A/N: This is a hypothetical of if Treasure Planet were a world visit in KHIII. As such, it's set during the timeframe of KHIII. I've taken a few speculations and liberties because this was originally written as a gift for/homage to GAvillain, so a lot of the party arrangements, ships, and other decisions were made with him in mind. It's sort of In Medias Res, as one is to assume several worlds have been visited before this (and two will be alluded to) and several will be visited after.
I also must warn you that there is one thing in this fic that juuuuuuust doesn't qualify as Disney enough to ever make it into KH. But I HAD to use it.
...
ACT I
Already, it had been a long and hard fight against not only Xehanort's insidious plot to collect his Thirteen Darknesses, but against Maleficent as well, her desire to penetrate every world's defenses and fill it with Darkness a neverending thirst. But despite the looming Darkness, the forces of the Lights held strong, as fast in their friendships as ever.
By this time, Sora had been to many different worlds, fighting alongside many new partners in order to combat the forces of evil. Each world so far had contained an item at its heart that, with the help of one Keyblade or another, unlocked a path to still more worlds in the outer reaches of what the more knowledgeable – Yen Sid, Mickey, Merlin – had identified as the known cosmos. As Sora and his friends explored more of these worlds, Xehanort and Maleficent only became more aggressive about beating him to the punch. After a particularly harrowing escapade in Twilight Barking London (one where Maleficent had dispatched one of her very own allies, the sorceress queen of the Dwarf Woodlands, to assist the local crime boss of Hell Hall), a regrouping was in order. Maleficent had made it clear that she was going to strike for the Seven Princesses of Heart next, and communications had come in from the True Organization XIII that they were largely after the same goal in order to draw out the Seven Lights.
Sora had needed to shop for supplies in town in Radiant Garden anyway. One could only adventure for so long before one ran low on the regenerative Hi-Potions and Ethers that kept one fueled. After picking up the necessary items to fill inventory, as well as a bar of Scrooge McDuck's famed sea salt ice cream and an upgraded mage's staff for Donald, Sora proceeded to the castle at the center of the metropolis.
Cid Highwind had proposed the meeting, and the summons had traveled through the grapevine, with Chip and Dale patching through to the necessary gummi ships. Not everyone was free to attend, but the library of the castle – for Merlin's house was by now far too small to host the meetings called – was filled with quite the roster. There was the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee: Cid, Aerith Gainsborough, Yuffie Kisaragi, Leon (formerly known as Squall Leonhart), Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Merlin, and the four newest inductees: Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Stitch. There were the Seven Princesses of Heart, who were no stranger to this castle, though now it was not a prison for them, but instead a refuge: Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Alice, Belle, and Kairi. There was the king of Disney Castle, Mickey Mouse, and the two most well-traveled warriors of his court: Donald Duck and Goofy. And finally, there were Sora and Riku.
After some talk, a conclusion was reached: "There ain't nowhere we can hide all seven princesses that Maleficent and Xehanort won't find some way to find 'em," Cid summed up. "Xehanort might even know what we're gonna do anyway, with his…however that fuckin' time travel bullshit of his works. But what we can do is split 'em up and put 'em with teams of fighters. They say there's safety in numbers."
"I agree with Cid," Leon said with a nod. He turned to where six of the seven were lined up against a bookshelf (Kairi stood with Sora and Riku instead). "For your safety, you can't stay together. And you can't stay here, either. This is the first place they'll come looking for any of you."
"Now, I wouldn't say it's THAT unsafe!" Merlin interjected. "You're forgetting about my magic! Just like you do EVERY time." This last remark was accompanied by a knowing glance at Cid.
"Oh, will you come off it?" Cid groaned. "Just 'cause I trust your magic 'bout as far as I can throw that Pete fella don't mean I'm leavin' you out on purpose!"
"Well," Merlin replied, "that is at least reassuri – wh – WHAT do you mean you don't trust my magic?"
Sora, Riku, and Kairi exchanged glances. They were all trying quite hard not to smile. Merlin and Cid's spats were far too amusing, and one of their guilty pleasures to watch.
"I just mean that one day, 'cause of you, one of us is gonna get turned into some kinda half-fish, half-elephant mutant one day and never get changed back!" Cid argued.
"Oh, such talk from a man who relies on materia for so much as a cookfire for breakfast!" Merlin snapped.
"Materia ain't the same THING!" Cid argued. "And that was ONE TIME when the heating went out! I wouldn't just go around wastin' it otherwise! I wasn't even gonna use it then, but Yuffie wouldn't stop bustin' my ass about chocolate chip waffles!"
"I REGRET NOTHING!" Yuffie interjected.
At about this time, Belle saw fit to step forward, hands up. "You don't have to fight!" she insisted. "We've ALL seen enough of Merlin's magic to know that we can trust it, but it's also not the only way!" She put her hands on her hips. "And I'm surprised the both of you don't know that by now."
"If they're gonna fight all the time," Sora whispered to Riku, "I think they should just get married already."
Riku had to clap his hand over his mouth to stifle a large chortle.
"And if you're going to waste all our time fighting," Belle went on, "then we can have this meeting in another part of the castle, WITHOUT the two of you!"
That got both Cid and Merlin to shut up.
"What were you going to say about using magic to protect us?" Belle asked Merlin.
"If I were to transform one of you into a bird – " Merlin began.
"See what I mean about the transformations?" Cid groaned. He was immediately silenced by a poisonous glare from Belle.
"Go on," Belle encouraged Merlin.
"Then you would be indistinguishable from thousands of birds in the sky, and be able to hide anywhere in the world!" Merlin concluded.
"Being a bird does sound like so much fun!" Snow White broke in. "Could I try? I do so love birds!"
"Why, of course!" Merlin agreed. "It seems like a fitting solution! As for the rest of you, we shall need to forge teams to protect you at once!"
