nightelf37: I know that I haven't finished Kingdom Hearts Remake 2 yet, but I just can't help it. So much I want to do, so litle time to do them. I won't promise I'll finish KHR2 before making another chapter in this.
Hayden: Okay, so what's with the chapter titles below?
nightelf37: How—oh, never mind. You see, Hayden, I'm afraid I will be adding a little hint on which character will be getting a Keyblade, Gun of Light, or—
David: Fusil of Shadows?
nightelf37: Yes. Wait! How— Oh, forget it.
Joel: What's does TCO stand for?
nightelf37: It stands for "The Chosen One(s)".
Hayden: Ones?
nightelf37: Wherever did it state that I'll only select one per world, huh?
The three Fusiliers of Shadows say nothing.
nightelf37: Anyway, remember, only the OCs belong to me.
Hayden: What about the plot.
nightelf37: Oh, right. It's mine too. Except in wherever the current movie it's based on
David: What about the random fact?
nightelf37: Oh, all right.
Random Fact: Defenestration means the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.
Chapter 2: TCO: Ant Inventor
Part I. Personal Thoughts
Several things went through my mind as we sailed across the stars.
"Wonder what the future threat is? Who are the Fusiliers of Shadows? What's their connection with Sabata, if there is any? How exactly do we find the 'chosen ones' for the Crystal Rings? Will the Crystal Ring dispenser tell? This is the second time I was with my Neopets in an adventure, the first being during Eithne's attack. Sure, Wizard was here, but still…"
I entered the cockpit. As I looked around, Messerole was flying the ship, Kairi was staring into space, Jerry was sitting with his eyes closed, and Sora was staring suspiciously at the "Sith", as he considered himself. Wizard, Lea, and my other three Neopets were looking around the Falcon. I checked my bag, and saw that I still had my bracers for my Power Orbs, and the chest with all of them. There was also my stash of paopus. To this day, I wondered why they still haven't gone rotten. Then again, as I returned to Neopia with Team Meridell two years ago, Carl the chimera did tell me the bag had strange properties.
Just then, Sora whispered to Kairi and me, "Hey, guys."
"Yeah, Sora?", Kairi asked.
"Hm?", I said.
"What'd you guys think of Jerry?"
"I don't really know."
"Yeah, we haven't talked to him much, but—" Kairi was cut off.
"You don't trust me, right?" Jerry said.
"It's okay. After all, I'm used to that and I'm still a stranger to you."
"I didn't say I didn't trust you!", said Kairi. "And why would you think I would say that?"
"You know those abilities I showed you?" We nodded. "Well, for most of my life, those abilities have kept people from liking me. Hating and fearing me to be exact."
"But what about the ones in the orphanage?", I asked. "They seemed to trust you. Like you, even."
"Well, they don't know the darker aspects I showed you, like my lightning technique, the Force Choke, and such."
"Oh."
"So if you don't like me, I understand."
"I didn't hate you when we first met. In fact, I was interested."
"Yeah.", Messerole cut in. "We just don't know you enough yet to hate you."
"Really? Well you'll learn to hate me soon enough.", Jerry said.
"Don't be so negative."
"Just drop it, okay?"
"Fine.", Sora grunted in an annoyed manner. Kairi dropped the subject as well. I merely sighed and so did Messerole.
"So how do we know where to go?", Kairi suddenly asked.
"I don't know?", said Sora. "We could just go to random worlds."
"May I ask you guys a question?" Jerry cut in again.
"Sure, what would that be?", I replied.
"Since I have no clue what we may be up against, I'd like to know the story so far. From the moment you received the Keyblade, to this moment right now."
I turned to Sora, who nodded. It would be fair to tell him, since he probably didn't know much of Heartless, Nobodies, or Unversed, the latter of which we didn't know anything about either.
"Okay.", we said. I couldn't remember much, but I started with what I could remember from Eithne's attack in Neopia. I started with my sudden entry to Neopia (and turning into a Neopet), continued through my 'adventuring', and my subsequent entry to Destiny Islands to find Team Meridell. At this point, Sora continued the story, and I cut in on occasion. He started at the point of the islands' destruction, to meeting Donald and Goofy (and me meeting Gregorio and Yoris), to fighting Riku (and Wizard, whom I knew back then as Windelle), to freeing Kairi's heart (and reunion with Fiorina, then known as Florina), to locking Kingdom Hearts, to losing a year (which I covered by explaining the events that transpired in Castle Oblivion), to waking in Twilight Town, to Organization XIII and Power Rangers Anarchy Force, to The World That Never Was, to defeating Black Ranger and Xemnas, to returning home (both him and me), and ended at the beginning of this adventure.
"If you ask me, that's a very, very, interesting tale.", said Jerry.
"Well, it's all true.", said Sora. Jerry simply stared at Sora, then Kairi, then back at Sora.
"I never said it wasn't.", he said with a smirk.
"What are you smiling about?", said Kairi.
"Nothing. How many of those rings does the 'Neopets Agency' have? I'd like to know how long we have to be on this quest."
"Well, I wouldn't know.", I said. "I guess we'll have to keep going until we defeat some evil organization or something."
"Or some giant space flea from nowhere.", Messerole added sarcastically. "Wonder how we find out when the dispenser will start depositing a ring for us to use. How do we use the rings anyway?"
Just then, the two lights on the dispenser, which was just laying on the cockpit, started to blink alternately. In a few seconds, the blinking seemed to accelerate, but after a few more seconds, it started to slow.
"Wait! Why did it do that?", asked Messerole.
"Check the map.", Jerry advised. The Grundo pushed a few buttons and the star map appeared on a screen.
"Our ship is at close proximity to a world."
"Turn around and approach that world."
