Move out."
Dejection coated the town. It stuck to the skin like a thousand mosquitos, making Sora consistently uncomfortable as he did his best to help the people. All around him, people either hung their heads, whispered concerns about how to fix everything, or forced smiles to boost moral. Sora ran around with Donald and Goofy, healing the injured, exterminating stray heartless, and putting out fires that were still razzing homes to the ground.
In the market section of the town, Sora spotted construction workers picking apart the rubble of a collapsed building. A little boy stood nearby. He wasn't injured, but his clothes were town and singed. Behind him, stood his mother, her hands on his shoulders. One of the construction workers pulled something out the rubble. It was a stuffed bunny. One of the ears were torn off and an eye was missing, but the boy grabbed the toy and held it close to his heart.
Sora clenched his teeth, breaking away from Donald and Goofy, intercepting the mother and child before they could walk off. By the time his friends had caught up, Sora had just finished explaining about the shelter at Merlin's house.
"There's food and a place to sleep," Sora said. "Please, let us take you."
The mother nodded silently, her eyes distant. She didn't speak a single word as the party took her to Merlin's. Before Merlin's front door closed, Sora heard the boy say something that broke his heart.
"Where's Daddy? Will he be coming too?"
Sora stood there, staring at Merlin's closed door, wondering about the mother and son beyond it. Donald and Goofy peeked at his face, but found that Sora had plastered on a smile. He ran back into town. The trio swept the town three more times. It took three hours, but with everyone doing their part, they managed to send all the stranded civilians to Merlin's home. The team gathered in front of Merlin's house once more.
Leon thanked everyone for their hard work. "Now that the injured and unsheltered are taken care of, the next crisis to deal with is the castle. With the security system down, the heartless in the castle may leak out and be a threat to the town. It's time we clear out that infestation."
Sora summoned his keyblade, and placed the weapon across his shoulders. "Sounds like a job for me."
"I'm staying here." Riku faced the direction of the market, the center of town. "Something about that fissure bothers me. I'm going to check it out."
"I'll go with you," said Mickey. "If there are heartless in that fissure, it might be a good idea for the two of us stay to protect the town."
"Then I'll to the castle with Sora," Kairi volunteered. "Someone has to explore the half he's not in. Which side goes to the top?"
"The right," said Leon.
"Then that's where I'm going."
"Count me in!"
Yuffie skipped over to Kairi's side. She put her arm around Kairi's shoulder, pulling the girl into an awkward side hug. With her other hand, Yuffie grabbed Aerith and pulled her close as well.
"Girl's team!"
Max, who had been standing on Kairi's free side, squinted at Yuffie. "Excuse me?"
"Okay, girl's team, plus Max. We'll check out the right half of the castle while Leon and Sora take care of the left."
Riku clicked his teeth. "Well, well, 'Plus Max.' Aren't you the lucky one."
"Jealous, darkness boy?" Max retorted.
"Naw. If anyone is jealous, it should be Sora."
"What? Why would I be jealous?"
"Please, Riku, do tell us," Kairi hissed, "why would he be jealous?"
Leon sighed. "We don't have time for this."
Mickey, who had been snickering quietly with Donald and Goofy, cleared his throat, his features settling into a more serious expression.
"Leon's right. We should get going."
The team moved to go their separate ways. Sora was about to follow Leon when he felt a pat on his back. Riku stood behind him.
"Need to talk to you."
Sora waved at Donald and Goofy, signaling for them to go on ahead. He faced Riku. The older boy's lips were set in a hard line.
"We still don't know what knocked us out of the sky. Something big and mean could be in the castle. Be careful."
"I'll be fine."
Riku's jaw tightened. "That's it? Okay, something's bothering you. You don't usually agree this quickly. Where's the joking?"
Sora put his tongue between his teeth. "You can tell, huh?"
"Of course. You've always been easy to read. What's on your mind?"
Sora rubbed his shoulder. "Can I ask you something personal?"
"All right."
"After what happened the last time we were in Hollow Bastion, how come you're so calm here? Doesn't all the things you've done bother you?"
"It does," Riku said simply. "But, if I focus too much on how you and I fought here, on how I let myself be controlled by Ansem, and bla bla bla, all that old stuff, then I'll just be useless. I can't stand around feeling sorry for myself forever, not when there are more important things to do."
"You're completely right. It's just," Sora swallowed, "how do you move past all that baggage?"
Riku raised a hand, reaching out to Sora, but a series of footsteps made him pause. Turning around, Sora saw Donald waving at him from up the road, reminding him that he had someplace to be. Sighing, he moved away from Riku.
"We shouldn't keep our friends waiting."
Riku's response was quiet, but Sora didn't miss the note of sour concern in his friends tone. "Right. Watch your back."
"Aw, you're worried about little old me?"
Riku chuckled. "What? Like you don't go running straight into danger?"
"I'm not the only one," Sora shouted over his shoulder.
"Yeah, but I'm a little more responsible when I do it."
Sora whirled around, running backward, pointing at Riku with a triumphant twinkle in his eye. "Hah! You admit it! I was totally talking about Kairi."
Riku's mouth opened, but he didn't get the chance to retort. Donald squawked at Sora, waving his arms like a malfunctioning ceiling fan.
"SORA! Hurry up!"
Riku waved at Sora. "Get going! I've got danger to dive headfirst into."
"Totally called it!" Sora screamed back.
Riku winked before he ran to catch up with King Mickey. Meanwhile, Sora reached Donald, Goofy, and Leon, following the "girl's team" to the castle.
"Careful, Riku," King Mickey warned.
Standing on the edge of the fissure, Riku gave Mickey a thumbs up, signaling that he was aware of the giant chasm right before him. The stale, familiar scent of darkness wafted up from the depths below. No doubt about it, there were heartless down there. Riku remembered the realm of darkness, and how it too was one massive pit full of monsters. Extending his senses, he concentrating on finding a safe way down the cliffs. Rather then finding a path, Riku sensed a silky touch of light caress his skin.
Automatically drawn to the light, he turned in its direction, walking along the edge of the chasm. He stopped when he felt her shape. A little ways ahead of him, was a group of civilians. The Lady in White, the woman that had saved them when the gummi ship had crashed, was among the civilians. She was far enough that Riku couldn't understand the soothing words she spoke to the people, but her light was so strong that he almost believed he was standing right next to her.
Mickey clicked his teeth. "It's rude to stare a pretty lady."
Riku scoffed. "You do realize that I don't actually know what she looks like right? Also, how can I stare? I'm blind, remember?"
"That's true, but she doesn't know that. Is there a reason you keep daydreaming at her?"
"I wasn't daydreaming at her."
Mickey chuckled at Riku's miffed tone. "Sorry, pal. What's really on your mind?"
Riku bit his lip. "Is it possible that there may be an eighth princess of heart?"
"No. Master Yen Sid told me. In every generation, there are only seven at a time. No exceptions."
"Then, why don't I feel any darkness from her?"
"It is slight, but I assure you, there is indeed darkness in my heart."
Riku and Mickey yelped, taking a step back. The Lady in White, the very same woman they had just been talking about, was standing before them. Riku turned his head away while he tried to check his senses. How had she snuck up on him? He hadn't heard, smelled, or felt her coming.
"My apologies," she said, "startling you was not my intention."
The heat drained from Riku's cheeks, allowing him to finally turn back toward the Lady in White.
"N-no, it's fine."
"We should be the one's saying sorry, Miss," Mickey said. "We weren't trying to gossip. I'm Mickey, by the way. This is my friend, Riku."
The lady bowed. "Well met. I am Lunafreya."
"I'm sorry for staring earlier. It's just-"
"You do not sense any darkness from me," Lunafreya completed Riku's sentence. "Oracles such as myself are blessed by the light. It may shine so strongly that it overpowers the darkness within us, but I know, for a fact, that there is some fraction of darkness within my heart, as is the case for all people."
Mickey tapped his forehead. "Oracle? You said that back by the gummi ship too. What does that mean?"
"Where I come from, an oracle is the blessed one that communes with the gods and heals the suffering of others. Among our duties is to hold back the darkness, as well as heal those afflicted by it."
Riku started when he felt a hand on his cheek.
"You have been touched by darkness. It has burned into your eyes." Lunafreya sighed, pulling her hand away from Riku's face. "I cannot restore your sight, the darkness has been there for too long."
Riku smiled. "No need to worry about that. I've already accepted it."
"And what of the light within you? Have you accepted that as well?"
Riku frowned. "What? Of course I have."
"Well-Ah!"
Lunafreya stumbled to the side. Smashing the end of her trident through the cobblestone, she held on to her weapon as the ground rolled and bucked beneath her feet. Riku spread his legs, gritting his teeth, concentration split between keeping his balance and trying to pinpoint where the shaking was coming from. In his mental landscape, he could see the chasm next to them widening. Cracks spread outward from the main fissure, like veins moving away from an artery.
The shaking stopped. In its place were a series of terrified cries. Lunafreya ran toward the noise, dashing toward a house that was half collapsed into the widening fissure. Riku and Mickey were on her tail, catching up to her just in time to pull several civilians up off the cliffs.
"I-it just got bigger," one of the construction workers cried. "Our buddy fell in!"
"In anyone hurt?" asked Lunafreya.
"No. But our friend-"
"We'll go down to the fissure and look for him," Riku promised. "Take everyone someplace stable. The fissure may get bigger, so evacuate the area if you can. Anyone that needs a place to stay can go to Merlin's house."
The construction workers nodded, thanking Riku, Lunafreya, and Mickey before they scattered into the town. Riku concentrated on the fissure. He found a small trail that led downward.
"Miss Lunafreya," Riku began.
"Just Luna is fine."
"Okay, Luna it is. Would you mind helping with the evacuation?"
Luna shook her head. "I cannot stand by knowing this maw is spreading. If we cannot stop it at its source, then the townsfolk with continue to suffer."
"But we don't know what's down there," Riku argued.
"I do not fear the darkness."
If Riku wasn't able to see the fierce determination in Luna's blue eyes, but Mickey saw her resolve loud and clear.
"I don't see any harm in letting her come," said Mickey. "And we do owe her."
Riku crossed his arms. "Playing the 'return the favor' card?"
Mickey chuckled. "More like, I have a feeling that if we don't let her come, she'll just go down there anyway."
"I'm afraid I can be quite stubborn," Luna offered.
Riku gave up. "All right. Just stick close to me. This is going to be a dangerous climb."
Max gulped. "That's a long way down."
Pressing her hand against the castle wall, Kairi looked down. Beyond the pipes that jutted out of the cut edges of the castle, she could into the castle's lower floors. They were so high up, that she spotted the town in the distance. The chasm that ran though the town resembled an open wound that was oozing darkness. Tearing her eyes away from the town, Kairi focused on following Max and Yuffie. Slowly, but carefully, they had been moving up toward the top of the castle.
Max led the way, stepping over rubble and ducking under pipes, all while being mindful of the edges of their narrow path. They were climbing up one of the few remaining balconies of the castle. It was a tricky climb, as the outer wall of the castle was had all but crumbled when the castle had been split in half. The girl's team (plus Max) had no choice but to hug the wall as they climbed.
They had passed through the lower floors easily enough, though there was the occasional jump up from one jagged platform to the next. Climbing through the broken castle hadn't hurt as much as Kairi had thought it would, though she had almost cried when they had entered the library. The stained glass floor to ceiling windows, where she had listened to her grandmother's story, had been smashed to pieces. Only a third of of the books remained in the library. Kairi tried not to wonder how much knowledge they had lost, focusing instead on the present.
"Say, why did you want to climb all the way up, anyway?" Yuffie asked.
They had been climbing in a line. Max in the front, then Yuffie, then Kairi, then Aerith. From over Yuffie's shoulder, Kairi spotted Max. He gave her a reassuring smile. Feeling a little more confident, Kairi spoke.
"The last time I was here, I destroyed the heartless machine, but I avoided going all the way up to the castle chapel. That's where," Kairi swallowed, "where the six other princesses of heart were held against their will, where Sora and Riku fought, where Sora sacrificed himself for me. I want to go up there to face my fears."
Aerith let out a small giggle. Everyone in the line turned to look at her.
"I'm sorry. This conversation just reminded me of Cloud," Aerith explained.
Max's muzzle wrinkled. "How?"
"Both he and Kairi are so intent on facing their past."
Yuffie put her hands on her cheeks. "Oh, I just know this is going to be juicy. Spill! What deep, dark secret does Cloud have, huh?"
Aerith gave Yuffie a cool look. "Let's respect Cloud's privacy, shall we?"
"Aw come on. The suspense is killing me."
Kairi leaned forward. "I want to know too! Tifa mentioned that Cloud still hasn't let something go. Does his past have something to do with that?"
Instead of the teasing smile that Kairi had expected, a look of faraway concern appeared on Aerith's face.
Yuffie turned back around, putting distance between herself, Kairi, and Aerith. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll drop it. Come on, Max, let's look for a way up."
Max had no choice but to be pushed forward as Yuffie herded him ahead, leaving Kairi and Aerith alone for a moment. The older woman looked up at the highest tower of the castle.
"So that's why Cloud insisted he go alone on his mission."
Kairi fidgeted with her hands. She asked Aerith the same question she had asked Tifa. "Is he going to be okay?"
Aerith turned around, her lips curving into a soft smile. "You're sweet, Kairi, but don't worry about Cloud right now. We have a castle to investigate."
Aerith gestured for Kairi to keep climbing, but Kairi stood still.
"Please tell me. What is Cloud chasing? I want to help if I can, especially since he's a citizen of-"
Kairi slapped her hands over her mouth.
"A citizen of Hollow Bastion. Is that what you were about to say?"
It took all of Kairi's willpower not to turn away from Aerith and run after Max and Yuffie. She made the mistake of looking into Aerith's piercing green gaze. Now she couldn't run even if she wanted to.
"So, have you made up your mind?"
Kairi had faced monsters, punched the big, bad villain right in the face, and had been on all kinds of crazy adventures since. So why did the concept of coming back to Hollow Bastion terrify her more then anything? Why was this lonely, broken castle, and all of the kind, hopeful people in the town below, harder to think about then anything else? What she owed Cloud didn't really have anything to do with that. Or did it? Didn't she just want to repay him for he helping her destroy the heartless machine? Or was it more?
The silence that stretched between Aerith and Kairi could have made even the most stoic of leaders buckle under the pressure. The two stood atop one of the castle's highest, outdoor platforms, right under the castle's chapel. The wind was loud, and angry, almost as though it were judging Kairi for hesitating, for not giving Aerith an answer. The two ladies stared each other down. Aerith, calm and expectant, Kairi, terrified and frozen in place. The spell was only broken when Yuffie's voice echoed from the broken platform above Kairi's head.
"Hey guys! There's a way though here. Hop on up!"
Without looking back, Kairi followed Yuffie's voice. She climbed up a stone rubble path and paused in front of a crack in the wall. Yuffie waved at her from within.
"Squeeze through here."
Grunting and pushing herself through the crack, Kairi stumbled into a dark room. The castle chapel. This place should have frightened her. Memories of Sora's battle with Maleficent flickered to her thoughts, but they where nothing compared to the utter confusion she had felt moments before.
Forcing down her meddlesome thoughts before they could bubble back to the forefront of her mind, Kairi stepped further into the hall of the chapel. Even if she could answer Aerith's question honestly, she would have to admit that she still wasn't sure about coming back to lead Hollow Bastion. Guilt burned in her heart. She needed to make decision, and soon. But, no matter what she chose, she was going to disappoint someone.
Sunlight shined into her eyes, distracting her. Kairi looked up at the holes in the ceiling. Concrete boulders had fallen from above and smashed into the floor, creating a wall of rubble that separated the hall from the rest of the chapel. Standing in front of the wall, Kairi sighed.
"I wish we could blast our way through it."
"Sure," said Yuffie as she came to stand by Kairi's side. "If you're not afraid of potentially bringing down the entire broken castle on our heads." "Don't sweat it ladies, I got this."
There was a grunt as Max stabbed one of his swords between a set of concrete slabs. Gritting his teeth, he pulled on the blade's handle. The slabs ground hard on the floor as they came apart, revealing a small opening just big enough for everyone to squeeze through.
Kairi gave Max a quick hug at his work. Then she stared into the small opening he had made. Once they passed through, she realized, they would be in the heart of the castle chapel. The area was built so that a long, wide hallway ended in a large, circular space. Kairi wondered what she would feel when she reached that circular section. Would she feel lingering light from back when the princesses of heart had gathered there, or dread from the time she had run away from Ansem and Riku over a year ago.
"Things have been a little too easy so far."
"Yeah," Yuffie rolled her eyes. "So far the worst thing we've run into are a few of the chewy ball heartless. I was expecting there to be a lot more."
Max slapped his hands on his head. "Don't say that! You'll jinx it."
"My guess is that the heartless are going after the keyblade master, full force," Aerith reasoned. "The other half of the castle must be crawling with heartless."
"Sora can take care of himself. As for us, we can't be too sure what's the on the other side of this wall." Kairi turned to face her team. "Keep your guard up."
Yuffie and Max nodded. Try as she might, Kairi couldn't help looking at Aerith's face. There was a knowing shine in her green eyes and a tender smile on her lips. When the older woman gave Kairi an approving nod, Kairi blushed, and quickly turned to wriggle through the dark passageway before her.
Seconds before she exited out of the tight passage, Kairi felt a cold touch of...something, tingling on her skin. It wasn't darkness, and yet, she felt a strange buzzing, a warning, settling into her bones as she stared at...someone, standing on the far end of the chapel. Someone with a single, black, angel's wing, and long, flowing, silver hair. It was then that Kairi was able to identify the strange feeling she had earlier.
Absolute fear.
As the man across from her turned, Kairi felt every follicle in her skin tighten, making her skin bumpy and cold. The man was at least thirty feet away from her, but his blue-green stare was as sharp and deadly as the long, thin sword in his hand. Kairi couldn't look away from those eyes, even as Max and Yuffie came to stand on either side of her. Both of them tensed at the sight of the silver haired man.
Only Aerith was fearless enough to speak. She stepped in front of Kairi and the others, holding her bow staff tightly before her. She hissed out one word.
"Sephiroth."
Jiminy's Journal
Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (First Appeared in Final Fantasy XV, 2016): A woman with a heart that is almost completely pure, so much so that Riku mistook her for a princess of heart. In her world, Lunafreya is an oracle, and her role is as much as part of her identity as her compassionate nature. She is ever proper and fearless, but seems to show a certain sadness when interacting with Riku. Why is that?
Chapter 46: KH3 Chapter 15: Switching
Chapter Text
A/N
WHOOOPS! I made a huge mistake and accidentally uploaded the chapter AFTER this one...so...sorry about the confusion. This is the REAL chapter 15. For those of you that already read the chapter entitled "No Rules," that's the next chapter. Everything is now in the right order.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter 15: Switching
Sephiroth.
The name was familiar. Before Kairi could wonder about it, Sora's memories came, unbidden, to the forefront of her thoughts. A colosseum. One on one combat. A one winged warrior with power so terrible that even Sora had barely attained victory. Every muscle in Kairi's body tightened with warning, her heat beat fast and loud, her breaths quickening, her bones tingling with the need to run, duck, or fight.
The man in question did not blink as his eyes roamed from face to face.
"Disappointing."
His voice was low and filled with a reverberant, spine chilling mix of confidence and power that only the truly dangerous could achieve.
"If ripping his home in half won't bring Cloud to face me, I wonder what will."
Dread made Kairi shake. She wanted to shrink down to microscopic levels, even though she knew there would be running from this fight. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the soon to be opponent before her team, except when his single, black wing stretched, twitching as it too prepared for battle.
"Those feathers," Kairi whispered. "He cut down the gummi ship."
Max stiffened at Kairi's side, bringing up his swords.
"This isn't going to be easy," he whispered.
Kairi wanted to say, "try impossible," but if she spoke those words out loud, she felt that they may just come true, and she needed to hold on to all of her hopes because they may just be the difference between victory and defeat. Sephiroth still had not moved, despite the fact that each member of Kairi's team had unleashed weapons. Yuffie, Aerith, Max, and Kairi were completely still, like a squadron of soldiers, waiting patiently for a land mine to go off.
Sephiroth looked up to the ceiling of the chapel. The light shined down on his pale, almost translucent skin. Like a cat zeroing in on a bug, his blue-green gaze flicked to Kairi, and she felt an icy sting of terror in her chest.
"A being of pure light. Fascinating." Sephiroth calmly, easily, raised the impossibly long blade at his side. "Perhaps you'll provide a challenge. Fill the void, until Cloud arrives."
Aerith stepped in front of Kairi. "Is haunting Cloud not enough for you? Now you want to toy with Kairi as well?"
Sephiroth's smiled, revealing a row of perfect teeth that were just too white. "Still protecting him from a fate he cannot escape?"
Aerith held out her bow staff before her. "Our lives are not on a track that you can control."
"Tell that to Cloud. His heart seeks me out, even now. We will meet, whether you stand in my way or not."
Aerith's fingers tightened on her staff. "I won't let you hurt him, or anyone else."
A low, cruel chuckle echoed through the chapel. "Let us see then." Holding his sword with two hands, Sephiroth brought up the blade, balancing it parallel to his cheek. "See if resistance will cause the hands of fate to deviate from their path."
It was only because of countless hours practicing with Max, endless battles with heartless, and a bit of pure, blind luck, that Kairi was quick enough to roll to the side and avoid the incoming attack. Sephiroth's first strike had been so fast that, had she been even half a second off, his long sword would have succeeded in cutting her in half. In that same second of time, Aerith had managed to twirl away from the blade, Yuffie had vanished into a cloud of smoke, and Max had used his swords to curve Sephiroth's blade away from his torso.
But the attack hadn't stopped. Sephiroth swung his sword in wide, destructive arcs, so fast that they sliced through Kairi's reflect spells within seconds. She ducked and ran backwards, throwing fire spells over her shoulder in an effort to keep Sephiroth back. If she just had a few inches of space, she could plan her next attack, but Sephiroth's long blade made it difficult to gain distance, no matter how far she ran in the wide chapel. This left Kairi with little choice but to duck and roll, or risk losing body parts.
"Well, aren't you quick."
Kairi jumped over another sword swing. The second her feet touched the ground, Sephiroth's blade appeared under her neck.
"But not quick enough."
A cloud of smoke appeared behind Sephiroth and Kairi took her chance to duck the exact same second that Yuffie appeared through the grey mist. She aimed a massive ninja star at Sephiroth's back. Though she had succeeded in giving Kairi time to avoid Sephiroth's sword strike, Yuffie did not land a hit on their enemy. Sephirth deftly turned around and easily caught her ninja star with his sword, sliding the blade between the star's points. He twisted the blade vertically, and Yuffie's ninja star went flying out of her hand, thunking into the ceiling.
Eyes widening in fear, Yuffie could only watch as Sephiroth's blade kept sailing toward her neck, too fast for her to vanish into a cloud of ninja smoke. Something bright shined behind Sephiroth, and he turned around, slicing through several, small, yet bright, powerful orbs of light. The barrage of light spells had saved Yuffie, allowing her to escape. Sephiroth turned his attention to Aerith, who was sending volley after volley of light spells at him.
He looked absolutely bored as he walked slowly toward the young spell caster, side-stepping or cutting through her light spells one by one. He stopped, only for a moment to turn and catch Max. The boy had been charing at him, and it was all too easy for Sephiroth to block the young knight's swords. He would have counterattacked, if a lightning spell hadn't forced him to take a step away from Max.
Turning to Kairi, Sephiroth tsked. "You'll have to be faster then that. It's been watching you, waiting for the right moment to catch you."
Kairi blinked at Sephiroth's words, her mind too muddled with the need to fight and survive to understand them. The split second she had spared to think had been a mistake. Sephiroth flashed across the room toward her, his movements so quick that one would believe he could walk through a thunderstorm and still come out dry. Kairi somehow, miraculously, conjured a reflect spell around herself in those precious milliseconds. Her spell protected her from Sephiroth's blade, but not from the force of his attack.
The reflect spell shattered. Kairi was thrown backward, her back slamming hard into the chapel wall, her head cracking against the cold bricks. Hot points of pain burned up her spine and scull. She crumbled to her knees, barely awake as her eyes and jaw popped with pressure. Had it not been for the wall at her side, Kairi would have splattered flat to the floor. There were shrill, high pitched tones in her ears, and through her blurry eyes, she saw something grey and puffy protect her from a silver flash. Then, something-a ninja star?-clattered the ground before her shoe.
A blue and red blob with two long, silver things battled against a long, silver flashing light. The duel wielder, Max, she realized, was barely able to keep up with the lightning fast slashes and strikes of his opponent, but, through sheer force of will, he was able to keep the long, silver blade away from Kairi long enough for someone in a pink dress to appear before Kairi's eyes.
A gentle hand touched Kairi's shoulder.
"Healing wind."
A flutter of spring air tingled on Kairi's back and head. Her pain evaporated, and the distant grunts, slices, and roars of her allies, still in battle with Sephiroth, became louder. Kairi's vision came back into focus, and she found herself looking into Aerith's concerned eyes.
"Can you stand?"
Kairi wobbled to her feet, just in time to see Yuffie and Max take a blow from Sephiroth's weapon. Yuffie flew backward, but was able to stop herself from hitting the wall by flashing away in a puff of grey smoke. Max's shoulder hit the chapel's rubble, hard. His eyes rolled in his head, hissing escaping from his clenched teeth as he tried to fight through the pain. Before Sephiroth could advance on her friends, Kairi summoned several bolts of lightning. Though Sephiroth easily dodged, she had at least succeeded in keeping him from attacking Max while he was down.
Turning to face Kairi, Sephiroth looked at her in much the same way a cobra would look at a shivering mouse caught in its scales.
"I've met one that uses darkness. It is coming for you, girl. And it won't stop until it has dragged you to the depths and forced you to fulfill your final purpose."
Aerith stepped protectively before Kairi, summoning an aero spell. Sephiroth glanced at the swirling vortex of wind surrounding the two women, doing nothing more then raising a single eyebrow.
"There's no challenge in fighting you."
His sword flashed, ripping through Aerith's spell like wet paper. The blade kept slicing through the air, straight toward Aerith's side. She reacted, moving backward, but there was no way she could outrun Sephiroth's deadly speed. Kairi reached out, bellowing a fire spell that sailed over Aerith's shoulder. It collided into Sephiroth's arm, succeeding in pushing him back only a single step, but that was enough. Kairi only needed one second of time to reach out, grab Aerith and-
Aerith was gone. So was the chapel. Kairi was face to face with an invisible heartless, one that was using her shock and surprise to aim its sword at her gut. Instinctively, Kairi stabbed her sword right through the invisible's neck, making the heartless explode into nothing. Before she could even think, two neoshadows grabbed her ankles. Slicing through the two heartless on the ground, Kairi finally had the time to look around.
She was no longer in the chapel. She stood on one of the crumbling, outdoor balconies of the castle. All around her, Donald, Goofy, and Leon were busy hacking through heartless. Kairi never got the chance to ask them what was going on, as she quickly was thrown back into battle. It wasn't until the last heartless was defeated, no more then five minutes later, that Kairi finally had time to breathe, to realize what had just happened.
She had switched places with Sora.
Riku's senses told him that there was a platform up ahead, one that was smoothe and sturdy enough to jump onto to. He had been guiding Mickey and Luna as the three of them climbed down the cliff side into the abyss. Mickey and Lunafreya made sure to follow his advice to the letter, jumping from one rock face to the next, skirting cliffs and climbing down rough walls. Waving at his friends, Riku jumped onto the next boulder.
A moment later, he felt Mickey easily hope down at his side. Turning, Riku reached out and grasped Luna's hand, helping her cross.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure," Riku responded politely.
Luna pointed her trident downward. "I sense a great mass of darkness below," she whispered. "We're close to the bottom."
She was right. The scent of darkness was thick. Through Riku's mental landscape, he could feel a flat surface ahead. Something was off though. As they moved downward, he realized that scent of darkness was fading, and there were echoes from far below, almost as though the bottom of the pit was...moving.
"That's quite a fierce expression," said Luna. "Is there cause for concern?"
"No," Riku replied.
"Are you certain? The light within you weakened for a moment."
Riku swallowed a lump in his throat. This was so weird. Usually, he was the one sensing feelings though reading other people's auras. Not even Kairi could sense what was going on inside Riku's heart. To know that Luna was picking up on slight twinges of his concerns by feeling the light, or lack thereof, within him was a little unnerving. Riku had spent so long getting his darkness under control that he had never really thought about how the light inside him worked.
"I'm just focusing on a way down," Riku lied.
Either Luna believed him, or she had the sense not to bring up something he wasn't ready to talk about. Had Riku been able to see, he might have caught the knowing and worried look on her face. Trying to steer the conversation away form him, Riku asked Luna about her home world. She described something akin to a fairy tale: a world of long, terrifying nights, sprawling plains, deserts, marshes, gods, and kingdoms with massive metropolises, and ancient kings that could conjure all manner of weapons out of nothing.
"There is even a city that is constructed on the water. Truly a magnificent place. Gondolas take you from one section of the city to the next. I had been staying there, preparing for my nuptials and attending to my duties as oracle, when I suddenly arrived here."
"Nuptials?" Mickey repeated, a glint of excitement in his tone. "Who is the lucky fiancé?"
Luna's voice tingled with a shy yearning when she spoke. "A childhood friend whom I treasure with all my heart. You remind me of him, Riku."
Riku felt his face light up with heat. "R-really? How?"
"A focused, young man that cares deeply for his friends. One that isn't afraid to face danger or hardship if it means doing what is right. It's these qualities that make the light within you shine. And the qualities you share with my beloved."
Riku had to turn away so that he could cough, or else he might accidentally let out the awkward laugh that was begging to jump out of his throat.
"Gosh, I hope we can get you home soon," said Mickey as he jumped down onto the next platform. "It wouldn't do for such a lovely lady to miss her own wedding."
Giggling softly, Luna took Mickey's hand and jumped down next to him. Riku used this time to slip ahead of them, skirting a small cliff face toward the flat surface. Those few seconds of alone time were used to try and rub off the annoying heat in his cheeks. By the time Luna and Mickey had caught up, Riku was sure his cheeks were no longer blazing red. Though his heart was still beating stupidly fast.
They had reached the bottom. The scent of darkness slapped Riku in the face, and he summoned his soul eater, concentrating his hearing. No heartless. Yet. He felt vibrations of darkness beneath his feet, and all around them.
"It's almost like being back in the realm of darkness." Riku mumbled.
"It is really dark in here," Mickey agreed. He came to Riku's side, raising his keyblade.
Riku felt a tingle of magic and realized that a light orb was burning at the end of Mickey's keyblade. Mickey and Luna would have less visibility to work with, Riku realized. Though the darkness did not affect him, his friends relied on their sight more then he did. Riku steeled himself, vowing to make sure neither Mickey, nor Luna get ambushed.
Lunafreya giggled again.
"What?" asked Mickey.
"Just another glimmer of noble light."
That annoying rush of heat was back in Riku's cheeks. Luna's light was so strong, that when she had giggled, her aura had flashed bright. It reminded him of whenever he was nearby Kairi and she was in a ridiculously good mood. Or when he had combined his power with Alice's. He felt giddy again, like he wanted to jump up and whoop, but he forced down the feeling, and trudged ahead.
"Come on. We have to rescue that construction worker."
"Of course," Luna and Mickey agreed.
Riku swore he heard them move toward each other and share a tiny, secret laugh before they began following him. Where were heartless when he needed them? He was standing in a wide canyon, where the walls and floors practically breathed darkness, so why wasn't there a single heartless to distract him from thinking about the light in his heart and how Luna had the weirdest, most accurate, sense of how he felt.
An echo reached Riku's ear. He stopped, lifting his soul eater. Behind him, Luna and Mickey stood back to back, preparing for battle. Darkness was moving beneath their feet, through the deep earth. Riku jumped just moments before the darkness came to the surface, the sharp ridges of a heartless' back almost slicing into his feet. A moment later, the burrowing heartless burst out of the dirt completely, followed by several others. A whole wave of them flashed forward toward Riku, Luna, and Mickey.
The King jumped onto the walls of the canyon and pushed off, using his sling-shotted moment to slice through a row of heartless. Then he fried the next group with lightning magic, lighting up the canyon. The surviving earth core heartless sizzled, lightning buzzing through their bodies, temporarily immobilizing them. Riku took this time to gather darkness around his blade. He charged, and after several quick slices of his burning weapon, Riku emerged on the other side of the darkness hard next to Mickey. The heartless behind the two friends disintegrated. Mickey gave Riku a high five for a job well done.
"That was easy," said Riku.
"Too easy. If there's one thing I know about heartless, it's that they're tricky."
"I don't sense any coming our way for now, so let's find that construction worker while we have a chance."
Luna walked by the two friends, pointing her trident into the darkness.
A fluttering breeze caressed Riku's chest, and he realized the light was coming from Luna's weapon.
"I can sense a small glimmer of light ahead. It must be the civilian."
Riku focused. Weird. He didn't feel anything. Still, he knew when to take a step back and let others lead.
"Take us to him, Luna."
Mickey kept close to the lady's side as she took point. Riku brought up the rear. As he followed Luna, he had a strange feeling. There were vibrations in the air, as though something were moving nearby, but he felt no shape. All around him were points of darkness that were oddly...connected. Like streams outstretching from a great river, all the darkness had a source. He just couldn't figure out where the source was.
Luna stopped. "The trail ends here."
Mickey looked around. "I don't see anyone."
Luna turned in a circle. She inched closer to a wall, raising her staff. Riku bolted, grabbing Luna's arm and pulling her aside. The sound of rocks splitting apart reached his ears and he felt dirt scrape against his skin, but he smiled, knowing that he had pulled Luna away just in time. Then he grimaced as he felt the shape of the creature that had come out of the wall.
A thick, stony, earth core, the size of a bus, ripped though the wall. Its teeth snapped as it pounded into the center of the canyon. It turned its huge body so fast, that Luna, Mickey, and Riku had to jump back to avoid getting smashed into the cliff walls by its huge girth. Rearing back, the creature roared, and thousands of heartless came bursting from the ground, the walls, scurrying toward their leader like ants protecting their queen.
Riku lunged, about the charge toward the leader, when something grabbed his arm. He turned to give Luna a confused look.
"No! The civilian is trapped inside that big heartless."
Just as the words were out of her mouth, Riku felt it. A tiny, almost imperceptible, glow of light was resonating deep within the massive earthcore's stomach. If Luna hadn't warned him of it, he never would have sensed it, and now, he was out of time. Because Luna had stopped him, they were quickly surrounded by legions of smaller, earth core heartless.
Mickey, Luna, and Riku had no choice but to fight the armies, even as the large ringleader dug back into the dirt, content to wait for its prey to exhaust themselves by fighting its underlings.
"They just won't stop coming," Mickey grunted as he smashed heartless.
"We need to take out the big one! All these little guys are connected to it. I can feel it!"
Mickey opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out instead was a gasp, followed by a terrified cry.
"Luna!"
Riku concentrated on Luna's light, and felt the darkness surrounding her. She was blasting the groups of heartless before her, not once noticing the earth cores that were slowly creeping up behind. Gathering darkness in his hand, Riku focused on the group of heartless that were moments away from tearing Luna to shreds. He was about to release his spell, but then the darkness around him was gone. His senses struggled to adjust, warning him that he was no longer in the canyon, no longer surrounded by heartless, no longer by Mickey, or even Luna. He was standing before Aerith and he was about to shoot his dark firaga spell right into her face!
"Say, Leon, you mentioned that the town's defense system was down. What's that about?"
Leon's footsteps echoed on the stone balcony of the castle. When he turned to face Goofy, the wind howled behind him, sending his long, brown hair fluttering over his forehead. Brushing his hair away from his eyes and scar, Leon's ever-present stoic expression melted into a face of clear exhaustion.
"Cid and I had just finished setting up a brand new defense system for the town. Hostiles, such as heartless, would have been dealt with, without putting the civilians at risk. We had the system up and running in the castle, but..." Leon rubbed the scar that ran between his eyes.
"When the castle was cut in half, the system went down with it," Sora concluded.
"Affirmative. Taking down emblem heartless is easy. They can't multiply like the purebloods do, so it's rare that we run into one now. But here, in this castle, there is a huge infestation. Without the security system to keep them occupied, and with the castle split in two, we are the only thing standing between the heartless and the free for all buffet that's waiting for them in town."
Sora moved to the edge of the balcony they stood upon and looked down at the town below. He stared at the chasm that ran through the center of the town. Mickey and Riku could handle whatever was down there, Sora was sure. And yet, a tiny, shaky voice in his heart questioned him. What if something went wrong? What if Riku and Mickey were hurt?
Sora thought about Disney Town, and the level of chaos that had followed after it Beast's Castle had combined with it. If he had gotten to Hollow Bastion earlier, Sora wondered, could he have stopped whatever cut the world in half? Could he have helped that little boy in town, the one with the bunny. Could he have protected the boy's father? If he were just a little bit stronger...
Goofy tapped Sora's shoulder, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. Then, Donald put a hand on Sora's hip. Sora glanced down at his friend, surprised to see a pleading look in his friend's eyes, instead of the usual annoyance. Donald and Goofy looked as though they were about to talk, but Sora put on the biggest smile he could muster and moved away from them, marching ahead with his head held high.
"Come on! Let's go show those pureblood heartless who's boss. No sense standing around here."
Jumping onto a broken archway, Sora turned to face a cliff. Half of the castle wall had crumbled away, showing the inner rooms and walls of the castle. Pipes jutted out of the rooms below, hanging over nothing. Few of the castle's many elevators were still working, but the party was able to find one lift that was able to take them to a higher level. The lift was bigger then the others, the size of a small arena. Stepping onto it, the party jerked when the lift began to move up.
Fifteen seconds later, Sora felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Next to him, Leon summoned a silver weapon that was half revolver, half blade. His instincts proved to be spot on, as he quickly sliced the three heartless that appeared right before him. The neoshadows quickly vanished into nothing, but nine more appeared in their place.
"Ready for another round?" Sora asked Donald as the two of them stood back to back.
"Let's get 'em," the duck hissed.
A series of lightning spells from the two friends fried all the heartless, but the second they went down, a battalion of darkballs came to take their place. Goofy charged, smashing the darkballs into the elevator floors. While they floated by the floor, Sora and Leon came by to hack them in two.
Leon's strikes weren't as quick as Sora's, but what they lacked in speed, they made up for in sheer brute force. One heavy hit from Leon's gunblade was all it took for row after row of heartless to go down. By the time the elevator had reached its stop, all of the heartless had been taken care of.
Leon and the trio stepped off the lift, entering into yet another battle as hundreds of pureblood heartless swarmed down the remaining walls of the castle toward them. Without civilians to watch out for, it was easy to clear the next army of heartless, especially with Leon's skills. Though his weapon was slower, he was not, easily dodging, rolling, spinning, and jumping high just to deliver devastating blows that cleaved the heartless into oblivion.
The battle ended. Donald and Goofy bumped chests, celebrating. Even Leon cracked a small smile when he said, "Good work."
"On to the next one?" Sora asked, grinning.
Leon nodded. Then he quickly turned around as a loud crack echoed from behind him. A huge chunk of the castle wall crumpled, rubble falling down into the depths below. It wasn't close enough to cause them any harm, but the party cringed when the debris crashed into the floors down below. Sora quickly turned around, looking into the town, staring at the chasm, as though expecting it to break apart much like the castle he stood on.
"Sora," Donald scolded, "do you remember our rule for traveling together?"
"Rule?"
"No frowning. No sad face. Remember? Our boat runs on happy faces."
Goofy tilted his head to the side. "Ya have been frownin' a lot lately. What's wrong?"
Sora's lips stretched into a smile, but it was clearly forced as his jaw twitched.
Donald shook his head and spoke. For once, there was no irritation whatsoever in his tone. He didn't even tap his foot impatiently. "Come on, pal. Tell us the truth. What's on your mind?"
Sora cast a look at Leon. "We really should keep going, shouldn't we?"
Leon didn't bite. "Talk to your team. That's what a good leader does."
Sora pressed his lips together, his brows furrowing as he looked from face to face. Finally giving up, Sora looked down at his palms. "Do you remember what happened in Agrabah? How bad it was when Dr. Facilier and Jafar attacked it? Or Mr. Arrow? Or the King of Atlantis? Those darksides in your world? Is this our fault? Because we meddled in other worlds?" Sora gestured to the split castle they stood on, and the broken town below. "And now this. I couldn't stop any of it from happening."
Donald crossed his arms. "Did you forget what Locke told you? You can't always save everyone. You just have to keep doing what you can."
"I know that, but the feeling doesn't go away!"
Sora stomped his foot, his voice rising. Donald and Goofy didn't flinch. Instead, they reached out toward their friend. Before they could touch him, Sora continued speaking. His voice was quieter, but the shining in his eyes was more intense.
"It's my job to keep the worlds safe. Look at all that's happened. This isn't like Disney Town. We got lucky no one was hurt there. Here, so many people were..." Sora swallowed. "I failed. I couldn't protect this world. Maybe if we had gotten here earlier, if I had been faster at defeating that swarm back in Twilight town, we could have done something."
"That's not true." Goofy finally put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Ya can't blame yourself for things you can't control."
Sora shrugged off Goofy's hand. "You don't get it. When all of this started, I was so happy, at first. For a little while, I was excited that the worlds were coming together. It meant that I could see all my friends again, that we wouldn't be separated. Now, I feel horrible for ever thinking that. I didn't even help Ariel find her dad. She sent me away before we could."
Something thumped Sora, hard, on his back, sending him stumbling forward a few steps. When he regained his balance, he looked over his shoulder at Leon.
"Ow?"
Leon didn't seem the least bit sorry. He gave the younger boy a stern look. "Anyone would be happy to see their friends again. There's no shame in being excited about that."
"But-"
Leon put up a hand, stopping Sora. "Listen, I know how hard it is to be the leader, to have to put on a calm face for those that depend on you, to shoulder all that responsibility, to have to deal with everyone's expectations." Leon walked to a pile of rubble, putting his hand on the broken concrete and stones. "This isn't the first time that Hollow Bastion has been all but destroyed. I didn't let Ansem's destruction of my home stop me from coming back and fixing this. I won't let this setback stop me now, especially for the sake of those that depend on me."
Sora hung his head. "You're right. But I still feel awful."
Leon put a hand on Sora's head. "That's normal. I'd be more worried if you didn't feel that way."
"How do you deal with it? I'm still trying to do the right thing, but the bad feelings don't go away."
Leon waved his arm at Donald and Goofy. "You have good friends here, ones that worry. Take it from someone that knows. Sometimes it's important to open up and share your fears with them."
Donald and Goofy winked at Sora. "We'll always have your back," they said.
"Lucky for both of us," Leon continued, "that we're not alone. I couldn't have taken down all those heartless without your help."
Hope blossomed in Sora's chest. It was cool, like a breathe of fresh air that cleared away all the smoggy concern in his head, but there was still a smudge of dirt in his heart, still something that he was too afraid to say out loud.
"You're right. With my friends by my side, I'm sure we can handle anything. Alone though..."
Donald gave Sora a suspicious look. "What do you mean?"
Sora shrugged. "It's nothing really. Just a silly thought. No big deal."
"You face didn't look like it wasn't a big deal."
Sora groaned. "Come on, stop giving me grief. We've got heartless to clobber."
He ran ahead of the group, squeezing through narrow openings in the rubble to the next open balcony of the castle. Donald and Goofy watched him move, pausing to share a worried look with each other. Leon came up behind them, and cleared his throat.
"I was like him once. I didn't want to lean on people, thought I had to handle my emotions on my own. Sora will tell you when he's ready. All we can do is look out for him until then."
"Sora's not the only one that feels bad," Goofy admitted. "I don't like seeing my friends' home destroyed. I wish there was more we could do."
"You've done enough."
Goofy didn't look so sure, so Leon gave him a small smile.
"This reminds me of when we met in Traverse Town."
"Why?" asked Donald.
"Sora was all down in the dumps then too, worried about finding Riku and Kairi. And you two, all serious and concerned about your king. Now look how far you've come, how easily you recognize each other's feelings."
Goofy giggled. "You've changed too, Leon."
Leon's serious, calm expression didn't match his tone. "Don't tell, Yuffie."
Goofy pretended to zip his lip. "Not a word. I promise."
Donald took a deep breathe, and then put his hands on his hips. "Let's go. Someone's got to be there to knock some sense into Sora." He stomped after his friend. "What would he do without me? If he thinks I'm leaving him alone then he's dumber then I thought!"
Goofy turned to grin at Leon, who shrugged in response. For anyone that knew Leon, even the tiniest bit, they could have easily spotted the slight uplifting curve of his lips.
Catching up to Sora, the party quickly entered another battle. As adrenaline took over their minds, they settled into another round of instinctual teamwork. Donald and Goofy tag teamed with magic and brawn, while Sora and Leon ran around, thinning out the crowds. Sora cut through a neoshadow, and was about to move on to the next target, when something caught his eye. Just as the heartless had burst into dust, a green twinkle had glinted off its body.
Sora stared as a star shaped charm clattered to the ground. He picked up the charm, and realized it looked like the one Riku had shown him back at Yen Sid's tower. For a moment, he stared into the charm's shiny, mint-green glass. Then a shadow flashed overhead, bringing him back to battle. An invisible heartless that was flying his way. Slipping the star charm into his pocket, Sora swung his keyblade with his free hand.
His keybalde swung through empty space. The castle around him disappeared. He stood in a deep, dark pit. All around him were flashes of light and the angry grinding of heartless' teeth. King Mickey ran by Sora's side, his eyes desperate as he reached out to someone.
"Luna! Look out!"
Sora spotted her. The Lady in White. She was using her glowing trident to blast away a strange, spiky, burrowing heartless. She was too busy dealing wit the heartless before her that she did not notice the group of burrowing heartless leaping up from the ground behind her.
Sora pointed his keyblade behind him, bellowing, "Firaga!"
The force from the spell sent him rocketing forward, the wind whipping in his ears. He flew toward the Lady in White, shouting.
"DUCK!"
The pretty lady hit the deck, and Sora flew over her head, easily using his momentum to cleave through the six heartless that had almost succeeded in chewing the Lady in White to pieces. He even cleared away the ones that had been in front of her. The moment he landed, Sora turned toward the lady.
"You okay?"
She blinked from the ground, quickly pushing herself to her feet. "You? Where's Riku?"
Realization hit Sora like ice water. "We switched."
The Lady in White grabbed Sora's shoulder, shoving him aside so that she could blast the incoming row of heartless. Sora whistled, watching the light flash from her trident.
"I will have to show you my gratitude later. The fight is still upon us."
"Right!"
Sora jumped back into battle. Getting into the groove of teamwork as trickier with the Lady in White, Luna, but it didn't take for Sora to match her rhythm. He attacked the heartless that got to close, allowing her to blast the ones in the distance with her light spells. King Mickey appeared at Sora's side. He spoke, filling Sora in whenever there was a break in the heartless' attacks.
"There's a leader heartless. Riku said that if we took that one down, we would stop all the the others," Mickey panted, roasting another legion of heartless with triple fire spells.
"Okay. We look for the biggest, ugliest one. Those tend to be the leaders in my experience," Sora replied.
"It's not that simple," rasped Luna. "The leader heartless has swallowed a civilian."
"Then that leaves us with one choice." Sora looked at Mickey. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
The King nodded. "We trap it, like the swarm in Twilight Town. Ms. Luna, how big of a blast can you make with your light spells?"
"I can engulf this entire chasm if given the time and concentration."
"Then it looks like we're on guard duty!"
Lifting his keyblade, Mickey shouted a reflect spell. The magic glass surrounded Luna. She stabbed her trident in the ground, and Sora spared a second to gawk in awe as her weapon glowed, brightening to a brilliant gold like the sun itself. Closing her eyes, Luna breathed deep, gathering light. The heartless all turned toward her, their yellow eyes widening, their mouths opening in hunger.
Sora and Mickey zipped around Luna, deflecting heartless. The king zigzagged through heartless, cutting through whole groups with lightning fast cuts, while Sora alternated between ranged magic and quick jabs. It was slice and retreat, as he had no time to wait and see if a heartless went down. All he could do was make sure to keep them away from Luna as she glowed, brighter and brighter, lighting up the dark pit they stood in, until every nook and cranny of the cliffs surrounding them could be seen, until the heartless had to close their eyes from the brightness.
"Sora!" Mickey screamed, pointing. "The red one!"
A burrowing heartless the size of a buss had burst from the wall above Luna's head. Crimson mist wafted from its spikes. Its mouth opened wide. From inside it's mouth, Sora saw the civilian's hand. The heartless was moving toward Luna and fast. With all of his energy, Sora grabbed Mickey and flung the king up into the air.
Mickey zoomed toward the red heartless.
"Reflect!"
A ball of magic glass surrounded the heartless, keeping it from burrowing back into the dirt. At the same time, Sora used lightning to fry the heartless surrounding Luna. Now that he was sure Luna had a few seconds of safely, Sora leaped toward the red heatless. He broke through the magical glass, but the force of his attack sent the heartless careening backward, away from Mickey and Luna.
Jumping right into the heartless' mouth, Sora was surrounded by complete blackness. It felt as though his hands had sunk into gooey, thick mud, but then his fingers enclosed around the civilian's wrist. Gritting his teeth, Sora pulled with all his strength, and the unconscious man collapsed onto his chest. Holding the civilian close, Sora summoned his keyblade and shouted an aero spell.
The wind sphere tore up the heartless from the inside, cutting through its innards. Sora summoned another aero spell, then another, and another. The heartless around him exploded, blasting into pieces. Sora fell, but, before he could blink or yelp, a warm, cushion of light surrounded him, as both Luna and Mickey caught him.
Sora sat between the two of them, gasping, watching the remaining heartless pop and vanish now that their ring leader was defeated. Mickey gasped in relief, bumping his first with Sora.
"Well, that was some fast thinking. Good team work!"
Luna smiled, bowing. "My deepest gratitude. Had you not protected me earlier, we would not have saved this man."
Sora gave her his best grin. "No sweat, ma'am. Besides, shouldn't we be thanking you? I didn't know you could fight as well as heal."
Luna's laugh was soft, like butterfly's wing. She knelt down and put her hand on the civilian's forehead. The man was slumped across Sora's chest, completely out cold. Luna's cure spell lit up his skin, bringing color to his grey face. He groaned in his sleep.
"He will be all right," said Luna. "But he will not awaken for some time. We'd best find a way out of this chasm before then."
Mickey and Sora put their shoulders under the civilian's arms. As they hauled the unconscious man toward a path that led up the canyon, Mickey asked Sora what had happened right before he switched places with Riku.
"I was in the castle, fighting heartless with Leon and the others. Riku must be there now."
Luna covered his mouth. "He must be facing something powerful. I can feel his light weakening from here."
It took every ounce of Riku's control, concentration, and will power for him to move his hand and release his heavy, dark firaga spell. The darkness flew past Aerith, missing her by an inch, but hitting someone that had been right behind her. Riku froze in horror as he felt his dark spell collide with a man. Then, his senses pushed past his fears. The man he had hit had been swinging a long, massive blade at Aerith and the spell had succeeded in making him stop his attack so that he could nurse his injured shoulder instead.
There was no time for Riku to feel any relief. Darkness pounded on his head. Thought not as all consuming as what he had felt back on Neverland, it was enough to make him feel as though heavy chains were bound tightly around his body, weighing him down. Riku pushed past the headache, forcing his senses to take in his surroundings. Max and Yuffie were nearby, he could hear their desperate breaths as they struggled to regain their feet.
"You, boy, where did you come from?"
Riku hissed at the sound of that low, dangerous voice. Aerith stepped in front him, but all Riku could focus on was the dark aura of the man that had just spoken. A man with a single wing, standing in the middle of the room. Riku tensed when he felt the cold pressure of a blade. The man had regained control of his body, no longer hindered by Riku's attack. Darkness wafted off him, and Riku recognized that scent.
"You're the one that cut the gummi ship out of the sky," Riku realized.
"I had felt a darkness on that ship. So it was you. And here I was hoping that Cloud was still nearby."
The man took a step, walking around Riku. As he moved, Riku took in the man's shape. He had a single, angel wing on his back.
Aerith raised her bow staff. Across the room, Riku felt Max and Yuffie tensing for battle as well. They gasped when the one-winged man laughed.
"I see now. A boy that can control the darkness in his heart. So, you are the one that it fears. And for good reason, it seems." The man rubbed his shoulder. "You are the only one that has managed to damage me so far. Impressive."
"What are you talking about? What's afraid of me?"
"Explaining things to you is not my concern. Rather," the man lifted his sword, "show me your strength."
The air vibrated with pressure, giving Riku only a second of warning. He threw Aerith out of the way, and shifted into the darkness before the one-winged man's long sword nearly sliced off his arm. Yet, even when Riku came out of the darkness, he was fighting for his life, ducking and dodging swords strikes that were so fast, he could barely think. Not even Hook's fury hurricane compared to the one-winged man's assault, as his long sword gave him both reach and deadly precision.
There was a brief break in the one-winged man's attacks when Max came up behind their opponent. Even with Max's extra help, the boys could barely hold the one-winged man back, and their stamina was running out fast.
"Healing wind!"
A flutter of spring energy lit up Riku's skin, momentarily reducing his fatigue. In response to the healing spell, the one-winged man turned toward Aerith.
"Such a nuisance."
A dark orb of energy pooled in the one-winged man's hand. The darkness coming from him was familiar, and when Riku figured out why, he was absolutely aghast.
"NO!"
He lunged at the one winged man, slicing through the man's wing with his soul eater. Grunting, the man barely flinched, as he turned around to engage with Riku once more. His injury did not slow him down in the slightest, even when Yuffie began to join the attack, hitting and vanishing into smoke before the one-winged man could retaliate. The attack went on and on, an exhausting, desperate crescendo of pure defense as none of the fighters could find an opening to attack. Even slipping into the darkness gave Riku no edge, as the man could somehow predict where he would reappear.
It was a losing battle. Soon, only Riku and Yuffie were left standing, as Max's exhaustion had caused him to slip, taking a direct hit, leaving Aerith no choice but to catch and protect him. Yuffie got desperate. Instead of her usual hit and retreat into smoke strategy, she waited too long to vanish, attacking furiously with her giant ninja star. Because she prioritized offense, and because the one-winged man was quick and precise, the enemy's long blade hit Yuffie, hard, on the hip.
Only Riku remained. He managed a few seconds of uneasy peace, putting distance between himself and the one-winged man.
"Why that creature is so fixated on you, and that girl of light, is beyond my understanding. Still, you managed to survive this long. I suppose some that interest is warranted."
"What can I say? I'm too stubborn to just give up."
The one winged man didn't laugh at Riku's quip, but it didn't matter. If he could keep the man talking, to buy just one second to think, maybe he could gather enough energy for a single counter attack.
"What's this 'creature' you keep talking about?"
"A being of such powerful darkness that even I am curious to see where its machinations lead."
"Why is it after Kairi? Why is it 'afraid' of me?"
"Foolish questions for one that is about to meet his end."
Those foolish questions had saved Riku's life, because in the next instant, the one-winged man darted forward, sending a barrage of quick slashes Riku's way. The boy blocked each attack, but right before the last one hit, he slipped into the darkness, reappearing behind the one-winged man. Immediately, Riku's opponent turned around, and Riku did not duck or dodge. The one winged man's sword bit into his shoulder, but Riku did far worse. Pushing down the burning pain in his shoulder, Riku forced down his soul eater, and sliced right into the man's chest.
The one winged man, reeled back, but he wasn't done. Riku fell to his knees as pain exploded on the right side of his body. The one-winged man was already lifting his sword, ready to cut Riku down the middle the same way he had halved Hollow Bastion.
A pair of keyblades came sailing out of nowhere. The one-winged man jumped. In the air, he was blasted with a series of lightning spells, and while he was busy dodging, Leon appeared before him. Deftly parrying the one-winged man's blade, Leon held him back long enough for a blast of powerful light to blind the one-winged man.
Riku gasped as Luna, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Kairi surrounded him. Everyone, except Luna, faced the one-winged man. Riku could no longer focus on the battle, as his arm became numb, his shoulder screaming in agony, and his exhaustion winning over his stamina. He fell forward, but rather then hit the floor, he fell into a set of soft yet firm arms. Someone pressed their forehead against his. A whisper reached his ears.
"Blessed stars of life and light, deliver us from darkness' blight."
Luna's voice was followed by white, hot, pure light that cascaded over Riku's body. He gasped, feeling electricity run through his veins. The pain he felt was gone, and something deep within him awoke, something he hadn't felt since he was a child. Try as he might, he couldn't help giggling. His senses extended without his concentrated effort, and he realized that the tide was turning.
Now facing several more opponents, the one-winged man was slowing down, but only by the tiniest margin. Mickey, Sora, and Leon relentlessly attacked, each taking advantage of the openings made by Donald and Kairi's magic spells. Goofy defended the fighters with his shield, catching several strikes from the one-winged man's sword. Aerith and Kairi ran around, healing any downed party members, making them rise back up to put pressure on the one-winged man. Max, and Yuffie joined the battle once more, yet still the combined power of all their friends was barely enough to hold the one-winged angel back.
Then, there was a powerful blast of magic as the one-winged man summoned pillars of deadly fire. The flames surrounded him, catching every one of his opponents, succeeding in throwing them all back. Sora, Kairi, and the others, managed to land on their feat, but each of them were either gasping, or nursing wounds.
"Quite an army that has amassed here," said the one-winged man, "but I grow tired of this battle. There's no challenge, and it is keeping me away from that which I truly seek. If Cloud is not in this world, then there is no need for me to remain here."
Before anyone could move, the one winged man flew up, slipping through the broken roof of the chapel, leaving only black feathers behind. In the silence that followed, it was Riku who spoke first.
"Who," Riku heaved, "was that?"
"Sephiroth," Aerith answered, a note of disgust in her voice. "A nightmare that keeps haunting Cloud."
"Do you require more healing?" Luna asked Riku. "You look ill."
"He doesn't use his own darkness," Riku whispered.
"What are you talking about?" Leon asked.
"Sephiroth. He draws darkness from other people. He almost used mine to attack Aerith earlier. I couldn't let that happen."
"Whaaaaaaat?" Yuffie's surprise echoed in the chapel. "You mean, you managed to hit him with that dark fire spell earlier, only for him to absorb it and almost use it to hurt Aerith?"
"Yes."
"Oh man! And that guy's after Cloud! We've got to warn him!"
"We're not going to tell Cloud anything," said Aerith, a low warning in her tone.
"Huh? Why?" These questions were spoken by Riku, Yuffie, Kairi, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Max.
Aerith shook her head, a distant, sad note in her voice. "Cloud is obsessed with chasing Sephiroth, but what's he's really after is a shadow of his own grief. If he learns that Sephiroth sliced Hollow Bastion down the middle, just to draw him out, it will only feed his obsession. Facing Sephiroth won't set Cloud free. It will only trap him further. So everyone, please, if you run into Cloud, don't tell him Sephiroth was here."
"Aw come on!" Yuffie groaned. "You know I stink at keeping secrets!"
Riku stood, facing Aerith with a hard line on his lips. "You don't believe that Cloud can defeat Sephiroth?"
"I," Aerith sighed, "I don't know. I just know that it won't save him from his grief."
"And what about Sephiroth? Do you really think he'll stop looking for Cloud? It sounds to me like they're going to find each other sooner or later."
Riku tensed. Kairi had grabbed his arm and Sora reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, you should stop," Sora and Kairi said.
Across the room, Yuffie went to stand at Aerith's side. The older woman let out a small sob, accepting Yuffie's soothing hug.
Swallowing, Riku said. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that I know what it's like to chase a dark obsession. And running away from it doesn't help. But, I'll respect your wishes. I won't tell Cloud anything."
Aerith didn't respond. She simply nodded in gratitude. Everyone, except Leon and Riku hung their heads. Leon walked away from the group, mumbling under his breath, unaware that Riku could hear him several feet away.
"So, that's why Cloud said he could never truly be at peace here."
Luna tapped her trident onto the stone floor, catching everyone's attention. "Pardon my interruption, but may we leave this dreadful place? Our business here is done, yes?"
Leon faced the team again. "You're right. Thank you for all your help, Miss. Now that we know what cut our world in half, and with culprit gone, we should go back to town and regroup."
"This doesn't feel right," said Sora. "Can't we at least warn Cloud that Sephiroth is looking for him?"
"He already knows," Leon said curtly.
He made his way across the room. Aerith had been looking up toward the ceiling. She let out a tiny gasp when Leon put his hand on her shoulder.
"Tifa's with him. She'll keep him from straying too far."
"I know she will," Aerith whispered back to Leon. "But Cloud has a hard head. And Riku might be right. If they meet-"
"If that happens, then we'll be there to back him up. We're a team after all, whether Cloud likes it or not."
Aerith covered Leon's hand with her own. "We are a team. Thanks for helping me remember."
"Man, today is the worst!" Yuffie grumbled. "All that, and we still have work to do. And to think, before this world smashing problem started, we were going to use Cid's ship to fix up the castle. Now it feels like we have to start from scratch! And we have to fix the city too!"
"It'll get fixed."
Leon said this with such certainty that it brightened up everyone's spirits. A little. Kairi finally let go of Riku's arm in favor of hesitantly approaching Mickey.
"I have a favor to ask. I know that Disney Town is a little chaotic right now, but I'd like to call some people over if that's okay."
Mickey must have smiled at Kairi, because her light brightened. "Of course. Just let me know who you want me to summon."
Kairi bowed, a small note of happiness returning to her voice. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Lunafreya let out a tiny squeak, one that made everyone turn toward her. Clearing her throat, she bowed to King Mickey.
"Forgive me, Majesty. I was not aware of your royal lineage. Had I known, I would have given you the necessary deference."
Mickey shrugged. "Aw, there's no need for that. Besides, it's not like this is my kingdom."
Yuffie walked over to Kairi and thumped her hand on the red headed girl's shoulder.
"If there's anyone you should be showing deference to, it's Kairi here. I mean, after all she's-"
Kairi slapped her hand over Yuffie's mouth. "Nope! We are not talking about that!"
Yuffie wiggled her mouth away from Kairi's hand. "What? Does it make you uncomfortable or something? I mean, you already are a princess, shouldn't you be used to having people show you respect by now?"
Sora tilted his head to the side. "What are you talking about?"
Riku snorted. "Sora, you seriously haven't figured it out?"
"Can we please stop talking about this?" Kairi begged.
"Actually, I want to see this play out," Max said. He put his arms behind his head, adopting a relaxed but playful pose by shifting his weight to one leg.
Kairi seemed to grow more annoyed by his nonchalance. "But-"
"Come on," Riku teased, "don't tell me you don't want to see Sora's face when he finally gets it."
Kairi's protest vanished, a little giggle escaping her. "Okay, I admit, I do kind of want to see that."
Sora stomped his foot. "Hey! I'm still here. Come on, tell me what the big secret is!"
"It's not really a secret at this point," Yuffie mumbled.
"Then why does it feel like I'm the only one not in on the joke?"
Donald, quacking quietly, walked over to Sora, happy to not be the grumpy one out of the two of them, for once.
"Sora, use your brain. Who was Kairi's grandfather?"
"Ansem, but we already knew that."
"Good, good." Donald patted Sora's thigh like a knowing professor teaching his student some obvious knowledge that only a fool would overlook. "And who was Ansem exactly?"
"He was our enemy. What does this have to do with Kairi?"
Donald shook his head. "Wow, you really haven't put two and two together."
Sora snorted. "All right, fine. You win. I give up. Will you just tell me already?"
"Come on, pal," Goofy offered kindly, "you can figure it out. Just think: was Ansem only our enemy, or did he have another role?"
Sora was silent for a moment. Riku could almost hear the gears in his head turning.
"He was the leader of," Sora's words slowed, "Hollow Bastion."
Sora turned to face Kairi, raising an shaking finger to point at her.
Kairi laughed. "You were right! His face is priceless!"
"No way." Sora smacked his hands to his temples. "Wait, wait, wait! If Ansem was the ruler here and he's gone now, does that mean that Kairi is now the ruler of Hollow Bastion?"
Max and Riku began fake clapping. "By George, I think he's got it," they deadpanned.
"Bingo!" Yuffie snapped her fingers. "Kairi here is the true heir to Hollow Bastion."
"I think you mean, Radiant Garden," said Kairi.
Aerith took a step forward. "You remember."
"Remember what?" said Sora and Riku.
"Radiant Garden," Kairi recited. "That's Hollow Bastion's true name. When I was little, there were flowers in every part of the town, and in front of the castle. My grandma and I used to tend to them."
"We won't be using Hollow Bastion's true name just yet," said Leon. "Not until we've restored the world to the way it was before."
Kairi put her hands on her hips, standing straight, pride radiating out of her confident pose. "I think I might know just the person to help with that."
Jiminy's Journal
Sephiroth (First appeared in Final Fantasy VII, 1997): A deadly swordsman that wields such destructive power, he is able to slice a whole world down the middle. It is unknown why Sephiroth insists on facing Cloud in battle, but it seems the two are fated to meet, with only one emerging the victor.
Chapter 47: KH3 Chapter 16: No Rules
Chapter Text
A/N
So, I did a dumb and accidentally uploaded THIS chapter as chapter 15, instead of the real chapter 15. So for those of you that are here and confused as to why I'm posting the same chapter twice, instead of a new one, please go back and read the chapter before this one, the chapter entitled, "Switching."
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Sixteen: No Rules
"Vell, vell, vell, this is von big mess. I can see vhy you called me here."
Professor Von Drake clicked his teeth as he walked through the central square of Hollow Bastion, taking in the damage, and assessing the areas that needed major repairs.
"I don't know where or how to start," said Kairi, walking alongside the professor. "That chasm is the first thing that needs to be fixed."
Max, who was marching ahead of them, ever alert like the well trained knight that he was, leaned forward in a sigh. "Man. Even if we finish our mission, we're going to have some serious damage control to do after. Hopefully, no other worlds are in this bad a state."
"Not to vorry friends," Professor Von Drake boomed. "My genius is all the help this vorld needs. I have many solutions for fixing that hole. As for the castle, vell..."
Kairi pulled two folded pieces of paper from her pocket and handed them to Professor Von Drake.
"Yuffie had this idea about using the gummi ship to repair the castle," said Kairi, pointing to the crude picture on one paper. "And I found this in the castle library." She wiggled the other piece of paper.
"Ah, these are the castle schematics," said Professor Von Drake, eyes roaming the intricate architectural designs on the page.
"Yup. I've also added notes from the little bits I remember from my past."
Professor Von Drake adjusted his glasses, his beak pressing into the paper. "Excellent vork. I can make a few adjustments to make the rebuilding process faster, as well as fortify a few structurally weak areas, but are you sure you vant it as vas before? No modernizations?"
Kairi nodded. "Yes. I want to see my old home the way it was back when Grandma, Grandpa, and I were still happy."
"Very vell," Professor Von Drake took the two papers from Kairi. "Let's get started."
"I came all the way back here from the Highwind, because, apparently, while I was gone, the whole town up and decides to have a crisis and you can't even tell me what caused it?" Cid pointed his wrench at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "And you three. Y'all were flyin' round here and then you get knocked out of the sky, crashed the gummi ship, and you don't even know what hit ya?"
Sora peeked over Cid's broad shoulder so that he could catch Aerith's eye. She put a finger to her lips. Why Aerith insisted on keeping Sephiroth a secret from Cid, Sora didn't know, but he kept his thoughts to himself as he turned to Cid and shrugged.
"That pretty much sums it up, yes."
Cid's fingers tightened around his wrench. Sora cringed, getting ready for another tirade. But instead of a long harangue on his various failures, Cid put his hand on the boy's head.
"Well, at least you're okay, kid. Gummi ships can be fixed. Friends, well, can't replace the irreplaceable."
Turning, Cid hefted a toolkit from the ground and moved toward the pile of gummi ship parts that Sora, Donald, and Goofy had gathered and brought to the plaza in front of Merlin's house. Cid stopped in front of the pile, sighed, and ran his fingers through his blond hair.
"Man oh man. Where do I even start?"
The pile of gummi blocks shivered for a moment, and then two chipmunks popped out of the mess. Chip and Dale waved at Cid.
"First, we'll need to organize these parts. And we may need some materials from town," Dale suggested.
"Have Sora, Donald, and Goofy take care of the shopping. Those three couldn't tell a d-block from a Navi-G piece," said Chip, diving back into the gummi pile.
"Hey!" Sora and Donald grouched.
Goofy just scratched his head sheepishly.
The gummi pile moved again, but this time, a little mouse popped her head out. She pulled a ridiculously big pencil and notepad out of the pile and began jotting down a list of items.
"Here are the parts we'll need."
The mouse held out the notepad to Sora.
"Can you get them all?"
"Leave it to me." Sora winked. "Thanks Gadget."
Saluting, Gadget dove back into the gummi pile, shouting at Chip and Dale from within. "All right boys! Let's get to engineering."
Sora looked over the list of items Gadget had given him as he followed Donald and Goofy back to the market. Just before he turned a corner, he looked back at Cid and the Disney Castle engineers. Aerith was nearby, lending an extra hand, and trying her hardest not to laugh as Cid stomped his foot, yelling at Gadget and the two chipmunks.
"What are ya doing? Those parts go with the engine pieces!"
Gadget completely ignored Cid as she threw several black chunks of metal into her pile. "Don't worry. This thruster is totally dead, but I'm going to repurpose it to make an ever bigger, badder cannon! This is going to be fun!"
Sora smiled, turning the corner, and overhearing a few more screams before he had made it out of earshot.
"I told you!" Chip was yelling. "We'll have to recreate the bridge dome from scratch! How do you expect us to get a clear visual with all that broken glass?"
"And I told you," Cid growled back, "that we're not going to put the whole thing together, just salvage the pieces at the base! With all the construction going on, there isn't a material in Hollow Bastion that's as good as the original. If we combine the base of the dome with a few synthesis materials and torch them together, they'll blend in with no seams!"
"I think he's on to something there, Chipper," said Dale.
"Oh sure, take his side."
By the time Sora had made it to the market, he had a full blown grin on his face. Certain that his friends could make a new and improved gummi ship, he began his scavenger hunt for parts.
"I think that's all of them." Mickey sighed, releasing his keyblade. "Do you sense any more darkness in the castle?"
Standind at the King's side, Riku closed his eyes, taking in a deep breathe. They had reached the highest room of the castle. Having worked their way up from the bottom floors one by one, they now stood in the very same room where the world's keyhole had once been.
"Nothing. No heartless. The castle's all clear."
Nearby, Yuffie jumped and did a happy, little twirl. "Finally! The castle is heartless free! We did it! That took forever!"
Leon wasn't nearly as expressive with his excitement, but Riku could feel the older man's light shine from deep within. He turned to the rest of the group, and saluted.
"Thanks for all your help Your Majesty, Riku, Ms. Luna. It's been a long time coming, but we can finally start fixing this place from the inside."
Luna bowed. "I do hope this gives your people some security."
Yuffie stretched. "No kidding. Feels like I just took a load off! Thanks for helping us patrol one more time. So, fearless leader, what do we do now?"
Leon crossed his arms at Yuffie's nickname, but his stoic expression didn't change. "Let's head back to Merlin's house. I want see the plans Aerith and Kairi have come up with for fixing up our world."
Riku listened to everyone's footsteps as they slowly moved out of the room. He also listened to the pipes that cascaded down the walls and ceiling of the massive room. They were empty, no longer pumping darkness through the castle. Now, all that filled them was rust. An empty castle was a lonely thought, Riku realized, but it was much better then the heartless infested fortress it had been back when Maleficent had resided in it.
This was the place where all the princesses of heart had been captured. This was where Riku had fought with Sora, while under Ansem's control. This was where Kairi had reawakened, and Riku had stopped Ansem from hurting her. So much had happened in that very room, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago. And now, Riku smiled, this terrible place was to be torn down and rebuilt, back to its true form, back to when this castle was still Kairi's home.
There was a giggle. "I can sense the light again."
Riku started. Lunafreya was standing just a few feet away from him. He wondered how long she had been there. She had so much light, it was easy to feel comfortable in her presence. It was the same way he felt when he was near Kairi. Surrounded by light so serene, he found himself relaxing, making Lunafreya one of the few people that could sneak up on him.
"Every once in a while," said Luna as she walked toward Riku, "I feel a powerful light shine from within you." Her voice lowered, taking on a note of sadness. "But then, the light whispers out, just as quickly."
Riku swallowed. He was somewhat afraid to ask his next question, but, having decided long ago that he won't run from his fears anymore, he chose his words carefully. "I've been healed before, but nothing as intense as what you did back when we were fighting Sephiroth. When you healed me, I felt an intense rush of light. Are you saying that the light came from me, and not from you?"
Riku couldn't see her face, but could feel her light burn brighter. For a moment, he thought he might be covered in pixie dust and had to resist the urge to chuckle. Lunafreya probably had a sweet smile on her face.
"Yes. I'm sure. As oracle, my healing spells remove wounds, and also awaken the light within someone. My abilities are not strong enough to drive away the darkness that has a hold over your heart and eyes, but I can strengthen the light within you. The rest, you'll have to unlock on your own."
"The rest?" Riku repeated.
Luna pointed to his chest. "You have darkness, that is true, but there is also a powerful light in your heart, waiting to be released. Yet, something in you is holding it back. Until you face whatever fear is holding your light back, dormant it will stay."
"But other then healing magic, I've never used the light."
"Have you never felt the unstoppable will to protect those that you hold dear?"
Riku scratched his head. "This kind of thing doesn't come easily to me. Sora and Kairi use light almost like it's an instinct. Meanwhile, I needed to concentrate just to feel childish enough to fly."
Luna giggled. "Fly?"
"Uh, I meant have fun."
Luna looked up toward the ceiling. "Light comes easier to some then others, but I believe that knowing you have the capability is enough to guide you in the future. I have faith that you can do it."
Riku felt another annoying blush in his cheeks. "R-right. Thank you." He laughed nervously, unsure of whether it was to lessen the awkwardness he felt or if it was just a lingering note of pride at Luna's words. "You've helped so much in such a short time. Is there something I can do to repay you?"
Luna's serene and calm aura melted for a moment. She pulled her trident close to her chest. "You are going to go to other worlds, correct? I do have one selfish request. Perhaps, if you find Noctis, my fiancé, would you let him know that I am here, waiting for him?"
"Consider it done."
By the time Sora, Donald, and Goofy returned to give Cid, Chip, Dale, and Gadget the supplies they needed, not only had the four engineers organized the gummi mess, but they had also drafted blue prints and were excitedly talking about putting together an engine that, as Gadget put it, "is going to be super turbo amazing!"
The trio worked alongside the engineers, until Riku, Kairi, Professor Von Drake, Max, King Mickey, Leon, and Lunafreya returned. Yuffie, it turned out, had volunteered to do the first patrol around town. With everyone assembled, Professor Von Drake gathered Leon and Aerith for a quick meeting to discuss his plans to speed up repairs for the town.
"I vill need a few tools from home, and I must send vord to Mr. McDuck to bring Julius over to help with the heavy lifting, but if my calculations are correct, and they always are, then I predict that ve vill have the chasm filled in and the whole town repaired in less then three months."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "That quick?"
Professor Von Drake's beak curved into a smug smile. "Ve vill. Nothing can stop the genius of Professor Lugvig Von Drake! You'll see soon enough."
Aerith leaned down so that she could shake the professor's hands. "We really are grateful for your help."
"Don't forget about us!" said Dale, waving from Cid's shoulder. "Chipper, Gadget, and I can create more then just gummi ships."
Gadget flew by Aerith's shoulder, flying a mini, make-shift helicopter that was powered by the little pedals she was rotating with her legs. "Do you need a forklift? Or a bulldozer? Or a giant crane? Just say the word. I love making things!"
Now that his promises had been made to Leon and Aerith, Professor Von Drake waltzed over and bowed to the King. He then lifted a thick file out of the tiny pen pocket of his lab coat. The Disney Castle residents didn't seem the least surprised by the strange occurrence, but everyone from Hollow Bastion stared at the professor's tiny pocket, wondering just how a man of science can seemingly defy the laws of physics.
Kairi leaned over and whispered in Sora's ear. "Mary, Merlin, and now Professor Von Drake. How do they do that? I want to learn how to shrink things into my pockets!"
"Me too," Sora whispered back, "I would never have to pack again! It would be so cool."
"Mega cool," Kairi agreed.
"Guys," Riku scolded. "Pay Attention."
Professor Von Drake was flipping through the pages of his file. He stopped on a series of notes and then cleared his throat.
"Vile I have you here, Majesty, I vant to tell you vat I uncovered in my research. I have not yet discovered a vay to predict ven vorlds vill crash into each another but I have learned vhy people are appearing in vorlds they shouldn't be in."
Mickey leaned forward. "Gosh. That is important. What do you know?"
"There is a vild influx of light into the vorlds, but I'm sure you already knew that."
Mickey nodded. "That's what Master Yen Sid told us."
"Quite right. Light is forcing the vorlds to merge, and that is creating chaos even in vorlds that have not yet been connected. Even though ve all share the same sky, every vorld has its own rules, laws, physics, sometimes magic, or even time manipulation."
Sora thought back to Merida's world and how there were no heartless there. He remembered how, in Wilbur's world, they could travel through time. Wonderland messed with gravity, and he could walk on the ceiling. There had even been a whole a civilization of mice in Alice's city. And in Jim's world, there had been a whole universe to explore.
"By blending vith other vorlds," Professor Von Drake continued, "the order of things has been disrupted. The rules no longer matter. Vat you are seeing, vith people appearing vhere they should not be, and even the svitching phenomenon right here in Hollow Bastion, is a side effect of that. There are no rules that bind people to their home, so there is noting to stop the darkness from plucking them out of their own vorld and depositing them in another."
"So it was the darkness throwing people around after all," Riku mumbled.
"That is not all." Professor Von Drake flipped to another page in his file, cleared his throat, and began speaking again. "More light means that more heartless are appearing because they're attracted to the light. More heartless means more chaos. More chaos means less adherence to the rules, vat little there are left. The heartless, the svitching, the people appearing vhere they should not be, is only the beginning. More unforeseen problems may be heading our vay."
Mickey clenched his fists. "Is getting rid of the excess light the only way to stop it? And what other kinds of problems might we have to face?"
Professor Von Drake grimaced. "I'm afraid even I do not know the answer, Majesty. I vill need more data before I am sure. I simply vanted to give you a varning."
Just then, there was a puff of blue smoke. Merlin appeared, standing smack dab in the center of the meeting. The heavy book from Belle's library floated in front of the old wizard. He tapped the tomb with his wand and the book opened up to a random page. Looking up from the book, Merlin finally spotted all the confused glances that were aimed his way.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all," said Professor Von Drake, "I vas just finishing up my report on my findings."
Merlin twisted one corner of his mustache. "Jolly good. Then I believe it is my turn, yes?"
"You found something too?" Mickey asked.
"I have deciphered a section of this text. Mind you, it wasn't easy. Written in an ancient language, and with a dialect long forgotten no doubt, this truly was a test of my-"
"Excuse me, Merlin," Aerith interrupted, "but we're a little short on time."
"All right, all right," Merlin huffed, turning to face Mickey. "I have discovered a spell that can stop the switching problem in Hollow Bastion."
Aerith put her hands together. "That's wonderful!"
"Yes, m'dear, but, in order to do it, I need a pair of keyblades."
Sora walked forward to stand at Mickey's side. The two keyblade masters looked up at Merlin, waiting instructions.
"Now then, summon your weapons and face each other, if you will."
Mickey and Sora did as they were told. Merlin waved his wand and the old spell book before him fluttered down till it was floating between Sora and Mickey.
"I am going to cast the spell. Once I do, a keyhole shall appear, and I will need the two of you to lock it. Once that is done, the switching problem should be nullified. Are you ready?"
Mickey and Sora nodded. Merlin raised his wand, and began mumbling words that were unlike any language Sora had ever heard. Everyone in the square grunted, their hands rising up to cover their faces as a blast of white wind nearly knocked them off their feet. The only thing that kept Chip, Dale, and Gadget from flying off was Cid catching them in his hands and holding them close to his sturdy chest. Merlin's blue robes rose up around his ankles. He fluttered up into the air, still furiously speaking that strange language. Magic sparkled at the end of his wand, the power casting blue and white shadows over the ground and the sky, until everyone was engulfed in a light show of magic and enchanted wind.
Mickey and Sora grunted, holding their keyblades up, waiting for the keyhole to appear between them. The pages of the spell-book flipped angrily until they suddenly stopped. An orb of light popped out of the book's pages. It floated above the book, growing bigger and bigger, a shape appearing within it. A keyhole.
Mickey and Sora aimed their keyblades. Light from the two weapons traveled into the keyhole. There was a great "click," the sound of a closing lock. All the magical dust and shadows exploded, and for one split second, everyone was awash in white light. It was only an instant, but in that white void, Sora felt a voice whisper in his thoughts, a voice he knew from his dreams.
A single shut door cannot stop a great flood. The true source must be sealed tight.
The light faded. Merlin's feet met the ground, and the spellbook from Belle's library let out a loud clap as it closed.
"And that's that." Merlin sang. "Now there will be no more s-s-s-switchiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!"
Merlin's words had ended in a surprised yelp, for at that very moment, the ground bucked beneath his feet. Everyone tried not to lose their balance as the earth roared. Nearby, buildings bounced, their walls cracking.
"M-M-Merlin! W-w-what d-did you d-do?" Donald stuttered as he bounced up and down.
"I have had done nothing! The book didn't say anything about an earthquake following the spell!"
The shaking stopped. Sora sat on the floor, trying to gather his wits. For a few precious seconds, absolute silence filled the air, and he looked around, spotting a few familiar items on the floor. The earthquake had shaken a few things loose from his pockets. Sora spotted Kairi's good luck charm resting next to the weird, green charm he had picked up back in the castle.
Picking up the two charms, Sora moved to help Kairi, Goofy, and Donald back up to their feet. When Kairi spotted the green star charm in Sora's hand, she gasped.
"Where did you get that? It's just like Riku's."
"It fell on the floor right after I defeated a heartless," Sora explained. "Didn't Mary Poppins say that there are three of these things?"
Kairi nodded, waving Riku over. He pulled out the orange star charm he had found in Neverland. Sora compared the two. They had the same shape, both made of stained glass, with metal frames around the star points. In the center of each star was a jagged, heart-shaped symbol. The only difference was that Riku's star charm was orange, while Sora's was green.
"So, all that's left is the blue one," Sora said.
"What do you think will happen when we find it?" Kairi wondered.
"Hopefully some answers about where the excess light is coming from," Riku said.
Donald made his way up to the three friends and tapped his foot. "Excuse me, but does anyone else care that we just had an earthquake?"
"Yeah," said Goofy, joining in, "I wonder what coulda caused it."
"I got your answer right here!"
Everyone looked up to see Yuffie jump down from one of the nearby roofs. She ran to Aerith, grabbing the older woman's hands.
"Is it," Aerith lowered her voice, "you know who again?"
"What? No, it's not Seph-"
Yuffie closed her mouth when Aerith began glaring. After a few seconds to consider her words carefully, in a calmer and softer tone, Yuffie began to explain.
"The town is fine. The castle is fine. But, there is some weird, hazy thing on the edge of town. I think-"
Mickey's ear twitched. "Another world is merging into this one."
Yuffie snapped her fingers, pointing at Mickey. "Bingo."
The king waved at his troops. "Looks like our time in Hollow Bastion is done. I have a feeling we should go investigate." Turning to Leon and Aerith, Mickey bowed. "I wish I could do more to help, but-"
"We understand, Majesty," said Leon.
"A leader must deal with the biggest problem," Aerith added.
"Thanks pals," said Mickey.
"Make sure to come on back when you have some free time," said Cid. "To pick up the gummi ship." He heaved a huge sigh, even though there was a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm sure we'll have it fixed up in no time."
Chip, Dale, and Gadget hopped excitedly in Cid's hands.
Turning to Yuffie, Mickey asked her to escort them to the edge of town. Quickly saying his goodbyes to the Hollow Bastion team, Sora was about to head out when he noticed that Kairi and Max had lingered for a moment. Aerith was leaning down, whispering something in Kairi's ear.
The younger girl blushed, and then turned to Aerith.
"I'm not ready just yet. I need to find a friend of mine. A little bit more time, then I can give you an answer. I promise."
Max gave Kairi a gentle shove. "Come on, don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you can do it."
"But, I don't know anything about leading!"
"You didn't know anything about dual wielding either. You'll learn."
Kairi didn't look reassured by Max's words but she moved past Aerith. A few steps away from catching up to Sora, Kairi paused and looked back over her shoulder.
"About Sephirth. I know he was being a little mean about it, but Riku had a point. If the two of them are looking for each other, then they'll have to fight. "
Aerith looked up toward the sky. "You're right. I just don't want to feed the darkness in Cloud's heart."
"But doing nothing doesn't help." Kairi bit her lip. "I don't know much about leading, but I know that it's better to reach out and go after your friends then just waiting around for them. You said Cloud won't feel better even if he defeats Sephiroth, right? Well, isn't it our friends' job to help us through those hard feelings?"
Aerith didn't turn to look at Kairi. Instead she clasped her hands together, pressing her lips to her knuckles. "Hmm, seems you're wiser then you think you are. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I need some time to think too."
The two women nodded at each other, a silent note of respect, good bye, and understanding passing between them. Her business done, Kairi waved for Max to move onward. The young knight ran ahead to join the rest of the team. When he ran by Sora, he gave the keyblade wielder a wink.
Sora frowned for a moment, wondering what Max's expression had meant. Then he turned when he heard Kairi approaching behind him. Her gaze was on the ground, and she was rubbing her arms as though she had caught a chill. She walked passed Sora, following Max. Getting into step beside her, Sora asked her what was wrong.
Kairi swallowed. "N-nothing. Sorry, I'm not ready to talk about it."
"Okay. If you need me to listen when you're ready, I'm here."
Kairi's eyes snapped up to his. "Sora, we'll always be together, right?"
Sora grinned. "Of course."
"How can you be so sure?"
He began counting off his fingers. "We were separated at Destiny Islands and we found each other again. We were separated at The End of The World and we found each other again. You found me in the realm of darkness, and we reunited in Disney Castle. If that's not proof that we'll always find a way to be together, I don't know what is."
A smile tugged at Kairi's lips. Before Sora realized what she was doing, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Sora froze, his foot still hanging in the air as Kairi's surprise attack had caught him mid step. If it weren't for the powerful thumping of his heart in his chest, he might have believed he had just died and gone to heaven. His hand trembled as he brought it up to his cheek, which was now redder then the sunset.
Kairi fidgeted with her hands for a moment. When she met his shocked gaze, her eyes were sparkling.
"Thanks, Sora."
Then she bolted, running to catch up with Max and the others. Sora spared another wonderful second to bathe in the glow of complete and utter bliss before he ran after Kairi and the others. He only hoped that his uncontrollable laughter stopped by the time he caught up.
"That wasn't there before," said Sora, taking in the sight before him. "Was it?"
"No," whispered Yuffie. "The last time I was here, it was all one big haze, like a mirage, but now..."
Normally, there would be an ocean at the edge of Hollow Bastion. The town and the castle floated in a disk of water. Now, several acres of land had been pasted over a section of Hollow Bastion's ocean. Kairi stared at the new land, at the dead, leafless trees, and the dull brown earth. At the center of the dry forest, beyond a set of old, metal gates, was a mansion. Just like when Beast's castle crashed into Disney Town, the sky above was split between two worlds. Behind Sora, was the pink and violet, dusk sky of Hollow Bastion. Ahead of him, was the cloudy, foggy, fall sky of the strange dead forest and mansion.
The mansion was nowhere near as tall and foreboding as Hollow Bastion's castle, but what it lacked in height, it made up for in width. Carefully, Kairi pushed open the rusted gates, ignoring the eerie creaking of the metal hinges. She walked into the sprawling courtyard in front of the mansion. Stepping around the dried hedges and withered thorns of the front lawn, Kairi stared at the property. There was a small, mossy pond next to the building. Tall, brown and black, hedges obscured the area around the mansion's left side. On the right, there was a greenhouse. The glass was stained brown, from years of neglect. Perhaps it was Kairi's imagination, but she swore she could see a spooky, orange glow emanating from within the glass structure.
Riku entered the courtyard behind her and covered his nose. "Gross! Smells like mold."
Kairi could see why. The mansion looked like it needed some serious tender, loving, care. The front face of the mansion was covered in what looked like several hundred years of dirt and grime.
"Be careful!" Max called after Kairi before he too entered the courtyard.
Before he followed the rest of his team into the new land, Mickey faced Yuffie and told her to go back to town.
"Oh, and make sure to tell Leon and the others to warn the civilians not to come here. We don't know what dangers there are in this world," Mickey warned.
"Okay. Good luck. See ya round!" With a puff of ninja smoke, Yuffie was gone.
The party slowly moved through the courtyard, scanning the new space for any other weird phenomenon that could come along with the new world. They made it to the mansion's front steps without incident. Standing before the massive double doors, Kairi looked up to the four, thick columns that stood before the entrance. They reminded her of prison bars, a warning for visitors to stay out.
Sora simply walked passed the columns and casually knocked on the door.
"Don't knock!" Donald covered his mouth, lowering his voice. "What if someone answers?"
Sora gave Donald a funny look. "Isn't that the whole point of knocking?"
"Yeah, but this place gives me the creeps! Can't we explore a bit more before we barge in?"
Sora shrugged, looking through one of the dusty windows. "I can't see anything inside."
"Uh, Sora, isn't it rude to just peek into someone's house?"
Max put a hand on his father's back. "Relax, Dad. It looks like this place is abandoned."
Mickey peered at the sky. "Gosh, those clouds look a lot angrier then before."
A low, vibrating hum echoed through the air, like the buzzing of thousands of invisible wasps. Kairi felt cold chips of ice press down over her skin. The droning hum made everyone in the party lower their heads, as though avoiding some invisible ax that was about to fall from the sky.
Donald pressed his fingertips to his beak. "M-maybe we should go back?"
Mickey tried to placate his nervous friend with a fearless smile. "Come on, fellas, we have to investigate why this world crashed into Hollow Bastioooooooooooooonn!"
The door to the mansion had opened. The house had screamed out a powerful blast of wind. Rather then push the intruders away, it pulled them in. Kairi tumbled, feet first, into a vortex of reds, blacks, and golds, as the air sent her flying though the moldy house. All around her, terrified screams from her friends echoed in her ears.
The next second, pain erupted on her left side as she slammed into the floor. Wherever she was, it was so dark, that she couldn't see much beyond the weak glow of the single candle on the wall. Max tumbled out of the air, landing in a heap next to her. Quickly standing, Kairi reached out with her hands, trying to catch her friends as they flew by overhead.
They all slipped away before she could get a hold of them.
Somewhere in the distance, a door was slammed shut.
Max and Kairi were alone.
The wind stopped rushing through the old house. Kairi wobbled, sneezing as the dust around her settled back down to coat the old, moist carpet beneath her feet. Max rubbed his head as he stood. Before either of them could do or say anything, the single candle along the wall disappeared, bathing them in darkness.
"Max?"
Kairi reached out with her hands. Her fingers pinched something soft and round.
"Ouch! Okay, that's my nose," came Max's nasally reply.
Pulling her hands back, Kairi knelt down and felt around the rough carpet.
"What are you doing?" asked Max.
"Looking for something I can set on fire. Like a torch. Really could have used Riku here since can sense things in the dark."
"Where do you think everyone else went?"
"No idea. I hope they're safe though. Yes!"
Kairi's fingers ran over old, splintery wood. A stool. Placing it down so that the seat was flat on the ground. Kairi grabbed one of the legs and yanked with all her might. She had overestimated her strength because the leg popped right off, making Kairi fall backward, her back hitting what felt like a surprisingly sturdy cabinet.
"Ow!"
"You okay?"
A pair of hands blindly squished her cheeks.
"I'm fine," Kairi mumbled through pursed lips.
Max pulled his hands away, his footsteps thumping as he moved behind her. He hooked his arms under Kairi's, and lifted her up.
"Thanks."
Raising the wooden leg in her hand, Kairi chanted a quick fire spell. Flames whispered to life before her, and Max covered his eyes as the light blinded him for a moment. Holding the torch over her head, Kairi looked up at the ceiling, watching lines of cobwebs shine under the firelight. There was another rush of fall air, as well as the sound of a door knob turning. A very close doorknob.
Jaws tight, Max and Kairi turned around, slowly. Behind them, a few steps away, was a candelabra. This wouldn't normally be such a strange thing, if it weren't for the fact that no one was holding the candelabra aloft. Max and Kairi gulped at the floating piece of furniture. The candle holder suddenly turned and floated down the hall, through a door that opened on its own. Beyond the doorframe, a large space lit up. The red and gold hues that Kairi had caught glimpses of, while she had been tumbling through the air, appeared within.
"Well, that's not creepy at all," drawled Max.
Kairi bit her lip, her cheeks rising. With the shadows of the flames dancing over her face, her smile looked rather odd, as though she were having a stomach ache and trying to hide it.
"Let's go check it out."
"What? You're not scared at all?"
Kairi ignored Max, leading the way forward.
"P-please. I-I've faced the realm of darkness. Nothing scares me."
She moved robotically down the hallway, her legs and arms ticking rather then smoothly transition from one part of a normal walk cycle to the next. A door slammed shut next to her. Kairi shrieked. She grabbed Max's arm, squeezing so tight that the poor boy had to grind his teeth to keep himself from yelping. They stared at the door that had just closed, waiting for it to glow, move, speak, growl, sneeze, anything. Nothing happened, and the silence stretched between them until Max snorted.
"'I've taken on the realm of darkness. I'm not afraid of anything,'" Max said in a high pitched voice.
"Don't mock me!" Kairi let Max go, practically pushing him away and stomping past him. "Come on! The sooner we get out of here, the better. I hope the others are okay."
The duo walked out of the hall, and into the expansive foyer. Kairi took in the antique, renaissance furniture, the intricate moldings along the ceiling, and tapestries that decorated the walls. Two sets of stairs led to the second floor of the mansion, their golden handrails glimmering in the candlelight. Though not as cavernous as Beast's castle had been, standing there, in the middle of the ornate foyer, made Kairi feel as though she were standing in the wide stomach of a giant monster.
Gulping, Kairi went to the exit. Her arm jerked when she tried to pull the massive doors open.
"Locked. And no keyblade to force it open. Just my luck."
Max pressed his forehead to the massive window by the door. "Looks like it started raining."
Kairi copied him, pressing her nose to the cold glass. Through the lightning and fog, Kairi saw the bones of tree limbs. The rain pounded on some shiny rectangles that were rising, slowly, out of the ground. Kairi squinted. Those rectangles hadn't been there when she had first entered the courtyard.
Stepping away from the glass, Kairi held her stomach, realizing what those rectangles were.
"Tombstones."
Max grinned nervously. "That's it. This place is totally haunted."
Kairi darted toward the stairs that led up to the second floor. "Let's look around."
"You sure you're not scared?"
Kairi paused on one of the steps, not turning around to face Max. "Who's scared? I'm not scared? I've faced scarier things for breakfast. Come on, let's explore."
"I'm confused. Are you scared or not?"
Kairi's lips trembled. "I'm just terrified! But also, a real, haunted mansion? Like with actual ghosts instead of heartless? How cool is that?"
Max found himself smiling. "Not going to lie: pretty cool. I just wish we weren't the ones trapped in it."
Kairi held up her free hand, wiggling her fingers eerily. "What if Sora and the others are being chased by ghosts as we speak?"
Max tugged on his ears. "Knowing my dad, he's probably screaming his head off. The only spooky thing he can tolerate is a mime. Oof!"
Max had bumped into Kairi's shoulder. The moment she had reached the top of the stairs, she had stopped walking, and was so still that Max had almost thought she had fallen asleep while standing. Then he heard it, the distant, deep, rumble of an organ, vibrated through the walls. Kairi turned in a circle, shining her torch light on a pair of doors. The music, if anyone could call the long, deep, drawn own notes as such, was coming from beyond them.
Max's hand tightened on one of his sword hilts, his fur sticking up. They stepped through the door, listening to the hinges groan so loudly that they silenced the organ in the distance. Max and Kairi entered a spacious ballroom. Lit by hundred of floating candles, and the occasional flash of lightning from the windows by the ceiling, the room looked as though it was once the host of grand parties and dances. On the far end of the room was an empty fireplace. A dance floor was in front it, and before that, was a long dinner table. Old, forsaken seats, covered in rotten wood and cobwebs, sat around the table.
Besides the entrance, along the wall near Kairi and Max, was an organ. No one was playing it, yet long, miserable notes continued to drone out of the instrument. Lightning flashed, and Kairi quickly turned toward the dinner table. If she hadn't moved, if she had looked at the organ for one more second, she would have seen the shadow of someone sitting in front of the organ, a shadow that only appeared when the lightning flashed.
Max inched toward the head of the table, looking down at an empty plate. There was a piece of paper on the fine china. Unfolding the paper, Max read aloud.
"'Edward Gracey, the master of this estate, in celebration of his upcoming nuptials to Ms. Elizabeth, would like to invite you to his rehearsal dinner.'"
As soon as the words were out of Max's mouth, the fire at the end of the ballroom lit up, bathing what was once a dim room lit only by candlelight and lightning, in an eerie, unnatural blue glow. Figures appeared on the dance floor. Lords and ladies waltzed in perfect, endless circles.
Max and Kairi unconsciously moved closer to each other. The dancers weren't solid. They could see the fireplace, the walls, the tapestries, simply by looking through the dancers' bodies. Someone laughed from overhead. Looking up, the duo spotted a chandelier. Two, smokey figures sat atop of the chandelier. Rags hung off their emaciated limbs, a pair of lipless mouths grinned at Kairi and Max. Lifting transparent mugs, as though toasting, the two figures tipped back the mugs, and drank.
"Actual ghosts," Kairi whispered. Her hip hit the table as she stumbled backward. "Max, I don't like this ride. I want to get off, I feel sick."
"Me too."
Max pointed. Kairi had been so focused on the dancers and the two oddly happy men on the chandelier that she had not noticed what was on the table. A whole buffet of silver plates, filled with spiders, eyeballs, wriggling worms, and severed, green fingers, was set before them. Goblets filled with bubbling, green liquid were set in front of each seat.
A low, melodic yet hoarse, old voice echoed through the hall, hovering to Kairi and Max's ears.
"I do not recall inviting you to the estate."
The duo looked at the entrance. A man walked out of the darkened hallway and into the ballroom. The blue light from the fire slowly added details to his silhouette. He stood, hands folded neatly behind his back, a few feet from Kairi and Max. What was strange about the man was that, unlike the dancers and the two ghosts on the chandelier, he appeared to be solid flesh and bone, instead of a silvery mist they could see right through. Despite this, his creamy, wrinkled skin looked as though it could barely hold on to the bones underneath. He stood so straight and tall that one could barely see the silver hair on his balding head. His black suit looked so tight, it was a wonder the seams didn't rip when he walked with long, proper, deliberate steps. Old, judgmental eyes settled on Kairi and Max.
Kairi gave the man a hesitant wave. "H-hello. Is this your mansion?"
"I am Ramsley, the keeper of this estate, which belongs to his Lordship Mr. Edward Gracey."
Max leaned over and whispered in Kairi's ear. "That's the name on the invitation."
"Indeed it is," said Ramsley, the wrinkles on his pale face deepening. "And I don't believe you were given such an invitation."
"We didn't mean to intrude," said Kairi. "We were kind of pulled in, actually. In fact, it might be the best idea if we go, s-seeing as we wren't invited and all. Would you please point us to the exit?"
Kairi's lip switched when she smiled, but she forced herself to be as cordial as possible, even when Mr. Ramsley's sunken eyes shifted to glare at her. He bowed, stretching his long arm, and pointing to a door along the wall. It was right next to the dance floor, right behind the dancers. Strange that neither Kairi nor Max had hadn't already spotted it.
Ramsley spoke his words slowly, dragging out the words so that they resembled an eerie melody. "Do kindly watch your step on the way. It can be quite perilous, especially in the dark."
"We'll make sure to keep that in mind," said Max, as he slowly walked backwards, away from Ramsley's unblinking eyes.
"Thank you, Mr. Ramsley. We'll be leaving now."
Kairi hustled Max to the door. The moment they were behind it, Kairi leaned against it to catch her breathe. Max snatched the torch from her hand, and held it close to his shivering body.
"That guy gives me the creeps! Why is he all fleshy? He's a ghost too, right? He has to be. No one in their right mind would live here with ghosts, right?"
Kairi shrugged. "Not unless your name is Jack Skellington."
"Who's that?"
"Long story," said Kairi. "Let's just get out of here."
The room they had entered was a wide gallery with paintings adoring the right wall. The left side of the room had floor to ceiling windows. A single door awaited them at the far end of the gallery.
As Kairi walked down the hall, she could have sworn the paintings on the wall changed every time the lightning flashed. A painting of a lovely lady changed into a scaly monster with snake hair. One of the portraits was of a man in an old-timey military uniform. As Kairi passed by the picture, she watched as the man's skin slowly receded from his face, until all that there was left of him were bones and tattered clothes.
Kairi passed by a mirror. Instead of seeing her reflection in the corner of her eye, something with sharp teeth, laughed at her from within the reflective surface.
Kairi screamed. "Thundaga!"
The mirror and the wall around it, exploded, pieces of glass and burning wood crashing onto the carpeted floor.
"Is there a reason you just barbecued that wall?" barked Max as he ducked under the flying debris.
"There was a creepy face it in the mirror! What was I supposed to do? Not barbecue it?"
"No, but I bet if Sora were here, you would have jumped at the opportunity to scream and grab his arm."
"Hey! Don't tease me right now! Let's just get out of here already!"
Max raised an eyebrow. "You fight monsters, but ghosts are the thing that terrify you?"
"Heartless can be defeated. But ghosts? How do you beat something that's already dead? You got an answer, Max? Because I'd love to hear it."
"Man. This place really is creeping you out. The last time you were this scared, we were going to destroy the heartless machine."
"No kidding. I think I'd rather be in the realm of darkness. When Sora was in Halloween Town, I was so glad that I was in his heart and not out running around with skeletons and ghost dogs."
"What happened to 'Let's explore this cool, haunted mansion' Kairi?"
"I lied, okay. I was trying not to look like a chicken."
"Bawk, bawk!" Max clucked.
He opened the door at the end of the hall and ran through it before Kairi could smack him. They entered a circular room with a very high ceiling. Near the ceiling, were a few more paintings.
"I thought this was a way out," said Max. He turned around. "We should probably," his voice slowly lowered to a whisper, "go...back...the door's gone."
"M-Max?" Kairi pointed to the ceiling. "Is the room stretching?"
The young knight looked up, and watched as the paintings by the ceiling seemed to slowly elongate. Each portrait was of a person, but, as they lengthened, some horrible fate appeared below them. A woman was standing on a tightrope over a pit of alligators. Three men were sitting, one on top of the other, as they were slowly sinking in quick sand. A woman sat on a tombstone of her late husband. And a man stood on a barrel of dynamite. As they watched the pictures stretch further, Max and Kairi came to a dismaying observation.
The chamber they were standing in had no windows, and no doors.
Which led to a chilling challenge: finding a way out.
"Of course," Ramsley's voice echoed down from the ceiling. "There's always my way out."
Lightning blinded Max and Kairi. At the same time, the floor vanished beneath from under their feet. Down they went, into a cold, moist, earthy tunnel, into complete darkness.
Jiminy's Journal:
Ramsley (First Appeared in The Haunted Mansion, 2003): A mysterious old man that lives in the mansion that has attached itself to Hollow Bastion. He says he is the keeper of the grounds, and he doesn't seem to like uninvited guests. Or perhaps, it is simply the idea of the living that offends him.
Chapter 48: KH3 Chapter 17: The Haunted Mansion
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Seventeen: The Haunted Mansion
One would think that plummeting down a lightless tube, with the wind screaming in your ears would be the worst thing that could happen when accidentally wandering into a haunted house, but no. For Kairi, the worst part was not the bottomless darkness, her stomach rolling as she fell, nor was it the terrified yelps of Max falling at her side. No. The absolute worst thing was tumbling right through a series of spider webs and having to deal with the itchy, creepy-crawly feeling of sticky thin lines all over her arms and legs. For several seconds, falling was the last thing on Kairi's mind as she desperately patted herself down in the hopes of avoiding an eight-legged stowaway on her person. She was so distracted by the spiderwebs that she could care less that she banged and bounced along the tube until-WHUMPH!
Max and Kairi landed on something oddly soft, like a sofa. At least Kairi thought it was a sofa, because that was the shape it took when she ran her fingers over the rounded, cushiony edges. Whatever it was, it suddenly jerked, careening forward like a sled going down a steep mountainside, closer and closer to a cliff neither Kairi nor Max could see coming.
Hanging onto the couch, the duo screamed as their weird doom buggy sped through dusty darkness. In the midst of the confusion, Kairi saw flashes of tombstones, heard the angry cries of crows, and felt scratches from dry bushes and low hanging tree branches, the only hints that they were outside and not being dragging further into the earth.
The buggy stopped. Max and Kairi flew, splashing face first into a puddle of mud. Coughing, Kairi sat up, waiting for her head to stop spinning as she looked around. A full moon hung overhead. Silver spotlights shined on the tombstones, oven graves, and crypts all around her. There were no ghosts...for now.
Using a nearby tombstone, Kairi pushed herself to her feet, cleaning the mud off her chin. Max paced next to her with his hands shoved grumpily into his hoodie pocket. He passed by a tombstone, did a double-take, and called Kairi over. Stepping next to Max, Kairi read the engraving on the headstone.
"'Here lies Edward Gracey. May his soul rest in peace alongside his love, Ms. Elizabeth.'"
Kairi glanced at the headstone to her right. Sure enough, it bore Elizabeth's name.
"Do you think they died before they could get married?" asked Max.
"That's so sad. I can't imagine not getting to spend a life with someone you love."
Kairi touched the headstones. She knew that offering comfort to two, lifeless, slabs of stone would do nothing to ease the sorrow of the people they represented, but something in her heart compelled her to show sympathy nonetheless. Her fingers slid over the cold stone, and then Kairi gasped as the world around her flashed.
She was no longer standing in a cemetery. Instead, she was in a gold and red ballroom. A young lady, her skin glowing a lovely brown in her white wedding dress, was dancing with a pale gentleman in the center of the room. Kairi watched, mesmerized as the two dancers moved about the ivory dance floor. They looked nothing like the ghosts back in Ramsley's ballroom.
Unlike the ghosts that twirled in endless circles, their backs stiff and joyless, the young lady and gentleman looked into each other's eyes. The gentleman dipped his dance partner, and she rewarded him by hugging him close when he pulled her back up. They swayed and waltzed,as if nothing else existed outside their dance and each other. Kairi had a taste of sweet and sour envy as she watched the two dancers. For a second, she fantasized herself and Sora in such a loving bliss.