Jasmine folded her arms. "Because you think I can't protect myself?"
"It's not that at all," Aerith reassured her. "These are dangerous times. None of us is safe on our own. Not even the most powerful warriors."
"Or else I'd have left a long time ago!" Merlin huffed.
"Come on!" Sora cajoled. "You know you love us!"
Merlin wasn't about to admit out loud that Sora was right.
"I'll go with Sora and Riku!" Kairi volunteered.
"If there's two people you're NOT goin' with, it's them!" Cid snapped at her. "Everybody and their brother's expectin' to find you with 'em!"
"But you're going to put somebody with them!" Kairi pointed out. "What's the difference if it's me?"
"The difference is that you're not just a Princess of Heart," Leon stated. "You're also a Light, and so are they. And if the King travels with them like the last mission, that's four Lights in one place."
"I was kinda hopin' to go with 'em again," Mickey suggested. "If anyone takes the new outer world that was unlocked on the last mission, it should be me, Sora, and Riku. That's the world that's gonna be the most dangerous, so we're gonna need a Master, like Riku! There's almost nothing Sora can't do, and, well, not to brag, but I am one of the best Keybearers there is!"
"No one's arguing with that," Riku said with a smile.
"I understand," Kairi said at last. She was a little dismayed. Even though this time around, she'd been able to spend a lot more time with Sora and Riku, the memory of when they'd all been ripped apart on prior adventures still stung. She wasn't looking forward to worrying whether they'd both come home safe. When she'd heard that they'd entered a routine Mark of Mastery exam to end up with Sora nearly hollowed out and turned into a puppet of Xehanort, she'd been flabbergasted. And furthermore, being around either of them always gave her the feeling that she was with a fun older brother: a sense of comfort and familiarity. The person who she could call closest to a brother by blood and law wasn't so approachable.
Sora clapped a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "It'll be okay," he told her. "We'll see you again real soon!"
"Just stay safe, okay?" Riku took advantage of his height to ruffle Kairi's hair a little, making her smile in the process.
"I will," Kairi promised.
"Y'know what?" Goofy proposed. "We should go with her!"
"Yeah!" Donald agreed. "We'll keep her safe! Though in Goofy's case, it might be the other way around."
Kairi crossed the room to stand next to Donald and Goofy. "I'm ready whenever you are!" she laughed.
"Wonder where we should go," Goofy mused. "Oh, I know! What if we go to Aurora's home world? That oughta be safe!"
"THAT'S ALSO MALEFICENT'S HOME WORLD, YA BIG PALOOKA!" Donald reminded him angrily.
Now that Sora and Riku were alone together on their side of the library, they gave each other a smile, knowing they'd be partners on their mission to the mysterious world Sora had unlocked via Roger's piano in Twilight Barking London. With no one in between them, their eyes locked directly on one another for a moment, electric blue on electric blue. Feeling something akin to a jolt run through his stomach, Riku quickly looked away, embarrassed. Sora, on the other hand, was ever so slightly disappointed when the connection was broken; he liked looking into Riku's eyes. But he wasn't about to complain.
As she watched from afar, this interaction wasn't lost on Kairi. She'd suspected that feelings might be brewing between the two for a while now, and she was hoping she was right. In her mind, they would make the cutest couple she could imagine.
"Well, fellas!" Mickey approached Sora and Riku. "Looks like it's the three of us heading out to the mystery world!"
"And there's nothing we can't do!" Sora emphasized.
"Now, don't go gallivantin' off just yet!" Cid called over to the trio. "You're bodyguardin' one of the ladies, whether you like it or not! If you think you're just gonna leave these defenseless gals behind…"
"SEXIST!" Yuffie interrupted.
"You gonna let me finish a sentence?" Cid asked her.
"Maybe," Yuffie replied, rocking on her heels; her defiance was earning her a lot of respect among Yuna and Rikku.
"If we can pick who we go with," Sora spoke up, "then I wanna go with Belle!"
"Me?" Belle was utterly stunned. "On a dangerous mission? Oh, I don't know if I'm right for it. You'd probably be better off with Jasmine."
"Come on, Belle!" Sora urged. "You've helped us out with a lot of dangerous stuff! Remember when you punched Xaldin in the gut?"
"I grew up with Dilan," Kairi reminded her. "Getting away from him isn't easy! I can't tell you how many times he literally carried me back home after finding out I ran to the ice cream shop without permission!"
"I…I don't know," Belle reiterated, looking back toward the other princesses.
Jasmine gave her a nod. "I know you don't think you're very strong, but there's more than one way to BE strong. And I know you have a very strong heart."
"When we had to protect this world's Keyhole from Ansem," Cinderella reminded her, "you were the one who organized us, and you were able to contribute more light than any of us."
"And if it's worth anything," Alice pointed out, "you convinced me to start reading books without many pictures, and I've never regretted it."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Paine grunted.
"There's an awful lot of light in you, Missy!" Merlin emphasized.
Looking around the room, Belle found herself faced with a crowd that all believed she would fare well with Sora, Riku, and Mickey on their assignment. "All right," she relented. "I'll go with them."
"NOW you can head out while we figure out where to send everybody else," Cid told the two boys and the royal mouse.
"Good luck!" Mickey told Donald, Goofy, and Kairi; he, Sora, and Riku exchanged waves goodbye with the trio before heading for the door.
Cinderella stepped forward to give Belle a brief embrace goodbye. "I believe in you," she told her fellow princess.
"Thank you," Belle said gratefully. "I'm not so sure I believe in me. But I believe in all of you. Oh, and if anyone could deliver a message to Adam telling him where I am – "
"We'll be certain to!" Merlin promised.
"Goodbye!" Belle called out before rushing to meet Sora, Riku, and Mickey at the door. Without further ado, the quartet set out, and the library door creaked shut behind them.
"Now, to figure out the rest," Leon transitioned.