Messerole complied and once we were very close to the world, the dispenser's lights then glowed a steady red and green and a Crystal Ring came out of the dispenser.
"Now we know how the dispenser works.", Kairi said.
"We don't know if this is how it works.", Sora replied.
"But it's worth a try.", I said. On the screen, the World Identifier named the world as "Ant Island". "Hmm…for some reason, I think we might experience a form change in this world."
"Why do you think that?", Messerole asked me.
"Just call it being 'genre savvy'."
KHKHKHKHKH
Later, we told the others of the current situation and we all went to the Transwarp Room. As we made our way there, I asked Jerry, "What's with the smirk back there?"
"They are clueless about each other, aren't they?", he said.
"Who?"
"Sora and Kairi. If there is one thing I find annoying, it is when someone cannot see the obvious."
"I get what you mean. I see it too. And that's one of two reasons why I'm not trying anything on Kairi."
"What's the other?"
"I'm not ready for love and I don't want to do it here."
"…I see."
Finally, we were at the Transwarp Room. However, I had something else to say. I turned to my four Neopets and said, "Uhh, I wouldn't like getting lost to be an issue, so…I need to bring only one of you with me."
"Why?", Euryflavia asked.
"Don't worry. You'll all take turns."
"Okay." Aquanax said. "So who's first."
"What about me?", Tychophon volunteered.
"Okay."
"What should the rest of us do, then?", Messerole asked me.
"Well, you could clean up, explore the Gummi Ship, keep the bad guys off the Falcon…"
"You can count on us.", the Acara saluted.
"Thanks."
With that, as Euryflavia, Messerole, and Aquanax left the Transwarp Room, the rest of us teleported down to Ant Island.
Part II. Split Up
Nighttime on Ant Island…
Seven beams of light landed somewhere in the field. (1) Once the light around us that came along with this teleportation faded, we took a look at our surroundings, then our forms.
"Would you look at that." said Jerry, acknowledging the tree-sized blades of grass.
"What happened to us?", asked Lea. We were now different in appearance.
"Oh, this?", said Sora. "This happens sometimes. It's so we can fit in better in some worlds."
We were now bugs. Sora was a blue ant, wearing 'clothes' out of leaves that resemble his usual clothes, and his antennae were bent in such a way that it looked like his regular hairstyle.
Kairi was a pink butterfly, with 'clothes' like Sora's, antennae pulled back and wings folded.
Jerry was a housefly, his wings being red like his cape, and the white insignia on his shirt was now 'painted' on his front.
Lea was a firefly, and I had to snicker at the pun before I took a look at myself.
I seemed to be a green kind of insect, with two antennae, a body of wide yellow-and-green stripes, and four yellow appendages. I then realized I had taken the form of a Petpetpet known as the Mootix. After looking behind me to see if my bag was still there (and it was, albeit catered to my new size and form), I turned to see Wizard, but when I did, I felt that I instinctively had a grudge against him.
Wizard looked like a blue feline with antennae and little wings. I then realized a second later that he was now a Petpetpet known as the Cooty; Cooties and Mootixes had a grudge against each other for reasons unknown. Wizard looked at me and also made a hostile look.
Suddenly, I realized something else.
"Hey? Where's Tychophon?", Sora asked, thinking the same thing as he lay on a peach-colored rock. I looked at him, then up, then at Sora again. I pointed upward. Everyone looked and saw what I saw. While we all shrunk down, Tychophon has maintained his original size. And Sora was resting on his foot.
Kairi decided to unfold her wings, and fly up to notify the Shoyru about what happened as he seemed to be looking around for us. I didn't catch what she was saying, but after a while, the Shoyru uttered an incantation of sorts and, somehow, he shrunk until he was as tall as we are.
"Wonder why I remained as is while you became bugs?", he asked.
"Who knows?", said Sora. "Magic's unpredictable like that. Anyway, let's get moving."
For a few minutes, we walked the forest of grass blades. Seconds later, we heard voices.
"They're rounding everyone up.", a voice said. A few seconds later, we saw a light.
"Hey! Turn your butt off.", another voice said. The light then faded. Tychophon turned to Lea, then to the firefly's butt.
"You know It's not me.", the former Organization XIII member whispered.
"I know."
As we neared two carton boxes with wheels, presumably the bug-sized version of a trailer, we heard another voice. "Hey, guys! Get me out of this thing, will you?"
As we turned the corner, we saw two fireflies and a tarantula (or some sort of hairy spider) standing next to an opening of a box. The former were closing it while the latter was waving at whatever's inside.
"Hey! Wait, wait! Okay I'll pay you! I'll pay you!"
Just then, the three saw us and as Tychophon moved behind me and Wizard, Jerry stepped us and performed his mind trick. After a couple of seconds (I didn't bother listening), they decided to bring us to who they were 'working for'.
"Oh, no! They've finished collecting the food!", the voice from earlier said. "We've got to get the queen now! Once she's safe, we move on Gypsy's signal."
Just then, the tarantula informed a troupe of insects ahead of our presence. They all turned around.
"Where did you come from?", asked the ladybug.
"Somewhere.", said Wizard.
"But how did you get here with all the grasshoppers around?" asked the blue ant.
"Grasshoppers?" asked Kairi.
"You may not believe us, but we got here on a dragon.", Jerry said.
"Hi.", Tychophon greeted.
KHKHKHKHKH
A little later…
After making an excuse on where we came from (I did pretty well as I was a compulsive liar), the bugs explained what was going on.
The blue ant, whose name was Flik, explained how a group of grasshoppers, led by the evil leader Hopper, had taken over the island and how he, Francis, the ladybug, Slim, the stick bug, Heimlich, the caterpillar, Rosie, the black widow, Dim, the rhinoceros beetle, Manny, the mantis, Gypsy, the moth and Tuck & Roll, the pill bugs, were about to get rid of them with a giant bird made of sticks and leaves hidden in the trees. He also told them that Hopper had help from a strange creature in white leaves covering most of his body.