"Kairi!"
She jerked. The ballroom vanished. The world around her darkened. The cold air crept back into her lungs as she was thrust back into the cemetery with a very frightened Max at her side. He was pointing toward the distance, toward several open graves and tombstones that were rumbling, as though something were moving under the earth. Kairi summoned her sword, watching as the earth rolled, a tiny hill moving closer and closer toward her.
The mound of dirt exploded several feet away, and something round, with sharp spikes, yellow eyes, and zig-zagging teeth popped out of the earth. Max and Kairi leaned against each other, letting out a breath.
"Oh. It's just a heartless," Max rasped.
"Thank goodness."
Said heartless seemed to be offended that it was a sight for sore eyes. It lunged, teeth opening wide. Jumping back, Max and Kairi ran in opposite, diagonal directions. Then they cut through the heartless by executing a tag-teamed, x-slice. More tombstones and crypts shuddered as another army of burrowing heartless appeared. One after the other, Max and Kairi fought them off. Eventually darkballs joined the battle, and Kairi shifted her attention to frying them all with thunder magic, leaving Max to pick off the heartless on the ground.
Just as Kairi cut through a darkball, something blue flashed in the corner of her eye. She turned, pointing her sword at it. A ghost was nearby, hovering over an open grave. Rags hung off his transparent, blue limbs, and his eyes were wide and glittery.
"You have to stop," he moaned.
Kairi had no time to try and communicate with a ghost. A darkball was gliding her way and she had to duck and slice it as it moved over her head. The moment the heartless vanished, Kairi spotted another ghost sitting on a headstone to her left. This one was of an old woman, holding a bouquet of dried roses.
"We must move on."
The ghost gurgled her words, almost as though her throat was filled with liquid. Kairi squinted at the old ghost for a second before an earth core heartless came blasting out of the ground beneath her feet. It threw her up into the air, and she found herself surrounded by darkballs. They smashed into the reflect spell she quickly conjured, bouncing back and giving her just enough time to blast them into nothing with a follow up lightning spell.
Rolling when she landed, Kairi came back to back with Max. More heartless popped out of every nook and cranny in the cemetery. After several more rounds decimating whole squadrons of heartless, Kairi felt as though her limbs were slowly, but surely, getting heavier and harder to lift. Whenever she stopped to take a breath, another ghost appeared. They watched her, beyond the battle. Kairi couldn't see some of their faces, but she heard their words and felt their sorrow on her skin, like a cold, wet towel.
"He won't let us leave."
"Something is making him stronger."
"Please. We just want to rest."
"It's been so long."
"We're so tired."
Kairi shook her head, trying to shake off the voices, to concentrate on the battle. Then she spotted a circle of purple flames burning around Max's feet. Kairi rushed him, pushing him down before the fire got too close to his body. The flames burst, and an invisible heartless appeared over their heads.
Max blocked the invisible heartless' sword, using his dual blades to twist the weapon out of the heartless hands. More heartless appeared, only to be defeated one after another. Yet the heaviness on Kairi's limbs didn't go away. Instead, the cemetery lit up with a blue glow, as more and more ghosts appeared, begging, moaning, crying. Their wails felt like needles were being pressed into Kairi's skin. She grit her teeth, trying her hardest to fight through the icy pain, even as her ears burst with the sound of the ghosts' cries.
"It isn't supposed to be like this."
"Grim grinning ghosts are supposed to socialize, not steal hearts."
"If this continues, then we will all..."
"I don't want to be a true monster..."
The voices faded when Kairi yelped. Her shoulder collided with the dirt and as her calf burned with pain. The icy feeling and the ghosts' calls had distracted her for one second, but it had been just enough time for an earthcore heartless to sneak up underneath her and bit down, hard, on her leg. Lifting her sword felt like moving mountains, but somehow, Kairi was able to stab the earthcore when it tried to pounce on her and finish the job.
The heartless exploded, and Kairi cast a healing spell on herself, but the heavy, icy feeling wouldn't go away. The ghosts' hopelessness were like thousands of invisible hands. Hands that were pressing Kairi down.
Max ran to her side, pulling her back up. When Kairi touched his hand, the heaviness eased a bit, as Max's concern washed over her. His small charge of light was enough for Kairi to stay conscious. The ghosts' sorrow, and the heaviness wasn't getting weaker, and Kairi realized, with a gulp, that there was really one way to deal with it.
"Need a favor, Max."
"Name it."
"Clear a path? I'm going to talk to one of the ghosts."
The good thing about Max was that he didn't hesitate, or ask why. He simply dug his heels into the dirt, and waited for Kairi's signal. Pointing to an old casket in the distance, Kairi turned toward Max and nodded. He spared only a second to look at the old lady ghost on the casket, watching as she sadly plucked petals from her translucent rose. Looking around, Max quickly assessed the surrounding heartless.
"On three," he warned Kairi.
Letting go of Max's hand, Kairi steeled her concentration. The ghosts' sorrow still pressed her down, but she focused on her goal: the old lady on the casket.
"THREE!"
Max charged like a red and blue lightning bolt. Holding his swords at his sides, he cleaved through heartless on his right and left, creating a path. Kairi stuck close to his back, close to his light, using her magic to push away any heartless that may try to ambush him. Max stopped, several feet in front of the old lady ghost.
"Do your thing," he said to Kairi. He then turned to face the heartless again. "I'll hold them off."
Kairi stumbled toward the old woman, calling out to the ghost. The pressure from all their sorrow made her slur her words, but she managed to say, "Who isn't letting you leave?"
The old woman's gaze was faraway, in an unreachable, invisible dream. She spoke slowly, the words emphasized by a long, sad moan.
"Ramsley."
"Why?"
"Master Gracey and his love have moved on. We were supposed to be at peace as well, our unfinished business done. Yet Ramsley cannot rest. He keeps us captured. If we do not move on soon, we will fade away into darkness. Please. Help us."
"How? What can I do?"
"Madame Leota will know."
A sound reached Kairi's ear, a chewy, scratchy sound. She turned, slicing through a darkball before it could bite her shoulder. The heartless had noticed she had slipped away. A whole herd was stampeding toward her.
"Ramsley's work," the ghost woman whispered.
"I can't help you until I'm done fighting," Kairi gasped.
The old woman stood. "We cannot resist the darkness for long, so go."
"Go where?"
An ax thunked into the ground next to Kairi's foot. Yelping, Kairi slashed at her right side. Her sword went right through a ghostly bride. The veil hung low over the bride's face, making only the half curve of her red lips visible. Her voice was smooth and inviting as she lifted her ax and sang.
"Until death, do us part. Here comes the bride."
The ghost bride flashed across the cemetery, cleaving through heartless without mercy. Just as Kairi was in the middle of processing the terrifying, yet oddly awesome, sight, a carriage burst out of the nearby crypts. The carriage charged, the top hat wearing driver screaming a war-cry as his ghostly horses thundering toward the heartless. Earth cores and darkballs were trampled into nothing. From the sky there was a loud scream. A ghostly opera singer fluttered down and used his rather large body to smash into the ground like a cannon ball.
The opera singer's attack shook the ground so much that Max lost his balance, and the heartless were momentarily frozen in place. In the midst of the confusion, Kairi spotted a golden casket rising out of the ground.
"Go. There."
The old woman's ghost was pointing to the casket.
Kairi's throat throbbed painfully, but she did not have time to feel afraid. The heartless were quickly coming back to their senses. It was do or die, literally. Racing back into the battlefield, Kairi grabbed Max's arm and pulled him toward the golden casket.
Max dug his heels into the ground. "Are we actually going to dive headfirst into a casket?"
Kairi glared at him over her shoulder. "Don't question it! Otherwise I might lose my nerve!"
Kairi reached the open casket, covered her eyes, and jumped right in. Max howled, falling in after her. A moment later, they hit the ground, hard. The air above them stilled. After several seconds of catching their breaths and rubbing their behinds, Max and Kairi realized that they had landed in a corridor of some kind.
Dusty, moldy smells reached Kairi's nose. When her eyes finally adjusted to the dark, she noticed old paintings on the walls. Thankfully, the images in the paintings didn't move. At the end of the corridor was an open door. A blue glow flickered in the room beyond.
Kairi swallowed. "Are we back in the mansion?"
Max looked up. The casket they had entered from was gone. All that was behind them was a dead end.
"I'm so confused. How did we back here from the cemetery?"
Kairi didn't answer Max. She squinted at the blue glow at the end of the hall, and felt a sudden, creepy rush of claustrophobia from the small hallway they stood in. She began walking toward the blue glow.
Max trudged behind her, his swords gripped tight in his hands, eyes darting about, looking for ghosts, heartless, vampires, mummies, scarecrows, werewolves, zombies, living dolls, and whatever other creepy, crawly thing that was waiting for them at the end of the hall. Kairi's legs were shaking. She half expecting something horrible to jump at her from behind. At least she was no longer weighed down by all the ghosts' sorrow.
When they made it to the end of the hall, the duo shared a look, swallowed hard, and stepped into a spacious room that was so dark they could not see the walls. Instruments floated in the air. The ceiling was so high that all they could see was a void of black shadows above. The twinkling of flutes, the banging of drums, and the low booms of a trumpet filled the empty space. At the center of the room, on a raised, round dais, was a table. A crystal ball floated above the tattered, grey table cloth.
The music suddenly stopped, and a whispering voice echoed from the air, all the way into Max and Kairi's bones.
"Thrills and chills ahead. Come. Step before me, else your bravery has already fled."
The hair on Max's scruff stood straight up.
Kairi grabbed his arm, her teeth chattering. "Did you here that? Where did it come from?"
The voice spoke again. "Stow your fear. Come near."
"N-near where?" Max asked.
The crystal ball on the table swiveled, turning around. A pair of eyes narrowed from within the spherical glass, and it took all of Max and Kairi's self control not to scream at the severed, ghost head that spoke from within the crystal ball.
"Do you wish to hear the truth told, or is your cowering all that I am to behold?"
When the woman in the glass spoke, her blue, wispy curls moved about her pale, grey face like an icy wind. Frosty, blue eyes zeroed in on Kairi.
"Are you Madame Leota?"
The face inside the glass nodded.
Kairi let go of Max's arm. Stepping onto the dais, she sat down at the seat before Madame Leota's table. A moment later, she felt Max's hand on her shoulder as he came to stand at her side. Madame Leota, and the crystal ball her head was trapped in, floated above the table, whirling around Max and Kairi.
"Ah, I see. A door to the darkness is what you seek. Where oh where can such an opening be?"
For the first time since entering the mansion, Kairi felt no fear as she looked into the crystal ball. "You know how we can enter the realm of darkness?"
"That I do. But if you want me to do something for you, I require a favor too."
A journal floated down from the cavernous ceiling. It fluttered in front of Kairi's nose. Reaching for the old, musty, leather, Kairi opened the journal to a random page and began to read aloud.
"'Fourteenth September. Master Gracey has fallen in love. That which should bring these tired old bones nothing but joy fills me instead with horror. His bride to be, Elizabeth, is nothing more then a common girl. To wed her would be a stain on the name of Gracey, a name that I have worked tirelessly to raise from the mud since the boy lost his parents many years ago.'"
Kairi turned to another page.
"'Twenty-first October. My words of warning have fallen on deaf ears. I have found letters in the master's study. Letters of correspondence from Elizabeth. They are to elope in three days. I must stop this foolishness before it can be done.'" Kairi paused, slowly lowering the journal. "'No matter the means.'"
Max glanced at Madame Leota. "This is Ramsley's journal, isn't it?"
Madame Leota floated back to her table, watching Max and Kairi silently. The duo stared at her, speaking in unison.
"You don't really mean that..."
They trailed off before they could say the horrible words. When Madame Leota didn't answer, Kairi shook her head.
"Wait. This can't be right. Why would Ramsley get rid of Mr. Gracey too? And if Ramsley, you know, really took out Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth, 'by any means,' before they got married, then why did I see the two of them dancing together?"
"What are you talking about?" Max asked.
Kairi looked at him over her shoulder. "Back in the graveyard. When I touched their tombstones. I saw them dancing, at their wedding."
Madame Leota sighed. "Torn from each other while alive, their hearts still met. One heart they shared, their love easily overcoming Ramsley's betrayal."
Kairi hadn't realized she had been smiling until Madame Leota gave her a knowing look. Then, the ghostly woman's expression hardened.
"Though the lovers have found peace, Ramsley persists. Jealousy tethers him to this place, and his pull is hard to resist."
Max tilted his head. "That's why he's not letting the other ghosts move on or be free? That's stupid."
Kairi slammed Ramsley's journal on Madame Leota's table. The woman in the glass ball raised her eyebrows in surprise when her table shook underneath her.
"That jerk! We have to avenge Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth. We have to free all the other ghosts."
"How?" Max waved his arms around in defeat. "Ramsley is dead, remember? And something tells me he's not the listening type."
"There has to be a way to defeat a ghost. If not for justice, then at least for my own sanity." Kairi leaned forward on the table, squinting at Madame Leota. "What can we do?"
"A schemer he is, through and through. This new power over darkness is new."
Kairi frowned. "How did he get this power then?"
Madam Leota closed her eyes. "Of my visions, only one I can see: someone has empowered Ramsley."
Max groaned. "Who would be crazy enough to give a ghost more power?"
"In order for the spirits to rest, stealing the source of Ramsley's power is your test. Darkness tethers, light releases. Steal that which he covets, and he too vanishes."
"So he'll be weak to light if we get rid of the source of his power." Kairi pushed away from the table, standing. "Great. Now we just need to figure how to get out of here, and find out what that power source even is." She gave Madame Leota a hopeful glance. "I don't suppose you know a thing or two about what and where his power source might be?"
The room became several degrees colder when a door appeared along the back wall. The door opened, revealing the graveyard, now cleared of heartless, beyond.
"Back to the graveyard with you. There, you have some investigating to do."
"Do we have to?" Kairi squeaked.
"Don't delay," Madame Leota warned, "else you want darkness to come your way."
If Max hadn't put his hands on Kairi's shoulders and pushed her toward the door, she would have stayed there for a good ten minutes just trying to summon up the nerve to leave. The moment they stepped through the doorway, they turned around, and saw that there was nothing behind them. The room they had exited from might has well have never existed at all. All that stretched behind them was a long, dry plain, under a clear, starless sky.
"It's too quiet," Kairi mused, looking around. "Where did all the ghosts and heartless go?"
"Maybe they destroyed each other?" Max suggested.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope not. As scary as they are, getting destroyed by heartless is not something I would wish on anyone."
Kairi lifted her legs, stepping over dried, thorny bushes.
"Where are you going?" Max asked as he followed her.
"Looking for Ramsley's tombstone. If Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth had one, I'm willing to bet he does too."
"What will you do if you find it?"
"I don't know, but it seems like a good place to start looking for clues."
Max made a face. "Please don't tell me we're going to dig up the coffin."
Kairi whirled around but before she could say anything, she spotted a big, marble structure right behind Max. A grand mausoleum, lit up by dozens of spooky, blue-fire, candles, sat right in the middle of the cemetery, like a king standing in a crowd of kneeling servants. The letter "R" was written above the mausoleum's front door. Vines had crept up the structure, decorating the glowing, white marble with a touch of erie green.
Kairi stepped toward the mausoleum, closing her eyes, concentrating. Her ability to sense darkness wasn't as precise as Riku's was, but she could still feel its itchy, uncomfortable touch through the mausoleum doors.
"This is it," she told Max. "This is Ramsley's tomb."
Max whistled. "Well someone's self important. Mr. Gracey, the owner of the mansion, and his beloved get a measly headstone, but the keeper of the grounds has a whole mausoleum."
"Gee, what a swell guy," Kairi agreed, squinting at the mysterious letters on the tomb's stone door. She didn't understand the ancient language, but something whispered in her her heart.
"Beware all who enter. Here lies the passage to the dead," Kairi recited.
"Well, that's not creepy or anything," said Max.
There was a bar across the tomb's stone door. Kairi grunted as she pulled it out of the way. The heavy door opened, and a blast of cold, clear air blew Kairi's hair back from her shoulders. There was nothing but darkness within. Picking up one of the candles near her feet, Kairi closed her eyes and stepped into the darkness.
"Okay, Kairi, just think. After this is over, you'll have a way into the realm of darkness. We'll find Oswald. We'll save Ortensia and take them both home." Kairi bit her lip, squeaking, in a high pitched voice. "I just hope nothing jumps at me."
Max picked up his own candle and walked into the tomb right behind her. A few steps in, and the door slammed shut behind them. Kairi let out a tiny, nervous shriek, one that she quickly smothered by covering her mouth.
They walked deeper into the tomb, footsteps echoing as they started down a set of stone stairs. Near the bottom of the steps, Kairi saw a dim, brown glow. Stepping into a cavernous underground room, Kairi had to stop to let her eyes adjust to the light. Several fires flickered in brass basins. More fires burned in sconces on the circular walls.
Kairi gulped. It was like walking into a library of coffins. Rectangular holes were cut into the stone walls, and, in each hole, rested a forgotten coffin. Plaques with names, dates, birth and death, were written underneath each tomb. Except one.
A single, black, stone coffin lay in the middle of the room. The itch of darkness made goosebumps rise up on her skin. By the time Kairi had reached the coffin, the itch had now turned into an uncomfortable burning sensation. Getting on her knees, Kairi pushed the coffin's cover. The sound of stone sliding over stone made her bones tremble, but she kept pushing until the coffin's cover fell off.
Max yelped. The room had shaken when the coffin's cover had fallen to the floor. He nervously peered inside and was almost disappointed when he saw that there was nothing inside the coffin. Nothing except for a swirling ball of black energy. Kairi reached in, about to touch the orb of darkness. It flashed, sliding away from her fingers. Popping out of the coffin, the orb of darkness zoomed across the room, back toward the steps, right into Mr. Ramsley's hand.
"I must admit," Mr. Ramsley moaned, holding the ball of darkness aloft, "I am impressed. Your tenacity is commendable, if not irritating."
Max growled. "Murderer."
The look of contempt on Ramsley's face could have made a thriving garden rot.
"I am no more a murderer when you are a hero. Edward was a fool. The master had everything, and yet he would risk losing it all to marry that woman, that commoner."
There was fury in Kairi's eyes. She locked her gaze on the orb of darkness in Ramsley's hand. "Love isn't foolish."
"I tried to warn the master, but he wouldn't listen. Running away with that girl would have destroyed this house. All my work, my loyalty, duty, my sacrifices, undone."
"Loyalty?" Max growled. "You're just a selfish liar. And what about all the ghosts you've trapped here? What use is there in not letting them rest?"
"Why should they be allowed to rest? Edward and Elizabeth," he said her name as though it were a curse, "have moved on. Why should I remain here, alone, dealing with a curse that should have been cast on my foolish master? If I am to be wrongfully bound to this place, then so shall everyone else that has wondered through this house."
Kairi's was shocked. "Everyone that has wondered through this house? Then some of those ghosts were...you're a real monster."
"No, young lady. I am a rational man. And I see now that the only logical next step is to make sure you two do not leave this place while you still draw breath."
Ramsley lifted the orb of darkness, and a shockwave ripped through the crypt. Kairi's teeth chattered when the dark energy passed through her. Behind her, the wall trembled, the stone cracking, the floor undulating. Something cold wrapped about Kairi's ankle. Looking down, she felt her stomach shrivel as she looked into the lifeless, sunken eyes of a corpse.
The skeleton hissed, dust and spiders moving between its rotting teeth. Tattered clothes hung off its ashen bones. Kairi pulled out her sword and swung. The corpse's hand broke off from the rest of its body. Instead of releasing her leg like she had hoped, the severed hand's fingers clamped down tight on Kairi's ankle, refusing to let go. She managed to pry the hand off and was just about to hack at the corpse when the sound of crackling and moaning reached her. When Kairi looked up, her throat went dry at the sight of dozens of skeletons coming out of every coffin and tomb in the mausoleum.
"DUCK!"
Max grabbed Kairi's shoulder and pulled her down, saving her from getting a fireball to the face. Another black ball of fire flew toward them, as Ramsley threw volley after volley of the dark spells. Max reacted the fastest, cutting through one spell after the next with his two swords. While he defended them from Ramley's attacks, Kairi sliced through the skeletons that were slowly shambling toward them.
"A living state is so easily fixed." Ramsley's voice was calm. "It's only a matter of time. You cannot resist the power I command."
Kairi was quickly realizing that, while her sword could slice off the corpses' limbs, and magic could momentarily wash, electrocute, or burn them back, the enemies would simply dust themselves off and rise back up for another round. Meanwhile, Max was pinned down. Ramsley's black fire spells were relentless, leaving Max no opening to get close enough to snatch the dark orb from Ramsley's hand.
Desperate, Max flung one of his swords at Ramsley. The weapon sailed through the air, and Ramsley did not make a single move to get out of the way. Max and Kairi froze, momentarily transfixed and exited, as the sword flew. The sword pierced the wall, right through Ramsley's torso. Ramsley burst into smoke, and Max and Kairi whooped. Then they realized that the corpses hadn't stopped moving, and that the smoke Ramsley had left behind was slowly coalescing back into a human shape.
Ramsley was back, and his laughter was cold and cruel. "How wonderful. You believe you can actually defeat a ghost?"
"He's really starting to annoy me," Kairi growled as she sliced off the skull of an incoming corpse.
"No kidding. Switch with me," Max panted. "I'm down one sword and I don't have enough ranged attacks to get close. We need to get that orb, otherwise, this will go on forever."
"Okay. Wait for my signal."
"You'd better do it fast," Max barked, "because here comes another volley."
Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi spotted a purple light that was slowly getting brighter. Six corpses lunged at her at the same time. Kairi screamed a reflect spell, protecting Max from several fireballs, and keeping the corpses back just long enough for the two of them to switch places.
The second the spell went down, Max charged at the skeletons. He cut off arms and legs and removed skulls from spines, leaving nothing but crumbled bones on the ground. The skeletons tried to reassemble themselves, but Max wouldn't let them rise back up. It became a cycle. Disassemble, move on to the next group and repeat, keeping all the corpses down even as they rose back up to their feet.
Kairi, no longer held back by the army of undead, threw a waterga spell at Ramsley, momentarily washing away all his fire spells, allowing her to get close enough to reach for the orb in his hand. The moment she was in reach, Ramsley vanished into smoke, taking the orb with him. He appeared in another section of the crypt, redoubling his attacks.
A quick reflect spell stopped a fireball from burning Kairi to cinders. She grabbed Max's sword from the wall, and proceeded to switch between slicing through fire spells, and firing water magic to hopefully get close enough to Ramsley so that she could snatch the dark orb from his hand. Too bad the stupid, old ghost was more slippery then he looked. Ramsley vanished again, reappearing across the room, right behind Max.
Kairi didn't think. She threw a water spell right at Max's back, watching as it doused the fire spells before Max could be burned. The water pushed back the piles of bones that Max had been attacking, but it also swirled Max around, leaving him sitting on the floor, confused and dizzy. Ramsley was nowhere to be found, and Kairi wasted no time in racing across the crypt toward her friend. Several steps away, Ramsley appeared right behind Max, aiming a fire spell directly at the boy's head.
If Kairi was reacting on instinct before, she was absolutely crazed right then. It didn't matter that Ramsley was a ghost and that she would fall right through him, it didn't matter that she would be burned in the process, her mind was working too fast to even think about summoning a reflect spell. Kairi lunged at Ramsley, passing right through him. Her body collided with only truly solid part of Ramsley's body, the dark orb he had been holding in his hand.
Kairi hissed as the darkness burned her shoulder. Still in the air, she saw the dark orb bounce in front of her, falling into an open coffin. Unable to regain her balance, Kairi tumbled into the casket right after it. She landed on her behind, in a wide, dark cave. It was only pure luck that had kept her from falling on the spiky stalagmites below.
Max's concerned voice echoed from above.
"I'm okay!"
Kairi wasn't sure if Max could hear her, but she had no time to stop. The dark orb had fallen into a puddle of cave water. This could be her only chance.
"Try to keep Ramsley back! I almost have it!"
Running toward the orb, she reached out, about to grab it. Then, something, a human shaped shadow, appeared between her and the orb. Kairi froze. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she began to notice the rough edges and shiny surfaces of the shadow.
Not a shadow.
Armor.
Armor she had been seen before. Briefly. In Beast's castle.
Back then, the armor hadn't moved. It had been empty. Kairi hadn't sensed anything inside it. Now, it ticked as moved toward Kairi, like a marionette, and darkness was pulling the strings.
Kairi eyes quickly flitted to the orb of darkness that was lying on ground, right behind the armor.
Though its movements were choppy, the armor was fast. It flashed across the cavern, its open palm glowing with the unmistakable sizzle of magic. Three firaga spells burst from the amor's hand, lighting up the cavern and zooming toward Kairi like homing missiles.
Kairi ducked and rolled, avoiding the three spells. She charged the armor, but it nimbly jumped to the side, dodging her sword strike. Kairi was about to thrust her sword again, when something hot and fast, like a baseball, collided with her stomach, throwing her back against the cave wall. Reeling from the firaga spell to her torso, Kairi could only raise her sword, barely blocking the second spell. The third fireball, which Kairi now realized were the exact same three she had dodged at the beginning of the fight, smacked her sword out of her hand.
Trembling, Kairi pressed a hand to her injured stomach, casting a healing spell. Just as the green, magical leaves pushed away her pain, she spotted several disks of orange light around her feet. The disks moved toward her, exploding when they got too close, like land mines seeking out their target. Kairi jumped and ran, managing to make several of the mines explode by making them collide with nearby stalagmites.
Searching for the armor, Kairi spotted it reaching down to grab the sword she had dropped. With the blade in its metal hand, the armor straightened into a battle stance. Before Kairi could think, the armor was on her, attacking with strikes so quick, it was all Kairi could do to dance out of the way. For one second, the armor stopped, raising the sword into the air. Then it rushed Kairi again.
She had been so focused on dodging the sword, that Kairi had not noticed the barrage of ice crystals that burst out of the ground beneath her feet. The attack threw her up into the air, and Kairi barely managed to summon a reflect spell around herself when the armor appeared right behind her and swung the sword in a wide arc toward her legs.
The sword attack destroyed Kairi's protective spell, and sent her crashing into a heap on the floor. Kairi's back throbbed. Her teeth ached from gritting them in an attempt not to sob. Up above her, Kairi heard Max's pained cry, followed by the unmistakable thump of his body hitting the floor.
The armor was still reaching for her. The orb of darkness was out of her reach. And Max needed help. This couldn't be it. She still had to find her friends, she still had decisions to make. She'd come so far.
The armor reached out and clamped its tight grip on Kairi's upper arm. The cold steel burned Kairi's skin, as did the harsh coating of darkness coming from within the seams of the armor. The armor pulled her up, momentarily dropping Kairi's sword. In its free hand, darkness glowed, a deep, poisonous purple.
Kairi tried to reach out and grab her sword, but the armor's grip kept her far away from her weapon. Slowly but surely, the darkness crept closer and closer to Kairi's chest. She raised her hand, pointing at the armor's helmet. A bolt of lightning brust from Kairi. It coursed into the armor, stopping the metal suit for several seconds. The armor twitched, the darkness in its hand wavering, yet, even as she had fired the spell, Kairi knew it would not stop the armor.
Darkness tethers. Light releases.
Her only hope was a holy spell, but how? She had never done it on her own. Even now, Kairi tried concentrating, on reaching for some light, any light, but nothing came. Darkness oozed off the armor that still had not let go of her arm. It pressed down on her bones, making it hard to concentrate on laughter, on hope, on anything but the terror of failing. If only she knew how to control her power as a princess of heart.
The armor recovered from the lightning spell. It had taken less then two seconds for it to brush off Kairi's magic. It slammed the girl into a nearby stalagmite, holding her still.
Kagome grunted, reaching up to grab the armored hand pinning her back. She squeezed her eyes closed, reaching into her own heart. She had faced ghosts today, there was no way she was going to lose to some stupid armor. No matter what, she had to free the ghosts, had to do Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth right, had to prove that Ramsley was wrong. There was no way she was giving up, she would attempt a holy spell, or she would sink into the darkness while trying.
The fingers on Kairi's arm loosened. The armor stumbled backward, putting several paces between itself and the glowing girl it had trapped. Something silvery blinded Kairi for a moment. Then, cold, yet gentle hands grasped her shoulders, pulling Kairi to her feet. Her pain fluttered away as light and love covered her from head to two. There were people standing on either side of her.
To her left, was a lovely woman in a wedding dress, to her right was a gentleman. His smile was sophisticated and kind. Recognition clicked and Kairi's jaw dropped.
"Mr. Gracey?"
Her surprise was swept away by the sound of Ramsley's furious scream echoing from the hole on the cavern's ceiling. A moment later, Ramsley materialized in the cavern. His eyes were now pale blue, hollow, except for the unhidden hatred. The wrinkles on his face deepened as he looked at his old master.
"You dare to come back here? After you abandoned this house to be with her? How dare you return after all of your mistakes in judgement!"
Kairi sneered at Ramsley. "Where's Max? What did you do to him? Tell me!"
Ramsley ignored her demands, not taking his eyes off Edward Gracey's ghost.
"Love was never a mistake, Ramsley."
Mr. Gracey's voice was calm and soothing, yet firm and unwavering. He stepped closer to Kairi, and she felt something warm flutter over her arm. Elizabeth took Kairi's hand. She too faced Ramsley without fear.
"Our only mistake was never punishing you for your crimes."
And there it was. Light. Gracey's conviction. Elizabeth's love. Both flowed into Kairi like the warmth of a fire after braving a snowstorm. Immediately, her exhaustion faded, and the familiar rush of a holy spell began glowing deep with in her heart. All she had to do was say the word.
Ramsley charged, flames dancing in both of his dead eyes, evil intent zeroing in on Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth. He never reached them, for the combined power that Gracey, Elizabeth, and Kairi had been cultivating, suddenly burst. The three of them had whispered the spell, and a blinding, white wind flashed through the cavern. The second the light touched him, Ramsley faded, never to be seen again.
In the mausoleum above, Max watched as the skeletons fell to the ground. One by one, they crumbled into dust. Outside, in the cemetery, all the ghosts smiled as they felt the light pick them up and carry them away, finally giving them peace. In the mansion's ballroom, the dancers stopped dancing, happy that their waltz had come to a end and looking forward to resting their tired feet as the light took them away as well.
When the white wind finally faded, Kairi was the only one standing. Across from her, the suit of armor rested, face down, on the ground, no longer controlled by the darkness. Kairi spotted something on the cave floor, where Ramsley's orb of darkness had been. Now that her holy spell had washed away the darkness, she realized that the orb hadn't been an orb at all.
Bending, Kairi picked up a star shaped charm. The third and final one. Unlike Sora and Riku's charms, this one was blue. Kairi spent a moment wondering what would happen when she met up with Sora and Riku again. When the three charms were brought together, would they get a clue about how to solve the world crashing problem?
Mr. Gracey cleared his throat. Kairi turned around and caught him bowing. He and Elizabeth hovered in the air, their bodies slowly fading.
"Thank you, miss. Ramsley's gone and now the mansion can fade away into the light, as it should have done many years ago."
Kairi blushed. "I should be thanking you. If you hadn't come here, I never would have summoned the light I needed to defeat Ramsley."
Elizabeth tilted her head. "I don't understand. Did you not call us here?"
"N-no. I didn't."
Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth exchanged a look.
"We were called here," Mr. Gracey explained, "by a strong light. We simply followed it."
"Yet, now that I have time to reflect," Elizabeth said, "that should not be possible."
Kairi stepped toward the ghosts. A new fear, one she couldn't quite explain, made her shake. "I don't understand."
"Normally, when one fades into the light, they don't return as ghosts. Ever." Elizabeth explained.
"The rules of our world must have been broken," Mr. Gracey concluded. "No...Light isn't supposed to run free like this. That must mean-"
The cavern shook. Kairi yelped, lunging to the side before she could be stabbed by one of the falling stalactites that had broken lose from the ceiling. By the time she had found safe space to stand, she realized that Mr. Gracey and Elizabeth had almost completely faded away.
"Wait! Not yet! What did you mean about light running free?"
Mr. Gracey turned toward her, the volume of his voice rising and falling. "There is no time. The mansion will vanish. You must leave now."
"Thank you for everything," Elizabeth whispered, "but you must hurry."
Then they were gone.
Kairi dashed toward cave wall. She jumped on a nearby rock, and was just a few feet away from the ceiling when Max popped his head through the hole above. His face brightened when he saw her.
"You're okay!" The two friends said at the same time.
Max reached in. "Grab my hand!"
Jumping up from the boulder, Kairi caught Max's hand. He grunted as he pulled her up. Looking down at the cavern one more time, Kairi's heart froze.
The armor was standing.
It walked, stopping directly underneath her. She turned to scream, to warn Max, but then the armor did something...odd.
It shrugged.
It turned.
And then it walked deeper into the cave, out of sight.
Max finally pulled Kairi up and she collapsed into him, hugging his waist.
"I'm so glad! I thought Ramsley beat you!"
Max patted her back. "It'll take more then some fireballs and few skeletons to get rid of me, but never mind that!" He pointed to the walls, which were now covered in deep cracks. "We have to get out of here!"
Exiting the tomb, Max and Kairi watched as the world around them slowly collapsed. In the distance, the trees, the mansion, and the furthest tombstones began to sink as the ground crumbled into a black void. There was nowhere to run, yet the remaining ghosts smiled as they faded into nothing.
Max and Kairi moved away from the mausoleum as it shivered and then fell into the earth. Then, they heard laughter right behind them and turned to see Madam Leota. She smiled through the glass of her crystal ball, floating around Max and Kairi.
"Thank you. You have been most sublime. All worlds begin and all worlds end. Feel no sorrow, for it is our time."
With the ground vanishing into nothing, Kairi and Max held on to each other.
"That's great and all," said Max, "but what's going to happen to us?"
"Our journey done, but yours has just begun. We had an accord. An opening to the realm of darkness shall be your reward."
Madam Leota closed her eyes. Below her crystal ball, a black vortex appeared.
"Continue toward your destiny," Madame Leota nodded to the portal below her, "but heed my warning. The end of your path has much treachery. Darkness tethers, light releases. Do not be tempted by the light's caresses."
Madam Leota, like all the other ghosts before her, faded. Never once did the peaceful smile she wore waver, even as her crystal ball disintegrated and her wispy, shadowy form flickered out like a candle. Kairi squeezed Max's hand.
"Well, no turning back now."
Max grinned. "After you."
Kairi looked around. All that was left of the haunted mansion was the tiny spec of land they stood on. It was now or never. Closing her eyes and holding her nose like she was about to jump into a pool, Kairi dived into the darkness, pulling Max through with her.
Sora fell face first into the cold, hard ground. Grunting, he pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Then, his cheek was slammed back down onto the ground as Donald and Goofy fell on top of him.
Sora smacked his lips, spitting out fresh mouthful of dirt. His tongue ran over an elongated canine in his mouth. He blinked, finally lifting his head to take a look around. They were outside, in a world so foggy that the only thing he could see, albeit blurry, was the yellow moon hanging overhead. Wolves howled in the distance, owls hooted, and the air was cool and clear, carrying the echos of distant, shrieking ghosts, as well as the subtle scent of pumpkin spice, cemetery flowers, and sugary candy corn.
Goofy, finally getting over his dizziness, rolled off Sora.
"Gawrsh, sorry pals. Are you two all right?"
Sora reached up and grasped Goofy's hand. Rather then the gloves Goofy usually wore, his hand was now covered in thick fur and there were long claws on each fingertip. Looking up, Sora noticed Goofy's orange, black, and yellow patchwork jacket and pants. A tiny jack o' lantern was now Goofy's nose, and a giant screw had replaced his hat.
Donald groaned from behind Sora. Sure enough, when Sora turned to get a look at Donald, he wasn't surprised to see that his friend's feathers were replaced by faded, mummy wrappings. Sora looked at his hands, which were now covered in clawed, white gloves. His clothes had been replaced as well; he was now wearing a black and white jacket, and black trousers. An orange, pumpkin mask covered his right eye.
"I know where we are," Goofy said. "We're in Halloween Town! Oh boy, I can't wait to see what Max looks like! Wait? Where is Max?"
Sora looked around. Through the mist, he was able to make out Riku and Mickey's shapes. There were collapsed on the ground a few feet away. Kairi and Max were missing. Then, Sora spotted the mansion that had appeared in Hollow Bastion. Strangely enough, unlike everything else in the world they found themselves in, the mansion was not obscured by the heavy fog.
"Are Max and Kairi still in there?"
Goofy and Donald slowly moved toward the mansion's back gates. Just when they were a few steps away from it, the gates flickered like the old, black and white pictures on a broken projector. Then, poof! The mansion was gone, as though it had never been there at all. Only the foggy planes of Halloween Town remained.
Goofy reached out, his eyes wide. "Oh no! Maxie!"
Sora cupped his hands around his mouth, screaming. "Kairi!"
Donald pressed his hands to his beak, panicking. "What happened? Where did it go?"
Something popped out of the air. The trio yelped, falling back as blue, magical sparkles glittered before them. One of Master Yen Sid's enchanted letters floated in front of Sora's nose. His name was written on it. Unfolding the letter, Sora read a few lines and let out a sigh of relief.
"What does it say?" asked Goofy.
"It's from Kairi. She and Max are safe, and they'll meet up with us later. She says that she'll head back to Master Yen Sid's place when their mission is done."
Goofy put his hands over his heart. "Well, as long as they're okay."
Donald patted Goofy's elbow. "Max will be fine. He was trained by King Mickey. There's nothing he can't handle."
"Yup. Plus Kairi can take care of herself," Sora said.
"And good luck to anyone that tells her she can't," came Riku's voice.
Turning around, Sora spotted Riku and Mickey moving toward them through the fog. He was about to ask Riku and Mickey if they were all right, but when the two of them came close enough to be seen clearly, all that came out of Sora's mouth was a laugh.
"What?" grouched Riku, wrinkling his nose. "I feel kind of funny. Why is everything so much louder all of a sudden? And I smell more things then usual."
Sora walked around Riku. "Put your hands on your head."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Huffing, Riku did as his was told. Then he proceeded to scream.
"What the-my ears!"
Sora's laugher returned, full force. "I know! They're adorable! You look like some kind of wolf-man!"
"This isn't funny, Sora!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that your tail wags when you're surprised."
"I HAVE A TAIL?"
If Sora was laughing before, he was almost rolling on the floor now. Riku stomped around, his new wolf feet making it so his footsteps were silent, instead of the angry thumps he had been hoping for.
"I wish Kairi were here," Sora wheezed. "She'd be all over you, petting your fluffy, silver mane of hair and your cute widdle paws!"
At this, Riku stopped so that he could flex his hands. There were paw pads on his palms, and long claws at his fingertips. Sora was now kicking his feet. Riku growled, much like the wolf he would rather not be.
"Would you knock it off?"
"Okay, okay." Still chuckling slightly, Sora rolled over on his hands and knees before pushing himself back up. "I was only joking."
King Mickey, who had been silently watching the argument and trying his best not to laugh, finally let a chuckle escape from his lips. Riku's face spelled absolute betrayal as he turned toward the king.
Mickey grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. But the lone wolf thing suits you a little too well."
Mickey put his hands into the pockets of his new, green lab coat. Much like Goofy, he wore a pair of patchwork pants, except his were purple and green. With two big bolts coming out of his neck, and a piece missing from his left ear, as well as a few sewn up scars on his face, Mickey looked more like a mad scientist then a keyblade wielder.
"Sora, I think you should stop before you really hurt his feelings."
"Only if he howls at the moon."
"Sora," Mickey scolded, tapping his foot on the ground.
"Fine, fine. To be honest, I actually like it. You look cool."
"Thanks. I could do without the tail though."
Riku's wolf ears suddenly twitched. He took a long sniff of the air, and then frowned, facing something in the distance.
"Uh oh."
There was a loud boom that shook the autumn leaves up from the ground. Goofy, Mickey, and Riku covered their sensitive ears, while Donald and Sora tried not to fall over as the aftershock of the explosion made the ground rumble beneath their feet.
Something terrible had just happened in Halloween Town.
Jiminy's Journal:
Madame Leota (First Appeared in The Haunted Mansion, 2003): The ghost of a Romani woman that once resided in Mr. Gracey's mansion. Trapped inside her own crystal ball, her favorite pastimes are reciting haunting premonitions and making rhymes. She helped Max and Kairi find a way to the realm of darkness, in return for setting everyone in the mansion free.
Edward Gracey (First Appeared in The Haunted Mansion, 2003): The master of mansion. He was once a well known gentleman that had a high place in society, but he was willing to throw all of it away to be with his one true love. Although Ramsley's betrayal stopped him from being with her, his love was so strong that his ghost found her in death.
Elizabeth (First Appeared in The Haunted Mansion, 2003): The woman that Mr. Gracey loved with all of his heart. Though she could not be with Mr. Gracey in life, due to her status as a commoner, she was able to find peace with him in death. Yet, somehow, she returned as a ghost when Kairi's heart reached out for help.
Chapter 49: KH3 Chapter 18: Halloween Town
Chapter Text
Author's Notes
New Year, new chapter.
And wow, 61 kudos! Never thought I'd get that far. Let's shoot for 100. (I can dream, right?) Thank you @IronTiger26, Horrorfan247, Loomcat, Fanficcrazygirl, Cooper 98 and KingPagie and all the guests for the kudos!
Also, HOLY COW, thank you @Loomcat for your comment. I so glad the fic is making you happy. If I could brighten someone's day, that's enough for me. So glad the ride or die bond that Kairi and Max have is coming through to my readers. Also, Freya showing up in Little London seems to be everyone's favorite bit so far. YES!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Eighteen: Halloween Town
The fog was thick. Like jellied brains. At least that's what it felt like as a thin layer of sweat coated Sora's forehead. He pushed his legs through the wet, white mist, grunting as each step felt as though he were wading through slowly hardening caramel. Behind him, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were panting. They couldn't have been running for more then five minutes, but already Sora felt the tempting need to stop, sit, and breathe.
Tombstones that were as tall as a house sprang up around them through the mist, telling Sora that they were just a few more steps away from entering Halloween Town. Yet the party had to stop, hands on their knees, to try and get oxygen to their sore muscles.
Goofy wiped the sweat off his muzzle. "Gawrsh, I'm tired."
Donald wobbled, putting his hand on Goofy's leg to keep himself standing. "Sure hope we're going the right way."
"I just hope we don't get ambushed," Sora said.
Riku, still panting, put a hand up to his wolf ear. "We're okay. Don't sense anything nearby. Wait. Some kids are coming toward us."
Mickey huffed and puffed. "What kids?"
A trio of trick-or-treaters appeared through the fog. They scampered like gnomes, easy wading through the thick atmosphere. They were short, shorter then Donald. In the lead, was a little witch girl. She turned her head around, barking at her two companions.
"Hurry up! We're going to lose them!"
The next trick-or-treater, a boy in a red devil costume, growled at the boy bringing up the rear, a boy in a skeleton costume.
"Move it, Barrel. You're so slow."
"But you're not going that much faster then I am," complained skeleton boy.
Donald lunged in front of the devil boy, making the kid screech to a halt. He glared at Donald when he stopped.
"Oh great. It's you."
"Hello Lock." Donald crossed his arms, tapping his finger on his elbow. "What kind of trouble are you getting into this time?"
The devil boy took off his red mask, revealing a pale, thin face underneath. When he sneered, he revealed a row of pointy teeth.
"None of your business!"
Donald stomped his foot. "What happened in Halloween Town?"
Lock put his devil mask back on, but not before sparing a second to stick his tongue out at Donald. "Like I'm going to tell you!"
Lock jumped forward, smashing his foot down on Donald's flipper. Yelping, Donald grabbed his leg, jumping up and down and shouting all manner of angry curses. While he was busy forgetting that he could simply heal himself with magic, the witch girl, Shock, pounced on him with a giant trick-or-treat bag.
The bag swallowed Donald. He fell over, squirming in the brown burlap until Shock and Barrel gave him a mighty kick. The bag, and the screeching duck inside it, rolled into the fog. Goofy slapped his hands over his mouth before he chased the bag.
Laughing, the three culprits made a break for it. They would have gotten away if Sora and Riku hadn't reached down and plucked Lock and Barrel off the ground. Shock kept running, yelling, "later idiots." She didn't get very far either, as Mickey trapped her in a small reflect spell.
Barrel kicked and punched the air, which only made Riku lift him higher. One look at Riku's face and Barrel froze.
"Werewolf!"
Riku's lips peeled back to reveal a set of fangs. "I've always wondered what naughty trick-or-treaters taste like. Maybe I should take a bite."
"Don't eat me!"
"You do look a little chewy. Maybe I'll just settle for information instead."
Barrel covered his eyes. "I'll tell you anything!"
"Traitor!" Shock and Lock accused.
A furious scream cut through the fog. Donald came back. He was kicking his arms and legs in the air, completely unhindered by the thick fog as his rage blinded him to nothing else but unintelligible ranting. Sora was barely able to make out the words "so much trouble" and "doggone kids." Goofy returned, looking more hurt then angry.
"Now that wasn't a very nice thing to do."
Shock's response was to take off her witch mask and blow a raspberry at Goofy. Steam escaped from between Donald's mummy wrappings. Only Mickey saved Shock from what must have been the world's most annoying lecture. He raised a hand, stopping Donald in his tracks. The duck had been seconds away from charging like a mad bull.
Lock squirmed, thrashing in the air. "You big jerks! Let us go already! We've got places to be!"
Sora stretched out his arm, holding Lock as far away from his body as possible. "And just where are you going?"
"What's going on in Halloween Town? Tell us and we'll let you go," Mickey said.
"Boring monster stuff," Barrel answered.
"Heartless?"
"Yeah, like he said, the same old boring monsters," Lock snapped. "Now let us go. We've got bigger fish to fry!"
"Like what?"
"Witches!" Shock kicked the inside of her reflect spell. "Do you really have time to stand around and talk to us? Before we left, the mayor and old doctor were in a lot of trouble."
The party released Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Sora ran, as fast as the fog would let him, to the town. Riku came up behind him, easily taking the lead, as he was the only one that could "see" through the fog. Trusting Riku's senses, Sora hoped they had entered the town proper. He couldn't see any buildings, but he did see a round structure a few feet before them. Riku skid to a stop, and it didn't take long for Sora to realize why.
Though the visibility was low, he spotted several black creatures crawling over the giant, round thing. Then Sora had to bend low and cover his head. A loud bang shook the fog around him, and something had flown through the air. A sharp and thin sheet of metal sliced through the air over head, crashing into a distant building.
Sora lifted his foot as another smoking piece of metal slid over the cobblestone toward him. Kicking the hot metal before it could hit him, Sora realized that it must have been part of some kind of machine.
Screams echoed from within the mist, and not the fun kind. Halloween Town always had screams, but those were the thrilling, delighted kind that came with suspense and surprises. These were the screams of people fighting for their lives. It wasn't long before it was Sora's turn to fight for his.
A heartless lunged at him through the fog. Sora gave his keyblade a swing, and discovered, to his shock, that his attacks were slower, his hits weaker. The fog exerted pressure on his weapon, and the neoshadow heartless easily sidestepped his attack, claws inching toward Sora's neck.
"Reflect!"
Mickey's magic surrounded the party. The heartless bounced off the magical glass.
Donald raised his staff. "Your Majesty, we need to blow the fog back."
Nodding, King Mickey tapped his keyblade against Donal's staff. Together they shouted, "Aeroza!"
A sphere of wind grew from between the pair. The winds spread out, whirling like a tornado. A dome of air spread over the town square. The spell wasn't able to completely cleanse the fog, but it was enough that Sora was able to move at a reasonable speed. The party could now make out the shapes of the heartless, as well as a few civilians.
"B-by order of the mayor, I demand that you leave Halloween Town at once! And take this insufferable fog with you-yow!"
Sora spotted a ridiculously long top-hat behind the fountain in the center of the town's square. He and Riku ran toward the top-hat wearing, triangle-shaped, man. They sliced through a line of heartless that had pushed the man over. While Sora helped the town's mayor, Riku moved about them, keeping the heartless back.
"You okay?"
For such a terrified politician, the mayor spared a second to adjust his spider bow tie. He waved his megaphone at Sora.
"Y-you! Boy! I remember you! These creatures are your specialty, aren't they? Well, I demand you get rid of them right now!"
"Sora! On your left!"
The neoshadow that had been creeping up on Sora was easily sliced into quarters. The mayor screeched, his white face somehow getting paler. His green lips quivered as he held on to Sora's leg for dear life. The mayor's panic pulled Sora off balance, making him stand on one leg. The heartless capitalized on Sora's weakness. Luckily, Riku was there to slice the heartless while Sora was busy getting both feet on the ground.
"Riku!" Mickey called. "The aero spell won't last forever. Get the civilians someplace safe before the fog resettles."
Glancing at Sora, Riku said, "I'll the handle the heartless."
With Riku providing cover, Sora pried the mayor's hands off his leg. He ran toward the guillotine in the center of town square, with the mayor sticking close to his side. Just a step away from the guillotine, Sora tripped. Standing, he picked up whatever had tripped him.
It was a severed arm.
A blue arm that was stitched together.
Recognition hit Sora in the gut. He knew exactly whose arm he was holding. He searched through the fog. He didn't see the owner of the arm, but he did spot several yellow eyes, gathered together over someone on the ground. Sparing a second to cast an aero spell around the mayor, Sora charged at the group of heartless. They never saw him coming. Several blizzard spells later, Sora was kneeling on the ground, leaning over a rag doll with a missing arm.
The doll opened her big eyes after Sora casted a healing spell. She blinked at him.
"You're here?"
Sora held up the severed arm he had picked up earlier.
"Hi Sally. I think you dropped this."
The arm waved back at its owner.
Reaching with her attached arm, Sally took her lost limb from Sora. She pulled a needle out from behind her ear. Too bad she had no time to sew her severed arm back on. A neoshadow lunged at her from behind. By the time Sally had turned to scream, Sora had already tossed his keyblade, razoring the heartless into nothing.
Catching his keyblade when it came back to his hand, Sora helped Sally to her feet. She pulled back.
"We have to go back to the lab. Dr. Finkelstein is all alone."
Sora looked back over his shoulder. The mayor had moved to cower by Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey. Knowing his friends could keep the mayor safe, Sora gestured for Sally to lead on. The journey to Dr. Finkelstein's lab was slow, but safe, thanks to Sora.
Just outside the lab, by the metal gates, Sora spotted a wheelchair lying pathetically on its side. Heartless were gathered around the frail, white figure on the ground, beside the wheelchair. Sora shot several blizzard spells, freezing the heartless before slicing the ice cubes with his keyblade.
Sally ignored the melting chunks of magical ice as she ran to help the man that had fallen from his wheelchair. She hauled the old doctor back up into his seat. Dr. Finkelstein's head bobbed forward, muffling grumbling coming from his beak-like mouth. The man's beady, black eyes opened after Sora casted a healing spell.
"Sally?" Dr. Finkelstein groaned. "What happened?"
"The heartless attacked and destroyed your giant, electric fan."
The doctor banged his fist on his wheelchair. "My experiment! Cursed creatures! I was just about to blow away this incessant fog! Where's Jack when we need him."
"Jack's not here?" Sora asked.
Donald yowled, catching Sora's attention.
"Hurry! We can't blow the fog back much longer! Goofy is out of ethers and I'm almost out of magic!"
Sora pointed to Dr. Finkelstien's lab. "Hide," he told Sally and the doctor. "I'll come meet you after the heartless are gone."
Though she was down an arm, Sally was able to push Dr. Finkelstein's wheelchair through the gates. Once the gates were closed, Sora dashed back into battle, regrouping with Riku. When the two boys met back up, they got into that mysterious headspace where concentration, instinct, and movement met. The pair began decimating whole groups of heartless.
"How many more are there?" Sora asked as he sliced through what must have been the ninetieth heartless he'd defeated that day.
"More then I can count. The god news is that I don't sense any more civilians in the square. Mickey and the others have taken them all somewhere safe."
Sora's body tensed, but it wasn't from stress. "Are you saying that you and I are the only one's on the battlefield."
"Yes."
"No one else? Your positive? No collateral damage?"
A slow, understanding grin spread over Riku's face. "We're clear. Go ham."
Smacking Riku's hand in a rather loud high five, Sora dove into the thickening fog. Now that Mickey and Donald no longer pushing the fog back, the atmosphere pressed on Sora, slowing him down. He cast an aero spell around himself. Though he couldn't move at his normal speed, at least his attacks and magic would hit hard enough to damage the heartless. So there was nothing to stop Sora from gleefully running around the battlefield, as fast as his legs would allow, throwing magic spells left and right, and blasting any heartless that were unlucky enough to be standing wherever the magic hit, which was almost everywhere.
Unless he were ambushed, Sora had no way of knowing if there were heartless nearby. Not that it mattered. With no innocents to worry about, and energy to spare, Sora laid a manic, magic path of destruction until his energy ran out. While Sora threw down some chaos, Riku had taken on the role of assassin. Like a wolf hunting unsuspecting rabbits, he slipped into the darkness, using his senses to locate and surprise attack unsuspecting heartless.
By the time Sora was out of magic, Riku had cleared all the remaining heartless from the square.
"Clear." Riku wipped the sweat off his forehead. "Nice job, Mr. Crazy. You know, for the first time, I feel a little afraid of you."
Panting, hands on his knees, Sora turned his head up so he could give Riku the toothiest grin ever. "Happy Halloween."
There was a sudden rush of cold air when Riku and Sora entered Dr. Finkelstein's lab. The breeze moved through the entire metal interior, making the fur of Riku's ears, mane, and tail puff up in response. Across the room, Dr. Finkelstein pulled a lever. The air settled.
"There," Dr. Finkelstein growled. "Any good mad scientist has a reliable ventilation system. There will be no fog in my lab."
"What great forward thinking, Doctor."
The mayor, now that he was no longer in danger, wore his happy face. His skin was tanned, peachy. One eye was black and beady, the other was a spiral. His green lips and sharp teeth were gone, replaced by a wide, red-lipped smile.
Dr. Finkelstein made a low, "humph" sound, tapping his finger on his wheelchair. "Only a temporary fix. We can't stay holed up in my lab forever. I have work to do. Something must be done about this fog!"
The Mayor's head swiveled like an owl's. His tan, happy face was replaced by his white, anxious face. "But Jack's not here," he whined. "I'm only an elected official. I can't handle things by myself. I need ideas."
Sally put a hand on the mayor's shoulder. "I think we should just tell anyone left in town to stay inside. We can't know what's lurking in the fog. Better to be safe."
"B-but that means we have to go outside. What if there are more of those creatures?"
"Should be safe for a while," Riku said. "I don't sense any lingering darkness, at least nothing strong enough for heartless to appear. Now is the best time to get out there and make an announcement."
The mayor's head turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees, his happy face appearing again. "Well then, as my duty as mayor, I shall make sure everyone stays indoors. Excuse me."
Finally with a task, the mayor ran out of the lab, closing the heavy, bolted, metal door behind him.
Sora moved toward Sally. "Is your arm okay?"
Sally spread her arms wide, revealing that both arms were attached to the rest of her stitched together body. "Nothing that a needle and thread can't fix. It happens all the time." Sally's long, yarn-like, brown hair fell over her shoulders, as she leaned forward. "But Jack..."
"He's really missing?"
Sally nodded. "He vanished right before the fog appeared."
"Then we'll help you look for him."
"No. We should get rid of this fog first. Low visibility like this is dangerous."
"How do we get rid of the fog?"
Sally opened one of the steel cabinets that were built into the lab walls. She opened several jars, sighing. "If I can gather some missing herbs, I can make a potion that can neutralize it."
Dr. Finkelstein banged his fist on his wheelchair again. "Oh, no you don't, girl. The last time you used deadly night shade, I had a headache for three days. What we're going to do is reconstruct my giant, industrial fan."
"But the heartless already destroyed it once," Sally argued.
"And you think I'm going to let you go back out there? With those heartless ready to snap at your ankles the moment you are caught unaware?"
Sora stepped forward. "We'll do it. We'll gather the herbs Sally needs. If that doesn't work, then you can use your fan idea."
Dr. Finkelstein's lips twitched. "Fine." He whirled his wheelchair around to face his desk, muttering. "These children and their potions and magic. When did people start doubting the will of science?"
While the doctor looked over a series of schematics on his desk, Sally took stock of the inventory, and wrote down a list. She handed the list to Sora.
"Look for Jack too."
Giving Sally a thumbs up, Sora let her guide him to the front door. One he had stepped outside, Sally put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. In the distance, an orange-red dot of light appeared. It inched closer and closer to the lab, and Mickey summoned his keyblade in response. Sally put out a hand, silently urging Mickey to relax.
Barking echoed from within the fog. At first, the party could see nothing. Then a fluttery creature glided forward. His body was so translucent, that it nearly blended in with the fog. He had no legs, his ghostly body flared out like a curtain underneath his red collar. He had a long muzzle, with a tiny, glowing, orange-red jack o' lantern as his nose.
Sora reached out. "Zero! How have you been boy?"
Zero barked happily, licking Sora's cheek with his ghostly tongue. The ghost dog zoomed around Sora, Donald, and Goofy, barking, his long ears flapping in the wind. Sally called Zero over, and he hovered before her face, tilting his head to the side, as if to ask what she needed.
"Can you light their way to the curly hill?"
Zero turned, pointing his glowing nose into the distance.
Sally clapped. "Good boy."
Zero nudged his head toward the west, indicating that he was ready to lead.
Before he vanished into the fog after Zero, Sora waved at Sally. "Stay safe. We'll be back with those ingredients before you can say 'hocus pocus.'"
Sally waved until the team vanished into white mist. The fog didn't seem to bother Zero. He zoomed through it as though it were, well, normal fog. The poor dog found himself looping back several times to make sure Sora and the others were still following. Eventually, the streets of Halloween Town faded, and the dark, dirt, spiral patterns of the outer graveyards appeared beneath Sora's feet.
Zero stopped before a pair of graves, barking. He shined his nose on some plants growing out of the dirt before the two tombstones. Sora read the names on the stones.
"Deadly Night Shade and Witch Hazel." He checked his list. "Yup. These are Sally's ingredients."
Not knowing exactly how much Sally needed, the team picked as much of the herbs as they could carry. Zero barked, already moving to lead them back to Halloween Town. He was so excited that he passed right through Riku's torso.
"WHOA! Okay. That feels very weird."
"What does it feel like?" asked Donald.
"Like an ice cube just phased right through me." Riku shuddered. "It's even worse since I can't really sense Zero's shape."
"What do you mean?"
"I can feel the general shape of things. I'm guessing Zero is a ghost?"
"Uh huh."
"I get it," Mickey said. "You can't sense Zero's shape since he's intangible."
"So, what do you sense then?" asked Sora.
"Just a spec of excitable light, and a tiny bit of darkness."
"Ya know," said Goofy, "I've always been curious about how you 'see' things exactly."
As Riku followed Zero, he began to explain just how his senses worked. Donald and Goofy asked questions which were quickly and patiently explained.
"Well, besides sensing the light and darkness, I can smell and hear things very well. But I also sense pressure and temperature. Changes in the atmosphere, vibrations on the ground, things like that."
"Gee. It sounds like there isn't anything that can take you by surprise," said Goofy.
Riku shook his head. "I don't know about that. I'm not infallible, I just..."
Riku's voice faded from Sora's ears. Instead, he heard a melody. It whispered in his ear like a sweet lullaby. Sora found himself turning away from his friends, wandering deeper into the mist, away from Halloween Town. The sound shifted, and he could almost hear the words of a song. He wanted to find the source of the song, to go to it, to play. Or maybe-
"Sora!"
Hands slapped down hard on Sora's shoulders, shaking him out of his daze.
Sora blinked into the concerned eyes of a handsome young man. Riku, Sora realized.
"What's gotten into you? Where were you going?"
"Huh? I was going somewhere?"
Riku put a hand on Sora's forehead. "Are you sick?"
Sora swayed, trying to remember where he was, or what he had been doing before-
"I-I heard a voice."
The wolf ears on Riku's head stood straight up, alert. "That's not possible. I didn't hear anything." Riku turned, talking to someone. "Did you hear something?"
"No." King Mickey's voice. "Fellas?"
"Not a peep," said Donald.
Goofy came to stand at Sora's side. "You okay, pal? Maybe you're tired. I mean we have been going non stop since Twilight Town."
"Naw, he probably got lost. It's hard to tell up from down in this fog," said Donald.
"Let's take a break," Riku suggested.
Sora shrugged off Riku's hands. "Did I hit my head? I was sure I heard a voice. No. A song. I think."
Donald tapped his flipper. "You think?"
"I think the fog is messing with us," Riku suggested. "Either way. Are you feeling okay to walk? We should get back to Sally as quickly as possible."
Sora looked from concerned expression to concerned expression. Even Zero looked worried. Shaking his head, in the hopes of clearing out the lingering haze from his brain, Sora grinned.
"I'm good. Let's get back to Sally."
Sora didn't know what frog's breath smelled like, but he was sure that the stink from Sally's brew smelled just like it. They were standing outside, in the town square, by the fountain. Sally was mixing the all kinds of gross, wriggly ingredients into the fountain's green water. She stirred the strange stew with a long, thick, wooden spoon, ignoring all the fumes that wafted up every time she added a new ingredient.
"Oh maaaan," Riku moaned. "When will it stop!"
"I'm almost done," Sally said. "Just hang on a little longer."
"I've never smelled anything so foul!" Riku sat on the ground, hands covering his nose and mouth. His eyes were red and puffy, burning from the fumes, tears running down his cheeks. "I think I'm going to be sick."
Donald flicked his wand in the direction of Riku's head. "Aero!"
The wind sphere surrounded Riku's body. Rather then ease his nasal pain, Riku shot to his feet, wailing. "Oh geez! It just went straight up my nose!"
Zero whimpered, looking at Riku with understanding in his black eyes. Riku swayed on his feet, as though he were about to keel over. Sora, and Goofy grabbed Riku's arms, stopping him from face planting the floor.
"Gawrsh. My nose is sensitive too, but nothing like this."
"You should move away from here until the potion is done," Sora said.
"But-"
"Donald, Goofy, and I can protect Sally. Go take it easy."
Riku's face was turning a nasty of green. Mickey reached out, taking Riku's hand.
"Just let us take care of you, for once. It's okay to ask for help, you know."
Pressing his lips together in an attempt to keep himself from barfing, all Riku could do was nod. He let Mickey lead him away. They vanished into the fog, but not far enough that Sora couldn't hear Mickey's voice.
"We'll be waiting in the lab."
Sally paused for a moment, holding a bottle over the fountain. "I'm sorry Sora. Maybe it was the vinegar? I know the werewolves in town really hate that smell."
Or maybe it was the smell of everything in the fountain. But Sora didn't have the heart to tell Sally that. Instead, he gave Sally a reassuring smile.
"Riku will be okay. Are you almost done?"
"Just a few more stirs and I can add the last two ingredients."
Sora sure hoped so, because he wasn't sure what he was smelling. A skunk? Moldy cheese that had been fermented in rotten garlic and garbage? Whatever it was, it made the fountain water bubble red, then black, then slimy green again. Finally, Sally added the deadly night shade and witch hazel.
"Cover your noses," she warned.
Green smoke overflowed from the fountain. It spread through the fog, mixing with the white mist. Miniature whirlpools of green and white spiraled in the air, until they vanished. The fog slowly thinned as it reacted with Sally's potion. The black, angular buildings of Halloween Town came into focus. The stars shined for the first time since Sora set foot in Halloween Town.
When the fog was completely neutralized, the fountain stopped spewing green smoke. Sora could now see hunks of metal and wiring covering the town's floors. It was amazing that none of his friends had tripped over the metal chunks during their last fight.
"Where did this mess come from?" he wondered aloud.
"It's the remains of Dr. Finkelstein's experiment. He tried to use a giant fan to blow the fog away. But the heartless destroyed it."
"So that's what made that huge bang when we first got here. Well anyway, the fog's gone. That's one problem solved. Now we just need to find Jack."
Sally put her hands on her chest. "I still have a bad feeling. I just hope Jack hasn't gotten himself into too much trouble."
"Don't worry. We'll find him," Sora assured her. "Let's go get Riku and Mickey."
Yet, even with Sally and Zero's help, Sora and his friends searched every inch of Halloween Town, and found no sign of Jack. At least they were able to clear all the heartless they ran into during their search.
"Do you think he might have been whisked off to another world?" Goofy whispered to Sora.
Sora looked over Halloween Town's black hills. In the distance he saw the town's famous curly shaped hill. He sure hoped Jack wasn't in another world. There weren't a lot of spooky worlds out there, and Jack was a walking, talking, skeleton. Who knew how other worlds would react to the dead.
Turning to Sally, Sora asked, "Is there anywhere else you think Jack might be?"
Sally looked uncomfortable. With a sigh, she said, "There is one more place. Though I'm hoping that Jack is not there. He got into a lot of trouble with Mr. Santa Claus the last time he went to Christmas town."
Sora snapped his fingers by his ears, to make sure his hearing was working. "Sorry, for a moment there, I thought you said, 'Santa Claus.'"
Sally tilted her head. "I did. Is that strange?"
Donald and Goofy grabbed each other's hands, jumping up and down. "There's a Christmas Town?"
No one saw it, but Mickey nervously grabbed his ears, and began pulling them down.
Riku let out a sound that was half snort, half raspberry. "What? You can't seriously...oh geez, you're not joking."
"I'm afraid not," said Sally, giving Riku a confused look.
Riku leaned back, groaning up to the sky. "I'm assuming that you're glaring at me right now."
At some point during Riku's statement, Sora had stomped up to his friend, gotten up on his tip toes, and glowered right into the older boy's face.
"You said Santa wasn't real! I could have had eight years of extra presents!"
"I was nine," Riku defended, taking a step back. "Who believes in Santa at that age? Hey! Where are you going?"
Sora had started marching in a totally random direction. The smile on his face was so wide that his fangs looked bigger, making him resemble a hungry cat that had just found the biggest, fattest, open can of tuna.
"Uh, hello? I just found out that Santa is nearby. We don't have time to waste. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go!"
"Uh huh. And just where do you think Christmas Town is?"
Sora froze, his foot dangling in midair. Turning around slowly, his chagrined expression making Riku laugh, he said, "Sally, how do we get to Christmas Town?"
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy giggled.
Sally pointed over the hills. "Beyond the graveyards, there's a forest. The entrance to Christmas Town is there. Look for-"
Sora bolted, not even bothering to listen to Sally's directions. Goofy and Mickey exchanged a nervous glance. Donald, it seemed, had jumped on Sora's hype train. He dashed after the keyblade wielder, shouting, "oh boy, oh boy!"
Not wanting to be left behind, Goofy chased after his less responsible friends. Before Mickey and Riku followed, they gave Sally a quick apology.
"You don't have to say sorry," Sally laughed. "They remind me of Jack and I. Restless. Ready for excitement."
"Let's just catch up to them before they get into any real trouble," said Riku.
Catching up to the others, Riku convinced Sora to let Sally guide them. She led them through a forest of thin, leafless tress. Eventually, she stopped in a clearing, in front of a semicircle of trees. Each tree trunk had a section of bark that was colorful, depicting an image. One tree had a pink and white Easter egg painted on it. Another tree had a turkey. There was a four leaf clover, and a big, red heart. But, in the center of all the trees, was the one that had Sora completely hypnotized. He stared, unblinking, at the image of a christmas tree. Red and gold ornaments decorated the tree. Crimson, shiny presents were stacked, like stairs, at the base of the tree.
Sally stood in front of the trunk with the christmas tree. She reached for one of the golden ornaments, turning it like a door knob. The bark depicting the christmas swung open like a door, revealing that the tree trunk was hollow.
"Say hello to Mr. Santa Claus for me," Sally said.
After giving Sally a quick salute, Sora dived in, headfirst, into the bottomless, tree trunk. He fell through darkness for a second, before a swirling, blue vortex of snowflakes pulled him down. One second he falling, the next he slammed face first into snow.
Now normally, Sora would have jumped back up on his feet and raced straight to Santa's house. But he didn't. Because he couldn't see anything. The snow scrapped against his face, hardening and burning his skin. The wind slapped him around, and all he could see as shivers completely took over, was a world of thick, white powder.
"B-b-boy, this is a b-bad time to visit the north p-p-pole," Goofy said as he came to stand at Sora's side.
Mickey waved at his friends, and the team gathered close. "We should find shelter." Raising his keyblade, Mickey chanted. "Reflect!"
Though the ball of magical glass stopped the party from being bombarded by wind and ice, it could not push away the cold.
"Aero spells might make the c-cold w-worse," Mickey explained. "Riku? Can you lead us?"
Riku's eyes were shut tight. "Just give me a second." He rubbed his temples, turning in a circle, sniffing the air. "Okay, this way."
"Sure is nice having you to lead the pack through the snow."
Riku groaned. "Please don't tell me you just intentionally made a wolf pun."
Mickey covered his mouth. "Sorry, it sort of slipped out."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I thought it was howl-arious."
Riku rolled his eyes at Sora.
"Stop with the puns," Donald snapped. He began pushing on the reflect spell. "Let's get this ball rolling. I'm freezing here."
Goofy scratched his head. "But Donald, wasn't that a pun too? And how are you cold? Aren't you a snowman?"
The entire party, except Riku, paused to look at each other. Their spooky clothes had been replaced by more Christmasy attire. Sora's suit had been replaced by a black santa outfit. Though his duds were more festive, they were still spooky. His black gloves had sharpened fingertips, his boots were pointed, and one of his eyes were covered by his santa hat.
Mickey was wearing a red and green uniform, resembling a Christmas elf. Donald's body looked as though it was made by a pair of snowballs. His arms and legs looked like wooden sticks. Goofy was a reindeer, complete with horns, a red nose, and small, red jacket with a white fur collar.
Riku was no longer a werewolf. Instead, he wore a bright red, gold, and blue uniform, complete white trousers. His uniform jacket had golden tassels on the shoulders. There was a small, red and gold, square hat on his head. It leaned to one side. For a moment, the entire team forgot the cold as they stared at Riku, trying to figure out exactly what he was. Mickey got it first.
"Oh, you're a toy soldier! It looks great on you."
Sora gasped, opening his mouth. He snapped his jaw shut when Riku stuck out his hand, gesturing him to stop.
"If you laugh or make a toy soldier, nutcracker, or ballet pun, Sora, I swear I'm going to-"
"I wasn't going to say anything." Sora pressed his lips together, but a few chuckles hummed in his throat. He took a long breath through his nose. Though his barely hidden laughter stopped, he couldn't erase the happy smile on his face.
"Sure you weren't."
"Honest. I'm just glad you're getting into the spirit of christmas."
"Not by choice."
"Enough already. They're just costumes," Donald huffed. "Come on. Let's go."
The team rolled the reflect spell through the blizzard. A few steps in and the spell picked up speed, rolling down an incline. What should have been a thrilling, joyful sled ride down a snowy hill was ruined by the bitter cold. At the bottom of the hill, a blade of ice sailed through the storm, stabbing the reflect spell and popping it.
Everyone tumbled out into the snow. Squinting into the storm, Sora saw a flash of something blue. Water was sailing toward his eyes. In midair, the water froze solid. Reacting fast, Sora screamed a fire spell, melting the ice blade before it could skewer him. More blue flashing in the now. Then, a dozen ice shards flew at the party. Mickey and Donald melted the ice with fire spells, while Goofy, Sora and Riku knocked the ice back with their weapons. The blades were as relentless as the blizzard, coming from every direction. Worse, the howling wind and snow pinned the party down.
"There has to be a heartless nearby," Mickey grunted, burning yet another barrage of ice. "Riku, can you pinpoint it?"
"Straight ahead. Wait! It moved!" Riku hissed. "There's too much moving around, I can't concentrate."
Sora saw another flash of blue, followed by more water. Rather then focus on the impending ice blade, he kept his eyes trailed on the blue creature. Goofy charged in front of Sora, stopping the blade before it could injure his friend.
"You okay, pal?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the save."
Another blade was flying toward Goofy. Sora threw his keyblade, forcing the icicle off course. The keyblade flew through the show, hitting something in the distance. Sora heard a splash of water, followed by the sound of exploding heartless. He squinted in the direction he had thrown his keyblade barely making out a shape. What he did see was something that looked a lot like an umbrella.
"It's the same water heartless Ariel and I fought against. They're causing the storm."
Goofy hid his head behind under shield as several more ice blades came down from the sky. "That's a great discovery, but maybe you should take care not to get hurt."
Sora went back on defense. But soon his fingers felt frozen solid, and he could no longer feel his toes. "If we stay pinned down like this, we'll freeze."
"What do you suggest?" Riku grunted.
"We charge through in on one shot. Go crazy with fire spells. Some will hit, some won't, but at least we'll disrupt the attacks."
"I got ya. Line up behind me, fellars!"
Goofy jumped in front, taking the hits while Mickey, Donald, Sora, and Riku lined up behind him.
"On three!" Mickey announced.
The team nodded, readying their weapons, mentally preparing their spells.
"Three!"
"CHARGE!"
Goofy ran as fast as his feet would allow. Right behind him, single file, the magic users followed.
They ran blindly through the storm, tossing out fire spells which lit up and melted the snow particles as they flew through the air, sometimes colliding with the blue bodies of water core heartless, sometimes fizzling out because of the snow.
For one second, there was a break in the storm, and Sora, spotted an oversized water core heartless, floating above what looked like a carousel. Without thinking, he flung his keyblade. His fingers felt like solid ice, but the moment he let go of his weapon, Sora knew he had made the right choice. He heard the muffled sound of a heartless exploding. The blizzard weakened and the party could now see, or feel, the heartless through the white powder.
The ability to aim turned the tide. One after another, water core heartless went down and the storm slowly subsided. With less going on in his periphery, Riku was able to move over the snow, once again defeating heartless by using the darkness to sneak up on them. When the last water core was defeated, the air was still.
Panting, the party looked around. With the blizzard gone, Christmas Town glowed all around them. Bright red buildings with candy cane accents, gingerbread walls and frosted roofs filled the air with childlike cheer and wonder. The holly jolly sight would have been mesmerizingly magical, if it weren't for the freeze that had settled in everyone's bones. Blizzard or no blizzard, it was colder then an ice queen on her coronation day. A door opened somewhere, and a great, golden light shined over the nighttime snow.
"Goodness gracious," a wise, grandfatherly voice called. "Over here, friends. Come in, warm yourselves by the fire."
Chasing the voice, the team stumbled through a wide, wooden doorway, into a warm, golden den. Donald and Goofy collapsed in front of the hearth, sighing happily as the fire warmed their feet and hands. Mickey rubbed his frozen ears. Riku shook the snow out of his long hair. The only person that had completely forgotten about the ice in his joints, was Sora. He was transfixed by the old man standing in the middle of the den.
Santa Claus stroked his floor length beard as he looked over his guests. Then he clapped his hands. An elf waddled out from Santa's workshop. He moved about the den, handing over steaming cups of cocoa to each of Santa's guests. Sora took his mug automatically, eyes never leaving Santa. It wasn't until the delicious taste of hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cinnamon cascaded on his tongue, that Sora finally stopped gawking at Santa long enough to look into his mug and lick his lips.
While Sora was busy chugging hot cocoa so fast, it was a wonder his mouth didn't burn, Mickey was pacing nervously, and Riku was frozen in place, dumbfounded.
"He's actually real," Riku whispered.
Goofy, having finally warmed up, accepted his cocoa. He was the first to give Santa a polite greeting.
"Gawrsh, Mr. Claus, you really saved us. I thought my nose was about to fall off." Goofy took a sip of his cocoa. "Ah-yuck! It's delicious!"
When Santa laughed, his round belly made his beard bounce. "It's the least I can do. You have my sincere gratitude for getting rid of those creatures. That storm had me trapped me in my workshop for days. Neither I nor my elves could get much work done."
"That sounds awful."
"Indeed it was. But never mind that. Let me thank you for your good deed. I believe you have some use for this."
Santa picked up a shimmering red present with a golden ribbon. He handed the gift to Goofy.
"Oh boy!" Goofy pulled the ribbon and lifted the present's lid. Inside the box were several ethers, potions, and one shiny elixir. "Ah-yuck! Thank you, Santa! It's exactly what we all needed."
Santa gave Goofy a gracious nod.
Next, it was Donald's turn. With his head bowed and his forefingers pressed together, he waddled up to Santa and spoke.
"Um, sir, I've been very good this year. Am I on the 'nice' list?"
"Just a moment."
Santa unrolled a scroll he had pulled out from coat pocket. The scroll was so long, that it kept rolling, all the way to the other side of the room.
"Ah, here you are." Santa pointed to a name on the list. "Donald Duck. Back on the nice list." He winked. "No longer greedy, I see."
Donald did a happy little jump, pumping his fists into the air.
Santa turned to Mickey next. Rather then look excited, the King ducked behind the large, red armchair in the middle of the den. For the first time since he got there, Sora turned his attention away from Santa. Even Riku tilted his head quizzically at Mickey.
"No need to be shy, Little King. I've already forgiven you for that last fiasco."
Santa's words brought concern to Donald and Goofy's faces. The two of them went to stand by Mickey's side.
"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" Donald asked.
"Yeah. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared to meet Santa," Goofy added.
Mickey squeaked.
Riku's lips curved into a half-smile. "You are, aren't you? You think you're on the naughty list?"
Mickey's laugh was nervous. "Let's just say I wasn't always the responsible king I am now."
"Indeed," Santa crossed his arms. "I'm still cleaning up from the last time you broke in here."
"Broke in?" Riku's jaw dropped. "Mickey? Noooo. Really?"
"I just wanted to get Minnie the perfect gift for our anniversary! I didn't mean to make such a big mess," Mickey defended, covering his eyes in shame.
Santa walked over and put a hand on Mickey's head. "Now, now. No need to be afraid. You're not on the naughty list anymore."
Mickey's sniffed. "Really?"
Riku crossed his arms. "I can't believe you were ever on the naughty list in the first place. So even the great King Mickey had his young and mischievous days. I have got to hear this story."
Mickey blushed.
"Young man, you are thin ice." Santa rounded on Riku, marching up to the boy with a stern look on his face. "In all my years, I have never seen someone so intent on being on the naughty list."
Riku gulped.
"Now I've forgiven most of your past actions since you apologized and have been doing your best to grow from them. However, teasing King Mickey for his past mistakes and making fun of your two best friends for being in love is not nice."
Riku put up his hands in surrender. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll stop."
"Good."
Santa turned to his last guest, but found that he couldn't get his attention. And it wasn't because Sora was starstruck. It was, quite simply, because Sora's brain had stopped working. How he remained standing when his body swayed from side to side was a total mystery. Worse, his eyes had rolled upward to stare blankly at the ceiling, his mouth hanging open in a half smile, half shocked expression.
"I-In love?" Sora whispered.
Santa cleared his throat.
Sora snapped back to reality, though not without a heavy blush on his cheeks. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy exchanged silly looks, while Riku tried his hardest not to say something snarky and invite the wrath of St. Nick.
"I know why you came, Sora, and I'm sorry to disappoint you. Jack Skellington isn't here. Or anywhere in this world for that matter."
Sora bowed his head. "That's not good. I hope he's not in trouble."
"Do not worry. Jack is the Pumpkin King. I'm sure he'll be all right. But let us move past that concern for now. There is something I must tell you all."
Santa went to the arm chair in the middle of the room and sat down. Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath and spoke. "There is far too much light in the worlds."
Mickey, Sora, and Donald exchanged worried looks. Only Goofy had the bravery to speak.
"But, Santa, I don't understand. How can light be a bad thing? Why does too much of it cause all these problems?"
"Light is a wonderful thing indeed. However, too much of anything is harmful. In a time long forgotten by many, in a time of fairytales, light covered every inch of the universe. And then people began to fight and hoard it for themselves."
"And then darkness came and covered the world," Sora stated.
Santa nodded. "I was born out of the light of children's hearts. Light that only came to be when the children hoped to survive the darkness. If the imbalance continues, and people began to fight over the light, then I fear history will repeat itself."
"But we still don't know for sure where the extra light is coming from," Mickey said. "Or how to stop it."
"No one has all the answers, Majesty. But keep journeying and I'm sure all will be revealed. For now, why don't you head back to Halloween Town and tell the residents that Jack isn't here."
Once everyone had finished their cocoa and warmed up, Santa escorted them to out into Christmas Town and all the way up Yuletide Hill. At the top of the snowy hill, they found a tree, with a pumpkin painted on the trunk. The way back to Halloween Town.
Before opening the pumpkin door, Santa asked to speak with Riku and Sora privately. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy agreed to meet back up in Dr. Finkelstein's lab. Once they were alone, Santa put his hands on his hips, giving the two boys a once over.
"Now then. The two of you can return to the 'nice' list if you stay your current course."
Sora gulped. "Wait, I was on the naughty list?"
"I believe that, eight years ago, you said you didn't believe in Santa Claus. So, in fact, you weren't on any list."
Sora slapped his hands on the sides of his head, groaning.
"Do you believe in me now?"
"Or course, sir."
"Then perhaps there is a present in your future."
Sora's eyes twinkled. "Really? All right!" He pumped his fist.
Riku bowed to Santa. "Thanks for the kind words, but I still don't think I'm fit to be on the 'nice' list. Too old and all that."
Sora blew a raspberry. "Please! If Donald and Goofy can be on that list, I don't see why you can't."
"Your friend is right. Besides, learning from one's mistakes is something a nice boy would do. Perhaps mastering one's own light will also gain my favor."
Riku blinked. "What?"
Santa pointed to Riku's chest. "A strong heart also has a strong light. I have a nose for these things. As long is someone is good, as long as someone believes, that's enough for me. Christmas isn't just about presents. It's about joy, hope, trust, cheer, all the things that bind and hold our hearts together. Remember that, and I'm sure your light will shine even brighter." Santa nodded at Sora. "That goes for you too."
Sora saluted. "Yes, sir! Oh, I almost forgot. Sally says, 'hi.'"
"Ah, yes." Santa snapped his fingers. "That reminds me. Please give Kairi my regards."
Sora and Riku wore a set of confused faces when they through the pumpkin door. Once in Halloween Town, their attired changed back to their Halloween Town looks. The winter freeze was replaced by an autumn chill and a terrible smell that made Riku whine like a forlorn puppy.
"What is that stink?"
"I smell it too," Sora said. "Is it Sally?"
Looking ten shades of nauseous, Riku sniffed the air. "This way."
The boys made it to the curly hill graveyard. Several steps into the cemetery, Riku grabbed Sora's shoulder. He pulled Sora down behind a large tombstone, and put his finger to his lips.
"Those people," Riku whispered. "They all have a high level of darkness."
Peeking over the tombstone, Sora spotted three women at the base of the curly hill. They were gathered around a bubbling cauldron. One of them, a stout woman wearing a layered, crimson bodice and dress, looked up. She licked her lips.
"Winnie, I smell children."
Jiminy's Journal:
Lock, Shock, and Barrel (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): Halloween Town's mischievous, misbehaving trio of trick-or-treaters. These three love getting into trouble just as much as they like playing mean pranks on people. Lock is the most aggressive little devil, and likes to think of himself as in charge, but often find himself following Shock's plans. Shock is clearly the smartest and the sneakiest witch among the three. Barrel, the team's skelleton kid, is a bit of a follower, often getting bullied and tugged along by his two meaner cohorts.
The Mayor (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): The two faced, literally, politician of Halloween Town. He may a panicky coward, but the Mayor does care immensely about Halloween Town and the safety of its citizens.
Sally (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): A rag doll reacted by Dr. Finkelstein. Sally has a strong intuition and is often the voice of reason in Halloween Town. She knows a thing or two about sewing and brewing potions, though her concoctions can have some side effects. She cares deeply for Jack Skellington and worries about his disappearance.
Dr. Finkelstein (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): Halloween Town's resident mad scientist. If he isn't ordering Sally around, you can find him tinkering away in his lab. Dr. Finkelstein had made a giant fan in the hopes of blowing away the fog that had settled over Halloween Town. Would his fan have worked if the heartless hadn't destroyed it?
Zero (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): Part dog, part ghost, Zero is Jack Skellington's loyal best friend. His nose is so bright that it can lead others through low visibility.
Santa Claus (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): The spirit of Christmas. Despite his rather stern nature, Santa is a wise parental figure, guiding the team with lessons on how to be good, as well as warning them of the potential dangers too much light may bring.
Chapter 50: KH3 Chapter 19: The Cat's Curse
Chapter Text
Author's Notes
This was a fun chapter. Bit of a lighter note before the *ahem* stuff I have planned coming up.
@Alehandra16Melody: Thanks for the kudos!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Nineteen: The Cat's Curse
The heavy woman skulked about, her neck bent low, like a bloodhound on a scent trail. "I smell children, Winnie!" She clapped her hands. "And they're nearby!"
Sora and Riku ducked behind the tombstone, holding still, and hoping the three women didn't also have extra powerful hearing to along with their child-sniffing capabilities. The boys nervously moved closer together so that they could whisper.
"She can smell us?"
Sora lifted his arm and took a whiff. "Do you think I need a bath?"
"That's not what I meant, Sora," Riku huffed.
An exasperated voice called from further up in the graveyard, growling at the child-sniffer. Riku sensed that one of the three women aggressively waved her arm, pointing at something.
"Of course you smell children, Mary. What dost thou call that?"
"U-um, children," sniveled the child sniffer in response.
Riku cringed. He knew the women were talking about a bathtub sized bird cage. It sat behind the cauldron that the three women were hovering over. Three mischievous auras cowered inside the metal bars.
"They got Lock, Shock, and Barrel," Riku whispered.
Sora's aura flashed and dimmed with what Riku guessed was a combination of concern and annoyance. "Do you think these are the witches Shock mentioned earlier? What kind of trouble did they get into this time?"
Concentrating, Riku slowly took in the shape of the three women. One of them, the child-sniffer, Mary, had a round, yet robust figure. Her hair had a strange shape, almost like it were a curly, witch's hat. The second figure, the one with the exasperated voice, whom Riku guessed was Winnie, also had strange hair. Her thick curls grew straight up, taking in a heart shape. Riku grit his teeth when he focused on her. Of the three women, Winnie carried the most darkness. Her aura was fetid, as if she had been dead for three hundred years and was a corpse exiting on borrowed time.
"Sarah!" Winnie snapped to the third figure in their group. "Stop flitting about and make thyself useful. Keep an eye on those three."
"Yes, Winnie," a soft voice sang.
The last witch, the thinnest among the three, flipped her long, flowing hair over her shoulder. She moved toward Lock, Shock, and Barrel's cage. She skipped on her way there, her good mood not at all bothered by Winnie's ire. Kneeling down, Sarah wiggled her fingers between the bars of the cage.
"Hello, nice children."
Sarah's voice was low, whispery, and yet had an underlying hiss of deceit. Her voice reminded Riku of a carnivorous plant: beautiful on the outside, but poisonous on the inside.
"We are not nice!" Barrel was sniffling.
"That's right. We're the meanest trick-or-treaters you'll ever see!" Lock snapped.
Shock rattled the bars. "Let us out of here, you ugly, old ladies!"
When Winnie whirled around, her long gown, and the robes on her sleeves, flared out behind her.
"Enough, brats! A child is a child. Naughty or nice, thou shalt serve thine purpose."
Sora twitched. "I don't like the sound of that."
The foul smell coming from the Winnie's caldron was getting stronger. Riku couldn't just smell it, he could practically taste rotten eggs on his tongue. Combined with the itchy, stale feeling of darkness, it was enough to make him want to barf.
"Whatever they're brewing in that cauldron can't be good. Come on," Riku stood, "let's go rescue those three trouble makers." Sora rolled his shoulders, summoning his keyblade. "Funny, I never thought I would be saving Lock, Shock, and Barrel instead of being pranked or having to punish them."
Shifting into the darkness, Riku popped up right next to Winnie, ready to strike her. Immediately, his element of surprise was lost, as Sarah gasped and pointed.
"A BOY!"
Winnie spun on her heel, catching Riku right as he was about to slice her with his soul eater. She raised her hand, and Riku felt a touch of darkness, along with the buzz of electrical energy. He caught on too late. Hot and cold lightning, and darkness, ripped through him. Winnie's electricity fried Riku's senses. Dizzy, with muscles and bones that were still painfully tingling, he fell prone to the floor.
"Mary, thou fool! Thou were supposed to be keeping watch!"
Mary barked, picking up a broom from the ground. "I knew it! I knew I smelled a boy!"
Sitting on the broom, Mary zoomed toward Riku, reaching down to grab him. Still reeling from Winnie's last attack, all Riku could do was roll to avoid her. Mary kept flying, but managed to put on the brakes in midair. She turned her broom around for another try. By this time, Riku had regained some of his senses. A quick healing spell shook off his aches and pains, but he had to jump back, when he felt another bolt of dark lightning sailing his way. A spark caught his nose, and Riku hissed as lightning jabbed his nostrils, jaws, and cheeks.
"What short lived heroism," Winnie cackled. "Dare to come near boy? I could always use more ingredients for my brew."
"Roast him, Winnie," Mary called.
Riku ducked, avoiding getting hit in the back of the head. Mary had been sneaking up behind while he had been trying to gather his wits. Winnie threw another spell of dark lightning at Riku, succeeding at pushing him back. If that weren't bad enough, Sarah got on her broom and became an another annoying air based projectile that Riku had to avoid. Rolling away from another electric charge, Riku couldn't stop Sarah from flying up behind him and grabbing his wolf ears in her fists.
He howled.
"A boy with wolf ears!" There was hunger in Sarah's raspy voice. "Can I play with him, Winnie? Please?"
"Do what thou wilt. Just keep him occupied while I finish the potion."
"You mean this?"
The cauldron rolled over on its side, its bubbly contents fizzing out into the graveyard soil. Riku smirked. Took Sora long enough. Winnie screeched at Sora, turning her dark lightning on him. Sora jumped back, and threw his keyblade right at Winnie's face. He missed, but that wasn't a concern. The keyblade kept on flying, right across the battlefield. It clocked Sarah right in jaw.
Riku let out a sigh of relief when Sarah collapsed onto the ground, out cold. With his ears free, he ran toward Lock, Shock, and Barrel's cage. Winnie, consumed by revenge, was firing endless lightning bolts at Sora. Mary was still zooming behind Riku on her broom. Slipping into the darkness, Riku easily avoided Mary. He reappeared right next to the cage, and sliced the lock. The cage door swung open, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel made a break for it. They scattered back in the direction of Halloween Town, sticking their tongues out at Mary, Winnie, and Sarah for good measure.
Winnie roared in fury.
"Thou art a true nuisance! Mary!"
"Yes, sister! I shalt take care of him for thee!"
Winnie turned toward Riku, rubbing her hands together.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Sora huffed.
He ran up behind Winnie. She deftly turned, and grabbed the shaft of the keyblade right as it were about to bash her brains. An electric charge burst from Winnie's hand. The lightning traveled down the keyblade and right into Sora's bones. Sora was knocked backward. He rolled along the ground until he lying in a heap.
Riku ran to his friend's prone from, but skid to a stop when he felt all two witches flying up in the air. Like a loyal dog, Mary flew down to try and take a bite out of Riku. He stood still, getting between her and Sora. When she was close enough to grab him, Riku aimed a fire spell, point black at her broom stick. The fireball slammed into Mary's gut, knocking her off her broom. Riku ducked. He felt the broom sail over his head, crashing into a nearby headstone. He also heard Mary mumble the word "mommy" before she slammed into the ground.
While Mary was trying to get back up, Sora had recovered. He came to stand at Riku's side.
"Nice shot," Sora nodded to Mary's dizzy, prone form. "Well, well, well, Winnie. Looks like your sisters are down for the count."
Up above, Winnie rolled her eyes. "Yes, it is a great burden to bear, having such idiotic sisters. No mind or aptitude for darkness, but no matter. They'll right themselves eventually." Winnie turned her broom in the direction of Halloween Town. "I have children to chase."
Winnie began to fly off, but then slowed when Riku called after her.
"Whoa, let me get this straight, you're abandoning your sisters?" Riku rested his elbow on Sora's shoulder. "Correct if I'm wrong, Sora, but isn't family supposed to watch out for each other?"
Sora crossed his arms. "You know, you're absolutely right."
"If Winnie was serious about her burden, wouldn't she stick around to protect her sisters from us?"
"Yup. That is something a good sister would do."
"Seems to me like Winnie is a very ugly person."
Winnie stopped in midair. "WHAT?"
"I don't judge people by the way they look," Sora said, "but abandoning one's sisters is a pretty ugly thing to do."
"Downright hideous," Riku smirked. "What a hag."
"Thou hast sealed thy fate, brat!" Winnie raised her hand into the air. "Come, my darlings! I have dinner for thee!"
Riku's first reaction was to push Sora to the side. Points of darkness popped in the air. Seconds after Winnie had raised her hand, hundreds of darkballs had appeared, and one of them had almost succeed in chomping on Sora's head. The battle was on, and neither Sora nor Riku had the time to wonder how Winnie had called the heartless. They also couldn't stop her from flying to her sisters and slapping them both awake.
The boys hacked through the heartless, trying to destroy enough of their enemies so that they could deal with the three witches that were now floating in the air. They hovered over the battle, circling like vultures over Riku. Winnie wiggled her fingers, her claw-like fingernails curling.
"Twist the bones and bend the back," Winnie began.
Mary and Sarah chanted. "Itch-it-a-cop-it-a, Mel-a-ka-mys-ti-ca,."
"Trim him of his baby fat."
"Itch-it-a-cop-it-a, Mel-a-ka-mys-ti-ca."
"Give him fur, brown and black. Just-"
"Like," whispered Mary.
"This," hissed Sarah.
"Look out!"
Sora's shoulder rammed into Riku's side. Pain exploded in Riku's ribs, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the heavy feeling that settled deeper into his heart. There was a burning, vibrating energy that flew through the air, like a harpoon of darkness. It sunk into the ground right next to Riku, right where Sora had been. The boy spun, and then fell.
Horrible laughter echoed in Riku's ears. The witches flew off, leaving Riku with no one, except the last dozen heartless to destroy. He throttled the remaining darkballs. Once alone, Riku didn't even spare the time to catch his breath or heal his scratches. He focused on senses on Sora, searching for his friend.
Instead of finding Sora's unconscious body, Riku felt...nothing. His heart seized in his chest. He ran to where Sora had collapsed a few minutes before. Sora wasn't there, but there was a cat lying down on its side. Riku reached down, stroking the poor creature's fur. He felt a silver chain around the cat's neck. A chain with a crown charm on it.
Gasping, Riku crawled away from the cat as though it had burned him.
His movements roused the feline. The cat shook its head, yawned, and then sat up.
"Ow. That really hurt," the cat moaned.
If someone were to win the lottery, get acceptance into a prestigious university, get engaged, receive a book deal, and have a surprise birthday party, all in the same day, they still would not be as surprised as Riku was right then.
"Sora?"
The cat turned its head toward Riku. "Yeah?"
"You're a cat."
At this, Sora stood on four legs. He turned, chasing his own tail. "Huh. I guess I am. Well, talk about a catastrophe."
Riku slammed a fist into the dirt. "You're making puns? Now?"
"Why not? I'm feline good."
"How are you so calm? This is no time for jokes!"
Sora shrugged his little, cat shoulders. "A friend of mine once said that laughter is sometimes the only thing we have in life. Besides, what will getting upset accomplish?" Sora stretched. "I'm a cool cat. I can roll with it."
"How are you going to fight like this? How are we going to change you back?" Riku wrung his hands, half screaming. "Why are you a cat?"
"Relax. Donald has turned me into half dolphin before. I've also been a mouse. So being a cat isn't that weird. I'm sure Donald can change me back." Sora stretched out his paw. The keyblade appeared right in front of Sora's claws. "Hey, look at that! I can still summon the keyblade at least."
"And just how are you going to use it with those tiny paws?"
"You worry too much. I've been in way worse situations then this. As long as we work together, I'm sure we'll find a way to fix me."
Rike reached out, placing his hands under Sora's arms, lifting him up.
"You shouldn't have pushed out of the way earlier."
Sora's legs and tail dangled in midair. He swung his tail like a pendulum. "What was I supposed to go? Let you get metamorphosed?"
"Better me getting cursed then you." Riku argued. "I'm not the keyblade master."
Sora's tail stopped moving. He patted Riku's forearm, irritated. "Don't talk like that. You are just as important as I am. Besides, if the roles were reversed, you would have done the same thing for me, and you know it."
Maybe it was the ridiculousness of the situation, maybe it a lingering side effect of stress, or maybe, just maybe, Riku didn't want to admit how right Sora was. Thus, he couldn't help but crack a smile. Standing, Riku tucked Sora under his arm. The keyblade vanished the moment Sora was situated.
"Let's just get you to Donald so we can change you back to normal."
"Oh pal! What did they do to ya?"
Goofy tilted his head back, wailing into the sky. Big, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. He squeezed Sora to his chest. Nearby, Donald and Micky lay on their backs, gasping for air. It turned out, that despite both Donald and Mickey's combined efforts, Sora was still a fluffy kitty.
"Goofy. Can't breathe," Sora croaked.
"Sorry!" Goofy stretched his arms.
Sora dangled in the air, gasping. "Does this mean that we can't be friends anymore?" He asked in between breaths.
"Of course we're still friends," Goofy replied. "Why on earth would you think we're not?"
"Because I'm a cat and your a dog. How will we ever get along?"
Though teary eyed, exhausted, and concerned, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy chuckled.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor," Mickey said, getting back up on his feet. "But if Donald and I can't change you back, then our only hope is to find and defeat the three witches that cursed you."
"We should search for Lock, Shock, and Barrel," Riku said. "The witches needed them for something. And I want to know what."
Sora leapt out of Goofy's hands, landing gracefully on the cobblestone floor.
"I'm more worried that Winnie is able to summon the heartless. We wouldn't want another Maleficent or Dr. Facilier on the loose." Sora shuddered. "And if Winnie, Sarah, and Mary want children for something, what's going to stop them from using the heartless to catch kids if they escape to other worlds?"
"But this world isn't connected to another," Goofy argued.
"Yet." Mickey's voice low with warning. "Halloween Town could attach itself to another world at any time. Sora's right. We can't take any chances. Riku, can you track Lock, Shock, and Barrel?"
"You bet I can."
Donald groaned. "Those three are not going to give up information easily you know."
Sora crouched, keeping his body low to the ground. "In this town, everybody screams. So let's take a page out of Jack's book, and scare the information out of them."
"And just how are we going to do that?" Donald huffed. "Those three were Oogie's henchmen back in the day. What could possibly spook them?"
Riku ignored Sora and Donald's bickering. He focused on distant scents, trying to pinpoint, Lock, Shock, and Barrel. He could feel every ripple and sharp edge of darkness and light in the surrounding area. No scent or distinct aura came to Riku right away, but he did shift his attention to Sora. The little cat and gotten down on his haunches, his back making an upside down "u" shape, his fur standing on end.
Sora hissed. "I hear it!"
Riku lifted his hands to his ears. No unusual sound came to him. "Hear what?"
"The song! I knew I heard a song earlier!"
Riku was about to tell Sora that he was wrong. Then, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy jerked, shaking their heads as though trying to ward off a dizzy spell. They began walking, slowly, out of Halloween Town's square.
Sora jumped in front of his friends. "Hey? Where are you going?"
Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walked by Sora as though he were invisible. Their posture was off. They walked stiffly, without swinging their arms.
"Snap out of it!"
Sora pounced on Donald's head. Then he leapt onto Goofy, shocking his friends enough to wake them up from whatever trance they were in. Riku reached out, grabbing Mickey's shoulder. The second he touched the king, all thoughts melted out of Riku's mind.
He heard it.
The song was like a sweet cool breeze after a hot summer day. It flowed through Mickey, and reverberating into Riku's heart.
"Come little children,
I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come little children,
The time's come to play,
Here in my garden,
Of magic."
The Lost Boys and Santa had been right. Some part of Riku was still, very much, a child. His feet moved. Somewhere, in his mind, an instinct screamed that he shouldn't go, that he should stay still, but all Riku could think about was the song. He wanted to chase the singer, to feel the enchantment it promised. He could barely feel the soft thing that landed on his shoulder.
Paws batted Riku's jaw. Though his senses worked, his mind couldn't process them. His ears picked up footsteps in the distance. He felt the a tingle of light and dark, of mischievous glee and trouble making. Those familiar auras sparked something in Riku. Hadn't he wanted to find those auras? Wait. Why did he care about that again? Why bother? The song. All that mattered was the song.
"Hello? Riku!"
Claws sunk into Riku's chest. Then, he heard a yelp. Mickey. The king was rubbing his hand.
"Ouch!" Riku hissed. "Sora, what was that for?"
"Sorry, but I had to stop you and King Mickey somehow."
"Stop us from what?"
"From following the song." Sora tilted his head up to the sky. "Can't you sense them? Mary, Winnie, and Sarah flew right over us."
Riku concentrated. The witches were out of his range. He couldn't feel their shapes, but he did sense a lingering note of darkness.
"It's a trap," Riku realized, "and Lock, Shock, and Barrel are walking straight into it."
"How do you know that?" asked Mickey.
"I can feel them. This way."
Riku led the team through the alleys of Halloween Town and back out into the graveyards. Lock, Shock, and Barrel were walking over a bridge, toward the town's outer pumpkin patches. The team surrounded the three kids, trapping them in a reflect spell. Goofy and Donald grabbed hold of the magic ball of glass. Inside the bubble, an oddly quiet Lock, Shock, and Barrel kept trying to walk. When their fingers and feet slipped, due to the reflect spell's smooth surface, they began to crawl instead.
Bending down, Riku patted Sora's head. "Try not to scratch them too hard."
Riku summoned his soul eater, and popped the reflect spell. With a spring in his step, and mostly likely wearing a cheshire cat grin, Sora sunk his claws into Lock, Shock, and Barrel's hands. The kids yowled, jumping up into the air. When they landed back on their feet, they growled at Sora.
"Stupid cat! What was that for?" Lock rubbed his palm.
Barrel made a dive for Sora. He was too slow. Sora jumped onto Barrel's head and used him as a springboard to land in Riku's outstretched arms.
Shock sneered at Sora, and then Riku. She looked around at all of her captors and crossed her arms in a challenge. "What do you jerks want now?"
"What did the witches want with you three?" Riku asked. "Why capture children?"
"We weren't captured," Lock said. "We were just, uhhh..."
Lock looked at Barrel, but his cohort simply shrugged. Only Shock was creative enough to come up with a lie.
"We let them capture us. We were going to play a prank on them but we couldn't figure out how to get out of that cage they stuck us in."
"What a brilliant idea," Donald deadpanned.
"Those witches are dangerous," Goofy began kindly. "We just want to make sure you three are safe."
"Hey!" Lock pointed a finger at Goofy. "We can take care of ourselves."
"Sure you can," Donald deadpanned again, tapping his foot.
"They're more stubborn then Pluto when it's bath time," Mickey mumbled.
Riku groaned. "This isn't working. We'd have better luck trying to convince Peter Pan to grow up."
"Peter, huh? I have an idea." Still in Riku's arms, Sora began nonchalantly licking his paw. "Follow my lead."
Shock was still arguing with Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. Then she said the words that Riku knew Sora had been waiting for.
"And where is the keyblade dumb-dumb? Did he get captured by the witches too?"
"Nope. The witches just made me a little bit shorter."
Lock and Barrel followed the sound. They stared at the cat in Riku's arms.
Shock smiled. "Is that you, Keyblade Dumb-Dumb? The witches turned you into a cat?"
Lock, Shock, and Barrel huddled together so that they could snicker.
"Go ahead and laugh," Sora shrugged. "Yeah, I'm a cat. And if you think that's bad, imagine what the witches will do to you three when they catch you."
The thing about laughter was that it tended to loosen lips. People were more likely to spill the beans when they were in a good mood, especially when they were as bad at keeping secrets as Barrel was.
"We already know what they plan to do."
Shock and Lock sobered. They turned to Barrel, scolding him.
"You'd better tell us what the witches want with you, or else we're going to have to sick Donald on you."
Donald quacked. "Huh?"
Shock scoffed. "That pint-sized mummy? What could he possibly do?"
"I may be a cat, but I'm pretty sure my memory is still there. Hey guys, remember the last time we were in Halloween Town? Didn't we teach these three a lesson back then?"
Goofy put a finger on his chin. "That's right, we did. They were being pretty naughty."
Sora whipped his paw over his whiskers. "And we were going easy on you three back then too. Imagine if we let Donald do that thing."
"What thing?" asked Goofy.
"Oh, you know, that thing," Sora lowered his voice. "The thing we never let Donald do. It's just too messy to clean up."
Lock, Shock, and Barrel began shivering. "What are you talking about?"
Donald let out an evil laugh.
Riku, catching on, said, "Oh no. You're not seriously talking about that, are you?"
"Talking about what?" Shock tapped her foot impatiently, but there was nervous tingle in her voice.
Goofy covered his muzzle. "Ah-yuck! I get it!"
Mickey waved his hands. "Wait, you guys! You can't let Donald do that! He just got back on the 'nice' list! If you make him do that, then Santa will give him coal for sure! He'll on the 'naughty' list for life!"
Riku gave Mickey a grave expression, one made that Lock, Shock, and Barrel huddle closer together.
"Sorry Mickey. Can't let you stop Donald this time." Riku bent down, so that his smirk was right in front of the trick-or-treaters' faces. "You know, it wasn't very nice when you stuffed Donald into your candy bag."
"Was it, Donald?" Sora added.
Donald's fists were clenched. "No."
"You want revenge, pal?"
"Yes!"
"It's so lucky that Jack is not here," Sora whipped his paw on his face. "He really wouldn't approve. Oh well. Donald, sick em!"
Donald yowled loud and proud, raising his staff.
"Oh no! Wait!" Riku screamed. "At least let us get some distance first!"
That did it. Lock put up his hands in surrender. "Don't hurt us! We'll tell you! We'll tell you! Just don't do that thing!"
"Yeah, we were only joking," Barrel added.
"I don't know," Riku said. "You guys do need some serious discipline."
Goofy and Mickey made a show of grabbing Donald's arms. "We can't hold him back forever," they said in mock distress.
Lock, Shock, and Barrel panicked. "ANYTHING BUT THAT!"
Sora hopped off Riku's shoulder, sitting down right in front of Donald. "Maybe we can convince Donald to give you a lecture instead. If you're really sorry."
"We're sorry! So sorry!"
Mickey and Goofy let Donald go. The duck marched up to the cowering trio of trick-or-treaters and crossed his arms. "You're lucky I'm letting you off easy. You three should be ashamed. Always pulling pranks and causing trouble. It's no wonder you're all on Santa's naughty list. Now do something good for once and tell us what you know!"