"We're gonna have to call in a few favors," Cid decided. "Get me Axel on the line and – "
"Isn't his name Lea?" Aerith corrected.
"What the fuck ever!" Cid cried in exasperation.
...
Sora settled down in the pilot's seat of the gummi ship, flipping the control panel screen on so that the map of the worlds visited so far was visible. Mickey and Riku crowded in to peer around him at the dashboard while Belle settled herself in one of the rear seats of the passenger bay, cracking open a new book to read on the ride.
The new world was symbolized by an unmarked gray sphere. Once it had been visited, Chip and Dale would be able to log its name, defining characteristics, and danger level. Cid's Warp-G would also be able to home in on the coordinates once they'd been reached physically. "Looks like that's where we're going," Sora reiterated. "Everybody ready?"
"I say bring it on," Riku replied happily.
"Let's go!" Mickey agreed enthusiastically.
Belle, already absorbed in her book, gave a nod and an "Mm-hmm."
"Then let's BLAST OFF!" Sora threw the ship into gear, and off they went.
The trip to the new world was fraught with obstacles, as was to be expected. Interspace was filled with debris of all sorts, and no one ever was sure where the immense stone rings or the cubes of multicolored gummi material came from. Perhaps they were just the dust of the multiverse. Only a few times did the travelers have trouble with Heartless ships; Sora had finally become proficient in both driving the ship and maneuvering its guns, and was quickly able to eradicate the oncoming threats. There were a few near misses, and Sora was chewed out by all three of his passengers after nearly wrecking the ship against the side of a gigantic stone wall, but the trip was managed safely, and the first landmark of the new world came into view.
First, the gummi ship passed out of interspace and into an expanse of stars, as though entering Deep Space. This was obviously a world that spanned several planets. Then the first celestial body appeared. At a distance, it looked like a crescent moon, with most of its mass in shadow. However, as the ship neared and the view through the front window became clearer, it was visible that it was a structure that had been built in the shape of an actual crescent. There was no shadowy mass to fill in the rest; that space was instead open, and a myriad of spacecraft was seen passing through it. Settled in the crescent was a sprawling city that practically gleamed from a distance.
The gummi ship had reached the Etherium.
...
Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Belle found a lot to take in visually as they strolled the streets of the port city of Crescentia. The streets were bustling with pedestrian activity. Many were human, and some, akin to Mickey, were anthropomorphic animals, but the vast majority were beings that appeared completely unfamiliar, with skin in every shade, any number of eyeballs, appendages in places that humanoids usually did not have appendages, and bodies shaped like almost anything you could imagine and a few you couldn't. None of the travelers were particularly fazed by this. Sora, Riku, and Mickey had seen enough beings unlike them that they were very hard to surprise, and while Belle hadn't the interdimensional repertoire they did, she was adept at looking past visages, utterly unable to judge anyone or anything until she'd gotten a handle on their actions and words.
The populace wasn't the only remarkable thing about the new territory. The spacecraft that Sora, Riku, and Mickey had seen entering the harbor space from afar wasn't shaped like the gummi ships, nor like any other spaceship they'd ever seen; Stitch wouldn't have been able to call the sight familiar. Instead, the spaceships all resembled galleons and brigantines, such as one might find traversing the seas around Port Royal or circling the Neverland coast. The only things that distinguished them from any water vessel were their sails – they shimmered with energy that interacted with the void of space to help the rockets propel the ships forward – and the fact that they were indeed flying. As Sora noticed this, he in particular also took note that the architecture of Crescentia and the clothing of its people were also similar to that he'd seen in Port Royal, with perhaps a touch of Traverse Town.
"It's like Port Royal," he thought out loud. "Except more…outer-space-y."
"It's wonderful!" Belle cried. "It's like nothing I've ever seen before, not even in books!"
"You've never read any science fiction about spaceships?" Riku said in disbelief.
Belle shook her head.
"Right," Riku said, realizing that in Belle's world, they probably didn't publish books about such things, as they probably didn't know spaceships could even exist. "Remind me that when all this is done, I have some books to lend you."
"Hey, why DON'T we all get together and trade books when this is over?" Sora suggested. "With all of us coming from such different worlds, we can all lend each other stuff that we never would have seen otherwise!"
"It's a great idea," Mickey affirmed, "but right now, we need to stay focused. We've gotta keep an eye out for anything special happening on this world that might get Maleficent's attention!"
"Or Xehanort's," Riku added.
"Right!" Mickey confirmed.
"Hmmm…" Sora peered through the streets and alleys. The unique shape of Crescentia made it rather easy to see things that were happening in the distance and over the skyline, including a dock where a ship that seemed larger than any other was loading up. "That ship looks kinda important."
"Are you saying that because you mean it," Riku teased, "or because you just wanna get on something that looks like another pirate ship?"
"That's for me to know and you guys to find out!" Sora laughed.
"Well, it is a pretty big ship," Mickey pointed out. "It might be carrying some real valuable cargo…or some real important passengers! I say we check it out!"
The four redirected their footsteps to make their way down to the dock.
...
The RLS Legacy hovered grandly in the light blue sky, bearing three masts that hinted at a plethora of sails. A gangplank led up to its deck, and as soon as Sora was in sight of it, he charged directly to it in order to run onboard as quickly as possible.
"Hey!" Riku called after him. "Wait up!" He charged right after Sora, eventually overtaking him in speed.
"Hold on, fellas!" Mickey yelled as he and Belle rushed to catch up.
Riku skidded onto the deck a split second before Sora could make it. "Still can't keep up with me?" he joked.
"Aw, man…" Sora sighed. "Now it's 106 to 72." To show he wasn't really sore, he gave Riku a playful shove on the forearm.
Mickey and Belle arrived soon after. "This really is somethin'!" Mickey remarked. Belle was at a loss for words as she turned a slow 360 on deck in order to take in all the sights.