"Who could it be?", Kairi whispered to Sora, who shrugged.
"It told Hopper it could help, and then black creatures appeared.", Flik continued.
"It had a very well developed vocabulary, I might add.", said Slim.
"You think that guy could be related to Shazed?", asked Sora.
"Might be.", replied Kairi. She then turned to the ant. "Flik, if it's okay, could we help?"
"Why would you want to help?", asked Rosie.
"Because the Heartless, the black creatures, could be more dangerous than Hopper thinks." I said.
"Okay, since you don't know what the plan is, I'll explain it to you.", Flik said. "First, I'll meet up with Dot and the scouts for our part of the plan, while the rest go down there and distract them."
"I'll help distract.", said Jerry.
"Me too.", Wizard volunteered.
"Sure.", Lea said.
"Sora, Rael, and I will help with the bird.", Kairi said.
"Hey.", I retorted. "You could've asked me first, but okay."
"Could I say one last thing?", said Heimlich.
"Are you hungry?", asked Manny.
"Yes."
"You really need to know how to control your appetite.", said Gypsy.
"Appetite.", said the pill bugs in stereo.
"So let's get moving.", said Flik. So the groups separated.
"Are we gonna die?", asked Dim.
"Oh, Dim.", said Rosie. "maybe."
KHKHKHKHKH
As Sora, Kairi, Tychophon and I went off with Flik to fetch the Blueberry Scouts, the rest were gathered on the other side of the trailer.
"So how do we distract them?", asked Jerry.
"We perform.", said Slim.
"Perform what?"
"We are a traveling flea circus.", Manny explained.
"Oh. I see.", Wizard stated. "So what do we do?"
"You, my friends, are with us!", said Francis, flying to the Cooty's side.
"And you are?", Lea asked.
"Clowns.", said Heimlich, "Me, Slim and Francis are clowns."
"Oh, just great."
Part II. Launches and Laughs
"Ladies and gentlebugs! Larvae of all stages! Rub your legs together for the world's greatest bug circus!"
From the clover forest, a trailer of carton boxes pulled forward by two millipedes emerged. Slim was at the reins, Francis and Jerry were between him. Heimlich and Wizard were behind them. Lea was with the fireflies, lighting their butts as skylights. The tarantula was playing their musical contraption. Gypsy and Manny flew next to the trailer and Rosie followed right behind on Dim, who was carrying a cannon on wheels.
The trailer made its way to an arrangement of leaves and rocks that looked like a long table. There was a mean grasshopper (although I would call them locusts) at the center, with two ants on either side of him. One looked elderly and had a crown of flower petals. The other looked rather young (and hot, Lea might add) and had a tiara of leaves. The rest of the seats were occupied by grasshoppers.
Just then, the grasshopper at the center, who was identified as Hopper, stood up and yelled, "Wait a minute!" At that, everyone stopped, Manny and Gypsy hopping on the trailer.
"I think I'm going to wet myself.", Heimlich said as he waved.
"Steady.", Wizard said as he got ready to summon his GunDeLuna.
"What's going on here?", Hopper asked.
"Well…", the ant with the tiara began to say.
"Uh, yes.", Slim covered up. "We were invited by Princess Atta as a surprise for your arrival."
Hopper paused for a second before saying, "Squish 'em."
Slim and Francis dropped their jaws. Wizard, Jerry, and Lea got ready to battle as the grasshoppers got up and hovered, ready to attack. Dim backed away in fear and accidentally sat on the cannon… which shot out Tuck and Roll, who were loaded inside. The pill bugs rebounded on the trailer and landed in front of the grasshoppers.
The two then did their routine. Suddenly, one of them screwed up and they started slapping each other.
"Now that's funny.", Hopper stated.
"That is funny.", one of his goons said as they all sat down and laughed.
"I guess we could use a little entertainment." Hopper sat down and rested his feet on the table. "Looks like you did something right for once, Princess."
Slim got down giggled nervously and said, "On with the show!"
KHKHKHKHKH
While the circus bugs performed for the grasshoppers, Flik gathered the Blueberry Scouts, and we all made our way up the tree.
"Hold on, please.", said Flik as he ran to a clump of moss and pulled out what looked like a backpack.
As the ant put it on, Sora asked, "What's that?"
"This is a device used to quickly cut down grain stalks, but I customized it to fight off these Heartless."
"Looks impressive.", said Kairi.
"For a bunch of stick and twigs.", I slyly added.
"Well.", said Sora. "Let's start climbing."
As I looked up the tree, I gulped. Climbing wasn't exactly one of my strong suits. Instead, I rode on Tychophon, who turned himself big enough for me to get on his back. After a few minutes, the inevitable question came.
"Are we there yet?", asked Sora. I grumbled from how classic that line was.
"Just about.", said Flik.
"So, Flik. Tell us about this guy wearing white leaves."
"Well, he had green skin that was a little looser than those of your 'dragon' friend, green…strips of silk on his head ("Hair.", I muttered), and yellow eyes."
Once we all made it to where a large model bird out of leaves was placed, just as the last Scout made it to the top, Heartless appeared from the walls.
They had a deep shade of brown, a long body with many legs, a wicked looking pair of pincers on their heads, two yellow eyes, and (naturally) the Heartless emblem.
"Now I haven't seen this kind of Heartless before.", I remarked.
"They remind me of the Pot Centipede back in Agrabah.", said Sora.
The Nightcrawlers skittered forward to attack. Several launched forth to tear Sora to bits, but Tychophon shot them down with his bow.
"Everybody on the bird, now!", Flik said.