"Okay, okay!" Shock huffed. "The witches wanted us to drink their potion."
"Why?" asked Sora.
"To make them younger," Lock answered. "They steal life force from children to live longer."
Mickey covered his mouth. "That's horrible. Why didn't you tell us?"
"We just didn't want to say thanks for saving us," Shock mumbled under her breathe.
"What was that?" Donald demanded.
Just then, Riku felt something overhead. Something that had the shape of a broom. "We have to hide! Quick!"
"Get below the bridge," Mickey commanded.
Donald and Goofy herded the kids over the bridge's stone railing. When everyone jumped into the slimy river below, they made a splash that was so loud that Riku worried it would wake the dead. Hiding under the bridge, Riku concentrated on the air pressure above them. He felt three broomsticks moving over the bridge. Then he heard footsteps, the witches touched down on the ground, followed by Winnie's shrill voice.
"What is wrong with thy voice, Sarah? What good art thou if thou cannot lure children?"
"Sorry, Winnie," whimpered Sarah.
Dust fluttered down from the stone bridge, landing on Donald's nose. He sucked in a breath to sneeze. Riku and Goofy grabbed Donald's beak, snapping it closed.
Winnie's feet pounded on the bridge.
"Fools! Dost thou not comprehend our situation? Something freed us from the darkness, yet the darkness was the very thing that sustained us!"
"How?" asked Sarah and Mary.
"Because there is no time in the darkness. Here, there is! Which means that soon, the magic that keeps us here will run out. Unless we can gather up some children and steal their life force!"
"Winnie?"
"I shudder to return to the darkness with nothing but thee as company. Finally free after countless years, and not a child in sight, except for those three toe-headed brats. And what's worse? All Hallow's Eve has become nothing more then a night of frolic, candy, and ghoulish surprises?"
Sarah giggled. "That sounds like fun."
Winnie groaned. "We are witches. We are evil. We don't do fun! Once we retain our youth, we shall take over this town!" Winnie began pacing. "Oh, what shall I do with the inhabitants? Turn them into ingredients for my potions? Or perhaps enslave them? Or-"
"Um, Winnie," Mary began.
"Do not interrupt me while I am talking!"
"But Winnie. I smell children."
Winnie's footsteps stopped. "Sick 'em."
Mary made a loud, sniffing sound. "Oh! It's those three little tricksters! And they're close."
The bridge shook overhead as Sarah jumped up and down, twirling in circles. Winnie hissed, and Sarah froze. The three witches got on their brooms and flew up into the air.
"You three," Sora whispered to Lock, Shock, and Barrel. "Get out of here. We'll distract them."
Donald pointed into the river. "Can you swim?"
"Well, duh," said Lock.
"Good. Use the water for cover."
Shock and Lock wasted no time. They jumped in. Barrel hesitated for a moment. He looked back over his shoulder. "Um, thank you."
Once Barrel was in the water, Sora dashed out from under the bridge. He climbed the ravine walls, and was on the bridge just as Mary, Winnie, and Sarah had begun to float a few feet from the ground.
"Is your nose broken, Mary?" Sora's voice boomed. He spoke so loudly that he drowned out the splashing as Lock, Shock, and Barrel swam their way to freedom.
"No children around. Just me, a cat."
Under the bridge, Riku smacked a hand to his forehead. "Does he ever think before he does something?"
Donald and Goofy shook their heads. "Nope. He just does what he thinks is right."
Riku smiled. "You'd think I'd know that by now. Come on, let's go give him some backup."
Riku was surprised to learn that cats were able to blow raspberries, because that was exactly what Sora was doing by the the time he and the others had climbed back up onto the bridge. Once everyone was in sight, Winnie groaned.
"Oh look. Noble warriors have come to defeat us, sisters. Makes me sick!"
Mary barked like a dog. "Let's barbecue and filet them."
Donald threw back his staff. Hot energy filled the air. "I'll give you a barbecue!"
He flung his staff straight at Mary. The staff, and the firaga spell that had been gathering atop it, smashed into the front of Mary's bodice, setting the rest of her dress on fire.
Mary shrieked. "It's HOT!"
She tried to blow out the flames like a candle. When that didn't work, she thrashed about in the air on her broom. Her strategy only succeeded in fanning the flames. Soon, the back of her broom was on fire. Mary careened out of control, spinning in the air like a malfunctioning helicopter before she slammed into the pumpkin patch beyond the bridge.
"That's for turning Sora into a cat!"
Donald screamed, chasing after Mary and his staff. He jumped into the crater that Mary had made when she had landed. Getting on Mary's back, Donald began jumping up and down, stomping on her with her feet. His weight and anger kept Mary down.
While Donald had Mary pinned, Winnie came down on Riku. Scooping up Sora before the little cat could be fried by lightning, Riku had to rely on a combination of pure luck and quick reflexes to dodge Winnie's fury fueled attacks. Mickey weaved through Winnie's attacks, jumping up into the air, bringing up his keyblade to slice the witch.
Winnie cackled, snapping her fingers. "Nice try, rodent."
A darkball appeared between Winnie and Mickey. The King was too close to counterattack, but he did manage to flip in the air, avoiding the darkball's bite. Winnie capitalized on his distraction, sending a bolt of black lightning at him. The lightning hit Mickey's reflect spell, but succeeded in blasting the king across the sky. He landed a bit further then Mary.
Riku was angry now. The same moment Mickey had gone flying, he had sent a dark firaga spell straight at Winnie. He missed the witch, but the fire spell caught the very end of broom. The darkness spread, burning the broom to ashes. Winnie flailed her arms and legs in a sad attempt to stay levitating. She fell, slamming face first into the bridge, but she wasn't down from the count yet. She still had enough energy lift her head, and wearily shout, "Sarah! Do something!"
The youngest witch zoomed over the party. Riku and Goofy were able to dodge her punches and kicks whenever she swooped down over them. When she came down the fourth time, Goofy threw his shield at her. Sarah looped in the air, dodging the shield, and succeeding in kicking Goofy in the muzzle when she came back down. Goofy went flying over the bridge and into the pumpkin patch, his head smashing into a nearby tombstone.
Mickey, who had been on his way back to the battle, noticed Goofy go down. He rushed to aid his friend. Meanwhile, Sarah set her sights on Riku. She flew too fast for him to aim with magic, so he held still, waiting for her to come down. When she was close enough to strike, Riku leapt up, flipping over her broom. In midair, he let Sora go. The cat fell onto Sarah, scratching her head and shoulders.
Sarah caught Sora by the scruff of his neck and threw him. He smashed into a nearby pumpkin. In her attempt to get Sora off her face, Sarah had lost her balance. She fell off her broom, hitting her head on the side of the bridge when she went down. Sarah remained standing for two seconds, blindly swaying back and forth before crumbling, completely knocked out.
Riku landed back on his feet, intent on going after Sora. Then, his world turned into nothing but hot and cold pain as something smashed into his spine. Winnie was back up, floating on Sarah's broom. She sent another bolt of dark lightning in Riku's direction. He fell to his knees, gasping as he tried to stay conscious and keep track of what was going on.
"Fool. It will take more then a few strikes to get rid of us! MARY!"
In the distance, there was a surprised yelp as Mary grabbed Donald's leg. She threw the duck across the graveyard and began walking back to the bridge.
"Coming sister."
Meanwhile, Sarah came to. "That was a nice nap." Then, Sarah pointed. "Winnie! Winnie! I see them! They're going to the town!"
Winnie clapped her hands, cackling happily. "Good work sister. Come! We fly!"
In her excitement, Winnie had forgotten that Mary and Sarah no longer had brooms. So the two younger sisters had no choice but to chase Winnie on foot. Before she zoomed off to town, Winnie turned to give one last sneer at the bridge.
"Oh, that's right. It would rude to leave without a parting gift. Enjoy the heartless, thou swine!"
One wave of Winnie's hand, and a legion of heartless appeared on the bridge and surrounding pumpkin patches. The witches flew off. By this time, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had regrouped and made it back. Even Sora, still shaking off pumpkin pulp from his fur, had made it back to the bridge.
Riku felt heat coming down from the sky. Heartless floated around him. The were shaped like iron pots, with tiny, bat-like wings. Their heads felt hot, as though a fire were blazing at top their crowns. Winnie had summoned hundreds, and Riku was too woozy to put up much of a fight.
The heat from ten different fire spells flew in Riku's direction. He closed his eyes, but the burning never came. The cold magic of a reflect spell surrounded him. Mickey ran up to Riku. He jumped onto the reflect spell surrounding Riku, using it to propel himself up into the air. While free falling, Mickey bombarded the heartless surrounding Riku with blizzard spells.
The reflect spell popped after a few more of the fiery heartless smashed their bodies against it. But it didn't matter. They were destroyed by Goofy's shield and Donald's magic a second later. Donald focused on the heartless, while Goofy gave Riku a few potions.
After the second dose, Riku was finally able to stand. Sora came back into the battle, and Riku instinctively grabbed him before he could be bombarded by one of the fire core heartless. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy teamed up, smashing a path through the falling fire and darkness.
"Go!" Mickey commanded Riku. "We'll hold off the heartless. Stop the witches!"
Sora jumped out of Riku's hold. He led the way to back to Halloween Town while Riku deflected heartless from above. By the time they made it back to the square, not only had Mary and Sarah succeeded in rounding up and tying up Lock, Shock, and Barrel, but they had also captured the mayor, Sally, and Dr. Finkelstein.
Winnie stood over the town's fountain.
"It's not a cauldron, but it will do. Sisters! Bring me the ingredients for the potion. If thou can't find what we need, then use the town's citizens for spare parts."
Riku had heard enough. He shifted into the darkness, appearing right before Mary and Sarah, and slicing both women before either of them could do anything nefarious to Sally, the mayor, or Dr. Finkelstein. Mary and Sarah wailed, running in opposite directions, nursing their injuries.
Sally cheered. The mayor's face shifted to happy for one second. Then his face turned back to terrified as Winnie shot a bolt of lightning at Riku's back. Riku turned around, bringing up his soul eater. It did nothing to stop Winnie's dark lightning. Pain exploded on Riku's chest and arms. He had known his weapon couldn't block Winnie's magic, but if he had moved, it would have hit the citizens of Halloween Town instead.
Riku threw a dark firaga spell at the witch. Winnie destroyed his magic by attacking it with her own dark spell. Though his arms and legs were still reeling from the pain of Winnie's attack, Riku shifted into the darkness, and reappeared far away from the Halloween Town residents. His plan worked. Winnie turned away from the civilians so that she could attack him.
That was when Sora took his chance to jump on the ropes holding down Sally, the doctor, and the mayor. He used his claws to slice through the ropes. The Halloween Town residents fled to safety. Sora turned his attention to Lock, Shock, and Barrel. He stayed low to the ground, trying to get close.
Then, Mary and Sarah popped up out of nowhere and tried to grab him. Slipping in between the witches' hands before he got caught, Sora had to run around the square, using all of his feline instincts to avoid capture.
Meanwhile, Riku was slipping in and out of darkness in an attempt to avoid Winnie's dark electricity. Though he was able to avoid most her strikes, it wasn't the best strategy. One slip up, one shift a second too late, or too soon, and he would be hit. Winnie's lack of recharge time gave him no opening to heal from her last attack. His chest and arms burned with the effort of moving, but Riku worked through the pain, trying his hardest to look for an opening, to get close enough to Winnie to strike.
Just then, Sora ran by Winnie's feet. Mary and Sarah, who had been chasing him, crashed into Winnie. The three sisters tried to grab onto each other, to regain their balance. Instead, they became a tangled mess of arms and legs, falling over, one on top of each other. Riku took his chance, throwing a dark firaga spell at Winnie. His attack never hit, for Winnie had used her own two sisters as shields. Her cowardice turned out to be her sisters' downfall.
While Winnie tried to detangle herself from her now unconscious siblings, Riku had closed the distance, and sliced Mary and Sarah with his soul eater, finishing off both witches for good. Mary and Sarah turned to stone, and then burst into dust. Riku should have slipped back into darkness right then and there, but he hadn't. He lifted his soul eater above Winnie, ready to strike her down next.
Hot fire coursed through Riku's body. His soul eater fell through out of his hand, his teeth rattled as black and purple lightning threatened to barbecue him from the inside. From below, Winnie cackled hysterically, holding on to Riku's ankle, sending wave after wave of darkness and electricity into the boy. Then the agony stopped, and Riku stumbled backward, gasping, barely sensing anything but the pain that pounded on every inch of his skin. Distantly, he heard a cat angrily meowing and hissing.
Then, he heard shrieks.
Casting a healing spell, Riku's dulled senses came back into focus, just in time for him to gasp in horror. Winnie had grabbed Sora by his tail, pulled him off her face, and zapped him. Sora went limp and Winnie threw him into the fountain.
All of Riku's pain was forgotten. He ran to the fountain and jumped in. Before the water swallowed him, he felt the itch of darkness on his back, and heard Winnie shout.
"I'll turn thee into soup!"
The water rushed in Riku's ears. He had expected for the fountain to be no more then a few feet deep, but it was more like a great, underwater lake. Riku swam, deeper and deeper, pushing himself down with all his might. Straight ahead, Sora was barely moving, his light dimming like the darkening sky after sunset. Riku felt the itchy bite of darkness above him.
He knew that Winnie was seconds away from sending a massive, dark, electric charge into the water. She was going to turn Sora and Riku into boiled meat, but Riku didn't care. He stretched out his arm, his fingertips almost reaching Sora. His lungs screamed for air, but Riku refused to resurface.
Bubbles escaped from Sora's mouth. In a fit of desperation, he summoned the keyblade. What happened next took only seconds. Hundreds of thoughts raced through Riku's mind as panic burned through his heart, but there was one powerful thought that made him focus and clear his read.
Riku mentally challenged Winnie to do her worst. It didn't matter that Riku couldn't block electricity while under water. No matter how powerful Winnie's attack was going to be, no matter what happened to him, he would give up anything if it meant getting Sora out of the fountain and back to normal. Even his own heart.
Riku reached out and grabbed the keyblade in one hand, and Sora in the other. The keyblade shined in Riku's hand. If he had been in his right mind, he would have questioned the keyblade's reaction. But at that moment, nothing else mattered except getting his friend to safety. Nothing. Not even the weight of the water threatening to crush his lungs.
He aimed the keyblade up to the surface of the lake, and fired.
Up in Halloween Town, Winnie had gathered a massive ball of energy between her palms. She was about to throw the electric power into the fountain, but then a spear of light flew out of the water. The light ripped through Winnie. Like a vampire caught in the sun, Winifred Sanderson turned into dust.
Back in the fountain, Riku's lungs were on fire. He kicked his feet with all his strength. He burst through the surface of the water. He didn't even think to breathe, focusing instead on pulling Sora into the air, which was surprisingly difficult as Sora was a lot heavier then before.
At that moment, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey appeared. They grabbed Sora's arms and legs, lifting the boy out of the fountain. Sora collapsed into Donald and Goofy's waiting arms. The two friends gently lowered the boy. Sora hacked, spitting up water before turning on his side to inhale sweet, sweet air. Behind him, Mickey pulled out Riku. The older boy fell to the ground, his own gasps for breath drowning out Sora's.
Several healing spells, potions, and ethers later, both Sora and Riku sat up.
Sora stretched, wiggling his fingers and toes.
"You know, I think I'll miss being a cat. Fur-real, it was kind of fun."
Riku tipped his head back to the sky. His snorts turned into a round of obnoxious chuckles. He leaned on Mickey, trying to calm down his racing heart so that he could speak. "I never thought I'd be so happy to hear a pun."
A round of cheer settled over the group as everyone laughed.
Lock, Shock, and Barrel were thankful enough that they promised to behave themselves, though no one, except Riku, could tell that they had their fingers crossed behind their backs. The kids scampered off while Sora and the others went to check on the Halloween Town residents. Sally was sad to hear that Jack wasn't in Christmas Town, but she did brighten when Sora promised to keep looking.
The mayor made Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey official citizens of Halloween Town, giving each of them a certificate for good measure. Before they left the square, Dr. Finkelstein's called to Sora.
"Young man! That strange weapon you carry, may I take a look?"
Donald narrowed his eyes at Sora, but said nothing when the boy casually handed the keyblade over. The weapon looked ridiculously big in Dr. Finkelstein's tiny hands.
"You saved us with this strange instrument? What mad genius made this thing? And what's the light triggering mechanism."
Sora bit his lip. Two reasons kept him from explaining how the keyblade worked. The first was that Donald had not stopped glaring, daring Sora to say anything to betray the world order. The second was he wasn't entirely sure how the keyblade worked, and, honestly, he didn't care to know. He remembered Queen Eleanor's words. Some things were better kept a mystery.
Yet there was one question that Sora did want answered.
After Dr. Finkelstein handed Sora back the keyblade, he turned and wheeled himself back to his lab, muttering about how he can make his own weapon of light and use it to keep the heartless at bay. Once the party was back in the graveyards, Sora patted Riku's shoulder.
"I don't remember much when I was underwater, but I saw a light. Was that you?"
Riku stopped walking. He lifted his hands, opening and closing them. "Yeah. The keyblade reacted to me, and I summoned a beam of light. That's how I beat Winnie."
Mickey jumped up and threw his arms around Riku's neck.
"You used the light? Riku! That's amazing!"
Returning his friend's hug, Riku let Mickey go and summoned his soul eater. He traced his weapon's serrated edge with a finger.
"Besides healing magic, I've only ever used the light once, now that I think about it. Back when Kairi wanted to use her own heart to save Sora. But even then, I also used darkness at the same time, and the light had come from the keyblade. At least, I thought it did, at the time. This is the first time I've done an attack that's only pure light. How did I do that?"
Sora shrugged. "You just have to trust your heart. That's how I do it."
"You make is sound so easy."
"It is," Sora snapped.
Riku let out a short, chuckle. "I have to take you back to Neverland one of these days. Slighty and Cubby would totally idolize you."
"Speaking of going to other worlds," Sora said, "how do we get out of this one?"
"Why don't we ask Santa?" Goofy suggested. "I mean he does deliver presents to every world, right?"
Sora's eyes grew as big as saucers. "Are you saying we can ride Santa's sleigh out of here?"
Donald was beyond hyped now. In fact, he had gotten so excited that he looked like he were about to feint. He swooned for a moment, before righting himself and jumping up in the air. "Oh boy!"
Mickey giggled. "Looks like we have a plan. Let's get to Christmas Town."
Goofy and Donald talked about what Santa's sleigh might look like. They described all manner of crazy ideas until Mickey jumped in and described the sleigh in such detail that the two friends stared at him, having forgotten the story about how Mickey had once broken into Santa's workshop. Sora listened to the chatter until Riku waved a hand in front of his eyes.
"You're so quiet. Got something on your mind?"
"I was just thinking about what Winnie said earlier." Sora put his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "She said that they had been freed from the darkness. Up till now. I thought that only heartless were in the realm of darkness."
"What about me? Or Mickey? Or Oswald?" Riku asked. "Kairi said he had been wondering in the realm of darkness for years."
"You, Mickey, and Oswald are good people. I guess I just assumed that, once bad people get into the realm of darkness, they would eventually turn into heartless, or fade away."
Sora looked up to the sky. Unlike other worlds, the sky in Halloween Town didn't have dark patches. Yet.
"What if, there are be more evil people lurking in the realm of darkness? What if the heartless aren't our only worries?"
Riku put his hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Since when did you start worrying so much?"
"Since-" Sora bit his lip. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. You're right. We should get back to the others and-"
Riku jerked away from Sora. He grit his teeth, his hand diving into his pocket. Sora frowned at his friend for a second. Then his own pocket began burning. Reaching in, Sora pulled out the green, star charm he had found in Hollow Bastion. It was glowing, the light shining so brightly that Sora had to squeeze his eyes shut. The ground bucked beneath his feet. Then something strange happened. Gravity stopped working. Sora flew up into the sky. Never in his life had he wanted to fall back down to the ground so badly. Riku was floating as well, his own star charm flashing in his hand. They kept rising, higher and higher.
Somewhere in the stars, the two star charmed flashed, and Sora and Riku lost consciousness.
Jiminy's Journal:
Winifred Sanderson (First Appeared in Hocus Pocus, 1993): Winnie is the the eldest of the Sanderson sisters. She is also the most intelligent and dangerous, able to use the darkness both to augment her lightning spells and to summon the heartless. She's haughty, vain, and cruel, leading her sisters with the zeal of a tyrant. Too bad her selfishness only led her to being bested by Riku.
Mary Sanderson (First Appeared in Hocus Pocus, 1993): As the middle sister, Mary serves as Winnie's right hand, though it's mostly because Mary is always trying to please her sister in one way or another. Unfortunately, Mary is clumsy and a bit dim witted, so her attempts to help often backfire, making her receive more scorn then praise from the sister she idolizes. She has the strange ability to sniff out children.
Sarah Sanderson (First Appeared in Hocus Pocus, 1993): The youngest of the Sanderson sisters. Sarah is the most carefree, and most incompetent. She's hyperactive, flirtatious, and a bit more optimistic then her sisters. Perhaps Sarah's childishness is the source of her power. When she sings, her voice has the unique ability to hypnotize and lure children, as well as those with a childlike heart.
Chapter 51: KH3 Chapter 20: Triple Threat
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty: Triple Threat
The air was...tolerable. Sure, the realm of darkness was as bleak as ever. Yet, it was less stale. Max and Kairi walked through the endless black abyss. Visually, the realm was exactly as Kairi remembered it. Lonely, desolate, dangerous. Massive jagged stones jutted out from the darkness, their pulsing, purple veins serving as the only light on that terrible place. Yet, as Kairi moved from one floating, earthly platform to the next, she felt less of that strange, itchy feeling.
Since entering the realm of darkness, Max hadn't let go of either of his swords. It had done him good: the duo had been jumped by heartless several times since their arrival. Despite the constant fighting, Kairi just didn't feel the need to be as vigilant as Max. Maybe it was because this was her second time in the realm of darkness. Maybe it was because she was stronger now. That had to be the reason the realm of darkness was much easier to move through.
"Feel anything?" Max asked when the two of them stopped to rest.
Kairi concentrated, closing her eyes. "No light so far."
Max groaned. "We've been walking around forever, and still nothing?"
"It really hasn't been that long. It just feels that way. We're in an ever shifting labyrinth that has no real sense of time. Finding light here really is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Try a hay in a needle-stack. Except there are no needles. Only heartless."
"They're just as endless as the realm itself." Kairi looked up into the black void overhead. "Sometimes, I wonder how many people fell to darkness, and how long they've been trapped here. What's the point of this place? Just to hold darkness in forever?"
"That is way to big for either of us to wrap our heads around," said Max.
"Maybe it is better not to wonder too much. Wouldn't want to overthink, like my Grandpa did."
"Let's just focus on the mission. How exactly did you run into Oswald last time?"
Kairi laughed. "I just wondered around here with Pluto until Oswald saved me."
As she followed Max, Kairi retold the story of how she opened the door at Destiny Island. How she was drawn into it, how she ended up wandering the realm of darkness with only Pluto to keep her company. How Oswald saved her from a group of darkballs. How he tried to teach her fire magic, and how Kairi couldn't summon a fireball to save her life. How the two of them were ambushed by an army of neoshadows. How Kairi had barely been able to chant a water spell after she were drowning in darkness.
But she wasn't drowning anymore. She was...comfortable here. That didn't make any sense, even if she was stronger. Something in the realm of darkness was...nice. The air had a tingle of freshness to it. It was faint, but there, like a flower growing next to a dumpster.
Kairi stared into the darkness, trying to pinpoint just where that strange freshness came from. Without really thinking about it, her feet began to move, in a random direction. She must have been talking to Max, because her mouth was moving. Yet Kairi didn't hear her own words, and her voice trailed off the more steps she took. Her new path was leading her toward something. Somewhere in the darkness, there was...something. Something her heart warned her against.
It's too soon.
"Hello? Kairi!"
Max jumped in front of her face, waving his hand in front of her eyes.
The blur of movement made Kairi dizzy. She rubbed her eyes.
"Are you okay? You just stopped talking and started walking off."
"I thought I felt something," Kairi said.
"Felt what?"
"A light."
"Oswald?"
"No. Bigger. A lot bigger. Like a holy spell, but a thousand times stronger? Maybe?"
"How can there be a light that big in the realm of darkness?"
When Max said it out loud, Kairi realized that it was ridiculous.
"You're right. The realm of darkness does play tricks on you. Last time I was here, the heartless pretended to be Riku, and I almost fell for it."
"Maybe this is what Madame Leota meant. You know, about not being tempted by the light," said Max.
"Makes sense," Kairi agreed.
The two friends jumped off their platform, free falling through the darkness until another winding platform appeared below. A reflect spell softened the landing. The moment Max and Kairi's feet touched the ground, they were surrounded by an army of neoshadows, darkballs, and some weird, umbrella shaped, watery heartless. Kairi wasn't sure how much time passed as she and Max ripped through horde after horde of heartless. In the midst of all the slicing, dicing, and magic throwing, Kairi felt a sudden itch on the back of her neck. The irritation started as small tingle, and then grew into a burning annoyance that just couldn't be ignored.
Slicing through a row of darkballs, Kairi ran toward the edge of the platform. She skid to a stop, looking down. Below her was a mass of darkness, one so big that it was causing invisible, itchy welts all over her skin. Max was still cleaving through heartless, trying to regroup with Kairi. She ignored him, and the battle raging behind her.
A galaxy of darkness swirled far below her platform. It grew, almost as though it were responding to Kairi's presence. Kairi turned back around, charging back into the battle. She grabbed Max's wrist, pulled him to the edge of the platform, and jumped off. They fell toward the swirling vortex of darkness. Kairi grit her teeth. The itchy feeling on her skin was gone. Now, she burned. They fell through layer after layer of darkness, nearly going into shock as the burning turned into icy cold.
They were in a storm of dark clouds and purple lightning. There was no way to tell what was right side up or upside down, until darkballs and invisible heartless appeared all around them. Hanging upside down, Kairi summoned a reflect spell. Because he was holding Kairi's hand, Max was down one sword. Yet, even topsy-turvy, he cut through heartless while Kairi provided defensive magic.
Frying another group of darkballs with lightning, Kairi waited for the next set of heartless appear. In the few seconds of peace that occurred between one group enemies and the next, Kairi felt an electric tingle on the top of her head. Gasping, she threw her head back, looking down, deeper into the vortex.
"Max, this going to be crazy."
"When do you do something that isn't crazy?"
"Hold your breath."
"What?"
Kairi lay flat in the air, on her back. She threw out both hands and shouted. "Waterga!"
A massive ball of water slammed onto Kairi and Max, throwing them down and down, straight through the thickest cloud of darkness. The heartless dove after them, but Kairi could care less. All she could focus on was the electric tingle she had felt before, a tingle that was getting stronger and stronger. The unmistakable rush of magical energy, excitable wit, and faithfulness reached her heart. The water spell faded, and Kairi took a deep breath of both air and light.
"Max, get your swords ready!"
"I'm always ready!"
"Good, because there he is!"
Max focused on where Kairi was pointing. Straight ahead, on a platform, defending himself with an aero spell, surrounded by invisibles, was a rabbit with black fur, a white dress shirt, and blue shorts.
"Going to turn you into a pin-ball!"
Max grinned. "I've always wanted to try this! Bring it!"
Kairi cast a reflect spell on Max. With all her might, she slammed her sword against the magic glass. The reflect spell shattered on impact, but it rocketed Max through the air. His momentum and expert sword skills sliced the invisibles into nothing. Oswald jumped back, eyes wide at Max's sudden appearance. His surprise didn't last long. In the next second, a reflect spell came crashing down on his head. Using his powerful legs, Oswald leaped up into the air, avoiding getting crushed by the reflect spell.
Jumping up had put him in the company of all the heartless that had been chasing Max and Kairi. Before Oswald could even think of casting a spell, there was a furious shout from the platform below.
"Oh no you don't! Thundaga!"
Lightning rained down on the heartless, giving Oswald only a second of breathing room before another barrage of enemies appeared. But it didn't matter. In the next second, a Kairi leaped up into the air next to him and grabbed his hand. Oswald turned, joy in his smile, laughter shining in his eyes as he looked into Kairi's ecstatic expression.
The heartless must have felt a powerful light because they all converged on Kairi and Oswald, eager to eat up the warmth that was shining from them. From down below, Max watched as the heartless closed in on Kairi and Oswald. The heartless' bodies blended together, until they formed an almost seamless sphere. Yet, from between the heartless' black and purple bodies, a blue light shined.
"BLIZZAZA!"
Two voices had shouted the spell. Sharp blades of ice burst out from the center of the heartless' sphere, spearing through them. Riding on a trail of ice through the sky, holding hands, Oswald and Kairi flew around the heartless, throwing one spell after another, blasting through battalion after battalion of heartless. They flew by Max and he jumped onto the ice sheet. Strangely enough, Oswald and Kairi's combined magic magnetically pulled Max's feet against the ice, keeping him from slipping off.
The three friends flew through the dark vortex, destroying all manner of heartless. Darkballs, invisibles, water cores, and some strange, bat like creatures, were completely decimated by sword strikes and expert magic. The dark vortex began to get weaker, but Max, Oswald and Kairi kept flying, destroying neoshadows, earth cores, and shadow heartless next.
The fight stretched on and on, an endless supply of heartless spawning from the darkness, only to be cut down a second later. The spells began to slow, as the high volume of heartless slowly chipped away at the spell casters' stamina. But there was one thing the heartless didn't count on. One thing that that spelled their doom. The sheer, unbridled joy of the moment.
Holding onto Max's and Oswald's hands, Kairi felt a zing of light as the excitement from her reunion and the adrenaline from the fight bubbled over. Oswald too, felt the rush of powerful light and magic. Even though Max had never casted a spell in his life, right then and there, he was akin to a master level mage.
Three voices shouted into the dark.
"GRAVIJA!"
A massive ball of purple, gravitational force surrounded the vortex of darkness. Like a black hole, the purple sphere collapsed in on itself, pulling the heartless and darkness inward, until they were all crushed under the enormous weight of the spell.
Max, Oswald, and Kairi sailed away on the blizzard spell until the ice melted and the magic ran out. They crashed onto a platform somewhere. Lying between Max and Oswald, still holding their hands, Kairi's gasps for breath soon turned into uncontrollable giggles. Her exhaustion completely forgotten, she jumped up, grabbed Oswald's hands, and spun him around.
"Ozzie! I found you! I knew I would find you!" Kairi stopped spinning and pulled Oswald in for a hug. "I'm so happy!"
Oswald dangled helplessly in Kairi's arms. He was so overwhelmed by emotions that his long ears flopped behind his back. He could only muster up the strength to wrap his arms around Kairi's back. She hopped around, so full of energy and happiness that she didn't know what to do. Oswald, for his part, was lost for words. He just closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment until Kairi stopped jumping and put him down. But she refused to let go of his hands.
"You came back. You-" Oswald whipped his eyes with his sleeve. Then he grabbed Kairi's legs in a hug.
Leaning down, Kairi patted the top of Oswald's head.
"I can't believe you're actually here."
"Did you think I'd leave you here? All alone? Not a chance."
"But you had to go find your friends. What about your mission?"
"Done, and done. Getting you out of here is my mission now."
Oswald looked up at Kairi, his ears shooting back up. "I'm not leaving," he said in a low tone. "Not without-"
"Ortensia, right?"
Oswald blinked. Letting go of Kairi, he turned to face Max.
"Hi." Max waved awkwardly.
"Who are you?"
"That's Max. He's my friend. He taught me how to use a sword."
Oswald tilted his head at Kairi. "You can use a sword now?"
"Actually she can use two," Max interjected.
Oswald narrowed his eyes at the young knight.
"Play nice," said Kairi.
"Did you teach Kairi magic too?"
Max laughed. "No. Mary Poppins was her magic teacher."
To everyone's surprise, Oswald snorted. "Mary? She doesn't teach. Magic just happens when she's nearby."
"Maybe that's a good thing. Kairi can get too into her own head when practicing. She'd focus more on my sword then on her foot work and lose her balance. I had to do the same tripping technique a hundred times before she got it right."
"When I tried to teach her a fire spell, she concentrated so hard that I was sure her head would pop. Couldn't even make a puff of smoke."
Kairi pouted. "Hey! I got it eventually."
Max and Oswald glanced at her.
"The foot work?"
"The fire spell?"
"Both!" Kairi pursed her lips, looking at one grinning face to the other.
Max and Oswald exchanged a look and then laughed.
"You meanies! I'm right here, you know."
Oswald sat down on his fluffy bunny tail, looking like a child that was about to be told some grand story. "Show me."
Kairi pointed into the darkness, shouting. "Firaga!"
A ball of blazing flame burst out of her hand. It flew through the darkness until it was out of sight. Oswald clapped.
"You actually did it! You became a full fledged mage, just like you promised." Turning toward Max, Oswald said, "Thanks for teaching her to be quite the powerhouse."
"She never would have gotten this far if you hadn't gotten her started," said Max.
Oswald extended his hand. Reaching down, Max grabbed the rabbit's hand and pulled him up. The two of them shared a smile, shaking hands.
"Any friend of Kairi's is a friend of mine," said Oswald.
"Ditto."
Kairi put her hands on her hips. "Great! Intros are done. Now all we have to do look for our other lost friend."
Oswald beamed at Kairi.
"Do you have any idea where Ortensia might be?" Kairi asked.
Oswald looked down at the stone platform they stood on. His wand lay on the floor nearby. Kairi realized that he must have dropped the wand when she was busy hugging him. When Oswald picked up the wand, Kairi noticed that a small bubble of light was glowing at the wand's tip.
Oswald held up the wand, pointing at the glowing light. "I have some idea of where Ortensia is. There was a vortex of darkness, like the one we just fell through. Except this one was bigger. So wide that it was all I could see. When I got close to it, the light at the end of my wand glowed brighter, but then I was attacked by heartless. The vortex vanished while I was fighting. I've been looking for it since."
"Can I see that?" Kairi pointed to the wand.
Oswald held out the wand. In one brief second, the two of them held the wand at once. The wand lit up. Like the tail of a shooting star, the the bubble of light at the wand's tip, lengthened. Oswald and Kairi watched as the light bubble stretched, turning into an arrow, one that rotated like the hand of a clock.
The arrow of light stopped, pointing into the realm of darkness. Oswald waved the wand around, but the beam did not move, pointing in the same direction.
Max, Kairi, and Oswald all looked at each other, a mix of curiosity and resolve settling over their faces. Wordlessly, the friends each agreed on what they had to do. Oswald took the lead, holding the wand over his head. The team hopped from platform to platform, following the beam.
For a long time, no one spoke. No one even thought to wonder if they were going in circles. The realm of darkness hardly changed as they explored. They followed the arrow of light until something appeared in the abyss. A swirling vortex, much like the one Kairi and Max had fallen through earlier. Yet, the more the friends moved toward it, the bigger it became, until it was all they could see before them.
In the center of the swirling, whirlpool of dark clouds was a hole. It resembled the pupil of an eye, a pupil that was surrounded by purple and black darkness. The beam on the end of Oswald's wand pointed right into it.
The rabbit stopped on the platform that led into the eye of the storm. He turned toward his friends, and was happy to see no fear on their faces. Kairi and Max pointed into the eye and then to Oswald.
Wherever you go, I'll follow.
Understanding, Oswald stepped into eye in the sky.
Dust, smoke, and ash was the first thing to greet them on the other side. The realm of darkness had always been an inhospitable wasteland, but the section the three friends now found themselves in was a whole new kind of unforgiving. They stood on the edges of a massive, black lake. Garbage, oil, filth, and plastic floated on the surface of the lake, which was filled, not with water, but with ooze. Sections of the lake were on fire. The flames were not natural. They glowed a black and purple.
The beam on Oswald's wand flashed. It lengthened, flowing out over the lake. The beam curved, pointing down, into the center of the lake. Then the beam flickered, and went out.
Oswald lunched forward, his feet inches away from the oozy liquid of the lake. A pair of hands grabbed his arms, stopping him.
"Ortensia could be down there," Oswald protested.
Max and Kairi didn't let him go.
"Look," they said.
Bubbles boiled in the center of the lake. They grew wider, popping, letting the black liquid sprinkle down into the toxic crater. Five sharp points rose out from under the black bubbles. A long, black arm, with grey, glowing veins, came out of the lake. Then, there was another arm, then a third, a fourth, a seventh, a ninth. A long, wide torso and chest appeared next.
As the massive creature rose out of the lake, three heads appeared atop its thick neck. Six glowing eyes peered at Max, Kairi, and Oswald. The mutated darkside turned its body to face the horrified fighters on the lake shore. When it faced them, the heart shaped hole in its chest came into full view. Unlike other darksides, this one had something in the heart shaped hole. A spiderweb made of black, oily rubber was woven into the hole and at the center of the web, cocooned in solidified darkness, her eyes closed, was a cat.
The fur on Oswald's stiff ears stood up, making him look like he had been electrocuted. Raising his wand high, Oswald shouted.
"Triple Firaga!"
Three comets of hot fire sailed across the sky, one for each of the darkside's heads. The creature raised its nine arms, covering its face. Rather then hit the heartless, the fireballs changed color when they touched the darkside's black hide. The red fire darkened until it was as black as ash. The darkside spread its many arms.
Max, Kairi, and Oswald scattered like ants. Three comets of darkness crashed into the platform, forming bubbling holes where Kairi, Max, and Oswald had been standing mere moments before. They burned deep into the platform, like acid digging through the thick crust of the earth. And the smell, like burning rubber mixed with formaldehyde, filled the air, making Max and Oswald cough, their eyes and sensitive noses turning red.
Max blinked through tears. The moment his vision focused, he spotted another torpedo of darkness flying his way. Ducking and rolling to the side only pulled him further away from his friends. On the far east side of the bank, Kairi ducked as one of the darkside's arms tried to reach out and grab her in its fist. To the west, Oswald jumped up and over another of the darkside's hands. He landed on its muscular arm, running up to the darkside's shoulder.
At point plank range, Oswald fired a lightning spell right at one of the darkside's heads. Sparks of electricity zipped across the darkside's eyes and over its tentacled hair. The darkside reacted faster then any other darkside Kairi had encountered before. One hand thumped hard on the shoulder that Oswald was standing on. The rabbit was just as quick, using his strong legs to jump onto the darkside's middle head.
"Blizaga!"
Spears of ice smashed through the darkside's head, the sharp points sticking out from between its eyes. Despite the total brutality of the spell, the darkside didn't seen the least bit affected. Three hands smashed down on top of its head, and Oswald jumped up, only avoiding the big hands by an inch.
While Oswald assaulted the darkside with one fury fueled spell after another, Kairi had been running along the edges of a lake. She tried to find a path to make it safely across the goo, all while avoiding all the black torpedos the heartless was still firing off its body.
Swimming toward the darkside was out of the question. The darkness was so thick that not only did it weigh down on Kairi's bones, but she could actually smell it. The horrible stale stench burned her nose and sinuses. For a brief moment she wondered just how Riku could stand the smell. If she jumped into the lake, Kairi was sure she would never make it out.
Right behind the darkside there was a series of boulders jutting out of the lake. Kairi leapt onto one of them, slowly, but carefully moving toward the darkside. On the other bank of the lake, Max waved his swords, trying to catch the darkside's attention.
"Hey! Tall, dark, and ugly! Is that the best you got? You missed me!"
The lake ooze splashed as the darkside stomped through it, moving closer to Max. It spread its arms wide. A ball of dark energy gathered in front of the heart shaped hole on its chest. With its attention on Max, it couldn't stop Oswald from blasting it with another blizzard spell. The ice momentarily froze the darkside, keeping it still, but the spell that had gathered at its core burst out, zooming toward Max. He lunged, avoiding the attack, but the hood of his jacket got caught by the dark flames, and Max had to wriggle out of his hoodie before the dark acid could sear his skin. Standing in nothing but his red T-shirt, Max gasped, trying to gather his wits.
As all this was happening, Kairi spotted something in the heart shaped hole in the darkside's chest. Ortensia. She was moving. The little cat wriggled, thrashing her head, her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth clenched. Then she stopped wriggling, her head hanging limply to the side. At the same time, Oswald jumped onto the darkside's shoulder, climbing down its back to get to the heart-shaped hole in its chest. Kairi watched in horror as the darkside's nine arms rotated. Like a contortionist, the darkside's arms bent behind its back. Three hands got a hold of Oswald, trapping him within the thick fingers.
Kairi heard Oswald yell a reflect spell, but she knew the magical glass would not protect him forever. Jumping onto a higher platform, Kairi threw her sword. Then, she pointed her hand at the sword and shouted.
"Firaga!"
The fire spell hit the handle of the blade, powering it up with more force and speed. It stabbed the central head of the three headed creature. More movement from within the darkside's heart shaped hole. Ortensia's whole body thrashed this time.
The darkside's hands released Oswald. They moved to pull out Kairi's blade. The darkside fell to its knees, its fingers were too big to pull out the blade that stuck out of the back of its middle head.
Oswald fell. Kairi threw a water spell at him. The magical water caught him in mid-air and washed him up safely on a nearby shore. When Kairi and Max reached Oswald, he was panting, but back on his feet, pointing his wand at the darkside.
Kairi grabbed Oswald's wand. "Wait! We have to stop attacking it."
"But we just got it," Max protested.
"We have to hit it while its down," Oswald said at the same time.
"No! Listen to me. It's feeding off her light. We hurt it, and it hurts her."
Oswald was aghast. The white fur on his face somehow got paler. "Then what do we do? We can't just let her stay trapped in it."
"There's only one way. Max."
He stood to attention. "What do you need?"
"Pin-ball. Loop around behind it and get Oswald close."
"You got it. What are you going to do?"
"Well, if it's light the darkside wants, then I'm the perfect distraction, right?" Kairi leaned down, putting her hands on Oswald's shoulders. "The rest is up to you."
"How do I get her out of that dark oil?"
Kairi pulled him in for a hug. "Don't think." She squeezed him. "Just do what your heart tells you. I know that you love her more then anything. Follow those feelings. It worked for me when I had to save Sora." Oswald didn't look so sure when Kairi pulled back from him. She held onto his hands. "You the first friend to ever believe that I could fight. I have faith in you too."
The little rabbit nodded, resolve shining in his eyes.
Kairi let him go. Running toward the other side of the bank, she jumped up and down, screaming.
"Hey! You triple headed menace! See this? Curaga!"
The magic of the spell both rejuvenated Kairi and lit up the dark atmosphere with a healing glow. That caught the heartless attention. Having given up on pulling Kairi's sword out of its head, it slowly rose up from its kneeling position. The ground shook as the heartless stomped, turning to face Kairi.
She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "You want light you giant moron? Well, I have light for days! Come and get it!"
Nine arms flashed out to try and grab a hold of Kairi. She barely managed to roll, jump, and duck under the thick hands. One hit from a giant fist and it would be all over. Sparks of electricity and the glow of fire could be seen in between the heartless' many arms as Kairi kept its limbs back with magic.
Max grit his teeth, watching Kairi fight. He dug his heels into the dirt, raising both swords. In front of him, Oswald kneeled, summoning a reflect spell around himself.
"Ready?" Max asked.
Oswald's fist tightened on his wand. He looked over his shoulder at Max. "Give me your best shot."
Max swung both swords, smashing them against Oswald's reflect spell. He hit it out of the park. The magic glass shattered and Oswald rocketed over the lake, landing right on the heartless back.
The darkside twitched when Oswald landed. It pulled four of its hands away from Kairi.
"HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME!" Kairi jumped onto one of the darkside's hands, stomping her feet. "Don't you know I'm a princess of heart? You want one measly rabbit and cat when you can have me? Just how stupid are the heartless?"
"Don't forget me!"
Max ran under the arms that Kairi stood on, slicing through the heartless' muscles with both his swords.
By this time, Oswald was right above Ortensia. He saw her kicking her arms and legs in a cocoon of darkness. Oswald jumped into the heart shaped hole. He began pulling at the thick, rubbery tendrils of darkness that were wrapped around Ortensia's body.
Back on the shore, Max and Kairi climbed onto the heartless' arms. They argued, screaming.
"Over here, big oaf!"
"No! Take me! I'm cuter!"
"I'm tougher!"
"Since when? Didn't you just see me take down this thing with one sword?"
"You're still at seven wins, thirteen losses against me! Come on, Ugly! It's me you want!"
"No! It's me you want! Max is only ahead of me because he cheats!"
"I don't cheat! You just don't have my skills!"
The joy of their friendly shouts completely distracted the heartless from what Oswald was doing. Rather then pull the rabbit away from Ortensia, it used its nine arms to try and grab Max and Kairi. The two friends had no choice but to use magic and swords to defend themselves as they jumped from one thick arm to the next, all while being careful not to fall off the darkside's body and into the lake ooze below.
Oswald watched as Ortensia struggled. Each attack against the darkside made her face contort in agony. Her cute, white face and button nose wrinkled, her cheeks reddening in pain. Oswald summoned fire spells to burn the dark cocoon. He tried slicing through it with razor sharp ice spells. He tried casting a wind spell around Ortensia's body to push the darkness away from her. Nothing worked. Instead of pulling off the rubbery mass, it only tightened around his beloved.
Desperate, Oswald put his hands on Ortensia's cheeks.
"Ortensia, it's me. Please open your eyes. I've been searching for you for so long. Please wake up."
Ortensia's eyelids trembled, but her eyes didn't open. The darkness around her tightened, but Oswald refused to let go. So the darkness began to cocoon around his body as well. Pressing his forehead against Ortensia's, Oswald whispered.
"I won't leave you. Even if I sink into the darkness. You've been fighting all alone for so long. I will never leave the realm of darkness without you."
The oily tendrils of darkness wrapped around Oswald's head and ears. The darkside's muscles tensed. Its arm speed quickened, and before Kairi and Max could stop it, they were both gathered up in the darkside's fists. The fingers began to squeeze, but neither Kairi nor Max paid attention. They watched as Oswald and Ortensia completely disappeared into a sphere of darkness. Then all they felt was pain as the darkside began to crush them within its fists.
The pain only lasted for a few seconds. The fists loosened. The darkside's three heads looked down at its chest. A beam of light burst out of the oily mass in its chest. Then another beam sliced through the darkness. The oily darkness dried up and crumbled. Oswald, his arms wrapped tightly around Ortensia, fell against the wall of the heart shaped hole.
Ortensia's eyes slowly opened. She nuzzled her cheek against Oswald's shoulder. "Honey Bunny? You're here?"
Oswald bent his knees. Pushing off the the heartless' chest, he flew up into the air, high above the heartless' heads, lifted off his feet by pure joy. In the air, Ortensia floated above him, her eyes wide.
"This isn't a dream, right?"
"No it's not!" Oswald cried. "It's better!"
Ortensia reached out, pinching one of Oswald's ears between her fingers. Oswald winced, but his big, dumb smile never left his face.
"You weren't supposed to come after me!" Ortensia scolded. "I didn't push you out of danger just so that you could go diving headfirst back into it!"
"Did you really think I'd give up on you? Not a chance! Besides, I'm lucky, remember? I can handle the darkness!"
"Y-you stubborn, reckless-"
The rest of Ortensia's sentence faded as emotion completely took her over. She fell into Oswald's arms. The two mages began to glow. The darkside reared backward, looking up at the star that was shining above its head. That star spelled its doom.
From within the star, two mages joined hands, raising a wand together.
"METEOR!"
There was a reason Yen Sid had said that Oswald and Ortenasia had a rare gift for channeling magic. What he hadn't said, was that the true source of their immense strength was their love for each other. Thousands of massive, boiling, hot chunks of extraterrestrial rock bombarded the three headed heartless below, burning through its body on impact. The heartless' fingers weakened, releasing Max and Kairi from its tight grip.
The two friends wasted no time. They ran up the heartless' arms, each stopping on its wide shoulders. Raising their swords, Max and Kairi sliced through the three headed darkside's neck. The heartless' body began to disintegrate.
Max, Kairi, Oswald, and Ortensia fell toward the dark lake. In the ten seconds they were all in free fall, all four of them reached for each other. Kairi grabbed hold of Ortensia's hand.
"Hi! My name is Kairi! And this is Max. We're Ozzie's friends!"
"Nice to meet you," Ortensia shouted back.
"We did it!" Oswald boomed. "We did it!"
Ortensia leaned her head against Oswald's shoulder. All of her strength faded and she fell into peaceful slumber. Oswald grabbed Kairi's hands and screamed "thank you" over and over. Max kicked his legs in the air and pumped his fists in triumph. The moment Oswald, Kairi, and Max grasped each other's hands, light rushed all through their bodies. Chanting a holy spell had never been so easy.
They never splashed into the oozing darkness of that horrible lake. In fact, the lake no longer exists. All the pollution, filth, and stank of darkness was washed away by a blast of powerful light. The force was so strong that it tore through the realm of darkness. When the light faded, Max, Kairi, Oswald and Ortensia collapsed on top of a hard, cobblestone floor.
Rolling over on their backs, they watched the golden clouds in the sky, felt the heat of summer pressing down on their cheeks, and smelled the sweet cinnamon of a nearby restaurant. A few people appeared above them, staring down at the four oddballs that were lying down in the middle of the street.
A moment later, Eiko came barreling through the crowd. She waved her arms dismissively.
"Nothing to see here. They just fell over, that's all. Go about your business."
Vivi wriggled through the crowd next. The moment he squeezed through the the tightly packed bodies, he fell over. Lucky for him, Zidane came through next. He hauled Vivi to his feet before addressing the crowd with Eiko.
"Sorry folks. The light show is over."
The residents shrugged, deciding to go about their day and letting Tantalus Delivery handle whatever was going on. When they were alone, Oswald stood from the ground. His ears picked up the people's chatter, the sounds of the trams moving over the street, the distant soft ringing of jazz music. Spicy and savory scents rushed into his nose. For the first time in years, his stomach growled. The air moved around him, flowing through his black fur. He looked down at Ortensia, who was still slumbering in his arms.
She nuzzled his chest, purring in her sleep. Her black fur was matted, but her cat ears were lowered, showing that she felt completely safe. The sunlight shined down on her pink, floral dress.
"We're finally free," Oswald whispered.
His eyes closed, his body swayed, and he tumbled forward.
Zidane reached out, catching Ortensia as she fell out of Oswald's arms. Meanwhile, Oswald fell back, his head landing on Kairi's arm.
Zidane straightened up, carrying Ortensia like a baby. "What's going on?"
Max, and Kairi, who were still lying down on the floor, gave him a weak thumbs up.
"Let's just say we won a battle that was three times as hard as hard as we thought it would be," Kairi explained.
Max snickered. "And we took three times as many licks."
Eiko stood over them, clicking her teeth. "Let me guess, you went all out too?"
"Is there any other way to fight?" Max asked.
Eiko rolled her eyes. "You're just like Zidane."
"Skilled?" Zidane offered.
"Nope. Reckless."
Vivi bent down and grabbed Kairi's shoulders, pushing her up into to a sitting position. "I'm glad you two are okay. But why are you alone? Where's Sora? And the others?"
"We got split up," Kairi replied, "but I know they're okay."
Max groaned when Vivi helped him up next. "Ow! Watch the head."
"S-sorry."
"Guess that's my cue," said Eiko. She walked around, casting healing spells on Max, Kairi, Oswald, and Ortensia. When the bunny and kitty didn't wake up, Kairi cast Eiko a worried look.
"They must be really tired," Eiko explained.
"Did they use a lot of magic?" Vivi asked.
Kairi nodded.
"Healing can take care of the physical stuff, but too much magical use means the body needs more time to rest," Vivi said.
"Wow, you're so smart."
Vivi intertwined his fingers. He didn't meet Kairi's eyes as he spoke. "Merlin always says that a strong mind means strong magic. I try to learn what I can."
Kairi had to fight the urge to bend down and give Vivi a big hug. The boy was so modest, it was easy to forget that he was a magical powerhouse. In an attempt not to coo, she turned to Max. While everyone else had been talking, Max had gotten down on his knees and picked up Oswald, carrying him piggyback. The poor bunny's cheek rested on Max's shoulder, his ears flopping over Max's chest.
"Sorry about your hoodie," said Kairi, pointing to Max's red T-shirt.
"I got a spare," Max replied. "So what now?"
Kairi sighed. "We'd better get Oswald and Ortensia to Master Yen Sid. Then we have to figure out a way to regroup with Sora and the oth-"
Something on Kairi's hip burned. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the star charm she had found in the haunted mansion. It glowed, heat radiating off it. What was once a peaceful summer night in Twilight Town turned into absolute chaos as a sudden, powerful quake terrified the residents. Vivi and Eiko fell over. Max and Zidane lowered their stances in a desperate attempt to keep their balance and not drop Oswald and Ortensia.
With everyone distracted by the shaking, none of them could reach out and grab Kairi. Her feet left the ground. In the midst of all the confusion and screams, she went up, falling into the sky. The star charm was still glowing. It burned Kairi's fingers. As she flew further and further away from Twilight Town, the shock knocked her out.
Jiminy's Journal
Ortensia (First Appeared in The Banker's Daughter, 1927): This little cat is one of Master Yen Sid's apprentices and a powerful mage in her own right. She fell into darkness after trying to protect Oswald from the aftermath of Marluxia's failed attempt to destroy the realm of darkness. Now that she and Oswald have been reunited and free, how will Master Yen Sid react upon their return?
Chapter 52: KH3 Chapter 21: The Armor
Chapter Text
A/N
Hoo boy...I can't believe I got to this chapter. Had this planned all the way back when I was writing the KH2 portion of this project, didn't think I'd get this far...But here it is, big reveal time...hoo boy...h ope you all are ready for this one, because I'm not...and I wrote it...but it will never be perfect enough, so I might as well upload it before I overthink it to Oblivion...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty One: The Armor
"Excuse me, Majesty Minnie."
Minnie's quill stopped moving. Looking up from her work, she spotted Belle and Daisy entering the castle library. Minnie met Belle by the door, giving the young woman an elegant curtsy.
"My, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow morning."
Belle reached out, offering a book to the queen.
"Cogsworth and I compiled a ledger of everyone we've housed at Beast's castle. We've also added details about where the refugees come from."
Taking the leather bound book, Minnie flipped through the pages. "How organized. Thank you, Ms. Belle. After the world crashing problem is solved, this will help us greatly in sending our visitors home."
Daisy peeked at the book's pages. "We should start making our own ledger soon. If only we weren't so busy."
There was a knock on the door. Belle opened it, watching Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth walk in. Beast lumbered in behind them. His placed several large baskets on the floor.
"Oh? What's all this?" Minnie got up on her tip toes, looking at all the bread, cheese, and fruit in the baskets.
"Well, dears," Mrs. Potts began cheerfully, "we had an abundance of food at our castle, so we thought it would be in good faith to bring some to the refugees staying in Majesty Minnie's audience hall."
Daisy clapped her hands. "What a splendid idea!"
Cogsworth proudly patted his chest. "It was my idea, I'll have you know." Queen Minnie bent down and picked up a basket.
Beast made a motion to take the basket from her. "I-I can carry them."
"Nonsense. You've brought all of these here. Let me lighten your load. Come, let us talk on the way to the audience hall."
Belle and Daisy shared a giggle when the Beast made a nervous, growling sound. He walked alongside Minnie, his back stiff as a pole.
"How is the space at your castle?" Minnie asked Beast.
"We still have plenty of room in the castle's west wing," Beast replied. "And there haven't been any heartless attacks since Belle and Kairi combined their powers. How about your town?"
"Pete and Mortimer may be complaining, but they are managing their soldiers with PJ and Bobby. Mr. McDuck also comes and goes to make sure his men don't get lazy. They've been keeping the citizens at ease and the heartless at bay."
Beast grunted a low sound of approval. The party entered the castle's audience chamber. The spacious room was filled with sleeping matts, pillows, blankets, stools, and several crates that served as chairs or tables. Dozens of people moved about the room. Some rested in their bedrolls. Others sat in circles, talking in the late evening hours.
Three children, two boys and one girl, ran up to Belle.
All of the children had thick, curly hair. They spoke so loud and fast that Belle had to put her hands on her hips to get them to settle down. Seeing her calm yet strict expression, the children relaxed.
One of them, a girl with red hair, shoved the tall boy next to her. The tall boy bowed his head, his green eyes shyly flashing up to Belle and then back to down to his bare feet. Rather then talk to her, the green eyed boy elbowed the boy on his right. Only this boy had the bravery to talk.
"Ciao, Miss Belle. Um, Alberto, Giulia and I were wondering if you had the time to finish that book you were reading to us a few days ago."
Belle reached down and put her hand on the boy's head.
"Of course, Luca. Just let me finish passing out food and I'll be right there."
"Let us help," said the red headed girl, Giulia. She didn't even wait for Belle to agree. She simply picked up a basket of bread and began moving about the room, handing out a bun to each family, or group of friends.
The two boys, Luca and Alberto, shared a look. Then, they followed their friend's example. They passed out bottles of water and milk to various refugees, though their efforts were a little more clumsy then Giulia's. At one point, Alberto got too excited and tripped. The bottle of water that he'd had in his hand flew up into the air. The water rained down all over Luca and Alberto.
Such a small accident wouldn't normally cause a stir. However, Luca and Alberto were special. When they got wet, their human skin vanished, to be replaced by blue and green scales. Fins appeared where their hair had been. The boys ducked their heads shyly when this happened, but Giulia was there a moment later to smooth things over. The old man that the boys had been serving didn't seem too bothered by the change in appearance. He simply handed the boys a towel. The refugees in the castle's audience hall were from a mismatch of all sorts of worlds. Some of the refugees were people, others were animals, and a few were robots. So it wasn't too strange that Luca and Alberto were sea monsters. When the boys dried off, their scaly appearances vanished. They now looked like regular children.
Once the food was passed out, Belle gathered up the children and took them to the throne. She sat down and the children gathered in circle around her. Standing across the audience hall, Beast watched as Belle began to read. She waved her arms, changing her voice for each character in the story. Luca, Alberto, and Giulia stared at her without blinking, as though afraid that moisturizing their eyes would make them miss a detail.
"The children really enjoy reading books with Belle," Daisy said as she came to stand next to Beast. "Only Mary Poppins may rival her in keeping them enraptured." Daisy pressed her fingertips to her beak. "You certainly are lucky to have such a brilliant young woman in your castle."
If it weren't for the thick layer of fur covering the Beast's face, one could have seen the shiny sheen of red that rose up in his cheeks. He cleared his throat and followed Minnie and Daisy back to the library. There, everyone was treated to a spot of tea, curtesy of Mrs. Potts. The teacup looked ridiculously small in Beast's paws. While he tried his best to take a sip without spilling, a feat that was incredibly difficult due to his large mouth and fangs, Daisy had already drained half her cup.
"Delicious! Why, I am tempted to ask you to stay in our castle and brew tea forever."
Mrs. Potts bent forward, taking a bow.
"Now then," Cogsworth paced on Minnie's desk like a drill sergeant. "We are not yet at max capacity at either castle, and reports from Lumière have confirmed that heartless sightings are decreasing. But we must remain vigilant. Any news from the keyblade wielders?"
Minnie shook her head. "Nothing new so far, but Mickey did inform me that the worlds are crashing together because of a sudden overabundance of light."
"How is that possible?" Beast asked.
"That's what the keyblade master and his team are investigating."
The door to the library burst open. Luca, Alberto, and Guilia ran into the room. Their eyes were full of tears, snot running down their noses. They swarmed Minnie's desk.
"Your Majesty! It's Belle! She's disappeared!"
The wind slapped Sora's cheeks and eyelids, ripping him out of the gentle pull of sleep. The air crept through his clothes and make his skin prickle. Raising his head from the hard dirt, Sora spotted the dark, stormy sky above. There was no rain, but the dark, purple clouds, and the distant growls of thunder told him that this would be the storm at its calmest.
Sora shuddered. He'd faced such a storm before, the night that the islands were destroyed. The same uneasy feeling of impending loss, separation, and dread filled the atmosphere. He needed to move. He needed to do something. Standing, Sora stared at the mountains all around him. The large, flat space he stood in reminded him of a park. A park that looked as though it had been bombed. Patches of lawn grass grew in between massive craters and cracks. Just before the cliffs, there was a set of crumbling, stone benches and tables. It must have been an overlook once. Now, the stone railing, which had once stood as a barrier between the benches and the cliffs, had crumbled away, having fallen into the massive canyons below.
The wind howled as if mourning the broken world. Sora watched a few leaves move through the air, before his eyes focused on something in the distance, just beyond his position. There was a castle in the mountains above him. Though he couldn't make out the details because of the distance and the storm's low lighting, Sora was able to see that the castle was broken.
The chains that held the castle up, tethering it to the two, tower-like mountains that straddled it, were rusted. Sora climbed, moving toward the castle and the summit. As he hiked upward, the castle came into focus. The design reminded Sora of a church. The white and gold accents of the castle must been beautiful once, but now they were ashen, grey. The castle walls had deep cracks, and half of it had crumbled away, making the building look lopsided and unfinished.
Sora stopped on a wide, circular platform, a courtyard, right in front of the castle. He looked up the set of stairs leading to the castle's grand, front doors. The staircase was just as forsaken as the rest of the castle. The steps were perilous, covered in cracks and dents. Some of the steps were missing completely. The storm continued to rage behind the castle. Flashes of lightning cast eerie shadows over the broken towers and jagged edges.
Footsteps.
Sora spun on his heel, drawing his keyblade. He froze. Kairi had climbed up to the courtyard. She surveyed the destruction, eyes widening at the pathetic remains of the castle before her. A look of surprise appeared on her features when she spotted Sora.
The two friends rushed toward each other.
"Are you okay?" they asked at the same time.
Kairi spoke first. "I'm fine. Where are we? And what happened here? Why is everything destroyed?"
"Here's a better question: why were we all brought here?"
Sora and Kairi turned around. Riku stepped into the courtyard. He came to stand next to his friends. Of the three, he looked the most uncomfortable. His hand was on his neck and his jaw was clenched tight.
"What's wrong?" Sora and Kairi asked.
"Darkness," Riku replied. "It's everywhere. I can feel it lingering in all the rubble."
Sora rubbed his forehead. "I remember being Halloween Town. Oh!" He dug into his pocket, pulling out the green star charm that he had picked up in Hollow Bastion. "This charm started burning all of a sudden."
"Mine too," said Riku, digging into his own pocket. He held up his orange charm.
"So did mine." Kairi reached into the pouch on her belt. Her star charm was blue in color.
"Where did you find that?" Sora asked.
"In the mansion that swallowed us up."
"So now, we have all three," Riku mused. "But why did they heat up all of a sudden? And why bring us here?"
From deep within the surrounding mountains, there was a low, dreadful rumble. The clouds shuddered, lightning flashing across the sky. The mountains shook, undulating like an ocean wave in a hurricane. Sora, Riku, and Kairi fell over, sliding this way and that. The shaking stopped, mercifully before any of the three friends could be thrown off the mountain.
Riku flashed to his feet, hands coming up to clutch his neck. He heaved. In between coughing fits, he rasped.
"Heartless. Coming."
Sora stood, searching the air and keeping his ears open for the strange popping sounds that signaled the arrival of heartless. He didn't see or hear anything, but he did feel something cold and sharp squeezing his ankle.
Sora's heart iced over when he looked down. A pool of darkness spread beneath his feet. A hand, with long, spindly fingers, tightened around his ankle. The long antennae of a neoshadow stuck out from the dark puddle. The heartless' claws sunk into Sora's skin. Hissing, Sora summoned his keyblade and sliced off the neoshadow's hand. The heartless sunk back down into the pool of darkness.
But the dark puddle didn't disappear. It multiplied. Thirteen dark puddles appeared in the courtyard. They spread out in a circle, surrounding the trio. Thirteen neoshadows rose up from the black liquid. Red veins pulsed all through the heartless' black bodies. Each pair of eyes turned to stare hungrily at Sora. His heart seized. The heartless' eyes were not yellow. They were as red as blood.
The creatures blurred. Ribbons of fire erupted on Sora, Riku, and Kairi's skin as the heartless' claws and kicks landed. Sora and Kairi brought up their weapons, defending against mere after images. More pain followed the first attack, as neither of them could follow the neoshadows' quick movements. The only way they even knew that the heartless were moving, was because of the streaks of red left behind by their glowing veins. While Riku had an advantage, in that he wasn't distracted by the afterimages, he was not quick enough to dodge and block every strike.
The three friends gathered close, back to back, searching for openings to counterattack. The red eyed neoshadows alternated their attacks. Some would swoop in, strike, and then retreat before Sora and Riku could slash at them. Kairi defended her friends with reflect spells, but many of the enemy attacks landed before she was able to throw up a shield. The moment the heartless came in contact with a barrier, they rushed it, tearing it down within seconds, like a crazed mob.
The fight went on like that for what felt like hours, though it couldn't have been more then a few minutes. Sora, Riku, and Kairi took hit after hit. Ambushes caught them off guard, and the pain of their wounds slowed them down. The were pinned, and no attack, or magic spell was quick enough to catch the red eyes.
"This is getting old," Sora grunted. He slashed at air, the neoshadow having already retreated.
"Tell me about it," Kairi panted. "Would it be too much to ask for them to hold still for two seconds?"
Riku hissed. His leg sunk into a puddle of darkness. A neoshadow was pulling him down, its claws sinking into his calf. He thrust his soul eater, and was able to stab the heartless, but it vanished the moment it was wounded. While Kairi healed Riku's wounds, Sora waved his keyblade in total frustration. He ended up whacking a neoshadow completely by accident. The creature had been sneaking up on him, and it was pure chance that Sora's keyblade had been moving right when it had chosen to attack. Just as it was hit, the heartless retreated, allowing Sora a second of time to cast an aero spell around himself and his friends.
He had hoped that the wind spell could keep the heartless back, but he had been wrong. Heartless still rushed him, despite the damage they received from the aero spell's razoring winds. Desperate, Sora waved his keyblade around in every direction he could think of. He wasn't successful in hitting every heartless, but he did catch a few off guard, buying his friends some time to think.
"There has to be some way to increase our speed," Sora panted.
"Or a way to slow them down," Kairi replied. She copied Sora's strategy, succeeding in blocking a few strikes to her face and torso, but taking hits on her arms and legs.
"The only way we could hit something this fast would be if we were waving our weapons around like Hook on fury tirade." Riku gasped. "Wait. That's it!"
"We need to fight like Hook?" Sora and Kairi asked.
"No. Like Peter. Kairi, hold them off for a few seconds."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Just trust me. On my signal, summon a," Riku put his fingertips together, creating a ball with his hands.
A fierce look shined in Kairi's eyes. "Got it."
Riku grabbed Sora's arm, pulling the boy close to his side. "Get ready to fly."
"What are you talking-"
Kairi jumped back as Riku bent his legs and jumped. Once airborne, he had pointed his soul eater at the ground and fired several dark firaga spells below him. The force from the spells rocketed Riku and Sora up into the sky. Kairi didn't see her friends disappear into the clouds. With only one target to focus on, the neoshadows had dropped their alternating attack strategy. They all rushed her and she had to focus on running, jumping, ducking, blocking, and casting reflect spells in order to keep herself from being ripped apart by red eyed neoshadows.
The aero spell Sora had cast around her was weakening. Kairi grunted, taking another hit on her hip, but managing to roll away from three of the neoshadows. She ended up in the center of the courtyard, completely surrounded.
Thunder roared from the sky. Only it wasn't thunder. It was a scream.
"Reflect," Kairi chanted.
Sora roared from above. His battle cry was quickly followed by Riku's. Their voices drew the red eyes' attention upward. Kairi watched as orbs of dark fire and hot bolts of lightning rained down onto the mountain. All around her, the deadly rain slammed into the red eyed neoshadows. Though the heartless were fast, even they couldn't dodge an endless ariel stream of dark fire spells and lightning. From above, Sora could see the heartless flashing from one side of the courtyard to another. He and Riku bombarded the entire courtyard, leaving no room for the heartless to run or escape.
Kairi lowered her defense.
"Waterga!"
Her water spell did two things. It made the distracted heartless slip. And it also empowered Sora's lightning spells. Only six neoshadows remained. Casting one last reflect spell, Kairi fell to her knees, all of her energy spent. But she wasn't afraid. Even as the heartless destroyed her defensive spell, she didn't move. Sora and Riku came down like a pair of axes, slicing through the unsuspecting heartless that had surrounded Kairi. The force from their attacks created gash marks in the ground.
The red eyes were defeated. The boys landed on their feet, but then quickly fell to their knees, collapsing right next to Kairi. The three friends gasped for air.
"I've never," Kairi hacked, "fought small fry heartless that fast."
Sora paused after each of his words so that he could send air to his screaming lungs. "W-what kind of heartless were those?"
Riku opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a yelp of pain. He curled up into a ball on his side, pressing his hands against his temples as though he were afraid that his head was going to split in two. His friends reached out, to try and comfort him, but neither of them had any strength left for healing magic.
Riku writhed. "That thing! It's here!"
The moment Sora and Kairi touched Riku, they felt...
Pressure.
Like the mountains were pressing down on their chests. Sora and Kairi held on to their own heads as a storm pounded in their brains. Something spoke. But it didn't have a voice. Words echoed in Sora's mind, as though they were being carved onto the inside of his skull.
Such brave, young heroes. So full of hope. Knowing so little of the truth.
The sound of metal grinding on metal needled its way into Sora's ear. He and Kairi unconsciously squeezed closer to Riku as something appeared at the top of the stairs, in front of the broken castle's doors.
How strong you all think you are. All this time, facing nothing but mere foot soldiers that come from the top of the abyss.
A pair of metal feet walked down the stairs. Sora squinted, focusing on the jagged edges of a suit of armor as it walked ever closer to the bottom of the stairs.
Imagine having to face heartless from the lowest, deepest ring of the realm of darkness. Heartless that have accumulated the purest and most potent darkness for thousands of years.
The armor stopped at the base of the stairs. The helmet twitched, facing the trio of frightened children on the ground. Its movements were jerky, like a mechanical doll.
"What are you?" Riku gasped.
The armor shook, vibrating as though it were...laughing?
I am you. Your future. Or perhaps, your end.
The armor charged.
Kairi and Sora lifted their arms. Both friends were drained and could barley lift their blades to defend themselves. They knew that pain was a very real thing in their future. But the agony never came.
Sora and Kairi froze, their hands and weapons hanging in the air. Though they could blink, breathe, and swallow, the rest of their muscles and bones refused to obey. They were completely immobilized. All Sora and Kairi could do was close their eyes as the armor came to loom over them.
Nothing happened.
Squeezing open an eye, Sora saw something swinging above him. The armor was holding the three star charms that he, Riku, and Kairi had collected. They dangled from the armor's gauntlet.
Back where they belong. Perhaps I should thank you for finding my wayfinders.
The armor extended its hand. White light shined in its palm. Magic flowed through Sora, rejuvenating his body. He still wasn't able to move, but he did furrow his eyebrows in confusion as all of his pain and exhaustion melted away. The armor blurred, vanishing. Suddenly, Sora jerked forward as his body was freed from whatever freezing spell he had been under. Standing, he searched the courtyard and the surrounding mountains. He spotted the armor standing across from him, on the other side of the courtyard. No. He was no longer in a courtyard. He was now in an arena. And he was going to fight for his friends' lives.
Think you can break through, hero?
The armor waved its hand in a smooth, horizontal slashing motion. A ball of electric energy flew toward Sora. He easily sidestepped it, raising his keyblade, preparing his first attack. The air behind Sora shifted. An explosion banged into his back. The spark ball he had sidestepped had exploded behind him. Reeling from the buzzing electricity coursing through his spine, Sora gasped, bringing up his keyblade, barely knocking away the armor when it got close enough to reach for his neck.
Jumping back, Sora threw a blizzard spell at the armor. The spell didn't hit, the armor simply cartwheeled away. Upon landing back on its steel feet, the armor raised its arm to the sky. Lightning came crashing down around Sora's feet. Protecting himself with a quick aero spell, Sora ducked and rolled. The lightning stopped, but Sora still had to dodge the three fire spells that the armor sent his way next.
Sora threw his keyblade. It sailed through the air, about to hit the armor in its shoulder. The armor's arm flashed outward, the metal gloves grabbing the keyblade's handle. It sent the keyblade hurling back toward Sora.
"What?"
In midair, Sora summoned the keyblade back, stopping it before he could be hit by his own weapon. Then, three hot balls of fire hit him on his side, throwing him to the ground. Sora bounced and rolled along, kicking up dirt until he stopped. He got up on his hands and knees, hissing in pain. Had the three fire spells he dodged earlier looped back around to hit him?
He didn't have time to ponder such powerful magic. The armor was facing him again. He rose back up to his feet, lifting his keyblade, ready to defend. Yet, the armor didn't attack. Terror seized Sora's heart as he watched the armor's helmet move. It had turned toward his friends. It raised its arms, another set of fire spells charging in its hands.
Sora threw his keyblade out behind him and roared. The lightning spell he casted sent him zooming toward the armor. He didn't succeed in hitting it, but he did manage to get it away from his friends. The armor cartwheeled backward, putting some distance between itself and Sora. Not wasting a moment, Sora felt all of his hopes and determination gathering in his heart, feet, and hands. He focused every last bit of strength within him, charging at the armor and swinging relentlessly. How a clunky suit of armor was able to flip and flash across the small platform, like an expert acrobat, Sora did not know, or care.
He chased the armor around, summoning sonic energy around his keyblade and flashing toward it with quick thrusts. Once. Just once, he managed to slash the armor's thigh. The armor stumbled for one second, and Sora seized the opportunity.
Golden light shined on the keyblade as Sora pooled all of his strength and charged, slicing a line of sonic energy right through the armor's helmet. Sora skid to a stop behind the armor. He could only hear the sound his own panting and the metal clanging of the armor falling to the ground behind him.
Turning around, Sora looked down at the blue, back armor. It lay prone on the ground, not moving. He didn't spare it a thought. He ran to Kairi and Riku. He got down on his knees, and used the last of his magic to chant a series of healing spells. Riku and Kairi were finally able to stand.
"You guys okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you," said Riku.
Kairi gave Sora a warm smile. The next second, her face paled. She summoned her sword, pointing it over Sora shoulder. Sora turned.
The armor was twitching.
It lifted itself to its knees. The helmet cracked, metal chips falling off, revealing a set of lips underneath.
"Finally."
A fresh wave of unease rippled through Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The armor's eerie, voiceless words were gone. What they had just heard, was a husky voice. The bulky, thick armor cracked. Chunks of metal clattered to the ground as someone stood. A woman.
When she reached her full height, all that was left of her armor was her broken helmet. She reached up with her sinewy, red fingers, and pressed her palm to the front of the helmet. Pulling the helmet away from her face, she threw the broken headwear carelessly over her shoulder. It tumbled off the mountain, vanishing into the chasm below.
"How many years has it been since I could taste air without a mask?" The woman spread her arms, tilting her head back to the sky and breathing in deeply through her nose. "Or come back home."
Sora, Riku, and Kairi wobbled as they got to their feet. They focused on the woman, unsure if she was friend or foe, but heavily leaning toward the latter.
Her short, layered, blue hair framed her face. She was beautiful, even with the touches of darkness all over her. Her leather top, shorts, and the long skirts on her hips were stained black. Her arms and legs were a deep, ashen, purple, unlike the pale, peachy color of her face. Her hands were black, her fingertips sinewy and red, as though she had dipped them in ash and blood. Since removing her helmet, she had not opened her eyes. The only light part of her outfit, was a metal charm on her chest.
Kairi gasped, whispering in Sora's ear.
"That's the same symbol that was on the book I gave to Master Yen Sid. The one only I could touch."
"Who is she?" Riku wondered.
The woman's eyes opened, and she turned her head, locking her piercing, yellow gaze on the three friends. Kairi grabbed Sora's arm. Sora grit his teeth. The woman's eyes were cruel, full of despair, like Ansem's had once been. Riku stumbled, pressing a hand to his temple as another wave of darkness threatened to squash him. The woman didn't smile, but there was a mocking note in her voice.
"To answer your question, my name is Aqua. And now that you have so graciously freed me from my armor, I have many a task to complete before the end comes. So thank you." She raised her arm toward the clouds. "But I would prefer if you stay out of my way for now."
The storm clouds roared. A blast of concussive air slammed into Sora, Riku, and Kairi, knocking them off the courtyard, off the mountain. They bulleted through the air so fast that the destroyed world, a world who's name they never learned, completely disappeared. The vastness of interspace swallowed them.
If he hadn't been tumbling through the air, trying his best not to barf, Sora would have wondered how he was even breathing. The swirling nebulae of interspace were all he could see as his feet flipped over his head. He turned and turned, until something crashed into him from above. Riku had collided with Sora on his way down. Reaching out, Sora grabbed a fistful of Riku's shirt, holding on to his friend. Their collision stopped the spinning, and Sora spotted Kairi below.
Straightening their bodies, the boys dove toward Kairi, reaching out and grabbing her hands when they got close enough. Though they were together, they still fell. One would expect that confusion and panic would take hold in such a state, but that wasn't what happened.
A pink, shooting star raced across the sky, crashing into Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The three friends dangled like a rope, with Riku on top, Sora in the middle, and Kairi on the bottom. The pink light-no-a person, was holding onto Riku's arm. Sora squinted.
It was a girl. Her body glowed a brilliant rose gold. Her hair was wild, messy, and free. She zoomed through the air, pulling them toward something. Sora gasped. It was a crescent moon. A moon that was in fact, not a floating rock in the sky, but a giant space port covered in ships, docks, and buildings.
The glowing girl gently brought them down on the moon. Sora, Riku, and Kairi only let go of each other when their feet were firmly on the ground. The pink girl came down next to them. When her feet touched the ground, her pink glow faded. Her looks completely changed. Her body was no longer covered in a layer of fur and pink light. She wore a red dress, gloves, boots, white tights, and a violet cape.
The young lady peered curiously at Sora, tilting her head, making the curly, green hair in her ponytail dangle over her shoulder. Then her blue-green eyes lit up with recognition and she reached forward, grabbing Sora's cheeks.
"Sora! It is you! I thought I felt something familiar! I'm so glad I caught you! You were about to hit an asteroid!"
"Thanks," Sora mumbled, trying his best to enunciate his words. Squished cheeks made it hard to speak properly. "Do I know you?"
The girl let him go, laughing. "You don't recognize me?"
Sora squinted at the girl. "Uhhh..."
"I'll give you a hint," said the girl. "You carried me around in your pocket for half of your last adventure."
Riku snorted. "He did what?"
Kairi gave Sora a sideways glance. "Is there something you want to share with us, Sora?"
"I don't remember ever carrying a tiny person in my pocket. Well, besides Jiminy."
The girl let Sora go so that she could wave her hands, a heavy blush settling on her cheeks. "No, no, not like that! Um, maybe it would just be better if just I tell you out right. It's me: Terra. Terra Branford. Locke's friend."
Jiminy's Journal:
Aqua (First Appeared in Kingdom Hearts, Birth By Sleep, 2010): The woman that had been trapped inside the mysterious armor that Alice had seen back in Neverland. Her armor exuded such dark pressure so intense that it had momentarily immobilized Riku. Aqua has been watching Sora and his friends this entire time. She has proven herself to be a deadly opponent, able to use darkness, magic, and weapons in her arsenal. What's her game now that Sora has freed her from the armor?
Luca, Alberto & Giulia (First Appeared in Luka, 2021): Three best friends from a small seaside town. They've been thrown out of their own world and have taken refuge at Disney Castle. Guilia is the most responsible of the three children, Luca is the most curious, and Alberto is the one that wants the most approval. The three have a strong bond, with Giulia being a little bit protective of Luca and Alberto, as the pair of them are actually sea monsters that can take human form when they are not wet or underwater. They enjoy reading books with Belle.
Chapter 53: KH3 Chapter 22: Framed
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty Two: Framed
Sora squinted at the young woman standing before him.
"Terra?" he repeated, searching his brain for where he had heard that name before. "Terra Branford?" His eyes widened. "Oh! You were the girl that turned into magicite!" Sora smacked his hands on the side of his head, his smile so wide it might have stretched beyond his face if it were possible. "And you're human again! Locke did it! He restored you back to your true form!" Sora pumped his fists. "Wait till I tell Donald and Goofy. They'll be so happy!"
Terra reached out and ruffled Sora's hair. "You haven't changed. Still as excitable as ever."
"I can finally thank you." Sora turned, waving his hands at Kairi and Riku. "Guys, remember when I told about how I got sucked into a black hole and a pink light saved me? That was her."
Kairi learned up on her tip toes, getting real close to Terra's face. "And you saved us again. We really owe you."
Terra stepped back. "It was nothing," she stuttered.
Riku put his hands on his hips. "Not everyone can fly. Well, outside of Neverland that is. Thanks for catching us out in space. So, where is this Locke guy? We should say hello before we get going."
Terra blinked. "Get going?"
Sora rubbed the back of his head. "As much as I want to stay and catch up, we really have to get back to rest of our team. A lot has been happening since my last adventure."
"Wait." Terra grabbed Sora's arm. "Don't go. Please, stay in Montressor Space Port. I need your help. We have to meet up with Mr. Hawkins."
"Hawkins? Wait. James Hawkins?"
"Yes."
"What's going on?"
Terra bit her lip. "It's Locke. He's been thrown in prison."
"What? Why?"
"The authorities think he stole something from a wealthy merchant. They're going to sentence him in three days."
"That's crazy! Locke's a treasure hunter, not a thief."
Riku stepped forward. Terra jerked, moving back. If Riku were offended by her reaction, he didn't show it. He simply said, "Time isn't on our side, right? Can you fill us in while we move?"
Terra pressed her hands on her chest. "You're staying? You'll help?"
"It's the least we could do. You saved us."
"I...Thank you. This way."
Though she were thin and dainty, Terra was also tall and had a long stride. Kairi and Sora jogged to keep pace with her and Riku. Terra strolled through the busy port, ignoring all the deck hands, merchants, solders, and odd looking aliens that were running errands, fixing up ships, or making shady business deals in the alleyways. Sora and Riku ignored the sights, as the Sora had seen it all, and Riku couldn't see it at all. Kairi, on the other hand, was torn between keeping pace with her friends and gawking at all the strange creatures. The smell of ship polish, plasma pod exhaust, and space whales filled the air, making Riku wrinkle his nose. Sora, though, breathed in the nostalgic scents, thinking about his last space adventure with Jim.
"Yesterday," Terra explained as they walked, "a wealthy merchant had an emerald stolen from his treasure vault. Since a few people had seen Locke with my magicite, they blamed him."
"Were there any witnesses that could prove his innocence?" Riku asked.
"No. I was about to meet up with Mr. Hawkins and go down to the prison cells to get Locke's half of the story, but that was when I spotted the three of you falling through the sky."
They made it to the harbor and there was nothing to stop Kairi from pausing to stare at the sails, masts, and hauls of the floating ships. Riku rolled his eyes and kept right on walking, but Sora stopped next to Kairi so that he could look at the starry eyed smile on her face.
"I want one," she whispered.
"Right?" Sora said. "Blows our tiny raft right out of the water."
Riku turned around, putting his hands on his hips. "Haven't you two been on a gummi ship?"
Sora and Kairi rounded on him. "It's not the same!"
"How is it different? You see one ship, you see them all."
"Every ship is different," Sora insisted. "Gummi ships are awesome, but there's nothing like flying through space, feeling the solar wind in your hair."
"You tell him, Sora." Kairi pressed her palms against her cheeks. "I want to ride one so bad! You guys got to be on Hook's pirate ship. I never got to fly on an old-timey ship. I never even got to fly in Neverland. It's not fair."
Riku groaned. "Enough gawking." He stomped back to his friends and began pushing them away from the ships. "We're falling behind."
Despite Riku's words, Terra had paused to wait for the trio to catch up. She led them toward a massive rectangular structure. The building's windows were narrow slits, so thin that one couldn't even stick their arm through them. In front of the only door were a pair of barrel chested robots wearing law enforcement uniforms.
A young man, in a navy blue uniform and white trousers, walked out of the building. He passed by the two guards, and ran toward Terra. As he got closer to the group, his expression changed from concerned, to confused, to full on excited.
"Sora! Long time, no see!"
"Hey there Jimbo."
The two boys clasped hands, pulling each other close for a half hug and pat on the back. When Sora and Jim leaned back, they gave each other matching lopsided grins.
"Look at you." Sora stepped back, gesturing at Jim's navy uniform. "And you cut your hair. Who's a momma's boy now?"
Jim crossed his arms. "Actually, I'm a first mate now."
"For Captain Amelia?"
"The one and only. Graduated the interstellar academy, top of the class, two years early and everything."
"Nice!"
"What about you? Did you find your friends?"
"Sure did." Sora threw his thumb over his shoulder.
Spotting Riku, Jim snapped his fingers and pointed.
"Riku, right? You know, you're exactly as I imagined you to be. Tall, serious, and I bet you have a smart mouth."
Riku snorted. "I see Sora has been talking about me behind my back."
"I got it from context," Jim stated. "By the way, did Sora ever beat you in a race?"
Riku's chuckled. "Not even close. All that boasting about how he was going to run circles around me, and I still have him beat three to two."
"Hey, I got pretty close last time."
"Sure, if you hadn't let Kairi distract you from crossing the finish line."
While Sora and Riku argued technicalities and redefined the rules of racing, Kairi introduced herself to Jim. He looked from her face to Sora and back again.
"Sora, you never told me you had a girl-"
Jim struggled. In a matter of seconds, Sora had forgotten about his argument with Riku. Instead, he had slapped his hands over Jim's lips. Rolling his eyes, Jim stepped back, freeing his jaw.
"Fine, fine. I'll keep my mouth shut."
"Excuse me, Mr. Hawkins. Can you take us to see Locke now?"
Jim gave Terra a tired smile. "I've told you before, you can call me 'Jim.' I really don't mind."
Terra looked abashed. "But that wouldn't be proper."
"Proper-shmopper, I'm not on the Legacy right now." Shaking his head, Jim gestured to Sora. "Never mind. You're here to see Locke right? I can only take two people with me and we only have five minutes. I may be first mate now, but I got into a lot of trouble with the robo-enforcers before my academy days. Some of them still hold a grudge."
Sora was about to turn to his friends and ask for them to wait outside, but then he found himself taking several steps forward. Riku and Kairi had pushed him and, instead of answering his questioning expression, Riku said, "Go talk to Locke."
"We'll be waiting by the nearest dock," Kairi added.
Smiling thanks to his friends' support, Sora followed Jim and Terra into the prison building. When he entered the moist, dark interior, a smell assaulted his nose. Sora imagined that this was what rusted metal and cheesy mold smelled like when they were mixed together. He held his nose as he marched, single file, behind Jim and Terra.
The passageways were narrow, and they passed by cube shaped cells that were stacked one on top of the other. Some of the robot guards turned the large, mental cranks along the walls. Sora watched as the prison cells rotated in response. Some cells moved up, while others moved down in their place.
Locke's cell had been moved next to a narrow window. When he spotted Sora, he turned away from the small view of the outside world. He hugged the boy through the bars.
"Great to see ya, kid." Locke stepped back, ruffling Sora's hair. "Getting taller. Soon you're going to outgrow the clothes I gave you."
"Never mind me, how are you doing?"
Locke shrugged. "It's not the worst cell I've been in. Though I have say, robo-guards don't understand the concept of food. Getting real tired of eating the vitamin heavy slop they give us for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Makes me miss Silver's stews."
"You said it," said Jim, rubbing his belly.
"I really want to catch you up on everything that's happened since we last met," said Sora, "but we're short on time."
Terra clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Locke, can you tell us anything at all about the robbery you've been blamed for?"
"All I know is that I was near the building when the alarm went off. The robo-guards came out right when I was passing by, saw my bag full of treasure, which I had rightfully gathered, mind you, and jumped to conclusions." Locke leaned his head back and groaned. "Threw me in here, took my daggers, and took my gold. You'd think the treasure would have been enough for that fat merchant to release me, but he really wants his emerald back. That, or someone to take the fall for the robbery."
"Was there anything out of the ordinary?" Terra pressed. "Any clue as to who the real thief is?"
Locke glanced at Jim, frowning. "Right before the alarm went off, I saw a hover-cycle fly through the air overhead."
Hover-cycle," Jim repeated. "Those things are outlawed. And expensive. The only people that would dare to use them are the big time pirates."
"Then we head back to town and ask around," Sora concluded. "Sit tight, Locke. Once we get you out of here, you can meet my friends."
"You found them? That's great, kid," Locke nodded at Terra. "Looks like we both found our greatest treasure, huh?"
"We sure did."
"Time's up," said a monotone voice.
Turning, Sora spotted one of the robot officers rolling down the hall.
"Please vacate the premises."
The officer pushed Sora, Terra, and Jim along. Looking back over his shoulder, Sora called to Locke.
"Hang tight. We'll get you out of here before you know it."
"Not if I bust out of here before you get back," Locke replied.
Once outside, Sora rendezvoused with Riku and Kairi, explaining the situation. The group moved away from the prison building so that they could start conspiring without law enforcement overhearing. Once back in the busy harbor town, Riku began the meeting.
"It sounds like the only way we can clear Locke's name is if we find the real thief and bring him in with the emerald in tow."
Sora pursed his lips. "So we find the seediest, smelliest, dirtiest hub in this place and start asking questions about a pirate with a hover-cycle?"
"Bingo."
"Looks like I'm sitting this one out," said Jim. "I don't think anyone will talk with a uniform nearby. I'll head back to the Legacy and let Captain Amelia know the updates. Meet me there when you get the info."
Thanks to Riku's nose, finding the smelliest pub was a piece of cake. Getting the rough and tough group of hoodlums inside to talk, however, was an entirely different matter. Gathered around wooden tables, drinking, belching, gambling, and doing some rather dangerous looking knife tricks, the pub patrons either dismissed Sora and Riku's questions entirely, or threatened them. Kairi and Terra had no luck either, as the drunken sailors would ask them for more snacks and drinks.
They were just about to give up and walk out when Sora felt someone tugging on his pant leg. Looking down, he spotted a frog-like creature. The frog's eyes were so big that Sora could see his own reflection.
"Oi, want to know about the pirate with the hover-cycle?"
Sora leaned down, whispering. "What can you tell us?"
The frog man brought up his hand, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. "Me memory's a bit foggy. Maybe some munny might help clear me head, eh?"
Sighing, Sora reached into his pocket and handed the frog some munny.
"Not an easy target ya picked, boy. Only one pirate have the skill n' funds for a hover-cycle. Look for a ship named the Strahl. Strange looking vessel that one."
"What about the pirate? Can you give me a name?"
The frog looked over his shoulder. "Cannot tell ya more. Good luck."
The frog creature hopped away, vanishing into the seedy shadows of the pub. Sora herded his friends back outside. As the team returned to the harbor, Sora explained what he learned. They found the RLS Legacy docked at the port. The ship was as grand as ever, polished to perfection, its golden sails gleaming in the sunlight. There was movement on the deck. Jim was walking after a tall, imposing, cat-like woman.
"Please, Captain. If we could just find the real thief, we can set an innocent man free."
Captain Amelia did not turn to face Jim. She halted suddenly, forcing Jim to stumble as he backed off and straightened his back. Amelia's shoulders were relaxed, her hands clasped behind her back, yet her tone was as sharp as a cat's claw.
"Your concerns have been noted, Mr. Hawkins, but I am afraid my position has not changed. Without sufficient evidence to prove that we have detained the wrong man, we cannot set out. Chasing after an unnamed thief, one we only know of because they were was identified by the suspicious party, would be a fool's errand, and outside of our jurisdiction. Even if it was within my motivation to do, we have been commissioned by the magistrate to escort him and the rest of his wealth off of Montressor Space Port. Mr. Cole will just have to defend himself at the trial."
"But Locke's innocent."
Captain Amelia glanced at Jim over her shoulder. "We've been given our orders, Mr. Hawkins. We must now trust in the judicial system to take care of the rest. I have done everything in my power to ensure that Mr. Cole is given a fair judge, counsel, and trail. Continuation in a matter that favors the suspected thief, instead of aiding the victim, at best, reflects poorly on your professional designation, and, at worst, casts doubt on your integrity. I respect your sense of honor, but we cannot act outside the law. Ready the ship to sail. I will return with the magistrate shortly."
Jim saluted, but his brows were furrowed, and his tone of voice was low. "Aye ma'am."
"Good man."
Captain Amelia walked off the deck. Once she was out of sight, Sora and the others made it to the Legacy and hollered for Jim. The young first mate invited everyone up to the deck.
"You heard?" Jim asked.
Riku pointed to his ear. "Yup. Every word. Seems the captain can't legally do anything."
Sora put his hands on his hips. "Wish Silver was here. Wait! I got it!"
"Got what there, young man?" asked a rather scholarly voice.
A dog-like man came out of the captain's quarters. He adjusted his spectacles and walked up to Sora. He shook the boy's hand so enthusiastically that Sora's shoulder began to ache.
"My, it is a pleasure indeed to see you again. Been on any wild adventures lately?"
"You don't know the half of it, Dr. Doppler," Sora replied.
"Now then, what you brings you to the space port?"
"We're looking for a ship called, 'The Strahl,'" Terra explained. "Have you seen such a vessel around?"
"I'm delighted you asked. You see I've been cataloging the ships that come and go in this harbor. Bit of a side project to help Captain Amelia keep track of how often ships arrive early or late." Doppler pulled out a leather bound journal from within his suit jacket. "The captain does enjoy my astrological advice you see. Let me just take a look at my notes here." He flipped through the pages. "Ah! Here it is. The Strahl. Strange vessel, doesn't look like any ship I have ever seen."
Dr. Doppler held up his journal. There was a sketch of the Strahl on the left page. Sora squinted. Doppler was right. The Strahl didn't look like any of the old-timey ships in the port. In fact, it looked more like a machine. Dr. Doppler had drawn the ship from many angles. From the top, the Strahl resembled a mechanical moth.
"According to my logs," Dr. Doppler said as peered at his journal, "the Strahl left the harbor two days ago, heading due northwest at three thousand knots."
"Thank you, Doctor. Your notes have been very helpful," said Terra.
"Of course, miss. By the way, Jim, have you seen Amelia? She was supposed to meet me here."
"She went to get the magistrate."
Dr. Doppler sighed. "That's the captain for you. Doesn't wait for anyone. Not even her own husband."
Sora choked. "Wait, you're married to Captain Amelia now?"
"Indeed I am," Doppler said proudly. "Well, Jim, I'll see you at take off."
Dr. Doppler disembarked the ship, leaving Terra, Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Jim to huddle together to come up with a plan.
"You heard Captain Amelia," Kairi said. "There's legally nothing we can do. What now?"
"Correction," Sora grinned evilly, "there's nothing she and Jim can do."
"I just know this going to be another crazy scheme," said Riku.
"Amelia knows me and Jim, but not you, Kairi, and Terra, right? Amelia can't launch the ship, but, what if, let's say, someone were to, I don't know, 'kidnap' me and Jim, and hijack the Legacy?"
"Then I could come with you under the guise of being a hostage, and we can launch the Legacy without technically breaking any rules," Jim concluded. He gave Sora a wry look. "You realize that I'll have to arrest you if we get caught, right?"
"Then we had better make sure we don't get caught," Riku said.
Kairi squinted at her friend. "You're actually agreeing with this? Just like that?"
"You got a better plan?"
Kairi shrugged. "Not really, just a suggestion. We're going to need a big distraction to keep Captain Amelia out of our hair long enough to get this ship moving."
"I can do that," Terra said. "Get things ready for take off. I'll catch up with you in the air."
Terra jumped off the deck, vanishing into the harbor. Jim issued orders. Sora, Riku, and Kairi ran around the ship, opening the solar sails, releasing the ropes holding the ship to the harbor, and pulling up the anchor. At the helm, Jim issued a few directions to Kairi. Meanwhile, Sora let Riku tie him up with some rope.
Just as Riku tied the last knot, Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood, landing on the boy's shoulder.
"Now hold on you two! I'm not so sure that committing a crime, even a fake one, is such a good idea."
"It's for a good cause," Sora said, "and we really do need the ship."
Jiminy's fists tightened around his umbrella handle. "Can't we just talk to Captain Amelia? I'm sure your word would sway her opinion. Jim could get into real trouble if you're caught, and he's worked so hard to get to where he is."
"Desperate times, desperate measures, Jiminy," said Riku.
The little cricket glared to at the older boy, only to be disappointed when Riku shrugged.
"We don't have time to argue about it. Besides, we all know that we have to hurry and get back to Master Yen Sid. The sooner we get this done the better."
Jiminy jumped up into the air so that he could get a good look at Riku's face. He opened his umbrella at the height of his jump, and slowly floated down.
"I still don't like this," he stated, "but I can agree that there are bigger things we need to focus on. So, good luck."
Jiminy went back to hide in Sora's hood. By this time, Jim had finished giving Kairi the tutorial on how to handle the ship. He jumped down to the center of the deck and let Riku tie him up. Riku then dragged Jim to the port side of the ship.
Captain Amelia was walking down the board walk with a fat lizard man by her side. Dr. Doppler was right behind them, pushing a laser-cage cart that had several treasure chests and burlap sacks inside it. Just as the captain and her entourage were close enough to board the Legacy, there was an explosion that shook all the ships in the harbor.
Amelia turned, jaw dropping at the sight of a nearby storeroom bursting into flames. The heat was so intense that both Riku and Jim grit their teeth on the deck of the Legacy.
Jim nodded at Kiari. "Now's our chance." He turned to Riku. "Hope you have some good acting skills."
Riku cracked his knuckles. "Please. I was made for this role."
With his soul eater in hand, Riku grabbed the ropes on Jim's chest. He hauled his "prisoner" forward. Holding his blade under Jim's neck, Riku stood by the deck's railing. He waited for the signal, eager to make his debut.
At the helm, Kairi turned the wheel and pressed some buttons on the control panel. The ship began to lift away from the harbor. When they were a few feet above the air, there was a roar from below.
"My ship! Mr. Hawkins, bring it down immediately! That's an order!"
"Sorry Captain!"
Riku shoved Jim forward, dangling the boy's upper half over the railing.
"Your ship and first mate are mine now!"
Jim wriggled in his restraints, kicking his legs. "Let me go, you grey haired idiot! I'll have you arrested for this!"
"Shut it!" Riku pressed his soul eater close to Jim's neck. "Could easily throw you off this vessel and save myself the trouble of a hostage! Ms. Purple!"
"Aye, Captain?" Kairi yelled at the helm.
"Take us up!"
"Yes sir!"
The ship rose higher.
Just a little further and the solar sails would catch the light. They would be off before Captain Amelia could do anything to stop them. The only problem was that the captain was a stubborn woman. She left the blazing storeroom to Dr. Doppler, who had found a nearby fire hose and was dousing the flames with a torrent of pressurized water. Amelia ran to a skiff and undid the ropes. Soon she was up in the air, chasing after the Legacy. Just as she got within range, Kairi appeared above her. She pushed Sora before her, slamming him onto the shrouds.
"Captain Amelia!" Sora yelled in mock desperation.
The Captain's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
"Forget about us! Get the pirates! You must let justice prevail!"
"Yap, yap, yap," Kairi rolled her eyes. "That's enough out of you."
She shoved Sora behind her and then turned to Captain Amelia's skiff. With an evil grin, Kairi said. "So not sorry about this ma'am. Firaga!"
Amelia swerved. Her skiff avoided the fire spell before it could hit the sail. Too bad the fire spell had been a distraction and Kairi had thrown a lightning spell right after it. Amelia's sail and engine were blasted with holes and she had no choice but to back off before her boat came apart. Silent vengeance burned Amelia's cold, green stare as she watched the Legacy vanish into space.
Amelia returned the skiff at the harbor. She went to Doppler's side. Once the storeroom fire and the magistrate were taken care of, she would get her ship back. If she had turned around, she would have spotted the spec of pink light flying through the air, chasing after the RLS Legacy.
At the helm, Riku and Kairi did a high five.
"Nice job, Ms. Purple. We are home free."
"Fine acting to you too, Captain Grey Hair. Now I know who will play the villain the next time we have theater class."
"Sora's right though. We have to work on what we name things." Riku stretched. "Kidnapping and hijacking a ship, huh? Pretty sure I just landed myself back on Santa's naughty list."
Kairi's snorted. "Why are bringing up Santa?"
"Oh, right. You don't know. Sora and I met Santa Claus."
"Cool. Tell him I want a lion stuffed animal for Christmas."
Riku blinked. "You still believe in Santa?"
"I never stopped believing."
Riku barked out a short laugh. "Of course you didn't. What? Next you're going to tell me that you believe in the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy too? Maybe the three of them are on a team together."
"That sounds awesome."
This statement was said by both Kairi and Sora. Though the boy was on the deck below, he had overheard the conversation, and had yelled his two cents. Rolling his eyes, Riku gently pushed Kairi. She responded with a cheeky giggle.
At the main mast, Sora and Jim untied themselves by pulling the single rope that Riku had knotted too loosely. Once free, the two boys climbed to crow's nest. There, Jim used a telescope to chart their course. He issued orders to Kairi below, and she turned the helm, adjusting their dirction. Jim looked back toward the crescent shaped space port they had just escaped from.
"Doesn't look like anyone is following us, but we shouldn't slow down. If I know Captain Amelia, she'll be hot on our tail. We'd better keep the ship going around the clock."
"Still can't believe we got out that easy. Although..." Sora gave Jim a rather judgmental look. "'Grey haired idiot?' You couldn't come up with a better insult?"
Jim put down his telescope and raised an eyebrow at Sora. "What about you, Mister 'you must let justice prevail?' Good thing you let Riku and Kairi do most of the acting. That cheesy line alone would've gotten us busted."
Jim and Sora glared at each other for all about two seconds before the two of them burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" asked a voice from above.
Looking up, Jim and Sora watched as Terra flew down from the sky. She balanced herself on one of the sails, her pink glow fading from her body and hair.
"Nothing. Thanks for the distraction back at the port."
"You're welcome. Are we on the Strahl's trail?"
Jim pointed into space "We're sailing at three thousand knots. Unless the Strahl changed course, we should catch up to her within a few hours."
Said "few hours" were nothing short of smooth sailing, despite the unending list of chores. Jim had learned quite a bit under Captain Amelia's tutelage. It turned out that he was just as tough on the team as she was.
The ship was spot on, stem to stern. After all, Sora couldn't very well return Amelia's ship in less then stellar condition. He had a feeling that the captain would chase him across worlds just so that he would polish the deck to her standards. Kairi, Sora, and Jim alternated working the helm, since Riku couldn't see where he was going, and Terra had no sailing experience. Instead she cooked and made sure the team took turns taking naps to keep up their strength.
After a few hours of sailing, Jim whistled from high up on the crow's nest, getting the crew's attention.
"I see a plasma trail."
"Is that good?" Kairi asked from her spot at the helm.
"Yes. Most engines leave behind a trail of plasma. It evaporates after a while. If we're seeing it, then the Strahl must be close."
"Which way?"
"Wait! Hold on." Jim looked through his telescope. "Full stop. There's a pod of space whales heading this way. We should let them pass."
Down below, Sora and Riku busied themselves with closing the ship's sails. As they worked, Sora leaned over and whispered to Riku.
"I know we got sidetracked with helping Locke, but I've been thinking about Aqua." Sora swallowed. "I saw her, in her armor, back in Disney Town. I was busy fighting back then. I got so caught up in all of the stuff we have to do, that I didn't think about it until now."
"I ran into her too," Riku admitted. "Back in Neverland. The darkness she emits is so intense that it pins me down. Haven't felt anything like that, not since Ansem, at least."
"What she said about the red eyed heartless has to be true, right?"
"We wouldn't have had so much trouble taking them down if it weren't," Riku conceded.
Sora gulped. "Battles are going to get harder. I hope there aren't too many red eyed heartless out in the worlds. Civilians might be in more danger then before."
"We need to clear Locke's name as fast as possible. We have to get back to Mickey. Maybe Master Yen Sid will know who Aqua is, and what we can do next."
"On that note." Sora dug into his pocket. Taking out the magical parchment Master Yen Sid had given him, he wrote two letters. Once the magical letters had vanished Sora finished up closing the solar sails. "Okay," he grunted, "I wrote a letter to King Mickey and Donald to meet up with us at Master Yen Sid's tower."
"Hey guys?"
Jim's voice was uneasy. He slid down the mast, landing back on the deck. Running to the starboard side, Jim leaned over, looking down at the whales as they flew below the ship.
Terra went to Jim's side, looking down into space. "What is it?"
"One of the whales, it's-"
Riku made a break for the helm. "It's not a whale! Quick! Hard to port!"
Kairi spun the helm as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. Jim and Sora flew up as something hit the ship's keel, hard. Riku managed to keep himself on deck by hugging the mizzen mast. Terra jumped up into the air, chasing after Sora and Jim. The two boys had been thrown up so roughly that they had almost escaped the ship's artificial gravity. A few more feet and they would be flying helplessly in space.
Catching, Jim and Sora, Terra began pulling them down toward the deck. From above, they watched the rest of the space whales quickly pass by, moaning in low notes of panic as they swam with all their might. Something was shining between the whales' bodies, something that was getting dangerously close to the Legacy. Worse yet, whole legions of water core heartless popped up on the deck, surrounding Kairi and Riku, forcing the pair to defend themselves instead of the ship.
When Sora, Terra, and Jim landed back on deck, the entire ship lurched once more. Even the water core heartless momentarily froze. An enormous shadow, twice the size of the Legacy, flew up from under the ship. It slithered and looped through the air, wrapping its long, serpent like body around the Legacy. The creature's skin was the color of charcoal, the blackness only interrupted by pulsing red and blue veins. Near the bow of the ship, the creature's head appeared. A long, thin head, with rows and rows of sharp teeth, looked down at the deck. The creature's red eyes roamed over the panicked passengers.
The heartless' teeth opened wide and a sickening screech ripped through everyone's ears. The water core heartless began their attack, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi switched their attention to dodging. Even as they quickly dispatched the small fry, the giant serpent heartless opened its mouth and aimed a beam of hot, pressurized water at the deck.
Terra jumped into the air, her body glowing as she zoomed around the ship. She got up behind the heartless serpent, magic glowing in her palms. Spears of ice smashed into the back of the monster's head. The heartless turned, directing its water beam at Terra. She looped and served, avoiding the water jet.
With the big heartless distracted, Jim dove through the water cores, reaching the ship's laser cannons. He aimed at the serpent. A blast of golden energy exploded on the serpent's neck. In response, the creature's red eyes locked onto Jim.
A water jet flew toward him. Seconds before it pounded the boy into oblivion, a sphere of wind surrounded him. The water smashed into the wind sphere, knocking Jim back, but otherwise keeping him from harm. The wind sphere dissipated the moment Jim's back banged against the door to the captain's quarters.
Sora ran up to him then, pulling Jim back up to his feet.
"You all right?"