While Belle was careful not to run into anyone while she looked around, another aboard the ship was not so cautious. Riku felt someone, someone who was walking backward while staring about in awe, walk right into him. "Hey!" Riku cried automatically.
"Whoa, man!" the person who'd run into Riku cried, spinning around and putting up both hands. "I'm sorry!" He was human, and furthermore, he looked to be about Sora and Riku's age, dressed in a rather nondescript baggy tee and pants with thick boots. His chestnut hair was pulled into a thin ponytail at the back of his head.
"It's fine," Riku replied to assuage the young man's worry.
Trundling up the gangplank behind this youth was perhaps the strangest figure seen all day if only because of what he was wearing: a bulky, rounded suit of pale armor that seemed haphazardly cobbled together. It wasn't apparent whether the armor was supposed to be for combat or deep-sea diving, but it didn't look like it would be up to withstand either. The shape of the person beneath it was hard to make out due to the mass of metal, but his structure seemed fairly humanoid, and through the visor of the bright golden helmet, the travelers could see his face: somewhat doglike, a shade of deep tan bordered with dark brown hair, floppy-eared, large-nosed, and bespectacled. "Jim!" he called out, casting his gaze around the deck. "Oh, Jim – oh, there you are!" He clanked his way over to the young man who'd run into Riku. "Ah, hello!" he greeted Riku, looking over Sora, Mickey, and Belle as well. "Honorable crew members of the RLS Legacy, I take it?"
"Uhhhh…no?" Sora supplied.
"But we might be passengers!" Mickey added. "We were kinda hopin' to see what this ship was all about."
"Ah, yes!" the armored man replied. "The Legacy is on quite an important voyage, you see! We have the highly sensitive task of – "
"Dr. Doppler," Jim hissed, shooting a warning glare in the other man's direction.
"Right!" Doppler corrected himself. "The task is so sensitive, we can't discuss it with anyone but the captain!"
Sora tapped Riku on the shoulder, pulling him aside as Mickey and Belle stayed with Jim and Doppler. "Riku," Sora whispered, "if the ship has some kind of important mission, it might have something to do with Maleficent or Xehanort. And if it doesn't, it might lead us to whatever's in this world that opens up the path to the next one."
"What if it's not related?" Riku countered. "I don't want to end up on a voyage across a world this big if it isn't for the right thing."
"But if the world IS so big, how will we know what we're looking for unless we just…try something?"
Riku had to admit Sora had a point. "All right. Let's see if we can find this captain and ask to stay on board."
They turned back to catch the midst of an explanation from Doppler: "It's actually all-purpose armor, you see. Though I'm still figuring out exactly what purposes it has. Let's just say that it was the result of a lapse in judgment and a VERY persuasive saleswoman. Now, if you'll excuse us, Jim and I have to meet with the captain."
"We were wondering if we could meet with the captain too," Sora brought up. "Since we want to take the ship. Maybe we can find him together!"
"Or her," Belle offered, though she was temporarily ignored.
"Okay," Jim agreed. He put out his right hand. "I'm Jim. Jim Hawkins."
"Nice to meetcha!" Sora grabbed and shook Jim's hand enthusiastically. "I'm Sora!"
When Sora let go of Jim's hand, Riku took it next, giving it a brief pump. "I'm Riku."
"Mickey Mouse!" Mickey introduced while shaking Jim's hand even harder than Sora had.
Belle did not handshake, but instead curtsied politely. "My name is Belle."
"And I am Dr. Delbert Doppler," Doppler said formally. He attempted to take a bow while continuing: "You may have heard of my work in the field of – " Bowing in the clunky armor proved to be harder than he thought, and Doppler ended up toppling right to the deck with an "Oh, DRAT!" It took both Jim and Belle to haul him back up to his feet.
"You might wanna think about some different armor for the rest of the trip," Riku suggested.
"Trust me," Doppler practically growled, "I've already thought about it no less than seventeen times since arriving in Crescentia."
The group of four was now a group of six, and they moved across the deck until they found a large man whose skin appeared to be made of stone; he was clothed in a bright red jacket and a black tricorner hat. Assuming him to be the captain, Doppler strode ahead, calling out, "Good morning, captain! Everything shipshape?"
"Shipshape it is," the stone man said with a smirk, "but I'm not the captain." He gestured upward to the mast. "The captain's aloft."
Darting from mast to mast and swinging from rope to rope, an agile and slender woman, mostly humanoid but for her catlike face and dressed in a uniform capped by a jacket of blue, made her way swiftly down from the crow's nest until she completed a seemingly death-defying leap down onto the deck, where she landed on her feet perfectly.
Jim, Sora, Riku, and Belle stared in awe at her acrobatics; the former three suddenly regretted brushing off the latter's suggestion that the captain could be female. Doppler, too, was awestruck, but for a different reason. The captain just so happened to be the most attractive living being he'd ever seen in his life.
It was Mickey, however, who had the most surprising reaction of all. He slowly walked toward the captain as she approached the stone man.
"Mr. Arrow," she began, "I've checked this miserable ship from – "
"Amelia?" Mickey interrupted, still not quite able to believe he was looking at who he thought he was looking at.
"Mr. Mouse!" Amelia was taken aback. "Well, this is quite the surprise. It's been what now? Ten years? I suppose this must come as a bit of a shock to you, seeing me as a captain and all."
"Actually, I had a feeling you were going places when I found you!" Mickey remarked.
"Wait!" Sora cried. "You two KNOW each other?"
"In a manner of speaking," Amelia explained. "Mr. Mouse quite literally fell onto the deck of a ship I crewed in my younger years. To this day, not quite sure how he did it. Claimed to have some sort of star that took him wherever he didn't want to go at exactly the moment he didn't want to go there. Really, it looked like an ordinary crystal to me, but there are all sorts in the Etherium. It's rather embarrassing, really, looking back on it. I was just a deckhand, and he crashed right into my bucket of soap and water! To think of it: a mere DECKHAND! I'll tell you, Mr. Mouse, I've seen and commanded my way through some of the toughest wars the Etherium has seen!"