The Blueberry Scouts made their way to the bird as we held off the Heartless.
One after the other, Sora cast Fire, Thunder, then Blizzard, each eliminating a Heartless. As Kairi struck them, they started to spit acid. As she kept dodging those, she jumped up, bashed them, then cast Light, summoning three orbs around her, which vaporized the Heartless. Flik was about to be attacked by one, but he pulled a lever and a mallet came down form his pack, smashing the Heartless's head. He pulled another lever and a long whip-like object came out of the top, which started to spin around and it sliced the remaining Nightcrawlers. Just then, I saw a Nightcrawler head for one of the small ants who had tripped.
"No! Dot!", Flik cried out. Luckily, I shot it down with a well-placed Blizzard. He turned to me. "Thanks for saving her."
"Don't mention it."
"So what do we do now?", asked Sora. Flik gestured us to the bird's beak, which was open. As Dot got in, Flik, Sora, and Kairi followed suit. I decided to remain outside and ride on Tychophon.
Inside the bird, Flik told everyone what to do. "Okay, I need everyone to sit down and grab an oar." They all did so. Sora and Kairi took seats near the back and took an oar.
KHKHKHKHKH
Down the tree…
After a musical that involved Lea and the other two fireflies turning their butts (and wearing cones on them) on and off in manner of rhythm lights while Rosie and Jerry danced, the next performance was under way.
"From the most mysterious regions of uncharted Asia, I give you the Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis.", Manny said as the tarantula and Wizard brought out a Chinese carton box. "Utilizing psychic vibrations, I shall select the perfect volunteer."
As Manny made his way along the table with his eyes closed, one of the grasshoppers, whose name was Molt, raised his hand. "Oh, pick me. Pick me. Pick me." But he was ignored. "No! Come on. I'm asking you with my brain."
Manny made his way to the elderly ant with the flower crown, who was the queen of the colony. "Aha! Why, Your Majesty!", he said as he offered his hand.
"Me?", the queen asked as she took the hand. However, a rabid grasshopper lashed out on the mantis.
"No, no.", Hopper said. "Thumper, down. Let her go." Thumper did as told. "Maybe he'll saw her in half."
"As you ascend the beetle to the unknown," Manny led the queen on Dim, who brought her out onto the box. Although before she could get inside, she was blocked from view by Dim's shell as he turned around to land and leave. "Put your trust in the mysteries that are beyond mere mortal comprehension."
"Ooh! This is gonna be good!", Hopper stated.
"I call upon the ancient Szechuan spirits to inhabit the body of the volunteer."
Meanwhile, Dim made it to the trailer where everyone else was gathered. It was revealed that the queen has hidden behind Dim's shell.
Back on stage, Manny was on a roll, incanting, "Transformation!" over and over. While he said that, the moon was getting covered by clouds.
KHKHKHKHKH
Back at the tree…
Flik popped out of the bird and waved at two of the Blueberry Scouts, who were situated outside to send a signal to them, he then looked below with a telescope made out of a leaf and a dewdrop.
KHKHKHKHKH
Below…
"And now, insectus transformitus!"
Manny made a dramatic pose and the carton popped open to reveal…Gypsy, who opened her wings in a fantastic show, surprising the grasshoppers. She then landed next to Manny as the two of them bowed.
KHKHKHKHKH
Back at the tree (again)…
Flik saw this and yelled, "That's the signal!"
The two scouts outside pulled apart some sticks, releasing a boulder, which was supposed to topple the twig keeping the bird in place.
Flik went inside onto the 'driver's seat' and turned to the scouts at the back.
"This is it fellas. Get ready to roll."
Everyone gripped the oars tight. Except for Dot, who was positioned at the 'megaphone' to mimic the bird's cry. However, just before the boulder could reach the twig, it stopped short.
"It's stuck!", the scout said.
"Not for long!", Tychophon said as he went to the twig and knocked it down with a punch. He then flew ahead as the bird got ready to 'fly'.
KHKHKHKHKH
Below (again)…
Just as the grasshoppers applauded the act, there was a loud screech and a giant bird flew down. The grasshoppers panicked and flew around as Tychophon joined in the chaos, roaring with all his might. At least as well as he could.
"Bird! It's a bird!", Hopper cried out. "Where's Xozict when you need him?"
Seeing their chance, the ants, who were rounded up at the back, decided to run rampant, and everyone else followed suit. The fireflies looked at each other, then decided to be the skylights. In the midst of the chaos, the grasshoppers panicked and even a few fled the island. Slim then had the idea of splatting berry juice on his body, mimicking blood. Everyone else caught on.
As Hopper looked around helplessly, Slim made his way to Hopper and came to him. "My eye! Help me!"
Hopper screamed and ran while Molt stifled a laugh. Heimlich even pretended to be headless, scaring the skin off a few of the grasshoppers. During all this however, the bird slammed into the trailer, toppling it over and scattering the props. And letting out whatever was inside; the circus's original head P.T. Flea.
As he got out of the sac Rosie made to bind him, he saw the bird (and a 'dragon') spreading chaos. He screamed in fright, then heard Gypsy scream. He turned to see Manny drenched in 'blood', 'dying' in the moth's arms.
"Oh, the pain!" Manny then fell limp, terrifying two grasshoppers.
P.T. screamed, "There goes my magic act!" He jumped to the matchbox and lit one of the matches. "Flaming Death!" He then jumped onto the lighter fluid bottle, and lay the match on it. The now burning fluid set the bypassing bird on fire. "A direct hit!"
Inside the bird, while Sora and Kairi futilely tired to stop the flames with Blizzard, the Scouts panicked and ran to Flik, who then left the 'driver's seat'. But with no one to fly the bird, the jig was up. And Hopper saw it. Inside, Flik went to the center of the craft and pulled on something on the 'ceiling'. This something was what tied the bird to the rope on the tree, giving the illusion of flight. The bird then crashed next to the anthill.