Jim didn't answer. He shoved Sora to the side, lifted the laser pistol from his belt, and shot the water core heartless that had been moments away from slicing into the back of Sora's head. There was no time for words. Both boys had to alternate between taking down a seemingly endless barrage of water core heartless, while avoiding water beams from the giant serpent.
Even with Terra flying through the air, throwing all kinds of offensive magic, all she succeeded in doing was momentarily distracting the giant serpent from doing more damage to the Legacy. She could not stop the serpent heartless from tightening its muscles, squeezing the ship, and cracking the haul.
Desperate, Terra threw a barrage of flame spells at the serpent. The creature opened its mouth wide, and swallowed the flames, dousing them with the torrent of boiling water that burst from deep within its throat. The hot water sprayed wide, several large droplets burning Terra's legs. Her stamina ran out, and she fell back on the Legacy's deck. Her glow faded, but she managed to stand and fend off water core heartless with her long, razor thin sword.
"The Legacy can't take much more!" Jim shouted, watching as the deck's floorboards began to bend and snap from the heartless serpent's pressure. "Any tighter and it'll crush us!"
But the serpent didn't squeeze. Instead, it opened its mouth so wide that one would believe its jaw to be broken. A mix of scalding hot water and acidic darkness gathered in its mouth, turning into a sphere of black and blue energy. The sphere burst. Hot water and ash rained down on the Legacy's deck and sails, burning through the mizzen mast and making holes on the deck.
Kairi gathered everyone close, casting a reflect spell. Her magic was able to protect the team from the first barrage, but both the serpent and the water core heartless weren't done. Another sphere of boiling water and darkness was gathering in the serpent's mouth, this one twice as big as the first. It threatened to disintegrate the whole ship.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Jim, and Terra screamed. But it wasn't from the heartless' attack.
The ship had lurched. Each of the passengers banged against something, feeling the nausea of fast, unpredictable movement. Whatever had hit the Legacy had been strong enough to send it hurtling, spinning like a top, through space.
Finally, mercifully, it stopped. While some water core heartless remained on the ship, the serpent had let go. Once they could see straight, Sora and Jim spotted the giant heartless in the distance. It writhed in the air as blasts of red and gold light erupted on its body. Through the smoke and fire, Sora and Jim spotted something mechanical, something shaped like a moth, floating above the giant heartless.
The Strahl.
The heartless serpent must have decided it was sick of getting a beating, because it coiled into a spiral and flew, retreating into the vastness of space. With the biggest threat gone, the team easily took care of the water cores still on the Legacy. The moment the battle was over, the a shadow darkened the deck.
Looking up, Sora saw the undercarriage of the Strahl as it hovered over the Legacy. A man grappled down from the Strahl. He landed perfectly. He stood straight, a dashing smirk on his lips, yet the long crossbow he tapped on his shoulder told Sora and his team that he wasn't there for pleasantries. He was both handsome and stylish, light brown hair, and a confident green gaze. His clothes hugged his athletic build. He wore an embroidered gold and olive vest over a white shirt, leather pants, and sandals.
The golden vested man slowly walked toward Sora and the others. Riku raised his soul eater, immediately on alert.
"Now I wouldn't do that if I were you, young man." The handsome man's voice was deep, husky, and heavily accented. "Is that any way to show gratitude to your savior?"
"Sora," Kairi whispered. "Look at his necklace."
A green emerald, one the size of a baseball, hung off the silver chain around the man's neck.
"So you're the thief," Sora concluded.
The man brought his crossbow down from his shoulder, tapping the the weapon against his other palm. Though it was clear he was making a threat, his body was relaxed. "Well, isn't that a fine thing to say."
"If you really insist that you're not a thief, then who are you?" Jim demanded.
"A vagrant that roams the stars in search of riches, mysterious tombs, and political intrigue."
"Quit with the theatrics," Riku came forward, pointing his soul eater at the man. "Answer the question. Who are you?"
"I play the leading man, who else?"
"A leading man wouldn't frame someone else for his crime," Sora said. He put down his keyblade and held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "That gem you wear, the one you stole, my friend got blamed for it. He's in prison. Please, if you return the emerald, we can set him free. We don't need to fight and you can just leave. You saved us from that monster. I don't think we have to come to blows over this."
"Noble intentions," the man shook his head, "but I'm afraid they rival my own. The gem stays with me."
"Knew we couldn't trust a thief," Jim said.
"I am no average thief. I am the sky pirate Balthier. And I've grown tired of this futile negotiation."
Balthier, snapped his fingers.
Light rained down from above. The Strahl shined spotlights down on the deck. While everyone covered their eyes, Riku moved to intercept Balthier. The pirate used his height advantage to grab the boy's arm and flip him over his shoulder. Riku landed on his back. By the time he had regained his feet, Balthier had flashed forward, reached into Sora's pocket, and stolen something that looked a lot like a rocket shaped pin.
"Hey, wait! Cornelius gave me that!"
Balthier ran toward the Legacy's port side and jumped right off. Before Sora could look over the railing, a flying, metal motorcycle buzzed upward from below the ship. Balthier waved as he piloted the hover-cycle.
"Consider this payment in full for saving you all." He passed Sora's rocket pin over back and forth over his fingers. "Travel back to the space port, my little shadows. Engaging in chasing me further only puts you all at risk, in matters that are far bigger then your understanding I'm afraid."
The hover-cycle flew up to the Strahl. In a blink, the ship's engines came to life. Once Balthier had boarded, the metal moth cut through space, vanishing into the nebulae.
"How's it looking?" Riku asked when Jim came back on deck.
Jim cleaned his hands with a towel. "Not good. That serpent blew out some thrusters and weakened some components in the engine room. We can still fly, just not as fast. How are things up here?"
"We finished patching up the sails and floors, and fixed the mast as much as we could. We can head out at any time. The only problem is where?"
Jim sighed. "Won't take Captain Amelia long to catch up to us at this rate."
"Well, lucky for us," came Kairi's excited voice, "that Balthier stole the perfect thing!"
She ran up to Jim and Riku, with Sora and Terra right behind her. Holding something in her hand, Kairi waved it around.
"Riku, can you feel this?"
Squinting, Riku concentrated. There was a small, flat pin in Kairi's hand. He could feel warmth emanating from it.
"I feel a light, sure. How is this going to help us?"
Sora tapped the pin in Kairi's hand. "Donald, Goofy, and I were each given a rocket shaped pin from our friend, Cornelius. Balthier just stole mine."
"Don't you remember?" Kairi asked Riku. "Donald's pin helped us find Sora on our last adventure."
Riku thought back to the World of the Forgotten, back when he, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, all met up after nearly a year of being separated. He remembered sprinting after a flickering light as the world came apart.
"Wait, I don't understand. If Balthier stole Sora's pin, then why do you have it in your hand?"
"Donald lost his pin in the World of the Forgotten. But Goofy had traded his pin with Locke, in exchange for supplies," Sora explained.
"And Locke gave the pin to me," Terra continued. "He said it would give me good luck. I saw that Sora was feeling down, so I gave the pin back to him."
"And that's when I remembered," Kairi interjected. "Donald's pin must have been attracted to Sora's. And now we can use Goofy's pin to track the one that Balthier stole." Kairi threw her hand, and the pin up into the air. "I am a genius!"
Kairi's excitement made the light within her glimmer. The pin grew hot. It flew out from between Kairi's fingers, and began to zoom through the air, flying in a straight line through space.
Jim put his hands behind his back. "We have a direction and a goal. All right, Ladies and Gents, no time to waste. We're working double time. Raise the sails, and push the engines up full throttle! We're going to catch that thief!"
Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Terra lined up, saluting. "Yes sir, Captain Jim!"
Jiminy's Journal
Terra Branford (First Appeared in Final Fantasy VI, 1994): Despite her talent with both a sword and magic, Terra is a shy, skittish, yet polite young woman. She was once cursed by the darkness, turning into a green gem called a magicite. Sora had carried Terra's gem in his pocket during his last adventure. Though she's been restored to her true form, she has been separated from her friend, Locke. Terra is not afraid to break the law if it means clearing Locke's name from a crime he did not commit.
Balthier (First Appeared in Final Fantasy XII, 2006): Suave, confident, and cunning, this sky pirate stole a priceless emerald from Montressor Space Port, getting Locke thrown in jail in the process. It seems he only cares for treasure, and yet he saved Sora and his team from getting crushed by a giant heartless. Just what are his motives?
Chapter 54: KH3 Chapter 23: Nethicite
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty Three: Nethicite
Though the Legacy had slowed down because of the damage to the engines, it was able to keep pace with Cornelius' rocket pin. Still, the thing about flying through space, chasing a floating pin and the trail of light it left behind, was that things got boring pretty fast. This was especially true when nothing meaningful happened during the flight. No heartless attacks, no planets drifting by, no comets, just the unchanging surroundings of nebulae and stars.
So when Jim came to take over the helm, freeing Kairi from her long, dull vigil, she was beyond happy. Once the excitement of chasing the pin had worn off, the team had gone back to cleaning and fixing up the Legacy. Riku, having no ability to sit still, had gone down to the kitchens to help Terra cook their next meal. Sora stood on the ship's forecastle, looking at the bowsprit and the glimmering pin floating before it.
Slowly, Kairi, tiptoed across the deck, sneaking closer and closer to Sora's back.
"I know you're behind me."
Kairi's arms flopped to her sides. "Darn. I really wanted to surprise you."
Sora looked at her over his shoulder. The left side of his face lifted as both his lips and eyebrow curved upward. "I've been on high alert around you ever since you jump-tackled me at Disney Castle."
Kairi pressed her lips together, but couldn't stop the giggle from rumbling in her throat. "Good point. So, what's got you so forlorn?"
"That's a big word."
Kairi pointed to her temple. "What can I say? I'm smart."
"Yup. Totally a genius." Sora turned toward the ship's figurehead. "That was some plan you came up with."
Kairi went to stand next to him, bumping his arm with her shoulder.
"Talk to me. You're never this quiet. What's on your mind?"
Sora's gaze stared straight ahead. "Aqua," he said quietly. "She said she had a lot to do before 'the end comes.' The end of what? What did she mean?"
Kairi lifted her hand. She was about to touch Sora's shoulder, when suddenly he started talking again.
"I'm also worried about Locke, the world's colliding, finding Balthier, if our friends are okay, if Ariel found her dad, pretty much everything."
Kairi tucked a stray hair behind her ear, lowering her eyes to the deck beneath her feet. "Wow. That is a lot."
"Also, that big snake heartless we fought. It's still out there. Hope it doesn't hurt anyone."
"It won't."
Sora gave her a dubious look. "How can you be so sure?"
Kairi winked. "Because we have the best worst luck."
Sora snorted. "Best worst luck?"
"Yup. Knowing us, we'll run into it again, and we'll take it down before it gets the chance to hurt anyone. We'll find Bathier, get a gem back after some shenanigans, clear Locke's name, meet back up with Max and the others, solve the Aqua and the world crashing problem, and be back home so that our parents can ground us again for disappearing for months on end. I know we will. You have the lucky charm to prove it."
Sora dug into his pocket, pulling out Kairi's star shaped charm. He held it up between them. Silently, Kairi grasped his hand, sandwiching the charm between her palm and Sora's. His hand was warm, and the charm between them felt as though it buzzed with happy energy.
"You think too hard," Kairi said. "Things will work out. They have before."
Sora's fingers curved over the star points of the charm in his hand. His fingers intertwined with Kairi's, giving her palm a little squeeze. The two of them looked into each other's eyes, sharing a smile.
"Man," came Jim's voice. "I feel like a fourth wheel."
"Tell me about it," came Riku's dry response.
Kairi let go of Sora's hand, taking a step back so that she could cover her face. Sora tucked Kairi's good luck charm back into his pocket. He turned to face Jim and Riku, his glare ruined by the deep red covering his cheeks. Lucky for him, Terra marched up and grabbed Riku and Jim by the collar. She dragged them away the forecastle.
"Stop it, you two," Terra scolded. "Let them have their privacy."
"Us?" Riku grouched. "Their the ones that should get a room."
"Hey Sora," Jim pointed upward, "next time, use the crow's nest."
"Enough!" Terra flung her arms, making the boys stumble ahead of her. "Go down and eat. Then you can scrub all the dishes for being so insensitive."
"Yes ma'am," Riku and Jim grumbled.
When the two boys had vanished into the kitchens, Terra called to Sora and Kairi. "Come get some stew when you're ready, but don't wait too long. It will get cold."
When she was gone, Sora leaned forward and sighed. "I miss my mom."
Now that the heat had finally faded from Kairi's cheeks, she turned to Sora with a confused expression. "Why bring that up?"
"Terra. She's like a mom. I really have to apologize when we go back home. We should fill in our parents about what we've been doing."
Kairi chuckled. "You're right." She looked up at the stars. "We're been flying around for a while, solving the universe's problems. It does make you miss home when you stop to think about it. I wonder how much homework Instructor Trepe is going to give us when we get back."
Sora shuddered. "We save the universe and we still have to do homework? Maybe flying around with so many problems to solve isn't so bad after all."
Kairi poked Sora's shoulder. "Homework is more scary then heartless?"
Sora gave her a serious look. "Heartless can be defeated, but Instructor Trepe? She'll hunt us down to the ends of the universe just to make sure we do math."
Kairi grit her teeth. "Fair point. But let's say we finish outrquest and all that homework, what will you do after?"
"Sleep for a full day."
"Lazy bum."
"Come on, I'd say I've earned it after all the crazy stuff we've been doing. What about your? What's your plan once we're done with the mission?"
Kairi bit her lip. She stepped away from the forecastle, going down to the main deck, and leaning against the ship's railing. Sora followed her, mimicking her pose.
"I've been thinking about it a lot." Kairi looked up into space. "To be honest, I don't know what I want to do."
"About Hollow Bastion?"
A tiny gasp escaped Kairi's lips. She turned to meet Sora's gaze. "What?"
He simply shrugged. "Whatever you decide, I'll be happy for you."
"Even if I go back to lead Hollow Bastion?"
"Or course. I'll support you no matter what you choose."
"But that would mean that I won't get see you. Or Riku. Not as much as I used to."
"Will leading Hollow Bastion mean that we're not friends any more?"
"Of course not!"
"Well, there you go. Plus, we have gummi ships that can break through the world wall now. We can see each other as much as we want."
Kairi wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know if I'll be a good leader. I don't know if I'm ready. What if everyone in Hollow Bastion expects me to fix what Ansem broke?"
"You're really fixing things. It was your idea to bring Professor Von Drake, Chip, Dale, and Gadget to help rebuild."
"All I did was give jobs to other people."
"Isn't that what a leader does? Allocate responsibility?" Sora laughed. "'Allocate.' How's that for a big word?"
Kairi chuckled. "That was a good one. Also, when did you start making this about me? I came to talk because I was worried about you?"
Sora blew a puff of air into his bangs. "I'm fine. Really."
Kairi frowned. "You sure?"
Sora blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Hey guys," Jim called. "You better come down and get something to eat. Looks like we found the Strahl. We've got an hour till we land."
Kairi glanced at the bow of the ship. A sphere of white and blue clouds appeared in the distance. A planet loomed ahead of them. She watched the planet slowly swell in size as the Legacy moved closer.
"We're going to catch Balthier and set Locke free," Kairi whispered.
"Right. And you'll be a great leader one day."
The two of them stayed close together for a few more minutes, before parting so that they could get some grub. The beef stew that Terra had made was absolutely sumptuous. Sora had three whole bowls before he called it quits. Kairi, on the other hand, ate slowly, and took her meal up to the deck so that she could watch the plant getting closer. Really though, she just wanted an excuse to be alone with her thoughts.
So Sora knew. Since it was revealed that Kairi was the rightful ruler of Hollow Bastion, she had been afraid of what Sora would say. Or wouldn't say. Telling her friends about her relation to Ansem had been hard enough, but the thought of one day telling them that she was going to go back to live in her original home was unimaginable. Kairi was sure that the boys would support her if she choose Hollow Bastion, but deep down, she wished that they wouldn't. She wished that they would try to stop her, protest, even a little. Or maybe...what she really wanted was for Sora to tell her that he didn't want her to go.
Kairi aggressively chewed on a piece of beef. Why did he have so good? Couldn't he be selfish? Couldn't he wish for her to stay...with him.
"Is it that bad?"
Kairi looked over her shoulder. Terra stood on the deck behind her.
"The stew? No, it's delicious. I was just thinking about something dumb."
"Would you mind if I stand with you? I feel like it's a big boy's club back there."
Terra pointed to the helm. The boys were there, joking, pushing, and lightly punching each other. Riku and Jim must have said something snarky, because Sora had raised an eyebrow and given the pair of them a cool look. He opened his mouth, and what he said next made Riku and Jim stiffen. Then, they both shouted.
"No way. I'm not like him."
Riku and Jim paused, stepping away from each other, while Sora held his stomach and laughed.
Kairi waved Terra over. The two young woman leaned against the ship's railing, watching the stars disappear. Soon, they would enter the planet's atmosphere.
"Have you ever been in love?" Kairi blurted.
Terra tilted her head.
Kairi nearly dropped her stew. "You don't have the answer that! It's none of my business. I don't even know why I asked. I mean, it's really personal, and I shouldn't ask people to share things they're not comfortable with-"
"I haven't," Terra said softly.
Kairi bent, putting down her half eaten bowl of stew before she dropped the whole thing into space.
"What about you and Locke?"
Terra looked down at her hands. "I've always been...different. I spent a long time not even knowing who I was. Life was a fog. I didn't know where I was going. Then one day, it was like I woke up. I had so many questions about my magical gifts. I used to hate my powers. I hated fighting. I never wanted to hurt people. I still don't. Locke found one day. He was my first, real friend. He didn't care that I became pink and could fly. He said my powers could protect people. He just wanted me to be happy." Terra folded her hands behind her back. "Locke pretends to act cool, and that nothing worries him, but I know he feels a lot of guilt inside. He always worries that he's not doing enough for the people he cares about."
Kairi glanced at the helm, watching Sora play a rather intense looking round of rock, paper, scissors with Riku and Jim. He lost. Kairi smiled. Sora always chose rock.
"Locke sounds a lot like Sora."
"Maybe you know more about love then I do."
Kairi stumbled away from Terra, accidentally kicking the bowl of stew she had placed on the deck. Miraculously, the bowl slid over the deck but did not spill.
"What?" Kairi blew a puff of air out between her lips. "I-I don't know anything about love. I-I mean I've seen my friends being in love, and I've given good advice, but me? In love?" Her giggle was breathless. "I mean sure, I like someone. A lot." She pressed her hands on her cheeks. "Maybe even a little too much."
Chuckling softly, Terra bent down to pick up Kairi's discarded bowl before the poor, flustered girl would actually spill its contents.
"I don't know much about love," Terra held out the bowl to Kairi, "but I know how wonderful it feels to have real friends. Maybe one day, if you and I are lucky enough, we can find love. Right now, I'm just happy taking care of the rest of you."
Kairi took her stew. "You know, you would be a good mom one day."
Terra blushed.
Sora's teeth chattered. The Legacy landed on a puffy hill of snow. Mountains of pure, white powder poked out of the clouds in the distance. The world was painted in various shades of white, grey, and blue. Sora jumped over the ship's railing, and his legs sunk into a thick layer of snow. The cold tingled up to his knees. Just a few steps away from the Legacy and Sora's sniffles turned into icicles.
"Here," said a gentle voice.
A heavy coat was dropped on Sora's shoulders. Turning around, he spotted Terra slipping her arms into an identical blue and gold uniform jacket. Jim, Riku, and Kairi wore similar coats. Thanking Terra, Sora buttoned his jacket.
Jim took out a map and marked the Legacy's location on it. "I'll add more markers we move," he said. "From above, I spotted the Strahl just beyond those hills. We'd better be careful not to get spotted when we get close."
"So what's the plan for catching Balthier?" Riku asked as he began leading the team toward the hills.
"We could spring a magical trap," Kairi offered. "If you three can tire Balthier out, then Terra and I can trap him in a reflect and wind spell combination, like we did for that heartless swarm."
They had reached the top of the hill. The Strahl had landed in the valley below, resting at a junction where two mountains met. Balthier walked over the plateau in front of his ship. At the top of the hill, Sora and his team crouched, watching the pirate's confident stride.
"Everyone on board for Kairi's plan?" Sora asked.
There was a round of nods.
"Okay, let's go."
"Wait." Riku pointed. "Look there."
The Strahl's bottom hatch had opened. A woman walked down the catwalk. Before the team could get a good look at her, Balthier paused and turned his head in the direction of the hills. Everyone ducked, hoping that Balthier had not seen them. Balthier stared at the hill for a long time, before finally turning away. Because of the distance, no one saw the small smirk tug at the edge of Balthier's lips.
"Fran," Balthier called. "How fares the Strahl?"
"It flies," a woman's voice replied. "The temperature drops. We must finish our task quickly. Else the Strahl would no not heed us on our way back."
She spoke with an accent, but, unlike Balthier's, her words were sharper, more mysterious than suave. Peeking over the hill, the first thing Sora's eyes focused on was a pair of long, rabbit ears. His mouth widened when he noticed who those ears were attached to. A tall, slender woman, wearing an armored black dress and boots, came to stand at Balthier's side. Her long, silver hair was tied high up in a pony tail. She wore a black, lacy, crownlike helmet that made room for her bunny ears. A bow was strapped to her back.
"The light and darkness builds," Fran said to Balthier. "We have an hour, at best. I scent a storm on the way."
The pair of pirates moved away from the Strahl, disappearing behind a wall of ice on the side of the mountain. Before Fran was out of sight, one of her bunny ears twitched. She turned around, surveying the Strahl, the sky, the mountains, and, briefly, the hills on her left side.
"The gods do not smile upon us."
Fran sighed and moved to follow Balthier.
When Sora and the team made it to the ice wall, they quickly discovered that their vantage point at the top of the hills had stopped them from seeing what Balthier and Fran had actually ducked into. A whole section of the ice wall had been hollowed out. A glittering cave of ice crystals waited beyond.
"It's so beautiful," Terra said.
"But dangerous," Riku added. "There's a strong mix of both light and darkness in those caves." He took a deep breath. "I think I can track Balthier and Fran. Stick close."
Riku took point. Jim had his laser pistol at the ready. He stuck close to Riku's back. Once Sora had helped Kairi and Terra down into the cave, he summoned his keyblade, just in case. Terra walked at the end of the line, making sure to keep an eye on the team ahead of her.
"That bunny lady," she began, "do you think she saw us?"
"Can't know for sure," Sora replied.
"We'd better be careful anyway," Kairi finished.
"They seem to be experienced flyers, fighters," Terra paused, "and partners."
"Kind of reminds me of Captain Amelia and Mr. Arrow," Jim said. "Got the same vibe from Balthier and Fran."
Sora swallowed. Even if Balthier and Fran were pirates, even if it was their fault that Locke was in jail, he dearly hoped that the two of them were not separated, not the way Mr. Arrow and Captain Amelia had been. Back then, when Scroop had cut Mr. Arrow's life line, both Sora and Jim had blamed themselves for not being able to save Mr. Arrow. If it hadn't been for Locke's words, Sora wasn't sure if he would have been able to pick himself up and move on.
Do what you can.
Steeling his nerves, and swearing to himself to keep such a loss from happening again, Sora moved through a small, icy passageway. The cave tunnels widened and then narrowed. Sometimes, Riku brought up his fist, calling for a halt before everyone could slide down a steep slope into an open chasm. Kairi and Terra leaned close to each other, whispering their plans to magically catch the pirates. At one point, Riku put his finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
Voices echoed from further up in the cave.
"How much further, Fran?"
Fran's voice was strained, whispery. "Not far. The light burns."
"Hold out a little longer. It will be over soon."
Riku turned toward the team, waving them in close so that he could whisper. "Now's our chance. Fran and Balthier are in the chamber ahead. There are a series of tunnels that branch off on the pathway there. We can use those tunnels to flank them."
Jim looked around. "I don't see anything but a straight path."
"Must be an optical illusion," Riku explained, "You can't see it, but I can sense the openings. I'll guide you." Riku nodded to Kairi and Terra. "You ready?"
"Yes," the girls said.
Half way down the path, Riku stuck his hand through one of the walls. The light bouncing off the ice had made the wall seem flat. In reality, there was a hidden archway leading to another set of tunnels. Before Kairi and Terra got in, Riku gave them directions on where to go. The two ladies vanished into the ice.
Meanwhile, Riku led Sora and Jim forward, into a wide cavern. They stopped on a cliff. In the chamber below, Fran and Balthier moved around in a circle. Sora saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he spotted Kairi and Terra. They stood across from them, leaning out of a pair of holes in the ice wall, right above Balthier.
The team's eyes met. It was time for the ambush. Kairi and Terra counted down with their fingers.
Three.
Two.
One.
Fran's eyes scanned the walls of the cave. "We are being hunted."
A fortified sphere of magical glass and wind appeared around Balthier and Fran. Before the sphere had completely closed, Fran jumped out. Sora and Riku surrounded Balthier's orb. Jim, on the other hand, pointed his laser pistol at Fran. She didn't move, regarding Jim with a rather cool stare.
"Well, I was wondering when the five of you would show up." Balthier leaned against the magical glass, looking bored. "Followed this, did you?" He held up Sora's rocket pin between his fingers.
Riku pointed his soul eater at Balthier's sphere. "If you knew we were here, then why did you let us capture you?"
"Are you sure you have me where you want me?"
In the next second, Riku felt a body flying toward him. It was Jim. The boy had been hurled across the room. He would have been impaled by the ice crystals along the wall if Riku hadn't caught him. Fran charged at the sphere holding Balthier. Sora got in her way, swinging his keyblade at her torso. She ducked, grabbed Sora's weapon arm, and spun him, throwing him so that he collided with Riku and Jim, who were still trying to regain their balance.
Rather then focus on the magic holding Balthier hostage, Fran used her opening to aim her arrows at Kairi and Terra. Kairi ducked, the arrow sinking into the roof of the tunnel she was standing in. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep her concentration, to keep Balthier's trap in place. Another arrow flew her way, and then another. Each one missed.
Or had they?
The ice under Kairi's feet cracked.
She fell.
Before she hit the ground, Terra swooped in and caught her. But the damage was done, Balthier was free, and he was quick to fire his crossbow at the boys. Sora, Riku and Jim, spread out. The shot smashed into the wall behind them. Several more arrows were fired at Riku's feet, forcing him to move away from Balthier and toward Fran. Though she was busy engaging Kairi and Terra, Fran moved as fast as...well, a rabbit. Avoiding Kairi and Terra's magic, while simultaneously firing her arrows at Riku, she kept all three of them on the ropes.
Sora and Jim, meanwhile, quickly learned that Balthier wasn't your average pirate. His aim with the crossbow was deadly accurate. Jim had to time his shots perfectly if he wanted to avoid Bathier's arrows. He got some distance, and fired a barrage of shots at Balthier, giving Sora an opening to come at Balthier from the side. Balthier ducked and lunged to the the left, avoiding Jim's blasts. While Jim was reloading, Balthier turned to the right, bringing up his crossbow. The weapon caught the keyblade's teeth, blocking Sora's attack. Balthier kicked the boy in the hip, sending Sora backward and freeing up his crossbow.
The three fighters turned in a circle, staring each other down.
"You would let an innocent man be punished for a measly green gem?" Sora asked.
"Don't bother appealing to his sense of right and wrong," Jim said. "He clearly doesn't care."
Balthier smirked. "Things must be pretty nice in that black and white world of yours."
Instead of answering the question, Balthier shot at Jim's shoulder. Sora jumped in front of his friend and sliced the arrow in half. Jim ducked under the keyblade and returned fire at Balthier. The sky pirate jumped to the side, and got a glancing blow to his thigh. The battle started fresh, all the fighters on a stalemate until Riku threw out a blast of dark fire. The dark energy blew out a series of nearby ice crystals. The ice exploded, coating Fran in a layer of snowy dust. Unable to see, Fran could barely block Kairi's sword. Her bow caught Kairi's blade, but the smaller girl twisted her sword and the bow went flying. Meanwhile, Terra had snuck up behind Fran and blasted her with a blizzard spell that froze her armored dress.
"Fran!" Balthier shouted when his partner collapsed.
Wasting no time, Kairi and Terra trapped Fran in reflect and aero spells. Riku put himself between Balthier and Fran, bringing up his soul eater. A warning. Sora and Jim advanced on Balthier. The pirate was surrounded.
"We don't want to hurt you," Jim said. "Turn yourself in and I can at least put in a good word for you with Captain Amelia."
"Fancy yourself a judge then, young man? Tell me, can your captain truly guarantee a fair trial?"
Jim furrowed his brow. "Of course she can."
"Quite a dilemma," said Balthier. "Go with you or risk further crimes by doing what I came to do." He raised his hands, holding his crossbow so that it faced the roof of the cavern. "Fran?"
The rabbit woman stood in the reflect spell. She shrugged. "The light and darkness burn. Time is not on our side. You'd best be off."
"Sorry gents." Balthier faced Jim and Sora. "Exit, stage right."
The crossbow fired. The arrow flew straight up, smashing into an ice stalactite on the ceiling. The ice crackled at the base, the massive cone snapping free. The stalactite came down, straight toward the men's heads. Sora, Jim, and Riku threw their bodies to the side as the giant cone smashed into the icy ground.
The ice beneath their feet snapped. Cracks spread through the ice sheet like a bolt of lightning. The ice shattered, and everyone tumbled down into the series of coiling tunnels below.
Something shined on Kairi's eyelids. Blinking, she watched as a green light glittered on the ice floor before her. The gem. Instantly awake, Kairi reached out and grabbed the emerald.
"Put that down!"
Kairi stumbled to her feet. "Stay back!"
The pirate froze, eyes traveling from the gem to the sword in Kairi's hand. He relaxed his posture, inching closer.
"You have something that belongs to me."
"No way! You stole this." Kairi barked. "And Sora's friend needs it."
Balthier raised an eyebrow. "I see."
He removed the crossbow from his back. Kairi grit her teeth but her grip on her sword faltered. Balthier had lowered his weapon to the ground. When he stood, he held up both hands in surrender.
"I mean you no harm. That gem, on the other hand, is more dangerous then the ice storms on this planet."
"What are you talking about-AH!"
The gem hit the ground. Balthier flinched, watching as it rolled along the ice until it finally stopped. He kept his eye on the gem for several seconds. When nothing happened, he ran to Kairi, who was waving her hand around, tears running down her cheeks.
"It burns!"
Taking a bottle of elixir out of his pocket, Balthier pulled the cork out. He took Kairi's hand in his and spilled the elixir over her palm. Kairi pulled her hand back, inspecting it for damage. All she saw was smooth skin. The burning was gone.
"There now. Better?"
Looking up, she spotted Balthier bending down to pick up the emerald. He wrapped the gem in a handkerchief.
"What was that?" Kairi demanded.
Standing, Balthier held out the handkerchief. Kairi took a step back reflexively.
"This isn't an emerald. It's a type of material called nethicite. A condensed, crystalized mass of light and darkness."
"Is that why you stole it?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. And if it has gotten to the stage where it can affect regular humans, then we are running out of time. Best to get out of this cave and throw the gem into the chasm before it explodes."
"Expodes?"
"Nethicite is volatile, even under the best conditions."
"So that's why you refused to give it back."
Balthier looked around the small, ice cave he and Kairi were in. "We'd better move. No doubt Fran and your friends are looking for us. Fancy a cease fire until we're out of here?"
"Agreed," Kairi said.
She fell into step behind Balthier. They traveled in silence for a while, until they came upon a wider cavern. Balthier stopped, raising his hand in warning. Kairi focused her hearing, listening to the distant sound of wind moving through the cave tunnels. Then, her skin began to itch. She lowered her stance, preparing for heartless.
Several darkballs popped in the air. Balthier sighed.
"Always appearing at the worst of times. I'm in too much of a hurry to play with heartless."
Kairi's jaw dropped. "You know what heartless are too."
"I trust you know how to use that sword of yours?"
No sooner had Balthier finished asking his question when a darkball charged at him. Kairi jumped in front of Balthier, slicing the darkball in half.
Balthier clapped. "Nicely done."
"We're even now," Kairi yelled over her shoulder as she charged the darkballs.
Behind her, Balthier let out a small chuckle before he unleashed a series of quick shots at the heartless.
Riku jerked when he felt a warm hand on his face.
"Easy now."
Fran. Riku realized. He tried to sit up, but there was a huge weight on his chest. Every breath made his lungs scream in agony. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a strange, gurgling sound.
"Lie still."
Riku didn't have the strength to struggle. Not that his resistance mattered. In the next second, a flutter of fluffy light covered his entire body and Riku could breathe clearly again. The heaviness lifted from his chest, and he was able to sit up.
"How fares the head?" Fran asked.
Riku rubbed his scull. There was a small bump on the back of his head. Thanks to the healing spell though, it was slowly fading.
"It's fine. Thank you."
Fran stood, picking up her bow and slinging it over her back. "Strange boy, you are."
"What do you mean?" Riku asked as he too got to his feet.
"You scent the darkness as I do. Never met a human that does that."
Riku swallowed. "You can smell the darkness too?"
Fran tapped her nose. "Viera noses are quite sharp." Her head leaned to the side. "Balthier is nearby. As is your friend."
Riku tested his senses. He couldn't pick up Balthier's scent, but he did sense Kairi's light. She was in an adjacent cave.
Fran hissed. She swayed dangerously close to an icicle that was sticking out of the cave wall. Riku reached out, grabbing Fran's shoulder before she got hurt.
Steadying her, Riku asked, "Are you all right?"
Fran shook her head. "Such heat. The nethicite swells. We're not long before it bursts."
"Nethicite?" Riku felt something then. Kairi's light dimmed, and there was a quick, angry flash of both light and darkness.
"The gem you chase," Fran explained. "It is no more jewel then it is a ticking time bomb."
"What will happen if it explodes?"
"When," Fran corrected. "Condensed light and darkness may very well destroy everything in a large radius." She wobbled. "It burns."
"I see."
Riku slung Fran's arm across his shoulders. "We'd better get you back to Balthier."
Fran's ears swiveled atop her head. She pointed into the cave system. "This way."
Following her directions, Riku carefully stepped into the ice tunnel. After moving through several winding twists and turns, Fran broke the silence.
"Your heart wavers," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"Torn between duty and connection," Fran explained. "Like the light and darkness within you are at war."
"I don't understand."
"Meld the two forces. Otherwise one will overtake the other."
Riku bit his lip. He remembered Lunafreya's words. If something was keeping him from accepting his own light, did that mean that the darkness inside his own heart was getting stronger again?
"How does one go about summoning the light in their heart," Riku wondered aloud.
"Perhaps your friends can answer," Fran said.
They turned a corner and Riku felt Sora, Jim, and Terra enter the cavern. They surrounded him and Fran. Without questioning Riku, Sora went to Fran's free side and pulled her arm across his shoulders.
"Is she going to be okay?"
"She can hear you," Fran growled.
"Sorry." Sora let out nervous laugh. "What did this to you?"
"The nethicite. It will burst soon."
"Nethi-what?"
"Turns out that the emerald Balthier stole is really just a volatile crystal of light and darkness," Riku explained.
Jim stiffened. "And that crystal is going to explode, isn't it?"
"Outside this cave system," Fran rasped, "there is a wide chasm. The gem must fall within it, otherwise we will be caught in its wake. We've twenty minutes at most."
Terra came up to Fran.
"I'll take her back to the Strahl. You three, find Kairi and Balthier."
Before Terra took Fran, the rabbit woman reached out and grabbed Riku's shoulder.
"Balthier-"
"We'll make sure to bring him back," Sora, Jim, and Riku promised.
Terra's feet lifted from the ground. She and Fran flew up into the narrow opening at the top of the cavern, vanishing into the sky above. Once they was gone, Sora and Jim turned to Riku, waiting for instructions. Opening his senses, Riku felt a touch of darkness as well as two separate sets of light fighting against it. He pointed to the ice wall on the right.
"Kairi and Balthier are fighting in the cavern on the other side."
Sora aimed his keyblade at the wall, shouting a fire spell. The wall shuddered, a few crystals breaking lose. Sora charged. He smashed through the weakened wall with his keyblade. At the same time, Kairi, who had just been slammed back against the wall by a heartless, fell toward him. Yelping in surprise, Sora caught her before her behind met the floor.
Oddly enough, Kairi ignored Sora, not even bothering to look over her shoulder to see who or what was holding her up.
"That's it! Come back here, you stupid darkball! I'm going to turn you into mincemeat!"
She charged back into battle, yelling out a battle cry that would have made Max proud. For his part, Sora watched her move before he let out an appreciative "wow" and followed. Riku grit his teeth, trying his best to ignore the swelling feeling of nervousness in his stomach.
Jim chased after Sora, saying, "I can see why he likes her."
"Yeah, yeah," Riku snapped. "Let's just go, already."
Once the boys had joined the battle, the tide quickly turned in their favor. Sora, Riku, and Kairi tag teamed to take down the heartless along the ground. Meanwhile, Jim and Balthier shot down the heartless in the air.
"Well, well," Balthier panted, aiming another shot at a darkball by the cave ceiling. "You know what they say, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"
"Save it!" Jim huffed. "All bets are off once that nethicite is destroyed. You still have to answer for putting my friend in jail."
Jim grabbed Balthier's arm, turning the man so he was out of the way. This allowed him a clear shot at the heartless that had been coming in at Balthier's blind spot. The darkball exploded after ten laser blasts.
Balthier whistled. "I thought you sailors didn't give quarter to pirates."
"I'm not like every other sailor," Jim said. "One of the greatest men in my life was a pirate. I'm not one to throw people in jail without at least hearing them out."
"Now valiant," Balthier said. "Of course, your efforts are wasted on Fran and I. Noble thieves such as we have no tragic past or mitigating circumstances that have led to our misdeeds. Freedom and vices are simply a temptation too delicious to resist."
Jim barked out a short laugh. "Well then, you'd better run fast as soon we're out of here."
"Heads up!" Riku shouted.
He smashed a darkball with his soul eater. The heartless didn't explode from the force of his attack, but it did sail toward Jim and Balthier, who then defeated it with a full barrage of arrows and laser blasts. With all the heartless defeated, Balthier looked at his newly found allies.
"I assume Fran told you the truth."
"We know about the nethicite. And we don't have time to stand around and talk, right?" Sora said. "Riku, can you lead us out of the caves?"
Extending his senses told Riku that the exit was close. As they moved toward it, Riku began to feel the air currents and the flow of darkness and light ahead. Like Fran had said, there was an immense snowy plain outside, one that ended suddenly in a series of steep, sharp cliffs. The chasm beyond, stretched so wide and far, that Riku couldn't feel where it ended. The wind and snow screamed as it scratched against their skin. The blizzard pushed them back, but Riku trudged behind Baltheir.
He could feel a pulse of light and darkness, one that was getting stronger with each step they took. The stone in Balthier's handkerchief was growing so hot that it kept the group from freezing. Dread gnawed at Riku's heart. If the nethicite got any hotter, it would burn through the thin cloth. There were just a few steps away from the cliffs when a long, muscular creature burst out of the darkness below.
The giant monster coiled in the air. It stopped spiraling, turning its spear-like head toward the people on the snowy plain below. The creature roared.
Riku dove into the snow. Behind him, he felt Balthier and his friends duck and lunge as the giant heartless came swopping down and snapped its teeth at each of its prey. Though it had missed, by inches, its thick, cylindrical body threw a wave of snow onto everyone on the ground, forcing the combatants to dig their way out.
Once back in the air, the heartless darted forward like a cobra, snapping its jaws at its prey. Each time the combatants regained their balance, or found a safe moment to counterattack, the heartless had already retreated and was darting forward to snap at them again.
Magic, arrows, and laser blasts were out, as the heartless swooped in the air, bending its body away from any attacks and using the blizzard's low visibility to ruin everyone's aim. Any time there would be a break in the storm, the heartless would spew a torrent of boiling water from its mouth. The heat and the steam would react with the cold atmosphere, freezing the water instantly and obscuring the heartless in a cloud of white mist.
"We don't have time for this." Balthier rolled in the snow, dodging the heartless' teeth.
"We need to draw its attention," Sora shouted at Riku and Kairi. "So that Balthier can go to the chasm and throw the nethicite in."
"But we'll get caught in the blast," Kairi argued.
Riku pushed her aside. "Spread out!"
The heartless had stretched in the air. It fell, intent on body slamming the team into pancakes. The creature's girth was so wide that both Jim and Sora were knocked back by its torso. If anyone had survived not getting flattened, they had to deal with the shockwave that followed. The quake threw Kairi off her feet. Though the snow cushioned her fall, it could not protect her from the teeth that flashed overhead.
The heartless' fangs crunched on a reflect spell, sending cracks into the magical glass. Then, an arrow sunk into the heartless' eye, making the giant serpent rear back, releasing Kairi so that it could roar in pain instead. The team regrouped while the heartless retreated into the air.
By now the nethicite had burned through Balthier's hankerchief. It sunk into the snow like a hot coal, mist forming where the snow touched the gem. Kairi placed a reflect spell around the nethicite, balancing it carefully on her hand.
"How much time do we have left?"
"It could go off at any minute," Balthier warned.
"We can't kill the heartless if it keeps going back up into the air, and we can't get to the edge fast enough. We'll have to hit it in one big attack," Riku said.
"And don't we have the perfect bomb for that," Sora pointed to the nethicite.
"How do you expect us to get it to open its mouth wide enough?"
"Hold still and give it one big target."
"Bold," said Balthier. "I like it."
"So we'll have to wait until the very last second to scatter," said Kairi.
Jim sighed. "You guys really are friends. Totally crazy."
The team gathered close, standing their ground, readying their weapons.
"We've done crazier," said Sora, eyes tracking the angry heartless in sky.
Jim spun the barrel on his laser gun. "Let's just hope the planet doesn't explode on us this time."
The heartless was no longer writhing. It had turned, its jaw now faced the ground. Its body had lengthened in the sky, resembling a tower in midair. It was coming down fast, its mouth widening the further it dove.
Riku pointed his soul eater up into the air, and sent a dark fire spell up into the sky. The attack burned up the side of the heartless' neck. Enraged, the heartless widened its jaws, ready to swallow everyone whole.
Kairi threw the nethicite up into the air.
"Hit it with all you've got!"
A laser beam, an arrow, and a series of fire spells crashed into the reflect spell. The spell broke, but the nethicite inside the glass was propelled like a rocket, up into the air. It shot right up into the heartless' throat.
"SCATTER!" Balthier ordered.
The party ran, each person spreading out in a different direction, leaving the heartless no choice but to swerve before it could smash its face into the stony, snow covered ground. The heartless returned to the air, hissing, reading for another dive, and snapping its teeth in warning.
It froze.
It turned to look at its belly.
Riku covered his ears. His eyes pounded in their sockets. A powerful force of light and darkness was swelling above, and only he could hear the high pitched shriek of shattering glass. A mix of hot, burning energy, and cold, itchy nothing filled the atmosphere. Riku managed to scream a singer word, moments before disaster.
"RUN!"
The heartless thrashed in the air, its body zigzagging as though it were trying to throw off flames. For a few seconds, a vibration buzzed from within the heartless. Then it was gone, replaced by a blast so powerful, it was too fast for sound to be heard. The heartless burst apart, chunks of its body disintegrating in the air as the light and darkness inside it expanded outward like a supernova. Seconds later, a thunderous clad boomed through the sky, pounded down toward the ground, and crunched in everyone's ears.
The snow blew upward under everyone's feet. Riku, Kairi, Jim, and Balthier had somehow made it back to the crystal caves, but an avalanche was stampeding behind them. Riku paused for a moment, to turn and try to call to Sora. For some reason, the boy had slowed down, putting a few paces between himself and his friends.
"AEROGA!"
A blast of powerful wind crashed into Riku and the others, but he didn't focus on the magic. Sora had been swallowed by the snow.
Sora opened his eyes to see a pretty face looking down at him.
"Thank goodness," Kairi sniffled.
He rubbed his burning forehead. "What happened?"
"Easy," said Balthier, coming into view next to Kairi. "You took a worse hit then the rest of us. Drink this."
Sora's hand shook. He lifted his arm to grab the bottle of galaxy colored liquid in Balthier's hand. Kairi grabbed Sora's arm, stopping him from moving. Gently, she lowered his arm back down until that it rested at his side.
"Just relax."
She tilted his head back and then tipped a bottle of elixir against Sora's lips. He drank. Instantly, his aches and pains were gone. Sora sat up.
"Thanks," he said to Kairi and Balthier.
Balthier gave Sora a noncommittal wave and stood. Once Kairi had pulled Sora up to his feet, he looked around.
"We're back outside?"
"Yup," came Riku's voice. "That blast completely wrecked the crystal caves. Thanks to your spell, we were blown all the way through the collapsing cave system."
"Jim is scouting for the Strahl up ahead," Kairi explained. She then rounded on Sora and poked him, hard, in the chest.
"Ow!"
Kairi poked him again. "Don't."
Poke.
"Do anything."
Poke.
"That STUPID."
Poke.
"Ever again! I was really worried, you know."
Sora grinned, rubbing his sore chest. "No promises."
"Of course," Kairi sighed. "Well it's a good thing you have the rest of us here to make sure you're okay. Do you know how long it took to dig you out of the snow. You're lucky Riku can sense things."
Sora looked down at his shoes, frowning. "No kidding."
"GUYS!"
Jim came running over a nearby hill. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead.
"Amelia's here. You have to hide."
"Or," Balthier threw a rope at Jim. "You could do the wise thing and tie me up."
Catching the rope, Jim blinked at the pirate. "What?"
"You need someone to drag back and clear your friend of his 'crime,' yes? What kind of leading man would I be if I didn't volunteer?"
Jim raised an eyebrow. "This better not be a trick."
"Tie us up too," said Riku and Kairi.
"But, we can explain-"
Kairi raised a hand, cutting Jim off. "We don't want to blow your cover." Kairi leaned over, whispering in Sora's ear. "You have a keyblade. With Jim out of the way and in the clear, just break us out of jail, dummy."
Sora bit his lip, but helped Jim tie up Balthier and his friends. Jim bound wrists together, while Sora made sure Riku, Kairi, and Balthier were all tied on the same line. No one had any time to get their stories straight, because Captain Amelia was on them in seconds. She came over the hill and pointed her laser rifle right at the line of pirates.
"Mr. Hawkins, you have ten seconds to explain what is going on here."
"Hello Captain. Fancy meeting you all the way out here."
Amelia pointed her rifle at Balthier. "I don't recall giving you permission to speak."
"That's enough." Jim tugged on Balthier's rope, making the older man stumble forward. Clearing his throat, he faced Amelia. "After these pirates stole the Legacy, they brought us here. Turns out the gem they stole was nothing more then an unstable rock."
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"It's true," Sora added. He pointed to the collapsed mountain of snow, ice, and stone behind him. "The gem went off, causing that avalanche. If it weren't for Balthier, Riku, and Kairi, we would have been caught in the explosion."
"I confess," Balthier said. "I broke into the magistrate's mansion, and stole the emerald. I then had Riku and Kairi here steal the Legacy to make sure you don't follow us. Jim and Sora just happened to be on board."
"Please, Captain, their crimes were well-meaning. Request to put in my testimony at their trail for a lesser sentence."
Amelia sighed, though she refused to lower her rifle. "Very well. Escort them back to the Legacy. We'll have much paperwork to do if we're to explain this mess to the soldiers back on Monstressor."
Jim groaned. "Paperwork. Right."
The boys led the prisoners through the snow. They didn't dare speak on the walk back. Captain Amelia's cat ears twitched at every sound. She stood behind the line of prisoners, never letting them out of her sight. Sora racked his brain trying to think of a good excuse for why he should be in the back of the line, or how to explain the Strahl, or Terra and Fran's involvement, or how to get Kairi and Riku out of jail, or even how to get back to Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of a logical solution, and soon they were upon the hill that overlooked the Strahl. Sora and Jim held their breaths. But when they went over the hill, the Strahl wasn't there.
Exchanging the look with Jim, Sore pressed his lips together so that he didn't accidentally ask the question that was burning on both their tongues.
Where had Fran and Terra gone?
Jiminy's Journal:
Fran (First Appeared in Final Fantasy XII, 2006): As a member of the viera race, Fran has a strong sense of smell, and top notch hearing, thanks to her long, rabbit ears. Such senses are useful for a sky pirate, especially when searching for treasure, holding her own in battle, or sensing the light and darkness. Fran is Balthier's equal, and the two have a strong partnership, often not even needing words to communicate their plans.
Chapter 55: KH3 Chapter 24: Back to Start
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
A/N:
Not to bore y'all with all the details, but a LOT has been happening down here in boring old real life...and this is the last of my buffer chapters...meaning that updates may slow down again. Trust me, no one wants to get to the end of this project more then me, and I'm doing my best to get the work done, but I thought a heads up would be nice.
Also, thanks to GalacticHarbinger, RightyPlayz, and Hellifrit for the Kudos! You guys rock!
Also, also, @RightyPlayz, I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story. It's a lot of hard work. It makes me happy that my story brings people joy!
Chapter Twenty Four: Back to Start
The Legacy docked at Montressor Space Port. Captain Amelia took Balthier, Kairi, and Riku to prison. Jim, having no choice to go along with his captain, or risk blowing his cover, ordered Sora to finish up the docking process. Knowing that Captain Amelia would threaten to court marshal Jim if her ship wasn't spick and span, Sora make sure the ship was spot on. By the time he finished and made it to the prison building, Locke was already walking out.
He was standing right in front of the robot guards, shaking Captain Amelia's hand.
"Apologies, Mr. Cole. As a law abiding member of the naval forces, I cannot release prisoners without evidence, or due process."
Locke shrugged. "In my experience, law enforcement tends to be more corrupt. I don't begrudge you for doing your job well."
Amelia gave him a single raised eyebrow. "Well, you certainly take things in stride." With her hands behind her back she said, "Farewell Mr. Cole. In the future, I do hope you are not in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sora waited until Amelia walked into the prison building before he ran up to talk to Locke. Seeing Sora, Locke pointed to a nearby alleyway. The two young men gathered between the brick walls. Locke leaned his back against the wall. He didn't even have to open his mouth, because Sora began quickly telling the convoluted story of how he and his friends had cleared his name. By the time Sora was done, Locke put a hand over his eyes.
"Kid, I've done some dumb things when I was your age, but not something as crazy as committing several crimes just to get someone else out of the slammer." Locke laughed. "Thanks, by the way. But now we have to rescue your friends."
"What about Terra?" Sora asked. "Aren't you worried about her?"
"I'm guessing that she disappeared with that sky pirate. Fran, was it? Don't worry. Terra will be back. It's not like her to abandon people. Until she meets up with us, we're going to have to orchestrate a jail break." Locke looked up into the sky. "Looks like a nebula storm is on its way. It'll be the perfect cover if we can guess how soon it will get here and how long it will last."
"I know who can give you that information."
Sora and Locke turned. Jim was standing in the mouth of the alley.
"Now I have no idea what you two were talking about," Jim winked, "but I sounds like you're interested in astronomy, right?"
Sora grinned. "Yep."
"Dr. Doppler is by the Legacy's dock. He can tell you about the storm." Jim stretched. "As for me, I have a lot of first mate responsibilities to get to. You know how it is, now that I'm on the straight and narrow."
Sora and Locke nodded sympathetically. "Of course. Of course."
Jim and Sora clasped hands, giving each other a respectful nod between men. When they stepped apart, Jim saluted.
"It was great to voyage with you again. Not sure what you plan to do now that you've found you friends, but if you ever need any help, you know where to find me."
Sora saluted Jim back. "It was a pleasure, First Mate Hawkins. Hope we can chase the stars again one day."
"That line is so weird coming from you." Jim rolled his eyes. "You are one bad actor."
"Takes one to know one."
Jim was still laughing when he turned his heel and began to walk back out into the port.
Dr. Doppler was leaning over a series of wooden crates. The Legacy floated in the harbor behind him. Amelia and Jim were already on deck, preparing for another voyage. Dr. Doppler's eyes never left the series of star maps before him. When Sora tapped the doctor on his shoulder, Doppler flailed his hands in panic, spilling all of his charts and maps to the ground.
"Sorry," said Sora as he bent to pick up the rolls of parchment paper.
Locke helped Sora put the maps back on the wooden crates. Doppler, getting over his initial shock, adjusted his spectacles. He extended his hand to Locke.
"So glad to see you free, chap. I knew you were innocent the whole time, and I'd venture to say that Amelia did too. She just has appearances to keep."
"No grudges here," said Locke, shaking the doctor's hand.
"So, what brings you by?"
"Actually, Doctor, I wanted to get some astronomical advice."
Dr. Doppler's facial muscles twitched with excitement. "Did you now? What would you like to know? The latest theories on interplanetary travel, the newly discovered black holes on the edges of the coral galaxy? Or perhaps..."
"Is there a nebula storm coming?" Sora blurted. "Will it be a bad one?"
Doppler's lips dropped. "Your question is about weather patterns. Of course." Sighing, Doppler pulled a telescope out of his trouser pocket. He peered through the lens, looking up at the stars. "I'd say the storm will be upon us in two hours. Shouldn't last for more then double that time."
"How dark will it get?" asked Locke. "Will it be safe to use lanterns?"
Doppler shook his head. "You're better off using more archaic means, like candles. The energy of the storm may short circuit anything that requires electrical power."
"What about the ships?" Sora asked. "Aren't you guys setting sail?"
"The vessels have protective measures in place. Plasma pods aren't affected by such electrical storms."
"Well, looks like Sora and I are better off catching up indoors, and out of danger."
"Quite right," Dopper agreed. "Cosmic storms are not to be taken lightly. You know I had colleague that lost an-"
"Maybe some other time Doctor." Locke gripped Sora's arm. "We better find shelter before the storm hits. Have a safe journey."
Dr. Doppler shrugged, waving goodbye as Locke dragged Sora off.
"I'm confused," Sora said, "how will this storm help us exactly?"
"A nebula storm means that area around the prison building will be obscured. Plus, the guards' mechanical eyes and scanners would be partly scrambled by the storm."
Locke took Sora a nearby tavern, treating the boy to a bowl of fresh purps while the two of them talked about their plan to break out Riku and Kairi. Sora munched, listening to Locke's plan, until a hand slammed down on the table between them. Looking up, Sora nearly choked on his fruit. Fran stood above him.
"Your friend is free, yes?" She pointed to Locke. "Then perhaps you can help me rescue my partner."
"Locke!"
Terra appeared. She took the empty seat next to Locke, and held the treasure hunter's wrist in her hands.
"You're free. Thank goodness."
Locke covered his friend's hand with his own, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's all thanks to you and Sora's friends."
Fran invited herself to the table, taking the empty chair next to Sora. Though her expression was neutral, the look she gave Sora made him feel as though she could read his mind. And her next words made him wonder if she actually had.
"You are not of this world."
"What? How did you know that?"
Fran's bunny ears swiveled. "A clever boy would keep his voice down."
Sora blushed. "Sorry."
"Balthier is a bit," Fran paused, searching for the right word, "outlandish. However, sky pirates fly in pairs."
"You want us to free him too?"
Fran nodded. "And as payment, I will pilot the Strahl to whatever world you would like to be taken to."
Terra and Locke exchanged a look.
"So you guys knew about other worlds too. Should've figured. Well, I'm in. My friends and I need to get back to the rest of our team, anyway," said Sora.
"Mind adding two more to that journey?" Locke asked.
Fran raised an eyebrow.
"There's no reason for Terra and I to stay in this world anymore."
Fran waved a hand. "Very well. Now then, the plan."
After an hour of brainstorming, Fran and Locke had worked out all the details of their jail break. It turned out that, before bringing Terra to the tavern, Fran had used the Strahl to follow the Legacy at a safe distance. She had also scoped out the prison building, using her sensitive hearing and nose to find weaknesses in the structure.
The final plan turned out to be a lot similar to what Sora had done to steal the Legacy. Terra would cause a ruckus on one of the nearby harbors, drawing the robot guards away from the prison building. Then, Sora and Locke would infiltrate the building, using Fran's recon to break in. They would release Riku, Kairi, and Balthier from their cells, and then head to the roof. Once there, Fran would bring down the Strahl and everyone would board. They would be off, and Terra would catch up once the coast was clear.
At least that was how the plan was supposed to go.
The back of Sora's shirt was moist, both from the mist in the air, as the cosmic storm drew closer, and from the cold evening dew that had settled over the wall of the prison building. He stood next to Locke, waiting for Terra's signal. The two young men had their bodies pressed to the north side of the prison building. It was the best, and most perilous, place to blast their way in, since it faced the harbor and would be out of sight. Sora stood on a thin ledge. One step forward, and he would fall straight into the vast emptiness of space.
Along the wall, right next to Sora, there was a crack. All it would take was one heavy swing of the keyblade and the concrete would come tumbling down. However, the guards would hear the noise, which was why Locke and Sora had to wait for the inevitable cacophony of Terra's distraction before they could bash the wall and get in.
Sora shivered as a cosmic blast of wind moved over his skin. The nebula clouds above them were thundering with the need to release their pent up, cosmic energy. According to Locke, a cosmic storm didn't have rain. It had electric charges, wind, and thousands of sharp, crystalline, space debris. They had to do their job fast, or risk being covered head to toe in sharp, stinging paper cuts.
The sound of a hundred cannons pounded through the air, vibrating through Sora's heart. It was followed by the high pitched shriek of shattering glass, and the surprised, monotoned voices of the robo-guards.
"Disturbance sighted. Flames aboard four ships in the harbor."
"Cosmic storm inbound. The wind will spread the flames. Extinguishing the fires take priority over guard duty."
Sora grit his teeth as another round of loud bangs and crashes reached his ears. It was time. He lifted his arm, and slammed the keyblade against the prison wall. The keyblade's teeth hit the crack. The wall crumbled, whole chunks of concrete falling into space. Skirting the wall, Sora and Locke entered the dingy interior of the prison building.
The prisoners inside the cells screamed and rattled the bars, reaching out to try and grab Sora and Locke as they ran past. Some begged to be set free, others threatened. Sora ignored them, searching the cells until he found-
"I was wondering when you would show up to bust me out."
Sora skid to a stop, turning to face a prison cell. Riku was leaning his shoulder against the bars, completely relaxed despite the screaming from within the prison.
Sora aimed his keyblade at the lock on Riku's cell. The cell door swung open. Riku walked out, patting Sora on the shoulder as thanks.
"Lead on."
They found Kairi on the second floor, and Balthier on the third.
"Well, you certainly took your time. I was wondering when the cavalry would arrive."
While Sora released the lock, Riku clicked his teeth at Balthier.
"You planned this, didn't you?"
"In a manner of speaking." Balthier shrugged. "I always knew Fran would come after me. I just didn't expect her round up this motley crew to do it."
Balthier's cell door opened. He stepped out, and then stiffened, putting a finger to his lips.
Robotic voices had silenced the screaming prisoners.
"Intruders detected."
"Up on the third floor," a gruff prisoner yelled.
Sora grit his teeth. "Get to the roof," he whispered harshly.
The escapees found the ladder to the top of the building. The moment they were on the roof, Balthier and Riku closed the roof hatch, locking it seconds before the robo-police banged against it. The cosmic storm had started, and Sora hissed when a sharp shard of crystal sliced into his arm. The whirring of plasma engines reached his ears. Sora looked up, shielding his eyes from the Strahl's landing lights. The ship's lower hatch opened.
Balthier, Locke, and Riku were the first to jump up into the Strahl. Kairi and Sora were just about to follow, when the roof hatch snapped open and two robot guards spotted them.
"Escapees found."
"Wait. Isn't that boy Jim Hawkin's friend?"
Sora was suddenly pulled backward. A sword hovered in front of his neck. He looked over his shoulder, staring, wide eyed at Kairi.
"Sorry, officers." Kairi winked. "I'm kidnapping this boy. You see, I've grown rather fond of him."
"Wait, really?" Sora bit his tongue. "I mean, oh nooooo. How terrible. Save me, officers, please."
Riku grabbed Kairi's elbow, tugging both her and Sora onto the Strahl. "Stop flirting and get on the stupid ship," he hissed.
"I wouldn't make a move if I were you," Kairi called to the robots.
Slowly, the hatch closed. Kairi kept up her ruse until the robot guards disappeared behind the sealed metal door. Once the Strahl had safely flown up into the sky, Kairi let Sora go. She batted her eyes at him, and then turned her heel, sashaying deeper into the ship.
"That's one sharp girl," said Locke.
"Shame the boy that she fancies doesn't seem to get the hint," Balthier added.
Sora rounded on the sky pirate. "What do you mean by that?"
Balthier shrugged, walking by Sora without even looking at him. "Dilly-dally any longer and you'll miss your chance. Gentlemen do not hesitate."
"No kidding," Riku and Locke agreed, walking deeper into the Strahl.
All Sora could do was stand there and awkwardly rub the back of his head. That, and let the funny combination of hot embarrassment and the silly but, warm, glow of love flow through his heart and cheeks.
Balthier and Fran weren't one for long goodbyes, it turned out. Once they had landed on the outskirts of Twilight Town, the pair of them had simply waved at their coconspirators, and then walked back to the ship.
"Thanks for everything," Sora said. "See you around?"
"Of course," said Balthier. "The leading man always comes back at the end of the show."
"I'd say you're more of a supporting role," said Fran.
Balthier rolled his eyes. "Fran. Please."
The two sky pirates entered their ship and were off, vanishing into the sky. Sora took a deep breath of fresh, summer air, smelling the forest around him. Terra marveled at the trees and orange rays of the setting sun.
"It's been so long since I've seen nature with my own eyes," she said.
"Oh yeah, because you were turned into magicite," Sora said. He turned to Locke. "Been meaning to ask, how did you change Terra back?"
Locke shrugged. "While exploring the various planets, Terra's magicite would react every once in a while. I just kept sailing in the direction that lead to more reactions. Eventually, I found an orb of powerful light. The magicite was drawn into it, and before I knew it, Terra was back to normal."
"So now that you two are free, what do you plan to do?"
Locke stretched. "Besides relax? Well, I have a feeling more crazy stuff is going to happen, so we'll stick around in this town, at least until you need some backup."
"Our world's long gone," said Terra. "Who knows what we'll do now."
"I'm sure you'll find your place," said Riku.
"Wonder if there's any treasure to find in this world," Locke mused.
"I wouldn't count on it," Riku said. "It's pretty cozy here. Doesn't seem like there are too many wonders or mysteries."
Locke gave Riku a smug look. "That sounds like a challenge. There is no such thing as a town without treasure."
"If you say so. As for us," Riku nodded to Kairi and Sora, "we'd better get to Master Yen Sid."
Locke and Terra thanked Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Before he left, Locke reached into one of his many pockets and gave Sora a bottle. Inside the sealed flask, galaxy colored liquid swirled. Every once in a while, it looked as though there were shooting stars moving in the sparkling liquid.
"Mega-elixir," said Locke. "Found it on one of my treasure hunts. Take it with you. You'll need it."
After taking a break to shop, resupply, and get a snack from Tiana's restaurant (boudin sausage fritters with aioli), the party walked to the station. Yen Sid's train was already waiting for them when they arrived. When Sora, Riku, and Kairi walked out onto Yen Sid's floating island, they were surprised to hear a few familiar voices from further up the trail. One of them was a voice that belonged to neither Yen Sid's tower, nor a member of Twilight Town.
"I'll pay fifty percent of the price, and that's my final offer!"
Kairi wrinkled her nose. "Is that Mr. McDuck?"
"Full price!" A girlish voice argued.
Now it was Riku's turn to made a face. "Eiko?"
"Forty!"
"You just went down! I'm running a business here, not a charity!"
At the base of Yen Sid's tower, Scrooge McDuck and Eiko were glaring hard at each other. Neither of them blinked, as though doing so would somehow make one or the other accept their terms. Floating right next to the island, a little ways beyond Scrooge, was his gummi ship. Launchpad and Darkwing Duck leaned against the vessel, munching on popcorn while they watched the argument between the old duck and the little girl.
"Lass," Scrooge tapped his flipper, "this is your last change. Thirty percent for all of Tantalus services, and I'll offer you free passage to Hollow Bastion."
Eiko growled. "What kind of offer is that? You're the one that needs us to go to Hollow Bastion and help you with deliveries. So you should pay our full fee!"
By the gummi ship, Darkwing chuckled. "She's got spunk. I like her. Reminds me of my daughter."
"Hey, DW," Launchpad said between mouthfuls of popcorn, "you think Gosalyn and that Eiko girl might get along?"
"Full price or nothing!" Eiko stomped her feet. "Or find yourself another delivery company!"
"Eiko, I can hear you through the walls. What's going on?"
Zidane and Vivi walked out of the tower, coming to stand by their friend. While Zidane tried to calm down Eiko, Vivi noticed Sora, Riku, and Kairi watching in the distance. He left his group of friends so that he could greet the trio.
"You're okay," Vivi said to Kairi. "When you went flying up into the sky, Max was really worried. We looked all over the town for you."
Kairi smiled at Vivi. "Thanks for worrying about me. Where are Oswald and Ortensia?"
Vivi pointed to Yen Sid's tower. "After we couldn't find you, we brought them here. They're resting upstairs."
Kairi bit her lip. "Oswald is still unconscious?"
"The master said he's used too much magic over time. He'll be fine. He just needs rest. So, um, don't worry."
Kairi pressed her knuckles to her cheeks. "Sora, hold me back. Otherwise I'm going to hug him until he pops!"
While Kairi suffered from cuteness overload, Sora asked Vivi about Eiko and Scrooge's argument.
"Mr. McDuck got here a little while ago. He and Eiko started talking about business, and they've been fighting ever since."
"WHO PAYS TEN PERCENT OF A REGULAR DELIVERY FEE? STOP TRYING TO RIP US OFF, YOU OLD GEEZER!"
Riku broke off from his friends, running across the lawn to help Zidane wrangle Eiko. The little girl was kicking and screaming. Zidane had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Judging by the sweat coating Zidane's forehead, Eiko was about to break free and throttle Scrooge, who, for his part, didn't seem the least bit bothered by the little girl's tantrum.
"Easy, Eiko." Riku slowly approached the girl. He held up his hands as though he were trying to calm down a rampaging horse. "Is this really how a lady behaves?"
Eiko stopped struggling so that she could glare at Riku instead. Zidane let out a breathe of relief. By this time, Sora, Vivi, and Kairi had made it to the base of the tower. Kairi reached down and tapped Scrooge's shoulder.
"Mr. McDuck, I don't think you're being fair. Wouldn't you want someone to pay your services in full as well?"
"All right, lass. I'll pay the full price." Scrooge sighed. "So much for trying to save a little munny."
Eiko swung her legs so violently that she almost kicked Riku in the gut. "What? You'll listen to her but not me? You jerk!"
Scrooge laughed. "You have spirit, little lass. I've no doubt you'll be a real business tycoon when you're older."
Scrooge's rare compliment seemed to knock the wind out of Eiko's sails. She was still unhappy, as evidenced by her crossed arms and the "hmph" sound coming out from between her pursed lips. She stopped struggling, allowing Zidane to finally put her down. While Riku and Zidane both tried to placate the still fuming Eiko, Sora asked Scrooge why he was at Master Yen Sid's tower.
"Launchpad and I were getting ready to take some supplies to Professor Von Drake in Hollow Bastion when Majesty Minnie asked us to deliver a letter for her." Scrooge dug into his robe. "Here you are lad."
Sora took the letter from Scrooge, but he didn't open it right away.
"Wait. If you're hiring Tantalus Delivery to help you take the supplies to Hollow Bastion..." Sora glanced at Zidane. "So, you know about other worlds too?"
Zidane clicked his teeth. "I've known for a while. Geez, Sora. Give me some credit. You think I wasn't able to put the clues together when Master Yen Sid's mysterious messages appeared in our delivery mail box? Or when Ms. Tiana appeared in Twilight Town? Or when you and your team suddenly appeared out of nowhere?"
"We know everyone there is to know in Twilight Town," Eiko added. "Plus, once Kairi flew off into space, it wasn't that much of a stretch."
"And Merlin comes and goes all the time," Vivi said. "He has to go somewhere."
Sora bent forward, letting his hands danger in front of his knees for a moment. "And Donald still gives me a hard time to breaking the world order." Straightening, Sora popped the wax seal on Queen Minnie's letter. He read the short message inside. His face went pale, hands flopping to his sides.
"What does it say?" Kairi asked.
"Belle is missing," Sora said.
"What?" Riku stepped away from Eiko, stomping up to Sora. "Are you sure?"
"That's what the letter says," Sora replied, waving the paper.
Kairi rubbed her arms. "This isn't good."
She and Sora rushed into the Yen Sid's tower. Riku hesitated for a moment before he followed.
"Got things handled here?" Riku asked Zidane.
The blond boy shrugged. "Don't worry. Eiko always gets like this when people try to haggle. We'll get paid for our work and then we'll be out of here. Go do your thing."
"Master Yen Sid! We have important news for y-"
"SORA!"
Donald and Goofy tackled the boy, knocking him off balance and making him fall hard on his behind. In between hugs, words of relief, and friendly affection, Sora struggled.
"Guys! I'm glad to see you too but we have big news and-"
It was no use. Sora couldn't resist the excitement of returning to his friends. Before long, he too was shaking hands, thumping shoulders, and hugging his two best buddies. Kairi and Riku walked in, smiling as they strode by the bundle of happy friends on the floor. Then, they too had to brace for impact. Mickey ran forward and leapt up into Riku's arms. At the same time, Max collided with Kairi. He hugged her for one second before stepping back.
Max glared. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? That's the second time you disappeared on me."
Kairi gave him an apologetic smile. "At least it wasn't on purpose this time."
While Kairi and Max laughed away the awkwardness of their reunion, Riku gently lowered Mickey back to the ground.
"What's wrong, pal? Did something happen?"
Riku rubbed his temple. "It's only been two seconds and you already know something's up with me?" He chuckled. "I'm fine. A lot of stuff happened. We have some big things to report. "
"Then perhaps it would be best to begin this meeting."
Master Yen Sid's sagely voice broke the happy spell of reuniting friends. Everyone lined up before the master's desk, awaiting his next words with the steadfast attention of a well trained army.
"I am grateful that you are all safe and sound," the master began. "And Kairi, thank you for returning my apprentices to me."
Kairi blushed. "Can I see Oswald and Ortensia?"
Yen Sid glanced at the door on the right side of the room. "Let them rest for now. To be in the realm of darkness for as long as they have, and to come out unscathed, is nearly unfathomable. The'll need time to recover."
Kairi nodded solemnly and stepped back into line.
King Mickey took over the meeting next. He told Master Yen Sid about the chaos that Professor Von Drake had predicted and Santa's warning about the light. Then he explained how Sora and Riku had blasted off into space. Mickey waved at the two friends, signaling for them to take over.
Sora, Riku, and Kairi turned toward each other.
"This is hard to explain," Sora began, "but I think we were summoned by someone."
The three friends reported how they had found the orange, blue, and green star charms, the same ones that were depicted in the book that Merlin was deciphering. They explained how each of the charms had glowed, and whisked away their holders, depositing them to a world in ruins.
"We fought some heartless there," Sora said.
"Tough ones," Riku added.
"They were neoshadows, but they were incredibly fast." Kairi bit her lip. "And they had red eyes."
Though Master Yen Sid's face remained impassive, an observant person would have noticed the slight widening of his eyes. He said nothing, letting the keyblade master continue his report.
"After we beat the red eyed heartless, that's when she came. A woman in a suit of armor."
Everyone in the room stiffened as Sora described Aqua's fighting skill, and her warning about the true nature of the red eyed heartless.
"She said her name was Aqua. She also wore the same symbol that was on the book that Merlin was deciphering. The one only Kairi can touch. Do you know who she is?"
"I do," said a new voice.
Master Yen Sid rose from his chair. Oswald stood in front of the door on the right side the room. He hobbled forward, barely able to put one step in front of the other. Then his knees buckled and he fell on his behind. Before Kairi could move, King Mickey darted across the room. He pulled Oswald's arm across his shoulders, helping the rabbit stand.
Oswald blinked at Mickey.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Mickey."
Oswald's eyes widened. "The king? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm one of the keyblade masters. Plus, we share a master, don't you know?"
Oswald narrowed his eyes. "I see."
He looked around the room, but didn't glance at Master Yen Sid. Instead, he focused on Sora.
"Is that him?" He asked Kairi.
"Yup."
"I thought he'd be taller."
"I have ears, you know." Sora's grumpy statement was undermined by the chuckle in his voice. "What have you been saying about me?"
Kairi wiggled her fingers. "All of your hidden secrets."
Sora pretended to gasp. "Oh no. You've spoiled the mystery. Whatever shall I do?"
Oswald smiled. "Yup, that's definitely Sora."
"Anyway," Riku interrupted before his two best friends could turn the conversation into a quipping war. "Back to the topic. You know Aqua?"
Oswald nodded, his smile fading as a grave expression took over. "The woman in the armor? Yes. I ran into her only once, in the realm of darkness. She had been there long time, longer then me. What was strange was that she didn't want to leave the realm of darkness."
"Was she looking for someone too?" Kairi asked.
Oswald's nose twitched. "No. She wanted to go deeper. 'All the way down to the bottom of the abyss,' she said."
"Why?" Mickey and Sora asked.
"I don't know. But.-
Oswald looked at King Mickey, eyes full of uncertainty.
"You said you're one of the keyblade masters."
Mickey nodded.
"Do you have the keyblade from the realm of darkness?"
Mickey's brows furrowed. "Yes."
"Do you know why your keyblade was there?"
"There have always been only two keyblades. One from the realm of light, the other from the realm of darkness."
"I thought that once too, but we were wrong," Oswald said. "Both keys come from Kingdom Hearts. The reason you found your keyblade in the realm of darkness is because that's where Aqua lost it."
An atmosphere of fear settled over everyone. For the first time since he had entered the room, Oswald looked at Master Yen Sid. The great wizard's face was grave, but he kept his voice even as he spoke. "What are you saying, Oswald?"
"Aqua is the last, surviving keyblade master. From ten thousand years ago."
There was a stunned silence for several seconds, followed by the exchanging of confused, questioning looks which was quickly replaced by the loud thunder of several voices talking at once. It stopped when Master Yen Sid held up a hand, silencing everyone in the room.
"We've had quite a few shocking revelations. It you please, would you leave the tower for now? A moment's privacy would give me better insight as to our future course of action."
"Right," Mickey said, "everyone, if you would?"
"Mickey, that includes you too."
The king gave a his master a wide eyed stare for a moment. Though surprised by the request, he didn't hesitate. Carefully, he stepped away from Oswald. When the rabbit was steady, Mickey herded everyone else out of the room. Then, only Master Yen Sid and Oswald remained.
Master Yen Sid moved away from his desk. With his hands behind his back, he loomed over Oswald. The rabbit's ears flopped behind his head. He looked down at the ground, his fists shaking at his side.
"Master...I..I'm-"
A soft hand patted Oswald's head. The rabbit froze, waiting for a lecture, anger, shame, or guilt. Yet, Master Yen Sid's words were full of kindness.
"I am relieved beyond words that you are alive, that you and Ortensia have returned to me."
Tears welled up in Oswald's eyes. He wrapped his arms around Master Yen Sid's legs, sobbing into the wizard's robes. "You were right. We never should have followed Marluxia. So many people were lost, and Ortensia was swallowed by the darkness and I-"
"Be not ashamed, Oswald. You did what you felt was right. I should have been more honest about the nature of the world, and the importance of the realm of darkness. I feared giving you and Ortensia too much knowledge would lead you down an errant path. I was wrong for not informing you of the dangers."
Oswald leaned back, sniffling. "I should have listened. Because of me, Ortensia suffered for...I don't know how long."
Master Yen Sid shook his head. "No need to apologize. It is all behind us now. What matters is that you and Ortensia are home and safe."
Oswald nodded, stepping back so that he could wipe his eyes.
"Now then, I'm sure you have questions about the last fifty years."
Oswald swallowed. "Fifty years. Has it really been that long?"
"Yes. Let me tell you the state of things.
The news about Aqua hadn't just put everyone on edge; it had opened up a whole new list of questions that no one really had an answer for. The team had gathered in a circle below Yen Sid's tower. Everyone took turns voicing their concerns. The nervous talk was more about easing anxieties then it was about planning or finding solutions. Riku listened to everyone's worries, unconsciously picking up on their emotions by feeling the fluctuating waves of light and darkness around him. One of the waves surprised him.
By the time Riku had turned toward Mickey, the little king had separated from the rest of the group. He went to the edge of the floating island, and sat down, dangling his feet over the cliff. Riku left the group so that he could follow his friend. Normally, Mickey had an energetic, kind, and brave light. When he had moved away, Riku had felt a small flare up of darkness. And that worried him.
He stood behind King Mickey. "Are you upset that Master Yen Sid dismissed you?"
Mickey sighed. "No. I was hoping to make a better first impression."
"On Oswald?"
"Yup." Mickey leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "When I first came to Master Yen Sid for training, he turned me away. I had to keep coming back, again and again, to try and prove myself, to show him I could learn."
"What made Master Yen Sid change his mind?"
"I stole his hat."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "Is this another thing that landed you on Santa's naughty list?"
"It might have been one of them," Mickey admitted, chuckling sheepishly.
"So what happened next?"
"Well, I didn't really steal the master's hat. He just left it lying around, and I couldn't help but try it on. And after that, well, let's just say it got really flooded around here." Mickey leaned back, swinging his legs. "After the mess I made, Master Yen Sid was so angry. I thought for sure that he wouldn't let me train under him, but he gave me a bucket and mop. After I was done cleaning up, he told me that there are no shortcuts to magic. He said that if I really wanted to learn, then I had to show him how responsible I could be. He didn't want me to make the same mistake as his last apprentice."
"Did Master Yen Sid ever talk about Oswald?"
Mickey shrugged. "No. He only spoke about him once, when he agreed to make me his apprentice. Sometimes, I would ask him to tell me more about about his older apprentices. He always seemed sad when I asked. He would change the subject. I got the feeling that he really cared about Oswald. Maybe what Oswald did was reckless, but I can understand it. I know we can't destroy the darkness, but I think we're in the same situation now."
"Only it's reversed." Riku ran a hand through his bangs, pushing his hair back away from his face. "Now, we have to remove the excess light." He sat down on the ledge next to Mickey. "I'm going to ask Master Yen Sid if I can go back to Hollow Bastion."
"Why?"
"Well, besides getting the gummi ship back, I want to talk to Luna. If we're going up against Aqua, I need to find a way to overcome the darkness she emits. Every time I face her, she pins me down. So, I need to connect with the light inside me, learn how to channel it."
"I'm sure you can do it," said Mickey.
"Thanks."
"Do you think Luna can teach me about the light too?"
Mickey and Riku turned around. Kairi, Max, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had come over.
Kairi fidgeted with her fingers. "I've done a few holy spells, but almost always on accident, and I can never do it alone. I also don't know how to use light magic the way Queen Minnie does. I want to get stronger too. Plus, I'd like to see how the reconstruction is going."
"And where Kairi goes, I go," Max said.
Mickey stood. "Actually, Max, I'd like to ask a favor."
The young knight stood to attention. "Sir?"
"I want to go back to Disney Castle, to check in with Minnie. Will you come with me?"
"Yes, Majesty."
"What about us?" Donald and Goofy asked.
"Master Yen Sid might have a mission for Sora. So I need you two to stick by him."
"Gee, Your Majesty, we'd do that even if you didn't ask us to," Goofy said.
"I'd be worried if I didn't," Donald grumbled.
"Aw! You guys!"
Sora pulled Donald and Goofy into a hug. While the old dog happily chuckled, Donald struggled for a bit before sighing and letting the hug happen. Riku smiled. By the way Donald's light had brightened, it was clear that he was enjoying the affection much more then he was letting on.
Distant footsteps met Riku's ears, and then he felt the glow of a curious, stubborn, yet loyal light. Oswald stopped behind the group and cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. Once everyone's eyes were on him, the rabbit's shoulders rose. He scratched the back of his head.
"H-hi. Sorry to interrupt. My name is Oswald. I used to be Master Yen Sid's apprentice." He smacked his forehead. "But you already knew that."
While the rabbit covered his face and groaned over his social blunder, Kairi went up to him and put a hand on his head. After realizing who was standing next to him, Oswald straightened his back and faced the group.
"Master Yen Sid told me about how you all stopped Marluxia for good. So, um, thank you. A-and it's nice to meet all of you." Oswald bowed his head. "I hope I can join your team."
Riku bent down, and gave Mickey a little push. The king stumbled forward. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the party. Sora, Max, Donald, and Goofy gave him a thumbs up.
Mickey took a deep breath. Facing Oswald, he extended his hand.
"So much of what we accomplished never would have happened if you hadn't helped Kairi in the realm of darkness. She never would have destroyed the heartless machine, she wouldn't have fought Marluxia alongside us, we wouldn't have saved Sora. So, in a way, you played a part in keeping the realm of light safe. I'd say that you're already part of this team."
The little rabbit's ears shot straight up. Slowly, he grasped Mickey's hand, shaking it.
"So, you were the apprentice after me?"
"Yep."
"Did Master Yen Sid make you carry bucketfuls of water up the tower too?"
"Everyday. No matter how strong I got or how many spells I learned."
"That's the master for you. No matter what, we'd always have to do chores."
The two apprentices looked at each other and spoke in a low voice. "There are no short cuts when learning magic."
Mickey and Oswald laughed.
Now that the awkward spell was broken, Sora bounded forward so fast that Oswald and Mickey had to jump back a step.
"Is it true that you're a master mage?" he asked.
"I've learned everything Master Yen Sid has to teach," Oswald replied.
"Hey Donald, you and Oswald should have a match. Your magic against his."
Donald stomped his foot. "Why would I do that?"
"I think it would be cool."
"Why don't you just challenge me yourself?" Oswald crossed his arms, confidence radiating in his aura. "I think I could give you a run for your munny."
"That's a great idea. I'll back you up," said Kairi. "In fact, let's make it three on three. Me, Oswald, and Max versus Sora, Donald, and Goofy. We'll wipe the floor with you."
"Now I don't think that's such a good idea."
Goofy's kind words were drowned out as Sora and Donald yelled, "You're on!"
Max sighed. "Here we go again. They're so competitive."
Riku chuckled. "What, and you're not? You know, I've been meaning to test my skills against a dual wielder."
"Name the time and place, dark boy."
"I rest my case."
After a round of harmless trash talk, and a few promises to meet at sunrise to settle their "differences," the group returned to Master Yen Sid's room. When the meeting started, Sora came forward and handed Master Yen Sid the letter that Queen Minnie had written. The master's face darkened when he read the news.
"Kairi," he began.
The girl stood straight.
"I am well aware that you can defend yourself, but two princesses of heart have already gone missing. It would be wise to add another person to your team."
Oswald's light shined. He stepped closer to Kairi.
"Are you certain that's what you want?" the master asked. "You have not completely recovered yet."
"I can't stay in bed with so much going on. I want to help." Oswald looked at the floor. "So, would you take care of Ortensia until I come back?"
The master nodded. "Very well. As for everyone else, I assume you also have requests."
After hearing everyone's queries, master agreed to let the team return to Hollow Bastion. However, he asked that Riku and Kairi not dawdle too long with Lunafreya, and to search for and protect the princesses of heart, once their training was complete. He also requested that Max and Mickey investigate Belle's disappearance when they go to Disney Castle. When it came to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, the master held up his hand. There was a small puff of air, and then there was a gummi piece floating above the master's palm.
"Have Cid instal this on your ship. After you've regained mobility, fly to the coordinates on this Navi-G piece."
Goofy reached forward, taking the gummi block and putting it into his pocket. "Where does this gummi piece lead, Master?"
"While everyone has been gone, Merlin and I have been tracking the influxes of light. There is no distinct pattern. However, as the light increases, a world attaches itself to another. So far, nothing has crashed into Twilight Town, yet there is a world close by. I ask that you three," he waved a hand at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, "go and investigate."
"Yes sir," said the trio.
Master Yen Sid stood. "All of you must gird yourselves. As we've seen, the increase in light has caused chaos and allowed more potent darkness to escape into our world. Too much light can be just as tempting as darkness. Do not let your guard down in its presence."
A chorus of determined voices chanted, "Right."
"Good." Master Yen Sid raised his hands. The sparkling warmth of magic radiated from his palms. "Safe travels, my friends."
The magic enveloped everyone in the room. There was a flash. When it faded, Master Yen Sid was alone once more.
Chapter 56: KH3 Chapter 25: Light Lessons 2
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
A/N:
So I've been super busy, and the writer's block is real (and I've been distracted by ROTTMNT, which is SO good, please watch it! I want a season 3!). So, sorry for the long wait. I'm trying my best to get the next few chapters up ASAP and out before fall, when I get busy again. Don't know how quickly I will update, but here's hoping it's soon.
Chapter Twenty Five: Light Lessons 2
"Belle was right here."
Mickey saw Guilia point to a crate in the castle's throne room. All around him, refugees were resting, reading, or sleeping. Even though the room was lit by a few candles, Mickey could see the unease shining in Guilia's eyes.
"And then, she just-"
"I got this."
Alberto stepped forward. Rolling her eyes, Guilia hung back, letting the boy take Mickey's attention.
Alberto intertwined his fingers, cracking his knuckles. "I'm pretty much an expert at telling stories." He squatted on his haunches, dramatically spread his arms, and lowered his voice. "It was a regular evening in the throne room. Belle was reading the most interesting part of the story. The two brothers had finally met on the battlefield, their hearts ready to clash and forge a sacred weapon. Luca, Guilia, and I were on the edge of our seats. Then-"
Luca stepped forward, interrupting Alberto's tale. "Then there was a flash of light."
"So bright," Albero continued without missing a beat, "that no one in the entire throne could could see anything." Alberto's gusto faded. His eyes lowered to the floor. "But when the light faded..."
"Belle was gone," Guilia finished.
Next to her, Alberto and Luca exchanged a sad glance.
"She wouldn't just leave us." Alberto glanced at the King. "Would she?"
Luca placed a hand on Alberto's shoulder. "She wouldn't." He gave Mickey a hopeful look. "She's going to be okay, right?"
The king gave each of the children his most winning smile. "Of course. Thank you for the information. Every little bit helps."
The three kids bowed to Mickey, even when the king waved his hands and asked them not to. After a few more assurances, Mickey made his way out of the throne room. He tried not to dwell on how crowded the castle had become. Even though so many Disney Town citizens had offered space to house all the displaced people, it wasn't like they had infinite room. Minnie and Daisy worked around the clock to make sure the citizens and refugees had food, water, and a safe place to sleep. Yet, even with Beast's help, Mickey knew they would reach the end of their capacity soon.
The lack of resources weren't the only problem. As he walked through the room, Mickey saw hidden grimaces on the refugees' faces. He knew how they felt. The more time he spent on his journey, far from Minnie, the more he hoped that his longing for home didn't invite darkness into his heart. When he reached the colonnade, he leaned against the wall, sighed, and ran his hands over his muzzle.
"That bad, huh?"
Max appeared on Mickey's left.
"Yes. All we know is that Belle vanished after a flash of light. Luca, Alberto, and Guilia are really upset. Gosh. I hope we find her soon."
"I went to Beast's castle as you ordered." Max winced. "Beast wouldn't even come out of his room. Couldn't get a word out of him. The servants are still taking care of the refugees, and, though he didn't say it, I don't think Beast will stop letting us use his castle."
"Poor Beast," Mickey's shoulders slumped. "To lose someone he loves so much, just like that. Again."
Mickey turned his head, glancing at the library door. Minnie was inside, working late into the night. She would never admit it, but Mickey knew that she was working hard just so that he would have the freedom to go on his adventure.
"I'll go to talk to Beast. While you're here, give Minnie a hand? She won't listen if I tell her to rest, but we can at least help her work."
Max saluted. "Sure thing, Majesty."
"Thanks pal."
Max and Mickey parted ways. As he walked into Disney Town's main square, Mickey rehearsed what he was going to say to Beast.
Distant steps reached his ears.
Mickey paused. The crickets were chirping. The wind rustled the banners on the square.
Wind?
But his fur was still.
Mickey searched the roofs. The moonlight shined on a silver windmill above. The windmill was not spinning. Magic sizzled in the air. Mickey lunged, flipping backward as a hot ball of fire sailed his way. The fireball hit a lamppost behind him. Landing back on his feet, he summoned his keyblade and searched the dark shadows of the square.
"My," said a husky voice, "how vigilant you are."
Mickey looked at the gazebo. A woman sat on the railing. Her red and black hands were folded neatly in her lap, her legs were crossed, and her yellow, piercing gaze was locked on Mickey.
"You must be Aqua."
Her smile showed too many teeth. "So nice to meet the king that inherited my keyblade. Tell me. That boy, Riku, was he the one the other keyblade choose first?"
Mickey did not lower his weapon. "Why do you want to know?"
Aqua tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "All this light, and all the darkness that follows it. Let me ask you, what do think will happen to all the worlds if conditions worsen?"
Mickey glared. "I don't like guessing games. If you know something, then say it."
"And spoil the mystery?"
"Why are you here?"
"Perhaps I'm simply curious about the new keyblade masters." Her smile vanished. "Or perhaps I'm here to take something from you."
In a blink, Aqua appeared before Mickey. An ice spell swirled in her hand. A spear of frozen water rushed toward Mickey's forehead. Slicing through the blizzard spell, Mickey retaliated with triple fire spells. Aqua cartwheeled, easily dodging Mickey's magic.
As she dashed about, Mickey watched her movements, catching a pattern. Just as Aqua rolled away from another spell, Mickey flashed to her side, and slashed at her legs. He hit nothing but air. Aqua had jumped over the keyblade, landing on the gazebo roof. Mickey prepared to leap after her. She tsked at him.
"Is that how you treat guests in your kingdom, Majesty?" Aqua leaned her head back, looking up.
Mickey peered upward. There were more dark patches in the night sky.
She tapped her jaw. "Perhaps it's too soon."
"Enough mind games. Why are you here? What do you want?"
"Nothing from you. At least, not yet. But there is a boy out there that can use the darkness without letting it take him over. Maybe it's time I give him a visit."
Mickey felt a rush of fury in his heart. "Is that a threat?"
"More of a promise."
Leaping into the air, he spiraled like a drill, charging toward Aqua. His keyblade hit a wall of darkness. The force of his attack, as it clashed with the dark energy, almost sent him flying backward. Focusing, Mickey funneled more power into his keyblade. He smashed through the dark wall.
Yet he still did not hit Aqua. His attack was stopped by a reflect spell. He smashed his keyblade against the magical glass. Even though the reflect spell cracked, Aqua simply glanced at Mickey through the glass. She calmly wagged her finger.
"Careful, noble king. Anger is but one road that invites the darkness."
The reflect spell shattered. Yet, rather then vanish, the magical glass blasted outward. Mickey jumped back, bringing up his keyblade to protect himself from the sharp glass. Landing in the square below, he braced himself, searching for his enemy.
He was alone.
Aqua had vanished into the night.
And Riku was in danger.
Riku hissed as pain burned up his arm and left side. He finally skid to a stop on the floor. Taking in long, steady breaths, half to try and clear his head, and half to deal with the burns on his left side, Riku was finally able to sit up. With his mind still reeling from the sudden attack, Riku barely sensed a gentle light approaching him. A moment later, all his pain fluttered away as Luna touched his forehead and channeled healing magic into his body.
"Thanks." Riku stood.
"That was the worst one yet. Perhaps its time for a break."
Riku considered Luna's words. He had been tying to focus on positive energy in order to summon light, using the steps that Luna had given him. The first few times, he had summoned nothing. Just now, on his most recent try, Riku had casted a hot ball of fire that had exploded, point black, right in front of his face. He smiled ruefully. At least he had conjured something that time.
Across from him, in the courtyard in front of Merlin's house, Kairi stomped her feet and whined at Oswald. The rabbit ignored her, creating one light sphere after another. Like a conductor, he used his wand to juggle the shiny spheres in the air.
"Geez, this is tricky." Riku sighed. "How come Oswald got it with just a few tries?"
Luna turned toward the rabbit. "He's completely in the moment. You should see his face: so happy to just be spending time with Kairi."
"So it's all about being present?"
"In a way."
Luna held her trident horizontally before her. Riku felt the weapon glow warm with light. It hovered over Luna's palms.
"Conjuring light is different for everyone. All people have a different hook to draw out their inner light, like a goal, or an emotion. There are no real spells for light. One must trust that it is in them and let it flow freely. For Oswald, the hook is joy."
"Joy huh?" Riku raised his soul eater. "Let me try again. But, just in case, can you take a few steps back?"
With a chuckle, Luna moved away. When she was far enough, Riku tried to clear his mind. Everything around him suddenly became louder. Kairi's angry grumbling, the scent of lumber and concrete, the heat from the sun, the scratch of his clothes on his skin, the light and darkness around him.
"Focus," Riku whispered.
Kairi growled as she accidentally cast yet another healing spell. Oswald laughed, and she chased him around, demanding to know his secret. Riku couldn't help but smile at her frustration. He winced. He was getting distracted again.
Joy.
Joy.
He tried to think about all the times when his friends made him laugh, cry, were depending on him to keep them safe and out of danger, would one day not need-
Darkness sparked out of Riku's hand, coursing down into his arm. He stumbled backward, waving his arm, feeling as though nails had been hammered through his bones. A moment later, the pain lifted as Luna healed him once more. It was only after being healed that Riku closed his mouth, realizing that he had been screaming.
"Come on! Now I'm summoning darkness instead of light?"
A soft hand patted his head. Riku froze. He jumped away from Luna, turning his face so that he could rub the warmth out of his cheeks.
Kairi and Oswald ran up to him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Riku rotated his neck. "Just hurt my pride. Wish this was as easy as using darkness."
Luna stepped in front of Riku. "Channeling darkness is not easy. It is simply that you are used to calling on emotions such as loneliness, despair, or regret. Light, connection, hope, happiness, love. Such emotions are harder to hold on to, especially when there's no one to draw from but yourself."
"Is that why I can never do a holy spell on my own? I get all those feelings from my friends." Kairi laughed. "It's just like Sora says."
"My friends are my power," Riku recited. "But how is he able to summon light on his own?"
Kairi shrugged. "Beats me. I've only done it when I'm desperate."
"Let's try another tactic to clear your mind," Luna suggested.
She instructed Riku, Kairi, and Oswald to close their eyes.
"Don't even think about light, darkness, anything. Just breathe in, hold for a second, and breathe out. Feel the air on your skin."
"When you tell me not to think, I start thinking," Kairi whined.
"It's all right to have thoughts," Luna said. "Just let the them pass, and bring yourself back into the moment."
Oswald raised his hands. "Maybe I can help."
As Riku breathed, he listened to Oswald and Kairi. The two faced each other and sat down. Holding hands, they took long, drawn out breaths. Riku felt energy surging between Oswald and Kairi. Sparks of light erupted from deep within them, and when the two forces met, a small burst of energy popped in Kairi's hands.
"Wow! Did you see that? I just summoned some light."
Oswald let go of Kairi's hand so that he could clap. "Great! How did you do it?"
"No idea. I was just thinking that it's nice to meditate together."
Riku smiled. His mind wondered to all the adventures he'd shared with his friends. Flying in Neverland, stealing the Legacy with Sora, Jim and Kairi, meeting Santa. As the memories flowed, warmth blossomed in Riku's chest. He thought about teasing Sora and Kairi when the three of them had reunited in Disney Castle. He thought about how Sora and Kairi had been making fun of Zidane in Twilight Town. He remembered how Sora and Kairi argued about what to name her powers. So many good times. How many more did he have before his two best friends...
"You almost had it."
Riku opened his eyes, blinking at Luna. "Huh?"
"I felt a flicker of light, trying to break free, but then it was stomped back down by the darkness inside you."
Riku groaned. "What am I doing wrong?"
"Do you remember the last thing you were thinking about?"
"No," he lied.
Luna held her trident close to her chest. She lifted her chin, about to say something but a new voice interrupted her.
"Excuse me."
Aerith walked into the square. She laughed when Luna bowed in greeting.
"No need to be so formal? We're friends by now, aren't we?"
"As oracle, I've always strived to show grace and decency so I'm afraid the formality is second nature. In what way should I act to help you feel more comfortable?"
Aerith shrugged. "I guess it can't be helped if it's your personality. Don't worry. No need to change anything on my account, though I sure hope Kairi isn't this regal when she takes over."
"Wait a minute," Kairi waved her hands, "I haven't decided anything yet."
Aerith turned toward Riku.
"Is she always this easy to tease?"
"Not usually, except when Sora's around. Then I can make the two of them as red as a pair of tomatoes."
Kairi charged at Riku. "That's it! I'm poking you!"
He stepped to the side, avoiding her dreaded finger. Having missed her target, Kairi stumbled. The moment she regained her balance, she was chasing Riku again.
"Get him, Kairi!" Oswald cheered.
While the kids had their fun, Luna and Aerith spoke.
"Need to stop by the castle to check in with Leon and the others. Mind heading to the marketplace and helping out if there are any construction accidents?"
"It would be my pleasure."
Aerith bowed to Luna. She then moved toward Riku. He was so focused on sidestepping Kairi's attacks that he didn't notice Aerith sneak up on him. She lightly pinched his cheek, making him freeze. While he had been still, Kairi capitalized on his surprise and poked him.
"Ouch." Rubbing his arm, Riku frowned at Aerith. "I thought you were on my side."
"I never said that." Aerith released Riku's cheek. "Some advice though. I find that having fun brings out my light. You should give it a try."
Aerith moved down the road that led to the rising falls. Luna dismissed her students for the day as she went to take over Aerith's shift at the construction sight. Even after she had left, Riku and Kairi kept trying to summon light, with few results.
"I thought you'd be blasting light left and right by now," Riku said to Kairi. "Isn't this sort of thing your cup of tea?"
Kairi blew a raspberry at him. "Just because I'm a princess of heart doesn't mean I'm an expert on light. If I knew what I was doing, do you think I would have asked you to release my heart when we were trying to save Sora?"
Riku sighed. "Guess it's back to deep breathing and finding my hook."
"Won't work," said Oswald.
Kairi and Riku faced him. "Why?"
"I think Luna and Aerith are on the wrong track. Neither of you are the thinker types."
"Really?" Riku raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked, I'm the only A student in my friend group."
Kairi shoved Riku's shoulder. "Hey! We can't all be geniuses like you."
"You're just lazy, always goofing off with Sora instead of studying."
"The point is," Oswald boomed, bringing Riku and Kairi's attention back to him, "when it comes to learning new skills, you can focus all you want. The only thing you'll summon is a headache. For you two, it's all about instinct. And the only way to act on instinct, is to fight." Oswald threw his wand up into the air, letting it flip twice before catching it behind his back. "Two versus one. Since you can use darkness, we'll attack Kairi first and see if she can summon any light when backed into a corner."
Riku's lip curled. "Not sure I'm comfortable with that."
"What?" Kairi snapped. "You think I can't take it? I've defeated ghosts, Riku. Actual. Ghosts. Bring it. And don't you even think about holding back."
"Great. First we'll-WHOA!"
Oswald jumped five feet into the air. Riku stepped back, coughing from a sudden, massive, burst of oddly tingly smoke. For a moment, he was surprised that Kairi would sneak attack like that, but then he felt the air around him shift. While Riku wasn't sure if the sudden aura of energetic light and lonely darkness was an attack, he was sure that...someone had just interrupted their practice session before it could even start.
Whoever it was, he wasn't fully solid. The shape was not that dense, like the person's body was made of smoke and magic. He had long, round, thick arms, a wide chest, no neck, and a big chin with a goatee.
"Scanning environment. Target not found."
The big guy let out a frustrated groan. Then something puffed in the air, and Riku had another moment of confusion. Either practicing with light had somehow made his senses go haywire, or the person in front of them had summoned a piece of paper that was magically floating in the air.
"Come on! This is seventh world I've looked in. He wasn't in the Casita, the Land of Dragons, Pride Rock, Kumandra, Arendelle, Seeonee Jungle, or Camelot. Where could he be?"
Riku frowned. He knew that voice. It wasn't until Kairi spoke that Riku realized, with a jolt, just who had appeared before them.
"Genie? What are you doing here?"
The not-so-solid man whirred around, his form changing again. Riku was sure he was now wearing some kind of uniform and hat. He pointed finger-guns at Kairi. She squeaked.
"All right, Agrabah PD. Put 'em up! Who are you? How do ya know me?"
Kairi put up her hands. Genie exploded into dust, disappearing and reappearing, as a much tinier version of himself, on Kairi's shoulder.
"Girl, who does your hair?" Genie pulled a lock of Kairi's hair over his head, wearing it like a make-shift wig. "It's absolutely fire!"
"Thanks." Kairi giggled. "And to answer your questions: I'm Kairi, that's Riku, and this is Oswald. And I know you through our friend Sora."
Genie gasped. He puffed into smoke again, getting bigger, and getting real close to Kairi's face.
"You know Sora? I've been looking everywhere for him! Agrabah is in a state of emergency and we need the keyblader pronto!"
"What's the problem?" Riku asked.
Genie finally gave Kairi some personal space. She let out a breathe of relief. He snapped his fingers and pointed at Riku. "Total chaos. Nothing makes sense! And we just finished fixing up the city too. Jasmine and Aladdin sent me out to get help. So please, tell me where Sora is."
"He's on an important mission for a great wizard, and we don't really know the name of the world he went to."
Genie deflated, slumping so low to the ground that Riku almost thought he was going to melt into a puddle.
"Don't be sad," said Oswald, gasping Genie's hand and trying to raise him up. "Maybe we can help."
Riku swallowed. "Wait, let's talk about this."
"I'm a princess of heart, just like Jasmine, and Riku is Sora's best friend." Kairi clicked her teeth. "We can totally handle anything that Sora could."
Genie shot back up into the air. "Really? You'd help?"
"Absolutely!" "H-hold a minute, Kairi. There's something you should-"
"Fantastic!" Genie cracked his knuckles. "Hang on to your heads, kids. We are outta here!"
"No! Wait!"
The words were barely out of Riku's mouth when he felt the world around him completely change. One minute he was standing in Hollow Bastion, then poof! They were standing in a city made of wood, clay, stone, and dust. Riku braced himself for the heat of the desert, but, rather then feel like he was covered in a thousand blankets, Riku shivered. The air was cold, positively freezing.
Riku slapped his hands on his head and let out a frustrated scream. "Genie, couldn't you have waited two seconds for me to explain why I really don't think it's a good idea for me to be here?"
Oswald leaned up to whisper in Kairi's ear. "Wow, he's really nervous. Did I miss something?"
Kairi crossed her arms. "Riku, what did you do?"
Riku cringed. He tried to come up with a delicate way to explain that he had kidnapped Jasmine while under Maleficent's influence. Lucky for him, a series of explosions deafened the group's ears before Riku could even try to defend himself. The noise came from the further into the city. Once the surprise had worn off, Riku and Kairi faced each other.
"Yeah, I'm just going to go," Riku threw his thumb over his shoulder, "this way."
"Right, and I'll go," Kairi pointed to the palace, "that way. See you around?"
"See you around. Be safe?"
"Yup. You too."
"All right then, chop chop!" Without turning around, Genie reached out and grabbed Riku's arm. "Her highness is waiting."
"Hey! Wait! You got the wrong-"
Too late. Genie flew through the air, leaving Kairi and Oswald behind. All Riku could do was dangle helplessly as they moved toward a massive structure. As he flopped about in the wind, Riku tried his best to think of how he was going to apologize to Jasmine.
Kairi put a hand over her eyes, watching as Genie flew off with Riku.
"Well, that just happened," Oswald drawled. "Should we go after them?"
Kairi crossed her arms. "Let Riku solve his own problems for once." She gestured to the town. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Ozzie, but a desert doesn't usually have snow, does it?"
Oswald poked a nearby white mound. His glove was covered in fresh snow crystals when he pulled his hand back. "Looks like all the extra light is messing with the climate in this world."
"Well, if Riku is checking in with Jasmine, then you and I should go check out those explosions."
The universe must have heard her words, because another explosion rattled the buildings. Kairi and Oswald dashed into the city. Adjusting their course, Oswald and Kairi followed the cloud of brown smoke until they stepped into the city's bazaar.
And that was where they saw their first sign of life. A mound of sand moved down the bazaar's main street. Then, like a volcano erupting from deep within the earth, a chain of red eyed, earth-core heartless burst out of the sand. Connected to end to end, like a chain of spiky, wrecking balls, the serpent of earth-core heartless rose up into the air, curved and then dived back down.
The entire bazaar shook as the heartless drilled back underground. The quakes caused by heartless' burrowing shook the nearby buildings, collapsing the nearby buildings.
A voice called from the sky.
"Get out of there, you two! It's dangerous!"
Looking up, Kairi spotted a flying, blue and cold carpet. A young man peered down at her on top of the fancy rug. Kairi waved.
"Hey, Aladdin! Hi Carpet! Mind helping us destroy that thing?"
Aladdin stared at Kairi.
"How do you know my name?"
"Short version, I'm Sora's friend."
"MOVE!"
Oswald jumped up and kicked Kairi's shoulder with his powerful feet. She fell to the side, shielding her face from the sudden rush of sand. Squirming, black bodies erupted from the ground where she had been standing. The heartless chain curved, heading straight for her.
A hand gripped her arm, and Kairi was then hauled on top of Carpet. Aladdin zoomed around the heartless, pushing Carpet to fly high and low to avoid getting hit. Once he plucked Oswald off the ground, Aladdin and Carpet flew up, high enough that the heartless chain could not follow.
Kairi tried not to feel sick as she looked down at Agrabah. The heartless chain kept drilling into the street. Buildings collapsed into the tunnels it had made underground.
"How long has that thing been here?" Kairi asked Aladdin.
"Appeared this morning. Had to evacuate the people to the palace for their safety."
"If it keeps drilling under the city, then everything will sink into the sand," Oswald said.
"I've been trying to get that thing to chase me out of the city, but it just won't follow."
Aladdin urged Carpet to go downward. They flew around the buildings, under the archways, tailing the mound of sand as it moved through the town. After a few minutes of watching, Kairi realized something.
"It's circling the palace."
"Why would it do that?" Aladdin asked.
"Because Jasmine is in there."
Aladdin peered at Kairi suspiciously.
"I'm a princess of heart too," Kairi explained. "I can lure it away from the city."
Carpet waved one of its corner tassels. Aladdin, Kairi, and Oswald looked in the direction it was pointing. The earth core chain charged at the palace wall. It bounced off a flash of light.
"Jasmine's power," Aladdin said in a proud voice. He glanced at Kairi. "Well, we don't have any better options."
"The only question is how do we fight it if it keeps retreating underground?"
Oswald snapped his fingers. "I got this. What we need is a big, sturdy rock."
Aladdin leaned down, patting the rug under his knees. "What do you say, Carpet? Up for a chase?"
Carpet flapped it's top half, as though it were nodding.