"I don't doubt it one bit!" Mickey cried. He turned back to Sora, Riku, and Belle. "Back when I was training under Master Yen Sid, I stole a star shard from him that took me all sorts of places with no warning. It landed me right on a ship in the middle of space here! I didn't know where I was or what this place was called! But Amelia helped set me up on the ship she worked on so that I had food and a place to sleep for the night. She was a big dreamer back then, and really good about protocol!"
"As opposed to you," Amelia recalled. "You turned the entire ship into a madhouse."
"That's our Mickey!" Sora remarked, casually putting both hands behind his head.
"I'll have you know I won't tolerate such behavior aboard the Legacy," Amelia told him.
"I promise to behave!" Mickey told her. "After all, I'm a king now! I've got a reputation to keep up!"
"A king, are you?" Amelia didn't quite believe it.
"It's a long story," Mickey told her.
"And these…friends of yours?" Amelia looked over the group.
"Three of 'em are with me," Mickey explained. "These are my friends Sora, Riku, and Belle!"
"Nice to meetcha, Amelia!" Sora stated as Riku nodded politely and Belle curtsied once more.
"We were wonderin' if we could hitch a ride on the Legacy for a while," Mickey informed Amelia.
"Were you now?" Amelia responded. "I suppose I can hardly say no to an old friend, but you do realize where we're headed, do you not?"
"Well…um…" Mickey scratched his head. "Gosh. I have no idea."
"Then what exactly makes you think you have business here?" Amelia asked him sternly. "The Legacy is bound for quite the destination, Mr. Mouse. I'm not about to allow any uninvited guests onboard unless they prove crucial to the voyage, and if you should prove untrustworthy, you'll find yourselves locked in the brig faster than you can say 'starboard bow.' We've got enough to worry about between our mission, the distance we're going, rationing our supplies, some already rather dubious crew members – " She glanced over her shoulder at one such crew member; a man with a spiderlike body and crablike claws, red and black, was rolling several barrels across the deck. " – And the Heartless infestations becoming more frequent by the day – "
"Heartless?" Sora interrupted. "We're experts at defeating Heartless! Take a look!" He held out his hand, and in a bright flash, the Keyblade appeared in it.
"My, my…" Amelia examined the weapon. "Quite an unusual sword, to say the least."
"And it's part of a matching set," Mickey pointed out as he and Riku brought up their own Keyblades. "These babies are pretty much the only things guaranteed to make a permanent mark on a Heartless!"
"Interesting," Amelia mused. "The guns and rapiers only do so much against them. All right. I'll sign you on for guard duty against the Heartless. I'll be interested to see what your swords have that ours lack." She eyed Belle. "I suppose you have one of those as well?"
Belle shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't."
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter in the long run," Amelia remarked. "You come with the Heartless extermination package, so you're welcome aboard my ship! Now…" She looked to Doppler and Jim. "Who are you?"
"Jim and Dr. Doppler were looking for you too," Sora explained. "They had a question for you, I think."
"Is that so?" Amelia approached Doppler. "And you would be Dr. Doppler, I presume?" She knocked playfully on his helmet. "Hellooooo in there!"
"Why, I never – " Doppler grunted.
"You know," Amelia remarked, looking to a fixture on the front of Doppler's armor, "this really works much better when it's turned right side up – " She grabbed and righted the device. " – And plugged in." Spinning Doppler around, she jammed the device's cord into the rear of his suit.
Spinning back to face Amelia, Doppler insisted, "I will be in charge of my own plugging, thank you very much!"
"And Jim…as in Jim Hawkins?" Amelia continued.
"Yeah," Jim confirmed.
"He's the one who found the – " Doppler began. He was immediately shut up when Amelia clamped her fingers over his mouth.
"NOT. HERE," she hissed, once again making Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Belle extremely curious about the nature of the Legacy's mission. "I will speak to the both of you in my stateroom. As for the newly hired Heartless extermination squad…" She turned back to the four travelers. "You can find free cabins belowdecks, near the stern. You might have to haggle with some of the crew over who gets which. I shall check in with you later." She whirled on a foot before beginning a stride across the deck. "Mr. Arrow."
"Yes, Captain!" Arrow followed Amelia obediently, as did Jim and a disgruntled Doppler.
"Well, you heard her," Sora pointed out. "Looks like we're in charge of finding our own rooms."
"Then we should probably go stake a claim," Riku suggested, already moving; Sora, Mickey, and Belle followed.
"Let's explore the ship after we pick out our rooms!" Sora decided. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find a library!" He looked to Belle.
"Aboard a ship?" Belle mused. "I doubt it…but this is an unusual ship."
...
After finding and settling into four spare cabins, Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Belle had a look around. The Legacy was sizeable, and it took them a while to peruse it in its entirety. Though there was no true library, there was a room stocked with three bookshelves for down time reading, and that was enough for Belle. After some time, the quartet passed an open door, beyond which Amelia was seated at a desk and writing furiously on parchment.
"This must be Amelia's stateroom," Sora whispered.
"I guess she's done talking to Jim and Doppler," Riku added.
"We shouldn't bother her," Mickey advised. "She looks pretty busy."
The four moved on, and suddenly, they were engulfed in a scent that made all four mouths water. It was the aroma of a freshly cooked stew.
"What IS that?" Sora wondered out loud.
"It smells delicious!" Belle cried. "We must be close to a kitchen."
"You think if we drop in and ask politely, they'll let us have some of the stew?" Sora asked.
"No harm in askin'!" Mickey decided.