Above, Tychophon and I saw this happen. Just before we could come over to help, a Storm Rider as big as the Shoyru attacked us.
Part III. Rise and Fall
Below…
Everyone gasped from the sight and Atta cried out, "Dot!"
All the ants and the circus bugs, as well as Lea, Wizard, and Jerry, ran to the bird. Inside, Flik, Sora, and Kairi were leading the Blueberry Scouts out of the bird. The scout ran to Atta, who hugged them. Just as Dot got out, she was grabbed by Hopper by the head.
"Whose idea was this? Huh?", he yelled out to everyone. He then turned to Atta. "Was it yours, Princess?"
"Leave her alone, Hopper!", Flik called from inside the bird as he got out. "The bird was my idea! I'm the one you want!"
As Sora and Kairi got out as well, Hopper dropped Dot and snapped his fingers. From behind the three, Thumper landed. Sora and Kairi brought out their Keyblades, but the rabid grasshopper kicked them all away. All three got up seconds later, but then two grasshoppers appeared and restrained the Keyblade wielders. Sora struggled to get out, but he couldn't. He then saw that these grasshoppers had a gray aura about them. As Thumper continued to beat down Flik, Sora turned to find Jerry, Lea and Wizard, who were restrained by similar grasshoppers.
They could only watch helplessly as Thumper continued to beat up Flik. Finally, Hopper ordered him to stop, just as he had Flik under his heel.
"Where do you get the gall to do this to me?", Hopper said to the ant.
"You were…you were gonna squish the queen.", Flik said.
All the ants gasped. And Dot confirmed this. "It's true!", she said.
"I hate it when someone gives away the ending." Hopper let Thumper kick Flik one more time. "You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant!" Hopper turned to everyone else. "Let this be a lesson to all you ants. Ideas are very dangerous things. You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this earth to serve us!"
"You're wrong, Hopper.", Flik said as he struggled to get up. "Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers." Hopper turned to the ant and walked toward him. "I've seen these ants do great things. And year after year, they somehow manage to pick food for themselves and you. So…so who's the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us!" Hopper stopped at this and turned to see the other ants murmur. "We're a lot stronger than you say we are." Hopper turned back to Flik. "And you know it, don't you?"
Hopper got angry and smacked Flik to the ground, then lay his foot on his head. Just as he got ready to squish him, Atta got in the way and he stopped.
"Well, Princess.", he said.
Uh, Hopper?", Molt said. "I hate to interrupt, but…"
Hopper turned to see the ants getting infuriated from the revelation. He yelled, "You ants stay back!" But they didn't. In fact, they began to march forward.
"Oh, this was such a bad idea.", Molt said as he and the other grasshoppers backed away.
"You see, Hopper, nature has a certain order.", Atta said as she hovered to his face. "The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers…leave!"
As one, all the ants charged straight for the grasshoppers, who flew for their lives. Molt, in particular, shed an entire layer of his skin and ran into the grass as the ants ran over it.
"You think I'm scared.", said Hopper, the last one left said. "I have the Heartless!" He snapped his fingers, and Heartless appeared. But they were swiftly run over by the mob of ants. Some even started to cartwheel with Tuck & Roll. Even Thumper started to flee, being scared off by Dim with a huge bellow.
Above, Tychophon and I finally vanquished the Storm Rider.
"Now where did that come from?", I asked as I saw the commotion below.
"That came from me.", a voice said. I turned to see a floating figure in a leaf version of the white coat Shazed wore.
"You must be the cause of this, huh?", Tychophon stated. The figure promptly disappeared without an answer.
Below, Sora and the others, now that the grasshoppers were no longer restraining them, fought Heartless as the ants carried Hopper to the cannon. They stuffed him in, and the tarantula began the drum roll, P.T., Manny, and Gypsy behind him. Dim got on a toadstool behind the cannon, ready to jump and fire the cannon.
"Happy landings, Hopper.", Flik said as everyone cheered.
Just before Dim was ready to fire, the sound of thunder was heard. Everyone stopped short as Tychophon landed and I got off.
"Huh?", Sora asked. "What's wrong?"
Flik looked past Hopper and saw what was coming. He turned to the others and yelled, "Rain!" Everyone panicked.
"Rain?", Lea asked. "What's wrong with that?"
"Maybe rain isn't much to us as it merely makes us wet.", I said as I took shelter underneath my Shoyru. "But to bugs, rain does more than that."
Finally, the rain came and crashed onto the are like little meteorites, one of them knocking the cannon off balance. Everybody went for shelter in the anthill and under the trailer. In the midst of the chaos (2), Hopper managed to get his arms out. As Dim dodged a raindrop headed for him, Hopper rolled to where the beetle was about to land, and was launched—straight for Flik.
"Flik!", Atta cried out as Hopper snatched him and flew off.
"Quick! After them!", Slim said as Francis took him. Dim took Heimlich and as Rosie and the pill bugs got on, he took off as well.
"Hop on!", I called as I got on Tychophon. Only Sora followed suit. Everyone else, as their forms had wings, decided to take a chance and flew using them. We followed Hopper, who made his way up the tree, which was now leafless. During the chase, Francis lost Slim in the branches.
Rosie used her silk strings to toss the pill bugs on Hopper, who harassed him by pulling on his antennae, but Hopper then flew through a small gap, which Dim wasn't able to pass through and they got stuck.
Hopper, with one less antenna, continued to fly skyward as we continued to chase him. Sora and Kairi tossed their Keyblades, Lea his chakrams, Wizard and I fired with our guns, and Jerry did nothing as he forgot his sabers back at the Falcon. Hopper dodged all our attacks with ease and shielded himself with Flik on occasion.