"Perfect," said Oswald. "Get as close to the sand mound as you can."
Kairi quickly discovered that riding Carpet was like being a roller coaster without safety restraints. Her knuckles burned from sinking her nails into Carpet's fabric. Oswald grabbed her waist, his hears flapping behind him as they dived down.
Just before they hit the ground, Aladdin pulled up and the Carpet hovered, about a foot, above the ground. Kairi jumped off. Sparing a moment to rub her stomach, she pointed her sword to the sky and chanted a healing spell.
Instantly, the sand mound moved in her direction. Just a few feet away, the earth-core chain burst out of the ground. It came down on Kairi like a cobra trying to eat a mouse whole. Kairi rolled to the side. The heartless smashed into the nearby building.
"HEY UGLY!" Kairi shouted as the earth-core slithered out of the broken house. "Want this?" Kairi pounded on her chest. "Come and get it!"
Aladdin and Oswald grabbed Kairi's arms and hauled her up onto the magic carpet. The heartless burrowed back underground. The mound chased after Carpet, the heartless burst out from under the sand, like a killer wail trying to snap a seagull out of the sky.
"I hope we can stay two steps ahead of that thing," Oswald screamed.
Aladdin rolled his eyes. "Did you hear that, Carpet? He doesn't think you can keep the heartless on the ropes."
Annoyed, Carpet did a loop de loop. Despite his earlier unease, Oswald put up his hands and whooped.
"Great! Go down near the ground and play 'keep away.' Kairi, keep taunting it."
The girl dangled her legs off Carpet's back end. She blew a raspberry at the heartless.
"Come on, slowpokes!"
Kairi reached being, and grabbed Oswald's hands. The little rabbit's magical energy, joy, and excitement raced up her arm. Though she did not conjure a holy spell, she was able to make a tiny spark of light shine in her palms.
A series of tiny, high pitched roars erupted from all the earth-cores in the chain. They lunged at Carpet with lighting fast strikes. Kairi was sure she felt spit misting in the air as Carpet swerved and flew in an erratic pattern to throw the heartless off.
"Aw, someone's getting angry."
They were farther out into the desert now, no longer able to see Agrabah's palace.
"Head to the desert ruins," Aladdin ordered.
Carpet made a hard left. A mountain of rock rose up in the distance. A the base of the massive, brown rocks, rested a forgotten, broken town.
"That's my stop!" Oswald moved toward the edge of the magic carpet. "Get the heartless to the top of the mountain."
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Oswald leaned back and fell of Carpet. Kairi gasped, leaning over the side of the rug. She spotted Oswald, his ears whirling like the blades of a helicopter, as he slowly descended down to the ground.
"Hang on!" Aladdin warned.
Kairi dove next to Aladdin and held onto Carpet's front end so tightly that her finger joints ached. Like a rocket, they began scaling up the mountain. The rocks burst under them as the heartless smashed into the rock, burrowing inside it.
"Again?" Kairi screamed at the heartless. "Is that all you've got? Come on, show me something I haven't already seen!"
Carpet reached the summit. They flew over the flat, rocky surface. An explosion hit Carpet's underside. A rock punched Carpet's middle, bucking Kairi and Aladdin off. Flailing in the air, they watched as the heartless burst out of the rock below. Carpet righted itself, moving to catch its friends, but it was knocked off course as the earth-cores thrashed their tube like body against it.
If the heartless didn't get Kairi and Aladdin, the mountain would squash them flat, like bugs on a windshield. Kairi readied magic to defend herself, but then she spotted something black, white and blue on the summit below.
Oswald jumped up into the air, a golden sphere of light shining at the tip of his wand. Like a mad doctor sticking a needle into an unwilling patient, Oswald stomped down on the mountain, and sunk his want straight into the rock.
"QUAKE!"
Thunder roared from deep within the mountain. The rocks jerked, shaking the heartless. The earth-core chain whipped about. Oswald pulled his wand out of the earth and jumped off. Chaos ensured as the mountain shattered from within. Rocks went flying everywhere, and the entire length of the earth-core chain was exposed.
Kairi reached out, managing to grab Aladdin's arm in midair.
"Let's carve that thing into pieces."
"Now you're speaking my language!"
"Up here, long, dark, and stupid!"
The heartless stretched into a perfect straight light, turning toward Kairi. Big mistake. Using the speed of their fall, Kairi and Aladdin stuck out their swords, and sliced straight through the heartless chain.
They burst out the other side, momentarily shouting at the top of their lungs. Their screams quickly turned into wails of terror as both the rocks around them, and the ground got closer and closer.
Then, a black, white, blue, and gold blur hit Aladdin and Kairi. Kairi felt Oswald's hand on her back, and her cheek against Carpet's silky surface. Once Aladdin was back in control, Carpet flew through the falling rocks, weaving over, under, and around the brown debris until they were out into open space.
Turning, Kairi watched the mountains, and the heartless, crumble into dust. Carpet slowed, and gently glided down to the desert ruins. Once everyone had dismounted and reoriented themselves, Carpet fell flat against the ground.
Kairi got down on her knees, petting it. "You really pushed yourself, huh? Thanks for catching us."
Carpet lifted one of its tassels, giving Kairi a thumb's up.
"Take it easy for a bit, buddy," Aladdin said. He leaned forward, hands on his knees, gasping. "We could all use a little rest."
Kairi's legs shook. Too much adrenaline would do that to you. There was a clay slab sticking out of the ground. She wobbled over to it and sat down.
"Adventures are always extra crazy with you," Oswald said as he came to sit at her side. He reached into his shorts and pulled out a potion and an ether. He gave the potion to Kairi.
"Bottom's up."
The two friends clinked the glass bottles together before tipping them back and drinking. The potion helped with Kairi's exhaustion. Once she could stand without shaking, she casted a healing spell on Aladdin.
"Thanks." He gave her a once over. "You have guts. Jasmine would like you."
"The name's Kairi, by the way. Sorry, Sora couldn't come. He's on an important mission."
"Always busy, isn't he?" Aladdin sighed. "Well, I'm glad you two are here. We have a lot of problems."
Kairi shivered. Now that the fight was done, she remembered how cold it was. Looking out into the desert, she was surprised to see not just snow, but towers of ice, and wide, frozen trails, jutting out of the ground.
"No kidding. I'm guessing there are more problems then the snow and the heartless?"
Aladdin looked away, a solemn look in his eyes. "Let's fly back to Agrabah. I can explain things on the way."
Even though he had flown before, Riku still felt his stomach turn as Genie plummeted down toward the palace. They must have landed in a garden, because the scent of leaves, herbs, and fresh water met Riku's nose. When his feet touched the ground, he felt mist sprinkling on his nose from the enormous, stone fountain before him.
Riku gulped.
Sitting on the edge of the fountain, was a young woman that radiated light and an unbreakable spirit. Her aura was both soft and prickly, like a flower growing out of a cactus. Genie bounded forward, dragging Riku toward the girl.
"Your Highness, Princess Jasmine." Genie bowed. "I have journeyed from afar to bring you..." Genie swept out his arm, gesturing to Riku. Then, he did a double take. "Hey! You're not Kairi."
Riku grimaced. "Sorry about that?"
A growl. Riku tensed. A tiger prowled toward him. The beast's claws sunk into the ground as it stalked around Riku. He froze, doing his best not to even twitch.
"Easy kitty."
The tiger lowered his head, its powerful shoulder blades rumbling. It was going to pounce.
Riku nearly yelped when a voice called.
"Down, Rajah."
The tiger plopped down onto the ground, no longer aggressive, but its tail did flick in warning. Jasmine had left her place at the fountain. She patted the tiger's head as she came to stand next to him.
"How about we give him a chance to explain before you attack."
The tiger chuffed, and then moved its head toward Riku, waiting.
Genie turned his head, from Jasmine, to Riku, and back again.
"You've met?"
"In a manner of speaking. He was the one that kidnapped me a year ago."
Genie rounded on Riku. "WHAAAAAT?"
For someone that couldn't see faces, Riku was getting pretty good at sensing when people were glaring at him. He got down on his knees.
"Princess Jasmine. I never properly introduced myself. My name is Riku. I'm Sora's friend."
Jasmine's light brightened, burning so hot that Riku felt as though he were kneeling in front of a roaring fire.
"Is that so?"
Riku's fingers curled, nails digging into his palm. He wished he could back in time and slap himself for every stupid thing he did when he agreed to work with Maleficent.
"I never expected to come back here, but now that I have, I'd like to make up for what I did. It was wrong of me to abduct you and take you to Hollow Bastion. I have no excuse. If it wasn't for me, you never would have suffered under Maleficent's cruelty. I'm truly sorry."
For a few seconds, Riku waited for Jasmine to sick Rajah on him. What he hadn't expected was for Genie to snap his fingers and poof! He vanished and reappeared on Jasmine's left. Genie paced, flailing a briefcase around as he moved.
"Your honor, requesting to speak on behalf of my client here."
Jasmine sounded amused. "Very well."
Genie cleared his throat. "Listen, the kid seems real honest to me. I can understand that you have misgivings about trusting him. So don't. Trust me. I'll keep an eye on him."
Genie poofed again, this time losing his briefcase in favor of a ten gallon hat. He blew on his pointer finger, as though he were blowing into the barrel of a gun. He had a thick accent when he spoke.
"I can keep him on the straight n' narrow, partner."
Jasmine stepped in front of Riku. She reached down, grabbed his arms and pulled to his feet.
"There really is no need to bow," she said.
Riku was still too ashamed to lift his face. This would have been so much easier if Kairi or Sora were nearby. Soft fingertips reached under his chin and made him look up. Riku kept his face neutral as Jasmine took a good look at him.
"You're blind."
Riku nodded, shivering, though it wasn't because of his proximity to Jasmine. The garden was freezing. His breath misted with each exhale.
"Is it always this cold at night?" Riku asked, hoping to start some friendly conversation.
Jasmine stepped back. "It's morning, and the sun is directly overhead."
"But it's freezing."
"And this is a desert. Strange, isn't it?"
Riku opened his senses, realizing that there were patches of snow on the lawn grass.
"How long as Agrabah been like this?"
"Three days," Jasmine answered. "And it's not just the cold. The sun hasn't set in all that time."
"Are heartless a problem?"
"Yes, but only in the city. My light has been holding them back from entering the palace. The city has been evacuated and all the people have been taking refuge in the palace."
"That sounds exhausting."
Jasmine crossed her arms. "Normally, it would be."
"But?"
"Over the past few months, I've felt a steady stream of light coming into my world. Because of it, I've had more energy then I know what to do with." Jasmine paused, looking at Genie. "Don't tell Aladdin about this."
Genie pretended to zip his lip.
Sighing, Jasmine faced Riku. "You know, Sora once asked if if there was a way to open the realm of darkness without releasing heartless into the worlds. He was so desperate to find you, and he was very disappointed when I told him the risk was too high."
Riku lips formed into a half smile. "He was really worried, huh?"
"Back then," Jasmine continued, "I knew in my heart that too much darkness was dangerous. But now, I wonder if the opposite is just as true." Jasmine gestured to her surroundings. "All this light was a blessing at first, but lately, I've been having this terrible feeling. As though I may fade away into the light. It's like a haze, drawing me in. Everyday, it gets harder to resist, to not let myself reach for the peace the light offers."
Riku licked his lips and swallowed, trying to get moisture to his dry throat. "That sounds an awful lot like what happens when people are consumed by the darkness."
"YOUR HIGHNESS! THE CITIZENS!" Riku's heart flipped in his chest. In addition to the loud, grainy voice, he had also felt a flash of self-righteous darkness. For a moment, Riku was reminded of Maleficent, but the man that was running toward them didn't have the same level of power or cunning behind his words. He felt more like a bully.
The guard stopped in front of Jasmine, but growled at Riku. "Who are you, boy?"
"Riku. Sora's friend."
The guard sneered. "Another of the street rat's friends."
"Enough Razoul," Jasmine scolded. "Aladdin is not a street rat anymore. Now, what did you want to tell me?"
"The people in the palace, they're-"
One moment Razoul was talking, the next he fell to his knees and collapsed onto the ground. Riku panicked for a second before his sensitive ears picked up the sound of Razoul's steady breathing. Genie popped up on Razoul's chest. Now much smaller, the size of a pigeon, Genie pressed a stethoscope to Razoul's back.
"Well, he's alive, but out like a light. No pun intended." Genie turned into an alarm clock and began blaring out the sound that every office worker hated hearing in the morning. "Wake up, Captain, no sleeping on the job!"
Razoul didn't stir. Rajah roared at Genie, finally getting him to stop that infernal alarm. Riku nudged Razoul with his foot. No reaction, but Riku did feel a tingle of light.
He frowned. Weird. There was no darkness. Getting down on one knee, Riku breathed in deep, and focused all of his senses. The scent of summer reached his nose. It wafted off Razoul like a perfume.
"It's like," Riku searched for the right words, "like he took a bath in light, got overheated, and knocked out."
Jasmine came to stand by Riku's side. "I can feel it too. Light has completely taken him over."
"How is this possible?" Riku wondered. "Wait, wasn't he yelling something about the citizens a second ago?"
Jasmine ran into the palace. Riku, Genie, and Rajah followed her into the throne room. Once there, Riku lost his balance, and fell over on his side. If he had kept on running, he would have stomped all over the people on the ground. All over the throne room, hundreds of bodies were collapsed on the floor, out cold. The scent of flower fields, spring, the tingle of excitement and energy vibrated in the air, and yet everyone was asleep. The last time Riku felt a light this strong, was when he had combined his power with Alice's.
"What's going on? Why are they all asleep?"
Rajah sat down and yawned. Jasmine leaned over and grabbed the tiger's cheeks.
"On no, not you too!"
Rajah pulled himself from her grasp and shook his head. He rubbed Jasmine's leg, as though he were apologizing. Genie zoomed around the room, banging drums and cymbals. The noise did nothing but annoy Jasmine and Riku. Not a single citizen woke up.
"Is this what you meant by fading into the light?" Riku asked Jasmine.
She moved about the throne room, pressing her hand against a child's forehead. "It seems so." She gasped. "Aladdin is the in the city! What if he's collapsed too?"
Genie flexed his arms. "Al's in danger? Don't worry! We're on the case." He winked at Riku. "You in, kid?"
Riku snapped his fingers and pointed at Genie. "You got it." Turning toward Jasmine, he bowed. "We'll go check out the city. You have my word: if we find Aladdin, we'll bring him back."
Jasmine's light blossomed. "Thank you. And Riku, try to behave yourself."
Genie poofed himself and Riku out of the palace. Once outside, Riku rubbed his arms. He might as well investigate the freezing temperature while he was out and about. Genie bounced around in the air beside him, searching every nearby nook and cranny like a hyperactive dog taken out to the dog park for the first time.
"Hey, I know you're worried about Aladdin, but it would be a good idea to be more careful. An empty city is the perfect place for heartless. Let me scout the surroundings."
Riku explained to Genie just how his senses worked. Genie summoned a pencil and notepad. He took notes as though there was going to be a test. When Riku was finished, Genie pointed with his pencil into the city, as if to say, "lead the way."
They moved down the central road leading from the palace and into the bazaar. Riku kept his senses open for Aladdin, and for Kairi and Oswald. When he didn't feel them close by, he hoped they had been swept up by their own misadventures, and not collapsed somewhere.
Riku and Genie entered the city's bazaar. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except for a layer of frost coating the fruit that had been left in some of the stands. The air moved through the abandoned marketplace, whispering some form of warning. Riku felt his skin prickling. For a city where the sun had not set in three days, where there was so much light that it was somehow lulling people to sleep, there was an eerie hollowness in the atmosphere. So when Riku felt a distant jolt of familiar darkness, the whiplash of a new sensation nearly chocked him.
Genie flashed to his side, putting a hand on the boy's back. Riku waved him off, focusing his senses again. He felt the darkness moving. There was an alleyway leading away from the bazaar. Riku ran toward it. In the back of his mind, logic screamed that chasing this darkness was a very bad idea, but this may be his only chance to get the jump on her.
Moving through the alley, Riku put a finger to his lips, asking Genie to be quiet. He looped through the smaller streets of Agrabah's residential districts. The tall buildings and the thin roads made it easy for the cold wind to whistle through the open windows and narrow passageways. It also made it easy for the darkness to flow to Riku. He could sense her, just ahead, standing in an open square.
Riku gestured for Genie to come close. He whispered into Genie's ear. "How small can you make yourself?"
In response, Genie turned into a tiny beetle. He settled on Riku's shoulder. "Small enough for ya?"
Riku nodded. "I'm going to need a surprise attack. We're going up agaisnt someone very dangerous."
"Danger is my middle name, kid," Genie said in a high pitched, and strangely gruff, voice. "I'll follow your lead."
Feeling a little more confident, Riku moved through the alley. Darkness pressed on his chest, putting pressure on his lungs. By the time he reached the end of the alley, Riku was panting. He stepped through the archway and entered into a wide square.
There was no one there. The darkness instantly faded. In its place was rush of light so strong that Riku's pain evaporated. He felt...nice. His worries lifted off him as the light caressed his skin.
"Of course," he whispered. "If too much darkness makes you feel afraid and alone, then too much light makes you relaxed and at peace. No wonder everyone here is falling asleep."
Someone clapped.
"Very good."
Riku summoned his soul eater. Across the square, someone walked out of an open doorway.
"Darkness tethers, light releases. No more fears, no more pain. Only peace. Isn't that wonderful?"
Aqua stepped lightly over the sand. Riku tensed, waiting for her body to exude the darkness that drove him to his knees.
"It sounds too good to be true," Riku countered.
"I expected someone tainted by darkness to think that way."
Riku pointed his soul eater at her. "You don't know me," he hissed.
"Oh but I do. We have much in common."
"If too much light is so wonderful, then why do all the worlds have so many problems?"
"Why indeed."
"What do you know?"
"Oh, I know all there is to know, including where the cold weather is coming from." Riku leaned forward. "And?"
"Ah, ah, ah." Aqua wagged her finger. "That would be too easy. And if you're really the hero you think you are," her shoulders tensed, "then shouldn't you overcome your challenges head on?"
Pressure constricted on Riku's bones. He fought to stay standing, even as every part of his body screamed for him to fall flat, lie still, and wait for the pain to ease. Cold sweat broke out over his skin, his arms felt as though they weighed a thousand tons, but he refused to lower his weapon.
Aqua leisurely strode across the square. She ran her finger along the edge of Riku's blade.
"I see. So you traded your sight for the ability to use darkness. Shame that you are unable to harness more of its power."
Riku's jaw ached, his head felt as though it were about to be smashed inward. A box of darkness surrounding him, slowly closing in, ready to crush him into a cube.
A scream echoed through the alley. Riku yelped as his ears absorbed the sound. Aqua jumped back as a burst of electric energy burst from Riku's body. The boy fell onto his hands and knees, gasping as the pressure released from him. Through the pounding headache, he was barely able to sense what was going on.
Aqua flipped backward, away from a series of magical explosions. Genie flew through the square after her.
"I am a strong, independent Genie, and I refuse to be trapped in an itty-bitty living space ever again! Come on, Blueberry Lady!" Boxing gloves magically appeared on Genie's fists. "Let's dance."
Jiminy's Journal
Genie (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): After his best friend, Aladdin set him free on Sora's first adventure, Genie was able to go from world to world, explore, and use his phenomenal cosmic magic as he saw fit. He is energetic and supportive, gladly volunteering to go search for Sora after Aladdin and Jasmine sent him to go get help once Agrabah was in trouble. He seems to have a soft spot for Riku.
Rajah (First Appeared in Aladdin, 1992): Jasmine's pet tiger. He is ever loyal to the princess, able to pick up on her moods and act accordingly to defend her from others. Before Jasmine had met Aladdin, Rajah was her only friend.
Chapter 57: KH3 Chapter 26: Ice Queen
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
A/N:
Woof...long chapter is long...and once again, it will never be perfect enough, so I have to get it out there before I get in my own head and keep delaying it.
Chapter Twenty Six: Ice Queen
Riku was a total mess. Not only was his body still reeling from the darkness Aqua had assaulted him with, but his brain struggled to keep up with the chaos of what was happening around him. Genie was changing forms so fast that by the time Riku was able to guess his shape, he'd already morphed into something else. Aqua sidestepped and rolled away from a charging Genie-bull, a giant, Genie-hammer, and even a literal Genie-kitchen sink.
Even though she was being pushed back, the heavy darkness she had been exuding didn't ease in its intensity. Though no longer being pinned down, Riku still felt Aqua's power festering in the air. She was toying with them. Genie fired several powerful magic spells, one after another with no indication of slowing down, yet Aqua did not get hit. Through the pounding explosions of magic, and the crackling of spells hitting everything in the surrounding city, Riku was barely able to hear Aqua's exasperated sigh.
Backflipping away from Genie's incoming, ridiculously massive, fist, she retaliated. Several spike-balls of sharp ice surrounded Genie. To avoid getting skewered, Genie looped, shrank, and threw fire spells at each giant ice crystal.
In the time it took for Genie to defend himself, Riku felt something approaching. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that what he was sensing was real and not a pain induced hallucination. It wasn't until he felt Kairi's spunky light that he knew he wasn't going nuts. A carpet dive-bombed down from the sky.
Aqua tilted her head back, watching as reinforcements dove toward her. She yawned, inspecting the back of her nails.
"I don't have the patience for this."
Riku couldn't see Aqua's eyes, but he knew that she had turned her head in his direction. He heard her words, even through the thunderstorm of Genie, Kairi and Oswald's magic. Despite the fire and lightning raining down all around her, Aqua did not move until her words were spoken.
"Prove me wrong. Show me that you are more then the darkness inside your heart. Perhaps then you'll have a chance of stopping me from getting what I came for."
Aqua's presence vanished the same time Kairi and Oswald's feet met the ground. They whirled around, weapons raised, back to back with Genie, searching for their foe. But Aqua was gone. If he weren't so confused from the whiplash of Aqua's attack and trying to make sense what had followed, Riku would have been amazed that what he had just experienced had taken less then a full minute.
His headache never got the chance to heal as Genie came barreling into him. Kicking his legs as he hovered a foot above the floor, Riku sucked in a deep breath when Genie squeezed him.
"You're okay!"
Riku wobbled when he was finally put back down. "Hey, um," he swallowed, "that was, really, uh..." "You're welcome," Genie said.
"You barely even know me," Riku argued.
Genie shrugged. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a bully. Besides," Genie messed up Riku's hair, "I think I'm really taking a shine to ya, kid. I can see how someone like you would be good friends with Sora."
"Aw," came Kairi's voice, "did I miss the bonding?"
Riku stepped around Genie.
"No, you had the perfect timing."
"Al!" Genie waved enthusiastically to the young man making his way across the square. "I see you've met Kairi."
"Yup," Aladdin put his hands on his hips. "Tough girl. Reminds me of Jasmine." He leaned forward to whisper in Genie's ear. "Sora sure knows how to pick them."
"I heard that," Kairi whined.
Riku slapped his hands on his head. "Jasmine!"
Genie, Aladdin, and Kairi tensed. "What?"
"Aqua's here, and Jasmine's in the palace. Alone."
Now it was Kairi and Oswald's turn to slap their hands on their temples. "That's right!"
"I'm guessing that this Aqua is bad news," Aladdin said. He whistled and the magic carpet, which had been hovering overhead, came floating down to rest in middle of the group.
"Let's get back to the palace."
Kairi and Oswald exchanged a glance as they listened to Jasmine explain the situation. People falling asleep because of the light, the sun not setting in days, the cold front taking over the climate. Kairi was reminded of Hollow Bastion, and the chaos that had ensued after Sephiroth had cut it in half. The boys were arguing about how to approach the problem. Kairi tuned out their plans. She rubbed her arms, not because of the cold. Since coming to the palace, she had been feeling a strange sense in her mind, as though something were telling her to relax, to sleep, to...
"You feel it too?"
Jasmine had come to stand at Kairi's side.
"Yeah," Kairi said. "This isn't the first time."
Jasmine tilted her head, questions in her brown eyes.
"When I was trying to save Sora, I had Riku pull out my heart. And then I felt this overwhelming sense of peace. Like I wanted to fade away. I thought it was because I took my heart out of my body, but," Kairi rubbed her forehead, "now I have this tugging feeling."
Jasmine looked up at the sun. "Me too. It's like..."
"Like it's calling us somewhere," Kairi finished.
Dread tingled in Kairi's legs. She thought about the intense light she thought she sensed in the realm of darkness. She pressed a hand to her heart, unconsciously moving closer to Jasmine. All this light, all the darkness that cased it, everything being out of order...it was all...
"Too soon," Kairi whispered.
"What was that?" Jasmine asked.
"It's weird, but I sometimes wonder if the overabundance of light is somehow normal. Like it's supposed to happen."
Jasmine looked up into the sky. "When I pull on the light, to create a barrier around the palace, I feel the same. Then I start to drift away, and I start to doubt."
"How do you draw in the light? How do you use it?"
Jasmine shrugged. "It's like breathing. I simply allow it to happen."
Kairi sighed. "So it's still instinctual. Great. I guess it's back to finding my hook."
"Hook?"
Kairi recited Lunafreya's lessons about the light. Jasmine absentmindedly stroked Rajah while she listened. When Kairi was finished, Jasmine put her hands on her hips.
"I see. My hook was being allowed to finally make my own choices. All my life, I never did a thing on my own. Aladdin was my first friend outside the palace wall." Jasmine's expression became determined. "After I was taken to Hollow Bastion, I vowed that no one would stop me from doing what I wanted to do with my life. I will do what is best for me and my people."
Jasmine looked as though she had more to say, but she was interrupted by Oswald. He stood on the garden fountain, stomping his big, rabbit feet to get everyone's attention. For such a little guy, he had a voice that boomed so loud, it silenced everyone's conversations.
"I vote that Kairi, Aladdin, and I stay in the palace to protect Jasmine while Riku and Genie go out there to investigate the source of the cold front." Oswald pointed his wand to the sky. "I'm no expert on light, but I do know magic. While we were flying back to Agrabah, I noticed that there are ice towers to the east. I'm sure the source of the cold front is in that direction."
Kairi bit her lip. "Aqua is out there, though. I wish we didn't have to split up."
Riku stepped forward. "But if we don't do something, then Agrabah will freeze. I can't let that happen. Besides, Genie has my back, and I know that you and Oswald can protect Jasmine. Unless," he smirked, "you don't think you can do it."
Aladdin crossed his arms. "Was that a sad attempt at a joke?"
Kairi stuck out her tongue. "Please."
Oswald smacked his wand into his palm. "What part of 'master level mage trained by Yen Sid' don't you understand?"
"This princess can also take care of herself, thank you very much," Jasmine added.
Riku cringed. "R-right. Of course, Your Highness."
He turned and motioned for Genie to accompany him back to the city. Jasmine and Kairi shared a secret laugh, both noticing how Riku's shoulders rose. He walked faster into the palace.
Kairi whispered to Jasmine. "I hope you weren't too mean to him."
"Me? No. Rajah, on the other hand."
The tiger yawned as if to say, "and I'd do it again."
"I still have some reservations, but I think Riku's on the road to total forgiveness."
"That's good," Aladdin said. "Because it would have been really awkward to be angry with him now that he and Genie are friends."
To say that an empty desert town was creepy was like saying that the sky was a little dark at night. The hollow buildings loomed over Riku. The cold air that slithered under his clothes. He had to stop himself from asking Genie, yet again, if the sun really was shining overhead. Following Genie to the edge of town, Riku thought hard about how to draw out the light from within himself.
He was determined not to be caught off guard by Aqua again. He tried to be present, to feel Genie's slightly smoky form next to him. He practiced the deep breathing exercises that Lunafreya had taught him, but all that did was make him lightheaded. For a single moment, he almost closed his eyes and let the relaxation take him away.
The sting of darkness reached his nose. Having been in the middle of a long inhale, Riku coughed. Next to him, Genie tensed.
"Is it Blueberry Lady?"
"Not this time." Riku hacked. "I have a feeling that she'll adapt." He summoned his soul eater. "Let's get her head on."
The thing about suddenly switching from lightheaded relaxation to adrenaline was that it took a little time for the brain to think clearly. If Riku hadn't been so focused on ambushing the darkness he felt down the road, he would have also noticed the strong-willed light that accompanied that darkness.
Too bad that there was no room for rational thought as Riku and Genie charged at the lone figure. That was, until Riku got close enough to realize that his enemy was not Aqua, but rather, a young man. He rolled away from Riku's first strike.
After his roll, the young man charged, a blade appearing in the his hand. Just as Riku blocked the attack, the young man jumped back, dodging a fire spell from Genie.
"Who are you?"
His voice was firm yet mellow, the sound of someone still too young to be truly commanding, but one that was used to having his orders followed regardless.
"Who are you?" Genie countered.
The young man walked around Genie. "What are you?"
Genie gasped. "Rude! What? Never seen a genie before?"
"Don't think so."
The young man lowered his stance, sword ready for attack. Riku had been anticipating a charge. He had prepared to lunge to the side. What he hadn't expected was for the young man's body to fade into nothing. He simply blipped out of existence for a second.
Riku's senses freaked out, but then he felt the air shift right behind him. He cartwheeled to the side before the young man's sword sliced into his back. Landing back on his feet, Riku had to duck once more as the young man vanished and reappeared right in front of him.
Two could play at that game.
Riku slipped into the darkness. The enemy grunted when Riku's soul eater slammed down on his sword a second later. Genie watched the two boys duel, all while waving around cheerleader pompoms and shouting, "Hey-hey-yo-yo-go-Riku-go-go!"
Grinning, Riku shoved the young man backward. The two paced around each other.
"You're not from Agrabah," Riku concluded. "Who are you?"
"Seeing as you were the one that ambushed me," the young man said cooly, "maybe it would be a good idea for you to explain what you're doing here."
Riku shrugged. "Mistook you for someone else." He relaxed his shoulders, trying to be nonthreatening. "Sorry."
The young man clicked his teeth. "Must be nice to think that attacking someone out of the blue can be solved with a simple apology. Do you always dive headfirst into conclusions, or am I just special?"
A counter quip was on the tip of Riku's tongue, but he never got the chance to say it. The roar of an engine and the squealing of tires was the only warning he got before a car burst out of an alley to his right. Closing his eyes from the sudden dust cloud, Riku made his way over to Genie. The two friends had a second to regroup before the car stopped and three men jumped out. When the dust had settled, all five men, and Genie, stood in a circle, weapons pointed at each other.
Genie pointed his fingers like a pair of pistols. One finger pointed to the young man that had insulted Riku. The other pointed to a slightly older man wearing glasses.
"Looks like we got ourselves a good ol' fashioned standoff boys," Genie said in a gruff voice.
"It would seem so," said Glasses.
His voice was sophisticated and calm. He tilted his head toward the young man next to him.
"Noct, mind filling us in on the situation."
Recognition tingled in Riku's spine. Looks like he had more apologizing to do.
"Noct? As in Noctis? Luna's fiancé?"
Though he had fought back and exchanged insults, up until that point, Noctis had mostly been aloof. Now there was fury, dripping like venom, from his voice.
"'That's Lady Lunafreya to likes of you." He stepped forward.
"Noct." Glasses did not sound angry, but his voice was low and commanding.
"Stay out of this, Ignis." He turned back to Riku. "Luna. Where is she? How do you know her?"
"She's my friend and she asked me to look for you." Riku's snapped back. "Now who's the one jumping to conclusions?"
Genie put up his hands. "This went from zero to one hundred real quick. Let's take a moment to calm down."
"I agree with the blue-floaty dude."
Riku turned to the third young man in the standoff. He was younger then Ignis, the man in glasses, closer to Noctis' age. He was lanky, and his hair was puffed up on one side. Though he held a pair of pistols, Riku sensed an easygoing aura from the young man. Slowly, Pistols put away his weapons and held up his hands, mirroring Genie's pose.
"Come on guys," said Pistols. "Can't we solve this with words?"
"Sure," Noctis spat. "Tell me where Luna is and maybe I will forgive the ambush."
The fourth man in the standoff spoke. Unlike Pistols and Glasses, the last man was broad shouldered and muscular. His voice was as gruff and heavy as the thick broadsword he had resting against his shoulder.
"Noct, listen to Iggy and stand down. The kid doesn't seem like he'd do Lady Lunafreya any harm."
Noctis grunted, finally relaxing his stance. "Fine." He pointed to Riku. "Talk."
Muscles pointed his thumb at Noctis. "Don't mind him. He's a little rough around the edges, especially when it comes to his young bride. Plus we've had to deal with a lot of crazy over the past few days." Muscles put away his broadsword and pointed to his chest. "The name's Gladio." He pointed to Pistols. "This is Prompto." He pointed to Glasses. "And that's Ignis."
"Great!" Prompto clapped his hands. "Now that we all know each other, let's talk this out like adults."
Genie leaned over to Riku. "Looks like the boy band has calmed down. Maybe you should do the same?"
Smiling ruefully, Riku released his soul eater. "Only for you."
He told Noctis about Luna's whereabouts and what she had been up to. When he explained how Luna had chosen to stay in Hollow Bastion so that she could help the people that had been injured during Sephiroth's attack, Riku felt a spark of admiration from Noctis.
"I'm glad that she's safe," Noctis said. "The question is how do we get to her."
"Shouldn't searching for Lady Lunafreya wait until after we've ascertained where we are and why we are here?" Ignis stated.
Noctis shrugged. "If you say so."
Riku suppressed a groan. As if he could sense the boy's mood, Genie floated behind Riku and slapped his hands on his shoulders.
"Say, I have an idea."
"Why do I feel like I'm not going to like it?"
Genie chuckled. "Sharp one, aren't ya? I was thinking that there's safety in numbers, and Blueberry Lady is still out there, and we don't know what's lurking out in the desert. Let's team up with the boy band."
"I don't think Noctis will agree so easily," Riku argued.
"Yeah, but he wants to reunite with his beloved. Maybe we should strike a deal."
"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this." Sighing, Riku waved at Noctis' team. "I'll keep this short. Me and my friend here, need to head out into the desert to figure out where this cold weather is coming from. We should team up. You guys can fight, right?"
"Does a chocobo love gysahl greens?" Prompto asked cheerfully.
"Is that a yes?"
Prompto hung his head. "Man. I'm really going to have to come up with some new material. Being in a new world is tough enough, what am I going to do if no one gets my jokes?."
Genie put a hand on his chest. "I feel ya, brother."
Prompto perked up. "By the way, are you seriously a genie?"
"In the flesh."
"Cool."
Riku was grinning. Prompto reminded him of Sora. He hoped that the mission for Yen Sid was going well.
"So, are you guys in?"
"I have a better idea," Noctis said. "Why don't you just take me to Luna. Then I'll decide to help you."
"Noct." Gladio managed to pack the name with both annoyance and concern. "I know you don't like the kid, but Lady Lunafreya would be appalled that you didn't help someone she considers a friend."
"Agreed. It is unlike a king to leave people in need so that he may go galavanting after their own self interests," Ignis added.
Riku narrowed his eyes. "Noctis is a king?"
"Not yet," Gladio replied. "He has to marry Lady Lunafreya first."
"Good. Because he's certainly not like any king I've ever met."
"Do you have something to say?" Noctis snapped.
"Just that the king I know tends to guide and sacrifice for his people."
"Children, please." Ignis scolded.
Noctis turned his heel, turning to face the desert. "We'll help you figure out what's causing the cold weather, but only if you agree to take us to Luna right after."
Riku grit his teeth. "I keep my promises."
He narrowed his eyes in Noctis' general direction. There was a flare of darkness in response to his look. The two young men would have been locked in a staring match, if Prompto hadn't heaved a heavy sigh.
"I'm all for helping you guys out," he pointed to the car, "but this baby isn't made for off-roading. The Regalia is more of a classy ride."
Genie cracked his knuckles. "Easy fix."
One quick snap later, and the car was obscured by a puff of smoke. Once the magical dust had worn off, the car's wheels had become much bigger and sturdier, making the car resemble a jeep rather then the sleek convertible it had been earlier.
Gladio whistled. "Now that's my kind of ride."
Ignis clicked his teeth. "The Regalia certainly has lost its air of refinement, but at least the reinforced undercarriage will make it easier to traverse over the ice and sand."
"Whatever," Noctis sighed, climbing up into the passenger's seat. "Ignis, you drive."
"As you wish."
While the "boy band" got into the back seat of the car, Riku turned to face Agrabah once more. Kairi and Oswald could easily handle the heartless, and they would be safe behind Jasmine's barrier. Still, Riku worried hoped that there may be more surprises.
Noctis called. "We don't have all day, grey hair. Get in."
"The name's Riku."
Gladio reached over and extended his hand, helping Riku up into the car.
"Pleased to meet you," Ignis said as Riku settled into the seat behind him. He then glanced up at Genie. "Sorry friend. It doesn't seem like there's room for you."
Genie winked. "I prefer to fly free anyway."
"Good to hear." Ignis put his hands on the wheel. "Where to?"
"East."
Genie turned into a floating compass. Surprised, Ignis leaned slightly to the side. Prompto applauded.
"There's something you don't see everyday," Gladio quipped.
"Yeah," Noctis chuckled.
"Was that amusement in your tone?" Riku joked. "And here I thought your emotional range was indifference and anger."
"I wouldn't say that you're too far from the mark," Ignis stated, shifting the car into gear.
Gladio leaned his head back, barking out a short laugh.
"Traitors," Noctis scoffed.
"This is going to be an interesting trip," Prompto said.
The cool air swept Riku's hair away from his neck. After flying behind them for half an hour, Genie eventually settled onto the back end of the car. Like Riku, he had closed his eyes and just let the wind press against his face. The drive had been tense at first, as both Riku and Noctis were doing their best not to talk to each other. Getting frustrated with the silence, Ignis had turned on some music.
Riku listened to the beats while doing his best to scan the area around them. Eventually, Prompto asked Riku why he was out in the desert. Riku debated how much to tell him, but then shrugged. They were already in a different world, might as well fill them in on everything he knew. When he was finished, Gladio let out a low grunt of sympathy.
"Sounds rough. And that woman, Aqua, you think she's out in the desert?"
"Maybe." Riku slouched in his seat. "She's strong, even without a weapon. I was trying to find a way to reach into the light inside me, so that I could counter the darkness she emits, but I haven't had much luck so far."
"Sounds like you need some more training." Gladio put his hands behind his head. "If we find a time to rest, I'm up for it."
"Thanks."
"Wait until he wakes you up at the crack of dawn to go racing," Noctis mumbled from the front seat.
"Too bad there will be no dawn." Riku explained how the sun had not set in three days.
"It seems we have the opposite problem," Ignis stated. "In our world, the nights are lasting longer and longer, the perfect breeding ground for night terrors."
Riku bit his lip. "How exactly did you guys get here? Did something terrible happen to your world?"
Gladio grunted. "If only it were that exciting. No. We were driving good ol' Noct to his wedding and then boom. Out in the desert. Except it wasn't like any desert we were used to."
"It's not this cold where we come from," Prompto added.
"I'm sure my friends and I can find a way to send all of you, and Lu-I mean, Lady Lunafreya-home safely. Once we solve the world crashing problem, at least."
Ignis hit the breaks.
Riku's seatbelt dug into his chest as he lurched forward. The wind had stopped. In its place was a heavy, angry atmosphere, like the silent vibrations one felt before an impending thunderstorm. Instead of lightning, sharp pillars of ice jutted out of the ground like spike traps trying to skewer wondering treasure hunters.
When Ignis had stopped, Genie had flown off the Regalia's trunk. He had managed to stop himself before he could hit the ice pillar that had popped up in his path. Even though he was uninjured, he still let out a surprised wail.
"Guys, we have a problem!"
Noctis rose up from his seat. "Someone's on on the ground!"
Riku sensed a body straight ahead. A girl was collapsed on the sand. And there were several sharp spikes of ice converging on her.
"Blue haired woman!" Prompto screamed. "Three o' clock!"
Panic flared in Riku's chest. He grit his teeth, preparing for the truckload of pressure that was going to fall on his head the moment Aqua got too close.
Nothing hit him.
Except the cold. The air began to burn his skin as shards of ice dug into him like sharp fingernails.
"Noct, get the girl! Everyone else, hold on!"
Noct jumped onto the hood of the car. He leapt into the air, vanishing. He warped across space, reappearing in the center of the ice spears.
Riku sensed that Noct was able to grab the girl and pull her away from the ice spikes before the two of them could be skewered. He would have sighed in relief, if it weren't for the fact that Ignis had turned the car so fast that Riku's mind whirled. The engine, as well as both Prompto and Genie-who held onto the car for dear life-screamed.
Ignis gunned it, serving left and right to avoid not only the crystal spikes coming out of the sand, but the also the huge chunks of ice that were falling from the sky, bombarding the sand like frozen comets.
"Iggy, she's on our tail!"
"Then don't just sit there. Put those pistols to good use."
Prompto undid his seatbelt. He leaned over the side of the car, pointing his pistols at a figure in the distance. A shot ran out, followed by a curse.
"She's too fast."
"Is that her?" Gladio asked Genie. "Aqua?"
"Nope. Never seen her-it-whatever that is-before."
Riku felt something. A spark of cold, focused light, one that was surrounded by poisonous darkness. It was running after the car. The being chasing them was unhindered by the sand. The sound of her feet hitting the ground sounded like icicles crashing onto stone.
Genie let go of the car's trunk. He flew toward the woman chasing them. "I'll give you guys a few minutes!"
"Not without me, you won't!"
"Need a hand?"
Gladio grabbed Riku's arm and lifted him up onto trunk of the car. Riku crashed onto the smooth, cold surface. He was then flipped onto a pair of strong shoulders. He flailed his arms for a few seconds, but stopped when a pair of hands braced his legs.
"Let's get that ice queen, kid!" Genie boomed.
"Get me an opening!"
"You got it!"
Riku wished he hadn't opened his big mouth. Riding on Genie's shoulders was like trying to balance on a barrel in high heels. All the loops, swerves, dives, and parachute falls completely destroyed Riku's senses as Genie magically bombarded the ice woman on the sand below.
Even as Genie rained down fire that would make a volcano jealous, the ice woman was quick, practically dancing out of the way of each attack. Whenever a hit did land, she casted freezing spells on herself to increase her own stamina. Riku teeth began to chatter. The temperature was dropping, and still there was no way to weaken the ice woman below. If this kept up, he would be frozen before he could even think about counterattacking.
There was a honk.
Genie threw another volley of fire magic at the ice woman, and she made the mistake of looking up and dodging the raining fireballs. Her blunder made it easy for Ignis to ram the jeep into her. The ice woman went flying. Though she bounced on the sand, she landed back on her feet.
While Genie rained down more fire, Gladio leapt out of the car, waved through the magic spells, and succeeded in slicing the ice woman. She stumbled back, ice forming out of her legs. Prompto ran around her, shooting rounds from his pistol, so fast that all the woman could do was summon ice walls to shield herself. And that was when Gladio charged at her and sliced through her walls with his broadsword.
"Now's your chance, kid!"
Genie gripped Riku's legs. He dove down. Halfway to the ground, Genie flipped three times, building up momentum before he let go. Riku flew, zeroing in on the ice woman's position. She was still trying to protect herself with ice shields, while throwing miniature blizzard clouds at Prompto.
Riku coated his soul eater in darkness. One slice, combining the speed of his fall, and the force from his attack, would stop the ice woman. Yet he felt a strange energy in the air. The ice around the woman's arm was rising. Even as she was sliced and bombarded by laser bullets, even as she leaned forward in exhaustion, she held one arm out before her, her thumb and middle finger touching, as though she were about to snap them.
Riku lifted his soul eater above his head with both hands. Gladio and Prompto were forced back by a powerful blast of cold wind, but Riku had a clear hot. He brought his soul eater down.
His weapon hit Noctis' sword. The young prince had appeared behind the ice woman's back, and parried Riku's attack. Noctis pushed Riku back. He crashed into the sands, while Noctis rolled away from the ice woman. If he weren't trying to regain his wits, Riku might have felt the huge blast of cold ice that had appeared where he had been seconds before.
As the sharp ice spread out into a huge circle, pushing all the men back, ice woman fled. When Riku stood back up to his feet, his teeth were no longer chattering. The temperature rose when the ice woman vanished, but Riku's cold fury remained. He stomped toward Noctis.
"What was that? We almost had her!"
"Stand down and listen," Noctis ordered calmly. "She was moments away from destroying you."
"What are you talking about? She was down. And thanks to you, we lost our chance."
Genie fluttered down behind Riku. "Easy. I'm sure there's a good explanation for this."
Riku didn't hear Genie. He couldn't remember the last time he was this furious, and Noctis' nonchalant pose only made it worse. "We bombarded her with all those attacks, and she just got back up and ran away like all we did was nothing."
A girl's voice spoke. "That's because she's an aeon. And she cannot be defeated by normal means."
Riku finally broke out of his fury. A girl close to his age ran up to him. Her boots stomped hard over the ice and sand. She bowed when she reached Riku.
"I'm so so sorry. This is all my fault. I told Noctis to stop you. Are you injured? Let me heal you."
Riku stepped back. "I'm fine," he snapped.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"I'm fine," he said again, more calmly. "I didn't mean to lose my cool." Riku grimaced. "No pun intended."
The girl giggled.
"Pardon me, miss," came Ignis' calm voice. "You said that the ice woman was an aeon?"
"Yes," the girl answered. "A spirit made of out light, and a summoner's hopes. She has a name. It's Shiva."
"So it wasn't the woman Riku and Genie were looking for," Gladio grunted.
Prompto waved at the girl. "Well we know the ice woman's name, but we don't know yours."
"Oh. Sorry. How rude of me." The girl bowed. "I'm Yuna."
"This just got bit more complicated, didn't it?" Gladio said.
Ignis made his way back to the Regalia. "Perhaps it would be prudent to find a place to rest. I'm sure Lady Yuna is exhausted, and we could all take a moment to regroup."
"But now we have too many passengers," Prompto said.
"Hey don't sweat it," Genie boomed. "Ms. Yuna, you can ride with me and Riku."
And with that, Genie morphed into a car.
Yuna clapped. "Amazing! You turned yourself into a machina."
Genie wasn't as sleek and stylish as the Regalia. His edges were rounder and cartoonish, but he had enough room for two. Genie opened his passenger side door and Yuna happily got in.
Riku inched toward the Genie-car. "You know I can't drive, right?"
Genie honked his horn. "I can drive myself, thank you very much."
"Come on! Get in!" Yuna bounced in her seat.
"Well, that's settled it then."
Ignis directed everyone else to the Regalia. When Noctis walked by, Riku did his best not to glare. Noctis didn't give any indication that he was aware of Riku's foul mood, but he did spare a moment to look over his shoulder at the Genie-car.
"Stick close. I wouldn't want to lose track of each other."
An arm came out from under Genie's hood, giving Noctis a thumbs up. Noctis made a low grunt of amusement. Then, he pointed at the passenger seat.
"Hey, Yuna. Might be a good idea to teach Riku your philosophy on smiling. He looks like he needs it."
Riku bit his tongue before he could make a comeback. What did Luna see in this guy? All he did was give the occasional snappy comment and expect everyone to follow his every whim.
Genie's engine started up. "Safety first, kids."
Seat belts clicked themselves into place. Yuna gasped in delight. Warmth blasted out of Genie's heaters. They were off, following the Regalia through the ice spears. Yuna turned in her seat, looking out into the desert.
"I would have enjoyed exploring a new world if it weren't for Shiva's rampage."
Riku turned to face her. "You were thrown out of your own world too?"
Yuna shook her head. "No. My friend and I don't really have a world. We go from place to place. We sensed that something was wrong when our summon spirits started to behave strangely. We were separated the moment we came here."
"Summon spirits? I thought you said that Shiva was an aeon."
"She is. There are two types of summon spirits. Aeons and Eidolons. As a summoner, it's my responsibility to control the Aeon's power. My friend controls the Eidolons."
Although Yuna's tone was cheerful, her aura did not match.
"What's bothering you?" Riku asked.
Yuna tilted her head. "Pardon?"
"You collapsed in the middle of the desert, lost your friend, and control of the summon spirit you were supposed to protect. And you're this happy? It's okay to express how you really feel, you know."
Yuna was quiet for a moment. Then she pressed her fingertips to her mouth and laughed.
"You're the first person to see through me."
"Is that a bad thing?"
Yuna shook her head. "It's lonely, being a summoner. Both my friend and I defeated our enemies, but by then our worlds were destroyed. All we had left were the spirits we were supposed to guard. After everything, I didn't want the sorrow to get me down. So I practiced smiling when I was feeling sad. That way, no matter how hard things get, I can always believe that there is something good around the corner."
Genie wiggled his rear view mirrors. "I like your style, Ms. Yuna."
Yuna put her hands on the dashboard. "And I like your transformations!"
"Wait till we find a place to rest. I'll give you a real show."
"That would be wonderful!"
Riku threw his arm over the back of his chair, feeling the irritation flutter away.
"Just smile, huh?"
"You could also try laughing out loud," Yuna suggested.
Riku raised an eyebrow. "I can fake a smile, but I don't know about a laugh."
Yuna leaned toward him. "I won't accept that answer. Come on. Laugh! Do it!"
"You know, you and my friend Kairi would get along."
"I'm not hearing any laughing."
Genie swerved suddenly, and Riku yelped when his body jerked to the right.
"Hey!"
Genie did his best Ignis impression. "I believe the lady made a request."
"Fine."
Riku took let out the blandest, most awkward laugh of his life.
"Louder!" Yuna demanded. "Like you mean it!"
Riku's lungs expanded as he belted out an obnoxious chortle. After a few seconds, the ridiculousness of the situation made Riku snort. His forced laughter became real. Yuna and Genie joined in, and, for a moment, Riku forgot about Aqua, and Noctis. Only laughing mattered. In that moment, if he had thought to try, Riku might have been able to summon some light.
Yuna, Riku, and Prompto huddled close to the campfire, listening to the coals crackle. After setting up some tents, and chairs, the group had stopped to rest. It was a strange feeling, camping when he knew the sun was out. Nevertheless, the fire warmed his arms and chest, and his mind drifted peacefully.
Ignis and Genie were off by to the side of the campsite, hovering over a grill. Whatever they were making smelled divine. Noctis and Gladio were looking over the Regalia for damage.
"That must have been some joke," Prompto said suddenly.
Yuna tilted her head to the side. "Joke?"
"Yeah, we could hear you guys laughing your heads off for five minutes. What was so funny?"
Light sparked in Yuna's aura. "It's a secret."
"What?" Prompto whined. "Come on."
"Sorry, dude." Riku leaned back in his chair. "You had to be there."
Prompto sighed, digging into his coat pocket. "Well, at least I have something to commemorate the moment."
He leaned over the fire, and gave a flat object to Yuna. She let out a squeal of delight. "It's wonderful! When did you take this?"
Prompto pulled a camera out from his pocket. "I take all kinds of pictures when people aren't looking."
He extended his arm to Riku, giving him a photograph.
"Thanks."
"Like it?"
Riku hoped he had a convincing smile. "Sure."
"You didn't even look."
Yuna leaned over, peaking at the photo in Riku's hand. "What's wrong? It's a nice picture of you."
"Is that what it is?" Riku let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Prompto. I'm sure it's great, I just can't see it. I'm blind."
Prompto got up from his seat so fast that his chair flopped to the side. "What? Then how you were doing all those flips and tricks earlier? Super cool, by the way."
Riku wondered if he should just start keeping his visual impairment to himself. He tucked Prompto's picture into his pocket, and prepared to explain how his senses worked. Luckily, or unluckily, Noctis chose that moment to come to the fire.
"That true? You really can't see anything?"
"Not a thing."
Noctis sat down in the foldable chair next to Prompto. "Well, now I can see why you mistook me for someone else earlier." Noctis shrugged. "Sorry about that, by the way."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously apologizing just because you learned I can't see?"
Noctis leaned forward on his knees. "You really have a low opinion of me, don't you?"
"Gee, what gave it away?"
Yuna waved at Riku. "I'm sure His Highness wasn't trying to insult you."
"Yeah. Noct is just not that good at expressing his feelings," Prompto added. "He's the cool, silent type."
"I thought that was my type," said Gladio, as he strode over to the group.
He sat down to Yuna's right and gave her a bowl of steaming food. A moment later, a plate fluttered down in front of Riku's nose. Genie hovered over the fire, magically levitating plates of food to everyone else in the group. Once his chore was done, Genie went to lie down on the roof of the tent right behind Riku.
"Dig in," said Ignis as he passed out a set of forks, "before it gets cold."
The savory smell made Riku forget about his argument with Noctis. There were several sighs of delight as everyone around him began their meal.
"Lasagna Al Forno," Genie announced in a smooth accent. He pressed his fingertips to his lips, making a kissing sound. "Absolutely scrumptious. I have to say, Ignis, you make an old genie jealous."
Riku could see why. The pasta practically melted on his tongue with each bite. The last time he had eaten anything that delicious was when he had stopped by Tiana's restaurant in Twilight Town.
"Do you always do the cooking?" he asked Ignis.
"For the sake of our survival, I must."
"Here we go," Gladio sighed.
"If I had left such chores to the rest of our group, we'd either persist on cups of noodles, courtesy of Gladio, or bland, tasteless food."
"Hey," Prompto whined. "At least my meals are edible. Noct burns everything he touches."
"For a man that has never cooked a day his life, one would expect such results," Ignis said.
Noctis threw a roll of bread at him. While still holding his fork, Ignis easily caught the bread.
"Don't waste food."
"Okay, Mom," Noctis snapped.
Ignis let out a small, displeased grunt while Gladio and Prompto snickered.
Yuna giggled. "You four are such good friends."
"Glad we could make the little lady laugh. I see that you're feeling better?" Gladio asked.
"Yes. Thank you."
"Why were you out cold in the middle of the desert anyway?"
Yuna reached out to the fire. "Shiva's power drained me when she broke out of my control. My aeons don't usually frenzy like that." Yuna pulled her knees up to her chest. "I cannot summon any other aeon until Shiva is returned to me. Without her, I'm almost powerless."
"What do you think made Shiva go nuts?" Prompto asked.
"Aeons are summon spirits that thrive on light. Imagine filling your stomach with so much food that you ache. I think the overabundance of light in this world has made Shiva lose control of herself."
"So how do we tame this wayward spirit?"
Yuna handed her empty bowl to Ignis. "If you can tire her out, I can try to reconnect with her, at least enough to dismiss her until we are somewhere that has less light."
"We can do that." Prompto elbowed Noctis. "Right?"
"Piece of cake," Noctis agreed. "But we'd need someone to keep an eye on Yuna while she's working her magic."
Genie raised a hand. "Leave that to me."
Yuna stood up. "You all barely know me and you're risking so much." She leaned forward in another bow. "Thank you."
"Don't sweat it, kid. We all have a horse in this race," said Gladio. "Helping out a lady in need is just the cherry on top."
"Indeed." Ignis collected the rest of the bowls. "Nevertheless, rest is required before we set out. Best not to let our enemies capitalize on our exhaustion."
Yuna was able to sense her aeon's presence. The Genie-car and the Regalia zoomed over the desert sands, following Yuna's directions. In the distance, crystals of ice shot out of the sand. The Regalia and Genie came to a stop. Genie returned to his regular form, hovering close to Yuna's side.
Riku felt Shiva's cold yet light aura straight ahead.
Yuna gripped a long staff before her. "Are we ready?"
"The five of us will engage with Shiva, while Genie protects the lady until she can regain control of the aeon," Ignis summarized.
"Don't mess up, Noct," said Gladio.
"Me? You think you can match Shiva's speed with that overgrown knife you call a sword?"
"The bigger the sword, the more painful the hit. Even with your teleportation abilities, you can still get caught off guard."
"Like being ambushed by a boy and his Genie friend?" Riku offered.
"Save it for the fight, you two."
"Whatever," Riku and Noctis said.
Both young men stiffened like a pair of trees. Then, they each walked away from one another, putting ten paces between them. Yuna and Genie giggled.
Prompto leaned over to Ignis.
"I could cut the tension with a knife. What's with them?"
"It would seem," Ignis pushed his glasses higher up on his nose, "that the two of them are peas in a pod."
"Huh?"
"On rare occasions, when two people of similar personalities meet, they may form a great dislike of each other."
Riku rounded on Ignis. "We are nothing alike!"
"Ah, you can hear me over there. Well then, would you kindly get ready for battle? Or are you and Noctis going to sulk all day?"
Grumbling, Riku moved in Shiva's direction. This was worse then back when Sora had joked that he and Jim Hawkins should have been twins. At least Jim was friendly and didn't hold grudges. Or maybe Riku was the one holding grudges...or was it jealousy regarding a certain ora-Riku slapped his hands on the sides of his head, forcing himself to focus on the mission.
Yuna and Genie had gone on ahead, and where kneeling at the top of a tall sand dune. Unlike Yuna, Riku didn't have to peek over the sand to know where Shiva was. He could feel the aeon angrily gliding over the sands, throwing chunks of ice in every direction. Wherever the ice boulders hit, spears of ice and sand burst up from the ground. The team whispered as they watched Shiva rampage below.
"She'a angrier then a fat chocobo being put on a diet." Gladio looked at Yuna. "You ready, kid?"
Yuna pressed a hand to her chest. "I have the easy task. The rest of you must put yourselves in danger."
"Don't worry. We'll just have to stay cool and make sure to bring the heat while we take on Shiva," Prompto chuckled.
"Puns? Really?" Riku and Noctis said. "Quit copying me!"
Ignis didn't laugh, but there was amusement in his voice as he stood and readied his dangers. "What did I tell you? Peas in a pod."
"More like unofficial siblings," Genie snickered.
Noctis stood. "I need to fight something."
"For once, we agree," Riku mumbled.
The team leapt over the dune, charging into battle. Shiva didn't move from her spot in the sand below. Rather, she raised her hand, and hundreds of icicles appeared in the air, bombarding the young men. Noctis teleported away from the raining ice. Ignis sliced through the magic with his daggers, while Gladio used his broadsword to smack the ice away. How he was able to use that massive weapon with one hand, Riku had no clue. He slid down the sand, slipping into the darkness, weaving left and right, avoiding all of Shiva's flying projectiles.
From above, there was loud boom of laughter as Genie, who had taken the form of a giant bird, flew overhead with Yuna on his back. Fireballs rained down from Genie's wings, melting enough ice spells for the young men to converge on Shiva.
A shot ran out and hit Shiva in the hip, momentarily stunning her. Before she could counterattack Prompto, Gladio came flying at her. He spun his muscular body, and his massive sword so fast that he generated a miniature cyclone. The wind threw Shiva to the side, leaving her vulnerable for a strike from Noctis, who has appeared out of thin air and slashed her with his sword.
Shiva fell to one knee. Ignis took this chance to throw his daggers. Though they were blocked by an ice shield, Shiva couldn't defend herself from being hit in the back by one of Prompto's expertly timed shots. She fell forward on her hands and knees, and it was at that moment that Riku and Noctis, using darkness and teleportation, appeared before her and delivered the final X-strike that made her lay flat on the sand.
Genie brought Yuna down, and the young girl stood before Shiva, dancing. She waved her wand over her head, spinning in place. Riku felt sparks of light floating off Shiva and moving into Yuna's staff. He was so transfixed by Yuna's dance, that he forgot to question why the fight had been so easy.
Shiva's body began to slowly disintegrate, fading into light. Riku could feel the ice melting around him. He was too late to sense the sudden, powerful blast of dusty wind coming his way.
Yuna fell over. Genie hovered down to protect her from the sudden sandstorm. Prompto and Noctis were knocked back. They would have rolled along the icy sand if Gladio hadn't caught them. The big man used his weight and sword to brace himself and his friends. Only Ignis was clever enough to let his body fall to the ground, allowing the wind and sand to fly over him instead of knocking him back.
Riku sunk his soul eater into the icy ground to anchor himself. Sand scratched at his face and neck. The air above them swirled into an angry cyclone, and while Riku could sense everyone else's presence through the storm, he knew that they were now at a disadvantage. The sandstorm had stopped Yuna's dance before she could completely subdue Shiva. The ice woman was rising. Riku could feel the light gathering in her body.
She was getting stronger, gathering so much light that Riku could feel it burning along his skin. Then, his heart sunk as he recognized a sudden, powerful point of darkness. It was moving. Toward him.
Riku threw his body to the side, feeling a razor sharp crystal of ice and darkness sail overhead. The sandstorm did not let up, but the wind had died down enough for him to get back on his feet. He wobbled where he stood. Darkness pressed on him like a hot iron. His throat was dry, his knees shook under the heavy weight, but he refused to cower.
"You shame me for using darkness, and yet you still use the same power to pin me down?"
Aqua chuckled as she stepped toward him. The sandstorm moved through her, as though she were a ghost. She stopped several paces in front of Riku. Sweat began to drip from Riku's forehead, but he forced his aching legs to stay standing.
"Hypocrite."
Aqua shrugged.
"My sincerest apologies. Would you prefer this instead?"
The light in the atmosphere twitched, as though it were being pulled somewhere. As the light moved, Riku got a better sense of what was going on around him. Shiva had restarted her rampage, and Yuna, Genie, and Noctis' team were too busy engaging with her to notice Aqua gathering magic in her open palm.
A surge of energy flew toward Riku.
He let himself fall, face first into the sand. A burning, hot sphere of light flew over him. Though he had avoided the attack, he was now pinned to the ground, trapped under Aqua's dark pressure, but that wasn't the primary worry in his mind.
Did Aqua just use light? Impossible.
She was now standing before him. She reached down, her hand hovering inches from Riku's scalp.
"No Genie to protect you now."
"How about a pea in a pod?"
A sword came flying out of nowhere. Just as it was about to sink into her shoulder, Aqua ducked. Noctis appeared at her side and began slashing at her with his sword. Riku felt utterly powerless. Though Noctis could kept Aqua away, the pressure was suffocating Riku.
The darkness pushed him down into the ground. It crushed his lungs, sand rising up into his nostrils and eyes. He tried to focus on the fight between Noctis and Aqua, but all he could think about was air. He needed to breathe! Sand burned his nose and throat, his lungs seized.
Noctis vanished, trying to get Aqua by surprise. When Noctis reappeared behind her, Aqua simply sidestepped his sword, grabbed his arm, and hurled Noctis back into the storm. With him out of the way, Aqua resumed her walk toward Riku.
"Maybe I have made a mistake."
Riku's fingers wrapped around the hilt of his soul eater. His muscles and bones screamed for him not to move, not to waste any more oxygen by struggling, but he needed to pull himself up.
"Look at you. Too weak to resist the darkness, yet so consumed by it, that you cannot summon the light."
Riku aimed his soul eater at Aqua. His heart beat wildly in his ears. This was going to be a quick draw. Either he got lucky and fired a single shot that would miraculously disrupt Aqua's concentration, enough for him to escape, or she pushed him down into his sandy tomb.
"Perhaps that princess of heart will offer a better challenge."
Memories of Kairi's lifeless body, after she had lost her heart, flashed in Riku's mind. Forget the quickdraw! Forget air! Nothing else mattered but making sure Aqua never got her hands on his best friend. The atmosphere around Riku shivered, covering him with warmth, but he didn't care. He raised his soul eater over his head, and brought it down with a primal scream.
A blade of silver energy flew through the air and sliced into Aqua's chest. Her boots kicked up sand as she fell backward. She didn't collapse, she didn't grunt in pain, but the pressure on Riku's body eased.
He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, gasping as though he had been drowning. Drowning. Drowning. Like back in Halloween Town, when Sora had needed him. And now, Kairi needed him. Noctis, Genie, and the others needed him. Now.
Riku charged at Aqua.
Luna's words echoed in his brain.
"Have you never felt the unstoppable will to protect those that you hold dear?"
Light from the world poured into Riku's body, pushing Aqua's dark pressure away. When he swung his soul eater, it was coated in darkness. But the darkness peeled away, revealing the light that had always been trapped within. Aqua was not quick enough to stop the light from slicing into her side, but she did counterattack.
Ice collided with Riku's side. He screamed as the crystal threw him back into the sand.
"So it is true."
There was a strange emotion in Aqua's tone. Not annoyance, or anger, but something else. She almost sounded...An angry cry interrupted Riku's thoughts before he could pinpoint the emotion.
"Get away form my buddy!"
Genie came flying out of the sandstorm. Even though she had taken two direct hits from Riku, Aqua made Genie chase her around.
While Genie distracted Aqua, Yuna ran to Riku's side. She tapped her staff to his back. The scent of spring leaves, and a warm feeling pushed away Riku's pain.
"Are you all right?" Yuna asked.
Riku sat up, smiling at her. "The others?"
"Still battling Shiva. She's even stronger then before. Something supercharged her with light."
Aqua. Riku realized. The sandstorm had been a cover for more then just ambushing him.
"I'll be there soon. I have to help Genie first."
"No. You don't."
Genie flew toward Riku, and scooped him up. Riku felt his back crack as Genie hugged him tight.
"Don't scare me like that! I thought she almost had you."
"Genie," Riku croaked. "Can't breathe."
"Sorry."
Once Riku was on his feet, he searched with his senses, readying his soul eater to defend against Aqua.
"She's gone, kid," Genie said. "Disappeared into the sandstorm."
"She's going after Kairi." Riku turned to Yuna. "Think Shiva will help us take down the woman that made her frenzy?"
"If we can make her regain her senses."
"You heard the lady, Genie. Let's go help Noct and the others."
"You go." Genie cracked his knuckles. "I'm going to blow away this sandstorm."
Wishing Genie luck, Riku grabbed Yuna's arm and pulled her toward Shiva. Genie rose up into the air, and bellowed out a loud, confident laugh. Moments later, the sandstorm began to ease in intensity, and Riku could sense things a little more clearly.
Noctis and the others were ahead. Prompto and Ignis were using laser bullets and throwing daggers to keep Shiva on the ropes. Defending from long ranged attacks kept her from counterattacking. That left an opening for Noctis and Gladio to get in close and slash at her with their swords.
Riku let go of Yuna when they were just a few feet away. He then slipped into the darkness, reappearing beside Noctis. Once more, the two young men sliced Shiva at the same time. Angry, the aeon swept her leg under Noctis and Riku's feet. The young young men teleported away before they hit the ground.
Reemerging from the darkness, Riku grabbed Noctis' arm.
"Need your help. Can you keep all of her attention on you?" Noctis clicked his teeth. "Easy. What's your plan?"
"If the light's making her go nuts, then I'm going to hit her with all the darkness I got. I need you to buy me time. Tell your friends to get clear when I attack. After that, it's on you to take her down."
Noctis nodded. "You better not miss."
"You better bring your A game."
Noctis chuckled. "You're starting to sound like Gladio." Riku pretended to gasp. "Please don't tell me he's a pea in a pod too."
Noctis ran back into battle, and Riku felt sparks of light flying off his aura as he teleported around Shiva, using his disappearing and reappearing attacks to disorient her. Riku concentrated. He had feared that finding his hook would make it harder to summon the darkness in his heart, but it came to him, unbidden, a second nature he knew would always be there, for there was darkness in every heart.
Riku held his hands out before him, feeling the dark energy pouring forth from his heart. But it wasn't enough. He needed more if he were to break through the light that was fueling the berserk spell on Shiva.
Light.
Of course.
Light trapped in the darkness.
Riku focused on Noctis and the others. They were counting on him. Kairi was in danger. And somewhere out there, Sora was giving it his all. He would be so annoying if he found out Riku wasn't doing the same.
Riku drew in the light from the atmosphere, funneling it into the darkness in his hand. The dark orb grew, so big that Riku could no longer hold it in his hands. He let out a cry that made his voice hoarse.
"Noct! Here it comes!"
The black sphere flew toward Shiva. Seconds after pummeling Shiva with enough attacks to keep her in place, Noctis, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto scattered. Shiva turned, and the dark orb smashed into her. She fell to her knees and Yuna came running down the dunes.
She began her dance.
The sandstorm around them faded. Genie came floating down. Yuna did her last, graceful turn. She spun her staff before her and turned it upside down. Shiva faded into particles of light. The light floated into Yuna's body. She let out a breath, as though a part of her soul had returned to her.
Instantly, the cold air was gone, being replaced by a heat so intense that Riku instantly felt his mouth go dry. Everyone coughed and groaned
"Out of the freezer and into the frying pan!" Prompto shook sand out of his vest. "I don't know which one is worse."
Gladio, Ignis, Noctis, Yuna, and Genie laughed, but Riku's voice was grim. "We have to go back to Agrabah immediately."
Jiminy's Journal
Noctis Lucis Caelum (First appeared in Final Fantasy XV, 2016) A prince from a distant land. His royal upbringing has resulted in a seemingly indifferent air about him, yet he has a strong bond with Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto. Noctis and Riku got off on the wrong foot, but nevertheless the two have formed an uneasy respect for one another.
Gladiolus Amicitia (First appeared in Final Fantasy XV, 2016) Though strong and serious, Gladio is a big guy with a big heart. He serves as the backbone of the group, and often partners with Ignis to make sure Noctis and Prompto don't get in over their heads.
Ignis Scientia (First appeared in Final Fantasy XV, 2016) The most intelligent and responsible of Noctis' entourage. Ignis prepares the meals, keeps the peace, and makes sure that Noctis is acting in a way that is befitting of his royal lineage. Ignis's loyalty to the young prince cannot be broken, but that does not stop him from scolding Noctis when he has done something wrong.
Prompto Argentum (First appeared in Final Fantasy XV, 2016) Optimistic and kind, Prompto is the yin to Noctis' yang. His good natured attitude brings a breath of fresh air to the group, keeping them all in high spirits. One can often find Prompto taking pictures with his trusty camera.
Yuna (First Appeared in Final Fantasy X, 2002) A young summoner from a world that was destroyed long ago. She's proper and polite, always putting on a cheerful face, even though she shoulders as lot of responsibility, and has had a difficult past. Although the summon spirits obey all of Yuna's commands, they are as part of her heart as she is apart of theirs. Without Yuna's guidance, the summon spirits can run amok, or be used for great evil.
Shiva (First Appeared in Final Fantasy III, 1990) A summon spirit that can control ice. Shiva was Yuna's aeon, but the overabundance of light in Agrabah made her go berserk and break out of Yuna's control. Riku and Noctis were able to weaken Shiva enough for her to return to Yuna's side where she belongs.
Chapter 58: KH3 Chapter 27: Dragon King
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
A/N:
I wasn't going to upload this chapter this soon, but it will never be perfect enough, and life is about to get hectic , so I wanted to at least complete this arc before I have less time to write.
Side note: if there is anyone out there that has Netflix, please, please, please, watch the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie. It's so good. It you're an animation fan it's worth it just for the animation alone. The show was unfairly judged before it came into its own, but I think it should be rewarded for taking risks and making something different. It's the only TMNT related media I've ever liked. I won't ever stop recommending it.
Chapter Twenty Seven: Dragon King
"Don't squeeze him too hard," Aladdin chuckled.
"But he's so cute."
Abu struggled in Kairi's arms, trying to break free of her death grip as she nuzzled the top of his head with her cheek. Next to her, Oswald sighed jealously, while Rajah ducked his head behind Jasmine's knee, chittering nervously. Abu finally squeezed free, leaping onto Aladdin's shoulder and shaking his angry little fist at Kairi.
"He's even cuter when he's mad! Who's a good monkey? Come here!"
Kairi lurched forward, trying to grab the Aby, but he ducked behind Aladdin's back and hid under the young man's vest.
"I wonder if the palace guards are doing job?" Jasmine mused, her voice extra loud. "Maybe Abu should go check?"
The monkey popped his head out from behind Aladdin's shoulder. He saluted Jasmine, and scampered into the palace. Although it was warmer in the palace, Kairi didn't follow him. The temperature hadn't improved since Riku and Genie had left, yet the party had stayed in the garden. Jasmine felt the most at ease there, and where there was the princess, there were her loyal team of guards.
Still, Kairi hoped that Genie and Riku fixed the cold weather soon. Not just for Agrabah and its citizens, but for Jasmine as well. Though Jasmine did a good job at hiding it, Kairi could tell that generating a constant protective sphere around the palace was draining. If any normal person were to look at Jasmine, they would think the black haired princess was in perfect health. But Kairi noticed how Jasmine couldn't stand for too long, how she lounged by the fountain, and how she fidgeted with her hands when she thought no one was looking.
It was the light. It was just too strong. When Kairi was around Sora, Riku, Max, Oswald, and the others, the darkness in their hearts offset the light around her, making it easier to ignore. Being near Jasmine, a woman with a heart as pure as her own, made Kairi's skin tingle with excitable energy. Generating a protection spell wasn't hard, it was simply a challenge of mental strength.
Kairi could feel the light creeping into her brain, making her sleepy. Resisting it was exhausting, and Kairi didn't miss the nervous little twitches Jasmine did when her eyes drifted closed from time to time. It was lucky that Oswald was nearby. Concentrating on his familiar darkness made it easy for Kairi to keep herself from drifting away.
Jasmine put a hand on her chest, frowning. Aladdin came to sit next to her, and she quickly plastered on a smile. He rolled an apple down his arm, bouncing it off his elbow. The fruit landed perfectly in Jasmine's palms.
"Did you pick this up from the bazaar? Just for me?"
"I looked for the reddest one."
Jasmine leaned toward Aladdin, her long eyelashes lowering as she gave him a secret smile. Kairi sighed, leaning toward Oswald.
"I miss Ortensia," he whispered.
"Do you think she's feeling better?"
Oswald scratched his nose. "The master says that she just needs rest. I know that she will get better, but," he pressed his lips into a thin line, "I still worry, you know."
"Oh I know." Kairi balanced on one leg, letting the other leg swing back and forth. "I hope Sora is okay out there. Oh, who am I kidding? Most likely, he's charging into battle without a care in the world."
"How is the city? The bazaar?" Jasmine asked Aladdin.
"Quiet. No heartless since our last fight."
Oswald groaned. "Don't jinx it."
Jasmine shot to her feet.
"Oh no," said Kairi and Oswald. "He jinxed it."
"Something just hit my shield, and it-" Jasmine looked up. "It was so strong. I almost-"
Aladdin put a hand on her shoulder. "Almost?"
Jasmine acted as though he weren't there. With her fingers pressed to her lips, she said, "There was a strong mix of darkness and light. It felt familiar, like the time that Sora and I-"
Kairi searched the skies, expecting some great monster to come flying down and smack into Jasmine's protection spell. Nothing happened. She motioned for Oswald to follow her out of the palace.
"Let's go take a look."
"Be careful," Jasmine called after them.
Aladdin made a move to follow, but Kairi stopped him. "Oswald and I got this. Stay here and keep Jasmine company." A wink. "You know you want to."
Aladdin made an amused, "huh" sound, crossing his arms. He waited until Kairi and Oswald were out of earshot before he leaned down to whisper to Jasmine's.
"How about a bet?"
"What for?"
"I bet Sora and Kairi will get together by the end of this journey. If they don't, then I'll eat my own hat."
"How is that a wager? I don't get anything out it."
"Well then, what are your terms?"
"If they can get together, on their own, with no interference from anyone else, then you win, and I will take an extra day off from leading Agrabah to go wherever you like."
"Deal. And if I lose?"
"Then you'll have to help me with paperwork for a week."
Aladdin groaned.
"Come on," she bumped him with her elbow. "Either way, we get to spend more time together."
Aladdin watched Kairi disappear into the palace. "I hope she sweeps Sora off his feet soon."
As if sensing someone was talking about her, Kairi poked her head back out from within the palace. Was it just her, or was there some kind of sneaky glint in Aladdin and Jasmine's eyes. Shrugging, she joined Oswald in the courtyard in front of the palace gates. The great, wooden doors loomed over them like a pair of giants gazing down at lowly farmhands.
"What if Aqua was the one that hit Jasmine's shield?" Oswald said.
Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have any faith in me? And after we took down a three-headed darkside together? You know, I managed to fend her off once, right?" Kairi scratched her cheek. "Granted it took the help of two ghosts and a holy spell to do it-"
Oswald blew a raspberry. "Of course I have faith in you. I just want us to be careful."
"Didn't you dive straight into the darkness just to get Ortensia back?"
"That's different. And don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for Sora."
"Touché." Kairi grumbled. "That boy, though. Sometimes I wish Sora would be a little more flirty. But then I remember what Zidane was like, and I kind of like how Sora is a clueless doofus."
"I don't think you give him enough credit." Oswald bumped her leg with his hip. "And, 'Zidane?' Who is this other boy, hmm?"
Kairi waved her hand dismissively. "Someone that is really not my type. He needs his own princess."
"Maybe when you're done with your journey, you can play matchmaker and get Zidane a girlfriend. Like you did for Max."
"You know about that?"
"Max visited me a lot when I was recovering in Master Yen Sid's tower. I was in and out of sleep most of the time, but he kept me company when I was awake. He talked about you, told me not to worry."
"You guys are getting close? Without me?"
Oswald rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. You're still second favorite."
Kairi slapped a hand on her chest, her face contorting in mock horror. "Second favorite?"
"Ortensia will always be first."
"Okay, fine, I can't argue with that."
"Are we done stalling?" Oswald pointed his thumb at the doors.
Nodding, Kairi dug her heels into the dirt, and pushed with all her might. The doors opened with a low, growling groan, the hinges crackling from the thick coating of frost. Kairi peered through the small opening between the doors. Once she passed though, she would be out of Jasmine's protection, but those worries fluttered away form her mind when she noticed someone on the road.
A girl.
Her long, raven hair fanned out on the sand, obscuring her face. She lay face down and motionless. A metal rod rested a few inches away from her hand.
Oswald and Kairi dashed into the main street. Scooping up the girl in her arms, Kairi turned her over. She pressed a hand on the girl's neck. Her skin was cold, but there was a pulse. She had a pretty face, with long, dark eyelashes. If Kairi hadn't known better, she might have wondered if she were holding onto Tifa's long lost little sister.
A slight blush appeared on the girl's skin after Oswald chanted a few healing spells. The girl didn't wake.
"Either she's really tired, or she got hit with Agrabah's sleeping spell," Oswald concluded.
"I don't think so. She's not covered head to toe in light."
A cloud shot across the sun, momentarily casting shade over Oswald and Kairi. They looked up. The sun was getting bigger. It was dangerously red. Strange. Kairi's eyes didn't sting when she looked at it.
Oswald gasped, reaching out to grab Kairi's hand. The surge of magical energy that flew through him and into Kairi gave them both the strength to shout.
"Reflectga!"
An extra sturdy sphere of light surrounded Kairi, Oswald, and mysterious girl. It was just enough to handle the force of the sun as the burning fireball came down on them like a meteor. Sand exploded and they were pushed downward into a massive crater. The reflect spell cracked, but stayed in place long enough to protect them from the sand as it came crashing down like dusty rain.
When the spell broke, Kairi looked up to see that the palace was unharmed, but most the nearby buildings had been pulverized into dust. The few walls that remained were smoking, and glowing lava red. Fire burned the sand along the road, smoothing it down into glass shards.
Oswald tried to help Kairi climb out of the crater. The sand kept slipping under their fingers, and, with the added weight of dragging the mysterious girl, they just kept sliding back down to the bottom. As if that wasn't bad enough, air blasted down from above. Kairi looked up, expecting storm clouds and thunder.
Her legs shook.
A leathery monster was hovering right in front of the sun. The was coming down, moving toward the crater. As it neared, Kairi saw its long arms and legs, powerful claws at the end each scaly limb.
Another blast of air, and sand flew into Kairi's nose and eyes. Coughing and blinking through the tears, Kairi's vision blurred, but she was sure she were looking at a set of perfect, sharp, white teeth, directly overhead. The creature's massive mouth opened. Blue and red fire burned from deep within its throat.
The monster reared back.
Then, it flew up into air, writhing, its muscular torso and tail swinging in opposite directions.
Something silver shined in the corner of Kairi's eye. She turned, her eyes finally clearing enough to see the raven haired girl. She was standing, her metal rod pointed at the monster in the sky. A layer of sweat her forehead. One of her eyes was closed, either in concentration or pain. The girl raised her free hand, closing her fist. The creature in the sky fell, but it quickly righted itself, turning its body, spreading its wings, and flying off, out of sight.
The girl collapsed onto her knees.
"It'll be back," she rasped. "It's attracted to the light around that castle. I don't think I can stop it a second time. It's resisting me."
"What did you do to it?" Oswald asked, searching the sky, as if expecting the monster to come back.
"Let's table that for now. We have to get out of this hole." Kairi grunted as she tried to climb the sandy walls.
"I'll see if I can find a way for you two to climb out."
Oswald bent down low, and used his powerful legs to leap out of the crater. Once he was out of sight, Kairi moved toward the girl.
"Can you stand?"
Though woozy, the girl was able to bend her knees. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"I should be thanking you. I don't what you did to that monster, but it was incredible."
"That was a dragon," the girl said. "The king of dragons, to be exact."
Kairi's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Hey guys! Up here!"
Oswald threw a rope into the hole. Once both young women had climbed out, Kairi charged forward and put her hands on Oswald's shoulders.
"Ozzie," she pointed to the sky, "that thing was a dragon."
She didn't get the shocked response she was expecting. Instead, she got a shrug.
"Well, that explains the flare magic."
"Flare magic?"
"That wasn't ordinary fire that the dragon was throwing at us. Flare magic is highly advanced, hard to control, and takes a lot of magical energy to produce." Oswald peeked around Kairi, staring, wide eyed, at the mysterious girl. "That dragon must be crazy strong, and you made it go away without a single spell. Who are you?"
The girl bowed. "My name is Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII."
"Princess?"
Garnet cringed. "Or, at least, I used to be."
Kairi pointed to the palace gates. "Can you tell us about it while we head toward the palace? I don't want to be out in the open in case that dragon comes back."
"It's not just a dragon. It's an eidolon, a summon spirit," Garnet said as she hobbled behind Oswald and Kairi.
Noticing her unsteady gait, the rabbit raised his wand. Before he could cast another healing spell, however, Garnet lifted her metal staff, and a cascade of magical healing leaves surrounded her body. Her limp was gone.
"You're a white mage," Oswald concluded.
Garnet nodded. "And a summoner."
"Summon spirit, summoner," Kairi repeated. Why did those words sound familiar?
Oswald slapped his palms together. "Master Yen Sid told me about those! Summoners are mages that call mythical beasts to do battle. The master said that it takes incredible magical strength and concentration to give form to and control a summon spirit." Oswald stared at the girl as though she had sprouted horns. "That dragon is a part of you?"
"That's correct."
"Oh!" Kairi snapped her fingers. "I remember now! Back when the worlds were being destroyed by heartless, Sora was able to summon some friends to come fight with him for a little while." Kairi bit her lip. "But that was only because his friends had lost their world. Instead of disappearing with the world, they turned into summon gems."
"Yes," Garnet lowered her head, whispering. "My world is gone. Bahamut and my other eidolons are all I have left of my past."
"Bahamut?"
"The dragon king."
Kairi bit her lip. "What happened to your world?"
Garnet looked up at the sky. "The villain won."
Kairi threw her arms around Garnet, pulling her into a tight hug. Garnet stiffed in Kairi's arms, but she didn't pull away either.
"I'm so sorry," Kairi whispered. "I know what it's like to lose your home." She took Garnet's hands in hers. "But you are not alone anymore. You've got two new friends right here." Kairi glanced at Oswald. "Right?"
The rabbit gave her wink before he addressed Garnet. "We'll help you get your eidolon back."
Garnet looked from Kairi to Oswald. She covered her mouth with her hands, and turned her around. Her shoulders trembled for a moment, but when she faced Oswald and Kairi again, her eyes were shining and her smile was brilliant.
"It's wonderful to meet you two."
A call from the palace made them turn around.
"Are you guys okay?"
Aladdin and Jasmine came out into the main street. Looking around at all the destruction and fire, Aladdin's face contorted in horror.
"Not again."
"Don't worry," Jasmine said. "Genie can fix it with a snap of his fingers. I'm more worried about that monster we saw in the sky."
"Well don't, because this girl," Kairi shoved Garnet forward, "drove it off."
Garnet blushed. "No. If I'd had better control, Bahamut wouldn't have gone berserk in the first place."
Kairi smacked Garnet's shoulder, and was rewarded with a funny expression. Garnet looked as confused as someone being offered a plate of rotten frogs.
Pushing down the urge to laugh, Kairi said, "Come on. Ozzie and I would have been toast if it weren't for you."
Garnet shook her head. "You don't understand. I can't lose control. In the past, Bahamut was stolen from me. If hadn't run away from my fears, if I had faced them, perhaps I could have stopped it. I won't ever let anyone use the eidolons for evil again."
There was a fire glowing in Garnet's gaze. Though she had only known Garnet for a few minutes, Kairi could already feel a kinship with the girl. Her world was long gone, she was all alone, and yet she was still fighting to do what was right. Kairi felt a tingle of shame. If only she had the guts to do the same thing.
While Kairi had been thinking, Jasmine asked Garnet to explain what summoners and eidolons were.
"They're mythical beasts that have an affinity for darkness. Bahamut, Atomos, Ark, all of my eidolons have been agitated lately. More light also means more darkness. Bahamut has had too much to feed on, and the extra power made him frenzy and break free of me. It is trying to vent its frustration at any nearby source of light."
"I see," Jasmine sighed. "That's why it attacked my shield."
"How do we defeat it ?" Aladdin asked.
"If we can weaken it, I can reestablish my connection and dismiss it."
Oswald glanced at Kairi. "Driving the darkness from Bahamut is doable."
"But, Aqua's still out there. If we separate, then who will protect Jasmine?"
Jasmine cleared her throat, leveling both Oswald and Kairi with a "you can't be serious" look. Oswald and Kairi slumped, a pair of guilty smiles on their faces. They sensed that a lecture on its way.
"What makes you think I'm just going to stand around and wait for that dragon to come back? We're going after it."
"But the palace. The people."
"The best way to protect both is to face the threat head on. Besides, the last two times I was left alone while others went off to fight, I was either kidnapped, or had to swoop in the last moment to help save the day. I doubt I could keep my shield in place if Bahamut keeps attacking it."
Jasmine's matter of fact tone made Kairi feel dumb. Hadn't she jumped headfirst into the realm of darkness back when she had no combat experience, simply because she had refused to be left behind? Who was she to tell Jasmine to stay and wait while they went out to solve the problem? Kairi was a lot of things, but hypocrite was not something she wanted to add to the list.
"Well then, looks like we're all going dragon hunting."
Jasmine chuckled. "That's what I want to hear."
Kairi rubbed her palms together. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Sora's face when I tell him that I fought a dragon!"
Aladdin put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. A few seconds later, Carpet came flying down from the sky. It landed next to Aladdin, standing to attention like a loyal soldier.
"Wow." Garnet leaned forward, inspecting Carpet's ornate fabric. "A flying carpet. Incredible! I've only ever read about these in books."
Carpet bowed.
"We're going to need some serious flying power," Aladdin stated. "Think you can handle five passengers?"
Carpet gave him a thumbs up.
"Wait here," Jasmine ordered. "I'll tell the remaining guards to protect the sleeping citizens. Then, we'll head out."
It was tight squeeze on Carpet, but with Oswald sitting on Kairi's shoulders, and Aladdin and Jasmine huddled together near the front, it wasn't too bad. Granted, Kairi's legs had to dangle off the edge of the magic rug, and the cold temperature made her shiver when the wind hit her skin, but it was better then walking.
Besides telling them that they were going in the right direction, Garnet was mostly silent throughout the ride. Her eyes roamed the distant dunes and mountains. To ease the uncomfortable silence, Kairi told Garnet about the various worlds she had been to, and what was happening with the light imbalance. Garnet's eyes had darkened when Kairi had mentioned Aqua.
"A woman that wants to sink further into the darkness? What a strange notion. I wonder what motivates her." Garnet's grip tightened on her metal rod. "I hope it's not greed."
"Did you know someone that was motivated by greed?" Oswald asked.
Kairi was starting to think that asking Garnet about her past was insensitive, yet she could not deny that she was curious. She wondered what kind of villain would be strong enough to destroy a whole world. Only heartless and Ansem had been capable of such a feat before. Garnet spoke, but her voice was so low that Kairi hadn't understood what she had said. Oswald, though, had stiffened.
"What did she say?"
"My mother," Garnet repeated. "She was motivated by greed. She caused a war in my world, all because she could not fill the void of grief in her heart. She craved nothing but power. That's how my world was destroyed."
Kairi felt as though a lump of hot coal had dropped into her stomach. "My grandpa ruined my world."
Garnet blinked at her. "My deepest sympathies."
"It's not as bad as yours. At least my world still exists."
And she was running away from it. Kairi pulled her knees up to her chest. Even if Hollow Bastion hadn't felt like her home for over ten years, it was still her birthplace. It was still someplace she could go back to. Garnet's home was gone, and her heart would always long for it. Was Kairi being selfish by hesitating? Hollow Bastion had a second chance, so why didn't she want to be a part of that chance? Sora's face flashed in her thoughts, and Kairi bit her lip.
"Forgive me. I did not mean to upset you."
Kairi blinked at Garnet.
"No, not at all. I'm sorry for making you remember something so terrible."
"It wasn't all bad. I was alone for a while, grieving for my kingdom and my people. But I found meaning again. I met another summoner, we traveled the worlds together, and," Garnet gave Kairi a shy smile, "I made two new friends."
Oswald kicked his legs, his heels lightly tapping Kairi's shoulders.
"Believe me, I could use more friends after being stuck in darkness for fifty years. Just one thing."
"Yes?"
"Try to be less stiff."
"Ozzie!" Kairi scolded.
"You're not a princess out here," Oswald said, ignoring the angry face of the girl below him. "You should sound more casual. Like us. Oh, and maybe you should teach Kairi a thing or two about how to act like a princess."
"Hey!"
"What? You can teach Garnet how to relax, and she can teach you a thing or two about leading. Win win."
Garnet giggled. "I shall endeavor to try. Oh! I mean, I'll do my best."
Oswald snapped his fingers. "There you go!"
"I think I see Bahamut in the distance," Aladdin said. He turned around, waving at Kairi. "Are you sure about this plan? It's kind of crazy."
"All of her plans are crazy," Oswald said.
"And that's why it will work," Kairi laughed. "The closer Garnet is to Bahamut, the easier it will be to get him under control, right?"
"It still leaves us vulnerable to attack," Jasmine said.
"Yeah, but hasn't it always been go big or go home for us?" Aladdin patted Carpet. "We're counting on you."
He was rewarded with a loop de loop. Garnet grabbed Kairi's arm when they were upside down. Despite her surprise, she did gasp in delight when Carpet eventually flew straight again. They were gaining on the black shadow in the distance.
Kairi squeezed Oswald's foot.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"For luck."
Like a thunderclap, the heavy beating of Bahamut's wings vibrated through the sky. Garnet stood, her eyes narrowing. Straight ahead, Bahamut was spitting flare magic down into the sand, burning the dunes into coral shaped columns of glass.
A creature that big would surely spot Carpet. Within a few minutes, Bahamut had turned toward them, gliding over the vast desert with shocking speed. Oswald leaned forward, looping his arms around Kairi's head, getting a firmer grip as she stood up. Garnet bent her knees.
Aladdin screamed over the rising wind. "Here it comes!"
Bahamut's mouth was open, flare magic crackling from deep within its throat. Just a few feet before they were close enough to be snapped by Bahamut's maw, Carpet looped around the dragon's neck. The flare spell exploded behind them, but Carpet ignored the blast, zooming high over Bahamut's back. The dragon turned its upper half toward Carpet, reaching out with its long claws. It would have torn Carpet to shreds if Aladdin hadn't noticed and shouted a warning in the last second.
Carpet swerved, diving down toward Bahamut's tail. The dragon flicked its tail, hitting the rug.
Kairi, Garnet, and Oswald were thrown off. In midair, Bahamut turned, eyes still locked on Aladdin and Jasmine as they angled Carpet downward to catch Bahamut's attention, and keep it from snapping at their friends. The dragon chased after its new target. Oswald and Kairi flailed. Bahamut was moving away from underneath them.
A wand appeared before Kairi's eyes. Oswald shouted from atop her shoulders.
"Magnega!"
A swirling blue, red, and silver orb of energy appeared on the tip of Bahamut's tail. Like an anchor, the sphere pulled Bahamut backward, momentarily keeping it in place just long enough for Kairi, Oswald, and Garnet to fall on its tail. The three of them had to grab onto one of Bahamut's tail spikes to keep themselves from falling off. The dragon's body was jerking as it continued to chase after Carpet, Jasmine, and Aladdin.
Sinking her fingers between Bahamut's thick scales, Kairi pulled herself upward, climbing the dragon's back. The wind pressed down on her face, but her metal gauntlets made it easy keep her grip. Oswald held onto Kairi's neck, while Garnet sunk her rod between the dragon's scales and pulled herself up.
It was pure luck that Bahamut wasn't itchy. Kairi was sure that the eidolon would buck them off the moment they got to close to its wings. Once they made it to Bahamut's back, there was enough room to stand. Garnet rose, and raised her rod before her, shouting.
"Blind!"
A cloud of black smoke settled over Bahamut's face. The eidolon roared, stopping in midair to claw at its own eyes. The blinding spell gave Aladdin and Jasmine enough time to gain some distance.
"Bring it down!" Garnet ordered Kairi and Oswald.
Kairi stood between Bahamut's wings. She put her hands on Oswald's knees, feeling his magical energy swell in response. The two friends chanted the spell.
"Gravija!"
A purple sphere of gravitational force spread over Bahamut's wings. While tiny footsteps on its back may not have caught the dragon's attention, the sudden heavy weight on its wings did. Garnet gasped, watching as Bahamut turned its head like an owl, aiming a flare spell at its own back. Even with the black smoke blinding its eyes, it wouldn't miss its targets point blank.
"Oh no you don't!"
From above, Aladdin leapt off of Carpet. The agile young man flipped in the air, his sword slashing Bahamut's horn as he came down. To keep himself from falling, Aladdin stabbed his blade into Bahamut's neck. The dragon flailed. It's body undulated like a sinking ship in a storm. Kairi bit her lip, watching as Aladdin barely managed to pull himself onto Bahamut's shoulder.
"Hurry!" He urged.
Oswald and Kairi funneled more power into the gravity spell. Bahamut dipped closer to the sands. Once again, it turned and prepared to fire at its own back.
Once again, Garnet pointed her rod at the dragon's face and shouted. "Silence!"
The magic gathering in Bahamut's mouth suddenly vanished. Garnet grunted, her rod shaking in her grip.
"I can't stop its magic forever!"
One wing closed, but though Bahamut could neither see, nor gather magic, its tail could still move. The long, spiky appendage contorted, curving up over the dragon's back. The dragon king could not care less that the tail would crash into its own spine, flattening Oswald, Kairi, Aladdin, and its own summoner along with it.
The blinding spell wore off, and Bahamut's red eyes zeroed in on the intruders on its back. The tail came down. Then it flicked to side. The dragon roared in surprise. A flash of light had forced everyone, included Bahamut, to shut their eyes.
Jasmine came down with Carpet, a sharp light shining from her hand. With one more concentrated effort, Kairi and Oswald forced Bahamut's wings to fully close. The dragon crashed into the desert. Sand sprayed up into the air, but Kairi, Oswald, and Garnet didn't even try to cover their eyes.
Jasmine landed on Bahamut's back, getting between Kairi and Garnet. She pressed her hands on the dragon's scales. A sphere of white light surrounded Bahamut. The sphere closed in, trapping the darkness, and Bahamut inside it.
Kairi reached for Oswald's hand.
"Ready?"
He squeezed her palm. "Holy spell on three!"
"Three."
Two never came.
Though its wings were bent and broken, Bahamut was still strong enough to buck its body with all its might. Everyone went flying up into the air. Oswald slipped from Kairi's grasp. Jasmine's concentration was broken, and the shield around Bahamut vanished. With nothing to hold its darkness back, Bahamut turned its head upward.
Carpet moved to catch its friends, but a long, clawed hand reached out and enclosed around it. As Kairi flew up and up, she watched in horror as the dragon directly below her opened its mouth.
Magical energy gathered between its sharp teeth, creating a miniature sun of mega powerful flare energy. They only had seconds. Either the fall would end them, or they would be engulfed by the flare spell and pulverized into nothing. Kairi was falling. Her friends were too far behind her. There was no one to draw light from, no ghosts to call upon for help. No one.
In the air, in that moment, she was alone. No reflect or aero spell would withstand a constant beam of magic. She was helpless, just like she had been when her grandfather had destroyed Hollow Bastion, when all she could do was run away form the heartless, and from her home.
But she wasn't a little girl anymore.
She wasn't powerless anymore.
The heat from the flare magic burned Kairi's cheeks. She heard Oswald screaming above her. She had finally gotten him back. Was she ready to lose him again? Fury bubbled in Kairi's heart. She refused to think of a future where she would have to explain to Ortensia why her love hadn't come back to her. She refused to let Garnet suffer another loss. She was going to protect Agrabah just like she promised Genie, Riku, Aladdin, and Jasmine. She was not going to run away. Even from Hollow Bastion.
Kairi summoned her sword, pointing it straight down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Concentrate on the now. Oswald had put his faith in her, Aladdin had jumped off Carpet to protect her, Jasmine's resolve and Garnet's resilience had inspired her. And somehow, in those precious few seconds, Kairi remembered Moana's words.
"Who are you meant to be?"
A person that wasn't afraid to take responsibility, Kairi thought. Someone that would always be there for her friends, no matter how far away they were. Her heart was never alone. It hadn't been, not since she had first set foot on Destiny Islands.
Light fluttered around Kairi's body, turning into white butterflies. They gathered around her sword, connecting, end to end, creating a chain. Flinging her sword, Kairi watched as the butterflies flew out like a whip, looping around Bahamut's snout. Kairi pulled, and the whip snapped Bahamut's mouth shut.
More butterflies gathered around her body, protecting her from the fall. She landed softly, on Bahamut's nose. The smoke from the flare spell still puffed out from the dragon's nostrils. The heat scratched and burned Kairi's skin, but instead of flinching, she pulled on the light chain, forcing the dragon to tilt its head back. The white butterflies fluttered down, and into the sword. The chain glowed like a shooting star, the light spreading into Bahamut's scales, down its neck, and through its long torso, straight into its heart.
The dragon went still, the smoke stopped puffing from its nostrils, but Kairi's work was not done. The light chain came apart. Now free, the butterflies swarmed around Kairi. She threw the butterflies up into the sky, watching as they gathered around her friends.
Aladdin, Jasmine, Oswald, and Garnet came down, landing safely on the dragon. Garnet wasted no time. She got down on her knees, and pressed the end of her tod on Bahamut's forehead. The dragon king began to fade. Carpet was freed from Bahamut's claws. It flew around the party, happily looping and spinning.
Once Bahamut was safely returned to Garnet, Kairi fell to her knees in the sand. She panted, her throat dry from screaming and from the immense energy she had spent. Garnet funneled healing spells into her, but Kairi didn't stand up. Her mind was buzzing with surprise, and she wanted to enjoy the glow of accomplishment a little longer. She'd done it. For the first time ever, she had intentionally commanded light.
Oswald collided with her back, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, screaming.
"You did it! You found your hook! You did it!"
Kairi reached up and squeezed Oswald's hands. Jasmine appeared before her. She pulled Kairi up to her feet.
"I'm proud of you."
As though the world were celebrating their victory, the air suddenly shifted. The cold weather that had been plaguing Agrabah for days was replaced by a rush of heat. Kairi coughed, breathing in the dry air, and realizing just how parched she was. Inwardly however, she felt a rush of pride. Riku and Genie had solved the freezing problem.
Aladdin sighed. "Good old desert heat. I've missed it."
"How about we get back to Agrabah and have a nice, cold drink," Jasmine suggested.
Loud, obnoxious cheers followed her words.
"It's good to be home," Aladdin said as Carpet dropped everyone off behind the palace gates.
"I can't thank you all enough," Garnet said for the tenth time. "I feel so complete now that Bahamut has returned to me."
"And that's not all we're going to do."
Kairi twirled around, pointing at Garnet's nose. Garnet stiffened, her eyes wide as though she were expecting Kairi to burst into flames.
"I'm going to offer you a place to live." Kairi's excited grin faltered a bit. "As my first ever, um, what do I call it? Decree? Offer? Whatever. I'm inviting you to live in Hollow Bastion. My," Kairi swallowed, "my home."
Rather then wait for Garnet's answer to her offer, Kairi turned to look at Agrabah's palace. She wondered which was bigger, the palace, or the castle back in Hollow Bastion. Both buildings loomed in her thoughts, monoliths of expectations and responsibilities, yet she was resolved to face them head on. No more running.
Jasmine came to stand at Kairi's side. "It's a lot to think about, isn't it?"
Kairi looked down at her shoes. "Can I ask you something? One princess to another?"
She saw Jasmine nod out of the corner of her eye.
"Doesn't it ever scare you? Leading this kingdom?"
"All the time," Jasmine said. "But I believe that a good leader always questions themsevles. If someone never stops to look at their own actions, always assumes their way is the right one, then they won't listen to their people."
"Do you think I'll be a good wise woman for Hollow Bastion? Even without my grandparents?"
It was Jasmine's turn to give Kairi a hug.
"It may take time for you to figure things out, but you'll learn as you go. And if you ever need advice, you know where to find me."
Kairi tried not to sob when she pulled away from Jasmine. She looked up, blinking to try and stop the tears.
"This is so dumb. I can take down a dragon by myself but leading makes me nervous?"
Garnet tapped Kairi's arm.
"One day you'll be a wise woman, but you will always be yourself. You're strong, you care about others, even those you barely know. You'll be a great leader." Garnet bowed. "And I would love to live in Hollow Bastion with my new friends."
Kairi beamed. "I don't suppose you can offer me some of that princess wisdom while you're there?"
"I knew it!" Oswald shouted.
Garnet laughed when Kairi gave Oswald a dramatic pout.
"You're welcome to visit Agrabah again anytime," Jasmine added. "I could show you the bazaar, and the Cave of Wonders, once everything has settled down."
"That reminds me, can you show me the rest of your eidolons," Kairi asked. "A dragon is cool, but do you have anything that looks like a unicorn or a horse, because I would love to see that."
"Not me," Garnet said, "but my summoner friend does."
Aladdin watched the girls talk. He then leaned over to Oswald and said, "I'm jealous."
"About?"
"I wish I could make friends that fast."
Oswald snorted. "That's Kairi for you. Hey, what's this about a 'Cave of Wonders?' Is there treasure involved?"
Aladdin winked. "More then you could ever imagine."
"Aren't you going to put the barrier back?" Kairi asked Jasmine.
"In a moment. I want to rest my mind for a bit. So do your duty and guard me."
Kairi put her hands on her hips. "I should get some armor. If I'm going to be protecting princesses, then I should at least look like a knight."
Jasmine and Garnet laughed.
There was a low, rumbling growl in the distance. Kairi and Aladdin brought out their swords. Rather then a heartless or a monster bursting out of the sands, a car was zooming down the main road. A car that looked an awful lot like Genie. There was no mistaking that shade of blue. Kairi squinted. Riku and an unfamiliar girl were sitting in the Genie car.
Garnet let out a happy squeal, waving. "Yuna!"
Just a few feet away from the gate, Genie popped back into his regular shape, leaving Riku and the girl, Yuna, Kairi guessed, to stumble and try to keep themselves from falling on their rears. Genie could care less that he left his passengers high and dry. He zoomed through the gates and scooped up Aladdin and Jasmine into his arms.
"You guys are okay! On man! I was worried that Blueberry Lady had got ya!"
"We haven't seen Aqua," Aladdin said, wrapping his arms around Genie's shoulders.
Jasmine laughed, kicking her feet in midair. "But we did help Kairi take down a dragon."
"WHAT?" Genie put Aladdin and Jasmine down, pouting. "Why does all the cool stuff happen when I'm not around? First Jafar, now this?"
"And taking down Shiva wasn't cool?" Riku asked as he stepped into the palace courtyard.
He then jumped to the side as Garnet ran in his direction. Turning, Riku tilted his head, no doubt sensing that Garnet, and Yuna, had reunited. The two summoners began to compare adventures while Kairi made her way over to Riku and patted his shoulder.
"You ran into Aqua? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. More then fine actually. Check this out."
Riku gestured for Kairi to step back. He then summoned his soul eater and sliced the air. An arc of light sailed across the palace courtyard. It vanished before it could damage the palace wall. Kairi whooped and clapped.
"Hey all right! My turn!"
Opening her palm, she watched as a butterfly of light fluttered up. It did two rotations around Riku's head before vanishing.
"Nice. I bet you can't wait to show Sora."
"Forget showing off, I can't wait to fight him. He's so going on down."
"I thought being the rival was my thing."
"Who said I can't be a rival for both of you?"
"How are you this competitive?"
Someone cleared their throat. "Apologies for interrupting everyone's reunions."
Kairi looked over Riku's shoulder. Another car had pulled up to the palace. This one was a sleek, fancy convertible with really big wheels. Riku spread his arms, introducing the four young men that had gotten out of the car. He explained how the seven of them had stopped the frigid weather. After he introduced Noctis, Riku leaned down to whisper in Kairi's ear.
"Luna's fiancé."
Kairi pressed her palms to her cheeks. "You found him? Luna will be so happy."
Ignis made his way over to Jasmine. He bowed low.
"Forgive us for coming into your lands unannounced, Your Highness. We could not predict that we would come here."
Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto bowed as well. The men did not move until Jasmine motioned for them to rise.
"Please, you stopped the cold weather plaguing my kingdom. There's no need for apologies."
Ignis straightened. "If I may, Highness, why are there no citizens in the city."
"Because of the sleeping sickness," Riku said.
After filling Ignis in on the whole story, Kairi was surprised to see Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto wear on a troubling frown.
"Now that you mention it," Prompto started, "I haven't felt sleepy since the moment I came here."
Gladio counted off his fingers. "I'd say we've been here for more then thirty two hours, and I haven't so much as yawned."
Ignis took out a watch from within his jacket. "You are correct. We have been here that long. Perhaps, the rules of our own world protect us from whatever sleeping spell has taken hold of Agrabah's citizens."
Aladdin sighed. "If only we had the same luck with our guards. At this rate, if all of us fall asleep, there's no telling what the heartless will do."
"There is one thing I can do," Genie proclaimed proudly.
He rose up into the air, hovering high over the city. From below, Kairi saw the sparkling of magic. Blue, glittery clouds spread over the city. When the clouds faded, Agrabah was sparkling. The buildings, the roads, the merchant stands, everything was fixed, as though the heartless chain and Bahamut had never come to Agrabah.
Noctis watched as Genie descended from the sky. He glanced at the city, and then at each of his friends. It seemed as though a silent conversation was spoken between them, as Prompto and Gladio smiled, and Ignis crossed his arms, a look of pride in his upright posture.
Noctis faced Riku. "Hey, pea-pod."
"I really don't like that nickname," Riku whined. "What is it?"
"Give Luna a message for me."
Riku blinked. "You're not coming with us?"