At that moment, Arrow and Doppler came up onto the deck from the direction of the source of the smell. "We're about to launch," Arrow announced.
"And I'm going to watch it!" Doppler said excitedly. "I've never been aboard a ship like this, you know. Care to accompany me?"
"I'd love to!" Belle cried. "This is just the start of a great adventure!" She turned to Sora, Riku, and Mickey. Already, she could tell that the three of them had other thoughts.
"Sorry," Sora told her, "but now, I'm just too hungry."
"I can't remember the last time I ate anything," Riku pointed out. He knew he'd had a good meal when he was in Radiant Garden, but that was already hours behind him.
Mickey didn't have to say a word. His stomach growled audibly.
"Well, suit yourselves," Doppler told them. "But you'll be missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience!"
"Where's Jim?" Sora asked.
"Oh," Doppler replied somberly. "He's, er…missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. He's been assigned to kitchen duty alongside the cook. Captain's orders. And I don't envy him. The cook is excellent at his job, but at the same time, he's rather…" Doppler searched for the right word. "Eccentric?"
"So long as he makes good food," Sora decided. "Well, we can check in with Jim when we get there. Thanks for the tip!" He descended the stairway up which Doppler had come, and Riku and Mickey followed close behind.
"Shall we?" Doppler asked Belle.
"Yes!" Belle led him right to the edge of the ship so as to get the best view of the launch.
As Riku entered the kitchen, he realized something was wrong. To his nose alone, the delectable aroma of the stew had been joined by something else: a stench, and a familiar one at that. It was the sort of stink that only came from a heart steeped in Darkness. Riku wasn't sure what to make of that. He knew quite well that he was filled with Darkness himself. However, the other times he'd smelled it on someone, the situation had usually been dangerous. He made sure to be on his guard.
There were only two people in the small, dimly lit kitchen: Jim and a tall, heavyset man who seemed to be half machine: a cyborg. The cook had one arm that was completely mechanical as well as a matching leg. One eye was replaced with a laser scanner set in a metal bulb, and even parts of his head were filled in with gears, making Sora wonder about the condition of his brain. The cook and Jim seemed to have been in the midst of an awkward silence; Sora and Mickey weren't able to smell the Darkness in the room (though Riku knew exactly where it was coming from, given that there were only two people present and he hadn't smelled it on Jim earlier), but they could feel that there was tension in the air.
"Ah!" the cook said at last, throwing on a big smile that Sora and Mickey found comforting but Riku found unsettling. "More guests, I see? I'm guessin' ye came down here for a bit o' the stew!" He ladled out three bowls of a thick green substance. "Old family recipe, you know!"
Jim waited to see if the cook would make the same stupid joke about the old family literally being in the stew that he'd tried on Doppler earlier, but instead, he went with "And ye'd best make it last, because it's the only thing I'm givin' ye to eat for the entire voyage!"
Upon seeing the horrified look on Sora's face, the cook burst into laughter. "I'm only jokin'! Ye really thought I'd starve ye out?" He put a bowl and spoon in Sora's hands. "Go on now!"
Sora dug into the stew eagerly. "It's DELICIOUS!" he cried.
The cook passed bowls to Mickey and Riku. Mickey tucked into his dish as well, but Riku had lost his appetite. "The name's John Silver," the cook introduced with a grand bow. "And who might ye be?"
"I'm Sora," Sora said with a full mouth. "That's Mickey and Riku. We're the ship's Heartless extermination squad!"
"Goodness knows we been needin' one of those," Silver commented. "The accursed things just don't know when to stay away, an' even this old arm hasn't been keepin' 'em back!"
"I bet," Riku said sourly.
"This here's Jimbo," Silver went on. "Not a talkative one, an' probably not a good cook either, but I'll have 'im whipped into shape soon enough. Not literally. After all, this arm's fitted with a hundred different implements, but none of 'em's a whip!" He burst into laughter at his own joke.
Sora laughed along with him. This made Riku all the more uneasy. He wanted badly to pull Sora aside and warn him that the man he was getting along so well with reeked of Darkness, but he held off. He wanted to get a better handle on Silver first. He may have been Dark, but perhaps he was a case like Riku and more complicated than he smelled.
"We already know Jim," Sora explained. "We met on the deck!"
"Yeah," Jim said sullenly. "We did."
"What's wrong?" Sora asked Jim, noting his change in demeanor.
"Jimbo here's just sour because he's been given cabin boy duty for the entire voyage," Silver explained. "Wouldn't even allow 'im to watch the launch. Made 'im stay down here to assist me instead. Not that I needed assisting…" Silver's jovial attitude momentarily disappeared, but he put it back on quickly. "If ye all want to make yerselves useful, there's more veggies to chop for the stew. Got to have a batch of this whipped up that can feed the whole crew by tonight!"
"Okay," Sora volunteered. "How do we start?"
Silver doled out assignments. Sora chopped these vegetables here, Riku chopped those there, Jim peeled those there, Mickey kept the fire stoked, and Silver himself hauled an enormous slab of meat from an alien beast up onto the counter to begin to carve up.
After a long absence of dialogue, the only sounds being those of cooking implements, Jim took a purple fruit out of a barrel. "Y'know," he pointed out, "these purps are a lot like the ones back home. On Montressor. You ever been there?"
The tone of Jim's voice alerted Riku to the fact that he was suspicious of Silver too. Riku liked this, though he wondered exactly what about Silver had tipped Jim off.
"I can't say as I have, Jimbo," Silver answered casually.
"Come to think of it," Jim went on, moving to sit up on one of the counters, "just before I left, I met this old guy. He was, um…he was kind of looking for a cyborg buddy of his."
"Is that so?" If Silver was offput by this line of questioning, he didn't let it show.
"Yeah," Jim went on. "What was that old salamander's name? Oh, yeah. BONES." He watched Silver for a reaction. "Billy Bones?"