As he looked back, Flik was suddenly snatched from his hands by Princess Atta, who bypassed us. Hopper turned around and, despite our best efforts, bypassed us as well with ease. We turned around and resumed the chase. Ahead, we saw Atta then fly not to the anthill, but the other way around across the lake. As they made it to the other side, Wizard got a clear shot and fired at Hopper, taking him down.
Everyone else caught up and we confronted him. Suddenly, a Beehive Barrier was conjured, keeping out the rain. And Atta. And imprisoning not just us with Hopper, but Flik as well. The area also seemed to cover a certain nest. Hopper got up immediately and headed straight for Flik—but was stopped by a rain drop…'thrown' by Jerry. He turned to us as we confronted him.
"You know I can easily take you all on.", said Hopper.
Seriously?, I thought to myself.
"You're a coward, you know that?", Sora called back. Just then, a Nightcrawler popped out of the ground.
"Look's like Xozict is finally going to help.", Hopper said with a smirk. The Night crawler looked at Hopper…and jumped at him, entering Hopper's body. Hopper let out a loud scream and fell to his knees.
"This can't be good.", said Flik.
"Definitely not good.", I gulped.
"It's never a good thing when somebody gets possessed.", Tychophon added.
Hopper then flew into the air, his eyes a familiar yellow. He let out a roar and flew at us. Engulfed in darkness, he struck Wizard, who was sent flying backwards. Hopper then charged at Kairi, who parried each of his claw swipes. He then tried to bite her, but Lea's chakram got in the way. Lea then shot a couple of flames right into Hopper. Flik could do nothing but watch since his pack got ruined in the rain. However, he did know what to do.
Meanwhile, as Hopper flew up, Tychophon grabbed him, flipped to send him to the ground, and tossed him. Hopper landed on the ground with a slam. Sora followed with a Gravity spell. A dark orb appeared beneath Hopper, but the insect dodged it…and managed to grab Flik. Hopper held him hostage as he backed away from us…and unbeknownst to him, right to the nest.
Suddenly, there was a chirp. Hopper looked up to see a bird. A goldfinch to be exact. "Well, what's this?", Hopper said, his voice not his own. "Another one of your little bird tricks?"
"Yep.", said Flik as we retreated behind Tychophon, who was as big as the bird.
"Are there a bunch of little girl scouts in this one too?" He turned to the bird's face and greeted it. "Hello, girls!"
It was at this moment that the goldfinch let out what seemed to be (to insects) a roar. Hopper fled, but it was in vain as the bird caught up and caught it by its beak. As the bird flew to its next, we heard little chicks chirping. We all looked, some of us in horror, as Hopper was then fed to the bird's young. After the 'carnage' was over, the Barrier faded away and the goldfinch went on its nest to sleep and cover its young from the rain.
Immediately, Atta ran to Flik and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay, Flik.", she said.
"Well I guess we won't see him anymore.", said Jerry as he watched the goldfinch sleep peacefully, nesting its young.
"That's horrible!", said Kairi in disgust. "And you've seen that countless times, Sora?"
"I hate to admit it, but yes." said Sora.
"Oh." Kairi only saw one such death; the one of Crescent Unit Septimus, which she was held accountable for.
"I hate the fact that we may be killing anybody who isn't a Heartless, Nobody, or undead.", I sighed. Tychophon looked quizzically at me. "Don't ask. I can't take the pressure and I always at least try not to deliver the killing blow."
"Anyway, we'd better get going.", Lea said.
Part IV. The Crystal Ring
We made our way to the lake. At which most of us flew, me on Tychophon and Flik carried by Atta. We then made it back to Ant Island, where we resumed walking. Luckily, the rain had stopped.
"I would like to thank you guys for helping.", Flik said.
"No problem.", said Jerry. "No problem at all."
All of a sudden, something in Flik glowed. We all saw it happen and naturally, we were surprised. Also, something in Kairi's 'clothes' glowed. The Keyblade wielder took it out and saw that it was the Crystal Ring.
"What's happening?", I asked a the Destiny's Embrace appeared on Kairi's right hand.
Something in Kairi's head spoke. It also spoke in my head. And in Sora's and Wizard's apparently from the looks on their faces.
INITIATING CRYSTAL RING TUTORIAL, it said.
"Huh?", Kairi gasped. Suddenly, everything except herself and Flik vanished into black. "Guys?"
CEASE PANIC. ELECTION OF HEART NOW COMMENCING.
Beneath their feet, the ground exploded in a throng of…glowing mushrooms (3), which then changed into something else. Once the 'metamorphosis' stopped, Kairi saw that this was a mural, as Sora once explained. He had seen the murals of the Princesses of Heart and his own (one of which also had me as its 'main character'). However, this seemed to be completely different. This one depicted Flik, The ring of circles depicted grains, and the miscellaneous circles scattered around 'Flik' were Slim, Francis, Heimlich, Manny, Gypsy, Dim, Rosie, Tuck & Roll, Dot, the queen, and Atta, the last of which had a heart around her.
JUMP INTO THE AIR.
Kairi did as told and jumped up, where she kept rising at a steady rate.
TURN TO THE MURAL.
Kairi followed and saw Flik, who just stood there, not knowing what to do.
TOSS CRYSTAL RING TO 'CANDIDATE'.
Kairi took out the Crystal Ring and looked at it. She then tossed it to Flik. As it descended, it spun and increased in size. By the time it reached the ant it was big enough for him to pass through the 'hole'…and that's what happened. As the ring landed to the ground, it embedded itself into the mural. A Heart appeared underneath Flik, and a Keyhole appeared on the spot in front of him.
AIM WEAPON TO KEYHOLE.