"Much as I want do, the people here need our help. We'll stay and help Jasmine guard her kingdom."
Ignis chuckled. "Now you're thinking like a king."
"Someone once told me that kings tend to sacrifice for their people." Noctis pointed at Riku. "Hurry up and solve whatever problem is going on out there. I'd like reunite with my fiancé as soon as possible."
"Funny," Riku crossed his arms. "And here I thought you didn't like me."
"Still don't."
"Good. Same here."
Genie leaned down to whisper in Kairi's ear. "I think they're both lying."
Noctis snorted. "Bit weird to be around someone that reminds of so much of my younger self."
Riku clicked his teeth. "You wish."
"But I trust Luna," Noctis continued. "She wouldn't ask someone to look for me unless she knew they were a good person."
Luna's name seemed to make Riku's annoyance evaporate. He opted for a more easygoing stance, giving Noctis a respectful nod. "I'll give her your message. I do owe for saving me in the desert."
Noctis dug into his coat jacket and took out a black, leather bound book with a fancy bookmark. Opening to a random page, he wrote something down and then threw the book at Riku. Catching it, Riku put the book into the pocket of his jeans.
"Give that to her. She'll know what it means."
"Well, Prince Noctis, thank you for your help." Jasmine smirked. "And I'm eager to hear about this fiancé, but it will have to wait until after I raise the barrier around the palace."
Everyone watched as Jasmine raised her hands to the sky. Within moments, a dome of sparkling white light cascaded down and around the palace. The silvery glass shined under the sunlight, and then vanished, but Kairi could still feel its touch on her skin.
"Impressive," Ignis mused. "I've only ever seen Lady Lunafreya use the light so."
"If you think about it," Gladio began, "if there are more worlds out there, then it stands to reason that there are also more people with incredible powers."
"This makes our world feel small," Prompto sighed. He quickly perked back up. "But hey, that just means that there's more to explore."
"Such simple sentiments," echoed a husky voice.
There were yelps of surprised pain all around Kairi, but she didn't understand why. Whiteness engulfed the world around her. Normally, her mind would have questioned the fear and confusion on everyone's faces, but as she looked out into the bright light, all of her thoughts fluttered away. The light was nice. Wouldn't it be the prefect time for a nap? Why was everyone else covering their eyes?
Everyone, except for a pretty, young woman with black hair and a blue outfit. She was familiar to Kairi for some reason. Yet, Kairi couldn't remember her name, or anything really? What did it matter? Wouldn't walking into the light be nice? After all, the pretty lady in the blue outfit was walking toward the source. Kairi moved to follow her. The light was so warm, she wanted to become a part of it, to disappear into it.
Someone grabbed her arm and jolt of darkness zipped up into her neck. Kairi's memories, thoughts, and fears all snapped back into place. She turned around. Riku was gripping her arm tightly. Fear punched Kairi in the gut. Riku had grabbed the wrong princess. She tried to pull back, tried to reach into light.
Too late.
The light flashed, somehow brighter then before. Then it faded.
Agrabah reappeared around them.
Jasmine was gone.
In the shocked silence that followed, a letter floated down to hover in front of Kairi's eyes. Confused, angry, and with nothing better to do, Kairi ripped open the envelope.
"It's from Sora."
"What does it say?" Riku asked.
Now this was just insult to injury.
"A world has disappeared."
Jiminy's Journal
Bahamut (First Appeared in Final Fantasy III, 1990): The dragon king. A fearsome summon spirit with the power to consume darkness and control mega flare magic. Due to the light imbalance, and the darkness that is attracted to it, Bahamut frenzied and broke out of Garnet's control. Thankfully, Kairi's power was able to subdue Bahamut and return it back to its summoner.
Garnet Til Alexandros XVII (First Appeared in Final Fantasy IX, 2000): A princess from a kingdom that has long since been destroyed. On the surface, Garnet seems overly polite and timid, but she is also steadfast, kind, and refuses to give up despite everything she has lost. She and Yuna are good friends.
Chapter 59: KH3 Chapter 28: Tierra De La Muerte
Chapter Text
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty Eight: Tierra De La Muerte
The gummi ship made a sharp turn as it bounced off an invisible wall.
"Hey! Watch it!" Donald held onto his seat, waving his fist at Sora.
The boy in question didn't see Donald's angry gesture. He leaned forward in the pilot's seat, squinting at the world that was floating in thew viewport before him. A barrier, with a hexagonal pattern, had flashed, briefly obscuring the rainbow colored world ahead of them.
"Master Yen Sid said that this world hasn't crashed into any others," Sora mused, "so that shiny thing must have been the world's wall."
"Gawrsh. Looks like we'll have to use Chip and Dale's upgrades after all."
Goofy and Donald left their seats. On either side of Sora, there was a pair of levers. Goofy went to the lever on the right, while Donald took the left. Holding the levers, the two friends nodded at the pilot. With his tongue between his teeth, Sora pressed a sequence of buttons before gripping the steering wheel tight with one hand. His other hand floated over a big, red button in the middle of the wheel.
"Ready."
"Okay," Goofy said. "Going to pass the world wall in three-"
Donald's grip tightened on his lever. "Two."
Sora's fingers twitched over the big, red button. "One."
He pressed the button at the same time his friends had pulled down their levers. The ship lurched forward. Donald and Goofy wailed, holding onto the levers with both hands as their feet slid off the floor. Sora was slammed back into his seat, panicking for a split second as the ship around him completely disappeared. Golden light flashed, and the ship reappeared, only for it smash against a hard surface. Sora flew out of his chair.
He bounced around on the bridge until he collided with Donald and Goofy. In the spinning vertigo, Sora reached out and accidentally pulled the lever that opens the gummi ship's glass dome. The three friends tumbled out of the rocket, their bones clamoring together as they hit the ground.
Sora eyes were rolling in their sockets like a pair of billiard balls. Donald and Goofy had collapsed on his back. Footsteps broke through Sora's dizzy spell. He squinted at the pair of well made boots that had stomped in front of his eyes. Wow, his brain really wasn't working after that crash. One of the boots were missing. Instead an ordinary foot, all Sora saw were bones.
"Dios mio! You three and that infernal machine!"
Something whacked Sora upside the head. "Ouch!"
"You nearly smashed the plaza to pieces! What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The world swirled as Sora got to his feet. He closed his eyes, rubbing the lump on his forehead. Sora's sense of touch must have been off as well, because his forehead felt oddly hard and smooth, instead of fleshy and warm.
"Sorry, ma'am," Sora began. "We lost control of our ride."
"You boys are loco if you dare to fly that contraption. Be more careful next time."
Sora grinned sheepishly. His head finally stopped spinning long enough for him to open his eyes. If the woman had thought he and his friends had been rude before, she was practically fuming when Sora opened his mouth, pointed right at her face, and screamed.
"You're a skeleton!"
Sora stared at his arm. Instead of seeing flesh, there were radius and ulna bones between his sleeve and glove. He slapped his hands on his face, feeling cheekbones instead of skin.
"I'm a skeleton!"
A pair of frantic screams exploded behind Sora. Turning, Sora gawked at his friends. Gone were the fur and feathers. Donald and Goofy were now nothing but bones. The only organs that had remained were their eyes.
Donald's beak trembled. "S-s-sora, how hard did you crash the gummi ship?"
"I didn't do anything, I swear! I just did what Chip and Dale told us to do to pass through the wall."
Goofy looked as though he were about to cry. "F-f-fellars, are we d-d-"
"Dead."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy turned toward the woman with the boots. Her voice was surprisingly calm. Though she stood with her arms crossed, the harsh expression on her facial bones had softened. There was a tender look in her brown eyes as she regarded the trio.
"It is a surprise when you first realize it," the skeleton woman stated. "But it happens to everyone eventually." Reaching out, she took Sora's hand in hers. "Welcome to the Land of the Dead."
Sora found himself exhaling in wonder as he looked out into the world. Buildings were stacked on top of buildings, all glowing various bright colors in the deep, dark night. There were endless plazas. Suspended trollies moved people from one section of the city to another. Sora could hear the distant strumming of guitars, the loud booms of trumpets and trombones, and the pops of fireworks.
Somewhere, from deep in Sora's memories, he remembered the stained glass from his dreams, and the cold, night air that would lull him to sleep. The Land of the Dead had the same feeling. He looked around the plaza that he had crashed landed in. Skeletons were gathered around a fountain, children were trying to break a horse piñata that was suspended from the second floor balcony of a house. A panicked skeleton, who looked a lot more beat up then the others, was running toward them.
"IMELDA!"
Hearing her name, the woman that had hit Sora with her boot, turned around. Her tone sounded tired when she greeted the shabby skeleton.
"What's this about, Héctor?"
"Miguel. He's here."
Imelda looked as though her eyeballs were two seconds away from popping out of their sockets. "He's dead?"
"No. He's alive. I can't send him home!"
Imelda put her fingers between her teeth and whistled. A roar came down from the sky. Sora would have gulped if he still had an esophagus. A massive, jaguar-like creature, with the florescent wings of a green parrot, and the horns of a ram, came plummeting down from above. The beast landed silently, even though its big paws could have wrapped about Sora's whole head.
Imelda moved toward the giant cat and stroked its muzzle.
"Take us to Miguel, Pepita."
The jaguar purred, and then lowered its head so that Imelda could climb aboard its back. Héctor, the shabbier skeleton, put a hand on his straw hat, and then grabbed a hold of the jaguar's flank. He looked absolutely panicked when the creature beat its powerful wings and flew off. Sora's eyes followed the glowing, green and yellow cat until it vanished into the rainbow city beyond.
He looked around. Behind him was a great stone gate with metal bars. Skeletons were crowded behind the bars, pushing and shoving. Sora recognized the dissonance of arguing. He could see several security guards standing between the crowd and the gates.
"Please, everyone! We are trying to solve the problem as soon as we can. Kindly return to your homes."
The crowd was not listening. After closing the gummi ship's hatch and making sure the ship was still functional, Sora, Donald, and Goofy moved toward the angry crowd.
"I demand to cross the bridge!"
Sora jumped up, trying to see over the skulls and beyond the gates. He spotted an orange bridge, made entirely out of marigold petals, leading out of the Land of the Dead.
"We cannot allow that," one of the guards shouted. "No one has returned after crossing the bridge. And the bridge should not even be here at this time of year. You all know that. There could be danger. You could fall off and be forgotten."
"I don't care if its not Dia de los Muertos! I want to see my family!"
"My friend crossed and did not come back! I have to go after him!"
The skeletons began pushing, forcing the guards backward, closer to the metal bars and gates. Sora tried to squeeze the crowd. Instead, he slipped, and landed in a heap of bones as the a loud boom shook the sky, the ground, the petals on the marigold bridge. The crowd screamed. The few skeletons that were able to stay standing watched in horror.
Beyond the metal bars, the marigold petals began to crumple, and the bridge collapsed like a sandcastle being swept away by the tide. Then, there was nothing beyond the stone gate but an empty space, and the dark sea that surrounded the Land of the Dead. A wave of panicked voices rose up.
"¿Por qué?"
"How are we going to see our living families now?"
"How will all the other skeletons comes back?"
"What if no new people can come to the Land of the Dead?"
The guards did their best to soothe the people, but it was clear by the wide eyes and clenched jaws that they were just as surprised as everyone else. Sora spotted one guard standing alone. Making his way over, Sora stood on the other side of the gate and gawked at the empty space where there had once been a glorious, golden bridge.
"Excuse me, sir?"
The guard turned around. "I'm sorry, muchacho. I don't know why the bridge collapsed."
"Has anything like this ever happened before?"
"No. Not that I know of." The guard stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down as though hoping the bridge would magically spring back up again.
"On the off chance that it has," Sora pressed, "where would we find information about it?"
The guard shrugged. "The archives in the Department of Family Reunions. If you're going there, head out soon. After this mess, the office will be overrun with angry skeletons."
The guard gave Sora directions to a place called Marigold Grand Central Station. The Department of Family Reunions was right across the metal bridge above the train tracks. By the time Sora, Donald, and Goofy had gotten there, there was already a huge crowd between them, and the department building.
Groaning, Sora leaned over the metal bridge for a moment and watched the trains moving in the terminal below. He took a few moments to calm himself, keeping his eyes on a incoming train. There was someone standing on the roof. Sora squinted. What kind of crazy skeleton would ride a train that way?
As the train got closer, Sora swore he heard a familiar voice.
"Fantastic! What a wonderful new place!"
Sora didn't have a beating heart in his new form, but if he had, he was sure it would have jumped up into his throat. He leaned so far over the railing, trying to see who was on the roof of the train. He tipped forward. Hands grabbed his pants and shirt jacket. Donald and Goofy yanked Sora back. The boy fell back on the bridge, just as the train roared by underneath.
"What are you doing?" Goofy asked. "You could have gotten hurt."
Donald waved a hand in front of Sora's eyes. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. I thought I saw...never mind. We have to get to the archives."
Since going through the font doors was a no-go, the trio looped around the Department of Family Reunions, into an alleyway. While searching for a back door, Sora heard a familiar voice coming from the window to his right.
"Mijo! What are you doing here? Did you break your promise?"
Sora pressed his face against the window. He braced himself, waiting for his nose to squish against the cold glass, but when no discomfort came, he had to spare a moment to laugh inwardly. Skeletons didn't have noses. At least it made it easier for him to see into the office beyond the window. Imelda and Héctor stood inside. Another skeleton sat behind a large desk. The words "Case Worker of the Year" were etched into a trophy on his desk.
Between Imelda and Héctor was a little boy in a red hoodie and jeans. The boy had his hood pulled over his face, his head tipped downward to look at the floor. Behind him, Héctor put his hands on the boy's shoulders. He gave Imelda a pleading look.
"Please, let's just hear what Miguel has to say before we make assumptions." Gently, Héctor nudged the boy's hood. "Go ahead, chamaco."
Imelda put her hands on her hips, making Héctor flinch.
"I don't want to hear a word out of you. For all I know, Miguel could have come back here to see you." Imelda threw up her hands. "Musicians! Always putting our family in danger. Miguel, you swore you would never play music again."
"And I haven't!" Miguel replied, pulling his hood lower over his face. "I have no idea how I came back here." His voice trembled. "It's not even Dia De Muertos. And look."
Miguel lifted his hand, wiggling the bones of his fingers.
Sora found it strange that Imelda and Héctor gasped at the sight of Miguel's hand. Wasn't everyone in the Land of the Dead a skeleton? What was so strange about Miguel's hand? He squinted through the glass. He could have sworn there was a thin outline around Miguel's hand, almost as though his fingers were in a really translucent, flesh colored glove.
Héctor held Miguel's hand. "The curse is this far along already?"
The case worker at the desk adjusted his glasses. "This is serious, Señora. It seems that Miguel has less time to get home. Normally, he would have until sunrise, but now, I'd estimate he has only half the time."
"Half the time?" Miguel began to sway.
Before he could smack his head against one of the many overfilled bookshelves in the room, Imelda and Héctor caught him. Miguel's head flopped to side. When Héctor gently lifted the boy's head so that it was straight, Miguel's hood slipped off.
At the window, Sora pointed and screamed. After seeing nothing but skeleton faces, his ribs tingled when Miguel's hood had fallen away to reveal a cute, fleshy, very-much-alive, face.
Hearing their friend's shocked reaction, Donald and Goofy pressed their faces against the glass. It wasn't long before their surprised screams joined Sora's. The noise drew the attention of Imelda, Héctor, Miguel, and the case worker. Imelda stomped toward the window, pushed it open, and pulled the trio into the office. Sora, Donald, and Goofy tumbled onto the floor. Imelda gave each of them a glower.
"You three! Explain yourselves!"
Sitting in the middle of room, and rubbing their heads, the trio could do nothing but smile apologetically at Imelda.
"Sorry, ma'am, uh, Señora. We didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that, well, that boy is alive."
"That boy is Miguel Rivera, our great-great grandson." Imelda pointed to herself, and Héctor.
"Hola," Miguel waved awkwardly.
"And if we don't find a way to send him back to the living world soon, then he'll turn into a skeleton."
Sora swallowed hard. "You mean-"
"Yes," the case worker cut in, "he'll have to stay in the Land of the Dead forever."
Sora was on his feet in seconds. "That's awful! How do we send him back?"
"Well, normally," the case worker picked up an orange flower petal from his desk, "all Miguel would have to do is get a blessing from his family." The case worker gave the flower petal to Imelda. "Señora, if you would."
Imelda took the flower, faced Miguel, and said his name. Then she said, "I give you my blessing."
Sora held his breath, and then let it out just as quickly. Nothing had happened.
Héctor reached over and poked the petal in Imelda's fingers. "The petal didn't even glow."
The case worker shrugged. "We've been having this problem for a while. Blessings aren't working as they usually would. Perhaps we'll have to walk the boy across the bridge and try the blessing closer to the Land of the Living."
"But the bridge is gone," said Donald.
"Yeah," Goofy added, "we watched it collapse."
"What?"
Imelda didn't shriek. Rather, her statement rumbled with a low anger, the kind that only mothers and experienced criminal leaders could master. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all gulped.
"It's the truth," Sora said. "We came to the Department of Family Reunions to see if such a thing has ever happened before."
"The bridge has vanished?" The office worker collapsed into his chair. "Señora Rivera, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for Miguel."
Imelda slammed her hands on the worker's desk. "He's a living child. He can't stay in this world. I demand to speak to the man in charge!"
The case worker shrugged. "This is completely unprecedented. No one living has ever crossed into the Land of the Dead outside of Dia de los Muertos, curse or no curse."
Miguel shivered.
Héctor gently squeezed Miguel's shoulder. "It's okay, chamaco."
His words didn't stop Miguel from shaking. "So, I'm just going to say here and become a skeleton? I can never go home?"
"No way."
Everyone faced Sora. He stood with his hands on his hips, confidence practically oozing off the smile on his face.
"There has to be another way to send Miguel home. And if we can't get him out of this world, then maybe we can take him to ano-"
A pair of hands clamped down on Sora's mouth. He struggled to stay standing. Donald hung on his back, kicking his bony flippers in the air.
"Sora, you dummy! We can't!"
Goofy waved his hands at Miguel, his great-grandparents, and the case worker. "Sorry folks. Could you please excuse us?"
Goofy pushed Sora and Donald into a corner of the room. Once the three of them had huddled together, Donald finally let go of Sora's neck.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to break the world order?"
"But if Miguel really can't leave this world, then he could die." Sora thumped his fist against his chest, eyes full of steely resolve. "I won't let that happen."
Donald blinked at Sora. Slowly, the annoyance fell from his face, replaced by a sympathetic look. "I understand how you feel, but what if taking Miguel to another world makes things worse?"
"Let's not be rash," Goofy said. "We can still find a way to send Miguel home. Let's do what we do best and investigate. Maybe someone in town might know something that the Department of Family Reunions doesn't."
"Okay." Sora crossed his arms. "But if we don't find anything in time, then I say we take Miguel to Twilight Town. I'm sure Master Yen Sid wouldn't mind keeping him safe until the world crashing problem has been solved."
Donald sighed. "I sure hope Imelda and Héctor can keep a secret."
Sora tilted his head. "We're only taking Miguel. Imelda and Héctor don't have to know about the world order."
Donald narrowed his eyes. "Sora, are you really suggesting we take Miguel anywhere without his grandparents' permission?"
"Oh." A fake kidnapping with Jim was one thing, but separating Miguel from his family without telling them would be a real crime. "You're right. That's a bad idea."
Donald sighed. "You big palooka. What would you do without me?"
"So we all agree to take Miguel to another world only as a last resort," Goofy said.
Sora and Donald nodded. The team huddle ended, and the trio faced the other skeletons in the room. Sora walked over to the case worker's desk and leaned forward.
"Is it true that Miguel can't get back to the Land of the Living without his family's blessing? Is there really no other way? Even something as small as a legend or a rumor could help us."
The case worker moved toward one of the filing cabinets. "I don't know if it's related to the bridge collapsing or not." He flipped through the pages of a thick file. "But there have been reports of creatures all over the city, as well as a rumor about a some kind of monster out in the oceans. Not only that, but there is a skeleton in the plaza that claims they don't belong in this world." The case worker frowned. "Strange thing to say. All dead come here. Anyway, if what he's saying is true, whatever brought all our 'visitor' here could be the same thing that can send Miguel home."
The case worker pulled out a paper and held it out Sora. It was a map of the Land of the Dead. Three areas were circled in red marker. One of them was a plaza in the center of the city. The second circle was beyond the city's borders, in the oceans surrounding the town. There were question marks written inside the circle. The last circle was around an immaculate tower.
Héctor groaned. "Why is Ernesto de la Cruz's mansion circled?"
"There have been reports of strange noises coming from his mansion," the case worker explained.
Miguel shoved his way through his great grandparents so that he could gawk at the map.
"Señor de la Cruz lives there?"
"Who's de la Cruz?"
Miguel gave Sora an open mouthed glare.
"Only the greatest musician to ever live."
"For some people," Héctor mumbled.
"Enough," Imelda snapped. "No more talk of musicians." She took the map and rolled it up. "We're going to investigate the plaza. Thank you, Señor."
The case worker tipped his plastic visor. "Good luck."
The trio followed Miguel, Héctor, and Imelda out of the Department of Family reunions. Just a few steps away from the building, Imelda cleared her throat. She pulled Miguel to her side and glared at Héctor. Sora and Donald exchanged confused looks. Sighing, Héctor moved back.
"I will honer our bargain, but this is between me and my great great grandson."
Héctor rubbed his arm. "Of course."
"What?" Miguel shook off Imelda's arm, moving to stand closer to Héctor. "But he's family too."
Imelda gave Héctor a stern look. "He left this family, Miguel."
"So?" Miguel argued. "If it wasn't for Papá Héctor, I wouldn't have gotten home the first time I came here."
"And what about Coco and I? Why wasn't Héctor there for us?"
Miguel rubbed his arm. "Because of music. I know."
"Listen to your grandmother, Miguel." Héctor met Imelda's icy stare. "I won't come along if you don't want me to."
Without another word, Héctor turned and began to walk away. Miguel moved to chase his great great grandfather, but Imelda stopped him. Hanging his head, Miguel followed her.
"Wait. This isn't fair." Sora chased after Imelda and Miguel. "Why are you excluding Héctor? He's worried about Miguel too."
Imelda sighed. "Listen, young man. I want to thank you for the gesture, but this is a family matter. I will find a way to send Miguel home. There's no need for you to involve yourself."
"But-"
Before Sora could utter another word, the massive cat like creature that Imelda had summoned earlier, landed in front of him. Sora went down on his bony behind. The creature growled, warning Sora against making a move. Donald and Goofy moved defensively, getting in front of Sora, weapons raised. The creature bared its teeth at them.
"Easy, Pepita," Imelda called.
Instantly, the winged jaguar calmed. She turned her muzzle toward Imelda, purring as the skeleton pet her nose.
"What is that thing?"
Once the creature had heard Donald's question, it turned to glare at him. Donald swallowed.
"This is my Pepita, my spirit guide." Imelda jumped onto Pepita's broad shoulders. She leaned over, pulling Miguel up onto the spirit guide. After one final look at Sora, Imelda and Miguel were off.
Sora watched Pepita fly until she disappeared behind a tall building. Standing, he patted down his pants and turned toward his friends.
"I want to help Imelda and Miguel, but..." Sora sighed. "It's just like with the King of Atlantis. I know I should respect people when they don't want my help, but it still feels wrong."
"It's only because you're a good person that you feel that way," Goofy said. "But still, I'm proud of ya."
Sora tilted his head. "For what?"
"For telling us how you feel, and for knowing when to stop pushing people that don't want your help. You're really growing up."
Sora grinned. "Don't tell Riku."
Donald smirked. "No promises."
After sparing a moment to share a mock glare with Donald, Sora pretended to draw something in the air.
"I don't remember the map too well, but that office guy had mentioned that there's some sort of monster out in the ocean. We should take a look."
"Good call," Donald agreed. He hung his head. "Knowing our luck, though, it's probably a giant heartless."
Sora hung his head too. "I bet it's a darkside. Again."
"Cheer up, fellars. We'll get that heatless and then we can check in on Imelda, Miguel, and Héctor too."
Boosted by Goofy's optimism, Donald and Sora raised their fists, flexing their nonexistent arm muscles. "Let's go take care of business."
The Land of the Dead was one big maze. Winding roads that branched off into alleys and dead ends, an endless supply of plazas, and tall, clustered buildings, forced Sora to stop and ask for directions multiple times. After twenty minutes, the trio was completely lost, wandering through an alley that looked exactly like the ten others they had been in before. The only difference was that something was moving around in the trash.
Sora summoned his keyblade, moving toward the twitching garbage can. Instead of a heartless popping out of the trash, an odd looking dog stuck out its head. Sora rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The dog had flesh. In fact that it was all it had. There was no little to fur covering the dog's brown skin. A few odd strands appeared around the dog's whiskers and ears, but he was otherwise hairless.
Jumping out of the trashcan, the dog came forward and nuzzled Sora's legs. He sat back, and looked up at Sora with a happy but silly smile, his long tongue hanging out from the side of his mouth.
"Uh, hi?" Sora said, not exactly sure what the dog wanted.
The dog chased his own tail for a moment. Then, he began to tug on Sora's pant leg. Sora stumbled, and the dog let go. He sprinted to the mouth of the alley and pointed with his nose, as if to say, "follow me!"
The trio chased after the dog, running through more winding alleys and streets until they finally came out into the wharf. The dog sat down in front of Sora, happily wagging his tail.
"Good boy!" Sora patted the dog's head as he looked out into the sea.
The city light were reflected on the water. If he weren't in such a hurry to find and destroy whatever giant monster was out there, Sora would have spared a moment to stare at the waves.
Instead he focused on the dog. It has run to a pier, where an old skeleton was sitting with his feet dangling over the water. The skeleton turned toward the dog, and patted its head.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Miguel?"
Sora recognized the straw hat. Carefully, as to not frighten the skeleton, he stepped onto the wooden planks. Héctor turned when Sora was only a few feet away. He stood, patting down his pants and ripped vest.
"Buenas noches, muchacho. Did Dante bring you here?"
"Dante?"
Héctor pointed to the hairless dog. "Miguel's friend."
"What's he doing here? I thought only dead people could be here."
Héctor shrugged. "I suppose Dante chased after Miguel and got stuck. Anyway, is there anything I can help you with?"
Héctor's smile twitched, as though it was an effort for him to keep it on his bony face. Sora forget why he had come to the wharf. He couldn't help but ask his next question.
"Why doesn't Señora Imelda doesn't want your help? I'm sorry if I'm being nosy. It's just that, I can see how much you care about Miguel. So why?"
Héctor's took off his straw hat. He held it like a thin shield in front of his collar bones. "When Imelda and I were young, I left her and our daughter, Coco, to realize my dream of playing music for the world. Yet, a few months into my tour, I missed my family so much. I set out for home, but..." Hector grit his teeth, closing his eyes tightly. "I died before I could be reunited with Imelda and my daughter."
Donald and Goofy covered their mouths. "That's so sad."
"Imelda raised Coco all alone," Héctor continued. "I've tried to explain that I wanted to come home, but Imelda can't forgive me. Music is the reason I abandoned my family. So Imelda is against Miguel becoming a musician. A few months ago, Miguel came to the Land of the Dead by accident. I helped convince him to go home, but he had to promise Imelda that he would never play music again."
Héctor grimaced. He tumbled forward, his bones shimmering with an unnatural golden color. Sora reached out, grabbing Héctor's shoulder, pushing the older skeleton back onto the balls of his feet. Dante leaned his body against Héctor's legs. Héctor bones flashed, and for a moment, he didn't feel solid. His bones dimmed and brightened, like a star that was slowly fading away.
Sora felt fear burn through his spine. "Héctor? What's happening? Are you all right?"
Goofy pulled Héctor's arm across his shoulders, while Donald casted a healing spell.
Donald's beak tightened. "It's not working."
The golden light faded from Héctor. Though he was oddly breathless for a person without lungs, he was able to stand. Sora, Goofy, and Dante released him. After a moment to close his eyes and compose himself, Héctor let out a surprised whisper.
"I'm being forgotten. How?"
If Sora had a throat, he would have swallowed a huge lump. "Forgotten?"
Héctor swept out an arm, to the endless city behind Sora. "This place works on memories. As long as someone alive remembers us, we're here. The last person that remembers me, is my daughter Coco, Miguel's great grandmother. And when Coco dies, there will be no one left to remember me. I'll disappear from this world."
"No." Sora's hands tightened into fists. "There has to way to stop that from happening."
Héctor nodded. "There is. If Miguel can get home safety and put my picture on our family's ofrenda, then I won't be forgotten. Because I helped Miguel get home the first time, Imelda agreed to put the photo up, but with the bridge disappearing and all the strange things happening in the Land of the Dead, I'm more worried about my great great grandson getting back to the Land of the Living then being remembered."
Sora winced, not sure of what to say. He understood that no grandparent would ever want to see something happen to their grandchild, but a sense of tragedy loomed over him and his friends. To lose someone was already terrible enough, but to know that they could one day forget their memories of that person, was even more heartbreaking. Sora didn't know how, but he felt a stinging pain under his ribs, where his heart should have been. Only Dante could pull Sora out of his malaise.
The dog nudged Sora's hand.
"What is it?" Sora asked.
Dante pointed his nose out into the sea. He then howled, stomping on the pier.
"Oh, I get it." Sora flashed Héctor, Donald, and Goofy a toothy smile. "We don't have time to stand around. We have to solve the Land of the Dead's problems as soon as possible," Sora concluded. "That way we can get Miguel home and save Héctor at the same time. Maybe Imelda doesn't want your help directly, but she never said you couldn't help Miguel from the shadows."
Héctor perked up, straightening his spine. "You'll help me?"
"There's no way you can stop us," Sora replied. Behind him, Donald and Goofy winked.
"What other strange things have been happening?" Goofy asked.
Héctor shrugged. "I've been hearing talk that the skeletons are getting into all kinds of arguments. The Land of the Dead is usually quite peaceful. Yet everyday, I hear about some new fight in town."
"I wonder what the people are fighting over," Sora thought aloud.
Rather then ponder the question, the group was distracted by Dante. The dog lowered his head, ears back, hackles raised. He backed away from the pier, whining at something only he could sense. Instinct told Sora to get Héctor away from the water. The moment they stepped back onto the stone walkway beside the pier, something burst out from under the ocean waves.
A gust of wind nearly pushed Sora off his feet. Héctor swayed, and he would have collapsed if Donald, Goofy, and Dante hadn't braced him. The air stilled and Sora lowered his arm from his eyes, only to gasp at the sight of a heartless he had never seen before.
An evil sorcerer hung over them, its long sleeves fluttering like bat wings in the night sky. A sharp staff was clutched tightly in its claws. Pink veins pulsed alongside the edges of the heart shaped hole in its cauldron shaped chest.
"Is that," Héctor shivered, "a lich?"
The heartless' lifeless, yellow eyes moved down, locking onto the skeletons on the harbor below it.
Summoning his keyblade, Sora got in front of Héctor. "What's a lich?"
"A creature that haunts the dead," Héctor explained. "I thought they were a myth."
Donald pointed Héctor and Dante in the direction of the town. "Get someplace safe. We'll handle that monster."
Once Héctor and Dante vanished into the alleyway, Sora charged at the heartless. The lich simply raised its staff. The air came alive with the force of a tornado, blowing Sora, Donald, and Goofy off their feet. They flew across the wharf, backs smashing into one of the nearby buildings. The air stopped its assault and trio slid down to the ground.
The first to get back up on his feet was Donald. On instinct, he cast a healing spell, and then moved toward Sora. He raised his staff, but stopped when Sora waved his hand.
"I'm fine. Nothing hurts." Sora looked at his palms, opening and closing his fingers. "Wait, if we're dead in this world..." His jaw dropped as the realization hit. "Then how can we even get hurt?"
Goofy, standing up, tapped his temple. "Now that ya mention it, I feel fine too."
Donald jumped up and down. "Then there's nothing to be afraid of! Let's go!"
He charged toward the lich, throwing spears of ice into the air. The heartless waved its staff, sending down a massive volley of fireballs. The burning projectiles collided with each of Donald's spells, neutralizing them. The remaining fireballs bombarded Donald.
Normally, Donald would have reacted by surrounding himself with an aero spell. But since nothing could technically kill him when he was already dead, he hadn't bothered. Instead he switched tactics. Sparks buzzed at the edge of his staff, but before Donald could even throw the spell, a fireball slammed into him, making his bones crunch into the floor. The heat ripped through his body, his bones glowed. It was the same, eerie, yellow light that had flickered on Héctor moments ago. Donald collapsed.
Sora and Goofy ran to their unconscious friend. While Goofy defended from the Lich's spells, Sora knelt down and turned Donald over.
"Can you hear me?"
"Can I have more pancakes, Uncle Scrooge?" Donald slurred.
Sora lifted his keyblade. His healing spell brought Donald back to reality. Though the duck was able to stand, Goofy couldn't take anymore hits from the lich. A powerful lightning attack hit Goofy's shield, and old knight fell over. Sora wasted no more time questioning things, reverting back to the mysterious headspace he went to whenever he was in battle. He jumped in front of Goofy, protecting his friends with a quick aero spell. Once his friends were shielded, Sora's mind buzzed, searching for a counterattack.
"Cover me."
Donald and Goofy alternated between defending and attacking. Donald was able to keep the lich's attention by forcing it to counter each of his spells. It was as though the duck and the heartless were playing catch, only instead of ball, they threw lightning, shards of ice, and hot coals of fire at each other. After throwing dozens of spells, the magic had somehow collided and amalgamated into a ball of peril that both Donald and the lich were trying to force on the other.
While Goofy supported Donald with ethers, as well as protected him from any wayward spell the lich was able to cast between throws, Sora ran toward a nearby metal watchtower. He raced up the steps, stopping when he was high enough to be on the same level as the heartless. He hurled his keyblade at the lich. Direct hit.
Sora spared a moment to shout, "yes!" Then, he squinted. The keyblade bounced off the lich and began falling into the ocean below. Summoning his weapon back, Sora attacked the lich once more, this time with a series of fire spells. Each of his hits landed, but the lich didn't even twitch.
Having noticed another series of attacks, the lich turned away from Donald and Goofy. It floated toward the watchtower. Donald forced the magical ball of death on a direct course toward the lich. The combined magic slammed into the heartless, briefly obscuring it in a flash of light.
The light faded.
The lich was unharmed.
And it hadn't stopped on its course toward Sora.
"We can't hurt it but it can somehow hurt us? That's so not fair!"
Sora ducked. A blizzard spell sailed over his head, banging into the watchtower and spreading deadly, spiky frost over the metal beams. Spears of ice spread outward so fast that Sora had no choice but to jump over the side of the watchtower and climb the nearby ladder to a higher level. The lich was on him in seconds, pelting him with spell after spell. In the moments between barrages, Sora somehow made it to the top of the tower.
The lich's yellow eyes flashed. A burning, red hot missile flew from its staff. The lich watched as an explosion broke several of the watchtower's beams. There was a splash. Looking down, the lich noticed Sora resurfacing from below the ocean waves. He swam toward the harbor, not that he would get there in time.
The lich raised its staff, a massive electrical charge began to sizzle along its arm. It reared back, and-
"Hey! Over here estúpido!"
An empty soup can flew through the air and bounced off the lich's head. The lich froze. With the spell still sparking on its staff, it turned its head toward the pier. Héctor was jumping up and down, waving his hands. Dante ran around Héctor's legs, yapping.
The lich pointed its staff at the pier. The lightning flew, but it didn't hit its target. Just a millisecond before the spell went off, a keyblade came flying up from the below. It struck the heartless' staff, moving the staff and the spell off course. Black lightning exploded across the sky and though parts of the harbor. The spell hit several storage crates full of supplies.
One the crates burst, and all kinds of instruments tumbled out, creating a cacophony of sour notes as they hit the ground. A guitar string was pulled, and the tone made everyone grind their teeth. Up above, the lich raised its arms. It smacked its claws on the sides of its face, thrashing its head as though trying to shake off a splitting headache.
Héctor saw the heartless thrash. He moved to the broken crate and the instruments that had tumbled out of it. The sound of musical instruments stopped. The lich lifted its head, and spotted, Sora. The boy had reached the harbor. Donald and Goofy pulled Sora out of the water, just in time to see the lich hovering several feet right behind him.
Spears of ice appeared around the heartless' body. Rearing back, the heartless prepared to strike.
A melody began to play.
"Well everyone knows Juanita," Héctor sang.
The lich froze. The shards of ice around its body faded.
"Her eyes each a different color," Héctor continued.
The lich began to tremble. It flung its body in the air, back and forth as though it were being tossed about by invisible hands.
"Her teeth stick out and her chin goes in." Héctor's voice rose, the guitar in his deft fingers singing alongside him. "And her knuckles, they drag on the floor."
The lich barreled forward. Sora, Donald, and Goofy lunged to the side to avoid getting tackled by the heartless' body. They regrouped, lifting their weapons.
"Her hair is like a briar."
The lich began smashing its body against the concrete, over and over.
"She stands in a bowlegged stance."
"Now's our chance!"
Goofy put his shield over his head, and waved at Sora. Jumping onto the shield, Sora was launched up into the air. As he fell, one of Donald's lightning bolts struck the lich beneath him. The lich's writhing doubled, flakes of its black body crumbling off and onto the concrete. Héctor's voice was lowering, and Sora could sense the end of the song coming. By this time Sora was plummeting, gaining speed on the vulnerable heartless below. He threw his body forward, flipping in the air, gathering light around his keyblade.
"And if I weren't so ugly."
Sora slashed through the heartless' torso.
"She's possibly give me a chance."
The last notes of Héctor's song played, and Sora rolled just as he hit the ground. He flipped back on his feet, watching as the heartless thrashed on the floor. It grabbed its staff, and swung it. Wind burst upward from the ground, blowing everyone back. When the wind died down, and Sora uncovered his eyes. The heartless was gone, having fled before it could be finished for good.
Héctor ran to the group, his face creased with concern. Before he could ask anyone if they were all right, the trio gathered around him, applauding. Héctor blinked, an timid grin on his face. Rubbing the back of his neck, he took a bow.
Sora looked at the guitar in Héctor hands. "That was amazing! What a great song! You really saved us!"
"I couldn't just let you three fight that monster alone. It was lucky that that creature does not like music. So is it gone?"
Sora's good mood faded just a bit. "No. It escaped. And it did something to Donald when we were fighting it."
Donald shuddered. "I felt really weak, and for a moment, I could see through my own bones."
Héctor gave Donald a grave look. "My friend, that sounds like you were being forgotten."
Now it was Goofy's turn to shudder. "So, we can't get hurt here, but the heartless can make us be forgotten?"
Héctor turned toward the city. "The lich is still out there, isn't it? We must find it before it can hurt anyone else."
"In my experience," Sora said, "heartless tend to gather where there are a lot of people."
Héctor moved away from the wharf, hobbling toward an alleyway. "The Plaza de la Cruz is the most popular part of the city. And Miguel and Imelda were headed there."
"Then we'd better get a move on." Goofy went to stand next to Héctor's side. "If you start to feel funny, just let me know. I'll keep an eye on ya."
"Thanks amigo."
Dante, ran around the party, doing three whole laps, before running into the alley. Héctor and Goofy followed, with Donald and Sora bringing up the rear. The back alleys had distant laughter and chatter as skeletons gathered around, singing, drinking, or playing cards around big barrels. As they moved through the alleys, Donald nudged Sora.
"So heartless in this world are vulnerable to music. Just like how heartless in Roger Rabbit's world were weak to laughter."
"I wonder if this is because of the world's laws. Or it could be because of the imbalance of light and darkness messing with everything," Sora whispered back.
"We can't know for sure." Donald rubbed his arms, giving Sora an uncertain look. "But there is something I wanted to tell you."
"What is it?"
"I don't know why, but I have a really funny feeling."
Donald rubbed his stomach, or rather, where his stomach should have been.
"Tummy ache?"
Donald's eyelids lowered, and he tilted his head to the side, leveling Sora with a look that was equal parts exhausted and sarcastic. "No, dummy. The atmosphere just feels, I don't know, powerful. It's a lot like the feeling I get whenever I use magic. There's a lot of energy, all around us. If I still had feathers, they'd be sticking up right now."
"Looks like we really can't let up while we're here. Dead or not."
"Right." Donald agreed.
The party eventually boarded a cable car that was suspended in the air. As they moved over the city, Héctor pointed to a massive plaza that was lit up with string lights. Colorful tissue paper, which was cut to form intricate designs, hung from strings that stretched from one end of the plaza to the other. "Papel picado," Héctor explained.
In the middle of the plaza, between two small ponds was a stage. Though the party was too high up to see who was performing, a crowd had gathered. Happy cheering, clapping, and spooky music wafted up from below.
The trolly eventually stopped a few streets down from Plaza de la Cruz. The closer the party got to the plaza, the brighter the lights became. There was a flash, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy yelp as they covered their eyes. Yet, as the light passed over Sora's bones, he a smooth, warm flutter pass though him.
Sora took a step closer to the mouth of the alley, toward the light. It caressed his bones, cocooning him in warmth and sweet silence. For a moment, Sora forgot where he was, what he was there to do. How nice would it be to just fade away, to float in the light, to-
Screams.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy jerked, shaking their heads to push away the feeling of tranquility that had muddled their minds mere seconds ago. The light at the end of the street dimmed faster then the sky after sunset. As it vanished, shouts rose up in its place. Skeletons sprinted away from the plaza. Some of them were wiping off orange goo from their skulls and collar bones.
Leaving Goofy to protect Héctor, Sora and Donald, weaved through the panicked civilians, finally entering the plaza. They searched for heartless to fight. Several skeletons were jumping and running away from orange projectiles that were flying out from the stage. From their vantage point, Sora and Donald couldn't see beyond the curtains.
One of the orange projectiles burst onto a nearby crowd of skeletons. Orange goo flew everywhere, and a bunch of it slapped Donald in the face, making him fall over. Sora tried to tell the crowd to run, but he stopped.
Laughter was mixed in with the screams.
A few of the adults were happily roaring at the top of their lungs. They peeled off the orange goo. Some even ate it. Other adults ran off in a huff, annoyed, but it was the children that Sora noticed the most. They jumped up and down, trying to catch the glowing, orange spheres. Something flew over Sora's head. He looked up. His brain identified the flying object as a pumpkin. Then, he had to grit his teeth when the pumpkin smashed into his face.
Sora licked his teeth, tasting the goo. Yup. Pumpkin. And spice. Turning, Sora finally got a full view of the wooden stage, and the performer that was on it. His jaw, quite literally, detached from the rest of his face, and hit the ground.
It shouldn't have been too surprising to see yet another skeleton on the stage. Except, unlike every other skeleton in the Land of the Dead, this one did not have eyes in his sockets. He was taller, with long, spider thin arms and legs. He wore a black, pin stripped suit with a bat serving as the tie.
Sora picked up his jaw and reattached it to his face, only so that he could say, "Jack Skellington?"
He watched Jack wow and surprise the audience. Jack was standing on one leg. Using his other leg, and both of his arms, he juggled pumpkins the size of volleyballs. When the audience least expected it, Jack threw some of the glowing pumpkins into the crowd. The pumpkins exploded, showering the audience with sweet goo.
Sora was so floored and enthralled that he didn't notice Héctor, Donald, Goofy, and Dante come to join him in the audience. After a moment of surprise, where Donald did a triple take so fast that his head actually spun around his skull, the party was quickly infected by the happy mood of the surrounding crowd.
Jack wasn't just juggling pumpkins. He spun and flipped, catching pumpkins behind his back, or throwing them back up by kicking with his free leg. Then, suddenly, Jack missed a single pumpkin.
The crowd gasped.
All of the pumpkins that Jack had been juggling, came crashing down on his head, burying him until there was only a small, orange mountain on the stage. No one moved for several seconds, waiting for something to happen.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy inched toward the stage, to check on their old friend. A few children got there first. They moved around the pumpkin pile, inspecting it. One of the kids reached out, her finger an inch away from the orange fruit.
The pumpkin pile burst, orange goop exploding outward, pelting the kids and the crowd before the stage. Jack burst up from the pile, did a triple back flip, and landed on his feet with a loud, "Ta-da!"
The kids, the audience, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Héctor all stared, stunned by the sudden surprise. Then, the children were laughing. They threw goo at each other while crowding around Jack.
After a grand bow, Jack stood and waved at the crowd. "Thank you all! You have been outstanding!"
Surprising Jack Skellington is generally a hard thing to do, but it's not impossible. As the Pumpkin King, and the spirit of Halloween, Jack's purpose was to bring chills down everyone's spine, create terror in the hearts of even the most stalwart men, and shock both children and adults with fear and delight. So when three unfamiliar skeletons tackled Jack so hard that he was knocked off the stage, Jack's mouth formed into a large "O" as a silent yelp burst from between his teeth.
"Gentleman, please!"
Jack held up his hands, trying to detangle himself from Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Lucky for him, the trio finally released him, allowing him to stand.
"Jack! You're okay! I thought I saw you earlier! When Sally said you were missing, I expected the worst!"
Jack squinted at Sora, bending down so that he was eye level with the boy. He took in the spiky brown hair on Sora's skull, and looked into those earnest blue eyes. Then he grabbed Sora and lifted him up, twirling the boy around.
"Sora! How marvelous! You're a skeleton! You look absolutely bone chilling!"
"Thank you. Your show was spectacular," Sora countered.
Jack put Sora down.
"Wait. What are you doing here?"
Donald took over the conversation.
"What are we doing here? What are you doing here? This isn't where you belong."
Jack wagged his index finger. "It is indeed not." He spread his arms. "But oh, what a spectacular world! The skeletons here have no interest in scaring. They enjoy their days spending time with their friends, visiting the Land of the Living, listening to music, watching masked wrestlers fight. Why I have never felt so inspired! I cannot wait to go back to Halloween Town and add more family friendly and musical events to next year's Halloween." Jack's exuberance faded, and he scratched his cheek, a touch of concern creeping in. "That is, if I can ever find out how to get back home."
"How did ya get here?" Goofy asked. "Sally was really worried about you, and Halloween Town was in a heap o' trouble on our last visit."
When he heard Sally's name, Jack straightened. "What kind of trouble? Are my friends all right?"
"We handled it," Sora said proudly. He explained about the fog, Santa's warning about the light, and how Riku had defeated the Sanderson sisters.
"Many thanks, friends." Jack smiled. "And to answer your question," Jack nodded at Goofy, "I was wandering the graveyards, thinking of new plans for next year's Halloween when suddenly, poof!" When Jack snapped his fingers, a small puff of smoke appeared over his hand. "I found myself here. What a discovery. To think there are many more worlds out there besides Halloween and Christmas town."
"Yeah, about that," Sora smiled sheepishly. "Mind keeping the whole, 'other world' thing to yourself? Not everyone knows that there are more worlds out there, and we don't want to cause any excess trouble."
"Of course. It is the least I can do after you saved my town. Now then, why are you three here?"
Donald sighed. "We don't have time for this. I bet Héctor is wondering where we are. And we have a heartless to chase."
Jack held up a hand. "Say no more. I will be honored to join your quest. Once we've completed our objective, will you help me get home? Sally and the others need me."
"You got it," said Sora. "Say, you've been in the Land of the Dead for a while. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Orbs."
"Orbs?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy repeated.
"Yes. There are rumors that strange orbs have been popping up here and there, all over the city. The people also say that the citizens in town are acting strangely, as though they're more irritable then usual."
How was it possible to not have any internal organs, yet still feel anxiousness bubbling in one's stomach? Sora looked up into the buildings, as through trying to spot such strange orbs in the windows, balconies, and fire escapes. He remembered the switching problem in Hollow Bastion, and the fog in Halloween Town. He shuddered to think what kind of chaos was in store. Sora only hoped that these strange orbs couldn't possibly be as bad as splitting a world down the middle.
He swallowed hard. Héctor and Miguel were on a time limit, so it made the most sense to help them first, all while finding and destroying the lich before it could hurt anyone. Dread tingled in Sora's ribs. He wished his friends had come with him to the Land of the Dead. They could have split up and covered more ground. What if the orbs and the heartless were connected? What if the people's strange behavior had to do with being cut off from the Land of the Living? What if-
"Easy, Sora."
Blinking, Sora looked up at Jack. "What?"
"I've never felt such fear from you before. You usually have such a courageous spirit."
"I'm not scared." Sora offered a smile. "Just worried. We have a lot to do."
"I see." Jack gently poked Sora's forehead. "But just to remind you: it's all right to feel afraid. It is the sign of a strong heart. Fear and doubt help people stay safe, make better choices." Jack did a little twirl. "It even makes you feel alive. It is only when you let your fears control you, that you invite the darkness."
"You're right. Thanks Ja-"
There was a cracking sound in the distance. Sora dashed around the stage. Silence had descended in the surrounding area, and if Sora hadn't been in such an adrenaline rush, he would have questioned the lack of screaming.
Bursting out from behind the stage, Sora watched as chaos raged before him. Dozens of darkball heartless had appeared. They were chasing around the frightened civilians, and every time a darkball bit or tackled an innocent skeleton, their bones began to flash with the golden glow of being forgotten. Sora spotted Héctor in the crowd. He was strumming his guitar, trying to create a melody. A darkball was flying toward his back.
Sora opened his mouth to warn Héctor. No sound came out. He grabbed his neck, his teeth opening and closing.
Silence.
The heartless were blocking out all the sound.
Jiminy's Journal:
Imelda Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): The matriarch of the Rivera family. Because Héctor left Imelda and their daughter, Coco, to play music for the world, Imelda had outlawed music in her home. Despite her strict nature, she is dedicated to her family, and will do whatever she can to make sure they are safe and provided for.
Héctor Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): Imelda's estranged husband. He died on his music tour, leaving Imelda and Coco behind. Héctor deeply cares for Coco, and wishes desperately to see her again. Even though he is being forgotten, Héctor has resolved to do whatever he can to send Miguel home, so that his great great grandson can live out his life.
Miguel Rivera (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): A living boy that loves music. Miguel's dream was to be like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz. This is his second time visiting the Land of the Dead. The first time, Imelda sent him home with the condition that he never play music again. The clock is ticking for Miguel. If he doesn't find a way to return to the Land of the Living before his entire body becomes a skeleton, then Miguel will stay in the Land of the Dead forever.
Pepita (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): Pepita is an alebrije, a spirit guide from the Land of the Dead. She's a fierce creature that guides and protects the Rivera family, though she tends to follow Imelda's commands the most.
Dante (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): A xoloitzcuintle dog from the streets of Santa Cecilia. Dante is Miguel's best friend, and he is so loyal that he followed Miguel to the Land of the Dead. Dante is a bit clumsy, but he has the uncanny ability to lead people to where they need to go.
Jack Skellington (First Appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993): As the leader of Halloween Town, and the spirit of Halloween itself, Jack loves to plan surprises and incite shrieks from even the bravest of people. Though he hails from such a spooky place, Jack is a gentleman that treats people with patience and respect. He was wandering Halloween Town when he somehow got pulled into the Land of the Dead.
Chapter 60: KH3 Chapter 29: Remember Me
Chapter Text
A/N
Because if Kingdom Hearts was ever to have a musical in it, THIS is how it should have been done...not just randomly putting in another "Let it Go" music video in KH3.
Also, 100 points to anyone that gets the obscure Space Mountain reference in this chapter. Happy Fall!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Twenty Nine: Remember Me
Even in the eerie silence, Sora could not stand by and let Héctor get hurt. Yet, when he raised his keyblade to shout out a spell, Sora's knees nearly buckled. No sound, no chanting, no magic, no music. Mentally, he spared a single second to apologize to Héctor for what he had to do next. He hurled his keyblade across the battlefield, and thanked his lucky stars that it didn't hit any innocent bystanders.
The keyblade smashed into Héctor's legs, crumbling the surprised skeleton into a pile of confused bones. As Héctor tried to reassemble his parts, the keyblade continued spinning through the air. It throttled the darkball that had been creeping up behind Héctor. Sora would have breathed a sigh of relief, but the heartless was not defeated.
He pantomimed to his friends, trying to order them to keep the heartless away from the people. Sora pointed to Goofy's shield, then to the citizens, and then to the darkballs that were raining down from the sky. Somehow the message got across, and the group spread out to try and deflect as many heartless as possible. The minutes dragged by. Sora knew they couldn't keep this up for long. He only had so many potions in his pocket, and without the ability to use healing spells, the team would soon be too exhausted to fight off the heartless.
He got close to Héctor and the two of them moved about the plaza. Héctor was able to duck and dodge heartless by separating his upper half from his legs, or collapsing into a pile of bones. Against everything, the team was able to evacuate the civilians from the plaza. Yet the threat of being forgotten loomed over Sora and the others as they continued to fruitlessly attack the unrelenting heartless.
A darkball smashed into Jack's back and he fell forward, his bones flashing with gold. Goofy smacked the heartless away, but it wasn't long before the whole team was surrounded and exhausted. Another darkball charged at Héctor from his blind spot. Sora reached out and pulled Héctor away, and the heartless bumped into Héctor's guitar instead. The guitar flew across the plaza, landing softly on a broken awning. It slid to the ground, somehow unbroken, but useless. Until pair of feet appeared before the guitar.
Héctor opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Sora knew exactly what Héctor felt in that moment. Across the plaza, Miguel bent down and picked up the guitar. He then had to duck to avoid getting bitten by a rampaging darkball. Héctor broke away from the team, running toward his great great grandson.
In the panic of running and dodging, Sora spotted a flash of red. He skid to a stop. In the center of the plaza, floating above the fountain, its mouth agape, a strange undulating wave of light escaping from its mouth, was a red eyed darkball. Sora reached out, and grabbed Jack's hand. He pointed to the darkball.
Jack grabbed Sora's arms and pulled the boy up onto his shoulders. Using his long legs and height, Jack jumped over the darkballs that were closer to the ground. Up on Jack's shoulders, Sora got a clear shot at the red eyed heartless on the fountain. The moment he was close enough, Sora stood up on Jack's shoulders. He threw his body at the heartless, tackling it to the ground. They bounced along the cobblestone. Sora wrapped his legs around the heartless' round body and used his hands to snap the darkball's mouth shut.
Sound returned to the atmosphere like a window being smashed to pieces. Sora was grateful that he didn't technically have ears, because he was sure they would have been ringing. He never realized how loud hitting the ground was. The red eyed heartless struggled in his arms, but Sora refused to let it go, clamping its mouth shut with everything he had. Jack was there a second later. He stood over Sora, defending him while Sora wrestled with the heartless, panting from the effort of keeping its mouth shut.
Héctor was the first to speak.
"Miguel, you have to play! These creatures don't like music!"
Miguel looked across the plaza at his great great grandfather, hesitating. "But I promised I would never play music again."
A darkball dove down toward Miguel. The boy yelped, but he was saved a moment later when Donald, launched in the air by Goofy, came flying out of the sky. He crashed into the darkball, stomping down on it with his angry flippers. It wasn't enough to hurt the heartless, but it did give Miguel a chance to run away. Dante weaved through the heartless. He ran to Miguel's side and nipped the boy's sleeve. Dante pulled Miguel toward the stage. Once there, he barked at the microphone.
Miguel bit his lip, and lifted the guitar into position. The low, smooth notes of a guitar rang out. "What color is the sky, ay mi amor, ay mi amor," Miguel sang, his voice shaky, but his guitar was loud and rythmic. "You say that it is red, ay mi amor, ay mi amor..."
The second Miguel's musical notes rang out, Sora looked up at Jack and shouted.
"Attack! Now!"
Jack summoned several fire spells, and charged at the heartless. As the music continued, darkballs dropped to the ground, twitching like downed birds after hitting a broken electrical wire. Jack charred and froze heartless with his ghostly magic, while Donald loosed several rage fueled lightning spells at clusters of darkballs. Goofy pounded down on heartless with his shield beneath his feet.
"Where should I put my shoes, ay mi amor, ay mi amor," Miguel's voice was rising, gaining confidence as he watch the team take down heartless. "You say 'put them on your head!' Ay mi amor, ay mi amor!"
The darkball in Sora's clutches finally stopped thrashing. It writhed in place, twitching, but no longer violently jerking its body this way and that. Sora let it go. He stood over the darkball, raised his keyblade over his head, and pummeled the red eyed heartless like a lumberjack hacking a series of logs into pieces. It took up to thirteen powerful hits before the red eyed heartless finally exploded into dust.
Miguel began to dance.
"You make me un poco loco
Un poqui-ti-ti-to-loco
The way you keep me guessing,
I'm nodding and I'm yes-ing
I'll count it as a blessing.
That I'm just un poco loco..."
With the silencer darkball defeated, getting rid of the remaining heartless was a total cakewalk. Miguel's music took on a more joyful tone. By that time, Dante had dragged Héctor up onto the stage to dance and sing alongside Miguel.
The last heartless was defeated, but Héctor and Miguel continued to perform together. Héctor rearranged his bones, his head bouncing on his foot while his hands worked as feet. He bounced around Miguel, singing.
The loco that you make me,
It is just un poco crazy,
The sense that you're not making
The liberties you're taking
Miguel matched his great grandfather's energy, skipping around with his guitar as the two of them harmonized. Dante leaned his head back and howled happily. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack lined up before the stage, clapping in rhythm.
The liberties you're taking
Leaves my cabeza shaking,
You are just un poco loco
Un poqui-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-to loco!
Jack, Donald, Goofy, and Sora erupted into loud cheers when the song ended. Getting up onto the stage, they swarmed Miguel and Héctor, congratulating, thanking, and staring at them in total awe. Donald jumped up and thumped Miguel on the shoulder, making Miguel stumble into Jack and Sora.
Jack reached out, helping Miguel regain his balance.
"A living child. Here? Fascinating." Jack leaned down to stare into Miguel's face. "You truly have the spirit of a performer, my friend."
Miguel turned around to say thank you, but then his smile turned into an slight cringe when he noticed that Jack didn't have any eyes in his sockets. He jerked away, looking the tall skeleton up and down.
"Uh, thanks. You're, um, a lot spookier then the other skeletons."
Jack put his hand on his bony chest and leaned his body forward in a small bow. "Why thank you, young man."
"You really saved us." Sora pointed at the guitar in Miguel's hands. "And you play so well!"
Miguel blushed. When the cheer eventually died down, Héctor asked Miguel why he had come to Plaza de la Cruz.
"Where's Imelda? And Pepita?"
Miguel pulled his hood over his head. "Well, you see, I may have run away to look for you."
"Miguel." Héctor's scolding voice wasn't as scary as Imelda's. In fact, he sounded more tired then disappointed.
"I had to!" Miguel defended. "She doesn't understand. If she says that family so important, then that includes you too! And, I was hoping, musician to musician, that you would help me."
"Of course, I'll help you get home, mijo, but we must-"
"I don't want to go home. Not yet anyway. I want to talk to Ernesto de la Cruz."
"There's no time for that. Look at your hands."
Miguel tried to hide his hands by shoving them into his jacket pockets. But he hadn't been fast enough. Sora had already noticed Miguel's curse had spread beyond his hands, into his wrists and forearms.
"We have to find a way to get you home as soon as possible. We have to go back to Imelda."
"But once I go, I may never get to play music again."
"Miguel, your life is so much more important then that. Don't put that before your family, like I did."
"You sound just like Mamá Imelda." Miguel rolled his eyes. "Please? Just once, I'd like to play for Señor de la Cruz. I want to know if I'm worthy of being a musician," Miguel looked down at his shoes, "before I give it up for good."
"Give it up?" Jack looked aghast. "Why would you want to stop doing something you're so passionate about?"
"My great great grandmother hates music. She made me promise never to play music again, once I go home."
"But music is apart of who you are. Why, that would be like asking me not to scare anyone ever again." Jack shuddered. "I can't imagine never being allowed to do something I love, even if I was a bit tired of it."
Without another word, Jack put his hands under Miguel's arms, and lifted the boy up so that they were eye to eye socket. "I say, you should play your guitar with pride. You have talent, and it brings you joy. Follow your passion."
Jack put Miguel down. Smiling, Miguel began to play a tune on his guitar. Donald, Goofy, and Jack moved around Miguel, dancing along with the music. Sora was about to join the merrymaking, then he heard Héctor whisper.
"He really looks happy, doesn't he?"
Sora watched Miguel. His grin was so wide and toothy that one would be blinded if a spotlight fell upon his mouth. When Miguel smiled, a dimple appeared on one of his cheeks, but not on the other.
"I don't like sneaking behind Señora Imelda's back," Sora began, "but Ernesto de la Cruz is a pretty influential guy, right? I'm sure he would know everything there is to know in the Land of the Dead. We can ask him for information, and let Miguel meet his hero at the same time."
Héctor waved Miguel over. "Mijo, let's go see Ernesto."
Miguel gasped. "Really?"
"Yes. But you have to promise me that we will go back to Imelda right after."
"I promise!"
While Héctor and Miguel shared a smile, no one noticed Dante duck his head and whine. He slowly moved away from the group, running off into the town. No one seemed to notice his absence.
Héctor turned, pointing to something in the distance. Rising from the black buildings and rainbow colored windows, was a white tower. Gaudy and with golden accents, the tower shinned brighter then everything around it. A mansion rested atop the tower's summit.
"The question is how do we get into Ernesto's mansion," Héctor said.
"Easy," Sora twirled his keyblade. "Is there a back door? I can get us through anything that has a lock."
"Not that easy." Héctor counted off on his fingers. "Ernesto's mansion is at the top a tower. It can only be accessed by a tram. And the guards don't just let anyone through. Ernesto likes people with status."
Sora paced. "Okay, so we can't sneak our way in, or break our way in," Sora stopped, glancing at Jack, "but maybe we can scare our way in."
Jack leaned his head to the side, smirking. "Why Sora? Are you suggesting we scare the guards right out of their pants so that we can frighten them off and board the tram up to the mansion?" Jack clapped his hands. "I love it! Gather close friends. Here is what we're going to do."
Ernesto de la Cruz's tower rose out of a lake of water. The tower was so wide and tall that even the bridge leading up to it could have housed a small neighborhood. A massive arch, with reliefs of Ernesto de la Cruz and his guitar, housed the trams that took visitors up the top of the tower, where de la Cruz's mansion rested. The words "seize your moment" were written above the arch.
At the base of the tower, a line of fashionably dressed and glamorous skeletons crowded on a wide, red carpet. At the front of the line, was a burly skeleton wearing sunglasses, and a black, tailored suit. He crossed his arms and looked out stoically at the skeletons in line.
Sometimes he would let a few snazzy skeletons pass the red rope to the tram, but, usually, the guard would either turn people away, or throw them back into the crowd. Those that did not have an invitation, were easily dismissed. No amount of pleading, sweet talking, bargaining, or black mailing moved him from his ever present vigil.
That was, until several skeletons came running up from the bridge, their eyes wide with terror. The crowd packed together, tighter then the straw of a woven basket, trapping the guard between the tangle of skeletons and the tramway. The guard pushed through the crowd, trying to find the source of the commotion and take care of it before things got even more out of hand. Most likely, the hubub was just probably another Ernesto super-fan that was making the skeletons uncomfortable.
By the time the guard made it to the front of the crowd, a slow, creeping noise had fluttered through the air. It was quiet, yet eerie, like the sound of howling wind moving through a metal tube. The low, dissonant tones were followed by a sudden blast of heat, so intense that, for a moment, the guard briefly wondered if he still had the ability to sweat.
The bridge lit up with a flash. A chorus of shrieks followed as the crowd huddled closer in fear. The guard finally made it to the front and froze. A tornado of flames, as tall as an old oak tree, was moving, slowly, across the bridge. The guard stood his ground, even as his knees began to tremble.
The fire crept closer, slowly changing shape from a whirlwind of flames, to something that almost resembled a skeleton. But unlike the regular denizens of the Land of the Dead, this creature was tall, wide, and had no legs. It glided along on its broken spine, its body composed of blazing fire. Lines of hot flames looped around the ghost's spindly arms and through its thick neck and chest, like decayed veins on a corpse. In its right eye was a swirling galaxy. The creature's mouth opened, revealed a black void inside. It spread its arms and roared. A dark scream vibrated through the air.
Civilians began to jump off the bridge. They crashed into the lake, swimming to safety. The guard balked. He'd heard rumors of monsters popping up all over the Land of the Dead, but he had thought they were nothing more then stories to spook superstitious skeletons. His colleagues even mentioned instances of people arguing and then getting into full blown fights. Could this creature be the cause of it?
The ghostly inferno was almost to the trams now. There was a lot of things that ran through the guard's mind in those few seconds. One of them was the fact that he had been a loyal member of Ernesto's security force for as long as he had been dead. He also thought, ever fleetingly, that he was in no way, a coward. However, the thought that dominated everything else, was the the fear of the unknown. Even for the dead, the thought of what would happen to them if they faded away for good, was just too much to bear. Thus, yelping, the guard abandoned his post, and joined the other civilians. He jumped into the lake, and swam for his afterlife.
Not a single skeleton turned back to look at the strange, fiery half-ghost skeleton. If they had, they would have noticed that the creature's fiery body had faded. A boy and a duck stood where the flames had been a moment before, their weapons still smoking from the continuous stream of magic. Now that the fire was gone, the real body of the ghoul was revealed. Two skeletons stood on top of an old dog. Finally, slowly, the ghoul's screams had stopped. A living boy strummed one last, terrible note on his guitar. The sound forced the skeletons to swim faster.
Back on the bridge, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Jack, Héctor, and Miguel, turned toward each other. They celebrated with some high fives, whoops, and victory poses, before finally boarding the tram to Ernesto De La Cruz's mansion. For such a tall tower, the ride up to the mansion was actually fairly quick, though it might have had something to do with Miguel's rising excitement.
"I have so many questions for Señor de la Cruz. What inspires his music? Did he do his own stunts in his movies? How did he 'seize his moment?'"
Miguel stilled, sitting down on the tram seats.
"What's wrong?" Héctor asked.
"Ernesto de la Cruz is the greatest musician in history, and I'm just an ordinary kid." Miguel tapped his fingers on his guitar, "What if he won't listen to me play? What if I'm not good enough?"
"Aye, mijo." Héctor shook his head. "Look what you've already accomplished. Your songs were powerful enough to defeat heartless."
"And terrify everyone on that bridge," Jack added.
"But those weren't a audience," Miguel argued.
"So?" Jack grinned. "Music and scaring have something in common. They make you feel powerful emotions. Terrifying and delighting others is what a performer does. I'd say you've already proven yourself."
"And you've already had an audience that adores your skills." Héctor spread his arms, gesturing to the group. "All of us."
Miguel looked from one face to another, the creases of doubt vanishing from his face. A small smile spread across his lips.
"Thanks."
The tram finally stopped, and the party spilled out into a massive courtyard. Hundreds of party goers milled about on the steps before Ernesto de la Cruz' mansion. The building was lit up with so many lights, that the stone looked like a golden beacon in the night. The moment Miguel got to the bottom step, he raced up the stairs toward the mansion, with Héctor right behind him.
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack were about to follow, but something tingled along Sora's spine, making him skid to a stop. Donald and Goofy crashed into his back, but Sora barely noticed. He also didn't catch the curious stare that Jack was giving him. All he could focus on was a sudden, overwhelming and soft feeling. Ernesto de la Cruz's mansion was full of energy. People walked around, enjoying drinks and hors d'oeuvres, clapping at fire breathers, dancing near street performers...and shouting at each other.
Vaguely, Sora wondered what the shouts were about, but then he forgot all about the distant angry banter. Sora was being pulled toward something. The closer he got to whatever was calling him, the warmer he felt. It was like being sung to sleep by a mother's sweet voice. There was something there, all around the mansion that made Sora feel...free.
Then he saw it. Right between two angry looking skeletons. A sphere of light. It's glow was so warm, so soft. Silver stars swirled inside the light sphere, and every time the stars shined, there was a soft, tingly noise, like the ringing of the smoothest bell ever to be heard.
Sora reached out, wanting nothing more then to touch the light, to let it carry him away. Someone slapped his hand. The sudden sting pushed Sora back to his senses. He jumped backward before an angry fist could clock him in the jaw.
One of Ernesto's party guests glared at him. "Get back! It's mine!"
"No it isn't!" Another skeleton roared. "It's mine!"
One more skeleton joined the argument. "Quite hogging it all to yourself!"
The three men began shoving each other. While they were distracted, other party goers moved toward the sphere of light. The shouting increased. The skeletons joined together in one big brawl, each reaching for the light, only to be pushed away by another's greedy hands.
Donald and Goofy tried to step toward the crowd, to break up the fight, but the angry skeletons threw them back. Sora's bones jingled as shudders formed all over his body. No longer under a spell, he was now aware of all the screaming and arguing. Scattered all over the mansion's grand steps and courtyards, were spheres of light.
"The fights all over town," Sora whispered. "They're fighting over the light."
As he watched the skeletons fight, Sora noticed something else. Flashes of darkness began to shimmer on the skeletons' bones.
"And darkness was born in their hearts."
Sora didn't have lungs, but he felt as though he couldn't breathe. The world around him blurred as his head felt too heavy for his neck. From somewhere far away, a pair of hands reached for his shoulders, steadying him.
"Easy now," said Jack. "This isn't healthy."
Looking up at his friend, Sora could only manage a weak, "W-what?"
"Remember what we talked about earlier? Do not be a slave to your fears."
Jack waited patiently until the boy was able to stand on his own two feet. Once he was sure that Sora wouldn't collapse, Jack let him go. Giving Jack a silent thanks and a smile, Sora faced the angry crowd before him.
"We've got to get the light away from them."
"How?"
Sora summoned his keyblade and lowered his stance. "No clue. Here goes nothing."
Sora charged into the crowd. He weaved through arms and legs, and got smacked around in the process. Somehow, he got close to the orb of light. Warmth fluttered over him again, and Sora felt sleepy for a moment, as if he were in a dream, as if he could fly. What was he trying to do again?
An angry skeleton grabbed Sora's shoulder, and he snapped back to his senses. On impulse, before the light could charm him again, Sora raised his keyblade and smacked the orb of light like a golfer hitting a golf ball. The light orb shot up into the air. It sailed across the sky and then exploded like a firework. When the light finally vanished back into the world, the fighting skeletons froze.
"Huh? What? What are we doing?"
Confused, the skeletons dispersed. But there was still fighting all over. The team spread out, finding and blasting away any light orb they could find. Each time an orb was taken out, the skeletons came back to their senses. Still, the sudden fighting had unnerved many of the party goers. They moved toward the trams, leaving Sora and his team alone on the steps of de la Cruz's manor.
"So the orbs you mentioned earlier," Sora said to Jack, "were spheres of light."
"It seems so."
Goofy tilted his head. "But doesn't His Majesty summon orbs of light too? How come no one fights over King Mickey's magic?"
"The king's magic is powerful," Donald agreed, "but I get the feeling those light spheres are different."
"Locke told me that he found an orb of powerful light while he was searching for a way to bring Terra back to normal. Do you guys think," Sora swallowed, "that there is so much light in this world, that it's condensing into sphere form?"
Donald snapped his fingers. "That's why I felt like there was magic every everywhere. There really is too much light here."
Goofy hummed. "Do ya think that's why the lich came here? Because it's attracted to that light?"
"That, or the darkness that forms when people start fighting over the light." Sora's grip on his keybalde tightened. "It's just like Santa said. Too much of anything can be bad."
"Sandy Claws is very wise," Jack agreed.
"It's Santa Claus," Donald deadpanned.
Jack ignored him, looking up at Ernesto de la Cruz's mansion. "We'd better hurry after Héctor and Miguel."
The team raced up the steps toward the mansion. Sora's foot had just reached the top step, when something big dropped down in front of him, slamming so hard on the stone floor that Sora lost his balance. He would have fallen down the stairs if Donald, Goofy, and Jack hadn't caught him.
Pepita had landed in front of the archway leading into the mansion. She roared, and lowered her wings, revealing Imelda and Dante sitting atop of her back. Sliding down Pepita's wing, Imelda rounded on Sora, fixing the boy with a glower that made him stand straight and pin his arms at his sides.
"Where is Miguel?"
"He's inside the mansion."
"Aye, that boy! Running off and leaving me to look all over. He's going to get himself killed."
Imelda marched into Ernesto de la Cruz's mansion. Sora was unsure if he should follow. Pepita had turned her wildcat eyes toward him. Sora gulped, wondering if the luminescent jaguar would eat him if he tried to follow Imelda. Luckily, Dante jumped off Pepita's back. His dismount wasn't as graceful as Imelda's, as he landed on his chin. He whined at Pepita.
The giant cat and hairless dog stared at each other for a long moment. They must have come sort of agreement because Pepita finally moved out of the way. She sat down and began to lick her massive paw. Dante jumped up and down in front of Sora, yapping excitedly.
"Thanks," Sora said as he passed by.
Jack gave the cat a pat on the nose. "What a magnificent creature. I must make next year's Halloween more colorful."
Pepita purred.
Dante led Sora's team into the mansion. The team barely made it a few steps in before they had to stop and stare at the total pandemonium inside the ballroom. Skeletons were pushing and shoving. In between the thicket of bodies, Sora saw shining orbs of light. Loud, banging, club music reverberated through the cavernous room, but the music was nothing more then low background noise compared to all the screaming and arguing.
Imelda was trying to push her way through the crowd, but she was shoved backward. Jack caught her.
"Are you all right, madam?"
Imelda nodded, moving away from Jack. "What is all this nonsense! And that mind numbing music!"
Donald shouted something but the music and the fighting made his words unintelligible.
Imelda squinted at him. "What?"
"He said, 'We'll never find Miguel in this mess.'" Goofy translated. "Let's split up. Donald, Jack, and I will try to get rid of all the light spheres and calm the people down. Sora and Señora Imelda should go look for Miguel and Héctor."
Imelda crossed her arms. "Very well. Lead the way, young man."
"Okay. Get behind me."
Sora did his best to move through the crowd without hurting anyone too bad. Protecting himself and Imelda with a wind sphere at least forced the angry skeletons to keep their distance. They moved through the room, careful not to fall into the guitar shaped pool that was situated in the center of the massive hall. Imelda didn't spot Héctor or Miguel in the crowd, but by then the two of them had made it passed the main hallway and into a library. As soon as Sora closed the door behind them, the shouts and loud music from the main room silenced. Imelda let out a breathe of relief.
"I can't believe Miguel came to such a place. And that Héctor let him come here!" Imelda stomped through the library, opening the door on the other side, entering the kitchen.
"Don't blame Héctor," Sora said. "He only wanted to make Miguel happy."
"And by doing so, he put Miguel at risk. I spent my life protecting my family from Héctor's mistakes and, even in death, I still have to fix things. Sometimes the best thing for children isn't what they want. Héctor doesn't understand that because he wasn't around to raise Coco."
"But Héctor made Miguel promise to come back to you, and we came here hoping that Ernesto de la Cruz may have some insight about how to send Miguel home."
Imelda grunted. "No good can come from a musician."
Sora sighed. He didn't want to argue. He just hoped that, by the time they caught up to them, Miguel and Héctor had learned something from Ernesdo de la Cruz. Sora and Imelda searched one gaudy room after another, and found no trace of Miguel, Héctor, or Señor de la Cruz. They eventually went back to the room they had started in, except this time, silence could be heard when they opened the door.
Gone were the fighting skeletons, the light spheres, the loud, banging music. The room was empty. Well, almost empty. Héctor stood behind a column. His teeth were clenched, and Sora wasn't sure if his expression was one of pain, nerves, or anger. Imelda was about to march up to him and make demands when a melody began to play, followed by a voice.
"Miguel," Imelda whispered.
In that moment, Sora didn't know what craziness made him reach out and grab Imelda's arm, or how he had found the courage to put his finger to his teeth and silently beg her to be quiet. She gave him a glare that would have made Sora's stomach, if he had one, drop into his knees, but he refused to let her go. Miguel's song ended, and there was clapping coming from further in the hall.
"My boy," said a rich, deep voice, "you have quite the talent!"
"You mean it?"
"Of course."
Sora craned his neck and peeked around the pillar. Miguel was talking to a tall skeleton in a white, mariachi uniform. Though Sora could only see the skeleton's profile, he knew that the man must have been handsome back when he was alive. He had a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and a stylish mustache. When he spoke, his low voice echoed through the hall.
"With a talent like yours, you could charm the world."
Miguel held the guitar to his chest. "It means so much to me that you say that."
"Yet you seem sad. Why is that?"
"Being a musician is my dream, but my family would never approve. My abuelita hates music."
"So?" Ernesto de la Cruz reached down and put his hand on Miguel's shoulder. "From what I can see and hear, you are meant to be a musician. You have to follow your dreams no matter what, or who stands in your way."
Imelda had heard enough. She wriggled her arm out of Sora's grasp and stomped up to Héctor.
"What is going on?"
There was no doubt about it now. Héctor's expression was definitely one of fear.
"I-Imelda. What are you doing here?"
"Trying to save my great great grandson, which you took to see a musician," Imelda hissed.
Héctor put up his hands. "Please, keep your voice down. I don't want Ernesto to know I'm here."
"Is someone back there?"
Héctor flinched.
"Show yourself," Ernesto demanded.
Rolling her eyes, Imelda stepped out from behind the pillar. Héctor reached to stop her, but only ended up stumbling out from his hiding spot instead.
Ernesto's eyes widened at the intruders, but then his face stretched into a charming smile. "Ah, hello Señora and," Ernesto squinted at Héctor.
"Miguel." Imelda pointed to her side. "Come here, right now."
Ernesto's eyes moved from Héctor to the boy that silently shaking at his side. "Do you know these people?"
Miguel ducked his head. "They're my great great grandparents."
Ernesto's eyes widened. "I see."
Sora stepped around the pillar. Something about the scene before him had shifted. It wasn't just that Imelda continued to disapprovingly glance between Miguel, Ernesto, and Héctor. Nor was it Miguel's obvious discomfort at being caught by his great great grandmother. It was that Héctor's entire body had tensed. In all the time Sora had known him, Héctor had never lost his temper. Now his face was pinched, as though he were trying his hardest to push down shouts of fury. He avoided looking at Miguel, his eyes locked on Ernesto, as though the musician were a bear trap that could spring at any second.
Carefully, Sora stepped around the pillar, joining the scene.
"And who is this? Another family member?"
"No, I'm just a friend. We were hoping that you could help us?"
"You're a famous man, Ernesto," Héctor's said with a sigh. "Have you heard, anything at all, about strange occurrences in the Land of the Dead? Any clue about getting back to the Land of the Living?"
"The only way to visit the Land of the Living is to have a photo on someone's offrenda," Ernesto answered.
Imelda huffed. "Tell us something we don't know. The bridge to the Land of the Living is gone, and we can't send Miguel home with blessings."
"And we need to get Miguel back home as soon as possible," Sora said. "It's not just his life on the line. If he doesn't put Héctor's photo up soon..."
Ernesto glanced at Héctor and something flashed in his eyes. It was so fast that Sora wasn't sure if Ernesto had felt pity or something else. Though Héctor hadn't raised his tone, or said anything spiteful, his body was still rigid as he and Ernesto stared at each other.
"You're being forgotten," Ernesto realized.
Héctor raised his head, anger shining in his eyes. "And who's fault is that?"
For the first time since she had come out from behind the pillar, Imelda took her eyes away from Miguel. She blinked at Héctor. "What?"
"Those were my songs you took!"
Héctor shouted, pointing to the projector screens on the second floor of the grand room. All over the ballroom there were screens depicting Ernesto de la Cruz's movies, his concerts, his accomplishments.
"My songs that made you famous! And you never told anyone I wrote them."
Miguel finally stepped away from Ernesto, standing between his great great grandfather and his idol.
"That can't be true."
Miguel took a step toward his great great grandparents, but stopped when Ernesto put a hand on his shoulder.
"Héctor, I only sang your music to keep your memory alive," Ernesto pleaded.
Héctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't matter anymore. We came here because Miguel needs to go home to the Land of the Living." Héctor turned around. Gone was his anger and hurt. Instead, his eyes were honest, hopeful. "We were friends once, Ernesto. You once said you would move heaven and earth for me. Do you know anything at all, any clue, about how we can send Miguel home? Please."
"Heaven and earth?" Miguel whispered.
Sora could feel the keyblade stirring inside his heart. Miguel looked horrified as he stepped back from Ernesto. He inched closer to Imelda's side.
"Like the movie?" Miguel looked up at the projectors along the walls. "There."
Sora looked at the projector Miguel had indicated. In it, a young, living, Ernesto de la Cruz and another actor, a man that looked much like the movie's villain, were having a toast.
"A toast!" The villain boomed. "To our friendship. I would move heaven and earth for you, mi amigo."
Movie Ernesto took one sip of his drink, before spitting out the liquid, grabbing his throat, and showing "Poison!"
The tension that had been present in Héctor's body melted. His shoulder's slumped, and his eyes widened, staring out into the distance. "The night that I wanted to leave our performance tour, to go back to Coco. You said you'd send me off with a toast. You spoke those exact same words."
Slowly, Héctor turned his head to face de la Cruz, hurt burning in his voice.
"You poisoned me."
Imelda reached forward, grabbed Miguel's arm, and pulled him to her side. The fury in her expression could have melted an iceberg. She hissed at Ernesto.
"You rotten-"
"Now, now, you are confusing movies with reality."
Imelda's anger was too big for words. She took off her shoe and charged at Ernesto, whacking him twice in the face before he finally pushed her back. She crashed into Héctor. He steadied her, but the moment she was back on her feet, Héctor's body began to glow, and he fell forward, onto his knees. Sora reached forward, to help Héctor stand, but the back of his spine tingled and he heard a distant popping noise.
Heartless were coming.
Sora jerked back just as a darkball materialized before him. Had Sora been a second off, he would have lost his arm. The darkball charged, and Sora whacked it off course by swinging his keyblade like a baseball bat. Miguel tried to strum his guitar, but then Ernesto made a grab for him, catching his jacket. Miguel slipped out of his red hoodie, dropping his guitar in the process, and escaping Ernesto's hold.
Sora's skills were useless without music, and all he could do was bash heartless away from himself. He tried to move toward Imelda and Héctor. They were both on the ground, as Imelda tried to help Héctor stand. Miguel got to them first, but just as he reached down to help Héctor stand, Ernesto appeared behind him.
Miguel yelped. A hand had reached out and pushed him to the ground. But it hadn't been Ernesto's hand. Desperate to save his great great grandson, Héctor had somehow found the strength to get onto his knees and push Miguel out of the way before Ernesto could hurt him. Surprised that his attach hadn't landed, Ernesto instead grabbed Héctor's vest and yanked him up. By the time Miguel turned around to try and make sense of what had happened, Ernesto had already dragged Héctor across the room.
"No. Papá Héctor!"
Miguel rose to his feet, but then a heartless flew at him from the side. Imelda grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. With its mouth still open, the heartless sailed through the space where Miguel had been a moment before. Miguel struggled, watching as Ernesto and Héctor vanished into the mob of heartless.
"What are these creatures!" Imelda snapped, whacking a few heartless with her boot.
"You can't defeat them with your shoe!" Sora shouted. "They can only be taken down when music is playing. Miguel, you're up!"
"I don't have my guitar!"
Sora bludgeoned a heartless into the floor. All he ended up doing was annoying the darkball. It bounced on the ground, rising back up to Sora's shoulder height. He rolled, avoiding getting his skull bitten off. As he spun on the ground, his foot hit something that made a loud twang. Miguel's guitar.
Grabbing the instrument, Sora dashed toward Miguel and Imelda. Maybe the undead had some form of luck, because Imelda managed to pull Miguel through hordes of darkballs without getting bitten or hit by their bodies. A darkball flew down toward her from above, and Sora jumped, throwing his shoulder into the darkball's side. He fell hard on his side, but at least he had landed in a way that kept the guitar from breaking.
Shoving the instrument into Miguel's hands, Sora casted a quick aero spell around Miguel and Imelda. Miguel began to play. A heartless crashed into the wind spell protecting Miguel. The boy tripped, his music faltering. He tried once again to play, but then had to duck when several heartless made it past Sora's defenses.
Imelda watched her great great grandson try to play. She grit her teeth. Miguel got his guitar ready once more, but before he could play a single note, he froze. A low, husky voice had begun to sing. Miguel turned, staring wide eyed at his great great grandmother.
"Ay, de mi, llorona," Imelda sang.
The heartless stilled.
"Llorona de azul celeste," Imelda continued.
Sora sliced through a row of frozen heartless, wasting no time as Imelda's song continued. Seeing the heartless go down, Imelda turned to Miguel, nodding for him to play. Miguel's first notes were somber, his tune low, matching Imelda's singing.
"Ay, de mi, llorona," Imelda turned to Miguel, nodding. "Llorona de azul celeste. Y aunque la vida me cueste, llorona, no dejaré de quererte."
The heartless began to thrash. Sora took down six by the time Imelda's next verse came. By now her voice had gained confidence, and she began to dance around Miguel. "No dejaré de quererte!"
Miguel began to play faster, following his great great grandmother around the ballroom with a thrilled smile on his face. Sora began chanting magic spells and throttling heartless left and right. He finished cleaving through a line of darkballs when he heard a chewing sound from behind him. Sora whirled around, about to block the darkball when a shield came flying out of nowhere. It fizby-ed through the darkball, turning it into dust.
Grinning, Sora waved at Goofy before turning back toward the battle. A darkball came down from above. Before Sora could attack it, Dante came running around the pillar and bit down on the darball's lower tendril. He pulled the darkball down, giving Sora the opening he needed to smash it into nothing. Icicles sailed through the air, spearing darkballs as Donald came into the battle next. Imelda and Miguel kept moving around the battlefield as they sang their song. As if summoned by their music, Jack came backflipping into battle. He made some elegant spins around Imelda and Miguel, all while grabbing darkballs with his claws and popping them, one by one, like balloons.
The song ended the exact same moment that Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack exterminated the remaining heartless. Miguel dropped his guitar, and grabbed Imelda's waist in a tight hug.
Imelda squeezed the boy's shoulders.
"You play wonderfully. Just like Héctor."
Miguel sobbed. "It's all my fault. I begged him to bring him here. I should have listened. I wanted to meet a real musician, just once, and now Papá Héctor-"
"I know." Imelda ran a hand through Miguel's hair. "We'll find him."
"What if he's already forgotten by the time we find de la Cruz? He was right. You were right. Music should never come before family."
Imelda got down on her knees. She looked Miguel in the eye, brushing his tears from his face. "Your music saved us. And now it's going to help us save Héctor. We don't leave our family members behind." Imelda held Miguel's hands. "No matter what. Do you understand me?"
Miguel whipped his nose and nodded. Even though his lips were quivering, there was a determined look in his eyes. Imelda lovingly pinched his cheek before standing. She put her hands on her hips and faced Sora.
"I expect you to come along on this rescue mission."
Sora, Donald, and Goofy saluted, while Jack gave them a low bow.
"A gentleman never abandons a friend in need." Jack straightened. "How do we find Héctor?"
A series of barks answered Jack's question. Dante ran around the group three times before he finally stopped and pointed with his nose. There was a straw hat on the floor. Miguel bent to pick it up.
"This is Papá Héctor's. Think you can find him, boy?"
Dante barked and sniffed the straw hat in Miguel's hands. Then he twitched, his paws suddenly lighting up in a neon green color. Miguel stepped back as the color spread up Dante's legs. The dog noticed the sudden change and began to panic, bitting his own leg. Miguel reached out to try and and calm Dante, but Imelda held him back.
"Just watch," she said.
Rainbow patterns shined on Dante's skin. He began to glow. Small wings sprouted from his back, and his nose changed from black to a bright, mint green.
Miguel scratched Dante behind the ear. "Dante! You're an alebrije? Who's a good spirit guide. You are!"
Dante flopped on his back, getting some happy belly rubs before he suddenly remembered his task. Snatching Héctor's hat from Miguel, Dante led the party out of the house. Once outside, he began to fly toward something in the distance.
Imelda whistled and Pepita dropped down from the sky. When everyone had climbed onto the glowing jaguar, Pepita beat her powerful wings, soaring through the air after Dante. Sora looked down at the town as they flew. His legs tightened around Pepita's flank. There were light orbs all over the town. As the sounds from below drifted upward, Sora began to recognize that the distant noise was full of angry shouts and curses.
Dante howled, and Sora looked straight on, forcing himself to forget the light. Héctor came first. A cold, icy feeling slithered down Sora's legs and through his knees. He just hoped he was making the right choice.
Dante and Pepita landed on a wide balcony somewhere high over the city. The angry curses in the city were silenced, replaced by the soft breeze and the flapping of the nearby, night blue curtains. Sora looked around, noticing the various cameras and control panels on the balcony. Dante moved toward the curtains. He lowered his head and pulled back his ears, whimpering.
As Sora moved toward the curtains, a pair of voices reached his ears.
Héctor and Ernesto.
"Do what you want with me. Just promise me that you will leave Miguel and Imelda alone."
"And what? Let them wonder around the Land of the Dead and tarnish the reputation I have worked so hard to maintain?"
"A reputation you only earned by stealing from and murdering me. How long do you truly believe you can up this farce?"
Malice boiled in Ernesto's lowered voice. "I will do whatever it takes."
Sora peaked around the curtain and gulped. Ernesto stood on a wide stage. Before him, tied to a wooden beam, was Héctor. Even though the stage lights were dim, and the stadium behind Ernesto was empty, Sora could see dark smoke leaking from the seams of Ernesto's white outfit.
The lich materialized above the empty audience seats.
"What does that mean, Ernesto?" Héctor demanded.
The lich moved toward the stage, its body tethered to Ernesto by long, purple lines of darkness.
"What are you going to do to my family?"
Héctor struggled, but the ropes around his body tightened, tendrils of darkness reinforcing the bindings.
Ernesto didn't answer. In fact, it seemed as though he could no longer speak. His eyes glazed over as the lich moved closer. Then the lich reached into Ernesto's back, its fingers poking through Ernesto's rib cage. Darkness pooled in Ernesto's chest. Then he was lifted into the air, dangling by dark puppet strings from the lich's arms.
"Ernesto!"
Héctor managed to get a hand free, but he couldn't grab a hold of de la Cruz. Ernesto was jerked backward, floating behind the lich. The heartless came close, looking Héctor straight in the eye. It raised its staff above Héctor's head. Héctor closed his eyes.
A series of furious roars burst through the stadium, echoing off the empty stadium walls. Héctor opened his eyes to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy drop down from the sky. Goofy and Donald landed on the lich's shoulders. They pulled the heartless' head back, covering its eyes, while Sora grabbed the lich's staff and tried to wrench it free from the its dark claws. The lich thrashed about above the stage. Ernesto flopped about, his puppet strings curving, sending him up and over the lich.
In midair, Ernesto took a swing at Sora's head. The boy was able to duck and Ernesto flopped back down below the lich. Before he could be thrown back up into the air for another attack, Jack came down from the sky and tackled Ernesto, forcing the puppet musician back down. While Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack grappled with the lich and Ernesto, Pepita and Dante landed on the stage in front of Héctor. The jaguar and the dog bit down on Héctor's ropes, freeing him from his bonds.
Miguel dismounted Pepita. He came to stand at Héctor's side, giving his great great grandfather a guitar. Imelda appeared on Héctor's opposite side. She kissed his cheek.
"Let's play. Together this time."
Héctor gave his wife and great great grandson a soft look, before he began to play. A gentle melody rippled through the air as Imelda, Héctor, and Miguel all sang together.
Remember me,
Though I have to say goodbye,
Remember me,
Don't let it make you cry.
The lich stilled. It threw its head back and shuddered. A high pitched tone rang out of its mouth. Sora, Donald, and Goofy let go, falling off the lich and clutching their sculls as the horrible sound banged about in their heads. Jack held onto Ernesto's body, even as he too trembled from the attack. The ringing drowned out the Rivera's sweet song.
For even if I'm far away,
I hold you in my heart.
I sing a secret song to you
each night we are apart.
The lich threw Ernesto's body forward, toward Héctor, Miguel, and Imelda. The family did not dare stop singing, even for a moment. Jack grabbed Ernesto's legs and pulled him backward. He dug his heels into the stage, pulling back with all his might. The lich's body shuddered with pain as the music continued, but it fought back, flinging itself, and Ernesto forward, toward the singers. Jack lost his grip on Ernesto and went flying, crashing into curtains on the side of the stage.
Remember me,
though I have to travel far.
Remember me,
each time you hear a sad guitar.
Pepita and Dante tackled the Lich, pushing its body into the stage. Pepita raised her claws. The lich pulled Ernesto's strings, covering its body with the musician's. Ernesto took the blow from Pepita's claws, which gave the lich enough strength to raise its staff, and cast a fire spell. Pepita was blasted up into the air, where she thrashed, trying to douse the dark flames that erupted all over her fur.
Know that I'm with you
the only way that I can be.
Until you're in my arms again...
The lich was back in the air. Ernesto was standing once again. He stepped toward Héctor, his body swaying. Dante came forward and bit Ernesto's leg, trying to pull him back. The lich blasted Dante with an ice spell, forcing the dog to retreat. Another ice spell sailed through the air, hitting the lich on its side. It turned. Jack, with Donald on his shoulders, ran out of the curtains. They pelted the lich and Ernesto with spell after spell, making it freeze just long enough to distract it from what was going on overhead.
The lich blasted Donald and Jack with a powerful wind attach. Ernesto reached out, his hands inches away from Héctor's guitar. A shield came down from the sky, crashing onto Ernesto's arm, making him clatter to the ground. Goofy stomped on Ernesto's back, keeping the puppet down. The lich pulled on Ernesto's strings, to try and get him loose. It never should have focused so hard on the murderous musician.
Remember me
Lightning came down on the lich's head. It looked up, and the last thing it saw was the glow of Sora's keyblade. The boy came down on the heartless like a missile. Rather then explode on impact, Sora concentrated all of his energy in his keybalde. Several expert slices later, Sora landed on his feet, right below the lich. The heartless began to deteriorate above him, and Sora moved out of the way as the lich collapsed onto the stage. A puddle of darkness bled out from its body as it slowly faded away. The puddle spread and the lich sunk into the darkness, pulling Ernesto down with it. As the lich and Ernesto completely vanished, so too did the dark puddle. It evaporated into nothing.
Héctor, Imelda, and Miguel hugged each other, relieved to be together and safe. Sora ignored the happy family. He looked down at the stage floor, where the puddle had been. Donald, Goofy, and Jack came to stand at his side.
"What troubles you?" Jack asked.
"So many villains lose their hearts to darkness. It's sad that Ernesto cared more for fame then anything else. It sounds lonely."
"Don't waste your sympathy." Jack huffed. "I live with vampires, ghouls, witches, and ghosts. But I will tell you this: none of them are truly as monstrous as that de la Cruz fellow was."
"You're right. But I'm starting to wonder if light is as good as we think it is. Did you hear all the people in town? How long will it take before this world is overtaken by darkness as people fight over the light?"
"I don't think we have to worry about this world falling to darkness anytime soon," said Goofy. He pointed to something behind Sora. "Look."
Across the amphitheater, right above the highest spectator seat, there was a massive bell. A light was glowing on the bell. The light stretched, turning into a keyhole. Sora lifted his keyblade, aiming for the keyhole. Light passed form his key and into the keyhole, sealing it shut.
"Well, that's one less thing to worry-"
The earth roared. Goofy tackled Sora, throwing him down just as one of the theater lights above came lose and crashed into the floor. Imelda and Héctor held onto Miguel. The boy hid his face as the ground beneath his feet rolled and bucked. Sora saw something blooming in the sky. Dizzy, he turned his head, watching the upside down world shudder. Donald slid along the floor, sliding toward a balcony backstage. His horrified howl made Sora feel cold.
Getting onto his feet, Sora, Donald, and Jack chased after Donald. The moment then got to the backstage balcony, they froze in shock. In the distance was a massive wall of white light. Like a tidal wave, it moved over the city, swallowing everything into its white void.
"What's happening?" Donald cried.
"It's like the world is disappearing." Jack whispered.
"No," came Héctor's voice. "It's being forgotten."
Donald grabbed Sora's pant leg. "We have to get out of here!"
"And go where?" There was a tremble in Miguel's voice. "The bridge to the Land of the Living is gone."
"We'll fly to another world," Sora said.
"Have you lost it?"
"No. Trust me. There are other worlds out there. We are from another world. We can fly you and your family to safety!"
Snap.
The stage broke like a twig being snapped in half. Imelda and Héctor watched, their mouths open in silent screams as Sora, Miguel, Donald, Goofy, and Jack began to fall off the high amphitheater and into the ocean below, the very same ocean that was slowly being swallowed by the wall of light. Sora couldn't scream. All he could do was listen to his companions' frightened cries as the ground and the horrible white void of light crept closer.
He jerked.
A massive paw wrapped around his and Miguel's bodies. Sora searched around him, spotting Donald and Goofy grasped tight in the other paw. Jack, on the other hand, was hanging from creature's tail. Looking up, Sora spotted Pepita flying upward, away from the wall of light. Dante flew after her.
Pepita flew up and hovered by the stage, long enough for Imelda and Héctor to see that their grandson was okay.
"Take them to their ship, Pepita," Imelda ordered. "There's no time! Hurry!"
"WAIT!" Miguel struggled. "We can't leave you!"
Sora tried to pry open Pepita's claws. "No! Let me go! There's still time!"
"No grandparent wants to outlive their grandchild," Héctor shouted. "Go! Please!"
"NO!"
But Pepita was already flying. She soared through the air. From above, Sora watched as the white wall of light ate everything. The town, the sky, the oceans. Right before the light devoured the stage and the amphitheater, Pepita flew downward, dropping Sora, Donald, Goofy, Miguel, and Jack right in front of the gummi ship. Before Sora could stop her, she flew back toward the town. With no other choice, Sora, Donald, and Goofy opened the gummi ship and guided Miguel, Dante, and Jack into the bridge.
The thrusters roared to life just as the wall of light crept up behind the ship. Sora punched the accelerator button. He was pushed back into his seat as the gummi ship flew away from the world at top speed. They stopped only when they were back among the swirling blue and purple nebulae of interspace.
Miguel gasped, looking around the cockpit. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were no longer skeletons. Miguel looked down at his hands. His flesh had returned as well. No longer was his skin transparent. He ran to the window and pressed his face against the glass. Sora left the pilot's seat to join him.
Straight ahead, the Land of the Dead flashed. White light was all Sora could see for several terrifying seconds. When the light faded, the Land of the Dead was gone.
Jiminy's Journal
Ernesto de la Cruz (First Appeared in Coco, 2017): Once known as the most beloved musician in Mexican history, Ernesto de la Cruz dazzled the world with his singing. As it turns out, Ernesto is not as talented as once believed. He did everything for fame including betraying and murdering his best friend for his songs. In the end, his ambitions cost him his heart.
Chapter 61: KH3 Chapter 30: City of Heroes
Chapter Text
Author's Notes
Hello, hello...It's been a while...sorry for the long hiatus, I won't bore you with the details. Long story short, not only did I have a crazy battle with some writer's block, but I also started college, so less time to write...heh! But I'm back and hopefully you all enjoy this chapter! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor the Disney and Square Enix characters. Please support the original works.
Chapter Thirty: City of Heroes
Miguel gave Sora, Donald, and Goofy a look when landed in Halloween Town.
"Do you change outfits in every world?"
Glancing down at his spooky clothes, Sora gave Miguel a lopsided grin. "Sometimes."
"I think it's quite fetching," said Jack.
Once on graveyard soil, Jack tapped his thigh. Zero's head popped up from behind a nearby tombstone. The ghost dog zoomed through the air. He licked Jack's cheekbones before he hovered down and gave Dante a ghostly sniff. The two dogs began chasing each other. Then, Zero suddenly flew off. Jack didn't seem bothered by the ghost dog's departure. He simply shrugged and turned to Miguel.
"Halloween Town is a scary place, but the people here aren't mean. If you like, I can take you to Sandy Claws instead."
Miguel frowned. "Sandy Claws?"
"He means Santa Claus," Donald explained, hopping off the gummi ship's lower hatch.
Miguel rolled his eyes. "No manches."
"It's true," said Sora. "I mean you just discovered that there are other worlds out there. Is believing in Santa really a stretch at this point?"
Miguel's jaw dropped. "You're serious?"
"Of course they are," Jack boomed. He swept his hand toward the forests that housed the door to Christmas Town. "Why, just beyond those trees is a world you can't even begin to imagine. The monsters are all missing, the nightmares can't be found. There really is no place like-"
"Jack!"
Led by Zero, Sally came running through the graveyard. Jack's face stretched into a wide grin. He reached out and grabbed rag doll's waist, lifting her up, and spinning her around. When he put her back on her feet, he held her tiny hands in his bony ones. Zero and Dante orbited the couple, barking.
"Sally! How I've missed you."
"Where have you been? Dr. Finkelstein and I have been worried sick."
Jack scratched his skull. "I'm sorry. One moment I was pacing the graveyards, the next, I found myself in yet another new world. It was fascinating!"
Sally bit her lip.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of taking over another holiday." Jack made a little twirl. "But I am so inspired! Wait until you see what I have planned for next Halloween! It's going to be magnifico! Why, if Miguel here stays long enough-OH! Sally, I've made a new friend."
Jack pushed Miguel forward. Sally shook the boy's hand, smiling at him before giving Jack a stern look.
"Jack, surely you didn't-"
Jack leaned toward her, whispering. "He lost his home, Sally. He needs a place to stay." He nodded to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "At least until our friends can find a way to send him back."
Sally sighed in relief. "I see. Well, Mr. Santa Claus knows a thing or two about children. We should take Miguel to Christmas Town."
Miguel whined. "But I want to see Halloween Town too."
"Come on, Sally. Miguel is our guest. Can't we show him around first?"
Sally bent down so that she was eye level with Miguel. "I don't see why not."
"Fantastic!" Jack lifted Miguel, putting the surprised boy on his shoulders. "We have lots to show you! Oh! And Sora, don't you dare leave just yet."
Sora hesitated, looking at Donald and Goofy.
"We really should get going."
Donald and Goofy grabbed Sora's arms and began pulling him toward Halloween Town.
"Now Sora, don't you think Miguel has been though a lot?" Donald asked.
"Yeah. Let's at least stay with him until he gets to Santa's place. Everything else can wait. Besides, you look like you could use a breather."
Sora sighed, letting his friends drag him into the town.
In the town square, the Mayor gave Miguel a bagful of candy as a welcoming gift. Miguel looked into the bag, but his excited expression melted off his face. It didn't take Sora long to figure out why. Miguel chucked the bag into the fountain. Sora watched the bag float, and saw ants, worms, and beetles floating out of it. The party carved pumpkins together. Miguel got a little too close to the guillotine in the town square. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jerked forward to try and pull him back, but Sally was quicker, and more clever. She gently grabbed Miguel's elbow and guided him toward Dr. Finkelstein's lab.
Instead of a hello, Dr. Finkelstein's first course of action was to measure Miguel's head. He muttered something about it not being big enough, and, before anyone could question him, Dr. Finkelstein showed off a strange metal contraption with mirrors. When he turned on the machine, light reflected off the mirrors, lighting up the entire room and blinding everyone in it.
"My greatest creation yet! I'd like to see those heartless handle this kind of light."
"That's great, Doctor," said Sally, "but maybe we can find a way to focus all that light rather then have it go out in every direction?"
Dr. Finkelstein rubbed his beak. "Such a function would be useful."
Miguel was in good spirits when they left Halloween Town. When they entered Christmas Town, Miguel raced down the hill toward Santa's workshop. Old St. Nick knew how to welcome children. Miguel was invited into the workshop with a warm smile, and a promise of some delicious gingerbread cookies.
"There's horchata too, if you like. And afterward, we can work on making some presents."
Everyone crowded around the fireplace in Santa's lounge.
"I'm sorry to impose, Mr. Claus," Sally began. "But I feel that Miguel would be safer here."
Santa watched Miguel sitting by the fire, eating cookies. Despite the boy's excitement, there was a somber look in his eyes as he watched the flames.
"Not to worry, dear. Children are always welcome here."
Jack cleared his throat. "Mr. Sandy Claws, do you think it would be all right if-"
"I'm afraid making presents is my job, Jack."
Jack blinked. "Oh, no, none of that. I don't plan to take over Christmas ever again."
Sora's jaw dropped. "You did what?"
"Long story," Jack waved his hand. "Actually, I wanted to ask if I could visit Miguel."
"Ho ho ho! Of course. You are welcome to see him any time, just as long as there are no more crazy stunts."
"I promise," Jack said, shaking Santa's hand.
Sora moved toward the fire, sitting down next to Miguel.
"How is it?"
Miguel blinked, first at Sora, then to the tray of cookies in his lap. "Good."
Dante rested his head on Miguel's thigh, leveling the boy with big, sad eyes. Miguel scratched Dante's head without looking down.
"I'm sorry," Sora said.
Miguel's lip quivered. "Are they really all gone? My world? My family? Everyone?"
Pain. It chewed on Sora's heart. He opened his mouth, but couldn't get his vocal chords to vibrate. He wanted to say that no one was truly gone. He wanted to say that everything will be okay. He wanted to smile. He wanted rewind time and stop himself from closing the keyhole in the Land of the Dead. But he couldn't lie. He couldn't-
"So, you've seen what too much light can do."
Sora turned, noticing Santa behind him.
Standing, Sora tried his best not to blink, not to let his burning eyes betray the rush of shame moving through his heart. "Why did light destroy the Land of the Dead?"
"Did it?"
Behind Santa, Donald and Goofy exchanged a look.
Miguel's face lit up. "It didn't?"
"But we saw the world vanish," Sora argued.
Santa shook his head. "We know that a world vanishes when the heartless and darkness destroy it, but can you truly say that Miguel's world is completely gone now that the light has swallowed it?"
"That's just it, Santa. We don't know for sure," Goofy said.
"Correct. "
"So you're saying that there is a way to bring Miguel's world back?" Sora asked.
"Something in my old bones tells me that you'll find the answer if you don't give up. The real reason that I came here was because I felt you needed me." Santa patted Sora's head. "Closing the keyhole was the right choice. What happened after was not something you could have foreseen, nor is it something you should blame yourself for."
"I know."
"Of course you do, but sometimes we need to hear such things from those that support us."
Sora nodded. Santa was right. Yet in his mind, he saw The Land of the Dead fade into nothing once more.
"Thanks for everything, Genie," Riku said.
Behind him, Garnet and Kairi stepped carefully onto Hollow Bastion's roads. Kairi nervously looked around the town, as though she were seeing it for the first time. Garnet, on the other hand, didn't turn away from Yuna. It seemed that the two young ladies reached some sort of agreement, because Riku could feel a spark of both dark sadness and light acceptance coming from both of them.
"Are you sure you don't want stay here with Garnet, Ms. Yuna?" Genie asked.
Yuna shook her head. "I like Riku's offer of going to the islands. Tropical settings feel more like home to me."