Silver gave him nothing. "Bones?" he repeated. "Boooooones? 'T'ain't ringin' any bells. Musta been a different cyborg. There's a slew o' cyborgs roamin' this part."
"I think Jim thinks you're hiding something," Riku broke in.
"Can't imagine what," Silver replied, still hard at work, now spooning the diced meat into a bowl.
"Maybe the fact that you reek of the Darkness," Riku stated.
That got Silver to stop in his tracks. He set the half-filled bowl on the counter, then slowly turned to face Riku. "And how would ye know a thing like that?" he asked in a low, stern voice.
Sora and Mickey, flabbergasted, turned away from their tasks to watch the exchange.
"I smelled it the minute I entered this room," Riku explained. "I can smell it on anyone. It's part of what makes me such a good…Heartless exterminator."
The whistle blew announcing the ship's launch. No one in the kitchen paid it any mind.
"What are you hiding?" Riku reiterated.
Silver sighed. "Guess I can't hide some things. Everyone's got a past, 'aven't they? An' some of those pasts are more…savory than others. Take the captain. As fine a worker as you've ever seen, as honest as the day is long, the very pinnacle of an upstanding citizen since the day she was born. An' me…I've seen a lot o' years in my life. And only the last few of 'em 'ave been dedicated to honest cookin'. This Amelia, lettin' me on 'er ship, an' that doctor payin' for me services as crew, they did me a real good turn. 'Aven't been able to find a steady job for a while now. I done things I ain't proud of, Riku. Things I truly ain't proud of."
"Like what?" Jim asked.
"Thievery," Silver said somberly. "A couple grisly assignments carried out for pay. An' one or two attempts to learn to control those things what we call Heartless. Only around five years ago, I saw what a mess it was makin' of me, an' I knew I 'ad to call it quits." He looked to his mechanical arm as he explained this.
"Back then," Sora inferred. "That's when you lost all those…I mean when you got all your…"
Silver got the gist of it. "You give up a few t'ings," he said softly. "Chasin' a dream."
Everyone present in the kitchen wondered exactly what sort of dream he'd been after, but it just didn't seem prudent to ask.
Riku was satisfied with the answer Silver had given, and a little touched as well. "I think I know what you mean," he said. "I have Darkness in my heart too. Not as much as I used to, though. I gave up my whole self chasing after my own dream. And in the end, that dream wasn't really what I wanted. I thought I was doing the right thing by trying to save a friend, but all I was really doing was giving in to my own pride. The more power I got over the Darkness, the more I told myself it was for the greater good. For the world I called home, and a friend of mine that needed help. Someone who lost herself. I didn't realize I was losing myself just as much. And I…" He looked toward Sora. "I ended up trying to hurt someone I loved, and I told myself it was because he deserved it."
"Aw, Riku…" Sora told him. "You don't have to worry about that. It's in the past. I'm okay now. I know why you did all that stuff."
"I know why I did it too," Riku reminded him. "But that doesn't make it all right."
"You're my friend now," Sora insisted, "and you'd NEVER hurt me again. Just like I'd never hurt you. That's what makes it all right."
"Thank you." Riku smiled slightly. "You…don't know what it means for me to hear you say that, Sora." He turned back to Silver. "And what you did was in the past too. I guess I can't hold that against you."
"Mighty kind of ye to say such a thing," Silver told Riku. "Wouldn't blame ye for not trustin' me."
"I'll figure out whether or not I can trust you," Riku told him. "Just like I figure it out with everyone else. But if your Darkness really comes from your past…then I won't hold it against you."
"I thank ye kindly," Silver told Riku. "Now, we've got a stew to be finishin' up, don't we?"
...
The launching of the ship was chaos in the best possible way. Belle and Doppler gawked as they observed crewmen scuttling up and down the masts and rigging, unfurling the majestic solar sails that pulsated with crackling energy. The rear thrusters of the ship flared off as the vessel became truly airborne, putting distance between itself and Crescentia. Gravity was lost for a moment before an artificial field of it was activated, sending Doppler crashing to the deck yet again while Belle very nearly fell on her own face.
After calling for full speed to be set, Amelia approached Doppler and Belle. "Brace yourself," she said cheekily, looking right at Doppler. Doppler just rolled his eyes at this. Belle didn't know exactly what had been discussed in the stateroom, but she had a feeling those two had spent quite a bit of it arguing.
The Legacy rocketed off into the stratosphere and beyond, and Doppler was sent flying until he hit the nearest wall while Belle found herself knocked right onto her back on the deck.
As soon as Belle could regain balance, she rushed over toward Doppler. By this time, the Legacy had left Crescentia far behind, and the surrounding skies were deep blue. "Are you all right?" Belle asked with concern, reaching down to take Doppler by the heavily armored arm.
"I am quite all right," Doppler said haughtily. "No thanks to that woman." He accepted Belle's assistance, and soon he too was righted.
"Did you have an argument with her?" Belle asked.
"I had several!" Doppler insisted. "She's incorrigible! She's impossible! And she's downright rude!"
Belle suddenly had to stifle a laugh. She remembered when she'd thought those exact same things about her beloved Adam. But she didn't want to go too far down that path; there was nothing to indicate that there were sparks of any sort between Doppler and Amelia.
After all, from Doppler's perspective, the way she'd treated him since he got onboard negated her attractiveness, which was a superficial quality anyway.
"Well, I hope – " Belle began.
She was cut off. A Heartless materialized right before her and Delbert: a Pirate emblem variety, with a greatsword and an eyepatch with an "x" over it. It couldn't keep still, erratically jerking this way and that where it stood and waving its blade.
"What IS that thing?" Doppler cried. "Is that a Heartless? I've never seen one in PERSON!"
Ten more popped into being, and five Air Pirates came along with them.