Kairi aimed the Destiny's Embrace at the Keyhole, and it charged a beam, which was fired. The beam hit the Keyhole, then the Heart shone, engulfing Flik, Kairi, and the whole mural.
ELECTION OF HEART COMPLETE. THANK YOU FOR USING THE CRYSTAL RING.
When the light faded, she saw that she and Flik were back where they 'left'.
"What just happened?", Flik asked.
"You just got…something.", Sora decided to explain.
"What is it?", Atta asked.
"It could be either that.", Wizard said, indicating Sora's Keyblade. "Or that." He indicated my DirLuxGun. "But you won't get it immediately. We don't exactly know how it works either."
"This is one of the reasons why we came here.", Lea said. "To find morally good individuals like yourself, Flik. We saw how you stood up to Hopper despite the odds."
"Really? It was nothing."
"Oh, don't be so modest.", said Sora. "You deserve it."
"Gee, thanks."
"Still, what was the name Hopper said?", Jerry wondered.
"What?", I asked.
"When that Heartless came out of the ground, Hopper said 'Xozict finally helped.' Who's Xozict?"
"Wait a second.", Wizard stated. "Shazed is a Z-anagram for 'shade'. Shazed used darkness. Xozict is a Z-anagram for 'toxic'. That means—"
Suddenly, a Beehive Barrier separated Sora, Kairi, Wizard, and me from the rest.
"I use poison.", a voice said. "And yes, I'm from the same group Shazed is from."
A Dark Corridor appeared and revealed the figure Tychophon and I saw earlier.
"That's him!", yelled Flik, unable to do a thing. The figure had green 'hair', green skin (that made him look like an orc), and yelow eyes. He also had a green aura, which I guessed protected his body from changing form.
"Hey there.", he said. "I'm Xozict and I'm gonna defeat you. By the way, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
Part V. Xozict
The four of us in the Barrier drew our weapons. "Why do you want to attack me?", asked Xozict.
"You're from the same group Shazed is from, are you not?", said Sora.
"What gave you that idea?"
"Your 'suit'.", Wizard stated. "And you confirmed that yourself seconds ago."
"Oh, that's right."
"And you brought the Heartless here."
"Did that too. I'll have to admit, Hopper lasted a lot longer than I thought he would. And I thought of another reason you'd want to get rid of me!"
"You're self-incriminating?", I asked. "What does self-incriminate mean anyway?"
"Yes, I am self-incriminating, which is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. I'm evil. I'm also No. 6 in the Heartless Syndicate, whereas Shazed is No. 3."
"The Heartless Syndicate?", I asked.
"You don't know anything about us, do you?" We shook our heads. "Fine. I'll tell you since no one else might. You see, The Heartless Syndicate is a group of thirteen members. Eleven of which defected from Organization XIII, and one of which was defeated by them and Anarchy Force. Thanks for defeating them, by the way."
"You guys were former members of Organization XIII?", Wizard gasped in surprise.
"Yes, but we weren't after Kingdom Hearts to get our hearts back like most of them or for power like Xemnas. In fact, the reason we left was because of those cursed Rangers."
"Anarchy Force?", Lea asked.
"Yes."
"So what is your goal?"
"That, I will not divulge.", Xozict said, sticking out his tongue. "Now we shall fight." He summoned a green halberd, which he then stabbed to the ground. "Poison!" The ground then turned a sickly green.
Xozict then removed his halberd's spearhead and made his way to us. He started with Sora, where he was able to scratch at his side, inflicting "Poison" on him. The Nobody was about to attack again when I got in the way, pushed his halberd back, then bashed his front with my shield, scratching at his cloak with its razor-sharp petals.
"What sharp petals your shield has.", he said.
"The better to wound you with, my dear.", I said mockingly as I continued to bash him. Xozict then decided to jump back.
"Ha-ha. Very funny.", he said dully as he spun his staff around, and created a poisonous tornado. Wizard shot a continuous beam at the ground, somehow disrupting the tornado. Kairi took this chance to cast a Fire spell at the tornado, stopping it and leaving Xozict dizzy. Sora came in and bashed the Nobody. Just before he could hit the ground, Wizard quickly charged a Tsuki and fired with all his might, knocking Xozict to the wall. Kairi then tossed her Keyblade right at him and the barrier 'broke' as he fell to the ground.
"You guys're tough, I'll give you that.", Xozict remarked. "We shall meet again." The Nobody then left via Dark Corridor. Once he was gone, Flik and Atta ran to us.
"Who was that! Are you okay?", the princess asked.
"We're fine.", said Kairi. "We're glad to help you with Hopper."
"Now that our job is done, we must leave now.", Lea said as we all headed into the 'forest' so as they won't see how we leave.
"So long, Flik.", Tychophon said. "Hope we meet again."
"Me too." Flik shook Wizard's hand as he offered it. After that, Atta and Flik held hands as they made their way back to the anthill. Meanwhile, we entered the forest to where we 'landed'.
Halfway to the Gummi Ship 'drop off', Sora felt dizzy. He then clutched his side where Xozict's poison hit him. He then fell over.
"Sora!", Kairi cried out. "What's happening?"
"Crud!", I exclaimed. "The poison!" Just as Sora lost consciousness, I cast Esuna on him. At exactly the same moment, Kairi cast a spell called—
"Cure-all!" Two lights shone above Sora and did their work.
"What was that spell you just used?", I asked.
"Cure-all. It does what Cure does and cures anyone of status ailments like Poison."
"Well, it'd be more efficient to use Esuna since, while it only cures status ailments, it uses less magic power than Cure-all."
"Let's debate about spells later.", Lea said as he hoisted Sora upon his shoulder.
"Starting the teleporter now.", Wizard said as he took out the device and used it, taking all of us back to the Falcon.