"All right." Genie turned to Riku and Kairi, giving them a bow. "Thanks for everything, little pals. And if there is a big showdown with Blueberry Lady, you better call me and Al. No one takes our princess!"
Riku flicked his hand, his thumb and forefinger pointed outward, like a gun. "You got it."
"We'll find Jasmine," Kairi promised.
Riku turned to Garnet. "Are you sure about staying in Hollow Bastion? Won't you miss Yuna?"
"Kairi made it seem nice here. Plus, I can offer some leadership advice. For now, I'd like to take a walk and clear my head."
Yuna reached forward and grasped Garnet's hands. "You were my sole companion in so many years of solitude. I can never fully express my thanks. We'll meet again."
"With new friends, I hope," Garnet added, giving Yuna a quick hug.
Long goodbyes weren't their style. Yuna and Garnet quickly parted. Genie waved before both he and Yuna vanished into a cloud of smoke. Once they were gone, Kairi pointed over Garnet's shoulder, to Merlin's house.
"I'll talk to Aerith about finding you a place to stay. Head back to that house after you've finished looking around."
Garnet bowed, thanked Riku and Kairi, and went on her way. After checking in with Aerith, Riku, Kairi, and Oswald went to meet up with Lunafreya in the main square. When Luna spotted Riku and Kairi, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I assume that two of you vanished for a good reason, and not because you were skipping lessons?"
"We had to help some friends out," Kairi stated.
Riku reached into his pocket and took out the leather bound journal that Noctis had given him. The moment Luna saw it, her powerful light glittered, and Riku had to force himself not to giggle. He couldn't, however, stop himself from smiling. Luna took the journal, read the bookmarked page, and quietly sobbed.
"Thank you, Riku. Knowing that Noctis is safe and will return to me lifts the terrible weight of dread from my heart."
"Y-yeah, sure, of course."
Kairi stepped forward. "That's not all that happened! We also found our hoo-"
Mickey and Max's voices echoed through the square, stopping Kairi from delivering the good news. They ran up to the group. The king wrapped his arms around Riku's legs, as though he couldn't believe Riku was real and needed physical proof.
"You're okay. Thank goodness."
"Where have you been?" Max growled at Kairi. "We came back from the castle only to find that you, Riku, and Oswald had gone missing. You have to stop doing this to me! I'm going to start getting grey hair!"
"Careful," Oswald tapped his foot on the ground, "I can already see a bit of silver by your ears."
Max slapped his hands onto his head.
Oswald snorted. "I'm kidding."
With an angry yowl that would make Donald proud, Max chased Oswald around the square.
"I'll show you grey hair!"
"You know, I'm standing right here," Riku grouched, suddenly feeling a little self conscious about his hair color.
There was a small whimper. If Riku hadn't been standing so close to Mickey, he wasn't so sure his sensitive ears would have picked up on it.
"Did something happen?" Riku asked, patting Mickey's head.
Max froze. The playfulness in Oswald's body peeled away when he noticed that the knight had stopped chasing him. The rabbit glanced at Mickey, his fur puffing up as he braced for news.
"I ran into Aqua in my world." Mickey let go of Riku. "Did she-"
"Attack us? Yeah. We have quite a bit to fill you in on."
"GUYS!"
Sora, Donald, and Goofy came rushing up the steps to the square. Sora barreled straight into Riku. He slammed his hands on Riku's shoulders, and violently shook the taller boy.
"Riku! We were dead!"
"What?"
"There-was-so-much-light-in-the-Land-of-the-Dead-that-people-were-fighting-over-it-and-we-couldn't-fight-any-heartless-because-none-of-us-know-how-to-sing-or-play instruments-and-after-I-sealed-the-keyhole-there-was-an-explosion-"
The rest of Sora's words were muffled by a gloved hand to the face as Riku pushed him back.
"Sora, spaces. Please. I need spaces between words."
"THE LIGHT ATE A WORLD!" Donald and Goofy shouted, finishing Sora's breathless, super fast commentary.
Riku's hand dropped from Sora's face.
Their big news delivered, Sora, Donald, and Goofy took a moment to heave, finally realizing that screaming right after a mad sprint wasn't the best idea for their lungs. Over the sound of their gasping, Max and Kairi leaned toward each other.
"Please tell me you all heard the same thing," Max said.
"People were fighting over the light?" Kairi whispered.
"I'm more worried about the the fact that it was light and not darkness that made a world disappear," Oswald muttered.
Mickey cleared his throat. "Let's head to Merlin's house." Mickey waved at Lunafreya. "Will you join us?"
"Yes. This revelation about the light intrigues me."
The journey back to Merlin's home was a quiet, but not without Kairi asking Sora how on earth he could be dead and still standing before her. When Sora told them they had gone to a world were everyone was dead, Kairi wheezed as she were being squeezed like a squeaky toy.
"Still scared of ghosts?" Max joked. "I thought you were over that."
"I just don't like creepy things!"
"But you jumped right into the realm of darkness," Oswald stated.
"That's different!"
"How is it any different?" Max and Oswald said at the same time.
"Don't worry," Sora put a reassuring hand on Kairi's shoulder. "I'll protect you from the undead."
Kairi practically tingled with happiness, grabbing Sora's arm. "You will?"
"Always." He covered her hand with his.
Oswald, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Max all stepped away, giving them space. Once a chorus of goodnatured giggles erupted from the audience, Sora and Kairi split apart, awkwardly clearing their throats. Near the back of the line, Riku stopped walking. He listened to his friends' footsteps as they moved further and further away. He tried not to feel the cold shivers slithering over his ribs.
"I understand now."
Riku turned toward Luna. "Understand what?"
"The darkness that was pushing down the light inside you." Luna reached out and put a hand on Riku's cheek. "I'm going tell you something you may not believe, but you will one day."
"What is it?"
"Your deepest fear, the one you are not ready to face, it is not true."
As Luna walked on, Riku wondered if she had the ability to read minds. It wasn't the first time someone had noticed. Eiko had once told him that he was being stupid. Maybe he was. But the shivers didn't go away. They never really did.
Oswald reached up and held Kairi's hand, as though he could sense the sudden rush of fear that had flashed through her heart. After hearing Sora's story, as well as Mickey and Riku's experiences with Aqua, Kairi was finding it hard to stay calm. The chaos was getting worse, and Kairi feared that if something weren't done soon, the damage would be irreversible. Or worse, more people would fight over the light, and darkness would swallow everything once more. The world around her blurred, her brain barely making sense of the muffled voices all around her.
"This isn't good," said Leon.
"I've never heard of light consuming a world before," Luna said. "Ancient oracle legends speak of a time when light was abundant, and everything was in a state of never ending peace. This contradicts everything I have learned."
Oswald looked up at the sky. "If Marluxia had succeeded in destroying the realm of darkness way back when, would the light have ruined everything in its place?"
"Santa told me," Sora began, "that there may be a way to save the Land of the Dead. He didn't tell me how, though, just to keep journeying."
"Journeying is fine, but time is not on our side anymore," Riku said. "What if the Land of the Dead isn't the first world to disappear? Jasmine's world was so full of light that the sun had not set in days. What if Agrabah is next?"
Luna clutched her staff to her chest. "Noctis is there."
Kairi shook her head, breaking out of her brain fog. "Do you think Aqua took Jasmine because Agrabah may vanish too?"
Leon rubbed the scar on his forehead while Mickey tapped his temple, as though searching through his memories for something, anything, that could help explain the mess they were in. It was Oswald that finally broke the nervous silence.
"There's only one person that has all the answers."
The entire party stared at him. "Who?"
"Aqua."
"Maybe it's time we go after her." Sora looked at Mickey, silently asking for permission.
"You realize she's not going to talk without a fight," Riku said. "Plus we don't know where she is."
Leon stepped into Merlin's house, and came back with the wizard himself. The old man walked to the center of the group and cleared his throat.
"It sounds to me," he began, "that you all require a location spell."
"You can find her?"
"Without question, Majesty. And since I have you all here, there's something you should know."
Merlin took out his wand and tapped the air twice. The book that Kairi had found in Belle's library appeared before him. It floated ominously in front of Merlin, flipping through the pages on its own. Merlin twirled his wand, and the book turned around so that everyone could see the pages. There was a painting of two keyblade wielders. Between them was an explosion of blinding, blue and white light.
"I've learned the these anomalies, the chaos, the rules being out of order, can only be stopped by two keyblade masters. But I'm sure you've already deduced that."
Sora and King Mickey nodded.
"What strikes me as odd, however, is that this book has different names for the keyblade wielders." Merlin pointed his wand to the keyblade wielder on the right page. The keyblade resembled Sora's. "One weilder is known as a master of light and connection." Merlin pointed to the wielder whose keyblade looked like Mickey's. "The other is known as a master of balance. The book states that only the two of them together can stop something called 'the calamity of a preemptive cycle.'"
"Preemptive cycle?" Sora repeated.
"More questions," Riku groaned. "What even is 'a master of balance?'"
Mickey summoned his keyblade, staring intently at the golden blade and teeth. Had Kairi been paying attention, she would have noticed how Oswald was staring, intently, at the king.
Mickey shook his head, and released his keyblade. He turned to Merlin and spoke in his most authoritative voice.
"Find Aqua for us. It's time we get some answers."
"Certainly. Just a moment."
Merlin cleared his throat and tapped his wand as though he were about to conduct an orchestra. The book vanished. A tingly wind spread though the small square in front of Merlin's house. A tiny star fluttered down in front of Merlin. The party leaned forward, holding their breath. The star burst, the wind died down. Floating in front of Merlin was a navigation gummi, and a letter.
Merlin adjusted his spectacles, squinting at the letter. "Interesting."
He gave the gummi piece to Sora. The letter however, remained untouched.
"It's seems it's for you, dear."
"Me?" Kairi plucked the letter from the air. She ripped into it, read, and then turned to Sora. "We have a lead."
"From who?"
"A while back, I asked Tifa and Cloud to let me know if they run into anything strange. They're in another connected world, connected to the oceans. There are a lot of problems there, and" Kairi's expression hardened, "reports of a blue haired woman that's wanted for suspicious activity."
Kairi showed everyone the second page of the letter. It was a wanted poster, with Aqua's profile sketched onto it.
"So we know where to go," Goofy began, "but shouldn't we tell Master Yen Sid what's going on?"
"The master would want us to make our own decisions," Oswald said.
"I agree," said Mickey.
Jiminy popped out of Sora's hood. "There's no reason we can't inform the master. Just give me a piece of that magic paper. I'll write up a summary, and send it him."
"Oh," Sora chuckled. "I forgot about that."
He reached into his pocket. Once the Jiminy had a tiny, torn, piece of paper, he hid back into Sora's hood. Then, Mickey directed everyone to the gummi ship. As the team walked off, Mickey stayed behind to thank Merlin and Leon. The king then bowed Luna, finishing his goodbyes. He turned to walk after his friends, but paused when he noticed Oswald waiting for him.
"Something wrong?"
Oswald crossed his arms, his eyes darting from Mickey, to the nearest wall, and back. "I don't mean to be rude, Your Majesty."
"You would not have stuck around to talk to me one on one if it wasn't important, right?"
Oswald's hands fell to hang limply at his sides. "Right. I'll be blunt. You're not a master of balance. And I don't think you'll ever be one."
Mickey nodded. "So you figured it out too."
Oswald swallowed. "But there is someone that has the potential."
"I know. It's why Aqua fears him."
"But?"
"He's not ready."
"He's not ready, or you're not ready?"
Mickey looked up at the sky. "In my heart, I know that you're right. I can't wander the stars forever. I just worry that we'll put too much on him, too soon."
"We may not have a choice, Your Majesty." Oswald finally looked at Mickey, offering a smile. "Now I know how the master and Ortensia felt. Always worrying about me. Kairi can be so reckless."
"So can Riku, and Sora, and everyone else. It's hard being responsible." Mickey returned Oswald's smile. "I promise to think about it, but only on one condition."
"Which is?"
"Stop calling me 'Your Majesty.'" Micky wring his hands. "We share a master. Mickey is fine."
Oswald leaned forward and thumped Mickey on the shoulder, earning him a chuckle from the King.
"Deal."
The city stretched for miles. Long, lean, glittery sky scrappers and power lines as far as the eye could see. Sora stood on the edge of the roof, looking down at the fire escape and the street below. The cooing of pigeons and the distant grinding of subway rails reached his ears.
"And I thought finding Master Yen Sid was hard." Sora sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Kairi wore a sneaky smile. "This will be a cakewalk."
"Totally," Max agreed.
Donald groaned. "Have you guys seen the size of this place?"
Oswald grinned. "Have you ever experienced the immeasurable size of the realm of darkness? If we can find each other in that, we can Aqua in all this."
Donald lifted a finger, opened his beak, and froze. His eyes darted around as his brain tried to come up with a retort. When he couldn't come with anything, Oswald held up his palms, and Max and Kairi gave him a high five. Donald's face reddened. Sora and Goofy tried to come to their friend's aid, but even they couldn't come up with a witty reply. Surprisingly, it was Riku that saved Donald the humiliation.
"Don't get overconfident. The realm of darkness doesn't have civilians or buildings to worry about. Finding Aqua is complicated by the fact that we can't let her hurt anyone."
"Yeah." Donald pointed to Riku. "What he said. Hey! Listen to me!"
Sora, Kairi, Max, Oswald, and even Goofy were huddled together, excitedly talking imaginary strategy.
"I'm so pumped!" Sora flexed. "All of us on this mission, working together? We got this!"
"Ahyuck! Yeah. Nothing can beat our teamwork."
Mickey raised a hand to get everyone's attention. "That's true, but-"
The team cheered and made poses, describing in ridiculous detail all the methods they would use to take Aqua down and make her talk. Mickey smiled at their merriment but sobered when he noticed Riku standing on his own. Moving closer to ledge where the boy stood, Mickey said, "Something on your mind?"
"I don't know. Something is just...off." "Darkness?"
"No." Riku turned his head back toward Sora and the others. "I know Sora is always looking on the bright side, but doesn't he seem a little too chipper to you?"
The team had finished talking "strategy." Competition had taken over, and they were making bets on who would find Aqua first.
Riku turned to face the city. "I have to keep them safe. For as long as I can."
Worry tingled in Mickey's heart. "As long as you can?"
Riku jerked, holding his stomach as though he were about to puke. "Heartless are coming."
Mickey covered his ears. The sound of shattering glass exploded in the air. A long, metal, tube burst out of side of the building straight across from the roof he and his friends stood on. The tube curved, like the leg of squid. Three metal claws grabbed onto the building. A moment later, the machine's body came crashing through the window glass. A giant cannonball with four, tentacle like arms, climbed up the side of the building. Darkness oozed from between the joints where the machine's arms connected to its spherical body.
The machine smashed through the windows, sweeping out the civilians from inside and throwing them out into the city. The team rushed toward the edge of the building, about the jump after the civilians, but a pair long, red, stretchy arms appeared out of nowhere from the street below. The arms looped around the three civilians and brought them safely down to the ground. Yet one civilian was still falling. This time, a muscular man in a red, black, and yellow suit came flying out of nowhere and caught the civilian in midair.
"What was that?" Sora shouted. "That was so cool!"
"Machine at twelve o' clock!" Max screamed.
The four legged cannonball machine threw its body toward the roof. The team scattered. While they avoided being squashed, they couldn't keep themselves from falling. The machine's mass broke through the roof, making everyone tumble into floors or streets below.
Sora fell hard onto someone's kitchen table, coughing, both from dust and from the water that had sprayed onto his face from the broken pipe above. As he lay on the table, waiting for his back and arm to stop burning, mechanical arms came bursting out of the nearby wall. Goody popped up in front of Sora. The machine's claws bounced off Goofy's shield. The arm curved upward, crashing into the roof. A healing spell fluttered over Sora's chest, and Donald was at his side a second later to pull him off the table.
The trio had to move, because the floor beneath their feet was already cracking. Casting an aero spell, Sora, Donald, and Goofy leapt out a nearby broken window, crash landing in the city street below. From there, they watched the giant cannonball machine burst out the building. Cars screeched to a halt, people began running away from the robot as fast as possible.
Goofy and Sora lunged, avoiding the machine's arm before it smashed into the concrete. While the arm was still stuck in the ground, Sora charged and slammed his keyblade against the metal with all his might. His entire body vibrated like a tuning fork, his keyblade bouncing off whatever reinforced alloy the machine was made of. Donald, meanwhile, quickly realized that metal could take a lot more magical damage then flesh. His spells simply bounced off the machine's round body. Thinking that metal conducts electricity, Donald fired a lightning spell. The magical lightning surged up the metal arms, and though the cannon-ball shaped body, and into the machine's saucer shaped head.
The machine paused for a second, before it flung its arms out violently in every direction. The trio scattered before they could be crushed. Concrete slabs flew up into the air. Sora looked up, just in time to see the machine's arm swing toward him.
Something red flashed before his eyes. A big, blond man in a red costume dashed in front of Sora, and grabbed the robotic arm before it could hit the boy. The man grunted, pulling the arm and twisting it like a pretzel. A second later, a red haired woman, wearing a matching red costume, appeared on the scene. Her arms elongated like rubber bands. They grabbed the robot's saucer head. The woman slingshotted herself up onto to the robot, and slipped inside, under its saucer head.
The big, blond man turned around and yelled at Sora.
"Get to safety!"
But Sora, Donald, and Goofy were about to argue when the machine suddenly powered down, its limbs collapsing into the street. A spike-ball heartless, covered in red eyes, phased through the machine's round body. Sora knew that heartless. His mind flashed back to Treasure Planet and the fight he'd had with Captain Flint's corpse. Raising his keyblade, Sora took a deep breath. Donald and Goofy lined up behind him, putting their hands on Sora's shoulder blades. Light coated Sora's keyblade, energy flowed into him from his friends.
He charged, slicing right through the possessor heartless with one all out attack. Stopping, Sora whirled around to shout to his friends.
"Did you see that? We have to get inside it and destroy the heartless controlling it."
Donald and Goofy gave him a thumbs up, but then their faces shifted into concern. Sora was lifted off his feet, and carried like a baby in the big, burly man's arms.
"Incoming!" He boomed.
The rubber woman stretched and landed at the big man's side. She reached out and grabbed Donald and Goofy with her long arms. She threw Donald and Goofy toward the big man. The trio wailed as they were carried away from the pounding footsteps of something behind them. Sora peeked over the big man's shoulder and gulped as yet another cannon ball robot charged down the street after them.
"Get the civvies someplace safe!" The rubber woman ordered. "I'll distract it!"
"Not alone you won't," the big man argued.
"Put us down!" Sora wriggled. "We can fight!"
"Let the heroes handle this, kid." The big man rounded a corner and put Sora, Donald, and Goofy down in an alley. "Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl can take care those robots. You three, get someplace safe!"
Sora watched Mr. Incredible run back out into the street.
"Did we just get rescued?"
"So this is what it feels like." Donald closed his eyes, looking pleased. "Why don't we let them deal with the trouble for once and take a break?"
"We can't do that," Goofy said. "Heartless are tricky."
A series of grunts reached Sora's ears. He peeked around the corner and saw the possessor heartless come out of yet another cannonball machine. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl were already working together to take down a third robot, all while ignoring the spike ball heartless hovering over the street. The heartless phased into a nearby car, and suddenly the car's headlights lit up.
"Oh no you don't!"
Sora charged into the street, jumped up over the car, and brought down the full might of his keyblade on the vehicle. The car's hood collapsed inward, and the possessor heartless popped out, flying toward the alley where Donald zapped it, and Goofy squashed it with his shield. The red eyed heartless was resilient, and it took one more powerful hit from Sora's keyblade to finally destroy it.
There was a whistle.
Sora turned, spotting Mr. Incredible stride up to him. Behind him, Elastigirl stretched her long leg, stepping down from the top of the machine the duo had just destroyed. Mr. Incredible reached out, and grabbed the keyblade's teeth, lifting it to his eyes.
"What kind of super weapon is this?"
"A keyblade."
The black mask around Mr. Incredible's eyes furrowed along with his brow. "Are you a new super, kid?"
"Uhhh."
Was the world order still a thing for a connected world? Goofy saved Sora the trouble of coming up with an answer.
"What's a super?"
"Someone with superpowers," said Elastigirl. "Like you three. That was impressive."
"Too bad superheroes are illegal, otherwise you three would be top notch." Mr. Incredible shrugged.
Sora finally got over his stupor. "WHAT? Illegal? What kind of dumb decision is that? You guys were so cool!" He moved around Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. "You're super strong and she can stretch like silly putty. Why would anyone want to stop you from protecting people?"
"Property damage," Elastigirl said.
Sora cringed, remembering all the messes he'd made on his adventure. "Oh, yeah, I can see that. But it's still stupid. If you hadn't swooped in, my friends and I would have been toast."
Mr. Incredible put an arm around Elastigirl, pulling her to his side.
"What can I say? Hero work is what we do."
Elastigirl crossed her arms, giving Mr. Incredible a coy look. "Is that what you were doing? I though you were running around while I was picking up the slack."
Mr. Incredible tilted his head, smirking down at the shorter superhero. "I was simply giving you an opening to make your move."
Elastigirl poked his side. "How chivalrous. But, please, don't hold back on my account."
Mr. Incredible leaned down so that he could look into her eyes. "As if you couldn't destroy those robots by yourself."
She batted her eyelashes. "True, but I wouldn't mind some of that incredible strength to make my job a little easier."
"Well, all you had to do was ask."
"I thought you worked alone?"
"I thought you said I needed to be more flexible?"
Goofy and Donald chuckled. The spell was broken. Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible suddenly remembered that they had an audience. Sora, whose grin was so wide it practically engulfed his whole face, waved his hand.
"Don't mind us. Please, continue your conversation."
He had expected that being called out would make Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl splutter and blush. Instead, they simply shared one more loving look before the romantic air vanished from their faces and posture. When they put their hands on their hips, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, had the sudden urge to hush up and listen to what they had to say.
"We've been having giant robot attacks all over the city. Illegal or not, we can't just let them put civilians in danger." Mr. Incredible held out a hand to Sora. "And the sooner we get this mess sorted out, the sooner we can get back to our kids. So what do you say? Give us a hand?"
"And get to be a superhero?" Sora clasped Mr. Incredible's black glove. "Count me in!"
Sora jerked as Donald and Goofy pulled him back. The trio got into a quick huddle and Sora grinned sheepishly. He knew exactly what was coming.
"Oops."
"Oops?" Donald growled. "Sora, what about Aqua?"
"And finding our friends."
"Our friends can take care of themselves. As for Aqua, I don't see why we can't look for her and help Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl at the same time."
Donald rolled his eyes. "There he goes again."
"Come on, Donald. Don't you like helping people?"
"Sure, sure." He gave Sora a serious look. "Jiminy, you there?"
The cricked peeked out of Sora's hood.
"If we do run into Aqua, I want you to send a message to the King and Kairi. I don't want to take any chances."
Jiminy nodded. He waited until Sora gave him another piece of magic paper before ducking back into the boy's hood. The meeting done, the trio turned back to the superheroes.
"Okay, where to?"
"Before that." Elastigirl grabbed Sora's hand. "Put these on."
The sound of breaking glass made them twitch. Down the street, a series of bricks were thrown out of a glass window. Several men, wearing black outfits and carrying big, round sacks full of what was most likely stolen goods, came running out a jewelry shop.
"All right! No better time to get some loot then when the city is in danger!"
Sora buzzed with excitement. "Criminals! Let's get them!"
"Hold on a second!"
Sora ignored Mr. Incredible. He charged down the street, keyblade raised, a smile on his face so wide, it would make the cheshire cat proud. The first criminal didn't see what was coming. By the time the man had turned around, Sora had tripped him with his keyblade. The man fell with a thud, all the jewelry in his bag falling out into the street. Standing over him, Sora pointed his keyblade at the man's chest.
"Freeze thieves! Or else you're going to have to deal with the keyblade master."
The three other thieves stopped, blinking.
"Who is this kid? Some wannabe super?"
The other two criminals dropped their loot. "GET HIM!"
Sora easily ducked and sidestepped two of the punches. This was so easy. Donald, Goofy, Elastigirl, and Mr. Incredible were steps away, but Sora knew he had this in the bag. By the time they would reach him, he would-
Bang.
Something clocked Sora in the back of the scull. He hit the asphalt, hard. Static rang in his head. He turned over, his eyes barely making out the fuzzy image of a baseball bat. A man in a black outfit was standing over him. Vaguely, as Sora watched the bat being lifted back up, he realized that there must have been one more criminal still in the shop.
A shield blocked the bat from cracking Sora's head a second time. Hands looped under Sora's armpits, pulling him back into a strong chest. The next moment, a healing spell got rid of the throbbing in his head. Sora blinked up at Mr. Incredible, and then down at Donald below him, before turning his attention back to the fight.
Goofy and Elastigirl made quick work of the criminals. Elastigirl looped her arms around two of the bad guys' waists. She jerked her arms, making the men smack into each other, knocking them out. Goofy meanwhile, charged at the criminals that had realized they were way in over their heads. Within seconds, all five bad guys were tied up in the middle of the street, their loot thrown back into the jewelry shop.
Sirens were heard in the distance. A second later, the red and blue flash of police cars could be seen down the street.
"Time to high tail it out of here," Mr. Incredible boomed.
Sora bounced in Mr. Incredible's arms. The team ran, stopping in an alleyway a few blocks off. Once there, Mr. Incredible put Sora down and leveled the boy with a disappointed look that would make Donald proud. Sora looked down at his shoes.
Mr. Incredible took a breath, his features softening. "I may be a big muscle guy, but even I know not to charge into a situation without thinking about it first."
"But-"
Elastigirl put up a hand. "Excuses? I don't think so. You need to hear this. Never underestimate criminals. Overconfidence is the first mistake every new super makes. Got it?"
Sora put his arms at his sides. "Yes, Mom-I mean ma'am!"
Donald and Goofy didn't even try to hide their snickering.
A brief flash of amusement flickered across Elastigirl's eyes. Then she turned around and pointed to the street. "All right. Time to hunt down some robots."
As she walked out of the alleyway, Mr. Incredible marched behind her saying, "Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?"
"Yes, but once more couldn't hurt."
Sora couldn't help the wide grin on his face, and the secret hope that he would have a similar relationship one day, preferably with a certain redhead of his own.
Kairi crashed into a tree. Wrapping her arms and legs around the branch, Kairi panted, mentally cursing the stupid robot that had flung her out of the building. What she wouldn't give to put her cheek on the bark and just close her eyes for two seconds. Unfortunately, on the street below, Kairi spotted a baby.
A baby that was crawling straight toward yet another cannonball machine.
Landing on the street, Kairi reached the baby, picked him up, and then had to make a mad dash across the street. The robot had spotted her, and it was slamming its tentacles down, trying to squash Kairi like a fly. The baby squealed happily, pointing at the giant robot, all while Kairi tried her best not to fall as the ground shuddered beneath her feet. The robot's massive tentacles made the entire block shake. Tucking the baby under her arm, Kairi threw a fire spell over her shoulder.
The baby screamed in delight. The next second, Kairi let him go. Normally, Kairi would have felt totally ashamed that she had just dropped a child, but, there two problems with that. One, Kairi had only dropped the baby because her arm had suddenly felt like it was on fire. And two, when she looked down, she discovered that the baby actually was on fire!
"Waterga!"
The spell doused the flames. The baby kicked his legs, unharmed and laughing at Kairi's horrified expression. He then got on his feet, lifting his hands. Before Kairi could grab him, a metal claw smacked into her back, sending her flying across the square. Reeling from the pain in her back, Kairi waited for the pain of hitting the floor. But it never came.
Opening her eyes, she was surprised to see that she was floating. Or rather, the baby in her arms was floating, and keeping her up by proxy. Her world upside down, Kairi watched the giant robot still advance on them. The baby clapped his hands, and suddenly, red lasers burst from out of his eyes. The hot beams of light moved over the robot's joint, the heat separating its arm from the rest of its body.
The robot turned, and Kairi saw something in the hole where its arm had just been. Something purple, with glowing, red eyes. Kairi rotated in the air. She landed back on her feet, no longer floating. The baby suddenly weighed ten tons, and Kairi dropped him once more. This time, he was made of solid metal. And the robot had recovered, stomping back toward them.
Sparing a moment to heal herself, Kairi waved to catch the baby's attention.
"Good baby. Stay."
The baby clapped his hands, cooing.
"No baby is going to get squashed on my watch!"
Summoning her sword, Kairi felt a surge of light moving through her heart. White butterflies fluttered around her. Several of them went to float around the baby, protecting his metal body and dazzling him with light. Kairi charged the robot, feeling her sword heat up in her hand, as the light coated the blade.
The robot lifted its remaining arm, trying to squish her again. Kairi didn't bother dodging. The arm smashed into her reflect spell. While the spell was broken, Kairi climbed up onto the robot arm. She ran to where the arm was connected to the robot's body. Swinging her blade, she watched as the light sliced straight through the robot's joint, tearing off its arm.
Down two arms. the robot was unbalanced. The front half of its spherical body smashed into the ground. Kairi ran around behind the robot, and use the light to cut off the rest of its limbs. Once it was no more then a sphere, Kairi was about to charge into the open hole where its limbs had been. But the sphere moved.
It rolled down the street like a massive bowling ball, throwing Kairi off. It was heading straight for the baby. Kairi dashed forward, but then something red flashed down the street. The baby was gone seconds before the robot could squash him.
Suddenly, a boy in a red suit appeared at Kairi's side. The baby was in the boy's hands.
"Hey! I'm Dash!" The boy shook Kairi's hands roughly. He then shoved the baby in her hands as he ran around her, speaking so fast and asking so many questions that both Kairi's eyes and ears hurt. "What kind of super are you? That was so cool when you sliced off the robot's arms with that white light. Sweet! How did you do that? What's your power?"
Suddenly, boy crashed into a wall of purple force, which had sprung out of nowhere.
Kairi was about to ask Dash if he was okay, but the boy rubbed his nose and growled.
"Violet! What was that for?"
A tall, skinny girl appeared out of thin air. Kairi took a step back, yelping at the girl's sudden appearance. Her eye color matched her name.
"We don't have time to answer all your questions," Violet scolded Dash. "It's coming back."
The robot had smashed into a building on the far side of the street. The collision had made it stop, and it was now rolling back toward Kairi and the others. Violet jumped in front of the group and raised her hands. A purple sphere of energy surrounded Kairi and the kids. The robot's spherical body smashed into the purple force, and, like a bowling pin being hit by the ball, Kairi and the kids went flying.
Despite its metal exterior, the robot bounced like a basketball. It rose up into the air, on a collision course with Kairi and the others. The baby in Dash's hands screamed in delight. Dash yelped, releasing the baby. Kairi watched, wide eyed as the baby grew ten times as big. Now huge and chubby, the baby fell, face first, onto the round robot. The baby's weight slammed the robot back down into the street.
They were safe from the robot but not the street lamp they were hurtling toward. Kairi's reflect spell stopped her from breaking her neck. On the ground, she looked up, searching for Violet and Dash. The two kids bounced back down on the ground, protected by Violet's purple energy sphere.
The two girls moved toward each other, shouting at the same time.
"You can use reflect spells?"
"You can make force fields too?"
Kairi blinked. "Force fields? No. I use magic."
"Magic?" Dash blew a raspberry. "That's your superpower?" Dash gasped. "Oh no! Jack Jack! I saw him get inside the robot!"
Kairi smacked her hands on her face, groaning, pulling down the skin on her cheeks. "Right. The baby. Right. Jack Jack." Kairi pointed at Violet and Dash. "Okay, you two. Listen to Kairi. We need to get inside that robot."
"How do we do that while it is rolling?" Dash asked.
The ground thundered, and Kairi whirled around to see the robot stampeding down the street toward them. She snapped her fingers at Dash.
"Think you can outrun that thing?"
"With my eyes closed"
"Good. Keep it busy."
Dash grinned, cracking his knuckles. He was off like a bullet, leaving nothing but a red trail behind him as he ran circles, literally, around the robot. While Dash taunted and kept the robot turning in circles, Kairi facedViolet.
"Can you get Jack Jack?"
"If I can sneak inside it, yeah. What are you going to do?"
"Most likely something crazy."
"Need some help with that?" A pair of voices called from above.
Oswald and Max jumped down from a nearby fire escape. Kairi nearly cried.
"Perfect timing. Max, pin ball me and Violet. Ozzie, give her a hand, and follow my lead."
"You got it." Max raised his swords, getting into position.
Oswald moved next to Violet and casted an reflect spell around them. He gave Violet a grin. "You might want to brace yourself."
"Three!" Max screamed.
Kairi felt the powerful force of Max's swords colliding with her reflect spell. She rocketed across the street. Seconds before she smashed into the robot's round body, Kairi casted another reflect spell. The impact made the machine pause its rolling. Its red eye and saucer like head rotated, searching for its target. Kairi's feet appeared in its view for a second, before its vision turned into static. Sticking her sword under the opening of the machine's saucer head, Kairi pushed the blade upward, slightly breaking the saucer off the rest of the machine's body.
"Ozzie! Violet! Go!"
Oswald pulled Violet into the machine's core. Kairi could hear his angry shouts, and Violet's yelps as the two trashed the inside of the machine. Then, she heard Jack Jack giggle happily.
The machine stopped moving. Kairi looked down at the round body she stood on, waiting for something to happen. Instead, she spotted a purple ball of spikes phasing through the robot and zooming down the street.
"Max! Get the heartless!"
Dash reached the heartless first, looking into the creature's red eyes. "Whoa. What is this weird thing?"
He reared his arm back, about to punch it. The heartless opened its mouth and snapped at Dash, making him jump back. But it was just enough time for Max to run up behind the heartless, and slice it into pieces. It took close to ten powerful hits before the heartless finally popped into nothing.
Dash's eyes widened. "Cool!"
Kairi sighed in relief.
She peered into the broken machine. "You guys okay?"
Violet's voice echoed from within the robot. "Super duper, Kairi."
"Get back," Oswald warned. "I'm going to blast the top."
Once everyone was back on the street, with Jack Jack happily cooing in Violet's arms, Kairi took a moment to finally sit down and take a breather. Her chest ached from hitting the tree earlier. Now that the adrenaline of protecting Jack Jack had worn off, Kairi looked at the three kids and then to Max and Oswald.
"Please tell me you know where our friends are."
Oswald shrugged. "Nope. It was lucky that the three of us found each other."
Max's head slumped. "So much for finding Aqua together."
Kairi covered her eyes. Now would be a really bad time for Aqua to show up, especially with two kids and a baby to watch out for. Powers or no powers, it didn't seem like Violet and Dash had a lot of experience taking down giant robots. Heck, she herself didn't have that much experience taking down giant robots.
"Can someone please tell me what's been going on in this town?"
Violet stepped forward. "Besides the robot invasion? Lots of weird stuff."
"Yeah, like-"
Dash's words were interrupted by Jack Jack's curious cooing. Violet, reacting on impulse, summoned a sphere of purple energy to protect the group. But there was no enemy to fight. Instead, it was like someone had turned off the light switch for the sun. One second, it was a bright, warm day, the next, it was as dark as midnight. It took a few seconds for the confused crickets to start chirping, for the city lights to come on, and for Kairi's eyes to adjust to the darkness. She looked up at the night sky, and hissed.
"Guys, do you see that?"
Max and Oswald looked up. Kairi could almost hear the two of them gulp. There were dark spots above the city. Kairi saw a wave red eyes squirming in the darkness. Red and purple veins slithered out of the patches, pulsing in the air like mutated roots.
"-like that." Dash said, pointing up, finally completing his sentence.
Jiminy's Journal
Mr. Incredible (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Super-strength is the game for Mr. Incredible. As a superhero, he is noble, and will always put the safety of others before his own, even if it means breaking the law to do superhero work. He and Elastigirl make a powerful, and loving, team, almost as though they're more then just crime fighting partners.
Elastigirl (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Because her power is the ability to stretch her body into any shape, Elastigirl has a bit more finesse when it comes to superhero work. She is a creative fighter, as well as a strict but fair mother-like figure. Elastigirl refuses to stay behind and be left out of the fight. She will do whatever it takes to civilians and those closest to her.
Dashiel Robert Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): Unlike his sister, Dash absolutely loves the hero life. He's competitive, hyperactive, and excitable, the perfect personality to go with his speedy superpower.
Violet Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): A young girl with the ability to create powerful force fields and turn invisible. Violet is a little shy and unsure of herself, but she's also smart and has good instincts, even though she's new to the whole superhero business.
Jack Jack Par (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): The youngest of the incredible children. Jack Jack is a polymorph: a super with many powers. He can make himself heavy, set himself on fire, float, shoot lasers out of his eyes and who knows what other kind of crazy powers he might have. Though young, Jack Jack has the same zest for superhero work as his father and brother.
Chapter 62: KH3 Chapter 31: The Price
Notes:
A/N: Soooo....it's BEEN a minute. But don't fret! I 100% plan to finish this project! And there is SO MUCH more that I want to put in here before it is done...I'm just...short on time because college, and life, and burnout, but this fic WILL GET DONE! Thanks for sticking with me this long!
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty One: The Price
“Aqua must be getting close.”
“What do you mean?” Max asked.
Oswald pointed to the black patches in the sky. “I’ve wandered the realm of darkness for fifty years and I never saw any place that had blue and red veins. I also never ran into a red eyed heartless, either. Imagine what Aqua can do with ten thousand years.”
Kairi pointed. “Look!”
Black rain began to fall from the dark patches in the sky. Jack Jack began crying. Violet bounced him in her arms, but, like all babies, Jack Jack could sense that something was amiss. Without the words to express his fear, crying would have to do.
“There must be infestations all over the city,” Kairi realized.
Oswald paced a hand on his chin. “The distortions, the imbalance, if we don’t find a way to disconnect worlds and realms soon, then the heartless will run wild and they may as well destroy everything.”
“So we don’t have time to stand around.” Kairi cracked her knuckles. “First one to destroy one hundred heartless wins.”
“You’re on!” Max smacked his fist into their palms.
Dash suddenly appeared in the middle of the team. “I want I compete too.”
“Dash!” Violet shouted over Jack Jack’s crying. “What about finding Mom and Dad? They might need our help.”
Jack Jack wailed.
“Look over here, Jack Jack. Look at Violet.”
The baby peered at her, only to quiet when Violet suddenly disappeared. Max and Oswald gasped, watching as Jack Jack floated in the air. Then, Violet reappeared, still holding her brother, saying “peekaboo!”
Despite Violet’s best effort, Jack Jack was seconds away from crying again. Kairi summoned a few butterflies of light. Jack Jack’s eyes widened. He watched the butterflies flutter around him, but his quivering frown never left his face.
“Wow. Where did you learn to do that?” Violet said.
“Trial by fire,” Kairi replied. “Nothing like real danger to make you sink or swim.”
Violet tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. “I wish I were that strong.”
Kairi made a face. “What do you mean? You can make force fields and turn invisible. You are strong. And when push comes to shove, you’ll be there for your brothers. I know it.”
“How?”
“Because I was like you once.”
Dash groaned. “Can we stop with the mushy stuff and get going?”
Max pointed down the street. “Looks like we don’t have to go that far.”
The black rain had become puddles on the asphalt. Claws rose out of the inky liquid. Red eyed heartless, so many that they blended together to resemble a black wave, flooded the streets. Dash gulped, stepping closer to Kairi’s side.
“Don’t worry,” she put a hand on his head. “We’ll take them all down. So you run and hit as fast as you can.”
She had said the magic words. Dash’s face lit up, his mouth twisting into a sneaky grin. Violet’s expression was nervous, but her nod was determined. Even Jack Jack clapped happily. Max and Oswald didn’t need pep talks. They charged into battle, swords and wand raised while Kairi gave the super-kids directions.
“Dash, I need distractions and punches,” Kairi said. “Violet, make openings for the team. These things are hard to take down, so if you get hit, go to me or Oswald for healing.”
Dash gave her a thumbs up. “Yeah baby! Let’s go!”
With a roar, the kids charged into battle. Usually, Kairi could roast, electrocute, or slice through shadows like tissue paper. She quickly found out that red eyed shadows were ridiculously durable. It took anywhere between seven and ten hits before one shadow went down.
A blast of wind pushed the heatless back as Dash came running, bulldozing into the heartless around Kairi. He ran around in circles, creating a mini tornado. The heartless spun in the vortex until Violet captured them all in a force field.
“Max!”
The young knight ran toward Kairi, put his sneaker in her hands, and was launched into the air a moment later. When Max was directly over the force field, Kairi shouted at Violet.
“Drop the shield!”
Max came down like a razor storm, slicing through the mass of writing heartless. He rolled when he hit the ground, and the heartless burst into nothing behind him. Dash let out an impressed whoop.
As the team bashed, smashed, sliced and diced their way through one horde after another, their strength was quickly starting to run out. Even with Violet creating safe spots for Oswald and Kairi to heal wounds, the body could only take so much concentrated effort before one needed to stop and take a breath.
This was worse then fighting the endless stream of heartless with Zidane back in Twilight Town.
Hands on her knees, Kairi stumbled back as another sturdy shadow charged forward and smashed into her legs. With her shins screaming in pain, Kairi wobbled, barely managing to retaliate with a fire spell. The attack hit, point blank, right at the heartless’ eyes. The flames didn’t finish off the red eyed heartless, but it did allow Violet to protect Kairi with a forcefield, giving the girl enough cover to heal herself.
Through the shield, Jack Jack watched the firaga spell engulf the heartless. He burst into flames. Violet had to drop Jack Jack before he could burn her to a crisp. Her surprise turned off the force field as well. Kairi was about to grab Jack Jack when, suddenly, she stopped.
You know what?
Let the super baby wreak havoc. They needed all the help they could get.
Flaming Jack Jack tackled heartless, pummeling them with his fiery firsts. Dash was throwing heartless into the air by crashing his speedy body into them. Once airborne, Max or Kairi would jump to slice and dice. On the ground, Violet used her invisibility to grab and trap groups of heartless into force fields so that Oswald could swoop in and fry them with lightning.
The fight went on for what felt like hours. More black rain fell from the sky, more puddles burst from the ground, and soon, red eyed neoshadows, dark balls, and earth cores had joined the fight. Max, Kairi, Oswald, Jack Jack, Violet, and Dash all stood, back to back, inside one of Violet’s force fields, watching the heartless claw, bite, and charge at them through the purple energy. Violet grunted, her hands shaking as she tried to keep the force field up.
The team prepared for a counterattack, spells were charged, swords and fists were raised, but, before the shield fell, the ground thundered below their feet. From downtown, a puffy, white substance, moved from between the towering buildings. An avalanche of fresh snow roared toward the group.
Kairi and Oswald reacted, casting reflect spells to help Violet’s shield take less impact from the upcoming attack. Yet, when the snow came rushing toward the group, it curved, moving around them, hitting all the heartless instead. Hundreds of heartless were buried under a layer of thick snow. A moment later, a trail of ice moved through the sky. A man in a white and blue suit surfed on the ice trail.
Dash pumped his fist. “Yeah! Frozone!”
The iceman, or Frozone, flew over the snow, turning it from white powder, to blocks of ice. The heartless were frozen, like woolly mammoths. Frozone landed in front of the group.
“You kids okay?”
“That was so cool! You turned all the heartless into popsicles!”
Frozone clicked his teeth and pointed approvingly at Dash, looking from one young face to another. He narrowed his eyes at Kairi, Max, and Oswald.
“You civvies? Or supers?”
Oswald, Kairi, and Max exchanged a look. “Supers, I guess.”
Frozone put his hands on his hips. “I feel ya. It’s hard being a hero in this day and age, what with supers being illegal and all.” Frozone turned to Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack. “You three need to go find someplace safe to hold up.”
“NO WAY!” Violet and Dash roared.
“We’ve been kicking butt for hours!”
“Yeah,” Violent snapped, “we can take care of ourselves.”
Even Jack Jack crossed his arms and gave Frozone a petulant stare.
“Listen, your parents would fry me if something happened to you. And I’ve never seen monsters like this before.”
Kairi stepped forward. “You’ve got experts on those monsters right here.”
Max and Oswald winked.
“As for the kids, Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack can’t be stopped. So let’s fight together.”
Frozone opened his mouth to argue, but Kairi did not hear his next words. The block of ice behind him shivered. The red eyed neoshadow inside the ice began to move its arms and legs. Without thinking, Kairi and Max charged forward, stabbing their swords into the ice and the heartless within before the neoshadow could break free and ambush Frozone.
Crackling sounds filled the air as claws, antennae, and red eyes twitched within the ice.
Kairi looked at Violet. “Hope you’ve had enough rest, because it looks like we’re going another round.”
“Bring ‘em on!” Max and Dash shouted.
The two of them gave each other a fist bump. If she weren’t so focused on getting the jump on the heartless, Kairi might have marveled at the fact that, no matter how many worlds they went to, kindred spirits found each other.
The battle started again. Frozone flew around, using ice spears to stab heartless into oblivion. Max and Kairi alternated between one handed and two handed sword strikes, while Oswald and Violet tagged teamed once more. Dash held Jack Jack above his head and let the baby go crazy with his laser eyes. He ran around the battle field, using his baby brother as both a weapon and an excellent defense.
A neoshadow appeared on Dash’s right and the boy yelped, quickly reacting by jumping up onto its head, and stomping his feet so fast that the heartless was smashed into the dirt. Jack Jack leapt off his brother’s head. In midair, he turned into solid metal. Like an wrecking ball, he landed on the heartless, his new weight smashing the creature into nothing.
Suddenly, Frozone came down from above. He grabbed Jack Jack, who by this time had turned back into a regular baby.
“GET OFF THE STREET!”
Screeching vibrations reached Kairi’s ears. Once she found the source of the noise, Kairi swallowed, and then charged back into the fight. The heartless scratched and bit her arms and legs, but Kairi grit her teeth past the pain, reaching Oswald, Max, and Violet. There wasn’t enough time for fear to fully register in Max and Oswald’s expressions, and Kairi’s concentration was too broken by pain for her to chant a reflect spell. Only Violet’s super instincts saved them.
A giant metal ball came rolling in their direction. Before it could smash them, it rolled off of Violet’s last-second-shield. From inside the force field, the team breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the massive metal monstrosity squish the red eyed heartless like a rolling pin. The remaining heartless swarmed the sphere shaped robot. Kairi squinted at the strange behavior, before a shout made her turn around.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy came to a skidding stop next to her. All six friends spared one moment to stare at each other, at the mess all around them, and shout, “What’s going on?”
Violet let out a squeal. “Mom!”
Kairi turned and watched, wide eyed, as a rubber woman walked over the heartless with her long, stilt like legs. From the air, the woman’s arms stretched, punching away the heartless that had jumped toward her torso. Meanwhile, a big, muscly man charged through the heartless like a battering ram. They were moving toward the big, round, metal robot.
The robot rose up on its tube shaped legs. Dozens of heartless squirmed on its body, like maggots swarming rotting meat. The muscle man got closer and threw out his fists to punch the robot. A darkball opened its mouth, biting down on the man’s fist. The heartless then threw him up into the air.
“Dad!”
Violet disappeared, but Kairi could see her invisible trail as she pushed aside heartless to run after the strongman. Sora and Kairi’s teams had no time to chase. They busied themselves with the endless and frustrating task of thinning the heartless crowd. Even as they tried to move toward the giant robot, more heartless rose up from the dark puddles in the floors, the building walls, and even from the sky.
“We can’t keep this up forever,” Oswald panted, combining his magic with Donald to cast an aero spell around everyone.
“Can’t we blow them away with a holy spell?” Sora said. “Like what Kairi did back in Disney Town?”
“I only did that because Belle and I combined powers,” Kairi countered.
Oswald pointed in the distance. “It’s coming back!”
Goofy tackled his son, throwing him to the ground before they could both be squashed by the rolling-heartless-covered-robot. It missed them by inches. Sora, Kairi, Oswald, and Donald, meanwhile, went flying as the heartless hit their aero spells. An arm came out of nowhere. It looped around Kairi’s torso like a rope, bringing her back down to the ground safely. Sora landed next to her, blinking as another arm unwound itself from his torso.
“You two all right?”
Kairi watched the arms un-stretch, reattaching to the rubber woman she saw walking over the heartless earlier.
“Thanks, Elastigirl.” Sora heaved, rubbing his chest. “Ow. That thing really packs a punch when it rolls.”
Elastigirl pointed upward. “How do we stop that?”
Kairi glanced up at the sky. At the rate things were going, the heartless could tear this world, and everyone in it, apart. A holy spell really was their last chance, but she had no idea if it would close the black spots in the sky. Sora pulled Kairi aside, whispering in her ear.
“What if packing this world with even more light makes it disappear just like the Land of the Dead? What would happen to the other worlds it’s attached to?”
Kairi swallowed hard. “What’s the alternative? Let the heartless destroy everything and everyone?”
Sora looked around at all the destruction, the fighting, the black rain still falling from the sky. Kairi saw something in his terrified expression. For as long as she had known him, no matter what the circumstances, there had always been an inner hope shining in his eyes. The only time Kairi had ever seen Sora look so afraid was back when...Kairi pushed down the thought. She grabbed Sora’s shoulders.
“I’m a princess of heart and I can control my light, at least a little. I can stop it from swallowing the world. Just the heartless.”
Sora’s nervous expression wavered. “Are you sure?”
Kairi winked. “Don’t you have any faith in me? Do you think I’d let a world disappear?”
Sora put his free hand over hers. “I always have faith in you.” He broke out of her hold, a wide grin appearing on his face. “So how do we do this?”
Kairi gestured to all the heroes around her. “With a lot of help.”
Kairi and Sora charged back into battle, stopping by Elastigirl. After ten minutes of brawling, they were able to push back the heartless long enough to talk to the rubber superhero.
“We need to retreat,” Kairi said.
Nearby, Mr. Incredible slammed his fists straight through a neoshadow, creating a crater in the concrete. “We can’t just stop fighting! People are in danger!”
“We’ll get no where like this,” Sora countered. “Kairi and I have a plan.”
“What plan?” Violet appeared at Sora’s side, making him jump back in surprise.
“BOB!” Elastigirl grunted as she lassoed and threw several heartless away with her long arm. “Maybe it’s time we listen to the next generation of heroes?”
Mr. Incredible turned his head, distracted by the loud grinding of the giant, robot heartless. He hissed. Even though the metal shell was swarming with heartless, the robot was still rolling dangerously toward Max, Oswald, Dash, and Jack Jack. Goofy and Donald were too far away, wading through waves of heartless to try and get to their friends. Frozone was trying to slow the robot down with walls of ice, but the robot just kept rolling, smashing through the barriers.
Elastigirl threw out her arms. Her limbs stretched, looping around the giant sphere like a bunch or ropes. The heartless and the robot kept rolling, trying to break free from her grip. Her feet slipped over the concrete.
Mr. Incredible grabbed Elastigirl’s torso, using his strength to pull her back. Sora grabbed Mr. Incredible, and Kairi grabbed Sora. It was a deadly game of tug of war, but the team managed to hold on, and slow down the giant wrecking ball long enough for Max, Oswald, Dash, and Jack Jack to fight their way through the heartless and get clear.
Elastigirl’s arms released the heartless robot, and it went rolling, faster now that it had nothing to hold it back. It smashed into the base of a sky scrapper. Like a giant tree falling down, the sky scrapper exploded at the base, and the building tilted, angling down toward the street where all the heroes and heartless were fighting.
Before Kairi could even scream, a trail of ice came flying her way. Elastigirl dashed back into the fight, grabbing onto Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack. She then jumped onto the ice trail, right behind Frozone. Sora managed to regroup with Donald and Goofy, and the three of them where then thrown by Mr. Incredible onto the ice trail.
“Your turn, kid.”
“Wait!”
Mr. Incredible lifted Kairi over his shoulders. She kicked her legs, pointing at Oswald and Max. They were still further up the street
“My friends!”
“I got them. Just go!”
Kairi was thrown up into the air. She flailed or a few seconds before a pair of long arms grabbed her and pulled her up onto the ice trail. Sora steadied her, arms around her waist, but Kairi leaned forward, eyes glued to the scene below. Mr. Incredible bulldozed through the heartless, reaching Max and Oswald. There was a flash of light as a reflect spell appeared around Max and Oswald. Mr. Incredible smashed his fist into the glass, sending, Max and Ozzie rocketing through the air.
“Yes! Pinball! Good thinking, Ozzie!”
“You worry about your friends too much,” Sora panted, finally pulling Kairi back against him.
“They’ll be fine. They’re strong.”
Kairi looked down at the hands that were wrapped tightly around her waist. For a brief second, she closed her eyes and let relief wash over her, leaning her head back on Sora’s shoulder. When had he gotten taller then her?
“You’re one to talk,” Kairi sighed.
“Heading down,” Frozone warned.
The team landed on roof somewhere.
“I’m going back for Bob and others,” Frozone told Elastigirl. “Make sure to have your plan ready by the time I come back.”
“Thanks, Lucius,” Elastigirl said.
Frozone saluted before jumping off the building. Kairi’s eyes trailed after him, until she noticed the city below. What would have once been a phenomenal view of the city and the distant oceans now resembled a war zone. The world burned and smoked around them, yet the air on the roof was strangely quiet, even as the distant bangs and screams reached their ears. Kairi covered her mouth, unable to hear all the destruction or the wind growing angrily in her hears. All she could see was the darkness falling from the sky, the broken buildings, and the black smoke rising from the streets below.
“Did Aqua do all this?” Donald wondered. “Or is it because the excess light?”
“But why here?” Goofy asked. “What makes this world so special? Is it close to the darkness? Like how Treasure Planet was?”
“It’s Hollow Bastion all over again,” Sora whispered.
His words broke Kairi out of her stupor. Turning, she faced everyone on the roof. “It doesn’t matter what caused all this. We’re going to blast all the darkness away. I’m going to need everyone’s help to do it.”
She quickly explained how a holy spell worked. Violet, Dash, and even Jack Jack, with his little smile, were immediately on board. Elastigirl however, raised a question.
“You need a lot of light for that? More then you’ve ever created?”
“Yes. With this many people, I should be able to create enough.”
“What about the buildings?” Violet suggested.
Sora peered at all the skyscrapers surrounding them. “Of course. The windows. It’s just like what I did with Merida and Queen Eleanor. We can use the glass to amplify Kairi’s spell.”
“What’s this about a spell?”
Frozone returned to the roof, with Oswald, Max, and Mr. Incredible in tow. While Mr. Incredible reunited with his family, sharing a a short kiss with his wife and grabbing his kids in a tight hug, Kairi threw herself at Max and Oswald. Goofy joined the hug, squeezing his son.
Sora, meanwhile, explained their plan to Frozone.
“I get it. If it’s reflections you need, I got that covered!”
Frozone aimed a seres of cold energy beams into the ground. Several towers of ice rose up from the concrete below. Reflective disks decorated each tower, pointing in every direction.
“That should give you enough for one shot. I don’t know how well the ice will hold under your power, but it will at least reflect to all the nearby windows. Stand in the center and give it all you’ve got.”
Kairi nodded, gesturing for everyone to gather close. A hand slipped into hers and she looked to her side to see Sora give her a wink. Total faith. Kairi blushed. A pair of hands came down on her shoulders. Max. Oswald grabbed her other hand. Elastirl, Donald, Goofy, and the kids, all gathered close. Mr. Incredible and Frozone were about to join, when the building suddenly shook.
One of the nearby ice towers burst into crystal dust. A long, tentacled claw rose up above the roof. The claw crashed onto Mr. Incredible’s broad shoulders. With every ounce of his strength, sweat dripping off his wide chin, Mr. Incredible pushed the robot’s claw back, away from his kids, away from Kairi. But the robot still pulled itself on the roof. It wasn’t long before its body appeared, still swarming with heartless.
Mr. Incredible glanced at Frozone. “You with me?”
“To take down all the monsters and protect the A Team? Like you even have to ask.”
“And what? I’m just going to stand here and wait while you guys take all the action? I don’t think so.” Elastigirl turned to Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack. “You kids have a bigger job to do. We’re counting on you to give Kairi everything you’ve got.”
Dash winked. “You got it, Mom.”
“That’s my boy.”
Violet got closer to Kairi. “We can handle it here.”
Mr. Incredible looked over his shoulder, giving Violet a smile. “I’m proud of you.”
“This is sweet and all,” Frozone said, “but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Saluting, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and Frozone jumped off the roof. Elastigirl’s arms looped around the heartless, pulling it away from the building. Mr. Incredible jumped up and delivered a punch so powerful, that it pushed the heartless off the building, making it tumble down below.
With the robot out of the picture, Kairi took deep steadying breaths. Squeezing Sora’s hand, she focused on all the faith, trust, and hope flowing through everyone around her. Finding the light was easy now that Kairi knew her hook, and soon she could feel the holy spell welling up, the pressure building, ready to release.
Kairi screamed. Pain exploded on her spine, so much that she barely felt her shoulder hitting the floor. On the floor, she looked up to see Violet standing above her, shielding the entire group from three red eyed neoshadows. The neoshadow’s claws came down, the force breaking through Violet’s field. The claws hit the keyblade’s shaft. Sora glowed, the light from Kairi’s failed holy spell lingering on his skin. The energy flowed into his keyblade and he sliced through the three neoshadows before they could hurt any of his friends.
But it wasn’t enough. In the time it took to react to the surprise attack, a darkball had come charging out of nowhere. It hit Sora hard, in his blind spot. The boy went flying, falling off the roof.
“Sora!” Donald and Goofy screamed.
“He’ll have to take care of himself,” Kairi wheezed from her place on the ground. “We need to stop the infestation before it spreads! We only have one chance.”
Max threw his swords at the darkball that had hit Sora. While the blades skewered the heartless and pinned it to a nearby building, and Oswald pulled Kairi back up to her feet. Violet held up a shield with one hand, while holding onto Kairi’s bicep with the other. She grunted as more heartless banged against her protective glass, but even as her eyes squeezed closed from the pain of concentration, Violet didn’t let of Kairi. Dash braced Kairi’s leg, and Jack Jack turned into stone, somehow smart enough to get behind Kairi’s calf to help prop her up.
The support was like an electric charge. Kairi reached in, searching for her hook. No more running. The energy built up inside her, gathered from her friends, from Sora’s protective actions, from Mr. Incredible’s, Frozone’s, and Elastigirl’s distant faith. The power grew, flowing outward from everyone. The light shined outward from Kairi, bouncing off the nearby ice towers, off the windows.
No.
It wasn’t enough.
She didn’t have enough holy light, not by herself.
Kairi felt the buzz and boundless excitement that came with every holy spell she had casted, she felt the darkness closing in around them, felt it falling from the sky, choking the atmosphere. There weren’t just heartless nearby, she wasn’t just fighting one, or several hundred, there were thousands, and the spots in the sky pushed back against her attack, dark energy pressing down on her like a wrecking ball, even as the light shined so bright that no one could see through it.
Max, Oswald, Dash, and Violet grunted, squeezing closer to Kairi, refusing to give up. The holy spell radiated out like a miniature sun, burning through the nearby heartless. But it never reached the sky. Jack Jack screamed and clapped, his childish joy unable to be contained by the light.
There had to be more.
There had to be enough light to close the darkness in the sky.
The closer you get to the darkness, the stronger your light must be to pierce through it.
Kairi was going to reach in and grab it.
Her chest burned hot as the light broke free, supported by her friends, her determination, and...the realization that there was no going back once she did this.
But there is a price.
Are you willing to pay it?
“Yes.”
Max and Oswald heard her answer, but they could not see the furious look on her face. Nor did they prepare for the rush of powerful light that exploded outward from Kairi’s body. It moved through them, gathering up their faith in her, spreading outward. The joy of the moment faded fast, as Kairi tumbled forward, out cold.
Down below, on the street, Frozone pushed Bob out of the way before the robot heartless could smash him to pieces. Elastigirl stretched her torso across the street, like a trip wire. The robot heartless fell. Before it could start the attack again, a butterfly of light appeared before its red laser eye. The heartless turned, looking toward the top of the building.
Light had been flashing, bouncing off the windows, obliterating heartless that had been getting too close to it, but now a bright dome was forming, spreading outward like the universe after the big bang. Butterflies fluttered out of the spell, guiding the light forward. Any heartless that tried to touch a butterfly was immediately obliterated into dust. The dome of light rose up, higher and higher, to the clouds, the sky, the dark openings beyond. Everything shined, so bright, so warm, that people, who had been cowering in the buildings, now came out to stare at the light, no longer afraid of the swarming heartless on the street, the very same heartless that burned into nothing.
Sora’s stomach flipped as he fell through the air. Pushing through the nausea, he cast a wind spell before he smashed into the glass of a nearby building. The aero spell held until he collided with the ground. After digging into his pocket and chugging down his last remaining potion and ether, he felt his exhaustion and mental strain ease, just a little.
“Sora!”
Mickey and Riku skid to a stop right in front of him.
“You okay?”
Grinning, Sora said, “Now I know what a baseball feels like.”
“What hit you?” Riku grimaced. “Was it her?”
Sora shook his head. “No. I haven’t so much as seen a strand of blue hair. Been kind of distracted by all the black rain, red eyed heartless, and robots in the city.”
“The heartless have made finding Aqua hard for us too,” Mickey admitted. “Maybe she left-”
A butterfly of light fluttered around Mickey’s ears. He paused to stare it before he quickly had to shield his eyes as the world around them lit up with white, warm light. Riku breathed, a sigh of rejuvenation, as the light reached him. But Sora held his breath. Soon, he was covered in a white, empty void, but he didn’t feel the same peace that Mickey and Riku felt. Alone in the light, Sora’s heart banged hard against his spine. He wanted to scream, wanted to force the light away, but just as he opened his mouth, the brightness faded, and Sora blinked.
Total silence.
Up above, the black rain had stopped, and the some of the dark patches had shrunk. But many black patches remained.
“What was that? That light?” Mickey asked.
“Kairi,” said Sora.
“Whatever she did, it was incredible.” Riku paced. “I felt so much darkness before, pressing on me from every direction. It’s gone now. It’s like she wiped the word clean.” Riku jerked. Turning south, his muscles tensed. “Well, almost.”
Mickey’s ear twitched. “You sense something?”
Riku nodded. “A concentrated mass of darkness. It has to be Aqua. Who else could have survived Kairi’s holy spell?”
“Lead the way,” Sora urged. “With the light pushing away the darkness,” Sora swallowed a lump in his throat, “this may be our only chance to catch her.”
“Aqua isn’t the type to let her guard down,” Mikey said. “Be careful.”
Sora and Riku nodded.
Mickey took point, while Sora took middle, and Riku took the rear. Following Riku’s directions, they eventually stopped at the stairs that led down into a subway station. Sora paused at the top of the stairs, looking down at the dark entrance to the tunnel. The smell of dust and rubble reached his nose. He looked up at the dark sky. In the spaces between the dark patches, the stars glittered for the first time since he had gotten to this world. Sora put a hand on his heart, sending a silent prayer of support to Kairi. She kept her promise, it was time he did his part. He turned to Mickey and Riku.
“Ready?”
Rather then answer, Riku and Mickey descended the steps. The underground was just as run down as the block above. A subway train was smoking on the other side of the train terminal. Sparks and fire crackled from inside the car. Luckily, it didn’t look like there were any passengers inside. Riku stepped over broken rubble, coughing form the dust and smoke in the musty underground. He pointed deeper into the tunnel behind the collapsed train.
Sora’s feet echoed down into the dark tube as he walked along the tracks. He did his best to keep his breathing steady and quiet, but he was sure Riku could hear his pounding heart. The tunnel was black as night. Illuminating their path could tip off Aqua, so Mickey and Sora stuck close to Riku, and let him lead the way.
Riku stopped.
Mickey lowered his stance.
Riku broke off into a run. The tunnel opened up, to a wider underground terminal. There was no train wreck in this one, but there was a black haired woman, slumped over and unconscious, under a pillar. Riku reached her first, casting a healing spell that eased the bruises on her arms and legs. The woman’s eyes opened, and she glanced upward, blinking at Riku. Suddenly, she was on her feet, fists raised.
“I’m not here to fight,” Riku said. “You were knocked out. I just wanted to help.”
Sora and Mickey caught up, and the woman relaxed her posture.
“Keyblades?” She glanced from the King to Sora. “You’re Kairi’s friends?”
Sora nodded. “A woman that fights with her bare hands. Are you Tifa?”
“Yes.” Tifa gasped, looking around. “Where’s Cloud? ”
“Sora.” Riku voice was grave. “Look.”
When Sora turned around, he felt as though a knife was twisting into his gut. Riku had a black feather in his hand. There was rumbling from deep within one of the nearby train tunnels. Tifa reached into her pocket, took out a potion, and chugged it down. She threw the empty bottle onto the ground, and ran toward the rumbling tunnel. Sora, Riku, and Mickey bolted after her.
“What’s going on?” Sora panted.
“Cloud and Sephiroth are still fighting down here. We have to stop them.”
“You don’t think Cloud is strong enough to beat Sephiroth?”
“It’s not his strength that worries me. Cloud is obsessed with fighting Sephiroth, so much that he doesn’t even care about winning anymore. The longer they fight, the further Cloud will sink into his obsession. Then he’ll never be free.”
Riku halted when they reached a fork in the tunnel. He pointed to the tunnel in the right.
“More darkness this way. Must be Sephiroth.”
“What about Aqua?” Mickey interjected.
“We can’t fight her and Sephiroth at the same time.”
“But Cloud and Tifa need our help,” Sora argued.
Mickey looked conflicted. He looked down the tunnel and then back at the subway terminal they had entered from. Tifa didn’t wait for him to choose. She took the right tunnel. After a few agonizing seconds, Mickey faced the boys.
“We should help our friends first.”
They caught up to Tifa. She was trying to punch her way though a wall of concrete and debris. Dust shook from the ceiling as Tifa punched, making craters into the rubble. It wasn’t enough. She might as well try digging through a mountain with a toothpick.
Riku put his hand on her shoulder. “If you keep hitting it, the tunnel will collapse on us.”
“Cloud is on the other side! I can’t just stay here!”
“I can sense that there is enough space for me to slip through using the darkness. I’ll be right back.”
Sora reached out and grabbed Riku’s arm. “Wait-”
In the next second, he felt a squishy, squiggly feeling. Darkness tingled over every nerve fiber in his skin. The world around him flashed black for one moment. Then, Sora found himself standing on the other side of the collapsed wall with Riku.
“Sora? What the-did you just pass through the darkness with me? Are you stupid? Do you know what that could do to you?” Riku held Sora’s face in his hands. “Can you still see?”
“Yes!” Sora smacked Riku’s hands away from him face, and then doubled over, covering his mouth, moaning. “I think I’m going to be sick!” After dry heaving for a few seconds, tears welling up in his eyes, Sora stood and stared at Riku. “How do you do that? Moving through the darkness is so weird.”
“You get used to it,” Riku shrugged. He then turned to look further into the tunnel. “They’re close.” Riku’s shoulders stiffened. “Man. They’re really fighting.”
Sora looked back at the wall.
“King Mickey? Tifa?” he called.
There was a muffled “yes.”
Sora looked up to the ceiling, and gulped at all the precarious rocks and slabs stacked one on top of the other. “I don’t think we can safely blast through this.”
“Don’t worry,” said Riku, coming to stand at Sora’s side. “From this side, I can tell that there’s a hidden tunnel down the pathway to your right. The rubble blocking it isn’t supporting the ceiling. The tunnel loops around for a bit, but it will get you here.”
“Okay,” Mickey said.
“Don’t wait for us,” Tifa called. “Help Cloud. We’ll try to be there as soon as we can.”
Riku hesitated. “Mickey?”
There was a pause. “Go. I trust ya, fellas.”
Mikey’s heart burned as he listened to the sound of Sora and Riku’s footsteps fading away. Mikey kept his ears open, listening for danger, as he and Tifa entered the hidden tunnel Riku had indicated. When he entered a small side terminal, Mickey stopped, raising his hand to warn Tifa.
Aqua stood across from them, leaning against the subway car that had stopped in the terminal.
“Hello, Little King.”
Mickey glanced over his shoulder at Tifa. He then tilted his head toward a small tunnel at their side.
“Hurry. Go on ahead.”
“What about-”
“I can handle her. Your friend needs you. And I need you to help Sora and Riku.”
Tifa came forward, but she didn’t take the tunnel. Instead, she faced Aqua and raised her fists.
Aqua clapped.
“How selfless.”
She moved away from the subway car, coming to stand in the middle of the terminal. “You’d rather spend your time here with me? While your friend sinks further and further into the darkness?”
Tifa stood her ground. “Cloud is strong.”
“Why even stop them?” Aqua’s voice echoed. “After all, the outcome doesn’t matter. This world, the sky, the realms. Soon, none of it will matter.”
Mickey glared. “What does that mean?”
“That’s right,” Aqua tapped her jaw. “You came here for answers, didn’t you? Well, oh ‘master of the keyblade,’ how about a game?”
Mickey shuddered, his breath coming out in misty puffs. Frost crept up the pillars and along the tile on the walls of the subway terminal.
“If you can stop me from taking your keyblade away from you,” Aqua sang, “then maybe I will give you a hint.”
Several ice crystals fell from the ceiling. Tifa backflipped, dodging the first ice crystal, smashing through the next with her fists. Mikey sliced through the third. The crystal dust floated around him, and he searched for Aqua through the blue smoke.
Something lit up under his feet.
“Jump!”
Tifa leapt to the side as several magic mines went off, burning the floor where they had been standing seconds before. Mickey landed next to a pillar, and only had a second to cast a reflect spell as lightning rained down around him.
Mikey waited for the lightning to pass, but another spell quickly lit up just as the first was dying down. One of the flashes was stronger then the others, and Mikey looked up.
His gut twisted in horror.
Aqua, clad in a aura of powerful light, came down on him like missile. Her hands smashed into his reflect spell, shattering it. Mickey raised his keyblade to defend. Rather then attack, Aqua simply wrapped her hands around the keyblade’s shaft, and flipped, throwing Mickey across the room.
The King flew, but managed to regain his balance. He summoned his keyblade back, and was relieved to see the light of his weapon shine in his hands once more. Across from him, Tifa was weaving through the alternating fire and ice spells that Aqua was throwing her way. The young woman got close to Aqua and threw several powerful punches and kicks her way. Aqua easily cartwheeled away from the attacks.
She laughed as she moved.
“Well, well. Looks like there’s a winner. It seems your friend sank into the darkness after all.”
Tifa froze. “What?”
A ball of fire hit Tifa in the stomach, throwing her back. She hit a pillar. Aqua didn’t get a chance to follow up her attack, because Mikey came charging into battle, getting between the two women. Even as Mickey chased Aqua, bombarding her with expert keyblade swings and magic, none of his hits landed, and Aqua did not bother striking him with a single magic spell.
There was a moment where she stopped. Mikey’s keyblade struck her shoulder. She grit her teeth, but her hand enclosed around the keyblade’s teeth. Darkness spread out from between her fingers. Mickey released his keyblade, letting it fade away before it could be coated in darkness. Summoning a light orb, he aimed it at Aqua’s chest.
She dodged, giving Mickey enough time to put distance between them. He ran to Tifa. She was back up on her feet, eyes scanning for Aqua. The terminal was empty. For the moment. Mickey’s could hear footsteps in the distance.
“Good job, Little King. You’re heart is stronger then mine. For now.”
“We have to go after her,” Tifa said.
“No.” Mickey smiled. “You need to go after Cloud. I’ll take care of Aqua.”
“It’s clearly a trap.”
“I know. But I can’t let her get too close to Riku, the same way you can’t let Sephiroth darken Cloud’s heart.”
Mickey froze. Tifa wrapped her arms around his little frame.
“Be careful, Majesty.”
She pressed a potion into his hand, and then ran down the tunnel. Alone, Mikey opened his ears. In the distance, he could hear Aqua’s cruel laughter. He followed it.
Riku and Sora dashed into the tunnel. Clangs, grunts, screams, and dark laughter echoed through the darkness and whispered into his ears. Sora gripped his keyblade, ready for anything. The tunnel was only lit by a few flashing lights, so if Riku told him to duck or dodge, Sora was going to follow his commands to the letter.
Slowly, the tunnel expanded, opening to an underground cavern of mangled train rails. Broken concrete slabs decorated the walls and wires stuck out from the ceiling. The only light came from the flickering, broken lamps on the floor and walls. That, and the sparks flying when a pair of powerful swords clashed. Each time one blade met another, Sora saw the combatants’ faces appear behind an angry, golden glow. Sephiroth’s calm yet terrifying eyes, clashed with Cloud’s harsh, fury filled scowl.
Sora was about to charge into battle, but Riku grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. In the next second, there was a roar that echoed through Sora’s very bones, as Cloud flew at Sephiroth. He delivered a blow so powerful that the underground shook with the force of a meteorite crashing into a planet. The tunnels began to collapse, and Sora’s face burned as concrete dust shot into his nose and mouth. After a moment of coughing, Sora tilted his head back, looking up. He could see the buildings and the sky through the hole in the ceiling. Cloud and Sephiroth’s fight had moved upward. Climbing up onto the street, Sora and Riku ran toward the fight. Sephiroth’s calm words reached their ears.
“Such ruthlessness.”
Though he were fighting with terrifying speed, his words were smooth and even. He hovered over Cloud, pressing his sword down against Cloud’s thick blade. Cloud was able to fend off the attack, but his expression hardened at Sephiroth’s next words.
“How can you call yourself a hero, walk in the light, when you sink so low? Face it, you’re just as dark as I am.”
“That’s not true!”
With a mighty push, Cloud shoved Sephiroth back. He was about to follow up with another strike, but he was easily blocked.
“I won’t ever be free, until you disappear for good.”
“If only it were that easy,” Sephiroth laughed. He overpowered Cloud and swung his blade, forcing Cloud to flip and roll backwards to keep his torso from being sliced.
“This is our fate.” Sephiroth strolled toward Cloud. “If I am your darkness as you claim, then you are my light. Two opposing forces, destined to fight in this nightmarish cycle. For all eternity.”
A pair of voices shouted. “That’s not true!”
Sephiroth turned. Holding his sword backhand, he blocked Riku’s soul eater before it could hit him from his blind spot. His eyes then darted to his free side, and he quickly curved his blade to throw Riku off. Sora’s keyblade came down on Sephiroth’s sword, but the boy was quickly thrown back when Sephiroth raised his arm and summoned several pillars of fire and light around himself.
Sora fell back, yelping as his jacket caught fire. Unable to douse the flames, he threw the short sleeved jacked off and let it fall to the concrete, where it burned. Now in nothing but his blue undershirt, Sora charged back into battle. He hissed at the sight in front of him. Riku was fast, slipping in and out of the darkness to avoid getting hit, but unable to find time to land a blow. He might have had a chance, if Cloud hadn't charged at him from the side, and rammed his shoulder into Riku’s ribs.
“Stay out of this. This fight is mine.”
And so the stalemate began again, with Cloud and Sephiroth clashing endlessly. Sora threw his keyblade, momentarily giving Cloud an opening when Sephiroth turned to smack the keyblade away. With his buster sword glowing, Cloud cut three deadly slices in the air, nearly carving out Sephiroth’s chest. The silver haired warrior didn’t even counter. Though the hits landed on his arms and chest, he simply balanced his sword before him, holding the hilt against his cheek. Sora took this as an opening, and flashed forward to strike.
Riku collided with him, pushing him out of the way. As Sora fell back, he looked over Riku’s shoulder, and saw Sephiroth charge forward, his sword barely moving, but deadly, silver arcs forming around his body. He moved so quickly that he seemed to phase through Cloud, disappearing just before he reached his opponent, and then reappearing behind him. Cloud looked as though he were fighting the air, sparks flying off his sword as he blocked and parried invisible attacks. While he was distracted, Sephiroth jumped, holding his sword downward as he descended, as though he were about to stab Cloud in the back.
Sora wasn’t sure what he was thinking in that moment. One moment he was standing next to Riku, the next he was in front of Sephiroth. He spiraled upward, the teeth of the keyblade knocking Sephiroth’s sword off of its trajectory. The moment he reached the height of his jump, Sora began spiraling in the opposite direction. Sephiroth turned to face him. Though he knew Sephiroth would recover and block his strike, there was one thing Sora was counting on.
“Right on time, Riku.”
Sora’s attack didn’t hit, but one from below did. From the distance, an arc of light flew through the air, slicing into Sephiroth’s leg. It slowed the swordsman down, enough for Cloud to charge right into Sephiroth, and slam his heavy blade into the man’s stomach. Struck like a baseball, Sephiroth went flying. He crashed into the nearby building, smoke, glass, and dust obscuring his body.
Sora landed next to Cloud and was about to congratulate him for the hit, but then he noticed a dark spark move along Cloud’s buster blade. The spark flashed, and moved. Sora watched it disappear, in the direction of the building Sephiroth had smashed into. Riku regrouped with them, and soon Sephiroth’s laughter echoed in the street.
“Well, well. You’ve changed, boy. No longer so tumultuous inside.” Sephiroth landed on the street, his eyes glowing. “But you’re not fully at peace are you? I can still sense some darkness, some uncertainty, that deep down, you know you are alone...or you will be.”
“Shut up,” Riku growled.
“And you,” Sephiroth glanced at Sora. “No longer the scrambling child I fought in the arena so long ago.”
Sora held out his hand and bent his fingers, making a “come here” gesture. “Want to see all the new tricks I’ve learned?”
Sephiroth’s expression hardened, his eyes traveling back to Riku. “I prefer you when you’re using the darkness.”
“Why? So you can feed off it? No thanks. Maybe you should go on a diet.”
Sora snickered. “Nice.”
“Enough!”
Cloud charged forward. Energy coated the buster blade, and when his weapon once again met Sephiroth’s the resounding clap of metal sent shockwaves through the air, throwing both Sora and Riku back. They crashed through the glass of a small, nearby store. Sora’s back popped and screamed as he bounced off a cash register and collapsed behind the counter. His head buzzing, Sora looked up to see Cloud and Sephiroth fighting in the street.
He saw flashes of silver and gold, as well as an erie, dark purple. That last hit must have scrambled his brains, because he was sure that the purple energy was coming from Cloud, and disappearing into Sephiroth. With shaking hands, he reached into his pocket. He felt something wet. He gasped. All of his potions and ethers had been smashed when his hip hit the register.
Something warm trickled down Sora’s head. His headache eased and he looked up to see Riku standing over him, a healing spell flowing from his soul eater.
“Save your energy,” Sora hissed, standing as all of his pain faded away. “You should see how terrible you look!”
“You are way worse then I am,” Riku grunted, stumbling forward.
Sora caught his friend. He lowered Riku down till the two of them were sitting. There was a blue bruise on Riku’s jaw. His hair was tussled and his clothes looked as though they had gone through a paper shredder. His outer, yellow vest was in tatters, and his jeans had tipped off on one knee. He pushed Sora back.
“Get back to the fight.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine after a few minutes. You have to stop Cloud. The longer he fights, the stronger Sephiroth will get.”
“Why?”
“No time to explain.” Riku dug into his pocket and pulled out an ether. He put it in the palm of Sora’s hand. “Go. I’ll be there soon.”
“You better be.”
Sora picked up his keyblade, and ran out of the building. Now that his head was clear, he saw the flow of Sephiroth and Cloud’s attacks. Sephiroth’s deadly, silver strikes, and Cloud’s powerful, brute-force parries, thrusts, and...the darkness fluttering around his blade. Sora ran, watching the blades dance, looking for an opening to attack, and realizing, slowly, that Cloud’s weapon was slowing down.
Or was it that Sephiroth’s blade dance was getting faster? Sora skid to a stop. There was a fire escape on the building to his right. The upper floor of the buildings were ripped open, and a metal beam stuck out over the street below. If he could time it just right-Sora shook his head. No time to think. He jumped up and grabbed the ladder of the fire escape. Rushing up to the broken top floor, Sora found the metal beam. Balancing, he moved over the fight below. Time to give Sephiroth a taste of his own medicine.
Leaping into the air, Sora threw his keyblade behind him and shouted. “FIRAGA!”
The blast from the spell sent him down fast, and Sora barely had a second to begin his deadly spin as he went down. Sephiroth was directly underneath. He looked up, spotting the boy the was buzz-sawing in his direction. Sephiroth’s sword caught the keyblade, stopping Sora’s rotation.
“I was hoping you’d do that.” Sora grinned. “Ragnarok!”
A series of rainbow colored bullets burst out of the keyblade, bombarding Sephiroth before he could step back and dodge. He fell back, trying to avoid Sora’s attacks, but was unable to dodge all the colorful torpedoes of light, especially when Cloud came up behind Sephiroth and slashed at his back. Just as Sephiroth jumped up to recover, a burst of black energy appeared behind him. Riku leapt out of the darkness.
For a second, darkness coated the soul eater, but then it peeled away to reveal light. A blinding flash briefly obscured Sephiroth. Sora and Cloud took their chance. While Cloud sliced though the white light, Sora reached in and grabbed Riku’s arm. The two boys windmilled. Riku used the momentum to spin Sora. He slashed at Sephiroth, landing a hit with light, before turning, throwing Riku out before him. Another slice of light hit Sephiroth.
For the first time since the fight started, a grunt of pain escaped Sephiroth’s lips. Black feathers burst in the air, as Sephiroth’s wing burst from his back. He swung his sword, forcing Sora, Riku, and Cloud back. Everyone landed back on the street, and while Sora and Riku had to pause to catch their breaths, Cloud hadn’t stopped. He leapt up into the air, his body sparking with electricity. He flew through the air, chasing and slashing at Sephiroth with sword swings so powerful that they cracked the nearby windows every time they hit Sephiroth’s blade.
Sephiroth laughed as he parried and counterattacked.
“And so it goes. On and on. How your rage fuels me.”
“Not this time!”
“So you believe you can be freed from your darkness? Perhaps I should remind you why you keep coming back.”
With a powerful thrust of his sword, Sephiroth threw Cloud back. The young swordsman landed in the street below, but before he could fly back up to continue pummeling Sephiroth, he noticed how the one winged man had turned to face Sora and Riku. The two boys were running toward Cloud, trying to regroup. Above them, there an erie, purple glow of darkness.
Sephiroth’s voice lowered to a deadly rumble as the darkness in his hand expanded and sparked. “Sin’s harvest.”
“NO!”
Cloud leapt toward Sora and Riku, pushing them backward. A dark charge fell on his back. He opened his mouth, but his scream was silent as what felt like acid moved through his veins. He fell to his knees. Sora and Riku surrounded him, but through the pain and confusion, Cloud pushed away the two boys’ concerns. He leaned on his sword, pushing himself up to his feet.
A voice echoed from above. “Come to me, Cloud. Where the darkness in strongest in the universe. Come alone, so we can complete our destiny.”
Sephiroth was fading away.
“WAIT!”
Cloud was back on his feet, but this time, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back. He was about to buck his captor off, when a familiar voice reached his ears.
“Cloud, stop.” Tifa pressed her face into his back. “Don’t chase the nightmare anymore. You won’t be able to wake up if you do.”
Cloud thrashed. “Let me go. He’s getting away.”
“Please stop! What happened to Zach was not your fault. Going after Sephiroth will not bring him back.”
“And what? We let that monster run free forever?”
Cloud broke out of Tifa’s hold. As she tried to regain her balance, Cloud charged forward, disappearing into the town. Tifa moved to chase, but then stopped when she noticed Sora and Riku on the floor. Helping the boys stand, she asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. We took a good beating, but Cloud protected us that last second,” Sora said.
“He did? Then there’s still hope for him.”
“Not to be a downer,” Riku began, “but Sephiroth may be right.”
“Riku!”
“Relax,” Riku waved Sora off. “Let me explain. Remember how I said that Sephiroth doesn’t use his own darkness?”
Sora nodded.
“Well, it’s because he feeds off of the darkness in Cloud’s heart. As long as Cloud chases him, their fight will never really end.”
“He’s not chasing Sephiroth,” Tifa said. “He’s chasing his own grief. And I can’t let him continue.”
“Right. We’ll back you up,” Sora said.
Tifa reached out and ruffled Sora’s hair. “Sorry keyblade master, but you have something more important to do. Let me take care of Cloud. If Sephiroth feeds off his darkness, then maybe I can help by giving Cloud some of my light.” She stepped back. “I’m going back to the Highwind.”
Riku waved at Tifa, catching her attention. “Sephiroth said that he’ll meet Cloud ‘where the darkness is strongest in the universe.’ Looks like you’re headed to the realm of darkness. It’s dangerous there.”
Tifa gave him a confident smile. “I can fend for myself. By the way, you should head back to the tunnels. The King is still down there.”
Riku twitched. “Is he all right?”
“I have faith in him. Don’t you?”
Riku bolted back toward the hole they had come out of earlier. Sora spared a moment to wish Tifa luck before he followed.
“MICKEY!”
Riku sensed the king slowly climbing out of the subway tunnels. He skit to a stop, fell to his knees, and grabbed Mickey’s cheeks.
“Are you okay?”
Mickey squirmed, trying to break free, but as Riku patted him down for injuries, he couldn’t help but let a few giggles escape from his mouth, from the tickling sensation.
Though Riku couldn’t see, his sea green eyes lingered on Mickey’s face. The king stilled.
“You ran into her?”
“Who?”
Sora skid to a stop behind Riku.
“Aqua,” Riku answered.
Sora stiffened. “What happened?”
Mickey sighed, rubbing his forehead. “She just toyed with me. She kept saying that nothing will matter soon. I lost her in the tunnels after Tifa and I separated.”
Sora let out a grumbly sigh. “This was a disaster.”
“Yeah,” Mickey agreed. “We’re back to square one.”
Riku huffed. “Excuse me?”
He squeezed Mickey’s cheeks again. “Where’s that optimism, huh? And you,” he pointed to Sora.
“Me?”
“Disaster? We worked together to save the city, and stopped Sephiroth and Cloud from fighting until both of them lost. We saved Tifa on top of that. What’s with you? So we had a setback. So what? We got all the distractions out of the way. That’s still progress.”
Sora stood there, silently facing Riku without moving. He could sense the dim light in Sora shining brighter, ever so slightly.
“You’re right.” Sora put on his hips. “We can’t give up. Thanks Riku.”
Mickey giggled. “Yeah. We needed that. Lets regroup with our friends and try another strategy. We’ll get answers from Aqua. Whether she likes it or not.”
Riku was quiet as he followed Sora and Mickey. The king’s light was still shining, but Sora felt as though he were boiling on the inside. Light and darkness were clashing inside him, and Riku resolved to keep a closer eye on his friend.
Jiminy’s Journal:
Frozone (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): A superhero that as cool as ice. He is a close family friend of Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, and is every bit as heroic. He also acts as an uncle to the superkids, and it seems as though, Dash, Violet, and Jack Jack look up to him a lot.
Chapter 63: KH3 Chapter 32: Loss
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty Two: Loss
The legends said that when the worlds were born and bathed in light, the air would sparkle under the sun, and the moon could cast its silver rays over raindrops of light in the night sky.
A tiny star glittered over Aqua's palm. She watched as the star flickered, the light casting bright shadows over the sinew on her red and black fingertips. Her eyes roamed the dark spots in the sky. Flutters of holy light entered the realm of darkness. The dark realm twitched, its atmosphere rippling and rolling as the darkness felt the princess's touch.
Good.
She looked down from her perch atop the fire-escape of a thirteen story building. There were people reuniting on the street far below her feet. Her yellow eyes followed a boy with silver hair. He kept his distance as his two best friends reunited.
"Only loose end left."
"Kairi! Wake up! Please!"
That name. Wasn't it hers? Why her eyes were closed? She didn't really feel tired.
"Ozzie?"
Something soft landed on her belly. Kairi opened her eyes and looked down on the rabbit that was pressing his face into her shirt.
"You're okay! Thank goodness."
Max's face appeared above her. "Are you trying to kill me?" He swayed, leaning on his father. "Dad, I am so sorry."
"For what?"
"I never knew that worrying about someone would be this stressful. I was such a brat growing up."
"Ah-yuck! You don't have to apologize for that, Maxie." Goofy hugged him. "It's a parent's job to worry."
Donald tapped his foot on the floor. "And a friend's job. I sure hope Sora is okay."
Kairi squinted up at Max, Donald, Goody, and Oswald. They all looked as though they had been ambushed by ghosts.
"What happened?"
Dash and Violet grabbed Kairi's arms and hauled her to her feet.
"You collapsed after releasing all that light," Violet explained. "You were out for like, twenty minutes."
"Yeah, and your face was all grey," Dash added. "You weren't moving or anything."
"Oswald and Donald kept funneling healing magic into you until they was exhausted," Max said. "Are you okay?"
Kairi blinked. "I'm fine."
She swayed. Max put her arm around his shoulders and propped himself against her side to keep her standing. Kairi wiggled her nose, feeling the strange need to sneeze. No, that wasn't it. She just felt...off. Something was missing, something-
She met Oswald's eyes.
"It's gone," she whispered.
"What is?"
"I can't," Kairi shook her head, "I used too much."
"Too much what?"
"Light," Kairi whispered.
Fear swirled in Oswald's eyes. "Is there darkness in your heart now?"
"I don't think so." A familiar pulse rang in her chest. Weak, but ever present. "No. No darkness. But my holy spells. I don't-I think-" Kairi's grimaced. "I can't do them anymore. I used up all the holy light inside me." She looked up at the sky. "So that was the price."
"Price? What price?"
"KIDS!"
Frozone, Elastigirl, and Mr. Incredible landed on the roof of the building. Violet, Jack Jack, and Dash collided with their parents. Foreheads were kissed, hugs were given, compliments and congratulations were earned. Frozone couldn't help but smile as he watched the family. He eventually had to stop the celebrations to suggest they continue their meeting on the ground. As she slid down the ice slide, courtesy of Frozone, Kairi looked up at the sky.
The black rain was gone, and many of the deadlier dark patches had faded. Many, but not all of them. Red and blue veins still pulsed among the clouds. So even her power couldn't fix the imbalance. Without knowing how, Kairi was certain that the point of no return had already passed. The black rain wasn't the first nightmare to come falling out the holes in the sky. Her final holy spell was no more than a bandaid on a broken arm.
While the superheroes were busy, Kairi pulled Donald, Goofy, Max, and Oswald in for a huddle. Their faces were overcome with grim shadows as she explained her concerns.
"Something worse is coming?" Max repeated. "What could be worse than heartless rain?"
"Or worlds disappearing into the light?" Donald added.
Oswald shuddered. "You just released all the holy light in your heart. What does that mean for the imbalance?"
"More chaos, more worlds disappearing, more heartless tearing everything apart," Kairi bit her lip. "It's just like Aqua said."
"What did she say?" Oswald asked.
"When Sora first fought her, and freed her from her armor, she said she had a lot of things to do before 'the end' comes."
"The end of what?" Goofy asked.
"The universe?" Donald guessed. "What if The Land of the Dead disappearing was just the first sign that everything else is going to disappear?"
Max threw up his hands. "Why would Aqua want to destroy everything?"
Donald glared at him. "How should I know?"
With a sigh, Oswald reached out and snapped Donald's beak closed. He didn't even blink at the fierce glare the duck gave him.
"Geez you have a big mouth. It can't be that simple."
Donald flapped his arms, getting Oswald to let go of his beak.
"Well, what's your idea, Mr. Master's Apprentice?"
Oswald shrugged. "I don't know, but at least I don't jump to conclusions."
Donald seethed. He and the rabbit would have been two seconds away from starting a pummeling match if Kairi hadn't heard someone calling her name. Turning, she spotted Sora, Riku, and Mickey running along the street.
Kairi stumbled toward Sora on jelly legs. He must have seen how she wobbled because he dashed forward and wrapped her arms around her waist before she collapsed face first onto the concrete. Leaning her chin on Sora's shoulder, Kairi groaned sadly.
"Oh no. I still feel funny."
Sora patted the back of her head. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Kairi sighed, using the last of her balance to step closer to him. "Oh, who cares?" She wrapped her arms around Sora's back. "I'm fine now."
Sora chuckled. "Is that so?"
For a second, the rest of the universe didn't matter. Even though Kairi could no longer feel that familiar glimmer of holy light within her, being held by Sora in that moment made her feel a new light shining in her heart.
"I did it," Kairi whispered into Sora's shoulder. "I stopped the black rain. And this world is still here. Just like I promised."
"I knew you'd do it."
Riku cleared his throat, making Kairi look up. He seemed strangely uncomfortable as he came closer. "You guys are cute and everything, but we really need to talk."
Kairi winced. The moment was over. She stepped back from Sora, looking from him, to Riku, and then to Mickey. The party moved away from the other superheroes as they shared information. Once everyone's story was told, there was silence. Kairi sighed when she heard the news about Cloud and Sephiroth's fight, and when it turned out that no one could get anything out of Aqua after all.
"UGH! Her and her dumb blue hair are more annoying than finding a seagull egg in the middle of winter," she groaned.
"Wait, are you talking about the blue haired lady?"
The group jumped as Violet appeared out of thin air.
Donald and Oswald growled. "You were eavesdropping on us? Hey! I said it first! STOP COPYING ME!"
While Sora and Goofy pulled the two of them apart, Mickey turned to Violet.
"Sorry Miss, but how much did you hear?"
"You guys are worse at keeping secrets than my parents," Violet said. "You're talking about the blue haired woman, right? I saw her."
Donald and Oswald stopped struggling to get free of Goofy and Sora. Kairi, Max, and Mickey stared at Violet expectantly. Riku rubbed his forehead in tired annoyance.
As if summoned by her words, Mr. Incredible appeared behind his daughter and tapped her shoulder.
"Violet, you can't just use your invisibility to listen to other people's private conversations."
"But Dad-"
"No buts, missy," said Elastigirl, joining the party with Jak Jak in her arms.
"No, really-" Violet tried again.
"You three are going home with Frozone while your mother and I sort out the whole giant robot mess."
"But-"
"No arguments."
"THE BLUE HAIRED LADY SET OFF THE ROBOTS!"
Now it was Dash's turn for everyone to turn and stare at him.
"That's what we've been trying to tell you," Dash said. "We saw her. She turned one of those things on while we were looking for Jak Jak in the city." Dash waved his hands around ominously. "She did some weird, dark magic thing. Said something about 'going back for the rest,' whatever that means."
Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl exchanged looks.
"The island," they said.
"Island?" Mickey prompted.
"Those mechanical monstrosities came from a super villian's island. We thought we had shut down all the facilities there," Mr. Incredible explained.
"Looks like we need to go take another look," Elastigirl finished.
"Then we're going with you," Mickey said. "We have to hunt Aqua down. She's our super villain."
"She might be there," Oswald said. "Or she might be still be in the city."
"You're suggesting we split up," Riku concluded.
Oswald nodded. "You, Kairi, and Sora should go to the island with the superheroes, while the rest of us take care of the town."
Max glared. "Excuse me, why are you separating us like that?"
"We'd be more balanced that way. You, me, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey can keep searching for Aqua. The superheroes know the island better than we do. And besides," he gestured to the sky, "there's something I want to check, and I need your help."
Donald tapped his food, narrowing his eyes at Oswald. "Hey, wait a minute. Since when did you start addressing His Majesty by his first name?"
Mickey stepped in front of Donald. "Let's try Oswald's plan for now. Sora, Riku, and Kairi have all fought Aqua before. I'm sure they can handle her if they are together."
"Hey," Mr. Incredible huffed, "don't forget that they have some amazing supers to help them out too."
"Don't count your chips yet, Bob," Elastigirl snapped. She turned to Frozone. "Mind staying here and making sure they," she gestured to Violet, Dash, and Jak Jack, "stay out of trouble?"
"WHAT?" Dash yelled.
"That's not fair!" Violet echoed. "We want to help out too!"
Jak Jak thrashed in Elastigirl's arms.
"Enough," she yelled. "You three are staying out of danger. The least you can do is make sure civilians are safe. Supers don't just fight bad guys, they also help regular people."
Dash and Violet crossed their arms, muttering under their breath.
"Don't worry, kids," Frozone said. "I'm sure there are still some bad guys to take care of in town. Crooks love a mess like this, makes things easier to steal."
Dash's eyes lit up. "Sweet."
One gummi ship ride later, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Elastigirl, and Mr. Incredible landed on a jungle island in the middle of the sea. As Sora waved goodbye to Donald and Goofy, he took a deep breath of ocean air.
"Can't believe that just a few months ago, we were dumb enough to think we could get to Antlantica by taking a raft out to sea," he said.
"And now we're here, potentially getting ready for the end of the worlds," Riku added.
The boys felt a small whack on the backs of their heads.
"I know that was a joke, but enough doom and gloom, dummies," Kairi said. "We've saved the worlds twice. What's one more time, huh?"
The boys gave her a sheepish smile.
"Come on, you three," Mr. Incredible called. "We've got robots to destroy."
"And an evil facility to investigate," Elastigirl added.
The island was eerily quiet as Sora and the others trudged through jungle foliage. When they reached one of the entrances to the evil facility Elastigirl had mentioned, Sora was sweating. Sparing a moment to remind himself to restock on potions and ethers later, Sora looked up at the aircraft terminal built into the island's mountainside. A long monorail, about fifty feet above them, led into a tunnel alongside the side of the terminal. The tunnel vanished into the mountainside.
"That's our way in," said Elastigirl.
She stretched her body, looping her arms around the railing like a rope, and then pulling herself up. Once up top, Mr. Incredible put his arms around Sora's torso and threw him up into the air. Lucky for him, he was pulled safely onto the railing by Elastigirl's long arms. Riku and Kairi followed, with Mr. Incredible leaping up last. The group walked into the side of the mountain. Once inside the tunnel, a massive cavern opened up. Grey walls, illuminated by powerful, ceiling-mounted, florescent lights, revealed a massive space full of abandoned machines and missiles.
"Electricity still works," Mr. Incredible said, his voice echoing. "So this place was turned back on."
"How did the government not know about this?" Elastigirl added. "Didn't they tell us they were keeping a close eye on this place after Syndrome disappeared."
Kairi had grabbed Sora's arm.
"Somehow, this room, and all these weapons, creeps me out way more than that haunted mansion ever did."
"Guess they haven't cleared out the weapons yet," Elastigirl commented, knocking on what looked like a large tank.
Riku summoned his soul eater. "Maybe they didn't get to it because the darkness kept getting in the way."
The air popped with menace, and more red eyed shadow heartless oozed from the walls, the ceilings, the floor. The group sprung into action. Mr. Incredible was squashing, punching, and pulling heartless apart like taffy, while Elastigirl punched, threw, and used her long arms to loop around the heartless and throw them around like a wrecking ball. Riku weaved in and out of the darkness, alternating between light and dark attacks to weaken the heartless while Sora and Kairi picked them off one by one.
Like the city, the whole weapons' terminal was packed to the brim with heartless. Just as the team had defeated all the shadows, darkballs and neoshadows had replaced them. All that was left in Sora's pocket was the mega-elixir that Locke had given him, and he pushed through the exhaustion settling in on his bones, refusing to give in, or stop and catch his breathe until-
"Kairi!"
Riku's shout turned Sora's attention away from the neoshadow he had just bashed on the skull. He was just in time to see the ground open up beneath Kairi's feet. She fell through a trap door, disappearing under the concrete. Sora took one step in her direction and his stomach lurched. What he thought had been solid ground turned out to be a moving slab. He fell.
The last thing he heard before he was swallowed by darkness was Riku's desperate call for him. Sora spread his arms, trying to feel around for where he was. The air around him was dusty, and smelled like gasoline. He reached out until his hands felt a rough surface. He was in a tube.
Using fire or lightning magic was probably dangerous if there was gas nearby, so Sora walked carefully, keeping his ears open and searching for red eyes in the darkness. There was light in the distance, and Sora exited out into a large cavern. Heat throbbed on his skin. The dark brown rock of the cavern was illuminated by a waterfall of molten lava, which was falling, slowly, from the ceiling, and disappearing into a massive chasm below.
There was a yell, and then something flew at Sora's left. He turned just in time to see a heartless crash into the wall of lava. Kairi skid to a stop, coming out of a much larger passageway, her sword raised, her face fierce. She relaxed when she saw Sora.
"Trap door?"
Sora nodded. "Trap door."
The room shook, and Sora moved to Kairi's side, keyblade up. A wall of the cavern exploded. Out of the dust came Mr. Incredible.
"You kids okay?" he said when he spotted Sora and Kairi.
"Yeah," Sora cracked his back. "I've been through worse. Where are we?"
"Looks like we made it to the inside of the volcano. This is the inner sanctum of Syndrome's whole operation." Mr. Incredible faced the lava wall. "If we can get past this lava, we can get to the control room for the entire island. Maybe there's some kind of clue there."
Sora looked at the lava wall. The room was so hot, he felt his throat burn with every breath. Kairi pulled on her dusty undershirt, which had turned from white to brown in all the fighting.
"I don't think even a hundred blizzaga spells can keep a continuous lava flow from flowing," she said. "This is going to be tough."
She moved toward the lava wall and conjured a reflect spell. Pushing the ball of magic glass just enough so that the lava could flow over the side of the sphere, Kairi waited. It took thirty seconds for her face to pale. A minute later, the glass popped.
"How long is this water…uh…lava-fall?"
"Not far," Mr. Incredible answered. "But I'm not so sure we can cross safely. Maybe there's a switch on the walls."
"Or we could just combine our powers."
Violet appeared out of nowhere.
Mr. Incredible's face turned red. "Violet! We told you to stay in the city."
"It's not my fault! Dash started running after the ship the moment it flew off-"
"That's NOT TRUE!"
Dash zipped into the room, pointing accusingly at this sister.
"You said, 'There's no way Mom and Dad won't run into something super dangerous on the island.' So we both agreed-"
"I tried to stop him, but he was too fast, so I figured I'd go with him to keep him out of trouble-"
"-It was all your idea! We even ran across the ocean like a hamster ball in your shield!"
"ENOUGH."
Mr. Incredible put his hands on his hips. Violet and Dash fidgeted. With a sigh, Mr. Incredible gave his kids a defeated smile.
"Well, you're here now. So, let's work together."
Dash smiled and then glared at Violet after she bonked him on the back of head.
"You're supposed to go help Mom."
"Oh right! See ya!"
Dash zipped out of the room. Then he was back, holding onto Mr. Incredible's leg in a fierce hug. "Good luck, Dad."
Mr. Incredible only had a second to pat Dash's head, smile, and say, "You got this, little man," before Dash went zipping down the tube, back to Elastigirl.
Sora and Kairi turned to each other and grinned, enjoying the family's antics for a moment before their faces turned serious.
"I think this can work. With Violet and I interchanging her shields and my reflect spells, and you cooling us off in between, we can make it through the lava safely."
Sora nodded as he patted down his pockets. "I'm out of ethers." He held up a bottle of galaxy colored liquid and shooting stars. "Unless we use the mega-elixir."
"Save it. We can do this," Kairi said.
Mr. Incredible went to a corner of the room and picked up a massive, stone statue that been looming quietly in the corner. It was as wide a bus, and almost as high as the ceiling. He held the statue over his head, balancing it on his plans. Sora hoped Mr. Incredible wasn't easily scared, because he was sure that the statue would smack him across the face if Mr. Incredible turned too fast.
"Violet, Kairi, can you make a shield big enough for this?"
Kairi put her hands on her hips. "You bet."
Violet bit her lip, but nodded.
Kairi walked to Violet's side and gave her a small hug. "The two of us working together? Easy-peasy, right?"
Violet smiled.
The team huddled under the statue. Violet and Kairi took front, while Sora stepped behind Mr. Incredible.
Violet conjured a shield. They stood in a massive purple and silver sphere. Kairi then conjured a reflect spell on top of Violets shield. With the double barrier in place, and Mr. Incredible's statue acting like an umbrella, the team began walking. The lava-fall parted when the shield came close. A narrow walkway appeared. The only way forward was single file.
Kairi took deep breaths, lines appearing on her brow as she walked forward. With the full force of lava on top of her shield, the spell popped. Kairi wheezed, and then relaxed a moment later as a healing spell cascaded over her. She turned her head to wink at Sora, thanking him. He winked back, and then casted a small blizzard spell to keep them cool. Violet took over, shielding them until Kairi conjured another reflect spell, allowing Violet to release her barrier for a moment so that she could rest. The two girls alternated between magic and superpowers, stopping only once for Sora to heal them. Mr. Incredible's statue kept the lava off just long enough for them to do one more shield-spell combo before they finally came out of the lava-tunnel.
The room they entered had a single circular platform, suspended over a deep abyss. On the platform was wide desk with a computer terminal and keyboard. A series of concave screens lit up the walls of the cylindrical room.
Sora, Kairi, and Violet froze as the ground beneath their feet began to shake.
Mr. Incredible threw down the massive statue into the abyss below. Without the extra weight, the platform was still.
"This place is falling apart," he said. "Sorry kids. We're going to have to find a different way out."
"We'll get to that later," Sora said. "How do we access the terminal?"
Mr. Incredible went to the terminal and pressed a few keys. The screen flashed with a warning.
Password Required to Proceed
Mr. Incredible typed. The word "Kronos" appeared beneath the warning. The screen flashed again, this time with new text and a the symbol of a lock.
Incorrect Password. Access Not Granted.
Mr. Incredible slapped his hands on the keyboard. "What?"
Sora stared at the screen, raising his keyblade. "Mr. Incredible, could you step aside?"
Kairi looked from the keyblade to the screen. "I hope that works."
"The keyblade can open any lock, even a digital one." Sora swallowed. "I hope," he whispered.
As if rising to the challenge, a beam of light appeared at the keyblade's tip. The light traveled into the lock on the screen. The screen twitched.
Access Granted.
Kairi and Violet whooped. Mr. Incredible gave Sora an approving look before he went to work. The screen displayed several options.
Island Operations
Finances
Omnidroid Metatraining
Supers
Mr. Incredible selected "Omnidroid Metatraining." Several images appeared one the screen, all describing various log dates, experiments, and results. Most of the information flew right over Sora's head, but Mr. Incredible stopped somewhere near the bottom of the list.
"This is from when I fought the last Omnidroid."
"From when we took it down together in the city?" Violet asked.
"Yes. The date matches."
"So, then there's one more experiment?"
"Could it be from earlier today?" Kairi wondered. "Does that mean that the system here is still gathering information on all the giant robots?"
"No." Mr. Incredible shook his head.
He opened the last file. It which was red in color, unlike all the others that came before it, which had been dark grey.
"This is from three days ago."
Sora squinted at the screen. There was a series of numbers and power outputs he did not understand, but Mr. Incredible spotted something. He stood straight, stepping back from the screen.
"New model input activated," he said to himself.
"What does that mean?" Sora asked.
Mr. Incredible went back to the main screen, and then went to "Island Operations." He and Violet read though several more logs, before Violet said, "stop."
She pointed to another small, red file that said, "Island Bird Audiovisual Recordings."
"Can you check the logs on that one?"
Mr. Incredible went into the files and was greeted with a list. Violet stopped him again.
"There. The one that says, 'Incorrect voice key, log date 7.13.2XXX.' Can you play it?"