"HEARTLESS ATTACK ON THE STERN!" Amelia bellowed. "I NEED ALL CAPABLE HANDS TO DECK!"
"Weren't your friends in charge of this?" Doppler asked in a panic.
"Come with me!" Belle commanded, running for the kitchens. In order to get there, she had to run right through the crowd of Heartless. She took a chance, dodging the blade of one and leaping over another, but soon they had her surrounded, and she was quite unarmed. She tried to recall when she and the other Princesses of Heart had summoned Light to guard the Radiant Garden Keyhole. How had she done that? Could she do it again?
She didn't have to. Doppler took charge, running right at the horde, his armor knocking them aside as though he were a very awkward tank. Once he'd cleared the path, Belle resumed the run for the kitchens.
The pair stumbled down the stairs, and Belle cried out, "Sora! Riku! Mickey! There are Heartless on the deck!"
"We're on it!" Sora replied confidently. Three Keyblades materialized, and Sora, Riku and Mickey charged for the deck.
"Hey!" Jim called after them. "If there's trouble, I wanna help!"
"Ye really want to make yerself useful?" Silver tossed Jim a pistol. "Let's see how your marksmanship is."
"Why do you have a GUN in your kitchen?" Jim cried in disbelief.
"Some old habits die hard!" Silver told him. "Now are ye gonna just stand there an' gawk at me, are are ye gonna fight?"
"I'm gonna fight." Jim turned and ran for the stairs, rushing past Belle and Doppler.
Jim Hawkins joined the party.
Silver took but a moment to switch out the setting on his arm so that a cutlass blade protruded from it rather than mechanical fingers. With a wicked grin, he charged after Jim, leaving Belle and Delbert alone in the kitchen.
By that time, the deck was crawling with the shadowy creatures; the first horde had multiplied. "These are just small fry!" Sora bragged. "Watch this!"
First he struck one of the Pirate Heartless from the left. Then he struck it from the right. Then he thrust the Keyblade directly forward through it, and it evaporated.
"Pretty fancy moves," Riku complimented. "But can you keep up with THIS?" He charged through a crowd of the Heartless, hitting several at once with the edge of his blade. As soon as he reached the end, he turned on a heel and came back at them from the other side. Back and forth he zipped until he'd reduced the Heartless to smoke and shadows.
Mickey flipped through the air until he landed on an Air Pirate, taking it down in a single swipe of his blade. He touched ground only briefly before launching into the air again and cutting down a second Air Pirate.
Jim skidded into the middle of the fray ready to fight. Careful to aim away from where Sora, Riku, and Mickey were engaged, he pulled the trigger on the pistol, releasing a bullet of purple energy. A Pirate Heartless staggered from taking the shot directly to the chest. Feeling more confident, Jim fired once more, and the Heartless evaporated completely.
"Nice shot, Jim!" Sora called out.
Jim turned to tell him thank you, and two Air Pirates knocked Jim down immediately. As they pinned him to the deck, a third rose high into the air, ready to plunge downward and attack Jim's face. It dove, but halfway through its descent, it was skewered on a cutlass blade and dissipated.
After taking out that particular Air Pirate, Silver slashed right through the other two holding Jim down before offering his biological hand to help Jim stand. "Yer marksmanship's on point, Jimbo," he teased, "but ye need to pay more attention!"
In the meantime, Sora had remembered how to do that "Shotlock" technique Yen Sid had been trying to explain to him. He sent magical projectiles blasting across the deck, felling Heartless after Heartless. As he blasted them, Mickey bashed them, Riku clobbered them, Jim pumped them full of bullets, and Silver slashed them. At last, Mickey stabbed through the very last one, and no more spawned.
"My word," Amelia commented as she strode toward Sora, Riku, Mickey, Jim, and Silver. "That was the fastest we've ever been rid of those creatures, and with the least mess. I can see that my decision to keep you on as Heartless exterminators was well founded. Mr. Silver, I also had no idea you could battle with such precision. Mr. Hawkins…keep practicing that aim."
"But I hit at least twelve!" Jim protested.
"Jim was really good!" Sora insisted.
"I'm not going to argue this when there's work to be done," Amelia told them sternly. "Mr. Hawkins, after you're finished helping Mr. Silver in the kitchens, he can show you where the mops and buckets are kept."
"But – " Jim sputtered.
"Best listen to what she says," Silver told him cheekily. "After all, how are ye gonna learn to wield a weapon if ye can't even handle a mop'n'bucket?"
"I can help you out later!" Mickey offered. "After all, I used to do cleanup for Yen Sid all the time!" He briefly contemplated whether or not an enchanted mop would be of any use…and immediately thought better of it.
Riku approached Silver. "I still need time to know if I can trust you," he said in a low voice, "but I want to thank you for helping us. I saw what happened, and Jim would have been in real trouble without you."
"Happy to be of service," Silver replied. "I only just got 'im as me new assistant, after all. Would reflect badly on me as an employer if he died after the first day!"
"Is it safe?" Belle asked, peering up from the stairs, with Doppler close behind.
"ALL CLEAR!" Amelia called out. "THE DECK IS ALL CLEAR!" She then turned back to her Heartless extermination squad, her ship's cook, and the cabin boy. "Now there's work to be done, so don't dawdle!"
"Right!" Sora told her. "Let's go finish that stew!"
Amelia returned to her position at the helm next to Arrow, and Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Jim went back to the kitchen to work while Doppler and Belle hung close to them in order to hear the story of their derring-do during the Heartless attack.
Silver cast a glance around the ship. Several of the crewmen gave him a knowing look in return.
He nearly stepped on a rope that hadn't been there before; the rope gelled into a pink creature, a floating blob of jelly with two eyes, that hovered up next to Silver and made a squeak. Silver gently stroked the creature, muttering, "We'd best be keepin' an eye on that lot, haven't we, Morph?"
END OF ACT I