Gummi Ship Time: Suvio Permi
Sora awoke in the Falcon's main hold, back in his human form. Kairi was next to him on the 'sofa' partly circling the table. Lea and I were sitting on plastic chairs watching him. Wizard and Jerry were feeding Gallico, and my Neopets were playing some new board game in the ship. It was called the "Command Board", but I decided not to check on it yet.
"You okay?", Kairi asked softly.
"Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?", Sora asked.
"Xozict badly poisoned you. I cast Cure-all to remedy it."
"I cast Esuna, which would have been more efficient.", I said with a grunt. "Lea carried you here, by the way."
"He did that?"
"Yeah, but I could've left you.", Lea said. Sora raised an eyebrow. "Not that I really would. After all, I care a lot about Roxas, who exists in you. And I have to admit, I'm beginning to care about you too."
"Just rest and try to get better, Sora.", I told him. "We can't go on without you. Well, maybe we can, but it won't be the same."
"Okay." Sora took a blanket and pulled the covers over himself. "By the way, I noticed an aura on those grasshoppers that restrained us. It was like I was…an ordinary kid again while they held me tight."
"Those grasshoppers.", Lea said. "They had a spell cast on them."
"What's the spell?"
"Suvio Permi." (4)
"Suvio Permi?", Kairi asked.
"It's a spell that enables its targets to sense fighters like us, render us useless when they hold us, and render them invulnerable to whatever we dish out on them. One way to stop such is for civilians, those who have next to no skills in battle, to strike them."
"What's the other way?", I asked Lea.
"I don't know."
"How do you know about this?", Sora asked.
"I learned it while I was still in Organization XIII as Axel during a mission. I don't really wanna talk about it."
"Oh, okay." And before we knew it, Sora was snoring.
-Yellow Travelers Chronicler-
Flik
A Bug's Life (1998)
Flik is a brilliant ant who builds inventions to better his colony, although his ideas have now labeled him crazy amongst it. He set out to find heroes to protect the colony from Hopper and came back with a circus.
Slim
A Bug's Life (1998)
Slim is a prop used in comic sketches in the circus. He wishes he could play better roles.
Francis
A Bug's Life (1998)
Francis is a clown in the circus. He has a short temper and this is not helped by the fact that everybody mistakes him for a lady.
Heimlich
A Bug's Life (1998)
Heimlich is a clown in the circus. He is large and can't stop eating. He dreams of becoming a butterfly.
Manny
A Bug's Life (1998)
Manny is the magician in the circus. He is mystical and deep and seems to have a close relationship with Gypsy.
Gypsy
A Bug's Life (1998)
Gypsy is the beautiful assistant in the magic show. She is very interested in Manny's work, who she seems to have a close relationship with.
Rosie
A Bug's Life (1998)
Rosie is the acrobat and 'animal tamer' in the circus. She likes her job, but can be a little absent-minded. She also cares a lot for Dim.
Dim
A Bug's Life (1998)
Dim is the "wild animal" in the circus. Despite his size, he's friendly and can be quite a crybaby.
Tuck & Roll
A Bug's Life (1998)
Tuck and Roll are partners in the circus as the insect cannonball. Both are hyper and hard to understand.
Dot
A Bug's Life (1998)
Dot is the youngest princess of the colony. She is often made fun of due to her small size and her inability to fly, though she finally got the hang of it. She is a good friend of Flik.
Atta
A Bug's Life (1998)
Atta is the eldest princess of the colony and next in line as ruler. She is a nervous sort who often worries about being queen.
Hopper
A Bug's Life (1998)
Hopper is the leader of the grasshoppers. He bribes the ants to collect food for them as protection from other bugs. In reality, it's because he knows the ants can overwhelm them if the work together. He is, like almost every insect, afraid of birds.
Molt
A Bug's Life (1998)
Hopper's dim-witted brother. He doesn't seem to do anything evil at all, staying in the sidelines, eating food, and looking like an idiot.
Nightcrawlers
Nightcrawlers are long Heartless with the ability to spit acid. Along with that, they can also run at impressive speeds and have crushing mandibles. It is best to attack from a distance.
Thumper
A Bug's Life (1998)
Thumper is the muscle of the grasshopper's gang. He is not in his right mind and is often kept under leash, only to be released on Hopper's command.
P.T. Flea
A Bug's Life (1998)
P.T. Flea is the original owner of the circus Francis, Slim and the others come from. He was tied up to as not to screw up with the plan, but he screwed it anyway.
Xozict
Xozict is No. 6 in the Heartless Syndicate. He appeared in Ant Island to give Hopper a hand. He told Sora about his group and their relations with Organization XIII. During battle, he uses poison and proved near-fatal for Sora.
nightelf37: Credits.
Dave Foley as Flik
Kevin Spacey as Hopper
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Atta
Hayden Panetierre as Dot (5)
Phyllis Diller as the Queen
Richard Kind as Molt
Joe Ranft as Heimlich
Denis Leary as Francis
David Hyde Pierce as Slim
Jonathan Harris as Manny
Madeline Kahn as Gypsy
Bonnie Hunt as Rosie
Brad Garrett as Dim
Michael McShane as Tuck & Roll
John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea
Danny Wayne Stallen as Xozict (Jindrax in Power Rangers Wild Force)
(1) Think of this landing like the one in KH2 in the Pride Lands, or the sort when Megaman enters a 'stage' after the words "READY" go away.
(2) Second time around.
(3) I thought having a throng of white birds all the time would be nonsensical in this case, as Flik is an ant. Most characters will have different 'mural enterings', although the white birds thing will still be around.
(4) Suvio Permi, I made up myself. It's an anagram for 'impervious', which is what Suvio Permi pretty much does.
(5) Yes. As it turns out, the VA for Kairi also voiced this character in her childhood days.