A/N: And now, for the next chapter! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.
Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story
Chapter 3
Riku and I arrived inside of a familiar place. It looked like a giant creature's mouth, which was a dead giveaway for me. The silverette looked about inside the mouth, spotting several piles of wood.
"Pinocchio!" a voice called out worriedly. Riku and I looked over to see an old man on a wooden boat. "Son! Where have you run off to?"
"Isn't that…Geppetto?" Riku asked me quietly. I nodded. "Then…this must be…" Monstro, my mind supplied. We made our way over to the boat where we found Geppetto the clock maker sitting on his bed, his head resting in his hands.
"What's the matter?" Riku asked. Startled, Geppetto jumped slightly before looking at us.
"Huh? Goodness, who are you?" he wondered.
"Riku and Kurai," I said.
"Oh, Riku and Kurai. You poor lads," the old man sighed. "Seems you were swallowed up by Monstro just like the rest of us. My name is Geppetto, and I'm looking for my son, Pinocchio."
"Pinocchio's gone missing?" Riku said curiously.
"I'm afraid so. After all my searching, I found him here in the whale. But then he ran off again to who-knows-where," Geppetto explained.
"That sounds kind of…familiar," my partner murmured, and I nodded.
"Mister Geppetto, let us go look for your son," I offered.
"You would do that? Thank you. Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yeah. Leave it to us," Riku assured him.
"Did ya say you were really going to help us find Pinocchio?" a familiar voice asked, and we turned to see Jiminy Cricket on a nearby table.
"Jiminy?" I said, tilting my head to the side, puzzled.
"Huh? That's right—name's Jiminy! Jiminy Cricket. But shucks, have we met?" the cricket wondered aloud.
"No—you know, never mind," Riku said dismissively.
"Hmm, if you say so," Jiminy shrugged. "Anyway, Pinocchio comes first."
"Right. Any idea where he went?" I suggested.
"Well, I'm almost certain he wandered off with a stranger," he answered.
"Can you describe him?" Riku pressed.
"Hmm…I remember he was dressed in a black coat," the cricket nodded.
"A black coat?" we gasped. "He's back again." We touched our hearts and paused for a moment.
"Thanks," I told him as we started to leave, but Jiminy hopped onto Riku's other shoulder.
"Huh?" Riku said.
"Well, I'm goin' with ya," he said determinedly. "Pinocchio's gonna need his conscience, and that's where I come in." Riku, Jiminy, and I went further inside, where we found Pinocchio walking along with a hooded man and a smaller figure on the figure's shoulder. "Pinocchio!" The wooden boy turned and saw us.
"Jiminy!" he cried out.
"Let him go now!" Riku ordered as I growled warningly. The hooded figure tapped Pinocchio forward, confusing the puppet for a moment, but he ran over to us nonetheless. Jiminy hopped over to meet him.
"Thank goodness," Jiminy breathed. "Are you all right? Riku, Kurai, and I looked for ya everywhere."
"Uh-huh. I'm just fine," Pinocchio assured him. "Sorry, Jiminy. I messed up real bad. You and Father must have been so worried about me."
"Why, Pinocchio, I think ya just might be finally startin' to learn," Jiminy praised. As they talked, Riku and I approached the hooded figures.
"Who are you?" we demanded, but when they removed their hoods, they turned out to be doppelgangers. "Us?" The pair opened a dark corridor and went through it. Riku and I ran to follow, but the corridor closed before we could reach it. We froze, stunned.
"As I live and breathe…" Jiminy whispered in shock.
"That was our…our dark side," we explained. "We gave in to the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased us around in one form or another. The Seeker of Darkness who stole our bodies…puppet replicas of the shadows in our hearts…and now, we're facing us."
"Your dark sides?" Jiminy repeated curiously.
"Gee, Riku and Kurai, don't you have a Jiminy like I do?" Pinocchio asked. "He's taught me all kinds of important stuff. Maybe you just need somebody to show you what's right and wrong."
"Sure," Jiminy agreed. "You can't shoulder all your problems alone, ya know. You must have somebody—a friend or friends you can talk to?"
"Yeah…actually, we do," we told them with a faint smile. "Those stupid grins they're always wearing—they're the best teachers we could have."
"Gee whiz…I wish I had lots of good friends," Pinocchio mumbled sadly.
"You will, Pinocchio. More than you can count," Jiminy promised him. Out of nowhere, Monstro let out a wail, making me wince and want to clamp my hands over my ears.
"What now?" I grumbled. The silverette and I looked to another chamber.
"Is something in there?" Riku wondered aloud. "Pinocchio, Jiminy, you should head back. We'll see what's shaking things up."
"Okay!" they chirped, and left.
Riku and I proceeded to adventure further inside of Monstro, where we discovered a Char Clawbster in the depths. It had latched itself to Monstro's innards. As Riku walked in with me on his shoulder, it shot out a blast of fire at the entrance, sealing it temporarily. Riku swiftly skid along the ground to dodge as the Char Clawbster jumped over us. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku positioned himself in a defensive stance as I jumped down onto the ground, bristling and snarling as the Nightmare turned to face us. We quickly defeated the Char Clawbster, and then made our way back to the mouth, where we watched as Geppetto and Pinocchio were reunited, hugging tightly.
"I thought we were only sent into the past on the Destiny Islands," Riku said to me.
"So why does it seem like time was rewound in this world, too?" I wondered.
"Maybe it's like Master Yen Sid said—the world was freed from darkness, but has yet to wake from it," Riku replied.
"It's trapped in a never-ending dream," I realized. The Keyhole appeared, and Riku and I sealed it before preparing to move on.
A/N: And now, the sixth update today! R&R, peeps!