Mr. Incredible clicked the keyboard. The screen flickered, turning black. Then, slowly, a black and white image appeared. The view looked as though someone were peering down onto the jungle floor from atop a tree branch.
A robotic voice spoke.
"Identification, please?"
There was no response to the robot voice.
"What's going on?" Kairi asked.
"This island has robot birds that do surveillance," Violet answered. "I think this recording is new."
Something was moving in the foliage below, and the camera followed the shivering bushes and leaves. The robot voice spoke again.
"Identification, please?"
"Just a ghost from the past, moving things along as they should be," a voice answered.
Sora and Kairi jolted.
"Aqua."
Sure enough, the woman appeared on the screen. Aqua glanced up at the camera.
"Voice key, incorrect." The robot voice said.
The black and white image was not able to show Aqua's yellow eyes, but her cold gaze made Violet hold onto her dad's arm out of instinct. Aqua raised her arm, pointing to the camera.
"Voice key, in-"
A moment later, the camera fizzed with static, and the image was gone.
"So she was on the island," Kairi said.
"The date of this recording matches the one for the new robot meta training thing," Violet said.
"So this was three days ago."
"Dad, if she messed with the robots, can you find out where on the island they're held? We should destroy any that are left before they can attack the city."
Mr. Incredible gave his daughter a quick side hug. "That's my girl."
Violet and Mr. Incredible began scouring the computer for the island's blueprints, maps, anything about the robot manufacturing facility they could find. Sora paced while they worked.
"Moving things along as they should? What does she mean?"
"There!" Mr. Incredible shouted.
He pointed to a section of the map on the screen. A massive, circular room was highlighted in bright yellow.
"The manufacturing plant is on the other side of the island, near the launch facility for the rockets. Let's go."
"Wait. Don't change the screen just yet." Sora reached into his picket and then whispered. "Jiminy?"
The cricket jumped onto Sora's shoulder. "Yes?"
Sora pulled out of piece of magic paper and handed it to Jiminy. "Can you draw the map and send it to Riku and Mrs. Incredible?"
"Of course. Good thinking."
Jiminy began scribbling. Once finished, he tapped the paper, and it vanished. Jiminy hid back in Sora's hood.
"Should we go back the way we came?" Kairi rolled her shoulders. "All right Violet, looks like we're doing double the work this time."
The team lined up on the narrow walkway that led back to the lava-fall. Mr. Incredible moved to turn off the control panel, but seconds before his fingers touched the keyboard, the screen flickered once more, and a voice came out of the speakers.
"So, you followed the breadcrumbs, did you?"
Sora whirled around, staring, horrified at the screen. Aqua's face looked down at him. She stared into the camera, tapping her cheek with her index finger.
"By now, I suspect that you must have found out where the machines are being made and are on you merry way to shut them down."
"How did she know that?" Violet said.
Aqua clapped on the screen. "Well, since you've put two and two together, why don't I give you a hand. Sora. Kairi. You want to go to the manufacturing plant? Let me help you get there."
The ground beneath Sora's feet crumbled. He fell into the dark chasm below the control room.
Riku leapt on top of a dark ball, driving his soul eater right into the creature's open mouth and feeling it burst into dust underneath him. He rolled when he hit the ground, and was about to charge back into battle when someone appeared beside him.
"That was so cool!"
The voice sounded from Riku's right one moment, and then appeared on his left the next.
"Is it true that you can't see?"
The voice moved again, so fast that Riku was getting whiplash from turning his head to keep up with it.
"How do you fight then?"
"Dash!"
Elastigirl's long arm came flying out of nowhere, punching the heartless that had been sneaking up behind the annoyingly energetic voice. Now that the voice was still, Riku was finally able to realize that a little boy, with speed that would make Peter Pan jealous, was standing before him.
"What are you doing here?"
Despite being across the room, Elastigirl's arm stretched all the way to Dash's face. She wagged her finger disapprovingly in front of the boy's eyes.
"I told you to stay in the city? How did you sneak by Lucius?"
"Mom, I'm so fast that I can literally run on water, and I have a sister that can turn invisible," Dash deadpanned.
"We'll, he's here now."
Riku charged a heartless, slamming his soul eater into its side. The sturdy, red eyed darkball didn't explode, but Riku was able to send it careening into several more darkballs a few paces away. Once the heartless were gathered together, he blasted them into nothing all with a single dark firaga spell.
"So, kid, can you fight?"
Dash's light sparked with way too much happy energy. It made Riku dizzy.
"You bet I can!"
"Then don't you dare let up! Go as fast as you can!" Elastigirl shouted from across the room.
"Really?"
"Yes! And when we are done taking down these heartless, you are in so much trouble!"
Being scolded by his mom didn't seem to bother Dash much. He ran around the room, rapid punching the heartless, tricking them into attacking each other, or distracting them long enough for Riku and Elastigirl to take them down. When the battle was over, Riku leaned forward, hands on his knees, panting.
There would be more. He knew. Red eyed heartless were like roaches. If you see one, that meant there were hundreds more hidden somewhere else. He opened his mouth to ask about their next move, when he felt a flutter of light appear before his nose. A second later, a tiny piece of paper was floating in front of him.
"Can you read this for me?" Riku asked, pointing at the paper and then to Elastigirl.
She snatched the paper out of the air. "It's a map. Looks like the other team is headed toward the manifacturing plant."
"Yeah baby! Are we going to blow it up?"
"Dash, sometimes superheroes need to go in with a little restraint."
"Ugh, come on, Mom! That's so boring."
"It's a lead," Riku straitened. "Let's go regroup with the others there. Lead the way, Mom-I mean ma'am!"
Elastigirl and Dash snickered.
Riku hoped he wasn't blushing as he followed the mother-son duo through the facilities. The place was eerily quiet, a massive space full of weapons, technology, and whirring electrical signals, left abandoned and infested with heartless. He wondered if Kairi and Sora were okay. Who was he kidding? The two of them were probably having the time of their lives making moon eyes at each other, while he-
"You okay?"
Riku turned his head toward Dash. "Just thinking."
"Were you thinking about math? Because I only make that face when I have to divide decimals."
"Actually, I'm pretty good at math."
Dash tilted his head. "No way, but you're so good at fighting."
"What does that have to do with math?"
Dash shrugged. "I thought the brainy types weren't good at sports or anything like that. Isn't being smart only good for school?"
"You can be good at school and athletic. It's not like one cancels out the other."
Dash groaned. "You sound like my mom."
"Well, he's right," said Elastigirl, proudly. "But more than that, if you want to be a superhero, you have to smart. You have to be able to think around your enemy, learn their weaknesses, and what they're up to, so that you can stop them. And if you're not smart, people around you can get hurt. If we want supers to be legal again, we can't let anything happen to civilians. That's why we are here."
Dash shrugged. "I guess."
His somber attitude didn't last long. After walking for a few minutes he got bored and zoomed out of the room and back within seconds, complaining that getting to the manufacturing plant was taking too long. Though he could sense if there was any danger nearby, Riku told Dash to be their scout, to make sure the coast was clear. With a task to do, Dash became a little less impatient and Elastigirl gave Riku an approving nod at his clever distraction. Riku wondered, again, why he was always put in the role of babysitter as they finally made it to the manufacturing facility.
It was a massive cavern on the side the mountain, empty and hot, and Riku could sense movement underneath the floor. Lava, he guessed. Fighting here would be tricky. He didn't know any shielding spells like Kairi did. Taking a mental note to brush up on his ice skills later, Riku walked further into the cavern, stretching his senses, waiting for something. What he was not expecting, was to hear a series of screams coming from dark abyss of the ceiling.
Sora was tumbling toward them at break neck speeds, with Mr. Incredible, Kairi, and Violet right behind him. Dash and Mrs. Incredible yelped, rushing toward a river of lava, on a crash course with the rest of their family to try and keep them from melting. Riku jumped from one floating chunk of rock to the next, trying to position himself right under Sora, who was spinning like a top, unable to do anything by flail his arms and legs.
Then, the energy above Riku shifted, as he felt a glimmer of light. From the air, Kairi crashed into Sora, wrapped her arms around his waist and casted a reflect spell. It would have been a great defense, if they weren't hurtling toward molted rock. Trying to keep his friends from boiling alive, Riku casted a blizzaga spell right under them. But then, the energy shifted again. Sora, now free from the virtigo of spinning, threw out his keyblade and casted a firaga spell so immense that it shattered Kairi's reflect spell and sent the two of them rocketing out to the left, away from the lava. They crashed into a nearby rock wall and fell down onto the floor, protected from the impact by one more last second reflect spell from Kairi.
Riku stood where he was for a moment, trying to calm down from the sudden adrenaline rush, and something clawing deep in his heart.
They don't need you.
Movement around him made him shift his focus. Dash and Elastigirl were able to save Mr. Incredible and Violet. With the family out of harm's way, he ran to his friends.
"Guys, are you okay?"
Sora got to his feet in a snap. "I'm great. Nice save, Kairi."
"Are you kidding? We would have been boiled noodles if you hadn't thrown us to the side like that."
"Yeah, but my bones would have been crushed if you didn't save us from the impact."
"Well," Kairi wheezed, getting to her feet. "I am pretty cool."
Riku turned around and tried not to feel the tingly light behind him as his two "best friends" laughed. He needed something to do, something to stop the squeezing in his heart, something-
"Kairi? You okay?"
Riku felt Sora reach out and grab Kairi by the upper arm. She swayed for moment, as though she were going to puke.
"Whoa. I felt dizzy for a second."
Sora casted a healing spell. "Any better?"
Kairi held her head. "A little. I still feel funny."
"You did release a cosmic ton of light earlier today, and we haven't stopped since Agrabah," Riku offered. "Maybe you need to rest."
"Maybe," Kairi agreed, finally standing straight. "But I'm not the only one pushing myself. You and Sora literally fought Sephiroth an hour ago and you haven't rested either. Besides-"
The walls and floor shook. Riku felt deep vibrations under his feet, but mixed with the molten lava and the heat, it was hard to concentrate on it. That was until a massive ball of hot metal and bubbling lava burst out of the lava river in the middle of the cavern. Darkness coated the air like smoke filling a bottle. The metal monstrosity used its long, cylinder like arms, to pull itself out of the lava and began stomping toward Riku.
"I really don't think our enemies will give us time to rest," Kairi said.
"This is getting old!"
Dash zipped to Riku's side.
"I was hoping we'd fight more than just these big round robots!"
"Sorry, kid," Riku summoned his soul eater. "Part of being a hero is that you don't get to choose your enemies."
The group sprang into action. Kairi and Sora looped around the massive robot, freezing the lava still coating its body with ice spells. The solidifying rock slowed the robot down, and made it cool enough for Elastigirl to stretch her body like a trampoline and bounce Mr. Incredible toward its head. He grabbed the rotating disk and pulled, sliding into the robot's body and pounding it from the inside. The robot shuddered, and then threw its body onto the floor, rolling until Mr. Incredible tumbled out of it, dizzy and disoriented.
The rolling robot was on a collision course toward Riku, and before he could think to block, Dash zipped to his side with Violet in tow, and she protected him with a force field. Riku was stunned. In the chaos around him, he was able to make out that the robot had crashed into the wall of the cavern. The earth shook and the lava bubbled upward.
"This thing will bring down the entire volcano on our heads!" Elastigirl shouted, coming to a stop next to Mr. Incredible.
"We have to take it out quick," he said, standing up and lifting his fists. "It's not enough to go for the core. There's some weird, black, smokey eye thing that's making the robot move."
"It's a possessor heartless," Sora shouted. "Get it out of the core and the robot won't be able to move!"
The heartless/robot finally pushed itself out of the massive dent it had made in the cavern wall. It began rolling again, this time too fast for anyone to do anything but avoid it and try not to get squished or pushed into the lava. Riku jumped and rolled out the way, stopping just a few feet from Violet when the robot suddenly stopped mid-spin and veered toward Kairi faster than Tinker Bell on a fury fueled flight.
Riku slipped through the darkness, appearing at Kairi's side, about to try and throw her out of the way when Sora came darting out of nowhere and threw a wind spell on all three of them, which gave Kairi enough time for instinct to kick in. Her reflect spell, combined with Sora's wind magic somehow made the heartless roll atop them, hovering off the floor for just a few seconds, the hole that led to its torso exposed.
"DASH! NOW!" Riku roared.
The boy slipped into the robot's core, a second later, the robot began to shudder and shake. It rolled back onto the ground, but it was slower, as Dash used his speed on the inside to mess with its circuits. Then it was Violet's turn. Launched across the cavern by a punch from Mr. Incredible, she and her field crashed into the robot, knocking it off balance again. The robot crashed, half of it sinking into the lava.
Dash jumped out before he could be cooked from the inside. The heartless, having sensed that it too would melt now that the robot's head had been ripped off and the core was exposed, drifted out from inside the robot. It zoomed through the cavern, heading to a hole in one of the walls.
"Oh no you don't!"
A whip of light, one butterfly attached to the next, stretched outward and looped around the spiky ball of darkness. Kairi grit her teeth, her feet sliding, as pulled her sword backward, playing tug of war with a heartless that was desperate to escape.
"Riku! A little help!"
He grabbed the cross guard on Kairi's sword and pulled.
"Sora! What are you waiting for?"
"There's only an entire river of lava between me and it!" He snapped at Riku.
"One launch, coming right up."
Mr. Incredible barreled into Sora, picked him up, and tossed him like a torpedo across the air. He flew straight toward the heartless, and ripped right through it. It wasn't enough. Red eyed heartless were durable and the possessor slowly rose back up, hovering back toward the hole in the wall. Riku heard the sound of fabric ripping as Sora rolled on the hot rock. He needed to get to him, to-
"Riku, let go!"
Without pausing to question, Riku released the cross guard on Kairi's sword. In his worry over Sora, he hadn't noticed that the whip of light that had connected from Kairi's sword to the heartless was still intact. Without Riku and Kairi pulling the line taught, it snapped back like a bowstring, sending Kairi flying across the lava river. Several more spots of light told Riku that she had wrapped the heartless in a yarn ball of light, keeping it from moving long enough for her to heal Sora, and for him to bludgeon it, over and over, into nothing.
The robot melted into the lava. Everyone regrouped. Congratulations and celebrations were had for a job well done. Nothing like working together to beat monsters and robots in a life or death all out stakes brawl to make people instant friends. Yet, even as Dash and Elastigirl complimented him on his leadership and quick thinking, Riku felt as if their words were far away. He tried not to think, not to notice, not to focus on how Sora and Kairi were bumping each other's shoulders and radiating with so much light that his eyes burned, even though he could not see.
They don't need you.
Mr. Incredible cleared his throat. "We're not done yet."
"Right," Violet added. "There may be more robots in the weapons facility, and this tunnel should take us there."
"Lead the way, Riku," Sora said.
"Huh? Why me?"
"You are the one that can sense danger ahead, and it's pitch black in there."
"And you'll be able to sense possessors faster than we can," Kairi added.
"Oh right. That's about the only thing I'm useful for," he snapped.
Before anyone could actually say anything, Riku was moving down the narrow passageway. It was so dark and tight that even Dash didn't dare run ahead, too scared to possibly trip on something. The tunnel eventually opened up, Riku's steps echoing as the rock under his feet eventually turned into metal and wiring. He wasn't able to see all the details of the massive room they stepped into, but he heard the gasps from all of his companions. Riku couldn't tell how far, how high, or how low the space stretched around them. All he could tell, was that they were in some kind of vertical tube. The walls weren't smooth, there were spheres bulging out, arranged in a spiral pattern along the cylinder.
"Syndrome had this many robots?" Elastigirl said.
"I don't think so," said Mr. Incredible."We think these were made recently." He explained about the camera and log footage they had discovered.
"We'd better destroy them before any heartless can find and possess them," Sora said.
"There's a terminal," said Violet.
She walked to a nearby table that was welded into the floor. On the table was a massive cube with a screen and buttons.
"Riku, I think Aqua knew we would come here," Sora said, coming to stand at Riku's side while Violet worked.
He listened as Sora told him about the message Aqua had given them before they fell into the volcano.
"If this was a trap, it was too easy," Riku replied.
"Yeah," Sora sighed. "I think this was a wild goose chase."
"I know the robots still had to be stopped, but I can't help but wonder if she had another reason to send us here."
"Done!"
Violet twirled, and Riku could sense that she was beaming.
"I've set this place to explode," she said brightly.
There was a moment of silence as everyone, except Riku, stared at her.
"Violet," Mr. Incredible said calmly. "Did you just engage the self destruct?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because there's no way we can take this many robots on at once, and according to the console, they are still being made, even right now. Either we take out the manufacturing facility with everything in it, or we will be fighting these things forever. And the longer we wait-"
A voice echoed from the nearby speaker. "My my, you sure have taken things to the extreme."
Riku hissed. "Aqua."
"I was expecting some kind of show, but not fireworks. Well, I certainly hope you're quick enough to escape. In the mean time, perhaps I'll give your other team a visit."
Violet rubbed her arms. "I had a feeling she was still nearby."
"You went with your gut," said Mr. Incredible. He turned to Elastigirl. "Helen, I think our kid just made the tough call we were too hesitant to make."
Elastigirl smiled. "I'm not angry, I'm proud. But how much time do we have?"
Violet fidgeted. "Well, there was only one option…"
The room blared with noise.
Self Destruct Sequence Initiated.
All island staff is to evacuate immediately.
Island protocol level Manhattan.
Repeat. This is not a drill.
Self Destruct will occur in twenty minutes.
Head to the nearest escape pod and vacate the island immediately.
"Oh no! We've got to go and go right now!" Sora boomed.
The alarm echoed throughout every room they had come into contact with. The entire base shaking, making running through tunnels and avoiding lava a real nightmare. The walls were bursting, with lava spewing out of the cracks and holes. Riku could feel the heat pressing against his skin, even as he tried to concentrate on all the movement and darkness around him. The team had just made it to a lava cavern they had fought the giant robot in, and if the sudden waves of angry lava weren't bad enough, heartless popped in the air.
Violet gasped. "Kairi, gather everyone close and cast a reflect spell. Dash, you say out here with me."
Mr. And Mrs. Incredible breathed in as though they were about to protest when Sora and Kairi shouted at them. "They've got this, just trust them!"
Kairi casted a reflect spell around herself, Sora, Riku, and Mr. and Mrs. Incredible. Then, Violet put a forcefield around Kairi's reflect spell, making a sphere within a sphere, with Dash on the outer layer. With Violet floating neat the top of the sphere, Dash began to run as fast as he could.
"This is going to be a bumpy ride!"
It took all of Riku's concentration not to vomit from the sudden lurch of the sphere charting forward. Outside of Kairi's reflect spell, Dash used the forcefield like a hamster ball, making them roll over hot lava, and barrel through heartless. Once close enough to the wall, Dash shouted.
"Dad! You're up!"
The shield and reflect spell dropped, and Mr. Incredible raced toward a wall and smashed through it with his fist. The entire cave shook, the walls and the ceiling coming down, and the lava behind them bursting outward. There was no time to hesitate. The team jumped through the hole and crashed into several tree branches below. The volcano behind them was roaring angrily into the clouds. Riku coughed as ash rained down around him, but he didn't stop, did not waste time to think about geysers of molten rock that were bursting up from the ground, all around them.
He pulled down the gummi ship hatch and practically pushed Sora, Kairi, and the kids ahead of him. The thrusters came to lift and Mr. Incredible shoved Riku into the ship before he hauled himself and Elastigirl in. The ship shuddered, but floated off the ground. Riku was too exhausted to try and stretch his senses to perceive it, but he felt the impact nonetheless. The gummi ship shook as Sora maneuvered them around hot falling rocks and away from the roaring mountain. It wasn't until the ship was able to fly smoothly and Riku could no longer smell the bitter smoke that he realized something.
"This wasn't a wild goose chase. She wanted us to separate."
Riku felt Sora's hands tighten on the gummi ship's steering wheel. "She's going after Mickey, isn't she?"
"Oswald! Over here!"
Max grunted as he moved lifted a slab of concrete. In moments, Oswald was at his side, pushing the concrete back with his powerful legs. The man underneath the rubble blinked and slowly crawled out from under the grey stones.
"All you all right?" Oswald asked.
The man nodded, looking at his legs in complete wonder, as though he could not believe they were part of him.
"Good," Oswald said. "Get to safety."
The civilian ran off.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Oswald stared at the sky above him.
Something was wrong. They had been patrolling the city. No heartless, no robots. People were uninjured, fires had been put out, the smoke had been cleared. Civilians were easily found and taken care of. The world glittered with the remains of Kairi's holy light. Everything was fine.
So why did his fur stand on end?
Oswald turned, hopping as fast as his feet could allow through the streets. Max, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy saw his mad dash and chased after him. He leapt, from roof to roof, using magic and his windmilling his ears to get higher and higher, until he finally landed highest rooftop he could find.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Oswald held out his hand, watching a glimmer of Kairi's light float in his palm for a moment, before it was swept away.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Ozwald?"
Mickey panted as he came to stand next to him. "Is something wrong?"
Oswald didn't look away from the sky.
Mickey looked up, trying to find the missing puzzle piece Oswald was looking for up there.
"One of Master Yen Sid's very first lessons-"
"Is to trust our instincts," Mickey finished. "Well, what do your instincts tell you?"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Mickey looked down at Oswald's tapping foot.
"Jasmine, Belle, and Alice."
"What about them?" Mickey asked.
"I've never doubted my magical instincts. Except once. When Ortensia and I joined Marluxia and the other mages to attack the realm of darkness. I thought destroying the realm of darkness was the right thing to do, but when the time came to fight, it felt wrong. Why? Fighting darkness with light. That what mages and key bearers do."
Oswald paced around the roof, eyes still at the sky, at the black patches above, at the veins that shuddered somewhere deep within the realm of darkness.
"We just wiped this entire world clean with Kairi's holy light. Why does that feel so wrong?"
He paced faster. "I'm missing something, Mickey. Something important. Kairi said she paid a price for releasing all the holy light inside her heart. What is that price?"
"Wouldn't it just mean that Kairi's power is weaker now?"
"It can't be that simple. There has to be a deeper catch. Kairi said something bigger is coming. But what?" Oswald shook his head, eyes scanning the rooftops for something. He stopped, he listened, he watched.
"Oh."
"What?"
"Look around," Oswald said.
Mickey looked up at the dark patches, eyes narrowing at the red veins that pulsed and writhed deep within them. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for," he admitted.
"It's hard to make out at first, but I know you can see it," Oswald encouraged.
Mickey looked around. Light sparkled in the air, like millions of tiny prisms that glittered in the atmosphere. His eyes followed a spec of light as it moved with the wind, fluttering up and up into-
Mickey's eyes widened. "Oh no."
"What is it, Your Majesty?"
Mickey turned to face Donald, Goofy, and Max. They had finally caught up to them, and they stood to attention, straight and alert like the gallant knights and mages they were. Mickey hoped that their bravery was enough to whether the implications of he was slowly beginning to realize.
"Kairi's holy light, it's being pulled up into the dark patches."
"And that's not all," Oswald said, turning around to look at the rest of their team, his eyes grim. "When we were in the realm of the darkness, Kairi and I casted her first ever holy spell. It was so powerful that it blasted a hole through the realm of darkness itself. Kairi escaped to the realm of light, and I was able to dive deeper than ever before into the realm of darkness."
Max crossed his arms, his expression fearful, but also impatient. "And?"
"Mickey, can I bother you for a pearl of light?"
Mickey summoned a light orb. "Now what?"
"Nothing. Just watch."
A minute passed. Then two. Then three.
"Nothing's happening," said Donald.
"Exactly."
Oswald tapped the light orb with his wand, and even made it bounce up into the air. It came back down. With nothing to attack, the light orb eventually vanished, but Mickey understood the implication.
"The realm of darkness is only absorbing Kairi's holy light."
"The light from a princess of heart." Oswald met Mickey's eyes. "A heart so pure, it cannot enter the realm of darkness unless there is already light somewhere else within it. Aqua told me she wants to go to the deepest part of the realm of darkness. What do the legends say is in the deepest darkness, Mickey?"
"The true light. Kingdom Hearts of course. But Sora and I already closed that door. Aqua can't open it without a keyblade. It's already over."
Oswald shook his head. "All this extra light had to come from somewhere. And twice, in your past adventures, you've ripped holes in the realm of darkness."
Mickey's nose twitched. "What do you mean?"
A familiar voice spoke. "Let me save you the trouble of all that conjecture."
Oswald's eyes shot up and he pulled his wand from his pocket, his fist tightening around it.
"I'm right, aren't I?"
He stepped forward, past Donald, Goofy and Max, so that he could face the other side of the roof, so that he could look directly into Aqua's yellow eyes.
"The influx of light that has thrown everything into chaos. It comes from the deepest parts of the realm of darkness. Doesn't it?"
Max and Goofy exchanged a glance. Mickey and Oswald pointed their weapons at Aqua. Donald's feathers stood on end. Aqua simply walked along the edge of the roof, holding out her arms, balancing perfectly.
"For thousands of years, light has slumbered, trapped between the layers of the shifting labyrinth that is the realm of darkness. What happens when those layers are torn through? Where else would the light go, but back to where it should be?"
Aqua faced the city, her back to Oswald, her hands folded behind her.
"I tore though layer after layer of the realm of darkness, releasing that light as I got deeper. And now, the realm of light is imbalanced, and the realm of darkness is hungry. Wasn't it just perfect that your dear friend Kairi released all that holy light up into the sky?"
"This was a trap," Max snapped. "What do you want with Kairi? With the other princesses?"
"So sorry. There's only time for one reveal. You'll get the rest soon enough."
Aqua stepped off the roof. By the time the team had made it to the edge, to look down, she was gone.
To say there was tension in the gummi ship was like saying there was water in the ocean. When Sora picked up Mickey and his friends, he could practically feel the gloom coming off of them like an invisible slime. Though the Incredible family was polite and thankful for all the help, they still fidgeted when Sora dropped them off safely in an open parking lot in the city somewhere.
"Sorry we can't say goodbye," Sora said.
"I'm happy your city is safe, but we must regroup and plan our next move," Mickey added.
"Wait. Surely you have time for one more thing," Elastigirl said.
Mickey tilted his head, but she did not look at him.
"You three?"
Sora, Riku, and Kairi paused on their way back into the ship.
"Don't tell me you're going to go back out on your mission looking like," she pointed to their clothes, "that."
Sora and Kairi exchanged looks, while Riku patted himself down. Sora had lost his outer jacket, the belts and pockets on his pants had ripped, and a layer of ash had turned his outfit from black to brown. Riku's pants had turned into burnt shorts, his yellow vest was torn, and his hair was tangled and gnarled. Kairi's gauntlets were destroyed, her leggings in ribbons, her blouse covered in grime, and the soles of her boots were starting to peel off.
Suddenly feeling self conscious, the three friends crossed their arms and turned away from each other.
Elastigirl chuckled. "Lucky for you, we know the perfect person to patch you up."
Mr. Incredible laughed. "And trust us, you'll go into battle not only looking good, but feeling powerful."
"Ugh, you three look as though you've gone through a jet turbine."
Sora held still as the Edna Mode moved about him and took his measurements. She was surprisingly fast for someone that was as short as Donald. Her bob-cut hair bounced as she moved. Sora forced himself not to twitch as she pressed a long tape measure against the length of his leg.
"All these zippers and belts. Pah! I can see vy Elastigirl brought you here."
Sora breathed a sigh of relief when the fashion goddess moved on to his friends. He wasn't sure why, but he had the strangest suspicion that Edna was a lot like a stick of dynamite. Anything could set her off.
Finished measuring, Edna stepped back, putting a finger to her lips. "Hmm. YES! I have it."
Kairi leaned forward. "So you can fix our clothes?"
"Don't be ridiculous, darlings. Of course I can! I vill have you three looking fabulous in no time." Edna moved about the trio one more time. "Now then. Elastigirl did her best to explain your powers, but in order to design the best hero-wear, I demand a demonstration. YOU!"
Riku stiffened. "Y-yes?"
"Vell, don't just stand there? Vat are your skills?"
Shrugging, Riku stepped forward. "Sora, give me a hand."
Edna sat down on a metal chair. She patted the seat next to her, and Kairi, nervously, went to sit down. As the two ladies partook in tea, Sora and Riku duked it out, showcasing magic, darkness, light. Eventually, they got so lost in the fight that they were no longer sparing. The only thing that stopped them from gleefully pummeling each other was Edna's shout.
"ENOUGH!"
Riku froze, his soul eater still raised in the air. In front of him, Sora balanced on one leg, having been caught in the middle of landing a backflip. Shaking hands, the two boys stepped apart. Edna turned to Kairi next and then nudged her head. She waved at Riku.
"Come. Sit."
As Riku awkwardly sat down next to Edna, Kairi and Sora got ready for their battle.
"I won't hold back." Sora grinned.
"Aw, you're so sweet." Kairi pulled out her sword and lowered her stance. "I'm going to make you wish you were never born."
"You better not blink then," Sora warned.
Kairi gave him a sweet smile. "I only have eyes for you."
"W-what?"
She flashed forward, capitalizing on Sora's shock. Their match followed the same pattern as Sora and Riku's had. Sora had stronger and more lethal sword swings, but Kairi was faster, ducking and dodging before he could land a hit. Eventually, they started pounding each other with magic.
"Whoa!"
Sora ducked as a light butterfly nearly sliced into his face. He retaliated with lightning. Kairi defended herself with a reflect spell, but was knocked back when Sora's keyblade came flying across the distance and smashed her protective glass.
"Nice shot but it's not enough!" Kairi called before firing another volley of light spells.
Sora weaved and sliced through her attacks. He managed to get close, and Kairi blocked his keyblade swing with her sword. The two of them pushed their weapons against each other, getting so close that their noses could almost touch. Next to Edna, Riku turned away from the fight, and let out a sigh.
"All right, stop."
Sora and Kairi blinked. Putting down their swords, both of them looked up to the ceiling, clearing their throats.
Edna lifted her round glasses off her face so she could rub her beady eyes. "Ugh. Teenagers."
She stood and hustled the teens out of her workspace. "Go to the kitchen and eat some cookies, or vatever. I must create!"
Once out of the dark, steel room, Sora, Riku, and Kairi collapsed into the black couch seats inside Edna's cavernous living room. They sat for a while, in comfortable silence, enjoying the splashing of water coming from the golden statue fountain Edna had in front of her massive floor to ceiling window.
Even though he'd had enough energy to briefly spar with both Riku and Kairi, Sora was utterly exhausted. He'd been going non-stop since the Land of the Dead. Eventually, he dozed. Sometime later, a shout jerked him awake.
"It is COMPLETE!"
Edna stomped up to the three of them. She threw a duffle bag at each teen. Catching his bag, Sora was about to pull open the zipper and look inside, but Edna pushed him into a private room.
"Hurry up, darling, I must see my vork in action!"
Sora started when the door was slammed shut behind him. He opened his duffle bag. The smell of the fabric was fresh, as though it were laundered in blackberry and lavender. There was a hint of leather musk as Sora took out pants, gloves, boots, a shirt, and a jacket. His jaw dropped at the new design. Removing his stained and ripped clothes, Sora tried on his new outfit and then checked himself out in front of the mirror.
His sneakers had been replaced by black and yellow combat boots. His new cargo pants had several fashionable pockets along the sides, and there was enough space and cushioning for Sora to stock several potions and ethers. Red, grey, and yellow-belted gloves covered most of his forearms. Finally, Sora's jacket came with golden buttons, and a collar that was covered in a red, plaid pattern. The color scheme went well with his keyblade. Sora spared a moment to pose before he left the room.
Kairi was already outside, standing in front of Edna. The older woman made a twirling motion and Kairi spun. Looking at her new outfit, Sora began to sense a theme. Kairi wore a light pink dress, with black and white accents, and pair of black shorts. There were plaid patches on the hem of her dress. Silver buttons adorned the front of her dress, and there was thick belt on her waist. Like Sora, she also wore combat boots, except hers were completely black.
"Fabulous!" Edna clapped. She spotted Sora coming into the room. "Ah! I see my genius suits you as vell. Good, good."
"These clothes are amazing."
"Yes, I'm aware, darling," Edna waved Sora off. "Now stay here and vait. I have some final tweaks to make with your friend's outfit."
Edna vanished into the hallway leading to her super-wear workspace. Sora and Kairi turned toward each other.
"You look great!" Kairi pointed to Sora's outfit. "I like your shoes."
"Thanks. I like your new gloves."
Kairi stretched her arms, cracking her knuckles. The gloves were black, leather, and fingerless. They went all the way up to her upper arms.
"As much as I'm going to miss the metal gauntlets Mary got me, these are a little less bulky. Edna said she used some kind of special fiber to make the gloves more powerful than most metals, to reduce chaffing." Kairi paced. "This is so easy to move around in." She made some quick jabs and kicks. "I can't wait to fight."
Sora stretched his legs and twisted at the waist, testing out his range of motion. He felt as though he were wearing a second skin.
He put his hands in his pockets. "Check it out. No more bulgy pouches."
Kairi stuck her hands into the black pockets on the hips of her dress. "Same here! They're a lot roomier than they look."
The sound of a door opening caught their attention. Edna came back into the room with a rather proud look on her face. Riku sauntered out behind her. He looked a little uncomfortable in his new outfit. It wasn't that the outfit wasn't stylish. Once again, Edna had outdone herself. Riku wore a black leather jacket, with grey, plaid trim along the hems. Under the jacket was a white undershirt. He wore navy blue, capris jeans, and black, leather boots. He too had fingerless leather gloves, except his only reached his forearm. The outfit suited his tall, athletic build.
Stopping in front of his friends, Riku ran a hand through his now short hair. Edna hadn't just given Riku new duds. His hair had been cut and layered. He fidgeted, as if waiting for his friends to laugh. Instead, he had to take a step back as Sora and Kairi swarmed him.
"You look so cool!"
"Really?" Riku tugged at his bangs. "I can't see what I look like, so I'll have to take your word for it."
Edna made a "tsk" sound. "Of course you look fabulous, darling. This is my vork, after all."
She pushed Riku to stand near his friends. Once the trio stood side by side, Edna moved around them, nodding at her own work.
"The fabric is breathable and sturdy, darlings, able to absorb powerful blows, all vile allowing you to maintain flexibility and movement. I've voven in some reinforced titanium fibers to protect you from fire and lightning damage. The outfits are virtually indestructible, and can vard off both darkness and light." Edna snapped her fingers. "You are prepared for battle. Go. Fight. Win! Now get out!"
Edna escorted Sora, Riku, and Kairi to the foyer of her mansion. Once outside, the trio made their way down the long winding road to the gates that separated Edna's property from the rest of the world.
The city loomed in the distance, but the gummi ship was parked on a nearby lawn. Riku lagged behind Sora and Kairi. The two of them were excitedly talking about how their friends would react to their new looks. Since going blind, Riku hadn't really cared what he looked like, and short hair seemed easier to take care of. But he wondered, would people see that he had changed more than just his hair? That he had learned how to control his light as well as his darkness? Or was it all superficial? Could he be trying to pretend that he had changed? Especially when something inside him was still aching?
Riku shook his head. He remembered Eiko and Luna's assurances that he was wrong, but he still felt the ache pounding in his heart. He moved toward his friends.
"Guys, I need to ask you something."
"Oh my gosh! Sora! Look at this."
Kairi pulled her hood over her head. She tugged on the cat ears sown into the hood. Kairi lifted her hands, curling her fingers by her cheeks. She let out a little, feline roar.
"Wow. Cute."
Sora slapped his hands on his mouth and turned away from Kairi. Riku didn't smile when he felt Sora and Kairi's auras light up. He didn't stop to think about why his heart ached when the two of them shared an awkward laugh. He didn't even make a snarky comment to tease or distract them. Instead, he dashed forward, as quick as his legs could carry him, and shoved both Sora and Kairi as hard as he could.
His two friends stumbled forward, away from the hot points of fire that had been building up beneath their feet. Sora and Kairi crashed to the lawn grass. Now that his friends were out of the blast radius, Riku hit the ground and rolled, barely avoiding the explosion as several mines exploded under the lawn grass. Hot earth and fire burst up into the air, and though Sora and Kairi couldn't see into the dust cloud, Riku knew she was there, waiting to make her entrance.
"I've finally figured it out."
Sora, Riku, and Kairi flashed to their feet, readying their weapons. The dust cloud faded, and Aqua was now visible to all three friends. She stood in the middle of their triangle, her gaze moving from one angry stance to another.
"You are all such good friends, aren't you?" Aqua paced in a small circle.
Ice slithered up Riku's legs.
Aqua had multiplied.
An army of the same woman surrounded the three friends.
"I wonder. What would happen if I removed the one that connects you all?"
Ice and darkness exploded from each copy's hands. The magic flew out in every direction, a deadly hail storm of glass and dark acid. Sora and Kairi reached out to each other. They did not notice all the ice and darkness curve in the air, moving away from them. Not once did they look up to see that, while Riku had been rushing toward them, desperate to shield his two friends, all the Aqua clones had turned their yellow eyes on him.
By the time Sora and Kairi realized their mistake, Riku was trapped inside a massive dome of ice and darkness. Sora and Kairi smashed weapons and magic into the dome, but found that their spells bounced off. In the dome, Riku could barely hear his friends cries for him as he fought against dozens of Aqua clones, all moving about him, speaking, one over the other.
"I've been watching you."
Riku charged forward and sliced through Aqua. She vanished like morning mist being hit by the rays of the sun. Another Aqua appeared behind him.
"You no longer fear the darkness."
An invisible force smashed onto the back of Riku's head. His thoughts whirred with static. He tried to focus, tried to pin point which of the copies was the real Aqua, but each clone had the same level of darkness. The same level of light. They moved independently, and no amount of lightning or hard magic seemed to reduce their number. Riku would take down one, only for several more to appear.
"But you have a greater fear, don't you?"
The clones' voices overlapped, an echo that banged around in his skull, mixing in with the static.
"Did you see how easily your so called 'friends' moved to protect each other? Neither of them thought to try to protect you. How interesting."
Riku stilled. Another Aqua crept close to his side. He cut through her. A chorus of laughter reached his ears. The sound sliced into his heart.
"Do you really think the three of you will be together forever?"
Riku grit his teeth. "Stop."
"Do you think that once they're together, things won't change?"
"Stop it!"
"Will they take you with them on a moonlight stroll?"
"Shut up!"
Needles of ice began to rise up on Riku's hips and lower stomach. His body burned as the cold spread, creeping deeper into his muscles, his very being. The bones in his hands felt so brittle, it hurt to hold onto his soul eater, but he charged forward, roaring, trying to tear through Aqua as she circled around him, laughing.
"I know how your heart rends whenever the two of them get closer."
"ENOUGH!"
Riku spun, slicing through the circle of Aqua clones that had been slowly creeping in on him. When he stopped spinning, he nearly fell to his knees. The cold, dark feeling had now reached his chest.
"It won't happen today. It won't happen tomorrow. But it will happen soon."
Darkness coated the air like tear gas. It flew into Riku's nose and mouth. The soul eater dropped from his hands. His lungs burned, his ribs ached with each desperate inhale.
"How much time do you think you have left? With them?"
Riku's senses were closing in on him, his world getting smaller. He could barely sense all the women surrounding him, getting closer and closer, trapping him in a box of cold, lonely darkness.
"How long will you be the third wheel? How long before you are left behind?"
The icy needles had reached Riku's head.
"How long…"
All the Aquas spoke at once.
"...before you are forgotten?"
The ice stabbed into Riku's heart. Everything, his thoughts, his fears, his memories, his hopes, his pain, was lost. Only darkness remained.
"That's not true!"
Sora's palms burned. His arms and legs pounded with fire. But he wouldn't stop. Gathering light, he charged at the dome yet again, smashing the teeth of the keyblade against the icy glass.
"She's lying!" Kairi cried.
Her butterflies pounded the dome, but it did not break, or crack, or shiver. Inside, a dark storm swirled, obscuring Riku, and all the Aqua copies with him. For one painful second, Sora's eyes met Aqua's. She glanced at him, and smiled, putting a finger to her lips.
That was the last Sora saw of her. The ice dome exploded, throwing Sora and Kairi back. Lines of fire cut up the exposed parts of Sora and Kairi's arms and legs. They rolled along the grass. Finally stopping, Sora lifted his aching head to see a smoking figure walking over the lawn grass. A figure with Riku's shape. Slowly, the body stretched and shrunk at the same time. Limbs were elongated, bones were twisted. Eventually, the smoke faded away, but what was inside it was no longer his best friend.
A neoshadow crouched low on the lawn grass, looking around. Its eyes glowed a sky blue cover.
Kairi gasped.
Sora got on his hands and knees, reaching out.
"R-Riku?"
The neoshadow twitched, its blue eyes flashing. It glanced at Sora and Kairi. The heartless lurched backward, clawed hands reaching up to grab its head. The neoshadow thrashed, darkness falling off its midnight body. The darkness pooled around the neoshadow's feet. It began to sink into the ground.
"Wait!"
On weak legs, Sora and Kairi hobbled forward, to try and grab the neoshadow's arms. Their hands closed over nothing. The neoshadow slipped under the dark puddle.
Gone.
Sora couldn't hear.
Gone.
Couldn't think.
He's gone.
He felt the air moving in and out of his burning lungs, felt the ground thump as Kairi collapsed onto her hands and knees next to him.
Riku's gone.
All he could do was stare at the swirling pool of darkness at his feet. Echoes of Aqua's words, of Riku's anguish, swirled in Sora's brain. Even as his legs shook and his body throbbed from Aqua's attacks, nothing felt as horrible as the sorrow and fury that was drilling into his heart.
Kairi slammed her fist into the dirt.
"We didn't protect him."
She sobbed.
"Sora, we should have protected him!"
She peered up at him, and he saw himself reflected in her shining eyes. His expression, guilt ridden and horrified.
"Why didn't we?"
Kairi covered her eyes.
Reaching down, Sora grabbed her hands and pulled her up. He tried to come up with an answer, any answer, to Kairi's question. But no words came. Instead, both he and Kairi wrapped their arms around each other, squeezing one another for comfort.
"We'll get him back," he promised.
Kairi pressed her forehead into his shoulder. "But if we don't get to him in time-"
"We will get him back," Sora repeated, stronger this time. He pulled away from Kairi. "We'll prove Aqua wrong."
Kairi stepped back and rubbed her eyes. "Right. We won't let him go."
Sora squeezed her hand. Together, they turned toward the puddle of darkness on the floor and jumped in.
Jiminy's Journal:
Edna Mode (First Appeared in The Incredibles, 2004): The ultimate creative genius in both fashion design and hero-wear, and long term friend of the Incredible family. Edna has no time for nonsense. No one can deny, or hope to match, her passion, intellect, and desire for a challenge, whether it is making the most powerful and stylish hero outfit for any superpower, or inspiring others with her blunt, but effective pep talks.
Chapter 64: The Underworld
Chapter Text
Chapter Thirty Three: The Underworld
The darkness swirled around Sora, scratching his skin as he was tossed about like a sea shell under an ocean wave. Then, a disk of light appeared before his eyes and he tumbled out onto the grass. Letting go of Kairi’s hand, he sat up, rubbing his jaw and waiting for the birds to stop flying around his head.
“You okay?”
Kairi rubbed her eyes, looking up. “Yeah.” She squinted at the clouds. “You see that?”
Peering upward, Sora saw something white and pink shooting across the sky. It was too big to be a bird, unless birds had hooves.
“Is that a flying horse?”
“A screaming, flying horse,” Kairi amended.
Sora lunged, pushing Kairi down. “Hit the deck!”
His chest hit the ground, and he felt the air whoosh above him. A thud vibrated through the earth as the creature hit the ground ahead of them. Weak whinnies, and the groaning of a young woman reached Sora and Kairi’s ears. The two of them made their way to the white, winged horse. Kairi looked into the creature’s eyes, and gently patted the horse’s head.
As Kairi funneled healing spells into the horse, Sora tended to the horse’s rider. The young woman sat on her behind, her, long, brown hair covering her face.
“Figures. I get the guts to deal with my fear of heights, and then I crash harder than Socrates after one year in the forum.”
“Are you all right? Does anything hurt?” Sora asked.
The young woman flipped her long ponytail over her face and gave Sora a once over.
“Don’t worry, junior, I’m not as banged up as I look.” She pointed her thumb at the horse. “Pegasus, over there, took the brunt of the fall.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” Kairi threw her arms around the horse’s neck.
Pegasus, now that he had been healed, wriggled away from her touch, but, after a few seconds of getting some nice scratches behind his ear, he relaxed and just accepted Kairi’s affection. The young woman looked from Sora to Kairi.
“So, you two got names?”
“Kairi.”
“Sora. Can you stand?”
Instead of taking his hand, the young woman rolled her eyes and got to her feet, brushing the dirt off her long, pink dress.
“The name’s Megara. My friends call me Meg.” She crossed her arms. “Or at least they would if I had any friends.”
“We can be friends,” Sora offered.
Meg gave him the side eye, with one eyebrow raised for good measure. “Oh, like it’s that easy, Shorty.”
“Why can’t it be?” Sora asked. “Anyway, why were you flying around in the sky? What knocked you down?”
Meg opted for a nonchalant posture, but there was something uneasy in the way she looked over Sora’s shoulder. He turned around. Behind him was a rocky, green cliff. Beyond the cliff, was a sprawling, city, nestled along a sparkling cove. It would have been a beautiful town with red roofs, high towers, statues, and columns, but the smoke rising from the streets ruined the scene.
“What happened?” Sora breathed.
Meg clicked her teeth. “The Big Olive always has problems.”
“Big Olive?”
“Thebes. Can’t find more unlucky town than this one. And it’s gotten worse since Wonderboy up and disappeared.”
“Wonderboy?” Kairi repeated.
“What? You’ve never heard of Hercules? The Hero of Thebes?”
Sora gaped at Meg. “Herc is gone?”
Meg rubbed her arms. “Yeah. He’s been acting a little funny for a while. Then, he just lost his wide eyed charm and strength. Then, yesterday, poof. Gone. Didn’t even show up for his morning training session. Phil was ready to eat his own hooves. And with no one able to protect Thebes from all of its problems, well,” Meg pointed to the smoke, “I think it speaks for itself.”
Kairi gave Pegasus one more pat on the head, and then went to stand at Sora’s side.
“We should check the town. If there’s heartless down there, then, maybe-”
“-Riku is down there,” Sora finished. He glanced at Meg. “You should find someplace safe. Kairi and I will search for Hercules.”
“Wonderboy isn’t down there,” Meg said. “Pegasus and I already looked.”
“What about the townspeople?”
“I was the last person to leave. Hercules may not be around, but he would have been heartbroken if anyone in town was hurt. Phil and I worked together to get everyone to the colosseum where it’s safe.”
Kairi bit her lip, grabbing Sora’s arm.
Understanding her look, Sora faced Meg. “We’ll meet you at the colosseum after we’ve cleared the town of heartless. Who knows what kind of damage they’ll do.”
Meg shook her head. “The town is a lost cause. Thebes has been through worse and bounced back. Just let it tumble. It can always be rebuilt.”
“We still have to go. Our friend could be down there.”
Meg shrugged. “If you’re sure. Be careful. And if you need anything, head to the colosseum.”
With a nervous groan, she grabbed Pegasus’ blue mane and lifted herself up onto the horses back. Kairi watched them as they flew away. She let out an envious sigh.
“One of these days, I’m going to actually get to ride a flying horse,” she swore.
If Thebes looked therapy from above, it was nothing compared to the total disaster it was up close. Any building that was still standing was somehow on fire. There were craters in the cobblestone, broken statue body parts all over the ground, landslides made with stone, wood, and brick, and flooding, thanks to the broken fountains and aqueducts.
Fighting was easy, even though Sora and Kairi encountered red eyed shadows and fire-cores. Movement in their new outfits was much easier than usual. Since there were no civvies to worry about, and the town was already a mess, there was nothing to hold Sora and Kairi back.
Nothing, except for lingering guilt.
Even after combing through the town twice, and dousing as much of the flames as they could, there was still no sign of a neoshadow with blue eyes. They eventually stopped their search in the city’s gardens. Sitting on a stone slab, Kairi took off her boots and rubbed her feet while Sora kept watch for heartless.
“How long has it been?”
Sora stretched. “Two hours maybe?”
Kairi hissed, rubbing her heel. “The longer it takes...” She turned away from Sora, looking out into the bay behind the gardens.
“We’ll find him,” Sora insisted. “You guys found me in the World of the Forgotten.”
“That’s not the only thing I’m worried about.” Kairi put a hand on her chest. “I’ve lost all the holy light that was inside my heart. Can I bring Riku back without it?”
“You didn’t any holy magic when you saved me.”
“I don’t know. What if I did and didn’t know it? Is this our fault?” Kairi turned back around, leveling Sora with a serious look. “You heard what Aqua said, right? About us leaving him behind?”
“She’s wrong,” Sora insisted.
Kairi flinched. His tone had been harsher then he’d expected.
“Look, I really do want to talk about,” he swallowed, “us.”
Kairi turned away. “We don’t have time for that. And we have a friend to save.” She put her boot back on and stood. “Two actually. Let’s get to the colosseum and see if we find information about Hercules. Who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and his disappearance could help us with Riku’s.”
After a quick hike away from Thebes, Sora and Kairi wandered into the valley behind a mountain that went all the way up through the clouds. There, in an open field, was the colosseum. As Sora walked through the familiar double doors into the colosseum courtyard, he gawked at all the people gathered there. Hundreds of beds, pots, supplies, and people swarmed the area outside the colosseum. Thebes’ refugees, Sora realized.
Meg and a short, goat man, were moving from person to person, giving them food, listening to their woes, and tending to the wounded. Without having to say any words, Sora and Kairi faced each other, nodded, and split up. Half to an hour later, after all the wounded had been given healing, Meg, Sora, Kairi and Phil met back up in the colosseum's vestibule.
“I tell ya, kid, you got some great timing.”
Phil, in all of his half-goat, half-man glory, came lumbering into the vestibule. His eyes were bloodshot and his goat legs dragged on the floor. Everything from his bald head, round nose, and chubby belly looked both ashen and sweaty at the same time.
“Or terrible timing, depending on who’s askin’.”
“Nice to see you again, Phil,” Sora said, getting down on his knee so that he could look the old Satyr in the eye. “Wish we could catch up, but can you fill me in on all the trouble that’s going on here?”
“Buncha stupid, that’s what!” Phil threw up his hands. “At this point, all that’s left is for a titan to stomp down on our heads. Either Zeus is having a laugh up there or he’s MIA. Because there’s no other way Herc would leave us hanging like this.” Phil looked down at his hooves. “I don’t know what happened to that kid. He slowly lost his strength, then he’s just up and gone, like he vanished from the world.”
Sora swallowed, remembering how Jack had been thrown out of Halloween Town and into the Land of the Dead.
“Do you have any clue as to where he could be?” Kairi asked.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I got nothing, not unless the two of you are willing to venture into the Underworld. That’s the only place we haven’t looked, and I doubt the big flame-head himself would tell you anything, even though I bet he totally did something to Hercules.”
“Hades.” Sora narrowed his eyes. “Kairi, come here a sec.”
He pulled her to the corner of the vestibule, right next to all the trophies that he had won during his last visit to the colosseum. He was momentarily touched that Phil had kept all of those up for him.
“I ran into Hades in Castle Oblivion. I remember Dr. Facilier giving Hades something before he left. But with everything that happened in Castle Oblivion and since, I forgot about it till now.”
“I guess we’ll have to check on Mr. Lord of the Dead himself. Besides, maybe Hercules and Riku are in the Underworld. It seems like a fitting place for heartless.”
“Hey Phil,” Sora waved the old man over, “how do we get to the Underworld.”
The old goat’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Kid, that is no place for junior heroes.”
“Oh come on! I’ve beaten the biggest threat to the universe, twice, and I’m still a junior hero?”
“Two words: humility! And I wasn’t kidding. The Underworld ain’t no joke. Simply walking around in there makes you tired. And you two look like you haven’t eaten or slept in a while.”
“We have to try,” Sora said.
Phil looked unsure for a moment. “Kid, I don’t want you getting hurt. Herc would never forgive me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for this lazy bum, Phil,” said Kairi.
She elbowed Sora. He smiled at her for a second, before blinking and stepping away. Kairi did the same, shaking her head and looking at Phil with her arms crossed.
“You two got some kinda beef or something?” Phil asked.
“What,” said Sora and Kairi at the same time, “no.”
Sora shook his head. “Come on, Phil. Who else can possibly save Hercules?”
“Besides, we’ll just go whether you show us the way or not,” Kairi added.
Phil sighed. “All right, can’t say no to that face. You got a cute girl, kid.”
Sora blushed.
“Why don’t the two of you go out to the back and squeeze in some rest time while I get a few things ready for ya.”
“Thanks Phil.”
The colosseum itself was just as busy as the outer courtyard. So many people, packed into a tiny space. It reminded Kairi of the throne room back at Disney Castle. It was so hard to sit and relax in the audience stands, not when worries about Riku, the worlds crashing together, and Sora kept fluttering about in her head. Speaking of fluttering, Sora couldn’t sit still. He walked from one end of the colosseum to the other, taking in deep breathes.
Kairi’s feet ached just from watching him.
“Hey there, Red.”
Kairi blinked, looking up at Megara. The older woman came to sit next to her.
“Phil’s running around getting some stuff ready for you and Shorty. Thought I’d see how you were doing. Did you guys find your friend?”
Kairi clasped her hands together and squeezed. “No.” Her throat felt tight. “But we’re going to keep looking. We have to find him.”
“Well, can’t do that on an empty stomach.”
Meg put a cloth parcel on Kairi’s lap. Opening it, Kairi saw a flat-bread wrap with meatballs inside.
“Lagana, tzatziki, and keftedes from the best in all of Greece. Eat up, Red. You’re going to need it when we get to the Underworld.”
Standing, Meg walked over to Sora. Kairi bit into her wrap and almost cried. When was the last time she had a quiet meal? When was the last time she had been on the beach with her friends and the three of them were just eating coconuts and talking about nothing but Instructor Trepe’s homework? When was the last time she and Riku had studied together? When was the last time the three of them had sat around a campfire and spent the whole night telling spooky stories and gossiping about Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie? Would they ever get the chance to do any of that again? Would Riku be there?
Kairi took another bite, watching as Sora thanked Meg and bit into his own wrap. His eyes squeezed shut. Kairi swallowed, looking up at the sky. She had to believe in Riku. She had to. They had to share one more meal together.
“Wow, that good?”
Kairi swallowed and tried to grin at Meg, but she could feel how her lips twitched. Meg raised an eyebrow.
“Got something weighing on you, Red?”
Kairi lowered the wrap, and sighed. “I’m just scared.”
“Of going to the Underworld? Who wouldn’t be?”
She looked at Sora. He had finished his food and was now talking to Phil. Squatting so that he could look into Phil’s face, Sora was nodding vigorously as Phil passionately read off a scroll, stomping his hooves for emphasis. Sora suddenly stood straight and saluted, trying to look serious, the bum. Kairi giggled.
“Oh brother,” said Meg. “You got bad for the Shorty over there, don’t ya?”
Kairi stammered. “What? I-What? Well, maybe.” The next word was stretched out into a long groan. “Yeeees.” Kairi covered her face. “But he won’t make a move, it’s so annoying! It’s like, how much more obvious can a girl get?”
Meg chuckled. “Oh, I know how that feels. So, why don’t you make a move then? Tell him how you feel.”
Kairi bit her lip. “I was thinking about it for a while, but now I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
Meg raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this excuse.”
Kagome fidgeted. Meg was a new friend, sure, but it wasn’t like she could just bear her soul right then and there. Or could she?
“Come on. Don’t leave me in suspense. Why are you holding out on Sora?”
You know what? Kairi thought. Who cared if she were being vulnerable? The guilt felt like a hot rock in the pit of her stomach, and keeping it in felt as though it would burn a hole through her guts. Meg sat down on the bench next to Kairi, and listened as Kairi told her as much as she could about Aqua’s attack, and the horrible thoughts that had been knocking around in her skull following it.
“I can’t believe her! I don’t think the three of us will stop being friends even if I tell Sora my feelings. But it just seems selfish. Riku is out there, all alone, and the longer we wait, the harder it will be to bring him back. How can I tell Sora how I feel now?”
Meg poked Kairi’s ribs.
“I like you, kid, so I’m going to put this nicely. What you just said, is a biggest pile of minotaur manure I’ve ever heard.”
“But-”
Meg rolled her eyes. “The friendships that last aren’t affected by something as dumb as changing group dynamics. You think Hercules and Pegasus stopped being friends after I came into the picture? Sure, there were some growing pains, and a little jealousy, but they got over it. So you and Shorty over there get together? So what? If this Riku guy is really your best friend, then he’d be happy for you. And you know that you don’t want to keep Riku at a distance now, so you’ll both make an effort to stay close to him, right?”
“Or course.”
“There you go. If anything, I’d say this Aqua woman did you a favor by brining it out into the open.”
Kairi closed her mouth. She’d never thought of it that way before. She had been dancing around the idea of admitting her feelings to Sora for a while, but she could never find the right time. Maybe there wasn’t a right time. Maybe she was just running away from her problems again. Either way, it would have to wait until after they got Riku back. She couldn’t be distracted if she was going to save him. She just hoped that there was still a piece of him left, one light to pull him out of the darkness that Aqua had forced him into.
“Thanks Meg.”
“Don’t sweat it. Oh, and don’t tell Sora this, but he was right.”
“About?”
“Us being friends. It really was that easy.”
Meg had a lovely smile. Kairi couldn’t help but feel a little more hopeful.
“Looks like Phil is ready to send us out. Let’s go.”
Kairi shoved the last bit of her wrap in her mouth and chewed as she followed Meg to where Sora and Phil were standing.
“So, repeat after me.” Phil cleared his throat. “I will not-”
“I will not-” Sora repeated.
“-jump into the River Styx!”
“-jump into the River Styx.”
“Good. That about sums up everything you need to know about the Underworld. Here.”
Phil gave Sora another cloth wrapped parcel of food as well as a leather water skin.
“You’ve got to keep your strength up down there, you hear me? Make sure to eat and stay hydrated. That goes for you too, ladies.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve packed enough for an entire forum. Hold down the fort while we’re gone, Phil.”
Phil glared at Meg. “No funny business while you’re down here. You go in, you find Herc, you get out! No being the hero for the hero.”
“Calm down, mutton man, I know the drill.”
Phil tapped his hoof. “Uh-huh. Sora, keep her out of trouble.”
“Don’t worry so much, I’ll make sure Meg is safe.”
“I’ll hold ya to it, kid. Now get going. The longer you stay here, the more my blood pressure is going to go up. I still can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Kairi leaned down and gave Phil a small kiss on top of his head. “Thanks for everything.”
The old goat blushed.
The gates to the Underworld, a swirling vortex of shadows and smoke, wasn’t far from the colosseum. Once inside, the temperature dropped, and Sora could see his breath misting before him. Strangely, he didn’t feel too cold, and he wondered if Edna’s new clothes also had thermoregulating properties. They stood in what must have been the foyer of the Underworld. A dark river, like a sea of the dead, spread out all around him.
Sora walked on a massive disk, a small island in the sea of souls. The sky was black above him, stretching on and on, endlessly, like the realm of darkness. Silver orbs appeared and vanished in the air. The ground beneath his feet was made of dark stone that reminded him of basalt. Spiky, circular patterns appeared in the stone.
Kairi moaned and stumbled a bit as she walked. He caught her by the shoulder.
“You okay?”
“Dizzy,” she answered, stepping away from him.
Sora tried not to feel too bad that she put several big steps between them.
“I’m okay,” Kairi said. “Come on, we’ve got no time to waste.” She turned to Meg, who was standing by the golden steps that led out of the Underworld.
“Which way?”
There were two paths, one to Sora’s right, and another to his left. Meg pointed to a massive pair of black doors, separated by a zig-zag pattern, to Sora’s right.
“Down that way, leads to Hades’ innermost sanctum.”
“He and I do have a score to settle. Thanks Meg.”
“I’ll wait for you here. If you need anything, come back up.”
Kairi reached into her pocket and took out a few sheets of Yen Sid’s magical paper. “Here.”
Meg didn’t seem surprised by the magical paper, nor Kairi’s explanation of how to use it. She wished Sora and Kairi luck, and watched as they made their way to the massive black doors.
Moving from one massive atrium to the the next, Sora started to feel aching in his legs, as though he had walked a mile instead a few feet. There was a single tunnel that led deeper into the Underworld. Sora and Kairi walked, and walked, and walked, the only sound was their panting breaths and their footsteps echoing on the rock walls.
He should say something.
What was there to say?
He should apologize.
For what?
It was his fault.
Wasn’t it Aqua’s fault?
But why hadn’t he thought to protect Riku?
Why had he closed the keyhole back in the Land of the Dead?
Why was he causing destruction everywhere he went?
Was that really what the key bearer did? Bring ruin to the worlds?
Why couldn’t he solve all these problems?
Why-
“Sora? Do you need water?”
He tilted his head at Kairi, confused.
“You’re sweating.”
He wiped his forehead, surprised to feel that it was wet.
“This Underworld curse thing really isn’t a joke,” he said as he uncorked a water skin.
“Meg told me that there’s a special stone that the gods of Olympus use whenever they come down here, to keep themselves from getting tired, but without Hercules, there’s no way we can get it.”
Sora put the water skin back in his pocket and wondered how fighting would be affected by the Underworld curse. He quickly got his answer as he turned the corner of the winding tunnel and a red eyed darkball came zooming at his head. Sora ducked and rolled, and the darkball kept flying. Several more heartless popped in the air. Within the next few minutes, Sora and Kairi realized that fighting red eyed heartless in the Underworld was like trying to push a wrecking ball though a muddy swamp.
His legs felt heavy and his muscles ached from even the simplest of movements. Magic was slower, the attacks taking longer to form after his chants, and the heartless didn’t seem to slow down one bit. Normally, it took up to ten to fifteen hits before a red eyed heartless went down. Now it felt like fifty! Sora felt as though he had just walked into a boss battle in a video game while being horribly under leveled.
Something hit his spine, and he fell forward, eyes wide as a dark ball opened its jaws right in front of his face. A torrent to water slammed into the darkball from the side. While the spell did little damage, it at least pushed the darkball enough to stop it from chomping down on Sora’s face. He rolled as he hit the floor, and turned around to bash the invisible heartlesss that had hit him from behind. Once it was finally defeated, he had just enough time to notice that Kairi was pinned down under a whole group of neoshadows. Why wasn’t she fighting back?
Then he realized.
Neoshadows.
Riku.
Sora did something he’d never actually done before. He grabbed a heartless by its antennae, and yanked. The neoshadow was momentarily frozen, as though it were stunned that someone had the nerve to actually touch it. Once Sora realized its eyes were yellow, he smashed it away, and then grabbed the next. Not one of the neoshadows had ice blue eyes. Once Kairi was back on her feet, she charged back into battle. Never before had Sora fought with restraint. Any neoshadow that appeared before him took advantage of his hesitation. Combined with the Underworld’s curse, and it took half an hour to take all the heartless down.
With the heartless gone, Sora and Kairi were on their hands and knees, gasping.
“Thanks for,” Sora coughed, “the save.”
“Y-your,” Kairi swallowed, “w-welcome. Oh, my legs. Thanks for pulling all those neoshadows off me.”
With his mouth too dry to say, “you’re welcome,” Sora simply nodded. Catching their breaths, Sora and Kairi continued their journey downward. They stopped once or twice, to take down heartless. Among the red eyed pureblood heartless, there were emblem heartless that Sora remembered fighting on his first adventure. Eventually the pair stopped at the bottom of the tunnel, taking a break to drink and eat before they went any further.
“I wonder if there are still some emblem heartless out in the worlds somewhere,” Sora mused. “I haven’t seen any since we fought the toon heartless back in Disneytown. With the realm of darkness practically glueing itself onto the worlds, there have been so many pureblood heartless, I haven’t even thought about it till now.”
“Ansem’s machine is gone, so there won’t be anymore emblem heartless being made ever again. But that doesn’t mean you could have taken care of all of them.” Kairi sighed, leaning back against the cave walls. “If we seal up the realm of darkness again, we’d still have to go around, exterminating as many remaining emblem heartless as possible.”
Sora groaned. “A hero’s work is never done.”
“Did Phil tell you that?”
“Yeah.” He looked down at the half eaten apple in his hand. “All of those heartless were people once. Did they have people that loved them too? People that never knew what happened to them?”
An uncomfortable silence answered his question. Kairi stopped nibbling on her pita bread, wrapped it back up, and put it in her really, nicely made and fashionable pocket. Without a word, she passed by Sora, ducked her head, and slipped into the next cavern of the Underworld.
Sora put away his snacks and followed.
The cavern they had entered was massive. A single, wide, limestone path led to a massive mountain on the other side of the cavern. A swirling, green river moved far below the path Sora stood upon. The River Styxx. If he weren’t feeling so guilty, he would have marveled at the fact that the Underworld had so much space. A world within a world. It would have been as incredible and mind bending as moving through space back in Jim Hawkins’ world, but Sora couldn’t appreciate it.
Never once, in his entire life, was he wishing for a heartless to appeal. No luck. Not a single heartless, blue-eyed or not, appeared as they moved toward the other side of the cavern. A massive skull was formed out of the stone, resembling an, old, wax candle that had melted, making the teeth of the skull look elongated.
Sora and Kairi paused at the entrance of the skull.
Hades’ inner sanctum.
The two friends shared a determined nod, before they walked inside.
Hades’ throne room was exactly how Sora had imagined it. There were two, huge, round windows that looked out into the cavern outside. The eyes of the skull, Sora realized. But it was empty. No fast talking, flame headed, shark toothed, smoke footed, god of the dead to be found. Only a pair of imps were sleeping on Hades’ throne. One imp was fat and pink, while the other was skinny and blue. Both had bat wings and long, thin tails that ended in a spade shape.
The two of them had been dozing, but woke the moment that Sora stepped into the room.
The fat, pink one shot up and pointed at Sora.
“Humans! And they’re alive too! Panic! You were supposed to have Cerberus guard the entrance!”
The blue imp’s long nose scrunched as he shot to his feet. “What? Humans? Here? Oh man! The boss is going to kill us!”
Suddenly the pink imp lurched forward, landing on the massive, round table in the center of the room, his body elongating and stretching. In seconds, an ugly, pink cobra was raising its head on the table. It darted forward, wrapped its thick, muscular body around Kairi, pulling her up into the air. Kairi wriggled, and the snake began to constrict its body, squeezing her until she was still. Sora darted forward, but stopped when Kairi glared down at him, shaking her head.
“Human,” the snake hissed, capturing Sora’s attention. “Tell me how you got to the Underworld before her squeeze the girl till she pops.”
The blue imp, Panic, jumped atop the snake’s head. “Pathetic mortal! Don’t you know that this is Hades’ domain? The Lord of the Dead? The King of all Gods?”
Sora blinked. “King of all Gods?”
“That’s right!”
Sora wasn’t sure snakes could laugh, but the pink cobra’s bared teeth reminded him of an ugly sneer.
“And where is this so called ‘King of the Gods?’”
“On Mount Olympus, duh,” the cobra said.
Sora grinned.
“Pain, you moron!” Panic smacked the snake atop its head. "He doesn’t need to know that!”
The cobra, Pain, spluttered.
“Since when is Hades king of Olympus. Never met the guy, but I thought that was Zeus’ job.”
“Zeus?”
Both Pain and Panic laughed. Panic fell back, kicking his feet, while Pain waved Kairi around in the air as his snake body curved and swayed.
“That loser? What can he do now? Give us static cling?” Panic wheezed out between fits of laughter.
“Loser?” Kairi said. “Wow, you guys really are Hades’ henchmen. You’re more full of it than he is.”
She had freed an arm from Pain’s constricting torso, and was resting her elbow on his scales, with her chin in her hand, looking incredibly bored.
“Sora, this is getting pretty stupid. We don’t have time for this.”
“Shut up!” Pain snarled, waving Kairi around like a baby rattle. “Hostages are not supposed to talk.”
Kairi rolled her eyes. “Oh please. This,” she pointed to the snake body looped around her waist, “is like getting hit by a blitzball.”
Pain seethed, opening his mouth, his long fangs dripping as his jaws stretched, about to chomp down on Kairi’s head.
She pointed a finger into his mouth and calmly said, “Thundaga.”
The lightning bolt went straight down Pain’s throat, and he reared back, a black cloud of smoke making him poof back into a fat, pink imp. Both he and Panic, who had also been zapped thanks to having been on Pain’s head, writhed on the table.
No longer held aloft by a massive snake, Kairi fell. Sora lunged forward, grabbing her out of the air, landing on the other side of the round room, and snickering with Kairi as Pain and Panic both jolted from the electricity of Kairi’s attack.
“Nice one.”
“Thanks,” Kairi said.
Putting her down, Sora walked up to Panic and held him aloft by one of his horns.
Panic, living up to his namesake, rattled his teeth and looked moments away form fainting as Sora glared down at him.
“Your boss gave me a whole lot of trouble the last time we met, and I’m in a really bad mood. So skip the whole, ‘don’t hurt me’ phase and tell me what Hades has been up to.”
“Are you nuts?” Panic kicked his legs. “Do you think I have a death wish?”
Behind him, Pain was slowly inching backward towards the rooms exit. He turned around to make a break for it but suddenly jerked backward. Kairi was standing on his tail.
“Ah ah ah.” She wagged her finger at him. “You’re not getting away that easy.”
“Talk!”
Sora shook Panic.
“Why is Hades on Olympus? What happened to Zeus?”
“Zeus is-”
“Keep your mouth shut, Panic!”
Pain tugged on his tail, and for a second, his body stretched and morphed again, but he froze when Kairi pointed a sword at his flat nose.
“I really don’t have time for this. So, first question, Pinky. Where’s Hades?”
Pain glared at her. “I’m not telling you anything!”
A whip of light butterflies erupted from Kairi’s sword, wrapping around Pain, practically mummifying him. She pulled her sword, and the whip tightened around Pain’s body, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.
“You know, I really didn’t appreciate being the damsel in distress. So let’s see how you like when you’re squeezed too tight.”
“Wait,” Pain wheezed, “I’ll talk! Just-ok! STOP! I can’t talk if you don’t let me breathe!”
Kairi loosened the whip.
“Hades is on Mount Olympus.” The words tumbled out of Pain’s mouth so fast that Kairi took a moment before she responded.
“Yeah, I figured,” she snapped. “The question is how did he get there?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Panic sneered. “You’re not getting anything else out of us!”
Sora gave the imp a cool look before he walked to one of the open windows and dangled Panic above the deep river below.
“Phil told me not to jump in the River Styx, but I can’t help but wonder what would happen if you fell in there.”
Panic flailed his arms and legs. “Okay! Okay! He took over Mount Olympus months ago!”
“How?”
“Our master used his amazing powers of shadow magic to trap that poser, Zeus, and the other gods in the Underworld.”
“He never could have done that if Hercules were around. So where is Herc? What did Hades do to him?”
Panic swallowed. “Uh, well, I’d really rather not tell you that.”
Sora raised an eyebrow. He loosened his grip on Panic’s horn.
“Wait wait wait! Can’t we talk this out?”
“Three.” Sora uncurled his pinky from Panic’s horn.
“Please! Hades will maim me worse than a kabob!”
“Two.”
“I can’t! That’s all I know, I swear!”
“One.”
The only thing keeping Panic from sinking into the river below were Sora’s forefinger and thumb.
“What if I just told you that Hercules is somewhere in the Underworld?”
“Where?”
“I don’t know! Hades trapped him down here with the gods but he didn’t tell us where exactly! Just told us to never let anyone go into Underworld Caverns!”
“You couldn’t get in there anyway!” Pain added.
Kairi put her sword on his head right between his horns, and pressed down.
“Why not?”
“It’s locked tight! Nothing can break the lock His Lugubriousness put there.”
Sora glared at Panic, pulling him back into the room. “You better not be lying. Or I’ll fling you out of this window, right now.”
“I promise! I’m telling you the truth! Don’t hurt me.”
“One more thing.”
Panic gulped.
“There’s a lot of heartless in the Underworld. Did you happen to see one with blue eyes?”
Panic’s brows came together. “What are you talking about?”
“You mean those monsters the boss used to use?” Pain said. “We don’t know anything about that. The boss stopped using them after Maleficent disappeared.”
Kairi tapped the tip of her sword on Pain’s horn. “Is that so? Why are there so many red eyed heartless in the Underworld then?”
The light butterfly chain around Pain’s body began to constrict again.
“Is…true,” Pain grunted. “Boss has stopped using them…but he doesn’t do anything about them since they make the Underworld more dangerous.”
“Okay.”
A flick of Kairi’s sword and the chain of butterflies vanished. Pain sucked in a deep breath. Sora put Panic down in the middle of the room.
“Thanks for all the information.” He patted Panic on the head. “Sorry for roughing you up. Got no time to chat. Bye!”
The two of them darted out of the room before Pain and Panic could regain their wits. As they were running out of the chamber and back toward the tunnels, they heard Pain and Panic scream after them.
“YOU ROTTON MORTAL BRATS!”
Meg chuckled when Kairi and Sora told them how they had gotten information.
“About time someone kicked those worms to the curb. Though I’m surprised you two could be so ruthless.”
“We weren’t actually going to hurt them,” Kairi said. “We’re just short on time.”
Sora chugged a whole water skin, heaved a quick breath, and then gestured to the wide walkway that led deeper into the Underworld.
“So, that way leads into the Underworld Caverns?”
Meg nodded. “But there’s a lock on the gates.”
Kairi squinted into the distance, chewing on a piece of baklava. She really couldn’t remember the last time she had been this hungry. In the distance, there was a huge gate with a massive, metal lock, suspended by chains across the gates’ surface.
“Don’t worry about the lock,” Sora said. “Any information on what we can expect down there?”
Meg shook her head. “Sorry, Shorty. I only have info on the tunnels that lead to Hades’ inner sanctum. The Underworld Caverns are forbidden for living mortals. I have no idea what’s down there for you.”
She dug into the the sac by her feet and pulled out some bottles. Kairi nearly leapt with excitement, taking ethers and a few potions from Meg.
“Have I told you how cool you are?”
Meg winked. “Anything about Hercules?”
“Just that he’s in there somewhere.”
“There’s no way Wonderboy would have let anything happen to his father and the other gods. Whatever Hades did to him, he must have some crazy traps in place to keep anyone from getting close to Hercules. Please be careful.”
“We will,” Kairi promised.
Waving goodbye to Meg, Kairi followed Sora to the gates, where pointed the keyblade’s teeth at the lock. A quick beam of light later, and the lock came loose, disintegrating as if fell off the gates. The chains on the gate faded. The room rumbled as the gates parted. The narrow opening reveled a wide series of caverns beyond. Sora and Kairi entered.
“Is this a lake?”
Kairi stepped closer to the edge of a what looked like a cliff. Ahead, there was a swirling layer of silver that was not quite liquid, not quite smoke. Sora kicked a rock and watched as it went right through the smokey-liquidy-whatever-it-was. There was no splash. Shrugging, Sora got to his knees and stuck his head into the silver swirls.
“Well, it’s not water.” He sat back up, and shivered. “But it’s as cold as the ice planet in Jim’s world.”
Kairi looked around the massive cavern. The ceiling was so high, it was as though they were standing outside, under a starless sky.
“Well, here goes.”
She took a step forward, and fell right through the silvery swirly layer of not quite smoke, not quite liquid. Underneath, ice slithered on her skin, and as if on cue, heartless popped into the air. Emblem heartless. Blue and pink Monkeys to be exact.
“Great,” Sora drawled.
Slicing through the small fry, Sora and Kairi traveled deeper into the caverns, which twisted and turned like a maze. More surviving emblem heartless appeared in their path. Bell shaped heartless that came in various colors, small, round heartless with drills for noses, bean-shaped little dog heartless that ambushed them and chomped down on Sora’s leg while he was busy taking care of another set of monkey heartless.
“Wow. After fighting red eyed heartless for so long, I forgot how easy it is to take emblem heartless down.” Kairi huffed after another easy battle against emblem heartless.
Sora stopped, halfway up on a slope that led toward a wide, circular cavern. “They’re kind of like an endangered species, now that I think about it. The realm of darkness could have billions of pureblood heartless in there. If we can seal up the realm of darkness, and without Ansem’s machine to create more emblem heartless, do you think the worlds would be safe eventually?”
Kairi shook her head. “No. Not when there is darkness in every heart…not when someone could-well, you know.”
Sora grimaced, looking down at his shoes.
“But a preemptive cycle would end all of that,” Kairi said, her mouth moving before she realized it. “The heartless, the darkness, all of it.”
Sora frowned at her. “What?”
Kairi blinked. “Huh?”
“Preemptive cycle? Like what it said it the book that Merlin was translating? Do you know what it means?”
“I don’t…how did I know that?” Kairi put a hand on her forehead. “This is weird. Maybe…but I feel like…wait. This can’t be right. Preemptive cycle…I don’t even know what that is. How could it possibly get rid of all the heartless?”
“Maybe you need some water.”
Sora handed her his water skin. Kairi drank, confusion still bubbling in her gut.
“Don’t think I’m weird,” Sora said suddenly, “but I almost feel like…you and I have…done this before.”
“Done what?”
“I’ve done this before. I’ve been down here, in the Underworld before. But that doesn’t make any sense. I only saw Olympus Colosseum the last time I was in Herc’s world.”
“Guess we’re both feeling a bit tired,” Kairi said.
Sora looked up at the endless ceiling. “This place…the Underworld. Does it remind you of the realm of darkness?”
“A little. Both the Underworld and the realm of darkness do wear me down, but the realm of darkness feels different.”
“How?”
“Itchy. Stale. The air doesn’t move, there’s no wind, my heart feels like it’s almost always hurting because of the darkness pressing on me everywhere. I don’t feel that here. Only when heartless appear.”
“Can you sense anything now?”
Kairi closed her eyes. “Just…tingles. I think there’s some light nearby, but it’s weak.” She pointed higher up the hill. “Let’s keep moving. Maybe we’re getting close to something.”
At the top of the hill was a massive, circular cavern. At the far wall was a set of stone, double doors. Torches of blue, smokeless flames burned on either side of the enormous entrance, illuminating the cavern in an eerie, blue glow. Sora and Kairi’s footsteps echoed in the silence until-
“FOUND YOU!”
Pain and Panic appeared in the entrance to the cavern. Before Sora and Kairi could even roll their eyes, the entire cavern shuddered, the air picking up and whipping about.
Panic rubbed his hands together. “Time for some payback!”
“Yeah! We will really blow you away with this one!” Pain pointed to the endless ceiling. “Come! Tornado Titan! Show these kids that no one messes with us!”
The air suddenly roared, as though it had a grudge against anyone that breathed it. Kairi’s chest was slapped with so much force that she stumbled back, her feet sliding against the stone. A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist before she was thrown upward into the air. Sora grit his teeth, trying to pull Kairi down, but fighting against the air was like trying not to breathe: eventually, the air won. The two of them were blown up into the cavern, swirling around in a vortex of greys and blacks, with a pair of red eyes watching them as they spun, helplessly, in the air.
Boulders from the Underworld got caught in the tornado, flying in Sora and Kairi’s direction. Cutting through them with weapons and magic was difficult as they kept spinning, feet over head. Kairi yelped as a rock smashed into her spine, another barely missing her head. She tried to reach for Sora, but had to stop and protect herself with a reflect spell when she nearly smashed into the side of the cavern.
Disoriented and sick, with pain throbbing along her back, she could do nothing to stop Sora from smashing into a thick stalactite that stuck out from the wall. The two of them spun, higher and higher, the tornado titan’s red eyes narrowing as it watched them move inside its windy body, as though it were laughing at their helplessness.
“HEY! You put my friends down, or else! AEROZA!”
A burst of green wind suddenly appeared inside the tornado titan. The titan’s eyes widened. The magic green wind spun in the other direction of the titan’s vortex, canceling out the titan’s movement, slowing the wind down. Kairi and Sora fell. Something soft slammed into Kairi’s chest, arms wrapping around her waist. She landed on the safely on ground, blinking, looking up at a familiar face.
“Max?”
He winked down at her. “And it looks like I came just in time!”
“Nice save.”
“Hey!”
A pair of legs wrapped around Kairi’s calf. She looked down to see that Oswald was glaring up at her.
“I helped in that rescue! Don’t I get thanks for launching him at you?”
Kairi patted between Oswald’s ears. He giggled, casting a healing spell on her.
“I could use a little help over here!”
Kairi looked up. Across the cavern, Donald had his staff raised. Goofy and Sora were behind him, using their weight to keep Donald from flying off. The little wizard’s staff was glowing with green energy, his wind magic funneling into the tornado titan, slowing down its rotation. But the tornado titan was fighting back, widening as it tried to get its winds back under control.
Kairi grabbed Ozwald’s arms and spun him hard before letting him go, launching him in Donald’s direction.
“Slow that thing down, Oz!”
“ON IT!”
Landing next to Donald, Oswald began channeling his magic alongside the duck’s, and the tornado shuddered, slowing down as new winds were funneled into it. Sora darted forward, grabbing the narrowest part of the tornado titan, the thin end of the funnel that pointed downward toward the ground.
Max and Kairi charged forward, grabbing the tornado’s tail.
“Aeroga!”
A barrier of wind surrounded Sora, his shielding spell mixing with the tail’s rotation, slowing it down to the point that if someone were to run alongside it, they could keep easily keep up with tornado’s spin. The tornado titan’s eyes widened even further, as though it were afraid.
“Keep it still, Max!”
Kairi let go of the tail, and then summoned a whip of light butterflies. Like a fishing line, she threw the whip out into the tornado titan, the light hooking right behind its red eyes. The titan slowed even more, spinning slower than a clock hand. But it pulled, angry, desperate, unwilling to stop spinning, to disappear into still air. Kairi’s feet slid along the ground, she was in a losing game of tug of war, until-
“That is enough!”
Something came down from the endless ceiling. Spinning like saw of light, it sliced right through the weakened windstorm. The titan’s red eyes faded, dissipating like the smoke from a blown out candle. The air was still once more.
Mickey, his keyblade still glowing with light, stood where the titan’s tail had been, between Sora and Max. The two boys had fallen to the ground when the king had landed gracefully between them.
Donald, Oswald, and Goofy breathed a sigh of relief, finally stopping their spells. Max stood and helped Sora to his feet.
Mickey rounded on Sora. “What happened? You went to get a new set of clothes and then vanished. Are you all right? And where’s Riku?”
“I-we-Riku’s-I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
Mickey’s eyes softened, fear replacing his irritation. “Is he all right?”
Donald and Goofy came up behind Sora, putting their hands on Sora’s shoulder and his hip.
“Sora?”
Sora covered his eyes with his hand. “Riku’s gone.”
Mickey’s nose twitched. “Gone? What do you mean, gone?”
“Aqua. She turned him into a heartless.”
Mickey’s ears dropped, his hand loosening, the keyblade nearly falling from between his fingers.
“How long?”
“We can’t be sure,” said Kairi, stepping forward. “A few hours? As long as we’ve been in this world. We followed Riku here, and we haven’t seen him.”
“So we have to be careful with every shadow we come across,” Mickey said.
“No. A neoshadow. With blue eyes. We’ve been looking for him while trying to help Hercules.”
Goofy tilted his head. “Herc is in trouble?”
The group listened as Kairi and Sora explained about the titans, Thebes, Hades taking over Olympus, Hercules, and the missing gods.
“We were just about to go through those doors when Pain and Panic made that titan attack us.”
Sora slammed his fist into his palm. “Those little jerks! They had better hope I don’t run into them again.”
“None of that matters now,” Mickey said. “We must explore what’s on the other side of those gates. We can’t afford to stand around and let Aqua win. We can’t let Riku fall to darkness. Not again.”
Oswald left Kairi’s side, and tapped Mickey on the shoulder. The king whirled around, glaring, but Oswald simply smiled.
“He’ll be fine. There’s a lot of people here that are willing to fight for him.”
Mickey blinked, looking at his friends. His anger faded, replaced by a tired expression.
“You’re right. Come on.”
Max and Goofy went to the gates and pushed. Beyond the gates was another round cavern. The walls were concave, with stone formations that looked almost organic, as though they were made of muscle and bone instead of rock. Long torch stands, with blue flames, lit the space. At the center was rock with a keyhole glowing on it. Without a word, Mickey unlocked the keyhole. The rock vanished, leaving a pillar of light that floated upward into the endless void above.
The team stopped into the light, and were transported into another room. White stone was beneath them, the walls were made of stones and bones. At the far end of the room, slumped against the wall, was a familiar young man.
“Herc!”
Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran to him, skidding to a stop, on their knees, around Hercules’ body. His skin was paler, grayer, as though the light inside him had been sapped away. His head slumped forward on his strong chest, his muscular arms hanging limply at his sides. Sora and Donald began pumping healing magic into him, but Hercules did not wake up.
Kairi made her way over and knelt down, looking Hercules over. Something was off. Her skin itched. Then she saw it.
“What’s that?”
She pointed to a necklace hanging above Hercules’ heart. Kairi saw a look of horror cross Sora’s face. He reached for the small, scull-like necklace and yanked. It didn’t budge or snap, only seemed to tighten around Hercules’ neck.
“Sora, stop! You’ll hurt him.”
“We have to get this off!”
“You know what it is?”
“I’d recognize that voodoo talisman anywhere! This is Dr. Facilier’s magic. Who know’s what it’s doing to Herc.”
Donald gasped. “So this was what Dr. Facilier gave Hades back in Castle Oblivion.”
“Gawrsh! Do you think Hercules is trapped in some kind of nightmare like we were back then?”
“This is why our magic isn’t working! Come on!” Sora kept tugging. “Kairi! Can you cut through this with your sword?”
Kairi readied her weapon, but just as she lifted it, a reflection moved across the blade. She knew what would happen seconds before she turned around, but her heart skipped when she finally did. It wasn’t the sudden horde of emblem heartless that bothered her. Her eyes paid no attention to the monkeys, drills, the candle holding ghosts, and the heartless dogs. What made her chest swell with pain, was the neoshadow she saw running toward the beam of light that led out of the cavern. The neoshadow with ice-blue eyes.
“Riku!”
Sora rose to his feet, eyes glued on the blue eyed neoshadow, feet digging into the ground, ready to run, but Donald’s voice made him hesitate.
“Hey! Stop that!”
A drill heartless popped out of the ground by Hercules’ leg and began drilling into his shin. Donald held his staff with both hands and whacked the heartless as though he were hitting a golfball, sending it flying across the cavern. It smashed hard into a wall and exploded. More heartless flew in their direction, and Sora, Goofy, and Donald got close to Hercules’ body. They smacked away heartless like a trio of batters hitting a million flying baseballs. Max, Oswald, and Mikey began slicing and bombarding heartless with magic, but more emblem heartless popped into the air, thousands of them. And while they were taken out easily with spells and weapons, they kept getting in Kairi’s way, making it impossible to chase the blue-eyed neoshadow as it jumped into the beam of light and escaped the cavern.
“Sora! King Mickey! Go catch him!”
“But what about Hercules?”
“We’ll protect him. Just go. Now! We can get the talisman off later, but we can’t lose Riku!”
“Max! Do the perfect cast!”
Max put his foot on Goofy’s shield, and then he was launched forward by his farther. In the air, he sliced through heartless with sword swings so fast, they would have made Captain Hook’s fury hurricane look like a puff of smoke. His attack created an opening. Sora, Mickey, and Donald got behind Goofy’s shield and charged through the opening, disappearing behind the light that led out of the cavern. Max landed back on his feet and went right back into battle.
“Ozzie, protect Hercules!”
The rabbit jumped onto Herc’s shoulders, and casted a reflect spell around them.
Lifting her sword, Kairi stared down at the ever increasing horde of heartless and growled.
“You pests have the worst timing.”
Sora raced after the neoshadow. He dodged falling rocks, vaulted off of the walls, rolled when landing from high jumps, and still he could not get close enough to the neoshadow to grab it. Not even the red eyed heartless from the depths of the realm of darkness were able to move as quickly as the blue eyed neoshadow…as Riku did. Several times, he nearly got its antenna in his fist, but the heartless slipped from his grasp like air. It didn’t snap or claw at him, it didn’t fight back, it just ran, as though desperate to escape Sora. It wouldn’t even look at his face!
Even Mickey could not get close to it. Every time he got in front of it, the heartless nearly slipped out from under him by summoning a puddle of darkness. The only thing that kept it from completely vanishing into the black void beneath its feet, was Mickey being fast enough to point his keyblade into the darkness and dissipate it before the puddle was big enough for the heartless to disappear into. With the puddles each time, the neoshadow had to pop back out and start running again.
Sora’s legs twitched with exhaustion, muscles screaming for him to stop. His lungs burned as though he were inhaling smoke. Even Goofy and Donald began to drag behind him, confused as to where the sudden fatigue came from. Healing spells did little. Sora needed food, and water, and rest! Outside of the underworld, he could run and fight for hours, but here he needed to recharge much more often, and there was no time for that!
The neoshadow burst into the Underworld’s entrance. Meg stirred as Sora, Mickey, Donald and Goofy raced across the circular platform. They fanned out, trying to surround the heartless, but it feigned right and left, dodging and jumping over heads and then running straight toward the exit that led out of the underworld.
“Meg! Don’t let it escape!”
Sora smacked his hand over his mouth!
What was he thinking?
Megara was a civilian! Riku or not, there was no telling what a heartless could-
“I got you, Shorty!”
Meg jumped in front of the entrance, glaring the heartless without budging, even as it sprinted in her direction. Picking up some rocks, she chucked them at the neoshacdow’s head. The neoshadow dodged, but the few seconds it wasted in avoiding Meg’s attacks had given Sora and Goofy enough time to dogpile on top of it.
The heartless bucked and thrashed, and Sora and Goofy grit their teeth, gripping its arms and legs, stretching out its limbs, trying to keep it from breaking loose. Sora ducked as the heartless’ antennae nearly whipped him in the eye.
“This is the weirdest feeling! It’s like holding onto dusty sea urchin!”
“King Mickey! Donald!”
“On it!”
An aero spell formed around the heartless, followed by a reflect spell on top of it. Sora and Goofy fell onto their butts, gasping for air. The heartless thrashed inside the double spell, throwing itself at the scraping wind and magical glass, not caring how much it got hurt. The sphere of magic moved like a hamster ball, and Mikey and Donald grabbed it, trying to keep it still.
“Riku, can you hear me?”
The heartless made no indication that it understood King Mickey. It simply kept thrashing inside the spells, trying to break free.
“What’s going on?” Meg demanded, coming forward. “What is that thing?”
“That thing is the friend I was telling you about.” Sora grabbed a water skin from Meg’s supplies and chugged down water so fast that he had a coughing fit. He then stuffed an apple into his mouth. “I weally wate,” he chewed and swallowed, “the underworld curse!”
“Sora! He’s going to hurt himself!”
Bits of darkness were chipping the heartless’ body as though it were dissolving into dust.
“Stop!” Mickey begged. “Riku, let us help you!”
“We need to get him back to Kairi, quick.” Sora began pushing the reflect, wind spell back toward the underworld caverns. “We can’t change him back without a Princess of Heart’s help.”
“I can’t hold this spell for that long! I’m already super tired for some reason!” Donald grunted.
Goofy wobbled as he stood. “Why does my body feel so heavy?”
“It’s the underworld curse,” Meg explained. “Here. You have to keep your strength up.”
Donald looked at the pita sandwich she held out to him as though it held the secrets of life itself. Sora had never seen him gobble something up so fast. Meg went around, passing out food and water. Goofy was so happy, he gave her a quick hug. She froze, awkwardly patting his back.
Letting her go, he wolfed down his food and moved to help Mickey, Sora, and Donald push the trapped Riku-heartless back to where they had come from. If they could just reunite with Kairi, Max, and Oswald-
The underworld shook.
From high above the dark sky, something black and massive came crashing down like a meteor on top of them. The double spell snapped, and Riku’s heartless tumbled out. Sora rolled and ducked as giant, black, clawed paw swatted at him out of nowhere. He heard a yelp and saw Meg about to be squashed by the massive, black, hind leg of a dog.
Not just any dog.
The three headed guardian of the Underworld.
Cerberus.
Sora could have cursed if not for the fact that King Mickey would have washed out his mouth with soap.
“OH NO! NOT NOW!”
He charged at Meg, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of the way before Cerberus could turn her into moussaka. Cerberus stomped around the Underworld’s entrance. Mickey, Donald, Goody, and the blue eyed heartless scrambled like ants not to get turned into pancakes. Completely ambushed, Goofy was pushing back one of Cerberus’ front paws with his shield, while Mickey was trying to catch the Riku heartless again. Donald threw blizzard magic at Cerberus’ face, to stop it from spitting deadly fireballs at them. The three headed dog snapped at them, turning around so fast, that its massive black body and tail nearly whipped Sora and his friends. They barely managed to shield themselves or jump out of the way.
The heartless took a hit right across its chest.
It went flying into the massive river that surrounded the Underworld’s entrance.
“NO!”
Sora charged toward the ghostly water. An arm grabbed his, pulling him back before he could dive in.
“Don’t!” Meg begged, pulling him away from the edge. “You can’t jump into the River Styx! You’ll die!”
“But Riku-let me go!”
Sora looked out into the water, searching for the blue eyed neoshadow. It was gone. With a roar that echoed throughout the entire cavern, Sora turned around, raised his keyblade, and charged straight at Cerberus. He dodged under massive paws, flying red balls of fire, and snapping jaws, getting right under Cerberus’ underbelly.
“That. Is. ENOUGH! Thundaza!”
Lightning zapped straight up into Cerberus’ stomach, through his ribs, and into his teeth. The massive dog momentarily stumbled, falling to the side, stunned.
“Goofy! Donald! Now!”
Mikey charged at the Cerberus’ central head, light gathering around his keyblade. He hit the dog hard, right across its snout, making it bite down on its own tongue with its fangs. The other two heads whined. Donald skid to a stop right in front of the leftmost head. He shoved his staff into the creature’s mouth.
“Blizaza!”
Icicles flew down Cerberus’ gizzard. Sora took on the last head, hitting it in the eyes with the teeth of his keyblade. The final blow came from Goofy, who leapt up into the air, put his shield down under his feet, and came down like a cannon ball, dealing a massive blow right into Cerberus’ spine.
The all out attack left the group drained, and they nearly collapsed onto the Underworld’s basalt floors after each strike, but Cerberus’ eyes were finally closed. Its body rolled helplessly to the side, sliding into the River Styx. Sora hobbled forward, the Underworld’s curse once again sapping his energy. When he looked down into the ghostly depths of the river, he could not see Cerberus’ body, nor that of Riku’s heartless. He fell to his knees at the edge.
They’d lost him.
Again.
Had Aqua been right? Did his other friends matter to him more than Riku had? He once gave up his own heart to save Kairi, but he couldn’t jump into the River Styx and risk his own life for Riku’s?
King Mickey up a hand on Sora’s shoulder.
“Don’t give up,” he whispered. “Heartless are able to break the rules of the worlds they go into. Riku can survive the River Styx, I’m sure of it.”
Sora looked up at the black void above, blinking until his eyes stopped blurring. He still had work to do. He still-
“I’m going to be sick!”
Donald and Goofy made a sound that was half concern, half disgust as Sora ran to a nearby rock, pitched over, and got reacquainted with his last meal. He was covered in a cold sweat. His friends surrounded him, patting his back gently. Meg offered some more water.
Dread and regret were ripping into Sora’s heart like acid. He couldn’t speak, but something in him must have reached his friends, because both Donald and Goofy wrapped him up in a hug. The three friends were silent, waiting while Mickey paced and asked Meg about the Underworld. They didn’t even move when Kairi, Oswald, and Max regrouped with them, reuniting Hercules and Meg.
Sora watched, frozen in time. Meg got on her knees, and held Hercules’ ashen face in her hands.
“Come on, Wonderboy. You can’t leave a girl hanging like this. Open your eyes. Please? ”
Not even Meg could rouse Hercules. Kairi told Meg about the talisman necklace around Hercules’ neck. She’d tried cutting through the chain with her sword, but the necklace would not break.
Come on.
Sora’s legs were still shaking, his throat still burning, his eyes still wet.
Stand up.
The Land of the Dead was gone. Riku was gone. Hercules needed his help. The world was in disorder.
He was just one kid.
He had to keep going.
He was so tired. Tired of all of it. How much longer?
Stand up.
He had to keep going.
Why had he never wanted to a hero?
Giving up, already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that.
Sora stood. Goofy gave Sora’s hand a little squeeze, finally letting him go. Donald patted his leg assuredly. Sora squeezed his eyes shut. All of his friends mattered. All of them.
He had to keep going.
“Thanks guys.”
Meg gave Sora a pleading look when he finally neared. “Can you get this necklace off?”
Sora pointed to the talisman with the teeth of his keyblade, focusing on the light within him and the keyblade, hoping that somehow, he could unlock the talisman and make it vanish from around Hercules’ neck. There was no reaction.
His comrades and Meg looked heartbroken.
“Let me think,” Sora said.
He wasn’t even sure if Dr. Faciliar, the Shadow Man, actually practiced proper Voodoo. Mama Odie also had the ability, but she had been kind and wise, telling him about having what they needed instead of what they wanted.
“Dr. Facilier had power over darkness, and the ability to tempt us by giving us what we wanted, but not what we needed. What does Hercules want?”
Meg’s eyes were faraway. “To be a true hero, so that he can join the gods on Olympus.”
“But that’s not what he needs, is it? And besides, the only god in Olympus right now is Hades. This might be a long shot, but what if we gave Herc what he wants…albeit partially.”
Meg tilted her head. “Are you going to share your idea with the rest of the class, Shorty?”
“When I was under Dr. Facilier’s spell, he gave me what I wanted: to see my best friends again. But it was too easy, it wasn’t real. I had to give up Donald, Goofy, my adventure. We have to reunite Herc with the other gods, for him to sense that the fantasy he’s trapped in is not real. The other gods must in the Underworld somewhere.” Sora turned back to the Underworld Caverns. “Pain and Panic were really nervous about Zeus. He has to be here.”
“But we’ve already looked at every corner of this place,” said Kairi.
Sora faced the River Styx. Far beyond the silvery and shadowy waves, there was an island. On the island was a structure that looked like some kind of twisted version of the Olympus Colosseum.
“Meg, do you know what that place is?”
“The Underdrome.” Meg looked down into Hercules’ sleeping face. “I heard that it was once a dangerous, horrible colosseum, where contestants would fight to survive things worse than death itself. Where the shades of the underworld were pulled from their restful sleep to entertain the Lord of the Dead. Zeus, not liking the cruelty of it, locked it up tighter the Troy’s gates.”
“Locking up Zeus in the very same place that Zeus had forbidden. Sounds like the kind of petty thing Hades would do.” Sora stood at the edge of the river. “Now we just have to figure out how to get there.”
“I got this.” Oswald rotated his shoulder, his wand held tight in his hand. “Stand back.”
Sora and the team moved back as Oswald went to the edge. Fluttery magic surrounded him, making his ears and fur twitch with power, lighting up the air with sparkles before it all gathered into a massive ball at the end of his wand. With a flick, as though he were hitting a tennis ball, the wand moved. There was a buff of smoke, and a raft appeared on the river’s surface.
Max’s jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”
“Offensive magic wasn’t the only thing Yen Sid taught me. My creation abilities aren’t as strong as Ortensia’s, but this should still get us across.”
Nodding, the team carefully gathered atop the raft. Donald filled the raft’s sail with wind magic, while Sora, Max, and Goofy stood around Hercules and Meg, making sure they were steady as the raft moved toward the Underdrome. The current was slow, and Sora stared down into the water, searching for a pair of blue eyes.
Nothing.
For once, he hoped that the neoshadow had slipped into darkness and gotten away.
“Donald, Goofy, I’m sorry.”
Max turned his head away, as though he were interrupting a private conversation, but Donald and Goofy perked up.
“What’s gotten into you?” Donald tapped his foot.
“When I gave up my heart to save Kairi, and turned into a heartless. I never apologized for that. I never meant to make you guys worry.”
“Aw, come on, Sora. That’s all water under the bridge now.” Goofy scratched his muzzle. “Uh, or is it, ‘water under the raft?’”
Sora snorted.
“You’ll save, Riku,” Donald snapped, dismissively. “So stop moping, dummy.”
Sora looked up, spotting Kairi at the front of the raft. She met his eyes, and turned away. He felt a needle sinking into his heart. If they did save Riku, would things ever be the same again?
They reached the Underdrome. Up close, the hideous dome of bones and basalt looked like a cheap mockery of Olympus Colosseum. It towered over them, watching silently. Unlocking the gates, the party entered into a massive stadium, with an arena that rose up from a vast abyss. Beyond the arena, there were a series of bars. Three figures, massive and glowing in gold, pink, and blue, were slumped behind the bars.
With Meg and Kairi’s crew staying behind to help Hercules get onto the arena, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey rushed toward the gates.
“Oh, Your Holiness, I think I’ve finally cracked,” said the thin, blue man behind the bars. “All this time in the underworld and now I’m hallucinating.”
A big man, his body cast in gold, his eyes weary, sat up. His movements were heavy, as though his massive muscles were weighing him down. Sora stared at the man’s face, at his blue eyes, his strong chin. The resemblance was uncanny.
“Zeus.” Sora bowed his head as he got close to the bars. “We don’t really have much time. I’m-”
“I know who you are, key-bearer.” Zeus voice, despite his heavenly glow waxing and waning like a flickering candle, was strong and clear. “We have much less time than you think.”
Sora and Mickey exchanged looks.
“I guess it stands to reason that gods would know about the keyblade,” Mickey shrugged.
A woman wearing pink robes, her body glowing in many rose shades, the air around her sparkling like teardrops, grabbed the bars, gasping.
“Hercules!”
The final god, the blue god, floated off the floor, despite the chains that were manacled around his neck and feet.
“Lady Hera, that is the least of our problems right now!”
“What-”
Something blasted into Sora’s spine, throwing him against the Underdrome’s bars the second he had begun to ask his question. His body ached, fatigue from the Underworld’s curse and the scorching pain of being slammed into hard steel making his head spin. In his confusion, he thought he saw a giant, one eyed creature in nothing but a loin cloth standing in the middle of the Underdone, stomping right toward Kairi and Hercules.
It was a few seconds later, as Sora’s mind stopped whirling, that he realized that was exactly what he was looking at.
“Just once,” Max growled as he got back up on his feet. “Just once, I wish things would go easy! But noooo. We have to almost get squished by a big, naked, one eyed giant!”
“Come on, Max.” Kairi huffed, powering the last second reflect spell that had kept them from getting stepped on. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“Besides,” Oswald added, raising his wand, “it’s been a while since the three of us took on something this big together. Brace yourselves!”
He stomped his foot, pressing the tip of his wand into the floor. “QUAKE!”
The entire Underdrome shook harder than a rattle in the hands of a toddler. The massive, one eyed giant stumbled, his foot no longer pressing on Kairi’s reflect spell. It fell backward, making the arena shake again when its massive behind hit the floor.
“Meg, what are we dealing with here?” Kairi asked.
“A cyclops titan!”
“Oz, Max, stay with her and Hercules. I’ll distract it.”
“Not before taking this, you won’t.”
Kairi snatched the ether and potion from Oswald’s hands before she went charging into battle. Already worn from the Underworld’s curse, she only hoped the meal she’d had on the raft would be enough to keep her going until cavalry arrived.
Getting close the the cyclops’ feet, she slashed it across the toes with her sword.
The giant roared in pain, his meaty hand swinging down to swat her like a fly. The Underdrome’s arena was big, but not big enough for Kairi to dodge a huge, bulgy arm and swollen hand. She cast a reflect spell around herself, and then flew across the Underdrome as the cyclops’ hit her. Her spell hit the Underdrome’s bars, but she was unhurt.
The cyclops stood, fury in his eye, turning to face Kairi, Sora, and the others.
“You,” said a deep, strong voice behind her.
Kairi turned, spotting the glowing man behind the bars. “Hello, I’m guessing you are Zeus.”
“The first princess of heart,” Zeus whispered, turning toward the goddess next to him. “The beginning of the end has begun.”
“Incoming!”
Kairi barely had time for her brain to make sense of Donald’s warning. A body crashed into hers, pushing her out of the way before a giant fist could slam her against the bars. Opening her eyes, Kairi looked up to see Sora, panting above her. Her heart gave a mighty kick before he put her back down on her feet. A blush almost worked its way up to her cheeks, but then she noticed Sora’s pale face, his eyes widening, focusing on something ahead of him. Kairi turned.
A neoshadow was climbing up onto the arena from the depths below. It turned, revealing one blue eye…and one eye that was slowly turning red.
Jiminy’s Journal:
Megara (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): Sassy and street smart, Meg may not be a hero, but she is a worthy alley. Her grounded and realistic outlook allows her to see and call things out for what they really are. It seems she has a soft spot for Hercules, and those like him. Maybe that’s why she endeared herself to Sora and Kairi so quickly, despite her reservations.
Pegasus (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): A winged horse that was made by the gods. He is loyal to Hercules.
Phil (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): A trainer of heroes, Phil is half goat, half man, all snark, but don’t let his grumpy exterior fool you. Phil may be hard on junior heroes like Sora, but it is only because he cares about their safety and wants them to be the champions he know they are inside. He’s Hercules’ trainer, and he’s been worried sick since Herc disappeared after losing his strength.
Hercules (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): The hero of Thebes, son of Zeus and Hera, Hercules is noble, kind, and strong. He cheered Sora and his friends on in the Colosseum Games during their first adventure and helped them fight off Cerberus. Now, it seems as though it’s Sora’s turn to save Hercules, especially since he has been cursed by Dr. Facilier’s magic.
Zeus (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): God of Thunder, and King of the Gods. He has been trapped by Hades in the Underworld. Not only did he identify Sora and Mikey as keyblade wielders, but he seems to know something about Kairi as well.
Pain (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): A fat, pink imp of the underworld. Pain is one of Hades’ henchmen. He is cowardly and uses underhanded tactics to get his way, much like his master. He and his partner, Panic, can shape shift into different forms.
Panic (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): This skinny, blue, long nosed imp is an anxious mess, but that’s probably what happens when your master has a temper as big and unpredictable as Hades does. It seems as though Hades has left him and Pain in charge of the Underworld while he’s on Mount Olympus, but both of them don’t seem to be doing much work keeping things in order.
Cerberus (First Appeared in Hercules, 1997): A three headed dog and guardian of the underworld, Cerberus is Hades’ loyal pet. He is vicious and powerful. If his teeth weren’t terrifying enough, he can also spit fire and squash anything with his massive muscular body. Thankfully, Sora and his team were able to knock him own and throw him into the River Styx. Let’s hope that’s the last we will see of him.